#i yearn for the era of the ask blog.

[shalpilot]

she’s not ALLOWED to be relaxed

[sempersirens]

iuvenalis

part one of strangers in the night

a joel miller au

main masterlist

author's note: welcome to part one of strangers in the night! this is going to be a six part anthology of joel x reader meeting throughout different lifetimes. expect a lot of angst, pining, and yearning. i'm so excited for each and every era i have planned. they will all be different kind of stories but will pretty much be heartbreaking across the board. thank you for reading and don't forget to follow my updates blog @sempersirenswrites as i don't have a taglist!

warnings etc (spoilers): [historical fantasy au] no outbreak (yet...), ancient rome, reader is a vestal virgin, implied misogyny/sexism/patriarchal society, angst, punishment for sexual transgression is being buried alive (not graphic), historically accurate, no smut, no use of y/n, this has not been beta read pls forgive any errors!

Rome, 216 BCE

The door creaks as it opens. 

You know this dance by now. You should’ve anticipated the wooden shrill beneath your toes alerting the entire household of your deviltry one final time.

The walls hold their breath as you descend to the floor below, the warmth from the hypocaust crawling up your shins.

Yet, all remains still. Not even the feral cats who roam the cobbled streets stir from their slumber. 

Tomorrow they will march you down this road; praetorian guards brushing your bare shoulders with no fear of corruption.

But dawn is yet to break and your palms yet to dampen with fear.

“Iuvenalis?” The muggy air clamps around your throat as you speak for the first time in days.

You know his footsteps as intimately as you know the beat of his chest. Months moving in darkness, knowing one another only under the veil of the night. You’d recognise the weight of his step if you were robbed of each and every sense.

“Mea columba.” 

You shut your eyes as his sweet, misplaced worry fills your ears.

“Iuvenalis.” You breathe his name, surrendering to his hands desperately finding their way from your waist to your cheeks.

“You are too trusting of these streets, mea columba.” My dove. You hadn’t seen him the first time he saw you. It had been the day of your inauguration; he says he mistook your hair for a dove in flight. Wild, white, and too soft for the wind tangled within it.

“These are streets I played in as a girl. They have treated me well.” 

“But, tomorrow-,”

“Tomorrow is a far-off thought, corculum. Be with me as I am now. That is all I ask.”

He nods. You know he disagrees, but tonight he swallows any indication of contention as he silently takes your hand in his and leads you toward the walls of the city.

You can see the Colosseum from here. You always hated the wretched thing. Slaves and beasts banished to Tartarus simply to divert the eyes of Rome far away from treaties signed in the stands.

You hated how as a daughter of Vesta, your presence was expected at each game. As a girl, your father had once caught you squeezing your eyes shut as two lean slaves delivered their final blows to one another's pink flesh.

“You think me naive to have taken up the post, do you not?”

His brows pierce into his forehead as he considers your question.

“I think your family cruel to sentence you to death from girlhood. I think the Gods merciless for requiring such sacrifice.”

"You are brave to speak of the Gods so recklessly." You scoff. Part of you feels guilty; he was devout when he found you. All soldiers must be; how could you believe in nothing as the enemy charges toward you?

It didn't take long for you to become his temple. You replaced his exaltation; the ripples of your thighs his temple; your stifled moans his prayer.

You had corrupted him just as much as he had you.

"Let them hear me. I would sooner accompany you to Elysium than press my head to the altar of these false prophets."

"You don't know what you speak, Iuvenalis."

His grip finds your arm, turning you to feel his breath against your forehead.

"You are dimidium animae meae, there is no punishment I would not endure to remain by your side in this life and the next."

"What a wretched soul you must have for that to be so."

His fingertips find your cheek before you even notice the tears falling.

"We could still flee. I would grow old in the slums of Carthage if it meant I could watch your hair turn grey."

"Traders would recognise a Vestal Virgin as far as Babylonia."

"Then we will go farther."

His beard scratches beneath your palm.

"I will not lament any longer, corculum. Tomorrow, you will walk beside me, and then I beg you turn and do not look back. I can't bear to think of you watching."

For the first time this night, a smile creeps across his cheeks.

"You forget the man with whom you speak. I will be at your side until they drag me from you."

The crowds in the street do not look at you as you walk.

Your mother wails somewhere behind you, but she is blocked by a procession of praetorian guards. She does not weep in sorrow, but in shame that her only daughter approaches the grave unchaste.

He is there, beside you. The guards that encircle you owed their lives to his leadership in a battle on foreign soil.

Your fingertips brush against one another as you walk. You are already ruined, you think, what more could they punish you with?

You think that if not for his presence, you would fall to your knees in the street. You would claw at your skin and the cobbles beneath you, leave scratches in the road and beg to be forgiven.

But he is there, and you will not leave the world as you came into it.

The priest waits at the end of the procession. Iuvenalis' fingers weave between your own, and he squeezes three times as the water is brought forth. Enough to last you a day; their hands are clean if they keep you alive for a little while.

A final prayer is read, and the crowds turn their backs. His hand squeezes tighter; you fear he will not release you.

"No," you mutter, loud enough for only him to hear.

The guards herd you both forth like cattle, the marble descent to your tomb the only viable path for you now.

But he is still here.

Your palms grow damp as the men flock closer.

"No!" You shake your head, searching the faces of the praetorian for an answer.

"It's okay, mea columba. It's going to be okay."

The realisation sinks into your skin like a tick; he never intended for you to enter your grave alone.

The light grows dim as you both are forced into the chamber, and silence rings out above you. Soon, everything goes dark.

You weep and beat into his chest, engulfed almost entirely by darkness. Slim arrows of light beat across his face, and he is here, smiling down at you.

"Why condemn yourself?" You choke between gulps of grief.

"You think I would wait to walk the fields of Elysium by your side? There is nothing for me on this plain of existence without you. Dimidium animae meae. You are half of my soul, I will follow you anywhere. Even into death."

Under the darkness you began, in the darkness, you would end.

[bethanydelleman]

this is a very particular question indeed but I'd love to hear your take on it. if you could adapt all of the austen novels (even lady susan etc) in a modern day setting movie/book, what would you do? how would the characters, dynamics etc? would anne & wenworth still be separated by social status? would emma fall in love with a female knightley? what about lydia? & the whole fanny & edmund thing? I don't mind a long answer, in fact the longer it is, the better it is, i am in love with your austen posts and you haven't been wrong one single time. there's no other blog I'd rather ask about it tbh.

Okay, so, I'm not really a modernizer and this is a very long question. Here we go!

Two general posts about careers that would work for the men and women.

Northanger Abbey:

I wrote this. I think it's the easiest to modernize because Catherine just becomes a modern Twilight girlie or a Brontë fan and the Tilneys can totally still have a cool heritage house.

Emma:

Almost perfectly modernized by the movie Clueless, I wouldn't attempt to do it better. My queer take, which works modern or Regency era.

Pride & Prejudice:

Almost perfectly modernized by the movie Bride & Prejudice. This one hinges so much on class differences and a woman's need to marry that I think it's really hard to do a modern, Western context. However, it would make an excellent Korean drama because of remaining social stratification in that country.

Lizzie Bennet Diaries was fun, but I don't think it worked as well. Fire Island was not for me, but I think it was a pretty good modern take too.

Persuasion:

I wrote a post about this. Probably more than one but that's all I can find right now. Anyway, I think the basic premise can still work even if Anne can get a job, because there are good reasons to reject a penniless guy at 19 even today. Making Anne & Wentworth some flavour of queer can be a good angle too. But the story is essentially about yearning and forgiveness, that is something we still have.

Sense & Sensibility:

Willoughby's sin works in modern times, the real problem is Edward's unbreakable engagement. Having Lucy baby trap Edward (but it's his brother's baby maybe?) would be an option, but then again, hard to explain why Edward has to keep the marriage/engagement a secret. This one is really hard and I don't have a solution.

Mansfield Park:

I just posted about this. But it's strange, people say this one doesn't work as a modern but it totally does. Henry Crawford & Maria's affair is still totally unacceptable today, cheating is a thing most people hate, in fact. You need to eliminate the cousin thing for modern sensibilities and maybe take Fanny out of the house (she's a friend or an employee), but it can work. From Mansfield With Love was okay but I think it can be done better. The play can still be done, but I would choose one that is more well-known, like Romeo and Juliet.

If anyone has better or more ideas, please share! Especially for S&S.

Lady Susan:

I think this one might translate the best after Northanger Abbey, she's a basic Gaslight Girlboss Goddigger. Reginald would be just as aghast that she's sleeping with someone else as he was in the late 1700s. Honestly I wouldn't change much! Lady Susan can be from money or a washed-up actress or something which is why she's trying to marry and not get a job.

[intrepidacious]

this writing blog of mine is turning three next week and on the same day, i'm officially entering my charlotte lucas era. i frankly don't think there's ever been more cause for celebration so join me on this perfectly themed and not at all last minute sleepover 💛

whether you're new to my blog or we've been mutuals forever, all are welcome!! i'll be answering your asks starting on my actual birthday (and blog birthday) wednesday 7th august until sunday 11th august!!

details and no pressure tags below the cut <3

THE DISNEY YEARS

🧜🏼‍♀️ we're out to discover! ask me my top 5 anything, would you rathers, or fmk

🌴 ohana means family i'll cast my mutuals in categories of your choosing

🦆 fate/destiny/a horse mutuals only category <3 let me shower you with love and praises, friends!!

IT'S A MUSICAL

🥖 do you hear the people sing i'll put my playlist on shuffle and tell you what song it lands on

🪞 kitsch send me a character and some vibes and i'll create a moodboard

🖋️ hard to be the bard ask about my wips, my posted fics, or come whine with me about writing in general

HEROES AND VILLAINS

🧸 on your left send me a character and a prompt and i'll write you a seven sentence drabble - or i'll write a what if scenario for any of my posted fics!

🦾 i understood that reference … and so will you!! let me recommend something to you

🍩 close the book with a flourish naaah just kidding, this is the headcanon category!! let's make up fun things together <3

WITCHERS AND PIRATES

🏴‍☠️ a story is (un)true let's play two truths and a lie!! either you send some in or you'll have to guess mine

🫙 guess what's inside it! send me a word and i'll see if it's in one of my wips <3

🎻 toss a coin to your blogger give an anonymous (or not) shout-out to another tumblr person and i'll give them some love!!

💜 what my heart just yearns to say come chat with me about anything and everything!!

thank you all for being here and i'm looking forward to celebrating with you!!!

@brandycranby @scrumptious-delusion @aphrogeneias @barnesafterglow @marvelettesassemblenow

@persephoneceleste @gxrlcinema @sanguineterrain @fandoms-writings @krirebr

@demxters @youremyfriend-youremymission @nickfowlerrr @sweetdreamsbuck @wildlivelychild

@obsidianvibranium @targaryenvampireslayer @thornsnvultures @levans44 @idkitsem

[oc-challenges]

WELCOME TO THE OC NEW YEARS CHALLENGE!

Since the winter challenges struck out, we're crawling home. Luckily, the new years oc event is here and hopefully it will be the toast of the town. So before we all have to clean the glitter off the floor after the party, we're going to hold onto the memories of 2023 and looking forward to 2024. This event comes from @aliverse (me) and @elmunson with suggestions and feedback from the OC Challenges & Potluck discord, and it spans from the 26th of December 2023 to the 1st of January 2024. With the hope that you may never become a stranger to the oc community, let's go over the rules and then get to the challenges!

Rules

DO NOT copy others edits, if you feel someone has stolen your edits, follow these guidelines!

If you are doing crossovers, PLEASE make sure that the creator of the other oc is okay with crossovers.

If you want your post to be reblogged onto this blog, it must contain the hashtag onyc23.

Feel free to ask any questions, I promise I'll stay even when your scared, and I'm lost, and you're running away.

Everything is up to the creators interpretation, although I have tried to include some examples for help!

Have fun!

Day One: What A Tangled Web We Weave

On the first day, let's take part in one of my favorite trends this year—web weaving! Weave a captivating web incorporating quotes, images, screencaps, and more for your OC. If you're not familiar with the concept of web weaving, here's an account with a lot of examples.

Day Two: I Polish Up Real Nice

Sometimes we get tired or bored of an oc or an edit, but there still things we love about them. To reignite our love for these things, we're going to revise and revamp. Choose an oc, a story, or an edit to to refine and enhance to its fullest potential.

Day Three: In My ＿ Era

On the third day, let's reflect on the defining periods that have shaped either us or our original characters. Despite the initial impression, and my well known obsession, this is inspired by The Eras Tour but doesn't have anything to do with her.. We delve into the various eras within our OCs' lives, whether categorized by tv show season, movie, age, or any other criteria you can think of. Alternatively, share insights about the current era your in as a creator, like "in my hunger games oc era" or "in my gifset era".

Day Four: Everything New

Now that the studios have stopped being bitches, we can acknowledge all the remarkable releases of 2023 (a special shoutout to the talented individuals who contributed to their excellence). On day four, craft something inspired by a creation that emerged this year, whether it's an entirely new series or just a fresh installment in an existing one.

Day Five: Don't You Forget About Me

Though 365 days sounds like a long time, it doesn't always feel that way. In the midst of our activities this year, some things may have been unintentionally overlooked. Fortunately, there's still time to make up for it. Take this opportunity to craft something for an OC that took a backseat this year, bring to life that edit you've been yearning to create all along, or share that chapter you've been gradually working on throughout the year.

Day Six: In With The New

Let's not do out with the old, but we could certainly do in with the new. For day six, introduce a brand new oc or story you hope to be your newest muse for 2024.

Day Seven: Exchange The Experience

Tidings, tinsel, and a year of beginnings. It's start of a new chapter of our lives, especially for our original characters. Be sure to celebrate this new chapter by signing up for the OC Potluck New Years exchange and spreading joy.

[firenati0n]

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12- as many or as few of those as you want!

THANK YOU MY FRIENDDDD I'm gonna answer ALL OF THEM hehehehe

list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

the fics are insanely good, the people are super lovely, and the art is exceptional. i am just surrounded by incredible things.

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

hmmm i don't think i have one like this but let's go with leaky alex LMAOOO

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

answered here :)

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

i always enjoy oblivious loverboy alex driving a pining henry up the wall. actually, any form of pining and yearning. actually, any form of alex and henry. i read a lot of explosive feelings confessions too and i am allllll for those. i love the buildup of tension before everything just goes wild

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate _ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

not that this isn't appreciated, but i always think about... the multifaceted nature of alex - his drive and ambition, yes. but also his anxiety and fears and nuances. i identify so much with alex as much as i relate to the emotional aspect of henry. also henry's bite! he's sharp! he's witty! he's snarky and fun and teasing and determined! he's soft and emotional and eloquent and poetic. he is all of those things. i love a confident and sharp henry!!! also, somno. one of my fave series is from @myheartalivewrites "in his wildest dreams" and it is just...woooooof. a masterclass. cannot get enough of this.

10. a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

answered here :) but i will also shout out @indomitable-love because it was their ao3 that sucked me into this fandom in the first place. also fun fact i sent their fic lifelines to a boy i liked and it worked in my favor so. indomitablelove matchmaker era !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. compliment someone else in your fandom

YOU are so so kind and positive and uplifting and one of the first people to tag me in games and encourage me and my silly snips when i first started posting, and i appreciate your energy and enthusiasm so so much!!!!! a CONSISTENTLY LOVELY PERSON!!!!!!!

xoxo roop

[ love your fandom asks! ]

[adultswim2021]

HIGH-ATE-US

Hey, everyone. It's me, your erstwhile blogster. Sorry or not updating this blog for months. Things got "real weird", as they like to say in the UK. But now is the time to resume my bad life's bad work: blogging about all of Adult Swim (within reason). Umm... here we go! (I am doing an insulting gay-voice when I italicize)

It is thanksgiving. I cooked myself a nice big steak and decided to get high for the first time in a while. Really! It has actually been a while! I mostly just been doing low-dose THC CBD gummies to manage anxiety, and have not touched my more potent "fun" edibles in months. The CBD ones sorta work? I haven't intentionally highed-myself in a big while, and me being high is your big boon: in this state I have decided to come back here and start posting again. I need to get back into writing. It may still save my life yet... (sigh!)

I am watching old Letterman clips (from 1985; Milos Foreman is talking about god-knows-what). Old Letterman is very soothing to me. It is one of the first shows I ever fell in love with. I am keeping a text list of my favorite bits from a big collection of clips that I cut up into chronological order so one could roughly experience the timewarp effect of watching not only an old thing, but a lot of the same old thing in chronological order as some facsimile of time travel, or express some desire to live a parallel life where I am the same age I currently am now, but it's the 1980s. I can't be a kid again? Okay, fine. But can't I at least continue being an adult in some other time? I have be here RIGHT NOW? NO. THAT SUCKS.

why I'm trying to keep track of my favorite bits have to do with some absolutely delusional idea that I have, where I create some kind of monument to some idea of an all-encompassing television canon that I have. I'm too embarrassed to speak of it in depth, because it is truly loser shit. It isn't exactly this, but it is close to it in some spiritual way: imagine ranking every single comedy sketch you've ever seen. Is there a website that lets you do this.

I yearn for a simpler life where I live an era where physical media perfection was laserdisc, and you had to spend over $100 on a movie if Criterion happens to be the ones releasing it. That is to say, I'm in a pretty good, fairly productive mood. Let's face it: pontification is stimulating, and sadly, it's been a long while since I've felt STIMULATED. Let's take the old thinking cap out for a spin shall weee!

This post is not an episode recap, but it is me catching up on all my mails that piled up during my "real weird" exile. Some messages may be very old/irrelevant and I'm sorry if I can't answer them correctly. I will do my best.

snusuwiwjs asked:

Have you watched Jellystone S3E14 - Space Con?

I saw the RELEVANT CLIPS. This show looks very fun. I haven't been watching it for some reason. Too busy watching old Letterman. I watch stuff that doesn't require me to sit down and ACTIVELY watch it because I moved and don't have a nice big TV yet, because logistical issues persist (I received "TV Money" from my parents in the form of a Target gift card and buying the TV I want from them would require a third party such as u-haul because for some fucked up reason they won't deliver large televisions). I watch everything on a computer monitor, and I stray towards podcast and youtube junk as a result of that.

I have issues with procrastinating, too, so it's taken me this long just to get myself a couch, a laptop table for use with a couch, and a coffee table for nearby supplies and devices. I am in a very slow-moving phase lately. Pray for me that it ends soon. Anyway, I wasn't pissed off about Jellystone recasting Zorak and Moltar, unless they were going to try and have them voice Coast to Coast versions of them.

Sorta related: I have an idea for a Space Ghost finale, that would be in book-form, and I don't know if it'd be inappropriate to try and give the IP-holders in charge the idea for it, and also I think it is lame and embarrassing to have ideas for things like this when you're not actually in charge of this type of decision-making. It makes me almost worse than a fan-fiction writer. I on some level imagine myself in a pitch room saying this stuff, and that is objectively gay.

I am just going to talk about that here, because fuck it. It would be a post show-biz memoir from Space Ghost, at least by the cover that's what it'd look like. Then the memoir part (which is insane and full of very untrue sounding things) ends abruptly, because Space ghost didn't know how to fill up the required page length. So the book switches gears to make up for that, and it becomes an in-character oral history of the show, with the characters talking about the making of the show, focusing on fictional installments of the show, the conceit being that there are episodes of Coast to Coast that never aired on Earth.

Because you're describing all new-episodes, you could get famous people to riff out a fake talk show scenario they supposedly experienced in one of these unseen episodes. The cornerstone of this section of the book will be the characters describing the finale of Coast to Coast. Maybe they honor Toonami canon and have Moltar depart the galaxy, never to be hard from again. Oh yeah the book would also go out of it's way to include this as is the in-universe reason that Moltar's sections in the oral history are all specifically said to be from archival sources and attributed to previous publications, like he wasn't interviewed specifically for the book.

I do not have actual story ideas for this. Just concepts. I am sorry if you thought there'd be more. I am just describing a Space Ghost book that I would be very excited to read. Anyway, that section of the book ends and then there's a series of all-black pages with white text, resembling adult swim bumpers. They read: "Space Ghost and co. are not real. They're not even human; they're cartoons. Some of the things they do would cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested, possibly deported. To put it another way: don't try this at home."

Then the rest of the book will be an actual making-of the real show, like an for-real oral history (and there will be glossy pages with cool Space Ghost art and behind-the-scenes photos), and then the cornerstone of THAT section will be a big list of every guest star they could possibly ask or piece together anecdotally what every guest star on the show thought of their episode after it aired. Give Sean Medlock an entire page to vent.

THAT IS MY IDEA FOR A SPACE GHOST BOOK AND I HOPE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT PARTICULAR IP READ THIS AND STEAL ALL OF THESE IDEAS (please let me come to one pitch meeting for it)

Here's another from snusuwiwjs!

Oh hey, you watched Barenaked Ladies! Honestly that’s the only GameTap episode I liked. It is also the only one I watched because I got baited by the title. Anyway, you said there was a Fox fakeout promo for Family Guy on Adult Swim, but I don’t think I could find anything? All reuploads only show the Adult Swim bump, so it would be nice if you could show some proof, mister.

Found a reupload here! Barenaked Ladies is the closest the Gametap episodes came to feeling like a real episode.

I’m sorry to jump ahead, but are you keeping up with the apparent falling-out between Eric Andre and his writing partner Dan Curry over Johnny Knoxville? Curry alleges Knoxville tased him like a week into that ABC prank panel show that Knoxville and Andre were part of, causing Curry a broken bone, and Curry further claims Andre told him not to make a big deal about it. He also claims Andre canceled some of their book tour over this dispute.

I didn't know Eric Andre would ever accuse someone of being a drama queen. I have not followed this, I'm not sure I care about it though just sayin!!! I respect you with peace and love but I don't now if I can have an opinion about this. I need to receive a big check from my car insurance before I can start thinking about stuff like that. I am sorry, but some parts of my brain are simply on hold right now.

Another from snusuwiwjs

member the antenna episode of athf? it’s kind of sad how adult swim fucked their employees over, isn’t it? george, clay, andy were often portrayed as living in the dumps and looking for a job, but it isn’t too far from truth, is it?

No it is not far from the truth at all! It is very sad. The elites ruling over us are denying us god's grace and we must become evil and violent towards them soon. I am parroting something frequent mail-bagger KON said to me while chatting in PRIVATE CHANNELS: They really should just do a Jellystone spin-off with that iteration of Brak. Or "The Calarts Brak Show" as he called it. Get Andy out of those trucks. Somebody could get hurt in those things.

simpsons

That's nice slugger... (BIGGEST EYEROLL IN THE UNIVERSE)

From KON, who is actually just a character I do:

it's time for the blog to come back

No Kon! NOT YET

janeane garofalo in the cable guy

I once had a phase where I tried to become a Janeane completist and I watched all of her movies I think up to MATCHMAKER, which was too bad to bear and made me stop doing that. I still love her. I wish that I could meet her. I had a very good chance once and I let it slip by me. I should maybe attend one of her standing-up comedy engagements, if she still does that.

If anybody has a copy of that Mr. Show commercial where she's dressed like a mallrat and mary lynn rajskub does the Macar-anus but it's an actual HQ video taped from TV and not a guy pointing their phone at the TV screen please let me know.

There are a small number of Promos for Mr. Show that have not been collected on DVD. I want them all! GIVE ME THEM! (the series of ones where they jump through paper hoops for season 4, for example). Also I do not have a nice copy of the season 2 best-of, which was supposed to bet put on DVD but wasn't. That's the one where they are doing a news conference.

i have a special late-breaking scoop just for you: Justin Roiland has passed. he's gone, for good. you have my blessing to inform your readers of this JUICY story

Goodbye Justin Roiland! We loved your funny video games and rabble-rousing rhetoric on bluesky. I hope you thrive in him/he-aven

happy "jimmy carter gets to vote for kamala harris day" to those who celebrate. which adult swim chars do you think are cheering him on :)

Everyone in town is expected to turn out

FROM KON:

Blog's gotta be coming back any day now

♪♫ OH, KON... :D ♪♫

[365sylviaplath]

Week of 10/21-10/27

astrology forecast + collective tarot card for the week

Card for this week: Queen of Wands (reversed) - looking inward this week to re-establish your sense of self. lots of inner work the last few weeks (honestly, this year overall) and getting re-acquainted with the person you want to be. for many of us, this is finding that person you want to be for the first time and building a strong foundation from scratch. to become courageous/confident/independent (themes of the Queen of Wands), you have to first learn who you are and bravely stand by yourself! the universe may send you check-ins this week to show you how ready you are to leave the old behind and step into this new self-worth. celebrate yourself and who you're becoming!!!

Transits/Astro forecast: scorpio season is here! even though we've had so much pluto/scorpio energy already in libra season, it honestly snuck up on me a little still. waxing poetic a bit because it's my birthday week...... it's a little surreal how much has changed for me in the last year. some days we focus mainly on what we still have to change/things we feel stuck on, but i'm utilizing this week to remember how much has evolved and how much hard work went into that. you dictate your own journey and set the pace! do not let anyone make you run through the stages you know you need to walk through.

me from last year would be a little stunned that i'm writing a newsletter/blog/whatever i'm calling this. i was struggling with basic self maintenance and had a deep frustration with everything going on in my life. things all felt harder than necessary and i felt powerless to it. i think it's a great week to re-affirm where you are, where you'd like to go, what you desire from your life, so on. scorpio is about depth, intensity, desire - yearning hours are back. change something, end something, admit how you feel - honor that things cannot exist in stasis forever. be real with yourself and those around you, you'll die soon enough. live while you can!

current retrogrades are jupiter, chiron, saturn, uranus, and neptune. my thoughts on pluto in capricorn might have to get their own longer form post because jeez this has been a crazy run. started out with the david cook/david archuleta american idol finale, financial collapse, and michael jackson's passing. a few more weeks and then pluto will begin anew once more in aquarius. life will never be the same etc etc

as for specifics-

monday 10/21 - mercury trine saturn rx - a monday for Locking In. this is probably your most productive day of the week. get to the pesky to-dos you've put off, do some longer term planning, organize your desk, whatever comes to your mind when you hear "productive". applaud your hard work this year as well - last time we had this transit was june 26th of this year, could be some topical reminders from that time frame.

tuesday 10/22 - sun square pluto, sun enters scorpio - entering very boldly here! scorpio season! sun aspecting pluto and then going right into scorpio (ruled by pluto) seems like a bit overkill but i guess we are a dramatic lot. the spirit of transformation is once again with us. how far we've come since the scorpio south node transit (2021-2023).... let's remember that today and thank it for leaving. say your final farewells to that era because we are Not doing that again. anyway.... great day for honoring your intensity, focusing on which areas of your life are ready to be transformed, etc. secretly also a great time to reflectively yearn about the past. i've been natally experiencing this transit as well since pluto began its journey into aquarius last spring and boy it does ask you to transform.

thursday 10/24 - mars sextile uranus rx (and also my birthday) - spontaneity is king today. you've got energy to channel and a desire to part ways with the pieces of your routine that no longer serve you. fun, excitement, spontaneity, curiosity, exploration - all key words today. do something fun and spontaneous in my honor today!

[ashesandhackles]

Fic recs

I read a couple of fantastic fics recently, and they all deserve some love. So, giving them a shoutout. As Moments Do by @thecat-isblogging-blog

Canon compliant. Remus Lupin centric fanfic that follows him through OOTP and HBP. Chapter 3 has been updated and here is a chilling excerpt of Remus channeling his "Goodbye Peter" side:

Keep up, Peter. You’ll get lost. James would say. Wrong way, Peter.

Reaching the end of the platform Lupin called out in unison with James’ ghostly voice:

“Wrong way, Peter.”

Peter stopped in his footsteps, shoulders tensed just as Lupin pointed his wand to his exposed back.

Peter’s rat sense seemed to be keenly threaded to him. He turned to peer over his shoulder, the sliver of moonlight catching his nervous, watery eyes.

The Sultan and Scheherazade are One by eldritcher Grindeldore, with the most fantastically careful imagery. I am so taken by the prose of this author. Excerpt:

"I will build you a Rome," I promised him. 

"We will build us a Rome," he corrected me, placing an easy hand on mine.

"The Rome that the ancients yearned for, egalitarian," I murmured.

Our dreams were one, and our wills twined.  

Albus's hands came to clasp mine in his. The magic of him seeped into me, and mine unto him. 

Trothed became he and I, to man and cause, under a yew tree. 

The Snow Child by @saintsenara

A short folk horror story with Merope Gaunt, Tom Riddle Snr, and of course Voldemort.

Excerpt:

Merope has seen the little boy too. 

He comes to her window - she sleeps on the floor of the kitchen, while Morfin and Marvolo sleep in their one, tiny bedroom - and peers in. He has his father’s face, and his father's jet black hair, but his skin is unnatural, waxy and snow-pale, and his eyes are as red as blood.

‘I created you,’ she says to him. ‘I dreamed of you and now you are real.’

The boy shakes his head. ‘I am not yet real, because my father does not believe. You must make him.’

Merope nods. 

Bistable by TheDivine Comedian

Always a sucker for OOTP era Sirius and Remus, and I adored this one shot.

Excerpt:

James, he thinks. James. I am walking to my grave.

The train stops with a shudder and he nearly loses his precarious footing. Turn around , James says. Turn around now. You’ll go mad in there again.

Sirius laughs under his breath. Like anyone would notice. Besides, this is for you.

The James in his mind huffs and shuts up. Spilled out onto the platform, Sirius once again comes face to face with his own mugshot, a faded print on a tattered wanted poster.

Think/ Hope by @whinlatter

Post break up, bittersweet Hinny, with RON cameo? Sign me up. Cutting out an excerpt from the larger rhythm (you'll know when you read it) of this fic feels blasphemous, but I committed to the format:

He flops down on the sofa, feet up on the coffee table, eats straight from the hot plastic as he flicks through channels. The nine o'clock news is all budget this, Hong Kong that, Tim Henman out at Wimbledon. The nine o’clock news is not Dumbledore's dead, Snape murdered him, there’s a war on, Harry Potter's dropped out of school to go hunt bits of Voldemort's dismembered soul.  

Dropped out of school, he thinks. Scandalous, delinquent. What d'you reckon? he asks the Ginny in his head. Harry Potter, troubled dropout? Do anything for you? The Ginny in his head laughs. 

I also recently made other fic recs here: Nymphadora by @bluethepineapple and a bunch here for a rarepair tag game

[greg-montgomery]

I'm going to drop this to a lot of ppl blogs, because I need support. We all know that Hotch was a prosecutor attorney, right? I'm crying rn because we didn't get a whole episode of young Hotch (in his 20-30s?, WITH GREG MONTGOMERY VIBES), IN A COURT

LIKE, I NEED HIM?? HE'S ALREADY HOT BUT, HAVING HIM IN A COURT?? We all know the "charcoal grey" trial, BYT HAVING HIM AS A PROSECUTOR ATTORNEY FOR A WHOLE TRIAL?? I NEED HIM

do you know how many times i look at greg and think that this is what young aaron looked like??????? 💞🦋 it makes me INSANE

i would do aaaaaanything to see his backstory 😫 every time they mention him as a prosecutor or any time they talk about some of his first cases i can’t help but imagine him looking like greg 😭

young hotch means the world to me tbh 😭 i know he smiled more! i know he was a bit of a nerd 😏 i know he studied a lot and was good at what he was doing.

young aaron makes me yearn so bad bc it makes me think about being with him when he’s young so you get to have him during all of the moments in his life 🥺 from his greg era to his dilf era 😫😫 you get to have it ALL 😫😫😫💕💕

just a little note: i don’t love getting the same asks with other blogs copy pasted. i understand why you did it since you mention it in your ask, but in general it’s something that i don’t really like. i’m not upset, i just mention it so you know from now on! <333

[strahdapologist]

so I read through your blog and you really don't like the fact that 5e Strahd is a biphobic stereotype. But you run campaigns and play him. Can I ask what changes you've made to his characterisation to make him less of a biphobic stereotype? I know you didn't do the dumb elf genocide thing with him of course

uhm so the first change i made was to his consorts because 5e is shitty towards women and to its other minimal queer rep in the adventure, so in my campaign they were remade to be actual members of his court. their exact responsibilities shifted depending on the ideas i had at the time, but in their latest incarnations ludmilla was in charge of external affairs such as communication with other realms and trade, volenta was in charge of internal affairs, anastrasya was in charge of gathering intelligence and all matters arcane, and escher was charged officially with arts and culture but he was also an active diplomat and spy for strahd. they all have royal titles (that correspond with old romanian nobility) and i made sure they all had their own little story trees of responsibilities to enact across barovia while the campaign was occurring.

i still wanted bisexual representation for strahd that was explicit, however, so a plotline was him and escher breaking up. however their romantic tryst was undertaken with an explicit understanding that strahd was still seeking tatyana, but that in spite of this search he still yearned for intimacy and closeness. escher agreed to these terms and was not taken by surprise when strahd ended things in light of tatyana being reincarnated, though he was still sad about it ending. as strahd's spy, though, he played up this heartbreak to appeal to any who may be against strahd (two members of the party) and tricked them into divulging their true intentions rather quickly. instead of having escher as a hopless gay longing for senpai strahd's love again he became a quietly dangerous character that no one noticed was spying on them lol

i also removed all instances of strahd seeking new consorts in the players. his romantic attention is focused solely on tatyana but in a respectful way that does not cross any lines and instead plays into old ideas of victorian-era courtship. tho he and our tatyana had pre-marital sex so his commitment to prudish courtship is well...... yeah lol

finally sasha was entirely removed. the idea of becoming "bored" of wives and throwing them to the crypts was misogynistic before he was bisexual, and 5th edition made this plot line worse by making strahd bisexual because it implies he is voraciously lustful and can never be sexually satisfied and that the fate of sasha may well be the fate of tatyana if they ever got married. now it's not just sexist, it's biphobic! thank u 5e <3

so yeah tl;dr i just play him as more of a forlorn romantic and gave all the consorts actual titles of duchess/viscount/marquess etc. ditched most of his romantic relationships as well. 5e's biphobia also remove the agency of other women and queer characters in their module so it was important to me not just to adjust strahd's characterization, but the characterization of those around him. through the campaign, it was hinted that ludmilla and volenta had romantic relationships of their own (volenta with gertruda, for example) and escher's crush on ismark turned into the party trying to set the two of them up on dates which is quite sweet. this gave also a lot more room to the tragedy of strahd's love for tatyana when it was inevitably, once again, taken away by forces of darkness

i also spoke to people who are bisexual and i myself read about biphobic tropes in media bc as a lesbian i would find myself icked out by contents of the module but not entirely aware of why or the history of it until context was added, so seeking outside input on what exactly was offensive and why was very helpful

anyway follow me i'm delicious

[heymacy]

Hiiiii yqhbr is one of my fave fanfictions ever and I’m thrilled ur back with more!! Do u have any real tumblr inspo while writing it? Love u 😘

hi my love! thank you so much, you're the absolute sweetest!

a lot of the inspiration for YQHBR comes from my personal journey on tumblr over the last 12+ years (and even before then, on other platforms like MySpace & such). i had a bit of a heyday back in 2012-2015 and now i'm in what i like to refer to as my "modern era" (this blog) so i've seen & done a lot. my friends are a huge inspiration for ian's little squad (Cassie, Zoe, Victor, Liv) and all of their interactions/activities. as far as the text posts go, i usually either a) think of "big" posts i've seen in the past and tweak them a little bit to fit the narrative, or b) just drop in a post (or a bit of yearning and/or horny musing) that i'd only ever have the courage to post on one of my lil secret sideblogs, lmao. in regards to the community aspect of things, that's also largely pulled from personal experience! i've come to learn that the formula for building online communities is pretty much the same across the board: ask games and surveys (tag games), picrews (or photo challenges), and personal posts/rants/etc. they manifest differently based on the platform but ultimately it's all the same. so for those, i just imagine what i'd post or what my friends would post if we were in ian or mickey or cassie's shoes and then tweak it to fit the character and story!

as far as the relationship aspect of things, i met my wife here almost ten years ago and we had our own little Moment so i admittedly pull a lot of inspiration from that! they started sending me anons then slid into my DMs and the rest is history, so that aspect of the story is very much pulled from my own life, which i think is super fun!

love YOU! 💛

spoiler alert for chapter 10 inspo below the cut:

back in 2014, a poem made by a writer and (i believe) tumblr user named Natalie Betancourt went viral on here. it was called "take me" and the opening lines were "take me to the art museum and kiss me by the paintings" which i'm sure you've seen somewhere before, whether it be here on tumblr, on pinterest, or maybe tiktok, or even on someone's t-shirt or totebag or laptop sticker. it spiraled off into a whole Thing and has sort of become synonymous with the Tumblr Aesthetic itself and was a huge inspiration for the end of the chapter!

[kindagirl]

niki's baking blog ... （๑´ﻌ｀๑） ( ctrlverse. ct!nihachu. art. )

❝ type of girl you wanna take her home right up to mama.. ❞

canon div nihachu blog! part of ctrlverse -> kindagirl is a roleplay in character blog for ct!nihachu. in ctrl canon, this is her baking blog & personal diary of sorts. currently ct/cl!niki is set in the manburg era. asks, anons & interactions are 100% okay and encouraged! blog is penned / run by theta! [ 18+ & they/(s)he ]

about ctrlverse...

ctrlverse (stylized as CTRLverse, CTRLverse, or ctrlverse) is a verse based heavily off DSMP. it focuses on the untold stories of some of the characters (such as niki & quackity), as private entrys based on events they experienced. ctrlverse is not a play by play match to the dsmp. anything goes in ctrlverse. (almost anything, at least.)

about ctrl!niki...

ct!niki is close to her canon counterpart. she is a baker in manburg, and a loud part of the resistence to ct!schlatt's reign of terror.

ct!niki is doing what she can to survive, but it is diffcult when she is in-dept and outnumbered. she is not weak- not in the slightest, but she tries to play smart. she puts up with the emperor for now, and works under the table to help pogtopia where she can. when she isn't helping her friends or working, she spends her free time baking, with her animals or knitting.

she comes from a far away place, and joined the esempi at nineteen to help wilbur. at current, she is around twenty, though ages are difficult to keep track of when you've been through so much in such little time.

ct!niki uses she/her , they/them pronouns (currently). this may change as their character progresses. she identifies as bisexual, and considers herself cis, though she is questioning her comfort with the label. ct!niki has bpd, diagonised and treated. she has depression as well, and with the state of manburg, she is very often anxious and jumpy, though good at hiding it.

ct!niki is a hybrid, most visibly so as a rabbit. she reveals this to very few- but she also is part angel, which plays into how she ever even met wilbur & was invited into the esempi in the first place. she has long rabbit ears, that she often dyes to match her hair color. she doesn't seem to have any visible angelic features, though there is a sort of glow to her.

niki has all three of her lives. she does not disclose this to anyone.

❝ the kind of girl, I know your fellas, they'd be proud of.. ❞

tag guide...

out of character:

lore related ooc tag : #ctrlverse ooc tag : #ooc + #icing cakes! roleplay threads : #made with love! heavy topic roleplay : #still hot! ( + [content] tw ) [ ex: blood tw ] end of threads : #out of the oven! sillies / joke / memeposting : #pie splat! submissions / etc : #supply delivery! angst : #wish i was ( a normal girl )

in character:

lore esc reblogs : #be proud of aesthetic reblogs : #piece of cake! in character asks : #to the bakery! in character posts : #what baking can do! recipe posts : #easy as pie! /r & yearn tag : #how do i be your baby?

tags for others:

@amongfeathers : #birds of a feather @raccoondiscs : #the bakers apprentice @mistforest : #some bunny loves you @lackhumanity : #slime time @citrusdoctor : #I need a doctor @radioactivezon : #sweet little bumblebee @divisiveexplosions : #a familiar place

[lockedcasket]

WHY CAN'T I STAND OUTSIDE

There's been a recent discussion about a 'third place' which has ceased to exist in the United States: a place which is not home or work where any person may visit without the expectation of paying.

A third place has been covered in length of which I will lists some of reads below

But what I want to know is: WHY CAN'T I STAND OUTSIDE

While a third place is a part of the solution, I would like to examine a few ways why I can't stand outside

1. Private Property

I cannot stand outside because I do not own land.

By far the most unavoidable obstacle in my path. You cannot write this post without mentioning it; it is the omnipresent force that makes up our economy and simultaneously works to dissuade it's subjects from revolution. In some states, its value greater than life itself. Texas's notorious Castle Doctrine for example allows one to claim self-defense when defending property which can extend to trespassing under the right circumstances (hint: it doesn't take much)

I cannot stand outside because every step is accounted for by someone: it is either owned, leased, or in escrow by someone or entity who would like me to stand elsewhere. Even land which is not in 'use' is fenced off with trespassing signs littered about.

Heaven forbid someone enjoys land without explicit permission! Gasps

The land reform act of 2003 in Scotland is an example of a measure which can be enacted while under the current rule of private property: it enables the free roam of peoples in Scotland under a reasonable degree with exceptions.

Such a measure enacted in the United States could allow me to stand outside without endangering myself or breaking the law.

2. There aren't any sidewalks

I cannot stand outside because there is nowhere to stand.

There's a fundamental problem with a society when asking why I can't stand outside you realize there isn't any places to stand in the first place.

You'll find that in some towns in the United States, public transport and sidewalks were removed to make room for more parking spaces.

Even the word sidewalk conjures thoughts of a second-class

to be aside the priority: Cars

I digress. Car-centric culture will be addressed another time.

I yearn for walkways stretching from one end of the city to the other; Alive with people walking or bicycling to their destinations. A curated social path for a sense of community within a society can be encapsulated in their walkways (or lack thereof).

Walkable cities built for the communities they serve would allow me to stand outside.

3. Loitering Laws

I cannot stand outside because it is illegal.

Laws which forbid an individual from residing in the last refuge from private enterprise are referred to as loitering laws.

They have their own labels and justification in their respective countries (not entirely a u.s. issue). Some call them loitering, vagrancy, rogue, or vagabond laws but are all used one in the same

a tool to corral and harass the marginalized underclass.

I've linked below to Anti-Racism Daily's write-up on the history of loitering in the US and its roots in the Jim Crow-era 'Black Codes.'

The fact of the matter is loitering laws and its aliases can be seen as an extension of existing trespassing laws to control the movement of specific groups at anytime.

That is of course, unless you're a wealthy landowner. wink

I cannot stand outside because I do not own any land. I cannot find a place to stand because the landlords and lawmakers have ripped out the sidewalks. I cannot stand outside because landlords and lawmakers have made it illegal for me to stand outside.

Links:

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/04/13/the-pros-and-cons-of-gentrification/every-community-deserves-a-third-place

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2016/09/14/third-places-as-community-builders/

https://the-ard.com/2022/05/31/the-jim-crow-roots-of-loitering-laws/

[belong2human-kind]

Speake your language day is here soo...

Feliz dia do "Fale em seu idioma"!!

Clara falando aqui! Sou a moça por de trás desse blog, brasileira, estudo biologia 🌱 (e eu amo minha área com todas as minhas células, sou fascinada pela vida desde que eu era miuda, majoritariamente por aves 🦜), apaixonada por diversos universos cinematográficos e jogos, e são diversos, muitos mesmo. Vou tentar falar um pouco mais sobre eles, dessa mistura que eu sou;

• Marvel;

• Star Wars (especialmente Rebels, uma animação que o fandom não sempre dá o devido valor, especialmente o fandom brasileiro, mas que significa tudo pra mim porque foi a série que me trouxe para dentro do universo de Star Wars!);

• Avatar 💙 (Oel ngati kameie ma'tsmukan ulte ma'tsmuke!);

• Um pouquinho de DC;

• Harry Potter ( sou Lufana com muito orgulho! 🦡 💛),

• Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, filmes de animação no geral e live actions;

• Encanto ( Acho que foi o filme mais próximo da ampla representação Latina que a Disney fez até agora agora! )

• Star vs. As forças do mal 🌟 ♥️♦️♠️♣️🌙;

• Gravity Falls 🌲❔;

• Undertale (meu jogo favorito!!) e deltarune;

• OneShot (Tenho um local garantido pra jogos indies heheh),

•Stardew Valley,

•The sims 4...

Mas acho que o que mais me trouxe pra cá para o tumblr foi meu primeiro fandom: Arquivo X !!! Eu assistia desde bem pequena mesmo, com meu pai, porque toda noite antes dele dormir ele assistia alguns episódios (era a série favorita dele, sem dúvida) e eu acompanhava junto. Meu pai não está mais aqui nessa terra, mas ele sempre foi muito apaixonado pelo tema do espaço e seus mistérios, também super fã de Star Wars, Star Trek 🖖🏻 e diversos filmes/séries da cultura pop-geek de ficção científica. Ah, e super heróis também! Meu pai era um geek e tanto heheh 👽🛸👻👾🤖

Desde mais nova eu sempre amei o tumblr, arrisco dizer que ele foi uma das coisas que mais me aproximou do interesse em outras línguas. Atualmente, falo apenas inglês e português, mas espero aprender alguns novos idiomas em breve.

Isso é até estranho de escrever porque eu não costumo nem falar aqui em português e nem mudar de inglês pra português facilmente e geralmente o que eu mais faço é espontaneamente misturar ambos idiomas, criar umas palavras novas, a pronúncia sai errada nas duas línguas... Quando a gente aprende uma língua estrangeira e vai integrando ela no dia a dia, a gente pensa também naquela língua, e existem muitas palavras que não possuem tradução entre si quando a gente vai alterar. Tipo saudade, um sentimento bem complexo. Saudade comumente é descrito como "to miss, missing" mas existem outros termos que também podem ser usados, como "longing, yearning, pining" mas estranhamente nenhum parece ter o sentido e o peso que a palavra Saudade tem.

Além desse blog, eu tenho uns outros (alguns que nem me lembro porque criei bem mais nova, na minha era inicial de apresentação ao tumblr KSKSK) mas eu tenho um blog de role-playing, atualmente meu segundo blog mais ativo, para o Ezra, um dos meus personagens favoritos (@lothal-cat-jedi) e e eu adoro jogar com esse personagem. Eu me vejo tanto nesse Jedi, especialmente pela compaixão e conexão enorme dele com os animais e as pessoas, pelo desejo de fazer o certo e os conflitos internos que ele tem. Ele foi uma inspiração e tanto pra mim a vida toda (e claro, um grande crush de animação também né, não podia faltar 👀) além de um blog (talvez dois, um eu não lembro se é meu mesmo ou não KSKSKDKDKS que é @thexfilesgurl-blog) de Arquivo X (@believe-no1) e se alguns desses dois não for meu, desculpa demais para o dono por ter marcado ele/ela novamente KKKKKKKK mas eu tenho quase QUASE certeza de que são ambos meus!!! Feliz dia do Fale em seu Idioma!!

{If any of you need me to translate any post, just ask me, I'll do it gladly!! And by the way, if by accident I tagged a random person again claiming to be the owner of their blog, please I AM SO SORRY LOL I am ALMOST sure the two of this blogs belong to me bc I think I chose both of their pics and made their designs, but mind is a pickle most of the time and I have ocd, sometimes I can't tell if an event happened or not bc either can be a fake memory or if it's a real one I'll doubt it anyways, so if one or another blog actually isn't, I'm really sorry fr🥲}

Me, watching my mutuals speak other languages, not understanding a single word: fucking superb you funky little bilinguals

[feolnir]

About Me

Who’s fëolnir?

fëolnir is my fantasy pen name. I've worn many cloaks (writer, artist, academic, musician, etc.) and shall continue to do so. I used to be pretty active here on Tumblr under a different name (Fjorn: @fjorn-wanders and @fjorn-the-skald); but, after changing quite a bit as a person, I decided a fresh start was in order 😮‍💨

What Does fëolnir Do?

Since 'retiring' from my academic work, I'm mostly focused on my (free-to-read) web novel, The Tale of Fëor and Ërna, which involves both writing and drawing. Oh, and way too much worldbuilding (because my acadmeic side yearns for l o r e). I have 500+ pages of history for my fantasy world...so yeah 😅

And now for the more mundane 'about me' questions:

Level? 29

Favorite color? Green

Favorite food? Tonkatsu

Favorite season? Autumn

Tea or coffee? Both

Preferred music? Classical (especially from the Romantic era)

Instrument? Formerly Trumpet (8 yrs), but soon Oboe

Languages? Japanese in progress (and several more dusty languages: old norse, old french, latin, etc.)

Otaku? Yes (manga, light novels, anime, etc.)

Favorite movie? Princess Mononoke

Favorite books? The Lord of the Rings

Favorite manga? Dungeon Meshi (but also Witch Hat Atelier)

Favorite game? My Switch would say Animal Crossing, but I typically say anything Zelda (Skyward Sword, BotW, etc.)

Travel? Yes! I'm from the States and have been to the following places: Iceland, Ireland, and Japan

Education? M.A. in history (hence the worldbuilding 'problem')

That's probably enough for a blog without an audience. If you want to know more for some reason, stick around or ask me.

Many thanks for reading 🙇🏻‍♂️