#i love your writing finch its so good what

[arthurtaylorlester]

and what is so fucking frustrating about these two, is that arthur doesn't know all this. like yeah, he knows john loves him.

but he doesn't understand why, i don't think he gives himself any credit for john's humanity, he still clings to lily as the main cause of john's change of heart, but like. she was just a catalyst for john realising that humanity is worth something, but without arthur also showing the very worst a human can be and do, john couldve had a very skewed perception of humanity.

and it's not like john knows the extent to which arthur loves him. like he doesnt know he tried to fight the subconscious idea of being lied to (again) by john. john could never tell arthur explicitly what he means to him, what he's done for and to john.

john quite literally would not be john if arthur was anybody else.

arthur is john's person. john doesn't pretend to understand all the facets of human relationships, but this—the relentless companionship with one who knows you better than yourself is something he knows very well, in all truth.

it's a little bit wayward at times, for john. he isn't used to caring this much for another, isn't quite sure how to handle the waves of emotion that nearly drown him every time he and arthur find themselves in danger (which, honestly, is far more often than john would like.)

john is learning to be human, and he is learning how to love, and he is learning how he loves arthur. how he always loved him, maybe. one who has never made the safe choice, who throws himself to the wolves time and time again and who loves john back. there is still love, even after john killed another that arthur cared for. there is still love, even after john has let arthur walk headfirst into trouble on more than one occasion.

if arthur was someone else, if arthur was not the best and worst of humanity, john does not know if things would've turned out like this. this, a life where john would be nothing without arthur. sure, he was a god, once, but his existence was nothing more than a show of power, cruelty just for cruelty's sake. he's alive, now, in a way that was impossible without arthur there, always in john's heart and head.

to john, arthur is humanity. arthur is the reason for john's humanity, after all. he challenges adversity after adversity with a grace john could only dream of, bitter but (almost) never cruel in response. he is nothing without arthur, and so, everything he does, everything he is is for arthur, his person. his humanity, his friend, his only companion, his reason, and, though he's unsure if he even has a soul, his soulmate, someone who is better than he could ever hope to be.

[popodoki]

Hey, teacher! Aka my damn motorcycle Catwin AU! Part 2! Cause I'm easily swayed x

In this AU, Edwin is a school teacher, and Thomas owns a really cool motorcycle :'')

I think its pretty clear, but just for the record: I am taking various liberties with characters etc here

I also know nothing about astrology, friends x

Edwin sighs as he looks over the latest batch of exam scores from his class.  High grades from his studious pupils as usual, lower grades from the boys who were almost equally as bright, but didn't put forth the effort. A long-standing issue, one the school board doesn’t seem half as concerned with as he is. Now alone in his classroom, Edwin hears the final bell, the ensuing floor-shaking exodus of students to the open air. He leans back in his seat, vowing to try to come up with some sort of solution to this problem later.   

He packs some essays to read, homework that still need to be graded, into his briefcase, retrieves his coat from the rack in the corner on the way to the door.  He very much needs a nice cup of coffee. 

"Hey, Mister Edwin!" A loud shout echoes from the end of the hallway, and Edwin frowns, to himself, turning to face the student that the other teachers have affectionately likened to a bird.   

"Mr. Finch, I have repeatedly told you to call me Mr. Payne. Not to refer to me by my first name, and especially not within the school grounds." 

The teen has the grace to look apologetic, yet in pure young-spirited fashion, physically shrugs off the comment just a moment later. “I’m sorry Mr. Payne. But I have good news for you!  Check it out!"  The young man pulls a thick book out of his shoulder bag, flips it open to a page, bookmarked with a grey and blue checkered bit of laminated paper, thrusts the turned book and open page at Edwin, near bouncing with anticipation.  Edwin bends his head and glances, inspects the writing, charts and scribbles. It's a large astrology analysis.  On the top of the page, written in bold letters is 'Capricorn'. Below, Edwin skims through a far too large amount of text, even for an avid reader, and regrettably still unwillingly picks up phrases such as ‘You’re in the market for a partnership, and you might be pleasantly surprised, Capricorn.’, ‘Any existing relationship can deepen through dialogue.’ or ‘Saturn favours staying power, so look for a plus-one who’s in it for the long haul.’ Edwin skims faster, rereading the same few sentences to stall, making an estimate of a more natural seeming amount of time to read a prediction of his love life, from an astrology tome held up by a fifteen year old. 

Next to all of this utter tripe, is a note stating 'check star alignment!'   

Edwin can't help but smile, still, at the student’s obvious enthusiasm for the subject.     

"Isn't that great news?" Monty Finch asks him with an answering smile, "Not only does your horoscope predict it, but I did in fact check, of course, and the star alignment today is also very favourable.  Know what that means?" He adds in a conspiring, whispering tone. 

"You have a bit too much free time and need to be assigned more homework?" Edwin asks, with a hint of a smile still on his cheeks and a tilt of his head to accompany his teasing intention.   

The teen starts up his own analysis of the analysis, and Edwin knows if he doesn't put a stop to this conversation, Monty will keep talking, undeterred, for the next 20 minutes.  "Alright, well Mr. Finch, thank you for sharing your inspiring passion for astrology. Enjoy your weekend."  He pats the boy semi-affectionately on the shoulder, and brushes past him with long strides, beating a hasty retreat. 

"Trust in the stars, Mr. Payne!" 

Edwin tosses his brown leather shoulderbag into the passenger's seat of his car, pulls out of the school's parking lot, sighs deeply, rolls the windows down and lets the crisp air fill the car, rustle his hair.   

He passes the Allcott estate on his way into town, glances out the window at it as he passes, though he doesn't know what he expects to find. The outer gates are closed, locked, he can't really see past them, so he shrugs to himself, refocuses on the road.   

Port Townsend is one of the most affluent in the state. The people who live here have money, and they like to show it off. The school Edwin works for is a private, all-boys school that prides itself on how many of its students move on to acclaimed universities and careers pre-planned by either doting or detached parents. The houses are beautiful and scenic, most of the people are shallow and nosy.    

Edwin pulls to a stop when he finds a good parking space, a few blocks away from his favourite coffee shop. It's small, locally owned, and one of Edwin's favourite things to do is order one of their dark roasts, with a scone, that is decidedly nothing at all like a bisquit, and settle in one of the overstuffed chairs by the window while he grades papers.   

When the little bell above the door softly chimes as he walks in, he's happy to see that his favourite barista is behind the counter, studiously arranging the pastries.  "Hi Edwin!"  She chirps, and immediately sets to the task of hand-grinding the beans for his coffee.   

“Hello, Niko, good afternoon.” Edwin smiles at her and looks for a seat, settling in with a cursory glance through the window. The smile falls from his face.   

He's utterly confused, instead, looks around to see if anyone has noticed that this is happening, or if he's just imagining it. A little shake of his head doesn’t clear the vision; the sleek black and brown motorcycle parked next to the curb across from the café. The man sitting on the bench near it in the lightest definition of the word ‘sitting’, limbs spread akimbo across the furniture, head lolled back against the backrest.  

"Quite weird, right?  I gave him a cup of coffee to go, and then he didn’t actually go. He pretty much fell right to sleep on that bench. I don’t think that’s a good position to sleep in.  But, he looked so tired I don't have the heart to disturb him. And nobody has passed that bench, the bike is turned off and parked legally, so I don't think anyone minds. Have you ever seen a bike like that? I like his jacket, so cool!" Niko smiles, retrieves his scone and reaches for a mug just as the coffee finishes brewing. Edwin thanks her, but holds up a hand, silently asking her to wait as he chooses another corner of the coffee shop, making sure he can keep the bench and its occupant in his line of vision, though he can't pin down exactly why.  

Probably just the novelty of it all. Port Townsend was a town steeped in tradition, both in values and a clockwork year-round schedule. The town council kept everything pretty, decent, and calm. If Edwin was completely honest with himself, it was the reason he settled here.   

He's interrupted from his wandering thoughts, when the sound of several high-pitched voices, barely audible over the loud clacking chorus of stiletto heels on well-maintained concrete reaches his ears. 

Oh no. This is going to go really bad, really fast. 

Edwin is out of his seat, ignoring Niko’s questioning little “Edwin?”, and heading for the door before he’s even consciously considered the decision. As soon as he’s greeted by the warm air outside, he’s also greeted by the sight of one Esther Finch, and several members of the Homeowner’s Association. When that calculating gaze locks on Edwin, and stays so, Edwin spares a thought, a quick mental note, that Monty must have been wrong about the star alignment. He does not feel particularly pleasantly surprised, at all.  

[gumeyyy]

|| WELCOME TO THE (not so) COOLEST EVER HUMAN BEING ON TUMBLR'S INTRO ||

Name: Gumey, with how many Y's you feel like writing (i mean, if youre speaking of my actual name, i am actually called Raquel, thank you!!)

Status: there might be someone outside your window, but youll just, never know.

Languages: Brazilian portuguese, English and currently learning spanish and a little bit of french

Pronouns + sexuality: she/her mainly but i really dont care what u use, neos, xenos, i dont really care what u call me!! Im a phlesbian 😽😽

About me simplified + hobbies: just another one of those emo nerds that tapes stuff to their wall ,'/ i like reading, drawing, painting, diy'ing (is that how its spelled??), I EFFIN LOVE COLOR THEORY, my favorite color is pink and thats why i am so cool, the most masculine people SHALL ENJOY PINK, totally fine if u like pink and you arent masculine BUT IF YOU WISH TO BE MASCULINE, THOU SHALL LIKE PINK (im not in the slightest close to masculine)

FANDOMS/INTERESTS:

Youtubers: Amazing Phil, Daniel Howell (obviously both of them are here, what'd you expect?), Markiplier, Pewdiepie, Saiko, Drama Kween, Louis McClung, FunkyFrogBait, Film Cooper, Jarvis Johnson, Chad Chad, Danny Gonzalez, Cyber Noop, Kurtin Conner, Drippy, Izzzyzzz, Tex Hs, Not Even Emily, Kurzgesagt, Vsauce, The Click, Manual do Mundo, Você Sabia, Ibibbishiboula, AcidMilk, etc

Series + films: Psych, Monk, Dexter, Scott Pilgrim, Gravity falls, Monster High, Ever After High, Garfield, House, Charlie the Unicorn, Salad Fingers, Inanimate Insanity, Animation vs Minecraft/Animator, Açafrão Bondoso, My Little Pony, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Invader Zim, Spongebob (i cant take myself seriously for this 😭), The Ring, Annabelle, The Nun, Heathers, Ride the Cyclone, Hamilton, Glitter Force, etc

Games: Undertale, Portal, Club Penguin, Steve's Parable, Fnaf, Animal Jam, Slenderman, Homestuck (does homestuck count as a game? I mean, it can be interacted but where would it fit in??), Sally Face, Pokemon, Minecraft, Papa's Pizzaria + other zipline studios Papa's games, Bad End Theater, Starry Flowers, etc

Music: My Chemical Romance, Mindless Self Indulgence, Never Shout Never, Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the veil, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, The All-American Rejects, Say Anything, Kittie, Paramore, Simple Plan, All Time Low, Green Day, Restart, Replace, Strike, Escape The Fate, Bikini Hill, Bratmobile, Mommy Long Legs, Red Aunts, Slutever, Avril Lavigne, Picture me Broken, The Offspring, Good Charlotte, Dance Gavin Dance, Blink-182, Evanescence, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Mayday Parade, Bring Me The Horizon, Nx zero, Pitty, Falling In Reverse, Get Scared, Jimmy Eat World, Sugarcult, The Used, AFI, Underoath, The Academy Is... (WAS/ref), Story Of The Year, Sepultura, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cine, Korn, Desalmado, Surra, Scary Bitches, Bury Me With You, Chomp Chomp Attack!, Vampires Everywhere!, Farewell My Love, Brokencyde, Muse, Isles & Glaciers, Weezer, Cobra Starship, A Day To Remember, Brand New, Saosin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Senses Fail, Chiodos, Motion City Soundtrack, 5 Seconds Summer, He is We, SayWeCanFly, Sounds Like Harmony, Radiohead, Nirvana, Rob Zombie, Chico Buarque, Sex Bob-Omb, Cute Is What We Aim For, Matchbook romance, Joyce Manor, From First To Last, Silverstein, Bayside, Armor For Sleep, Thrice, Box Car Racer, Alexisonfire, Dashboard Confessional, Head Automatica, BOYS LIKE GIRLS, Finch, We The Kings, Cartel, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mae, Lovehatehero, The Postal Service, Funeral For a Friend, Hit The Lights, Hidden in Plain View, Dead Poetic, There For Tomorrow, Forever the Sickest Kids, The Get Up Kids, The Spill Canvas, (can you tell i went to my spotify playlists jist to list half of the stuff i listen to?) Etc.

[faneliansficaloh]

A Lifetime of Happiness

(Ch 1) (Ch 2) (Ch 3) (Ch 4) (Ch 5) (Ch 6) (Ch 7) (Ch 8) (Ch 9) (Ch 10)

This is Chapter 11

Notes

----------

26 December 1817

Dear Penelope,

I am afraid that temperate weather, although good for one’s spirits in general, does not make for the spirit we generally associate with the Christmas season. It doesn’t feel right to have the need for open windows so the breeze can cool one off. We should be wearing our heavy winter coats and gloves. At least our cook has been kind enough to learn to bake a perfect plum pie. That woman can bake anything to perfection, she is a treasure.

We were served fish as the main course for Christmas eve dinner at Lord Thornton’s if you can believe it. Here the celebration for Christmas commences in earnest on the eve of it and reaches its apex at midnight. There were celebrations with fireworks going off at that time, which made it impossible for the children to remain in bed, in turn making them almost unbearably ill humoured through Christmas day. How is that even possible?

Mr. Finch has communicated the good news that your sister Phillipa is with child again. I wonder if the poor man has had a night of sleep in the last two years, I admire his dedication to his family but even in his letters he sounds like he could use a nap, be kind to him.

Amy wants to know what Abby’s favourite colour is, and to please tell her that hers is still yellow. Ollie, surprising no one has declared his to be blue. I have to applaud their constancy.

We all send our love to both of you.

Yours, Colin.

1815 – The First dance.

Her mother had been preoccupied as of late with getting her sisters to produce an heir for the Featherington title. It seemed there was a chance that if any of her daughters could birth a boy, the Featherington title would go to that child, somehow. Penelope did not care enough about that to give it much thought. She needed to concentrate on getting a husband. Primarily because she needed to forget about Colin for good, and secondarily because this Featherington title business had put her into the precarious possibility of having to live at the mercy of one of her sisters, not that living her life to support her mother in her older years was a thrilling prospect either.

She could not withstand that. She needed to be able to have her own home, hopefully a kind husband that would let her be on her own so she could continue to write, and maybe even her own children to shower with affection.

It had been easy to get her mother’s approval to go to the modiste on her own and pick her own garments, as it had been her own suggestion that she should get whatever she felt she needed to succeed. Genevive was simply thrilled at the prospect of having the opportunity to use her full talents to dress Penelope.

“Miss Penelope, I have been praying for this since you first made your debut. I have been so mortified letting you go out on those dreadful colours and such dowdy cuts your mother kept pushing for, but she is --”

“She is a force of nature, is she not?” she nodded knowingly.

“Oh, I am truly sorry, but she is the most difficult of all my clientele!”

“There is no need to apologize, I’ve lived with the woman all of my life. I think she means well, but she was not blessed with your eye for fashion. I am fully in your hands now, Madame. What do you recommend?”

Genevive smiled like she had been given a precious gift, eyeing her greedily.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun, miss Penelope. We will make you shine!” Genevieve would make the most of this opportunity – Penelope was truly a blank page that she could work and make true art from – and it didn’t hurt that she had a full purse.

“Just – No yellows, please”

“Oh, no, not at all my dear”

And so, as Penelope entered Lady Danbury’s ballroom for the first ball of the season of 1815, she could feel the nervousness of revealing a new identity to the world. She had been overcome at seeing herself so changed when trying on this new dress. Genevive had picked the most gorgeous dark green shot silk and adjusted the cut of the dress to highlight her figure in an attractive way, which she had never been fully able to do before. Penelope had asked Rae to get rid of the ringlets in her hair and opted for softer waves instead.

She had felt very confident at home but now that she was exposed to the eyes of the ton, it was nerve wracking. She realized her ugly yellow dresses had served her as a kind of armour that, at least in her mind, made it so other people would look away without a second glance. But now people were staring and lingering, eyes were perusing her with interest, not immediately bored and cast away.

She gathered the courage to descend the steps as she caught Eloise’s smiling at her from the crowd, so with newfound resolution, she made her way on her own to the middle of the room, near the dance floor.

“Oh, Penelope looks lovely” Marina said, prompting Colin to turn around and look for her.

He had to swallow with some difficulty before responding “She does, that colour suits her very well. But why is no one with her?”

“She’s hardly a debutante now, Colin, I don’t think many introductions are required. And we’re surrounded by family everywhere shall the need arise”

He then saw men had approached her, which was probably why Eloise had delayed on her attempt to join her, the coward. Penelope had her back to him so he couldn’t see if she was happy or uncomfortable. People kept distracting him, expecting him to participate in conversation and he thought it best to do so, lest his staring became too obvious. He had a mind to go to her when he looked again and saw the men had left her alone, but Francesca was now with her, which was good. Next time he looked, Eloise finally joined them, but very soon a man took Francesca away for a dance so it was just the two of them now. He could put his mind at ease now, he knew Eloise would not leave her alone.

“Pen! You’ve made quite a stir! I see your friendship with Madame DelaCroix is paying off, that is a smashing dress.”

“She really outdid herself, didn’t she? But I was not prepared for all the staring, and I have botched every attempt at conversing with the gentlemen that approached me. It was beyond embarrassing”

“I’m afraid I cannot be much help there, Pen, I am not exactly known for my graceful demeanour. And being the scandalous woman that I am, I cannot help you attract suitors. In fact, are you sure you don’t mind being seen with me? I might be more of a deterrent”

“I don’t think anyone cares about your scandal by now, El. The lack of approaching suitors, not that you truly lament it, is because we are well known by now and the men are all too busy examining the newcomers.”

“All I can say is that you should not care so much what they think. If they do not understand you, then good riddance! You wouldn’t want to marry someone like that, anyway, I hope. But enough about men. Should we go get some refreshments? I saw an attractive selection of cold treats over the winter section, of all locations.”

“Where would you have them be?” She was amused at her nitpicking.

“Wouldn’t summer make more sense? If it were truly winter, would you care for lemon ice?”

“I suppose not, but I could go for one right now”

It was when they were looking at the cold treats that Lady Danbury called their names, making them turn back immediately, caught completely off guard.

“Good evening! Miss Penelope Featherington, Miss Eloise Bridgerton, allow me to introduce Lord Debling” She gestured towards the tall blond man that accompanied her. They both curtsied.

“Good evening!” both said in unison.

“I hope you are all enjoying yourselves”

“Of course, Lady Danbury, it is a truly splendid night!” Penelope answered with a tinge of nervousness fraying her voice.

“Very much, yes” Eloise was doing her best to control her instinct to flee.

“Lord Debling is finally joining us in London after a rather long hiatus. When was the last time you graced us with your presence, my Lord?”

His voice had a warm quality to it, but his tone was mirthful “I believe it was eight years ago, Lady Danbury. It has been very kind of you to still consider me worthy of an invitation.”

“As long as it doesn’t take you another decade to come back” The old woman teased.

“I cannot make any promises” There was a little spark in his clear blue eyes.

“Maybe someone else can persuade you, then” He chuckled softly, through closed lips that were surrounded by a full beard, which gave him an air of of solemnity, even when he was clearly amused.“Miss Bridgerton, would you be so kind as to accompany me? There is something I need to discuss with you” Penelope felt a rush of panic invading her. She would be left on her own with him.

“Beg your pardon?” Eloise, who had been fidgeting with her curricle quickly raised her eyes to look at Lady Danbury, completely taken by surprise.

“Come with me” Lady Danbury extended a hand to her, impatiently, giving her a significant look. Eloise was instantly relieved, even though she felt bad at abandoning Penelope like that.

“If you’ll excuse me, duty calls, apparently. Pleasure to meet you, Lord Debling” Once they were behind his back, Eloise turned around quickly and gestured to Penelope “I’m sorry!” and raising her fists encouragingly she gave her a pursed smile before walking away with Lady Danbury.

“Are you very close with Lady Danbury, my Lord?” Said Penelope, nervously, and regretting not having something more interesting to begin a conversation.

“Not really close, no. But she is held in very high regard in many circles, some of which we do have in common”

“Eight years seems like a rather long time to miss one of her famous events” It was very evident to her that he had not been keeping up with fashion. His attire seemed slightly behind the times, which was betrayed by the ruffles in the cuff of his shirt sleeves, as did his full beard. But he held himself confidently, so it was intriguing to her if he didn’t notice or just didn’t care about being fashionable at all.

“It is indeed a long time. I had just come back from Cambridge and my late father insisted at the time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! About your father, not-- not about having to come here-- or about Cambridge, of course!” She laughed nervously and was starting to feel flustered, fearing that she might begin to fumble her words even further. Then a thought occurred to her. This man had not been around to witness her social failures in the last two years. He hadn’t seen her in her citrus, oddly shaped dresses. To him she had always been this version of herself. He didn’t know her, and it was as Eloise had said – if he didn’t like her, then what was truly lost?

“Thank you, it’s been a long time since his passing.” He shrugged almost imperceptibly.

“If the last time you were here was only at the behest of your father, what brings you back after this long?” He looked at her with a furrowed brow and then smiled

“I am assessing what London’s society has to offer”

She raised her eyebrows. “Ah! Well, as you can see” Said Penelope resolutely and to her own astonishment, completely in control of herself, as she turned to openly face the room and gesture sweepingly with her hand “We have a little of everything. Marriage eager mamas and their beautiful young charges, discerning gentlemen conversing about very important matters to be sure, music, dancing and surely you won’t find a more wonderful array of food and refreshments anywhere in the world.” A genial smile adorned her face.

“Hmm, truly, so many wonders! Anything you would recommend particularly?” He raised a brow, questioningly.

“If you are not hungry or thirsty, you should try dancing. Unless you’d rather join the musicians?” He laughed softly, clearly very amused.

“I’m afraid I did not bring my violin with me, so, would you do me the honour?”

She took the arm he was offering “Why, of course!”. She could not believe herself. She felt the rush that was usually reserved for the times she had haggled with merchants and printers for Whistledown, and she realized where her bout of confidence had come from.

As they positioned themselves for the dance she asked him, with genuine curiosity “Do you really play the violin, my Lord?”

“I do” He said as they started the quadrille.

Earlier, Colin had noted Anthony and Kate were dancing away, unbothered by anything around them, so evidently in love with each other, it was hard to imagine his brother had been intent on marrying her sister instead. He was happy for them, that they had been able to rectify their mistakes and enjoy their happiness together. Francesca was also dancing now, although she did not look as blessedly happy. Lady Featherington was talking with Lady Cowper and her friends, Phillipa and Prudence were with their husbands picking food... and Eloise was coming his way arm in arm with Lady Danbury herself, so that meant that unless Benedict… no, Benedict was talking to Fife. There was an unknown man talking with Penelope on the far side of the ballroom.

“Thank you for walking with me, Miss Bridgerton. I shall leave you in the company of your family” Colin was clearly not paying attention so she addressed him directly “Is everything alright, Mr. Bridgerton?”

“Oh, yes quite alright” he said, startled.

“He’s probably just wondering who that gentleman is, talking to Miss Featherington” Said Marina with what seemed to be an amused smile.

“Oh, yes. That would be Lord Debling, I just introduced them.” She seemed rather pleased with herself

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I heard he is looking to take a wife this season” Violet’s enthusiasm was incredibly offensive to Colin.

“He is, he has told me so himself. I think Miss Featherington would be a very good match. He’s of a scientific mind, rather reserved, but he has a quick wit and a good head on his shoulders. He does have a peculiar interest in nature, but nothing objectionable”

“He’s rather handsome, too” Marina interjected

“What a paragon of virtue!” Said Colin, sardonically.

“Not as handsome as you, of course, my dear husband” He forced a smile at her sarcasm.

“Oh, they’re going to the dance floor!” Violet was as excited as if it were Eloise dancing with the man. Colin looked for Lady Featherington and she also seemed delighted, but he could swear even she wasn’t as excited as his own mother.

Eloise was puzzled by all the excitement surrounding this man’s interest in Penelope. She would have been utterly disgusted but the truth was she was also invested, as she knew marriage was something Penelope wanted, as much as she could not understand it.

“Well, we shall see if Penelope even likes the man before sending out the wedding invitations, shall we?” was all she could say.

Colin had never liked his sister so much as he did in that moment. “Finally, some sense!”

“Heavens, of course!” Violet chuckled.

“You’ll have to excuse me, I need to go back to our Queen now. Please enjoy yourselves!” and then in not-quite-secret asked Violet “Let me know how it goes” Lady Danbury then retired from the group.

“We must go home now” Colin said, looking at his watch “I have to be at the ministry early tomorrow” He and Marina said their goodbyes and left. As they reached the top of the stairs, Colin fought the urge to look back at the dance floor, but he could not help himself. Penelope was smiling, she looked radiant, happy. He made haste and left, Marina following him closely, not missing out on his behaviour.

“Eloise, since Penelope might not be as available to you this season, you might want to expand your circle of friends a little? I’m sure the other young ladies also have something to offer”

“Must I, mother?” Eloise had not had much luck so far, making conversation with other young women in the ton. Most of them seemed to be entirely focused on marriage and what she considered to be trivial endeavours or accomplishments that she saw with disdain. But – she thought – what if Penelope kept getting asked to dance and suddenly did not have time for her? She would be stuck hovering around her siblings and her mother. And her siblings were not reliable company either. Francesca was also intent in marrying and already, on her very first ball, had been dancing or surrounded by men practically since they got there. Benedict was hiding away most of the time, he would not stick around her since she was an attention magnet for their mother. Anthony was besotted with his new wife – who she liked very much but who was just as besotted with her brother, and Colin came in a bundle with his wife these days as well, but she did not like Marina at all.

“Please make an effort at least?”

“Very well. I will go take a turn about to see if I catch a friend or two, then”

As she was walking to a group of ladies, she noticed the dance had ended and Penelope was now free, so she corrected course, but was still able to catch the voice of Cressida Cowper as she passed by her.

“Yes, well the dress might be beautiful, it is only a shame it is wasted on her. He must have taken pity on her”

Eloise stopped and looked at her. It was evident as the group of ladies were looking at Penelope, that she was referring to her, so she turned back entirely to confront her.

“Do you really feel that threatened by Penelope, Cressida, that you have to resort to talking about her this cruelly? It is no wonder you have no real friends” Cressida gave her an incredulous offended, sweeping look as the other ladies fled away from the scene. “See? No one is willing to stand for you”

“Oh, because you’re surrounded by friends? There is a reason why only Penelope hovers around you”

“Of course, because I’m a delight!” She then turned back around to go to Penelope but she could still hear what Cressida added

“More likely your brothers” Eloise just kept walking away.

Cressida might not be considered clever in an intellectual level by anyone who had met her, but she always knew how to hurt people. It was an instinct very well honed, Eloise thought. They hardly ever exchanged words but here she had still managed to touch a sensitive fibre. Ever since Penelope had revealed to her that she was Whistledown, Eloise had wondered why she had felt the need to conceal it from her so called best friend. Did Penelope not consider her a true, reliable friend? Maybe she just saw her as a means to spend time with Colin? Wasn’t it odd that neither of them had any other friends outside her own family? But that wasn’t true, Eloise knew Penelope had a friendship with Madam DelaCroix now.

“So, how did it go?” She asked Penelope as soon as she reached her.

“Were you talking to Cressida?” She was intrigued.

“Pay no attention to that. Tell me”

“I did enjoy dancing, even though I was very nervous, I managed not to step on him. You will be proud to know that I followed your advise and tried not to care what he would think of me too much.”

“Oh, good!” She was genuinely glad.

“I was surprised Lady Danbury went to the trouble for me”

“She was rather invested, let me tell you. Everyone in our group was talking about you and Lord Debling”

“Is there really nothing more interesting going on?” she scrunched her nose.

“It seems we all find you very interesting tonight, Pen. Lady Whistledown will have to talk about your success, for once”

“Eloise!”

“She has to be kind to you for once! And not the pitiful type of kindness either��

Penelope gave her an admonishing look but then smiled. “Oh, alright, but it cannot be all self-serving, either.” She had to accept that she was doing rather well that night, all things considered.

“I am a very good friend, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are! Now it can’t all be about me, so we better move around”

Cressida could eat a lemon and choke on it, Eloise thought, with a smug smile on her face.

***

Marina had grown suspicious of Colin’s sullen behaviour but she waited until they were back in their home on Doughty street to say something, using the ride home to consider if she should say anything at all.

They were walking towards the stairs, Colin following behind her, when she finally asked him “For that you dragged me out tonight? Why did you even want to go if we were to leave so soon?”

“Lady Danbury is a very powerful woman, Marina, we should be in her good graces. And I did not drag you, you could have stayed if you wanted.”

She stopped suddenly, just at the bottom of the staircase, turning around and causing him to halt suddenly, almost crashing into her. She was blocking his way and put her hands on his chest, looking up at his eyes, lips half parted, teasing, perhaps offering a kiss.

He was taken aback “What are you doing?”

“I thought perhaps you would like to come with me into my room tonight” She reached out to touch his face but he recoiled, removing her hands with his.

“It’s too late.” He motioned with his hand for her to move “I’m going to sleep, good night.”

“Good night” she utttered coldly, worry in her face.

That night neither of them could sleep thinking of Penelope. Marina fearing she would lose everything to her and Colin thinking how he had always taken her presence for granted and was now in danger of losing her forever.

Chapter 12

[bonebabbles]

Riverstar's Home Finished

It's a good book in the last 5 chapters. It's a bad book in the first 23.

THE GOOD:

It pumped the breaks BIG TIME on Clear Sky's ridiculous "redemption arc," giving him the space to be the fantastic, greedy villain he functions best as.

The dialogue is written very well. It's been pointed out to me that generally Kate Cary writes good dialogue, and it really shows. There are some excellent lines and quotes in this book.

This scene between Tall Shadow and River Ripple is superb.

Riverstar's arc is handled competently. It's a story about learning to balance peace and self-defense, and not lose what makes him special in the face of Clan pressure.

Night, Riverstar's deputy, is a woman who remains his platonic friend. This is a very low bar but it was cleared.

Arc is a positive portrayal of an adoptive parent, though it is only mentioned briefly. Riverstar thinks highly and lovingly of him.

Gray Wing being angry tutorial tips every time Riverstar died was funny.

Clan cats being able to create rafts and use willowbark as binding is now canon

The ending action is commendable. The struggle over the bridge was compelling, and excellently showcased both Riverstar as a unique perspective who handles conflict in his own way, and Skystar as a xenophobic dictator who uses his religion to justify his greed.

THE BAD:

So many characters come out of nowhere, they are introduced endlessly.

Which especially sucks because those intros aren't terrible, but you don't get the chance to see their traits in action.

A lot of Riverstar's most interesting traits have been removed, or are not complimented by the story.

For example; in Chapter 19 he starts having an identity crisis about who he is and what makes him special; but because he's frustrated and lost about this for several chapters, you just get Grumpy Riverstar until he has his epiphany while fighting Slash.

MOST of this book is recap that destroys a MASSIVE draw of the character by making him less mysterious.

For example; Turns out he couldn't swim until the second book of DOTC, he hasn't been in this territory longer than the other cats, and he spent 6 months locked in a house doing nothing.

It's a real slog and PACKED with filler. God it's boring. The first 18 chapters have nothing to do with the last few and 5 more are dedicated to traveling.

They managed to brutally kill another female character (Flutter) in an arc already notorious for its misogyny, give her no speaking lines before that death, and forced blubbering romantic pining onto a character who was popular in large part because he didn't have that.

His new mate, Finch (later Finch Song), appears suddenly in chapter 24, three quarters of the way through the book, and they fall in love at breakneck pace. She's pregnant 4 chapters later.

Finch also ends up giving up everything she loved, her whole life, including her friends and family, to follow Riverstar home and give him biokittens so he can finally get over Flutter. (they dont even name a kid after her)

Final rating: 4/10 Should have been a novella

It's not as fucking awful as Onestar's Concussion or Leopardstar's Hernia. It is a readable enough book and does have a solid ending, but you could skip more than half of the book and miss nothing.

Fans of Riverstar will probably be disappointed by the pointless retcons, but will enjoy the last 10 or so chapters when he's true-to-form. The original content that's worth reading would have fit just fine into a novella.

If you want to read it but aren't interested in a DOTC recap, I would recommend just reading the Tall Shadow/River Ripple scene I linked above and then starting from Chapter 19 onward. I wouldn't buy this one unless you're a dedicated Riverstar fan, or don't plan to read DOTC and want to use this book as your only experience of the main arc.

[nancypullen]

Thoughts on Jan. 20th

It's a sad day for America. I've been pulling my thoughts together, figuring out what I wanted to say, and then I read this essay. This author, Margaret Renkle, wrote The Comfort of Crows, a book that speaks to my soul. Reading her beautiful writing has been a balm to my heart over the last year. Today she touched upon the grief that so many are feeling, and what to do with those feelings. She wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that says everything I want to say,but so much better than I ever could. Please read it.

On a Cold, Dark Inauguration Day, a Message From the Birds

by Margaret Renkle

Just before dark on New Year’s Eve, I filled all the bird feeders, and I didn’t skimp on the good stuff: black nyjer thistle for the finches, two kinds of suet for the woodpeckers, whole peanuts for the crows and the blue jays, a high-protein woodland mix dense with shelled peanuts and sunflower hearts for everybody. The birds would wake to a New Year’s feast. I thought of it as the avian equivalent of black-eyed peas and greens, which the humans in the house would be eating for good luck later in the day. In 2025 we will be needing all the luck we can get.

I confess I wasn’t thinking only of the birds when I set out that banquet. According to birding tradition, the first bird you see on New Year’s morning is your theme bird for the year. It’s a game, really, not a true tradition, but it can be instructive to ponder what that first bird’s traits might teach us about the world or ourselves, and I was seeding the field for a fine first bird. A crow for wit and wile, perhaps? A wren for curiosity? A house finch for sociability or a goldfinch for renewal?

There is so much natural food in our yard — drupes and berries and grubs and the like — that I don’t hang out bird feeders except during winter. Even then, visits to our feeders are scant, except in the early mornings. If I took care to put my glasses on before I pulled the curtains open, I would see my first bird well enough to identify it. Some years I forget, and my first bird is a blur of wings and a departing rump.

On the very coldest mornings, birds tend to be both still and quiet, conserving energy to keep warm. Last year I looked for an hour before I saw my first bird. This New Year’s Day dawned very cold, too, and the wind, though light, was bitter. I saw no birds when I opened the bedroom curtains, but I had better luck peering through the glass of the back door: Two northern cardinals — a male and a female — were sheltering in a dead sapling beside our deck. The tree died two years ago in a sudden drop in temperature after a long warm spell that had sent sap rising as in springtime. We leave the snag standing because our wild neighbors have so many uses for it. For squirrels and opossums, it’s a ladder onto the deck, where there is often spilled birdseed. That morning the redbirds were using its trunk as a windbreak. In any ecosystem, wild creatures always have as many uses for death as for life. Male cardinals’ vibrant red color, black mask and jaunty crest are beloved among even those who have little interest in birds, but I prefer the more muted colors of the females. This one was impossible to photograph among the drab branches of the dead tree, but her mate was keeping watch over her, and she was likewise keeping watch over him.

Cardinals have many symbolic associations that make them especially resonant first birds on New Year’s Day. For Christians, they represent the blood of Christ and therefore sacrifice and redemption. The persistence of their pair bond across seasons and the male’s courtship ritual of feeding the female have made them symbols of devotion. The bereaved often believe the appearance of a cardinal means a loved one is sending a message of reassurance from the beyond, a reminder in grief that those we love have not left us entirely. That we are not alone in a cold, lonely world.

But as I watched these cardinals on New Year’s morning, I didn’t think first of symbols. At the dawn of a year that seems almost certain to make this country into an unrecognizable place, to make this world even less hospitable to birds and everybody else, it turns out I am less interested in symbolic associations than in practicalities.

The new administration, led by a felon who tried to overturn the results of a fair election, has pledged to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, using military force if necessary, and end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship. He intends to permit more drilling on federal lands and to roll back regulations designed to limit environmental toxins and greenhouse gasses. And all of that is only the beginning.

Seeing those cardinals watching over each other, I wondered: What can I, too, do to be more watchful? To take more care?

A heavy snow 10 days ago brought birds out in huge numbers, often in whole flocks — bluebirds, robins, cedar waxwings, house finches, dark-eyed juncos and Carolina wrens, plus the usual mockingbirds and blue jays, tufted titmice and Carolina chickadees, every kind of sparrow and every kind of woodpecker. I kept the feeders filled. My husband spread a sheet on top of the snow and set out a mix of seeds and nuts and mealworms for the ground foragers.

This bounty also brought the mixed flock of black birds I always look for in snow — starlings and grackles and red-winged blackbirds — who compete for resources during the breeding seasons but band together in the cold. In such weather, they waste little energy in squabbling.

Their cooperation wasn’t symbolic any more than the cardinals on New Year’s Day were merely a symbol. Most songbirds are less territorial in winter because the hormones responsible for breeding behavior have not yet begun to rise. They cooperate as compensation for leafless trees and cold temperatures, working together to find food sources and evade predators, staying warm by flocking up.

Birds don’t exist to serve as symbols, and yet they can’t help but mean something to the symbol-making species watching them through a window or a storm door. On this Inauguration Day that brings no hope for help from elected officials to address climate change or to protect vulnerable species, including our own, the living world is showing us what to do: In the dark days already gathering, we will need to do our best to look out for one another and for the creatures we love.

[cheryxshug]

i see the sentiment a lot that nightheart is somehow inherently misogynistic in her writing and such and im verry curious your thoughts on it because. if im being honest i dont see it. like the most common arguments i see are that she has issues with a lot of women in her life and that she was inserted into pov character status purely because the writers "needed a boy"

idk that first statement is kinda ridiculous to me because she has general teenage boy problems and issues with most authority in her life. the people she had problems with in her life specifically were her mom, her mentor, her clans deputy, and her sister. all have some sort of "power" over her, spark squirrel and lily for being authority figures and finch for being a sort of competition for her mothers love and her clans impression of her. Id say its more of a coincidence that the people in power in her life are all girls than a pattern that she damns all women in her life. And i wouldnt say she loves bramble either. bramble gives her one task which gets her excited but after that she doesnt pay much mind to him, even disliking him when he named her flameheart

and the second argument seems kinda ignorant of how publishing works in kids series. Like i think its fair to criticize how its seen as a necessity to have men in important positions but appealing to different genders in kids media is kinda just a part of how publishing goes if you want to appeal to kids (and anyways id say that having a male character not necessarily fit super stock male roles and be an emotional and sort of gnc if you wanna go that far is a good thing) im rambling but i need to see the perspective of people who think nightheart badly written

sorry i didnt get to this ask sooner, i struggle with properly articulating my thoughts into words so i wanted to make sure my response holds up to how i actually feel about this topic

i will preface by clarifying that when people call nighthearts character misogynistic in any way, they are not referring to nightheart as a person within the world that is warrior cats, but rather his role in the story as a character, a Tool used by the authors to guide and drive the plot forward. same goes for the female characters and literally every character in the series. so for this post when i refer to nighthearts misogyny, i am referring to him as a character in a story, not a real person within a real world. below ive attached some bits of other posts that i think communicate this efficiently (first screenshot from a post by skinwrech) (2nd from exocynraku)

with this in mind, we dont think that nightheart "damns all women in their life". it isnt about His views on women or anything like that, its about how the authors choose to treat female characters in relevance to the male characters.

the first argument you bring up, that he's misogynistic because of his problems with the women in his life— im not sure if you saw that word for word somewhere or if thats just what you've gathered from what you've seen, because that isnt necessarily the case. the issue isnt that he has problems with women, the issue is that the female characters in his life are sculpted into whatever the writers need them to be (in nighthearts case, many of them are written as antagonists that create a problem for him in order to gain sympathy points from the readers) in order to drive a favored plot forward. they are used in service to a male character without regards to how this may effect their own plot or pre-established character. ever wonder why sparkpelt, squirrelflight, and finchlight are such out-of-character dicks to him in the beginning of his arc? because the writers Made them like that to serve nighthearts "sad troubled kid" trope. remember sunbeams plot with blazefire and lightleap? the writers seemingly scrapped that as soon as the nightsun fluff arc started. while obviously that plot wasnt going to last the whole arc, it Is something that was taken away from sunbeam and never touched on again purely because she is used in service of nighthearts plot. sunbeam joining thunderclan to be with nightheart isnt the issue, but rather the fact that in order to make this plotline happen the erins erased most of her own arc at the time in favor for nighthearts. i feel like i keep saying the same thing over and over again but they keep Doing it over and over again. the women in nighthearts life are intentionally written to be of service to him. thats the simplest most watered down explanation.

the screenshot below and this post linked here both address this very well

as for the 2nd argument, im probably gonna repeat myself again but the issue isnt necessarily having a male pov. its a Given that publishers want to appeal to different genders in order to sell more efficiently. but when you /favor/ a male character over the female characters to the point of changing said female characters for the male characters benefit, thats when it becomes a problem.

im not sure what more i can really say on the subject without, again, repeating myself but i hope this made sense and helped your understanding of this perspective

[sweet-thangman]

hey pretty boy too proud to say hi now that you’re whoring around with the prince?

you never respond to my hi’s. not politely at least…

doesn’t mean i don’t enjoy ignoring them. 

oh my apologies then… good evening jason…

…

as expected. goodnight, my good knight…

okay, okay, hello? shouldn’t you be helping clean up the ball?

shouldn’t YOU be helping clean up the ball? it’s YOUR engagement.

i’m on watch here? every night?

you know… your view of the hallway is completely obstructed by that column.

the only thing i’d have to miss behind that would have to be even smaller than you. 

i’m not THAT small. 

oh yeah? come get it…

HEY GIVE THAT BACK!!!  I DONT HAVE TIME FOR… DEMEANING CHILDISH GAMES! 

i suppose where you’re standing is… acceptable… i just was trying to be helpful.

hmph. word at the ball was that you left to chase the prince… i didn’t think he was your type. 

he’s actually an ex-ex prince…

wish he was the ex-ex-ex prince.

THAT’S TREASONNNN!

like the king hasn’t had the exact same thought… what’re you doing around his harem? i thought you at least cared about doing your job in addition to everyone else’s. 

people can have a sense of duty without sacrificing ALL semblance of fun. 

drinking until you pass out and sleeping in a strangers bed doesn’t seem like fun to me. 

and what would you consider fun? having the same dreary job for 8 years in a row?

9 years actually.

9 years. positively thrilling if you ask me… y’know, if you wanted to join, you could just ask.

i have a fiancée!— also, i don’t want to!!

mhm.

Good day sir here are the knights letters what do i look like an errand boy deliver them yourself fine just thought youd want to deliver them to your friends guess ill just have to go over there and tell them what a wonderful friend you are to me fine give em here oh my engagement present how is it oh um its really good actually thank you the guy who writes them is great at what he does i already have birds of the southern isles and finches around the world but i've never had an illustrated one before though mustve cost a fortune oh it was nothing im so happy youre enjoying it might be the best engagement present ive gotten the king got me a sword with his coat of arms on the pommel which is nice but its also what he got me for my graduation and im not really sure what to do with two swords wow im honored if we ever visit the provinces i can show you all the birds in real life im never gonna visit the northern provinces im needed here well i grew up in the north as a kid my memories not the sharpesg in the world but i could try and describe what they were like youre from the north i never wouldve guessed you seem like you sprang right into being a fully formed courtier well thank you i moved here when i was 7 so i had time to learn the ropes and lose my accent how about you oh uh well i was born in a nearby town i think or the king thinks im an orphan but ite completely fine i have a better life here than i could ever dream of with the king taking care of me and a job i love a job im good at so not as interesting as you thats way more interesting im glad you found a home here yeah are you in love with maya did she put you up to this she said we'd talk about this later no i swear im sorry if its a touchy subject no its fine i of course im in love with maya we're engaged id be the biggest fool in the world if i wasnt in love with her right i wouldnt know dont you fool around with a lot of guys i thought youd have figured out love by now thats nowher enear love sometimes if i want something from someone and they want a little intimacy in return well why would i turn thay down you shouldnt i mean you cant its not a currency you can exchange why not im cute even worse you have to use it responsibilty how do you know they dont think its love i dont wanna contaminate your big knightly brain

Sorry i did that all from memory i think a lot of that is wrong anyways JASONLOUIS IM CRYING GG O,,,,,...MMLL

[aquadestinyswriting]

The Origins of Selene's Name

Ok, so here's something completely different. This isn't necessarily a worldbuilding post or a specific story, so much as it is an explanation as to where Selene got her name. Thanks absolutely must go to @druidx for helping me with the folk tale at the end of this little explanation.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

OK, so, I wrote about Selene's birth family a long while back and realised that Sel's name does not fit the naming conventions of the rest of her family. Of course I came up with Selene years before this part of her backstory, but I wanted to explore a more in-universe explanation.

Selene was born in the equivalent of early January, on the night of a full moon on a crisp and clear night. Her mother, Rosalie, recalled a word her grandmother had used to refer to the kind of moon present in the sky that night, and decided it would make for a suitable name for her newly born daughter should she survive the 4-5 months until her Name Day.

Selene, when she was a little girl, did ask her mother where the name came from, and Rosalie explained that her grandmother had said the name at one point and made mention of an old fairy-tale passed down through the generations that had been mostly forgotten. While the full story was no longer remembered, parts of it were, and Selene was told it was to do with the moon, mid-winter and this name. Skip forward a few more years, and Selene is talking with Yastromo after her arrival at his tower near the Darkwood. Yastromo notes how unusual Selene's name is in comparison to the rest of her family, and Selene tells him what her mother had told her. Yastromo, as much older and very learned man, realised that the fairy-tale passed down through Selene's family, was the same as an old folk tale from a tribe of nomads that had once lived in the area that the little town of Toreguarde now occupied. While the old wizard could not be certain that Selene's family had any connection to this nomadic tribe, he did decide to regale Selene with the full tale, which has been transcribed for your pleasure below:

A long time ago there was a fair young girl with skin as white as freshly fallen snow and hair as silver as the stars. She lived a simple life with her mother and father in a little house on the edge of the forest. One harsh winter night, the girl's mother got sick and the wise man of the nearby camp told her father that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of a pure white rabbit. The girl's father asked the girl if she would go out and look for this rabbit so he could cut out its heart to cure her mother. So, off the girl goes into the woods in search of a pure white rabbit. The girl spends a whole day searching the woods, but does not find a pure white rabbit. When the sun sank below the ground to go to sleep, the girl started to get very tired and hungry and curled up underneath a tree to rest. When she awoke, the night was lit by the soft, silver light of a full moon, and sitting at her feet, cleaning it's little pink nose, was a rabbit with fur of purest white. The girl slowly brought out her knife from her boot, knowing that the only way to save her mother was to kill the creature. But a pang of pity stayed her hand at the last moment. The rabbit looked up, twitched it's nose at her. The girl started to cry, for she loved her mother and did not wish her to die. But neither did she want to kill an animal so innocent and pure. The rabbit sat up and smiled at her, "Little girl, why do you cry so?" it asked. The girl explained her predicament, that she needed the heart of the rabbit to save her ailing mother, but that she did not want the rabbit to die either. The rabbit cocked its head to one side and looked up at the moon. So full and bright was it that it reflected perfectly in the rabbit's eyes. "You are a good and gentle child. If you promise to return home and never again return to this forest, then I shall speak with Selune to see that your mother's life is spared." it said. The girl looked at the rabbit in confusion, "Selune?" she asked. The rabbit nodded, it's ears flopping. "Yes, my mother. She lives upon the moon, you see, and watches all of Titan's children through the night." the rabbit explained. The girl thought for a moment, then nodded, "I promise never to return to your forest and disturb your rest, so long as my mother survives this sickness." she agreed. The rabbit thumped its foot upon the biggest root of the tree, then turned tail and hopped away. When the girl returned home without the rabbit, her father was furious. He took off his belt to beat her, but was stopped when his wife came through the door and asked why he was shouting so. While she was still tired and pale, the mother was in no danger of passing that night. The girl hugged her mother, then ran to the window and smiled up at the moon that gleamed in the night sky. She then told her mother and father of the promises she and the white rabbit had exchanged, and never again did the girl or her family ever return to the forest.

When Selene heard the tale, it resonated with her so much that, once she turned 16 years old, she officially began using the surname Frigidwake rather than the one she had been given by her birth family. The idea of promises kept also resonated, hard, and Selene has a personal oath to never break a promise she's made if she can help it at all. It also means that she can take sincere promises made by others extremely seriously, especially if they're made by friends or those she considers family.

[oddinary4bts]

I don't know why but I always like to go to your account when Im feeling heavy I just feel so alone and life seems so hard future doesn't seems so bright and nice anymore if anything it scares me more they say it all gonna be good ine day and you're gonna be proud for what you became and all bt its feels like a myth now do I even have the energy for that I dont even like myself now my character my body everything is so bad I just miss old me so much

God this is so trauma dumping Im so sorry didn't felt telling this to any of my friends they all know Im going through shit and they care alot too and I know I don't deserve any of them(idk why everyone care so much maybe its just pity)your face just suddenly came to my mind and im writing this🤦‍♀️btw your stories are great it felt like running away from reality :)

Thanks for being here

I disagree that you don’t deserve your friends. On the contrary, you deserve each and everyone one of them✨

I am really sorry that you are going through it rn bby. I know life is really, really hard, but I promise it is all worth it! If only so that you can make the world a better place with just your existence. Bc I promise that the world is better thanks to you, even if you don’t realize it🫶🏼 the only advice I can give you is to take one day at a time. It’s okay if you’re not okay, you just have to try a little but every day to make it better. Be it some affirmations, or using self care apps like Finch. Even reading helps!

I also promise that people don’t care for you out of pity, they do bc they love you✨

Thank you for being here, and don’t hesitate to reach out whenever you need someone to talk to🫶🏼 love you lots bby🩵

[dogmomwrites]

Incorrect Quotes

This tag came from @autumnalwalker, so thanks for including me in this game!

Gonna pass it on with soft tags to @catchingbigfish, @iamwritehere, @the-finch-address, @taveren-writing, and @bardic-tales, as well as leaving it an open tag! Rules— share incorrect quotes with your OCs using this link

using some characters from my Castle series cus I think I used characters from my unnamed wip last time. Some of these are...more in character than I think they're supposed to be lmao

Seen: What happened?!  Ryder: Do you want the long version or the short version?  Seen: Sh-short??  Ryder: Shit's fucked.  Seen: Okay, long.  Ryder: Shit's very fucked. 

Hank: Awww, why don't you like cats, Mickey? They're just snuggly buddies! They have toe beans! They make a little blep! What's not to love??  Mickey: I don't know Hank, I just prefer to be conscious instead of dead on the floor.  Hank:  Mickey: I'm ALLERGIC. 

Red: I ran into Ryder in the kitchen at 1 AM last night and when I asked them what they were doing, they just shrugged, said “these are my roaming hours,” and wandered off, strumming vaguely on their guitar. 

Ryder: Just so everyone knows, don't ever try to climb a tree at night carrying a strobe light, owls DON'T like it.  Mickey: ...what happened?  Ryder: I made a VERY bad mistake. 

Blue: The moon looks beautiful, doesn’t it?  Chase, looking at Blue: Yeah… but do you know what’s more beautiful?  Blue and Chase in unison: *sighs* Red 

Hank: Look, I’m glad everyone’s on the same page.  Hank: But it’s the last page in a book titled “we’re all going to die”.  Seen: That’s not even clever. 

Neal: You’re giving me a sticker?  Blue: Not just a sticker. That is a sticker of a kitty saying “me-wow!”  Neal: I’m not a preschooler.  Blue: Fine, I’ll take it back-  Neal: I earned this, back off! 

Mickey: I’m sad.   Hank: Don’t be sad, because sad backwards is das.   Hank: And das not good. 

Mickey: The moon looks beautiful, doesn’t it?  Seen, looking at Mickey: Yeah… but do you know what’s more beautiful?  Mickey and Seen in unison: *sighs* Red 

Ryder: My head hurts.  Red: That’s your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity 

Hank: Do you think different paints have different tastes?  Ryder: They do.  Chase: ...Why did you say that with such certainty? 

Hank, holding an antique bottle: Is this whiskey or perfume?  Seen: *grabs and chugs the entire bottle*  Seen:  Seen: It's perfume. 

Seen: Why are you on fire?  Neal: This is just how my day is going. 

[existentialterror]

hi this is probably SUCH a weird ask to receive but im scrolling your light tag in a fit of autism and saw you refer to lament (thats lament right? ihavent missed some critical light lore where she has a fiance who isn't troy lament?) as butch and its been sending me into a conniption. is lament a butch. is it real. me and my friend have had our own butch lesbian troy lament mindscape for months now.were we right all along. i feel like im going insane.

omg no you are so good, I am incredibly flattered. (Listen, PSA to anyone who's worried about being weird about Light to me: it's no problem, it's really hard to be weirder about Light than I am and I'll be impressed rather than freaked out if you are. It's chill.) That tag actually wasn't about Lament! This is about her late (or, if she was in fact swallowed up by an antimeme and is still kicking, "late") fianceee. I could have sworn that there was a detail about her late fianceee on my author page, but looking now, there definitely isn't and has never been one. What was I thinking of? Maybe an old rp character sheet? ... You know what, I'm putting that on there right now, because fuck it.

LOVE WINS!

Anyway, this is part of the vast amount of Light lore that mostly only exists in my head and draft files.* The late fiancee's name is Mars. Her other appearance on the site is in Soulless's tale all I ever wanted; all I ever deserved, which is where the Mars-As-Nobody concept came from, and which is quite lovely writing.

Here are some Mars facts for interested audiences:

Very butch

Also a scientist; worked with Light in the regular world. Neither of them had any conception of the anomalous before The Incident.

Light loved and misses her very much.

Dedicated transhumanist

Light attributes her strong moral compass to Mars having one. Unclear if this is actually true given that the other Lights (O5-2, etc) also seem to have a strong utilitarian moral compass and don't have their own Mars - but this would be surprising news to Light herself.

She and Light lived in a ricketty little one-bedroom apartment together and kept pet finches.

So that's who that's about. But none of this contradicts with butch Lament, certainly. Get him in here. Good for him! I love that.

I feel like there's some space you could explore here about new Foundation recruits who have their whole memory erased, and the new identity they put together... could be wildly different from the old one. The Foundation might encourage that as a way of separating them from their past. Like, you don't have to go there with Lament specifically, but you could.

I also think the idea of Light having a type is cute. Lament and Mars have never met each other. But if they were to meet they'd see the other and maybe size each other up a little and be like "...yeah, okay, that checks out."

-----

*... I may be working on something. Watch this space.

[dearopheliaimsorry]

Person of Interest (Praise + Personal Stuff)

MY STORY

Follow me through fanfiction, reality, and my love of film real quick! I'll do my best to be concise.

I first learned about Person of Interest through Tumblr user and famous ao3 writer, astolat. I think I was reading some of their various fics from other fandoms and saw just how many fics they had written for this "Person of Interest" thing. So I started reading, doing my best to avoid spoilers (it didn't work) and fell in love with the characters. Or at least fandom interpretation of them hahaha

Anyway, time goes by. I watched Fanvids, a historical movie where Michael Emerson (Finch) acted his heart out, and refound my love for Taraji P. Henson (Carter). And eventually, I caved and watched the show.

It's great y'all. The writing is not always perfect, but I never expect perfection lol. Still, I have to acquiesce the show has its own goofy moments, but the actors eat it up every time. Especially Henson.

Good lord, that woman is in a league of her own. After her I'd say Emerson is the next best actor, but still. Henson is just amazing to watch. So if you want to see some Black Excellence, Black Woman Excellence at that, the show provides.

THE ACTUAL SHOW

It is such a good show, let me pitch real quick:

A Kooky paranoid billionaire hires an ex-military man scarred by the government running on trauma, guilt, and heavy artillery. The two have a boss/employee, partners, besties, married couple vibe going on. They work with two detectives, one that used to be dirty and another with a heart of gold. They have such fun interactions all on their own as well as with the other two men. Together they all stop crime bc the kooky paranoid man created a machine that spies on all of us all of the time. Because 9/11 was a tragedy (duh.) and the government wants to stop it from happening again. But the government is...well...the government.

No matter who you are, what political party you align with, or where you are, no one fully trusts the government. And the show plays off that heavily.

Also, there is a wonderfully sapphic relationship between two characters (Root and Shaw) but I'm on at the very beginning of season 2 so...idk how that even starts lol. But hey, I'm all for representation!

Also (no spoilers) but from what I've had spoiled, the ending is pretty sad for all parties.

Anywhoo it is a really cute show with some absolutely amazing and deep relationships. These characters got me clinging to the show far more than the plot and the plot is actually fire.

So watch it or don't idc, but here were my two cents! (And of course gifs for your troubles)

[microraptorreactor]

The Traveler's Book Club (minus the fire!)

Yeah I'm in the reading portion of my Destiny playthrough. There's two teams of writers at Bungie; the team that wants to write a game and the team that wants to write a novel.

Was reading the lorebook 'Ghost Stories'. Absolutely loved it, did find it very funny how it would flip-flop between the tragic reality faced by many ghosts and just ghosts being ridiculous. Like I'll be gazing blankly at my screen after a ghost comes to the horrifying realization that their chosen has been broken beyond repair and cannot/should not come back, click 'next entry', and now I'm reading the reviews for the worst play known to man.

These little floaty guys are miserable. They barely know why they are here, either. I want to hug one so bad they are just little guys, man. The one about the ghost bonding to a child and then emidiatly fucking dying???? Shattered me. Was makeing lamented sheet wobble noises.

Achilles Weaves a Cocoon and The Shipstealer were also really good. I read Shipstealer first, now convinced that New-Riis leadership was Eremiskel's evil lesbian polycul (+ Variks sitting in the corner). Or at the very least Eremis had feelings for some of her counsel members. And then Namrask mentions that she had a wife at one point (I think? Eremis's mate seems to use she/her) and my gaydar feels validated. We stan a wildly irresponsible evil lesbian queen.

I want to hug Namrask. I know he's probably committed every war crime from how he was described but those crimes don't exist if I can't see them. He just wants to help raise kids and weave things. Please tell me he didn't die terribly in another event.

I've been reading Your Friend, Micah Abram as I've found the penguins across Europa. I want to protect this small child with my life. Fingers crossed nothing terrible happens to him, but I'm getting What Remains of Edith Finch flashbacks. Plus, I think there was an exo named Micah mentioned during a later lorebook. Fingers crossed its a different Micah but still. Maybe one of his dads becomes a robot instead. Idk.

Next book on my list is the Felwinter one. I'm going to FINALLY learn Skinny Jeans Robot Man's deal! I'm only... over 30 hours into the game and I'm finally getting to the character that drew me in in the first place!

[evilmageclub]

for the ao3 wrapped ask meme: 17, 27, and 30!!

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

it would be so funny if i said someone other than samot or samothes. its Unnamed Aubade Fisherman jk i think its samothes?

i started off this calendar year writing him adoring samot all across time for secsam, and then the rest of the year ive been writing his mellowed postcanon self from samot's perspective. which is harder for me than just being in samothes' head but i love to do it. such a fundamental part of samothes' character (and big theme of hieron, etc.) is how his myth and creed and the narratives about him cast such a long shadow that who he is on a personal level barely matters. except in his most intimate relationships, you would think!!! however-

when samot is my narrator, i like playing with the tension between how truly well he knows samothes and the reductive narratives that same past experience leads him to impose on their relationship going forward. a little game of which part of this samothes characterisation comes from me the author and which bit is samot projecting. so much of false rings is samothes figuring out how to respond to samot's worse assumptions about him without vindicating them (and reckoning for himself with how true some of them might still be), but we only see it filtered again through all samot's baggage and editorialising which is fun to me. then again, all of that except the narrative perspective is equally true in the other direction. theyre each confronted with who they were (and perhaps are still) in the eyes of someone who loved them and wants to do so again. so maybe really my answer there is both of them sorry im failing to choose between a pair of mirrors here

27. What do you listen to while writing?

love a good ambient fantasy music playlist sorry im basic. i do just listen to the hieron soundtracks a fair amount. finch also made me a false rings playlist (: i wrote most of the second half of chapter 7 listening to that . and occasionally my own samsam playlist which i share hesitantly because its a mess, as my taste in music is generally. the best songs on it were other peoples idea (domestication and arms i know so well and heart of chambers all timers shoutout to lee and finch and austin walker for those)

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

honestly? i just spent 10mins trying to think of an answer to this and i think the thing im most genuinely surprised by is literally just that i finished a 60k+ word project that took me multiple years. all my life i have had cant work on something for more than a month disease, ive written things as long as 30k before but always rushed them in fear of losing interest (and yes always lost interest and didnt finish). except with samsam they are an as-yet endless well of something singularly delicious to me

[maskedemerald]

Incorrect Quotes Tag Game

Once again I was tagged twice! Which is great because that means I get to play with both my WIPs characters! Thanks for the tag @the-down-upside-finch and @card-queen as always right now with these tags we're going colour coded. A Curiosity Piqued is in Blue and Magic Act is in Red.

Rules: Use this link to generate incorrect quotes for your OCs!

Tagging: @pb-dot @sam-glade @ashwithapen @callahanscorner @cat-esper @taveren-writing and anyone else who feels like doing it! Its really fun and you should do it!

Arnvaldr: I need you to come meet me, and I need you to come alone. Aelfraed: And I need you to be less vague and weird.

(This about sums up any time these two are going to have to work together.)

Aelfraed: Your problem is that you’ve got no common sense. Arnvaldr: I’ve got plenty of common sense! Arnvaldr: I just choose to ignore it.

(Perfect Arnvaldr)

Aelfraed: What the fuck is wrong with you?? Arnvaldr: What? No good morning? Aelfraed: Good morning, what the fuck is wrong with you??

(Aelfraed wouldn't say fuck but this! Like Aelfraed is going to be like this at some point in the story after Arnvaldr handles cursed items irresponsibly.)

Arnvaldr: I was arrested for being too cool. Aelfraed: The charges were dropped due to a lack of supporting evidence.

Arnvaldr: Pardon the intrusion, but- Aelfraed: On this moment or just my life in general?

(Too polite for Arnvaldr unless he's being sarcastic but yeah Aelfraed I'd be lying if I said sorry for the continued Arnvaldr encounters.)

Arnvaldr: A banker? Me? Aelfraed: Yes, Arnvaldr. Arnvaldr: But I don’t know anything about running a bank! Aelfraed: Good. No preconceived ideas. Arnvaldr: I’ve robbed banks! Aelfraed: Capital! Just reverse your thinking. The money should be on the inside.

(The working together scenario but this time its Aelfraed who needs help lol. I can really see something like this happening later on in the series.)

Arnvaldr: My head hurts. Aelfraed: That’s your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity.

Arnvaldr: I got an idea! Aelfraed: Does it involve breaking the law? Arnvaldr: By now don’t you think that’s a given? Aelfraed: I was just trying to be optimistic. Arnvaldr: Don’t bother.

Okay that's it for Medallion Heist now on to Magic Act! If you want to see Aelfraed in his first outing you can pre-order the book here: A Curiosity Piqued – The Last Straw Novella – Masked Emerald

And if you want to see more Medallion Heist I'm writing it for NaNoWriMo so follow and you'll see more!

Night: Go big or go home! Magician: Please, for once in your life just go home. I'm begging you. Go. Home. Night: I'm going big!

(Night the ultimate cause of chaos, Magician wishes they wouldn't lol)

Night: What are you talking about Magician? You love it here! Magician: I'm not sure I do, I think I've just developed Stockholm syndrome.

Night: So… what would you do if you were in bed with me? Magician: Depends. Is your bed comfortable? Night: Yes. Magician: I'd sleep.

(That moment when I remember that technically this story has the one bed problem... Night is hiding Magician in their room and Magician just wants to sleep... well technically some of it is passing out.)

Magician: I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you… Night: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, honey.

(More second book dynamic but yes!)

Night: Magician, I sense hostility. Magician: Good, because I hate you.

(Definitely more the first book dynamic)

Night: Magician and I are no longer friends. Magician: NIGHT THAT IS THE WORST WAY TO TELL PEOPLE THAT WE’RE DATING!

(Depending on who they're telling the response might be "Wait when did you two even meet!")

Magician: Night, are you drinking… drinking hydrogen peroxide?! Night: It says H2O2! That means it’s the sequel to water!

(This made me laugh, I world built that my fae have poison as a spice so maybe Night could really drink that. Magician really needs to be careful about what he eats.)

Night: Hey, Magician. What kind of flowers do you prefer? Magician: I like sunflowers. Night, pulling out a bouquet of Venus Flytraps: Well, shit-

(I love this, Night trying so hard but not really getting how humans do things!)

I'm also working on Magic Act during NaNoWriMo so expect more awkward crush shenanigans and some creepy fae and Night chaos being shared.