#i'll probably make character intros soon!

[cutielando]

the last social media au was so cute!! maybe one where george’s gf is a famous romance book author and when they make the relationship public his friends cannot believe posh “arms against the wall 2023 intro package pose” george could be the inspiration for all the smutty scenes his gf is famous for (only if your comfortable of course!)

romance is in her books | g.r.

social media au

synopsis: in which you write romance books

my masterlist

Instagram

liked by zendaya, georgerussell63 and 301,584 others

yourusername working on something very special 🌸

view all 50,195 comments

booklover101 YAS BITCHES WE'RE GETTING A NEW BOOK!!!!!

chillypeppers Y/N on her way to releasing yet another banger😮‍💨😮‍💨

zendaya what u cooking bby?😉💞

yourusername something with an extra bit of spice🥵

user1 is nobody else wondering who she's writing the *explicit* scenes about?

user2 lol she most probably has a boyfriend or something

user3 or maybe she's just like any other young woman lmao

lilymhe i'm literally obsessed with the way you write🤤

yourusername thank you baby. i'll let you in on a secret later for this ;)

user4 we all want to be lily right now :((((

landonorris do you ever run out of things to write?

yourusername not really, no

lilyzneimer the book is coming along beautifully ❤️

yourusername thank you honey✨🌸❤️

oscarpiastri did you give her a sneak peek??????????

yourusername ...maybe

oscarpiastri deeply betrayed

georgerussell63 my beautiful girl this comment has been deleted

user5 GEORGE????????

user6 IS GEORGE THE SECRET BOYFRIEND?????

charles_leclerc can't wait to read it

yourusername you’re just like one of the girlies charlie 🌸🌸🌸

user2 the amount of money i spend on her books is so unhealthy but i don’t care. TAKE ALL MY MONEY BABY 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

user3 is it a stand-alone or is the new book going to be part of a series?👀

yourusername i’m planning a new series soon, but my next release is going to be a stand-alone 🌸

user4 i love her, she is the sweetest 🥰🥰

iMessage

george 🩵

i might have just fucked up

y/n ❤️

you're hopeless

george 🩵

do you think people saw the comment?

y/n ❤️

judging by the way my phone has been blowing up, i think they have

george 🩵

i'm sorry, my love

y/n ❤️

it's okay, don't worry. now we can mess with the fans for a bit ;)

Twitter

Instagram

liked by georgerussell63, zendaya and 401,639 others

yourusername “racing hearts” is now yours, my lovelies. this book holds a very dear place in my heart and i hope that it will speak to you like it spoke to me when i first started writing it. thank you to everyone who came to the book signing yesterday, you make my life all that more special ✨❤️🌸💞

view all 98,374 comments

georgerussell63 beautiful book, who were you thinking about when you wrote it?🤔

yourusername you know, just a random Brit

georgerussell63 must be one hell of a guy to get a book of his own

yourusername he really is

zendaya you have outdone yourself once again. reading your books has become a MUST ✨✨✨

yourusername thank you honey 💞💞💞

landonorris you went wild again, didn’t you?

yourusername i might have

landonorris do i even wanna read it?

yourusername honestly? probably not

lilyzneimer it’s even better than what i thought 💞

yourusername i always have a trick or two up my sleeve 😉🌸

charles_leclerc someone should censor you

yourusername where would be the fun in that?

charles_leclerc how does your manager approve of this?

yourmanager i’m one of the girlies 🌸

charles_leclerc that explains it

booklover101 THE WAY I SCREAMED WHILE READING IT HAS ME INSANE

booklover101 YOU DESERVE EVERY AWARD IN THE WHOLE WORLD

chillypepper i have no words. i said it before and i’ll say it again. she is the best author of her generation

user1 never beating the dating allegations now

user2 she literally named her main character RUSSELL, HOW DO PEOPLE STILL THINK HER AND GEORGE AREN’T DATING??????

user3 George is the luckiest man in the world😭😭

user4 he must really rock your world if those scenes are anything like the real thing

yourusername you have no idea 🤭

mercedesamgf1 I couldn't put it down. Amazing work, Y/N!!

yourusername thank you admin 🌸💞💞

liked by yourusername, lilyzneimer and 601,583 others

georgerussell63 Words can't describe how proud I am of you. The way you connect with your readers, the way you give life to every story you write never ceases to amaze me. I'm thankful to be able to watch you do your thing, watch you inspire so many young writers to chase their dreams. I love you 💞 P.S. Yes, I am the inspiration behind the sexy scenes ;) tagged: yourusername

view all 99,281 comments

yourusername your support means everything to me. thank you for always being here for me, helping me through my writer's block and cheering me on. i love you more than you know💞🌸

georgerussell63 i love you more❤️

landonorris i know way too much about your personal life now, mate

georgerussell63 jealous?

landonorris as if

yourusername don't fight boys, what would Russell and Brendan think about you two fighting?

landonorris BRENDAN IS ME?????????

yourusername oops👀

user1 i am in love with their love😮‍💨❤️

user2 going to jump off a cliff, brb

user3 i cannot believe i know stuff about George Russell's sex life👀

user4 George's? HOW ABOUT OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE Y/N'S?

alex_albon simp

georgerussell63 how can i not be? just look at Y/N

yourusername baby🥹💞❤️🌸

alex_albon you two make me sick. i preferred it when you weren't public

georgerussell63 and i preferred it when you shut up

lilymhe we are all in love with Y/N ✨❤️👀

yourusername but you’re the one who has my heart baby 💞💞

georgerussell63 ?????????

yourusername sorry babe 😁💞

mercedesamgf1 Our favorite couple!❤️ liked by yourusername and georgerussell63

comments and re-blogs help us grow!

much appreciated!!

REQUEST HERE

[the-depths-of-the-coral-sea]

Super Spectacular 250 Follower Event!

Welcome to the garden⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ Unlike the previous one, however, this one is filled with everything but flowers★*⁠.⁠✧!!

Musical Mushrooms 🍄

“If you call out to them, they'll call out right back!” Q&A★ Ask me quite literally anything about my interests, my faves, you can even give me a topic or character to analyse, as long as I'm already familiar with them! But nothing too personal(age, height, etc)!! Though if a certain question makes me uncomfortable, I won't answer it.

Limit: none, can send multiple questions per ask✮ 𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

The Frog Pond 🐸

“The frogs love to hop around on the lily pads. They make the cutest sights ever!” A moodboard★ Send in a character of your choice from a fandom in the intro post, and I'll make a moodboard for them!!

Limit: one moodboard per person⭒⋆☾⋆✧

Fairy's Cottage 🧚‍♀️

“The fairies are always whizzing around and spicing appearances up with outfits they seem to pull from thin air!” Custom outfits★ Request any fictional character of your choice(doesn't have to be from a fandom of mine) and some accessories or clothing pieces(e.g. santa hat, short-sleeved purple shirt, etc.) or let me edit some probably strange outfit onto them!! You can also provide a theme(e.g. witch, wizard, hatsune miku, etc.)!!

Limit: multiple characters in separate asks after i've finished the first one⋆｡‧˚ʚɞ˚‧｡⋆

The Magic Mirror 🪞

“It's said that at the very bottom of the pond is a magic mirror that reflects the true nature of your soul...” What reminds me of you★ Drop an ask and I'll include something that makes me think of you!!

Limit: one per person ࣪˖ ⊹₊ ⋆

portal to the intro post+speech utc★!!

WOW. 250... this feels so unreal honestly😭😭 the story of how i joined tumblr is kinda mediocre lmao. basically, it was the only social media website that was accessible on my school computer, so i set an account up with my school email(for confidential reasons). why? because i had, and still have, a lot of thoughts. especially interest related!! but most of my irls dont listen and i have lots of limitations for posting on whatsapp. so i decided to put my thoughts, fandom and non-fandom, onto here!! a blog for anyone that wants to hear me out★ then i got into rp and started making online friends, finding people i admired(cough @/artist-kreating-stuff and @/catihere cough), and soon, tumblr wasnt just a place for me to put my thoughts. it was like a second home. somewhere i really connected with. since then, ive made more friends and found more people that i look up to and am too scared to approach off anon, and it's been fun!!! ive been here for... eight months? seven to eight months. ive made memes, theories, etc. and i have no regrets :) love you guys so so much, hope youre all doing fine, and remember, im always right beside you in spirit, offering you hugs and love<3

thank you so much for 250🫶🫶

[freezeyourchill]

I finished Brothership and I have so many thoughts but I'm gonna start with the most divisive: Starlow's character is not just 'an asshole to Luigi for no reason' and here's why

(Spoilers for Brothership and past M&L RPGs but nothing too endgame-y, just Starlow's introduction and an optional sidequest)

I think Brothership showcases everyone at their best in terms of characterisation and it was so so nice to see (I'll probably make a post about Mario after this because I'm so insane about him) but I've seen some people getting mad at Starlow for referring to Luigi as 'Mario's brother' in her intro scene:

So I thought I'd share a bit about what I think of Starlow as a whole. People love to dunk on her because she makes a lot of jabs at Luigi in the past games, and while I agree that some comments she's made were excessive, I don't think people understand her much as a character and dismiss it all as 'being a bitch for no reason'.

Thinking back to BIS, she came to the Mushroom Kingdom to help with an incurable disease. There seems to be no solution, but then the concept of the Mario brothers solving every unsolvable problem is introduced to her. When she finally meets them, her first impression is this:

Mario leaps to action as soon as a threat appears as he's known to always do, and listened attentively to what was being discussed at the meeting. He's proactive, brave, and capable.

Meanwhile, Luigi is sleeping on the job and missed all of this entirely.

I say this with all the love in my heart and as Luigi fan #1, but in this situation I can understand why Starlow didn't like Luigi at first. And the thing about Starlow is that she's not going to be subtle about it if she doesn't like you. That's just the way she is; she's brash, honest, and judgemental. She gives credit where she thinks credit is due and won't hesitate to get sassy with someone if they're being a pain.

Luigi is not at all the only person on the receiving end of this, but it's more noticeable with him for three reasons: 1) He's much more sensitive to what Starlow says, 2) Starlow interacts with the bros the most because she travels with them, and 3) Luigi is Nintendo's favourite punching bag and this was what mostly everyone in the game did.

As the story progresses, she's quick to assess the brothers and this was likely her conclusion, which was at the time an unfortunately common perspective: when 'the Mario brothers' solve a problem, they mostly mean Mario. Luigi tags along because they're brothers and doesn't contribute much because he's a wuss who lets Mario take charge.

Obviously, that isn't true. Luigi can be clumsy and more reluctant to throw himself into danger than his brother but the fact that he deals with at times such debilitating anxiety and still pushes through goes to show just how hard he tries. He also contributes plenty, but the key here is that Starlow didn't know that. Most of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't know that at the time either. The first thing she saw was him sleeping through an important meeting and a fight with an invading Bowser (who she also may not have known did this on the regular, so it's not seen as such a big deal), so she figured pretty quickly that Mario was the actually reliable one here.

Moving along to Dream Team and Paper Jam, Starlow still isn't the biggest fan of Luigi for a few reasons, mostly being that he's kinda the reason the plot of both games happened. She knows now from BIS that Luigi can pull his weight when he absolutely has to, but he's a bit of a klutz and does have a habit of getting into Situations. In her eyes he's a bit of an idiot even if his heart is in the right place, and she doesn't hesitate to make her opinion known because that's the kind of person she is.

I'm not saying she's right to dislike him, but this outlook is fairly reasonable considering 1) she still doesn't understand him or his struggles, 2) again this is how most people in the Mushroom Kingdom regard Luigi, and 3) she's seeing Mario in comparison, something that everyone else is also guilty of.

If a crisis calls for a hero and anyone in the kingdom had to pick between Mario and Luigi to do it, they'd pick Mario every time. Mario is able to roll with the punches and throw himself into danger without letting any misgivings about it show. He's dutiful, responsible, protective, and gets things done without a fuss. Luigi, with all of his kindness and creativity and courage, can't do that in the same way as his brother, because he's not his brother. Starlow sees that in the same way everyone else did: because Mario doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, Mario is more dependable.

But Starlow also has her nicer moments with Luigi, which people seem to forget about. People like to talk about how she rips into him in Paper Jam when he loses the book to the point of making him cry, but what they don't mention in that discussion is that she apologises immediately:

This isn't Starlow having a grudge against him or wanting him to feel terrible, this is just how she deals with everyone. If someone messes up, she's going to let them know exactly why and how. She's not used to someone like Luigi, filled with anxiety and sensitive to the sass that she would give anyone if they made a mistake. But she also acknowledges that she can come off as a lot meaner than she intends, and this isn't mean-spiritedness as much as just not knowing how else to talk to people.

This is also obvious later in Paper Jam when she gives Luigi an awkward little pep talk:

It's not in her nature to be so earnestly encouraging. She's polite and friendly to those who are polite to her such as Peach, she's to-the-point and pragmatic with Mario, and she's sarcastic and teasing to Bowser because she knows he won't take it personally and that's how she expresses friendship. But when faced with Luigi, someone who doesn't react well to her natural snark, she doesn't know how to handle it. So she gives it her best go, and it works; Luigi picks himself up and goes into the spooky forest to save his brother(s) because his care outweighs his fear, something that Starlow now realises.

Then we finally get to Brothership. By this point everyone including Peach and even Mario seems to better understand Luigi's struggles with anxiety (and autism, he is the autism allegory, trust) and Starlow has reached a point where she can respect Luigi despite his differences to Mario. She's happy to see them in Concordia and greets them both properly:

So why does she still call him 'Mario's brother'?

Because jokes and snark are how she shows her affection and she really doesn't know how else to do it. Bullying people is her love language, which is why her and Bowser have such a nice dynamic. Starlow understands now that Luigi tries really hard to be useful and Luigi understands now that Starlow isn't trying to make him feel bad.

Luigi is my favourite character of all time and they could never still never make me hate Starlow. She's just flawed and full of personality like the rest of us.

[fir-fireweed]

I discovered this gem today thanks to a reblog about the update that I'll forever be grateful for, and I had such a blast reading it! So much so that I actually read it twice. Though to be fair, I'm glad I didn't discover this earlier? Would have been sad to stop at chapter 10, so this is perfect!

I love everything about it! And I'm just going a bit feral over Heron, honestly. And damn his romance gives such strong soulmates vibes considering the past and all.

Also, I want to thank you so much for allowing the name Wolf for the MC! As soon as I saw the ROs' names in the intro post, I knew I'd want that name for my MC, and the feeling only became stronger when playing. My MC has the "leader" personality type, but he's also sweet and accepting and will fight to protect everyone. So he's basically caring and protective like a wolf would be of his pack, and I love it.

I'm very excited now to see how the story ends, though I will probably re-read it a bunch of time while you write the last chapter!

Aww, I love this! ❤️ Your Wolf sounds amazing! I’m so glad you related to that name and made him your own.

I love hearing love for Heron! His character really expanded and matured over the course of writing this, and I may be a bit feral for him, too. The decision to make him the childhood friend trope felt like fate. I was mad texting my sister like, I HAVE THE BEST IDEA EVER! 😆

You were definitely spared the trauma I inflicted on everyone else by dropping chapter 10 on them, lol. I’m giddy over the fact that you found this in a reblog. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

[black-rabbit-razumikhin]

Raz Reads Les Mis (XX)

Marius - Friends of the A B C

This chapter was incredibly fun, and introduced a cast that could carry the rest of this book

But I don't want them to because I want to see Valjean again

We meet the original Dead Poets Society, or at least the political French version of them

Their membership being comprised of Enjolras, Combeferre, Prouvaire, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Bahorel, Lesgle, Joly and Gran

taire

Enjolras is our natural leader, our beauty, our pillar of everything the Friends of the A B C aspire to, the logic, the backbone

Combeferre is the water to Enjolras' fire, the philosophy to his logic, the balance to his passion

Prouvaire (or Jehan) loves love, he is the soft romantic, he will bring flowers to a first date

Feuilly is an orphan and lives of hard work for low pay, obsessed with international relations and adopting the people of France when there was nobody there to adopt him

Courfeyrac is the exact same character as Tholomyes, but I beg to disagree - I have a hit on Tholomyes, I'd be friends with Courfeyrac

Hugo creates a trilogy of Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac; Enjolras the chief, Combeferre the guide, Courfeyrac the centre

Bahorel's whole personality is that he never wants to be a lawyer and sees even the law school as a carrier of infectious disease

Lesgle (called Bousseut) is berated for a whole page for being bald at 25 - this is just ergonomical for French summers, leave him alone

Joly is our medic, who is also a hypochondriac and if he were around today he'd run a witchcraft Tumblr

Grantaire is apparently ugly and in love with Enjolras and compared to both Patroclus and Hephaestion

I have opinions on Enjolras and Grantaire

But I will treat them as platonic (and not unrequited pining) and a metaphor until evidence suggests otherwise

And I think Courfeyrac is my favourite, from these descriptions at least - the irony

This is the group that Marius stumbles upon, all because he and Bousseut share a law class together that Marius didn't attend

Courfeyrac meets Bousseut and Marius while they are talking together at a cafe and Marius is introduced to the rest of the Friends

Courfeyrac calls him "a pupil" when he learns of Marius' political ideology - a little too pro-Napoleon for the Friends, but Courfeyrac's whole intro screams "I can fix him"

The Friends are drinking and Grantiare is rambling about 100 different topics, making the sort of sense that someone drunk will, the sort that they probably don't realise themselves doing

Somehow, through fate, the conversation turns to Waterloo

Waterloo! Marius knows Waterloo

The impassioned, naieve child talks with so much pride of how much he adores and respects Napoleon

The Friends are shocked into silence

But Enjolras is there to lead him out of the darkness of the woods

Poor Marius is confused for where his beliefs now lie, but the pupil will soon learn

Rent becomes due for his hotel, which Courfeyrac offers to pay, but Marius insists on doing himself

"Yeah I'll just sell my clothes and learn English and German and I'll be fine"

His principles even stop him from accepting financial aid from his aunt

And thus is how the life of Marius begins

This chapter was great! I really enjoyed meeting all the Friends and seeing their unique personalities and viewpoints all start to blend into one unified group. @pilferingapples is your url lifted from Grantaire's rant perhaps? I can just imagine him drunk and jovial and telling the Friends anything and everything that comes into his mind. He and Enjolras seem like the perfect opposites to bookend the society of the Friends with. And I want to know how Marius fares! Does his mind change? Is he accepted? Does he manage to find his way in the world?

[starkaabii]

Me? Finally making art for the first several chapters of the intro story that's been floating around in my head for 5 years of my main Kirby FC who's existed for almost 8 years?

It's more likely than you think!

The story is called Warrior's Destiny: The Winter Blade. I have no idea where I'll put it, probably on Quotev since that's where I've been publishing stuff my whole life already. And I plan to finally begin writing it soon! :D

Kirby and Fumu are on their way to catch up to Bun and their cappy friends for a picnic one afternoon in Dreamland, but Kirby suddenly runs off. When Fumu catches up with him, she sees that he's found an injured, collapsed knight on the brink of death, and their afternoon picnic is immediately forgotten as they take the mysterious winged warrior back to Fumu's home in the castle, just hoping they're not too late to save them... and discover the secrets they hide.

(I'll give you one guess as to who the little Waddle Dee in the 7th and 9th pictures is going to become one day. He's a very important backstory character ;3)

[hemi-demi]

Making a proper blog intro because I think I should? Idk anymore

Hi! I am a person on the internet that is way too autistic about a specific show, and now I'm making it everyone's problem.

Side blog: @fulldemi for just art posts

Links, tags, and more below cut:

What you'll see on this blog:

Right now, it's all TMA/TMAGP all the time, as this has gone beyond hyperfixation and right into special interest, and I do not want off this ride anytime soon. Most of my content will probably be JMart related, but I like talking about most of the characters in general.

I make art and fic. I'll post random thoughts and reblog other artists I enjoy.

I post SFW and NSFW art here, so refer to the Tags below for filters.

Eventually, you might even see animation and fan game stuff from me here. Who knows? I don't. I have no control over my life. I just go where the dopamine tells me. And right now, it's hurdling towards the wet cat acespec British man and his fog-cloaked teddy bear boyfriend, and I don't get a say in that.

Main Tags

My art: #hemidemi art

My NSFW art: #lewdemi

Text posts and rambles: #demirambles

All of my Dragon!Jon and Knight!Martin posts: #dragon au

Links

Bluesky - HemiDemi

Lewd art too hot for Tumblr goes here

My AO3 - HemiDemi

*Slaps Link* This baby can fit so much JMart fic in it! Most of my fic is 18+

If you were to check out any of my fics, it would, of course, be the stupid long Porn with Plot fic where Jon and Martin can share lucid dreams and get into fun little nighttime adventures together in the Highlands. It's silly, it's fluffy, but also so plot heavy and full of horror, as it should be.

Lucid - Rated E - Words: 341,700 - Chapters: 44/44

I post (spoiler-free-ish) art from this fic here often as well, so you'll be seeing it referenced a ton if you hang around.

I use the tag #lucid spoilers for content that actively spoils the fic, so feel free to block this tag if you're currently reading this behemoth.

Okay, I think that's enough now, byeee love you, mwah <3

[hyperactivetransdrone]

Blog Intro

So after looking through several peoples profiles I noticed that introductory posts were pretty common (at least for nsfw sooo here we gooooo)

I'm adding this later on 8/18/24: If (majority) your content is s**sy and your DMing me to try to dominate me, Don't. While I don't mind people who do that/are into that being called that feels like a sexualization of my identity and ergo 1: I hate 2: is disgusting to me, I don't mind if you Identify as one or if you DO just wanna CASUALLY chat but please know that I won't and will never want that or say that word (with the exception of blocking tags involving it or here as a boundary) but if i need to it will be censored. I don't mind if you Identify as one and wanna follow me or anything or just wanna casually chat (or talk sexual just not... making me one to try to explain) feel free to I will NEVER kink shame regardless of how I feel so this won't apply to most people just a very very teeny tiny minority. I won't block you tho unless you cross a boundary or keep pushing, because I feel anyone who wants to read my content should be allowed.

I would also like to say, if you're going to delete your account please don't dm me, it breaks my heart every time

Hello I do not wish to give out my actual name online so you may call me Mz. Hyde (I stole it from the song by the same name by Halestorm) or just... my user-name-tag-thing (always forget what its called)

I am all for Sentient AI but HATE current AI (it doesnt even deserve to be called that)

Outside of this post any posts in blue is rping as a slime-girl-queen-goddess-character. Feel free to send asks or responses directed at her. Her title is Queen of Slimes, The Slime Goddess, or The Slime of the Lake

As of posting this I am still brand new to Tumblr but am learning somewhat quickly sooo things may look A Little odd right now to the average Tumblr user but as soon as I finish learning the basics it should look fine.

Anyway:

19 so 18+ only please, (pre-hrt) Transfem, Bisexual, Autisic+ADHD, overall anxious/shy-ish, probably a switch, Lefty, Type 1 Diabetic (I require insulin to survive), Virgin [:(]

Majority of this blog will be kinky thoughts usually about being dommed or hypno because... I wanna try it. SOME is fantasy tho so keep that in mind (usually my reblogs)

If you are a dom looking for money, unless you are popular and have a good community on here or if you are a s**sy tamer (or whatever it would be called) please don't DM me, unless you just wanna casually chat and don't wanna dom me or if you do please respect:

I really don't like being called an s**sy and will give you one warning before I block you.

I literally have no way to pay you so please don't expect that.

Please read this first, or if I ask you to because otherwise that gives me a red flag in my head and I will probably block you. (Unless it's just casual talking but that's different than what I'm talking about here)

My proof that I take this seriously:

Kinks because that seems to be an important factor on making these types of posts/blogs: Transformation, Hypnosis, Dronification, Denial/Edging, Latex, Brainwashing, Bimbofication, Twinning, Dollification, Forniphilia, Exhibition

Things I enjoy but aren't kinks: Forced Fem, Praise, Good Girl (I'll add more when I think of them)

Limits or things that I will block you about: Human Waste, Blood, Physical Harm, IRL Identity Death (Fantasy is hot AF tho), Sissy (WILL BLOCK YOU), Findom (Unless we're in a romantic relationship), (and a few more I can't remember off the top of my head)

The reason for physical harm being a limit is mostly due to personal problems I've had with S.H. and because of that I hate reading S.H. or other stories or fantasies with physical harm or knifes. Fantasy Violence is ok though. (E.G. Pirates or like a battle between two warrior framed in a Fictional light.) Oh and also no needles. BIG fear of needles, for multiple reasons. Will go in depth if asked.

Finally a few final things about me/general questions:

This is my first Tumblr account that is SPECIFICALLY for NSFW things although I will occasionally post more SFW things but I do love music, video games, card/board games, RPGs/TTRPGs, creative writing, art.

What's your Favorite Color?: I don't have one but my fav combo is Hot Pink and Deep Purple, pretty much if you've ever seen those BIC octagonal see-through pens, those shades of pink and purple specifically

What kinda music do you like?: Power Metal, Rock, some Pop

What video games do you play?: Some Pokemon, Batman: Arkham, Smash Ultimate, Fallout, I can't really get online games yet so unfortunately I cannot play with anyone :'(

Is there anything specific you like about your kinks?: Honestly, in a vacuum I like dronification for productivity because I SUCK at doing anything productive.

The people who have sent questions about Gaza Support (i am broke but here are links to them i am just going to put their profiles for the sake of simplicity and nc some links i cant copy paste):

@ehabayyad23

@freepaleatine95

@mahmoudayyad

@esraayyad14

@ezzaldeens-blog

@foggyruinspost

@ahmed4palestine

@sspsworld

@fidaa-family2

@wafaaresh6

@mahmoudswierh2

@generousvioonanuttieyl

@nishverian

@ahmedalnabeeh11

@shinytastemakerphantom

@nohabed

@ahmaad860

@scentedtyrantmusic

@mahrahpalestine

@d-imtthal

@ayoosh-gaza

@kareem-family2

@save-fatma-gaza3093

@yazan-joud2

Tags to find non-reposts easier (Umm i ran out of colors so these will be bold):

#Random Thoughts, #Edging kink (for post horny thoughts), #Hornyposting (for horny thoughts), #Hydes eepy thoughts (for thoughts i have when sleep deprived), #Hydes Ideas (cool ideas i have), #Hydes Hypno Scripts (for Hypnotic Scripts I make), #Hydes QnA (QnA), #Hydes Depressed Thoughts (Thoughts I have when depressed), #Hydes Kinky Thoughts (thoughts I have that are just generally kinky but it's not hornyposting nor... I forgot what I was going to put here), #Hydes Hypno Scripts (My hypnosis scripts), #Slimeposting (Slime Queen RP posts), #Hydes loving words (to my significant other)

If I get any FAQ I'll either add them here or to a FAQ post.

I now have a sideblog for latex things that look perfect. That is an opinion and just a kink the person they are under the latex is, in my opinion, someone different so anything there that I call 'perfect' is just in terms of kinkiness NOT a reflection of the actual person. The blog is: @trans2latexperfection

If you read this far thank you for reading!!! :3

Blocked Users (i dont normally block people so these people are scammers or assholes, also will not be using @ s either here):

mistress-elizabethh - for calling me a s**sy twice, even after claiming to read pinned

[ominous-faechild]

FAERIE'S DAWN RELEASE SCHEDULE:

Hi! Author of Faerie's Dawn here! You can call me Barlowe!

(plenty of people call me "Fae" tho, haha. i don't mind either)

So, when I initially teased Faerie's Dawn, I'd been planning on prepping a queue of several chapters and even building out a few chapters to publish on Tapas before I started actually posting it. I'd planned to make a new "foreshadowing post" every few days until a week or two passed (all the while I worked on it lol), then finally release it lol.

I did not expect anybody to really interact with the post lol

Buuuuuuuuuut it did, and people's excitement for Faerie's Dawn made me decide to release the first few chapters a little early!

Now it's time for the week or two of building up a buffer. 🙂😘

During this week or two, I'm going to release character profiles/intros for each of the main characters: Nova, Cloud, Sky, Eve, and Asa! I'm also going to create a masterlist/navigation post to easily get around Faerie's Dawn content, haha.

If you miss (or are interested in) any of the Faerie's Dawn characters, feel free to send in Asks about any of them! I'll reply to Faerie's Dawn Asks asap, and it'll probably help tide you guys over in the break lol.

Now for the schedule...

TUMBLR UPDATES:

Starting approx. Feb 10th at the latest:

⚜ Faerie's Dawn will update on a biweekly basis! ⚜ Tuesdays and Fridays at 7pm EST! ⚜ each update will be a “part”, half of a chapter each ⚜ “parts” will be approx. [1 - 1.5k words] each ⚜ im not going to be super strict on it tho ⚜ updates will be: ⚜ a chapter ahead of ao3 ⚜ at least 5 chapters ahead of Tapas ⚜ (prose, written version) ⚜ each has color-coded characters and important concepts, aiding both in keeping track of characters and giving hints to the audience

AO3 UPDATES:

Starting approx. Friday, Feb 7th (awaiting invitation):

⚜ Faerie's Dawn will update on a biweekly basis! ⚜ Tuesdays and Fridays at 7pm EST! ⚜ (assuming I can schedule them...) ⚜ each update will be a “part”, half of a chapter each ⚜ “parts” will be approx. [1 - 1.5k words] each ⚜ im not going to be super strict on it tho ⚜ updates will be: ⚜ a chapter behind of Tumblr ⚜ at least 4 chapters ahead of Tapas ⚜ (prose, written version)

⚜ will lack the beautiful color-coding of the Tumblr version ⚜ otherwise an exact match of the outline-scripts ⚜ on top of being on another platform, this is an accessibility thing to accommodate for people who might be distracted by the coloration

TAPAS UPDATES:

Will depend on when exactly I receive the cover and have at least three (3) chapters of a buffer built up, but most likely begin before Tuesday, March 4th.

To note: ⚜ will be written as a book, in narrative prose ⚜ upon release, will update up to three times a week (Tuesdays and Fridays or every three days, depending on Factors™) until it reaches 5 chapters behind the Tumblr releases

After catching up to the Tumblr outline-script releases, it:

⚜ updates on a weekly or biweekly basis ⚜ most often, only Friday at 9pm EST ⚜ on "extra" weeks, includes Tuesday (9pm EST) ⚜ chapter lengths will naturally depend on the Tapas character restrictions and where the chapters/“parts” most naturally end ⚜ if split into two parts, the chapter will release Tuesday and Friday

SYNOPSIS:

Following the Shattering of Reality, the world was plunged into what came to be known as the Faewildes: an ever-changing world suffused with magic and danger. Humanity crumbled under the weight of the new reality while fae—and the archfae above them—emerged to rule over the new world. Humans couldn't compete against the fae's sheer magical prowess, and soon built strongholds in territories with weak magical presence to stand against them. Now, so many generations later, humanity has finally learned of faekind's weakness: metal, which weakens fae and blocks their magic. A war is breaking out between humanity and fae, with gods each picking sides in the conflict. Between faeries Nova, Cloud, and Sky, and the human settlement Eve and Asa protect... who will win?

INTRODUCTION MASTERPOST (pending) TABLE OF CONTENTS #FAERIE'S DAWN

TAGLIST:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@corinneglass @thebookishkiwi @storyteller-kara @themongosianhorse @theburningeyeofdawn

@notyourlocalworm @write-with-will @mildlybizarrecorvid @forgottenvalor @huewrite

@vesanal @differentnighttale @plip-plap-plop @olliedoesthings @pupculture

@princessuncertain @mythicalmagical-monkeyman @i-do-anything-but-write @a-zendrial

@real-fragments @lunauphternal @sullymarlowe @aalinaaaaaa (ask and ye shall be added)

interact with this post to be added to the faerie's dawn taglist!

divider by @thyming

[velvet-vox]

The horrifying humanity of Lord Shen

One of the less talked about things that help Lord Shen to be the fascinating and complex antagonist that he is are his facial expressions:

Anytime throughout the movie that Shen shows his face, we are met with an extremely detailed and eye-catching emotion, accentuated by the movie actively refusing to let us see the rest of Shen's design clearly; when you think about it, Shen is very overly designed, with the iron talons, the robe adornments, and his massive tail, yet the one thing that we are constantly paying attention to is his face.

His face is also fairly detailed, mind you, but is not the only part of his body to be like this, yet most of the time, the camera focuses only on that aspect of his appearance, and when Shen is covered in shadow, which happens a lot, the only thing that we can pay attention to is his red eyes, engulfing the rest of his body.

Shen's facial expressions do a really great job at communicating to the audience so much extra depth about his character: they give us a glimpse of his psychology and make us understand the fundamental flaws that define Shen as a person.

His expressiveness is especially noticeable when compared to the other three main villains;

Tai Lung barely emotes, except to show his anger; as a matter of fact, what I've just said is a lie, he actually has a lot of different facial expressions, especially after his escape from jail, but the thing is that we are never meant to focus on them: Tai Lung's martial prowess is the main focus of his character, so every scene he's in capitalises on it, his emotional state comes second, which helps those moments when he's actually super emotive (the fight with Tigress, Shifu's apology, his mental breakdown at the end of the movie) to hit that much harder.

The Chameleon makes a lot of different facial expressions but they don't communicate any more depth about her character; it's hard to say at this point, since I've only seen Kung Fu Panda 4 once, but if I were to take a guess, the intro sequence of the movie were The Chameleon pretends to be Tai Lung is the most depth her character ever gets in the story: she is a massive fangirl.

I'll probably have to rewatch her sequences a couple more times to make sure I'm not getting anything wrong, but as of right now, I am going to take a wild assumption and say that The Chameleon prefers her trasformations over her real self because she doesn't like herself for who she is. This is mostly unrelated to our current discussion, but since an analysis of The Chameleon is extremely far away, I might as well mention this observation now.

Kai's facial expressions give us a lot of insight into his mind, but not as much into his psychology like Shen's face does: in a way, Kai is the most emotive of the Kung Fu Panda villains, since, as we're going to see very soon, Shen keeps a lot of his emotional turmoil for himself, he doesn't want other people to understand what is going on in his mind and how actually scared of everything he is; Tai Lung also practices self-restraint but for different reasons, and The Chameleon is still yet to be fully understood by myself, but Kai is always sincere about his emotional state, he's angry when he's angry, flattered when he's flattered, and he's scared when he's scared. This doesn't mean that Kai doesn't have anymore depth that can be extrapolated from a contradiction between what he says/does and what his face says/does, it just means that Kai is someone who's very clear about his emotions, probably because he lacks the childhood trauma that defies Shen and Tai, and also because he's already dead.

Kai's inner thought process is that of a raging bull: clear as day. He doesn't have any emotional vulnerability to hide because he doesn't feel like anything can hurt him anymore, so he doesn't bother with keeping a facade since he's not afraid of anything.

Speaking of emotional state, it's time we take a look at this schizophrenic turkey's mental health and how the expressions that he makes leak out the true reason behind his seemingly unending hatred of Po.

You may now be thinking "But isn't Lord Shen's hatred of Po kinda obvious? He hates him, because he perceives him as a threat to his plans, and because he's evil and all that jazz" and while you are partially correct for that, I want to expand upon that obvious notion, and reveal why every time Shen interacts with Po he seemingly treats him like his life long arch nemesis:

You see, Lord Shen isn't just simply afraid of Po....

He's fricking paranoid of him.

Do you remember the whole training montage where Po and the Furious Five are travelling through the country to reach Gongmin City while Shen is getting ready to start the invasion?

It's a pretty cool sequence and all, especially from the perspective of the six..... but why is Lord Shen acting like that?

In KFP3, where we get a similar scene with Kai, it makes perfect sense from both the hero and the villain point of view: Kai, at this point, has been established as a massive threat to Po, so Po is keenly aware of the danger that he poses and is training like hell in order to defeat him; while Kai, who has now almost managed to destroy everything that Oogway has created, is impatient of taking out the last remaining pieces of Oogway's legacy, showcased by the angry way in which he punches the obstacles in his path to the village.

But here, while Po is simply preparing himself to fight the next big threat, Shen is going the extra mile of refining his combat prowess for an invasion that is going to be executed through the usage of gunpowder.

... A bit excessive, don't you think? This doesn't really mean much right now, but let's keep this in mind for later.

After defeating the Council of the Masters and dethroning the throne, Shen immediately asks the Soothsayer to tell him his future, but not before ensuring that his weapon is in the right position for him to continue his monologue.

Keep in mind: these two probably haven't met in 30 years, and while the true extent of their relationship is up to the fans head canons, it's pretty easy to assume that these two were probably closer at a certain point in their lives; therefore, if Shen was so eager to know his destiny to the point of not even wanting to gloat at the old goat, he must have been motivated by either one of these reasons:

A; He wanted to get this over quickly so that he could focus on something else, learning about his future and then finally getting rid of the Soothsayer;

B; Shen's brain is entirely concerned with his plans of world dominance, plans that would greatly benefit from the Soothsayer's ability of predicting the future to be completely foolproof.

C; He has been thinking of nothing else for the past 30 years.

While A is quickly disproved by a later scene where Shen let's go of the goat, B is most likely also not the answer, as despite it being the most logical course of action for the young Lord, the same scene that disproves A also denies B: why would Shen let go of his greatest source of intel? Just because he needed a way to make peace with the past? It's still possible that the thought of using the Soothsayer's magical abilities may have crossed Shen's mind, but I doubt it ever was his main concern.

No, Shen immediately started going after the answers that he sought for one and one reason only: it's been tormenting him for decades.

The way Lord Shen rehashes his monologue with his sword before meeting Po is not that of a cold, calculating mastermind making sure everything goes according to plans; it's the way a schizophrenic freak would try his hardest to keep everything under control.

Shen is in constant need of wanting everything to be how he has envisioned it, like that cannon from earlier, because otherwise he starts to crack down under the pressure.

His nervousness becomes even more apparent in the first segment of his developmental footage; even if all of these are cut scenes that were never intended to be in the movie, they reinforce the idea that the writers always intended to portray Shen as anxious in this scene.

And once Lord Shen is finally about to meet Po, he indeed starts to crack down under the pressure; Shen has feared that this day might arrive his entire life, fought so hard for this moment to not come true, and now that it's finally here, he's absolutely terrified.

Notice how Lord Shen immediately reaches for his feather-knife once he hears the big bad fat panda coming closer: even if the whole scene is played for comedic effect, you can't deny the fact that Shen is truly panicking here, the very next shot of his face right before the meeting makes you assume that Shen thinks that he's going to die.

And I believe this exact fear of death, more than anything else, is what drove Shen to commit genocide towards the Pandas, it's the true reason behind any of his actions, made worse by all of the other issues Shen has:

Lord Shen suffers from Thanatophobia.

Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. Another name for this condition is “death anxiety.” Those suffering from this mental health disorder might be anxious about their own death or the death of someone they care about. Psychotherapy can help most people overcome this disorder, but as you can very well imagine, there weren't many therapists in ancient China, so I doubt Shen had any concrete way of overcoming this struggle, especially in his current household, who most likely put high societal pressure on his dilapidated mind.

Here's a link to a site that better talks about this stuff. Of course, if you want to truly verify the validity of my source, I encourage you to seek out a professional, and please don't use what I tell you as proof for any real life debate.

I personally believe that diagnosing Lord Shen with Thanatophobia is the best way to put the actions of his character into perspective; the visceral way in which Shen talks to Po doesn't make a lot of sense if Shen only sees Po as a threat; no, Po is a constant nightmare looming inside his mind, and has been driving him insane for years, so now Shen wants to even the favour with the panda by slowly breaking his mind apart before he finally manages to kill him.

For Po, his conflict with Shen wasn't personal until he learned of his past, but for Shen, it was personal right from the moment he overheard the prophecy.

The complete and utter alienation of Tai Lung

[destinygoldenstar]

🌟Can Gays Coexist In Peace?🌟 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 3 Episode 2 “Gone Buck Wild!”

I WAS VERY EXCITED TO SHOW YOU GUYS THIS.

So, I kinda maybe DITCHED THE SCREENSHOT EDITS...

Instead, for this season, you're getting complete digital art from me as headings.

I'll put these on their own in separate posts later.

SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY A GABELLIE HEADING.

Don't worry, you're not gonna see art of the same character over and over again. It's just 'who did I find interesting the previous episode?' 'what do I feel like?' Ya know?

I think these girlies are here to stay. So I gave them some spotlight.

...I know my art isn't great :(

Alright today we're going into the game itself! We got Red Yellow And Blue!

...oh wait, sorry, we got yellow, blue, and PINK.

OF ALL COLORS, YOU PICK PINK.

I like pink, but also, that's a color that screams 'disaster' when you put it in this setting.

I have literally no reason to make fun of Pink Team yet, but here we are. XD

Thank you all for the support btw. And your warnings that this season is terrible. Appreciate it.

I mean hey, if it's bad, I want it to be the fun type of bad. That's all I ask.

What did you say? "YUL ReGRETT this?"

I already regret it just from hearing that pun... /s

Alright, so... I'm doing it anyway. It's on me if I'm tortured.

I can't get over that the very first second of this intro is lady whats-her-name killing Oliver by shoving him off a plane.

Ooh does Lake's suitcase have a flower on it?

Don't say I'm not watching the intro every time.

XD

First minute, and we already have the child getting hurt.

WHOOPS.

"My bad! Never used one of these doo-hickeys in my life."

Yeah she didn't mean to do that.

She wouldn't willingly hurt a child, even if it's Fiore.

"Oh god, we're on the same team."

"WHO IN TARNATION DECIDED ON PINK?!"

Yeah I wonder how that's gonna go, since, ya know, Fiore's the main source of Ashley's downfall last time. And Ashley has a good motive for the money.

"I wasn't lying, I'd never used a parachute before, but I definitely chose to land on Fiore."

OKAY NEVERMIND SHE DID MEAN TO DO THAT.

WHAT THE HELL ASHLEY?

"Far as I'm concerned, even though I'd never wish pain to a little girl, she deserved worse than a kick to the head."

I mean... is it bad that I kind of get that logic??

Like, it's shitty cause it's a kid, but this is Fiore we're talking about. She WANTS to be treated as grown up by everyone.

So that's what she gets.

Plus she's a bit of a psychopath who would murder people for money, so yeah.

I act like Grett and Riya are any better...

I like Fiore too, so you know.

"Think this is where we split."

No. Don't split.

We need to talk about this.

"On the jet, you mentioned we would get a chance to talk."

Yes. Thank you.

"Seeing as we aren't on the same team this time... this could be our last chance. You think we can talk now?"

I know. This is a rather tragic circumstance.

You finally see each other again, and then you can't hang out?

I mean, they can visit camps, right? They never said you couldn't do that. They can still catch up.

"Oh um-sorry-I um... need to get to my team as soon as possible."

Tom.

Tom what's going on?

I mean... I think I get it.

After what happened last time, you might be freaking out...

...but come on. Do you want to sort things out or not?

Goddammit Tom.

"Let him go, Jake. He's clearly not interested in patching things up."

Yeah, that might be it too.

Though, it is in character for Tom to not want to talk about hard stuff.

He probably already moved on.

He has a new job. He has a new life now.

It just didn't work out. And now you suddenly see them again? It's gonna be like that.

"I don't want to assume things like last time. I want to hear it from him."

"His silence speaks volumes."

"After everything we've been through... is this really it?"

Surely not.

I wouldn't be able to take it.

We're two episodes in. You got time.

It's a lot of PTSD. People with that don't want triggers.

Idk I'm really trying here. I think they're gonna explain it at some point.

"It might be time to move on."

Awwwww 😥

He's not gonna be able to connect with anyone here.

Hunter has two girlfriends. James has a boyfriend.

He's alone.

And it's hard to move on from something like that too. It just really sucks cause she might be right.

AWWWW GABBY'S HAIR IN A PONYTAIL!!!❤️

"I hope there aren't too many from our season..."

UUUUUUUHHHH ABOUT THAT...

Yeah...

"After how you treated me on the jet over here? You're lucky I even acknowledged you."

YOU SLANDERED EVERYONE PUBLICALLY.

"If you guys continue to bicker, it'll be the death of both of you!"

YUS QEEEN 👑

GABBY PUTTING HER FOOT DOWN.

"NO FIGHTING AT THE DINNER TABLE!"

"I'm glad I have Gabby and Tess, but having to deal with Sheriff Himbo's grudge-"

DID YOU JUST CALL HIM SHERIFF HIMBO?! 😂

That doesn't have a right to be funny.

"I know there's no point in apologizing since you won't believe me, but I want to play differently this time."

I'll believe it when I see it. How about that?

"We can work together. As long as it's on my terms of course."

"But after all I've done?! I protected you this whole game! I helped you win the zombie apocalypse challenge, saved your life in the cave, covered up your plans so no one would suspect you're a PSYCHOPATH, and you STILL eliminate me?!"

"Hey! Words hurt you know!"

I thought you knew that 'Demon Child' is accurate.

You yourself said that.

"Dang, why did we have to get the little girl on our team?"

DAMN, NO ONE IS HAPPY WITH HER.

I mean look at it this way.

You have an easy first boot on your team.

"The problem is that last time, we lost almost every challenge because of you."

Uh... let me think about that...

*Does the math*

Actually, that is only not true one time. Episode 4.

Episode 5 in a half cause that was a collab between her and Alec's failure to cook.

So 1 1/2 out of 4 that's false.

Yeah, she has a point.

"I'm screwed."

YA THINK?

"Never told you this, but as a young lad, I was in the scouts. Really made a man out of me."

Look at Connor being useful!

"Grett, the human hemorrhoid."

Hemorrhoid?

OH.

MIRIAM, WATCH IT.

"Wow granny, you look just like this old woman I got accused of pushing down an escalator."

Oh yeah, Yul is here.

I almost didn't notice him till he opened his mouth.

"Also, if you call my girlfriend a hemorrhoid again, you'll be rolling down this hill."

I'd like to see you try.

Props for defending your girl I guess...?

Grett does not look happy about it though.

"To put it nicely, this team is a hot mess."

No it's not.

You have two queens who know how to play. Miriam's a good brains. You're a good brains.

The only reason it's a hot mess is because there's this one pesky stain here.

Get rid of him and you will see the light.

"What if we cover the tent in leaves?"

Does that work?

Does that actually work?

"Mind if I tag along?"

"I do mind actually."

Girl, what is your problem?

Just because he's dense and absent minded doesn't mean he doesn't want to help you.

You are literally beefing with your boyfriend because he can't remember every single detail of your words straight away.

"Alright, I know I look like a jerk for not remembering her game, but listen, Ally remembers a lot of video games. Remembering every game she talks to me about would be harder than advanced calculous."

Yeah. EXACTLY.

Why is she so mad about this? She should know he's like this.

Like... just tell him again?? Is that hard???

You act like he's ignoring you on purpose.

Jake and Allyson are gonna be besties.

"OMG MY LOVER IGNORES ME TOO!!!!"

"Is it even worth making a fire? The rain's just gonna come put it out."

Yeah why would you waste flint like that?

"I'd like to think about potentially forming an alliance."

Didn't they already say no?

NO MEANS NO.

"Hunter and Ally are a couple and James seems to be close to them."

Oh, that's true...

You can probably sway Allyson though.

And if Hunter is cool with it, boom. Four Person Alliance. Fiore and James are the minority.

"That's a risk I can take."

Yeah, I get that.

Jake's just like "I just came here to get some alone time with Tom AND NOW I CAN'T GET IT 😠-"

"I wanna discuss it privately with Jake now."

Oh?

*whispering* "Hey Jake, I think this girl is desperate."

"Relax, I just wanted her to go away. Her darn voice was starting to hurt my ears."

"I AM IN HEARING RANGE!!!!"

Awwww, Yul's suffering, how sweet 😄

Though I act like I'm better. I was out in the COLD at work most of the day. My skin was RED and I had FOUR LAYERS ON.

"What was my manager thinking sending me out here in a crop top?"

OH RELAX YOUR CROP TOP HAS FIRE ON THAT. THAT WILL WARM YOU UP RIGHT AWAY.

"And at least we still look good together."

If SHIT if your standard of good. Then sure.

God I still can't believe this is real...

"You all should have prepared better. I brought my alpaca fur coat, which not only is warm, but makes me look fabulous."

LOOK AT RIYA SHOWING OFF HER QUEEN STATUS.

GIRL IS FLEXING.

"For my next showing, I shall get everybody fur coats! We shall bond as a team making fur coats out of the fluffiest animals we can find!"

NO RIYA GABBY WILL SMACK YOU INTO NEXT TUESDAY!

"Riya's coat slays."

OH NO CONNOR DON'T TELL HER TO SLAY! SHE'LL DO IT!

"You know, now that you mentioned slaying, I WAS thinking about it..."

"I'm really worried about what this game is doing to Riya. When we're alone, she can be really sweet."

Yeah...

Though her being sweet off camera is kind of a shock, actually.

"But as soon as the cameras are on, she becomes someone else entirely."

Yeah because her reputation is based solely around being that someone else. Because the real her is the her that gets no success and no attention.

AWWWW LOOK AT THE BLUE TEAM BONDING OVER RAIN, THIS IS-

This is actually so nice. It is so nice to just relax for a bit and see characters bond.

This is so sweet. I like this. ❤️

I really miss stuff like this in Total Drama. Over the seasons, they kinda got rid of this stuff in favor of action.

This is taking its time. I appreciate it.

"When it rained, I was hiding in the camp, looking for something to help me with the Jensen problem."

And that was AFTER you were eliminated. Which was MERGE.

Damn. The Season 1 cast got lucky.

"What were you doing that night, Ellie?"

"Nothing..."

"I was just... you know... ruining a relationship... the usual."

And do not tell me "Ellie breaking them up was a good thing, actually!"

They were sorting things out on their own just fine until she butted in and fed lies!

And now look at the state of both of them not being able to get over it cause it hurt them THAT MUCH.

Don't tell me they deserved that!

If they were gonna break up, they would have done it on their own. Enough said.

"OH, OH REALLY, OH, so you don't recall stabbing me in the back and making me look like a moron on national television?!"

EXACTLY. THANK YOU.

"Well, it worked."

*spits a laugh*

Okay, that was good.

"BUT-BUT ELLIE COULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING ELSE-"

Here. I will educate you.

"I didn't break it up to start an argument!"

"GODDAMMIT I'M GONNA HAVE TO RESORT TO BREAKING BRIDGES WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER!"

You better hope to GOD Gabby doesn't get a sledgehammer!

YOU BETTER HOPE TO GOD!

"You know it's bad when I have to be the voice of reason."

I... yeah. That is very concerning.

Still. Gabby slays.👑

Oh my god they're all in uniform.

I say that like they weren't in Season 1 too.

The PINK is just making me not take that team seriously. I'm sorry.

"PINK IS THE MOST INTIMIDATING COLOR!"

They're reminding me of Barbies.

Well, two Barbies, a Chelsea, and three Kens.

"Uh James? What are you doing helping the other team?"

That's his boyfriend.

I mean, of course JAKE is the one who says this.

"I DON'T TRUST THAT GUY! HE'S TRYING TO SABOTAGE HIS OWN TEAM!!"

"...I mean, I don't blame you for not trusting me. But learn to chill."

"I'LL CHILL WHEN YOU'RE DEALT WITH! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE A HAPPY LOVING RELATIONSHIP WHILE MINE WENT HORRIBLY WRONG AND WAS PUBLICALLY HUMILIATED AND GHOSTED FOR BEING ME AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"...well shit."

"They only let us film a new season here in exchange for repairing the environment."

So you set it on fire.

Sure.

God this is bad timing.

Oh my god XD

"How would you rate your Survivor experience?"

*Everyone goes in the red one*

"Fair enough."

"The yellow containers have eight mildly harmful animals."

What do you mean by mildly?

Mild as in a rabbit? Or mild as in a bear?

"And the red one contains four very dangerous critters."

WHO APPROVED OF THAT?!?!

WELP, SOMEONE'S GETTING MAULED.

Is a bever really that dangerous?

So... all the red is 40. All the yellow is also 40.

Just go for all the yellows. And the other two teams will split the reds, and boom, you win.

WHY WOULD YOU PUT THE CHILD AS YOUR DEFENSE?

BOO, PINK TEAM SUCKS.

Okay. AIDEN as defense.

WHYYYY?!?!?!?

WHAT IS YOUR LOGIC?!

Riya looks like she's just here to slay, honestly.

"I can attack and look good doing it. For my next showing, I am going to show you my secret football skills! They will fall before me as they tackle each other to the ground!"

NO RIYA FOOTBALL IS A DANGEROUS SPORT!

"Let's get the red container!"

GO FOR THE YELLOW. YA DUMBASSES.

XD

Okay that's just funny. Idk why.

Don't just leave the goat there- oh my god.

And this is just the second episode XD

Okay first off, GET OFF ITS ASS. IT DON'T LIKE THAT.

Second, leash it from behind and let it run. It'll chase you through the door.

But mostly, DON'T TOUCH THE ANIMAL'S ASS!!!

DAMN SHE JUST ONE SHOT HER!

👑

Why is Gabby slaying so much this episode?

"Hey! Gabby punched me!"

That was a SMACK.

And also, THAT'S THE GAME!!!

I DUNNO WHAT TO TELL YA.

DON'T. TOUCH. THE ANIMALS. ASS!!

Please don't fuck a wolf.

It looks like all three of them are trying to fuck a wolf.

Oh look at the Yellow Team working well together!

"Don't think I've forgiven you."

Well, you just saved her from Hunter's bullying, so...

She's not even on your team, secondly.

"No one on my team likes me!"

"Can you blame them?"

Not really.

THANK YOU!

I WAS VERY CONCERNED WHAT YOU WERE DOING TO THAT WOLF EARLIER.

ALSO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME!

Heyo. Tom. You're uh... you're kinda...

Oh my brain just got dirty. THANKS WOLF.

OH MY GOD LOOK AT RIYA BEING SMART!

GO OFF QUEEN! 👑

"For my next showing, I shall tame the wolf! And teach it human civilization! The better to eat you with, dear!"

NO RIYA THAT FAIRY TALE IS A VORE FIC!

"Change of plans! Go for the green containers!"

GO FOR THE YELLOW!

"Do you mean the crate or the team?"

*face palm*

NOPE.

OH GOD DON'T DO IT LIKE THAT!!!

Aw, Yul is suffering. That's nice. :)

GET HIM GOOSE!

She's just vibing XD

This challenge was made for Gabby.

Aw, Jake :(

Tom moved on. Hate to say it.

"Man, I have no friends."

"Seems like Tom's already replaced you."

OH GOD DON'T ADD SALT TO THE WOUND.

"He's been smiling more than usual around Aiden."

Yeah. Tom making friends. That's... pretty unlike him.

"But I was his sunshine..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they talked before this."

Uh, Aiden was in Brazil, so uh... how would that be possible?

Jake's gonna be like "You really think I buy into that crap? Come on. You just want to hurt me."

"Which leaves Team Magenta with a messily twelve points."

Oh wow.

Okay. Noted.

PINK TEAM SUCKS 😂

I THINK WE FOUND OUR TEAM VICTORY.

"Hey James, can I ask you something?"

Is he actually gonna tell someone what happened?

That's shocking coming from Jake. But proud of him.

"Have you noticed how quickly Tom and Aiden became friends?"

Huh. He's CALM about it too?

Damn. Jake's development is actually consistent.

"Yeah, so, I haven't seen or heard from Tom in two years, and him quickly making friends like that doesn't seem like him. And I have trust issues, so I don't want to assume the worst out of it or believe Alec. Can you help me out man? Thanks. Appreciate it."

I gotta admit, I expected Jake to be pissed and not talk to anyone about this.

"No. I'm not on their team."

DUH.

"I think you should talk to Aiden."

Good idea. WOW. 👍

Talk to Aiden. Find out the truth. You find out Alec is full of crap. You clear the air!

Jake is actually taking this really well and doing the right thing!

"What are you implying, Jake?!"

Wh-?

Why are you mad at him?

He said FRIENDS. He didn't say cheating.

CHILL.

"Well, it just seems very unusual to me."

As Jake WOULD assume. He hasn't seen Tom since last season.

He just wants a full picture and understand what's happening. Which is justified.

"Respectfully, you don't know Aiden. Be careful what you're suggesting."

I'm pretty sure he was talking about Tom's side of it.

JAMES. CHILL.

"Woah, no need to be that hostile."

YEAH. HE ASKED CALMLY AND OPEN MINDED.

WHY ARE YOU UPSET?!

Come on. If Jake BELIEVED Aiden was cheating on James with Tom, WHY WOULD HE CONFRONT THIS TO JAMES SO CALMLY AND SUGGEST TALKING OUT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

He's coming here cause he doesn't want to believe it and wants solid proof and help to assure him that it's a lie.

And James is getting all fired up for no good reason.

"You are making stuff up about my boyfriend!"

ALL HE SAID WAS THAT HE WAS FRIENDS WITH TOM.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

James, you're killing me right now!

You did in Season 2 as well, but still.

"I didn't make anything up! Others have noticed too! Are you blind?!"

And now you're firing up Jake.

James, ya fucked up.

"Listen boy toy. Clearly you have trust issues. My boyfriend is not cheating on me."

So why are you yelling at him instead of helping clear the air?

YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE.

JAMES JUST STOP.

"Are you calling me a liar?!"

"A lie would have to be smart. You're delusional."

Bruh.

James, you fucked up.

And now I remember why I don't like James XD

I'm surprised Jake was handling that well though. He actually learned something from Season 1. He didn't explode until James snapped at him.

I'm proud of my boy.

But now I think he is gonna be bitter about the friendship because Tom won't talk to him, so it just further proves that he doesn't care about Jake anymore in his mind.

Clearly Jake has no friends, so that hurts even more.

"Well, anyone I ask for help is being a dick to me, so you know what? SCREW PEOPLE. SCREW EVERYONE HERE. YOU ALL SUCK."

"The casting team really dropped the ball inviting Jake back. I mean, have they seen what he posts? Crying about never finding true love? Hashtag Thirsty."

Okay that's just mean XD

"This is the fortieth day since the incident... I have never been the same... I'M OUT OF ICE CREAM!! AND HE HAS NO SERVICE WHERE HE LIVES!!!😭"

🎵"ALL ALOOOOOONNNEEE, PRETENDING HE'S BESIDE MEEEEEE..."🎵

Yeah, so Jake has NOT BEEN DOING WELL since Season 1.

I don't blame him one bit.

And I don't blame him for assuming the worst either.

And James is still a piece of shit.

"Ever since Jake blew up on James-"

James blew up on Jake. Were you not eavesdropping?

"Fiore is the weakest member of the team. If we want to win challenges, she should be the one to go."

Which is fair logic, actually.

She is kinda useless without her strategic power that no one is falling for anymore.

"Jake was on my side on voting Fiore, but since the argument, he's been begging me to change our vote to James."

Do I blame him?

Honestly? Do I blame him?

I was coming into this thinking "Yeah Jake is gonna be an asshole. I'll support him, but NOT because I'm on his side."

...well shit. I'm on his side.

"This is the perfect chance to get revenge on Fiore. For Will, Lill, and even Nick who I don't care about but I'll stick him in there too."

WAS THAT SURVIVOR REFERENCE?!??!?!

HEYO!!!! I KNOW THAT LINE!!!!!!

VERY CLEVER DISVENTURE CAMP!!!! VERY CLEVER!!!!!

I understand losing Fiore.

But also, I kinda want James to go.

'JAMES'

Nice. Very nice.

'JAKE'

Yeah yeah yeah, fuck you James.

'JAMES'

XD

Fiore's handwriting.

I can't memorize everyone's handwriting. But Fiore's is just so obvious.

'FIORE'

Oh wait, is Fiore going...?

I mean it makes sense.

'FIORE'

OH MY GOD SHE'S GOING.

Welp, bye kid!

OH.

OH MY GOD. ASHLEY?!

ASHLEY LOCKING IN JAKE AS AN ALLY?!?!

That's... actually very smart of her.

Because the two are voting against each other, and if Fiore goes, that tension makes Ashley an outcast and the next to go because Allyson and Hunter are sided with James-

So the best move is to get James out.

By doing that, she locks in Jake as an ally, and evens the numbers with Allyson and Hunter, because they won't work with Fiore!

Wow!

Well played! 👏

THAT WAS A SMART MOVE!👏

I LIKE THAT!

"I can't believe you guys sided with that spoiled brat!"

Look who's talking.

"SPOILED?! I HAVE NOTHING BUT A SURROGATE GRANDMA!"

"From last years champion to first boot."

I know, right? That's crazy!

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN.

"Good luck having a paranoid nutcase on the team."

He's not wrong.

I'm not gonna defend Jake and say he's perfect. Cause no.

He's the problem person on this team.

"I'm sorry James... but Jake is the only person on the team I've formed a small bond with in this short time, and I don't plan on burning it now..."

That's crazy.

I thought it would be Jake and Allyson.

Jake and Ashley was NOT on my bingo card.

"I can't help but feel bad."

Aww.😥

He's remorseful about it.

"Am I right to suspect something between Tom and Aiden? I don't have that answer right now, but in case it's true... tonight was payback. Now Aiden will feel what it's like to have the person you love taken away."

DAMN.

OKAY. DAMN.

I mean, he's acting out of impulsiveness, right? HOLY SHIT MAN.

I mean, PERSONALLY, I think you did Aiden a favor.

But that is SO MESSED UP.

What did I say?

JAKE IS AN ASSHOLE.

I FREAKING CALLED THIS.

WHAT DID I SAY?

WHAT DID I SAY WOULD HAPPEN?!?!

HE TRUSTS NO ONE.

YAY JAKE IS AN ASSHOLE!!🥳

...that intention was still fucked up and I won't defend it.

But congrats on starting your asshole journey!👏

I...

Okay that really picked up at the end there!

There's some stupidity happening, but when is there not? That shit's been going on the past two seasons.

I did not expect James to be the first boot but you know what? I'm happy about it!

Dude dug his grave!

I'm looking back at that scene real quick and YEAH. Jake was being very calm and kindly asking James to help him out and talk to Aiden about the friendship with Tom. He said nothing about cheating.

And then James just EXPLODES on him FOR NO GOOD REASON.

Like, SHIT, NO WONDER JAKE VOTED YOU OFF. YOU GIVE QUITE A NUMBER OF RED FLAGS.

The top comment I just saw XD

Except he DIDN'T?

Hear me out.

If Jake ACTUALLY instantly believed that, we wouldn't have talked to James at all. He wouldn't have come to James to ask for clarity on what's happening.

Who else could he talk to? Tom won't do it.

It's because he DOESN'T trust it that this whole argument happened.

Or at least, he doesn't WANT to trust it.

BUT GODDAMMIT, JAMES GAVE HIM NO CHOICE NOW.

It's not that he believes Alec, it's that he has a terrible social life since his season and he's hurt by it, and no one is helping him figure it out.

I am all for Jake's Asshole Arc!

That past two episodes was a good build up and starting point to it. It makes sense for him!

YES! BE A DICK! HATE YOUR TEAM! HATE EVERYONE! RUIN YOUR LIFE AND RUIN YOUR CHANCES AT THIS GAME!

You're doing amazing, sweetie! He's gonna fuck up everything.

Aiden is going to LOATHE YOU.

He deserves to be loathed by him though.

OH THIS IS GONNA BE FUN :)

[drippingmoon]

Merry new year to everyone, again! 🥳💞🥂

I know it wasn’t an event this year, but writing a yearly wrap-up is really therapeutic, you know? So I decided to continue the tradition, and if anyone wants to join me, absolutely view this as an open invitation^^ Introduction is over, and now let’s see what 2023 looked like:

(spoilers: I adored it. I'm also probably going to make this my fixed post, in case anyone ever wants to catch up with me. And also because my second baby, AoS, is growing, and it doesn't have an intro, but I can't leave it out.)

Stats

Aquiver, Aglow: 181k (draft 4) + 195k (draft 5) + hmm, draft 6 is an outlier, because I didn’t rewrite from scratch, so I’m unsure of the written word count. I didn’t change much from draft 5, so I’d say an extra 15-20k. Total word count: 376k+

Remains of a Night: 120k 

Aberration of Sunlight: 134k

This was definitely my most productive year to date. And I got so hungry: the more I wrote, the more I just wanted to keep writing, and honestly? I’m proudest of myself for literally carving writing time whenever I got a spot into my schedule. Mostly it was from 8pm-11pm, but I had a mad run where my only free window was from 1am till I literally felt I was dying… I’ll talk about that separately🤣🤣👌

Though, I'm seriously understating it.

Like a lot of other people, I would have all these hours when I was younger when I didn't have anything to do, yet I'd still find some excuse not to write. "I'm waiting for the right time." "I'm anxious I'm not going to get it right." "Tomorrow! Tomorrow I can start right from the morning, and I'll have more time to write, yeah?" or "I'm too tired now, it's late..." and so the snowball rolled down and downhill and I found every reason under the sun not to write, now that I think about it. Sigh. So much time wasted. But I can't regret it either, because I needed those baby steps at that time.

And now! Now I do what I thought I'd never learn to: I prioritize, and I actually organize my daily stuff so it's not so impossible anymore to have a little bit of writing time. I don't take it for granted either. It feels like such character growth for me, I'm immensely proud of it.

And for the record? This year was a huge improvement over yesteryear mentally, too. It turns out, what I needed to get over my word count anxiety… was to be faced with people who literally didn’t give a fuck about it, and just cared about the story. One of the most unexpected things beta stage managed to do to me… was to quench all my anxieties. It’s as simple as that. I read and enjoy very long books. People also do that. So, I’m very happy to say I’m no longer in a tizzy about ‘quiv. It might kill my chances for trad publishing, it might not. I’ll be happy come what may.

Because it’s so simple how working on ‘quiv or thinking about it makes me joyous, and now I can just enjoy that freely. I will miss writing this story so much. I really will. But at least I’ll have it forever to reread, and I hope this thought brings comfort to everyone who also has problems letting go, like it does to me.

Let’s break it down a little, shall we?🤩

Aquiver, Aglow◇◇◇

My little star of the hour. How fond I am of it.

Like you could glean from above, ‘quiv went through three drafts this year. More specifically: in the first part of the year, practically almost as soon as February arrived. I knew it was getting closer to the final version, and gave me the push to finish all three back to back. I couldn’t justify anymore the bazillion AUs I do with rewrites (basically, WHAT IFs from events, WHAT IF it went this different way, WHAT IF Tyrone actually said this here… and so on and so forth. I wanted to test out as many pathways as possible, and did I exhaust every one of them in existence? Definitely not. I don’t think that can happen, you just keep getting new ideas. On and on. What happened, instead, is that these couple different pathways, at some point, cemented themselves as canon in my mind. I didn’t want to tease myself with alternatives anymore, and that’s when I knew they would be it. Some bits from the first draft, some from the third, some from the second. Some were even draft 6 originals!

It’s a bit of a weird process. I definitely didn’t need to reach draft 3, and meet Mezusa, because I could’ve feasibly made it work with just Yles in the story. It still would’ve made sense, though in a different way. But if I hadn’t… I might’ve missed one of the best characters I’ll ever probably have created, and the story (and Yles) is much stronger for her, if you ask me. 

For that matter, yes, full rewrites every single draft might take a lot of time and effort, but honestly I don’t think I’d ever change my writing process (save for the moments of frustration when I think I will lol) because of the sheer satisfaction of it. Whoever said so long never to settle on the first version, I owe you a beer and probably some curses as well lmao, but very lovingly. You shaped my writing life.

I don’t have much else to share about ‘quiv, other than it’s off with my beta readers my beloved, and maybe a tentative promise that, if anyone wants, you’ll be able to read this precious ball of hope of mine relatively soon. This story is so gentle to me. And as much as I loved to write and work on it, I dearly hope that whoever decides to give it a go, is treated just the same. That’s the only wish I have.

I also don’t know if I’ll go trad or self-published. Instincts say trad, because I fuckin’ suck at marketing (fact), and I know I’d grow resentful if I’d have to put so many hours into advertising when I know I could instead… write. I’m a writer. That’s the only thing I know how to do. Trad, however, might not be as kind on a ~200k as life’s been, so I might not have a choice. If it comes down to that… I’ll just treat it as I do everything. I don't love this story any less if I just write, publish without a fuss, hope that maybe, just maybe, a reader or two will stumble upon the story and we could talk. Maybe we can have the fun of our lives, create some genuine connection. I know that’s applies to a lot of writers. I hope we can accomplish it.

And so, I’ll finish this section of the wrap-up with a kiss to my ‘quiv, for all the warmth it’s ever brought me. It’s come so far, I know it can live distinct from me from now on. It brings me great comfort. And I look forward to the times I’ll reread it, and we can relive our best experiences together. Never thought I’d get to this point. Thank you, ‘quiv.

Remains of a Night♤♤♤

Mwhahaha! And because ‘quiv took all the pressure, this left AoS to be an extremely fun and spirited experience. Literally the chillest I’ve ever been writing. In many ways, it’s more my thing than I expected ‘quiv to be: I get to murder characters left and right, it’s more plot-heavy and banking on the tension created by a creature that horrifies the characters down to their marrow, but still the only way to defeat it is to know it better, which, uh, might have unpleasant consequences for them. It’s got chase and stealth scenes, and it always shoots me with adrenaline to think about them. In short, exactly my jam.

It’s not a new book, nope. You knew it before as Aberration of Sunlight, but from the get-go I felt it would be bigger than ‘quiv. Very fortunately for me, I had a place where to break it, and behold: there’s RoaN (book 1), and AoS (book 2). There might be a third book, which I dearly hope not because titling sucks, but it depends on the Sycamine arc. More on that in AoS.

One last thing to note, before we delve into the story (hoo-ray for earlier drafts, because I can talk more frankly about them). This is the culprit of my 1am writing adventures!!😫❤ My schedule became too packed, then NaNo came round and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to honor how AoS began, because it was last year’s NaNo, aaand I’m happy to say I won NaNo, somehow, with 56k down before I died. At that time, I only had one section left to write (from both books), otherwise, hahahaha, yeah, it wouldn’t have flown. Still, most of draft 2 I’d written in September-October, with my fairy lights, late nights, and cups of hot cocoa, exactly like how life should be<3

Alright. We’re going through them chapter-by-chapter again, exactly because I love seeing the titles so much:

ACT 1

Cracked Visor, Scorpion Grass

I did it! I did! Twas another shower thought I managed to get down in time. Bare broken sentences, but they did the impossible, and arranged this chapter into a structure I adore to bits and won't ever change. (And 'quiv's naughty voice left me alone for once and I could write it properly!) While I don't think I'll ever be happy with a first chapter (not as a concept, but the writing — part of me will always wish that the reader just had all the information already lol), this one is in the right place.

It pays its respects to the story of the broken helmet at the foot of a spaceship, and how it reconnects Madigan with all the people who'd suffered from being tethered to the planets when they yearned to fly, but the Beast punished them cruelly for it. It makes him feel phantoms of their efforts. The tone is exactly what I needed this story to start from: melancholy and numbly hopeless, against the backdrop of the Beasts's echoed cries.

Rain Through the Universe

Unlike 'quiv, because RoaN and AoS are way more plot-heavy, it's not as easy to change things willy-nilly (whereas 'quiv was all about character bonds and dynamics). As such, it's very similar to draft 1. Because of that, I'll frankendraft next (select and combine drafts 1 and 2, rewrite to connect them) and afterwards I'll try something I've always wanted to. (Scrivener keeps hinting at it!) I'm gonna split the chapters into scenes, and focus on those individually and how I can just rewrite them and set their purpose in stone<3 I'm excited!

As for the chapter itself, gods, I love the atmosphere. Just the wreckage of a sundered ship, and Madigan’s sudden madman appearance making a lasting impression on Spica, because how could it not. They no longer answer distress calls in that age, it just means more dead bodies. In fact, they're forbidden to. Madigan instead brings him what he himself lacks: hope. And a lot of crawling around while dreading the Beast's lambent eye opening, and oh my, the moments are really flying by😈👏 extreme fun for me as the writer.

Aberration of Light

If you remember, the books follow two timelines, which will connect at some point. The first and main one is Madigan and Spica’s story. The other is Holloway’s, in the distant past of that universe, and who’s been dubbed the most selfish man in existence. That’s important, because of how the Beast came to be. But that becomes important later. For now, a weird-ass new recruit has joined the ship, and the witchy crew will very soon start making bets if she’s the Beast in human flesh, which really wouldn’t bode well for their future.

Night Falls On Their Reflection

Draft 2 became Spica’s draft. It was high time. He didn't exist in the original idea beyond chapter 2, but he refused to die with his story untold. And now he's one of the most independent thinkers I've ever written. Now he's Madigan's son (yes, even at 25), best friend, back-to-back partner all in one, and I could watch the trust and mutual respect between these two forever. To be sure: Madigan comes up with the dumbass plans, and Spica's only too happy to follow him through everything (it is good fun.)

He's repaying the incredible kindness Madigan's shown him when answering his distress call, after all.

But it goes a bit further than that, doesn't it? Madigan is used to watching over myriad people. He's the Superintendent of his planet, and while he genuinely loves people, kindness is his default. It doesn't go further than that for him. He doesn't necessarily think people need, much less desire his presence there beyond Madigan extending help, and most of the time, he's content with that. Kindness does make him happy. And it should be the same with Spica now, shouldn't it? He's kind, but he's not Spica's family, nor ever will be. Yet he immediately feels a connection with the boy, that has nothing to do with bonding over escaping-a-cosmic-disaster. And so does Spica.

This is the moment when Madigan starts feeling guilty, for stepping where he should not. But here's the beauty of Spica's character: he's nothing if not dead sure of his own feelings, and what he sees with his eyes. It's okay if Madigan keeps unexpectedly taking steps back. For very long, there'd been nobody to support Spica's beliefs. So he does the same, as when he followed his heart to go into dead space: he believes in himself and Madigan, and that their paths aren't meant to diverge. They mean too much to each other for that to ever happen.

(In short, and legend says you can still hear me screeching about these two ten thousand years later, I love these two so much, and especially the parallels between Spica going alone into outer space and loving Madigan.)

(And, okay, obviously all these developments don't happen in a single chapter, but I couldn't stop gushing🤭🥰.)

Who Puts These Tombs in Ice

Overall, I think draft 2’s Luitgart performed worse than draft 1. Mainly it's the setting I want to revert (still an icy, sempiternally dark hell, but with different ice constructions) because some of the beats are a huge improvement, and again, I gotta combine the two. Otherwise, I’m still as obsessed about the Luitgart arc as I’ve ever been, and huge thanks to it for being so strong it could function as an ending of its own, allowing me to split the book.

Gettin’ into spoilery territory, but I have to un-kill Madigan so many times it leaves me in hysterics. That was what I was supposed to fix this draft. It got worse. Considerably.

(One constant: the chapter being a love letter to Madigan, and how his first answer will always be to help the other, no matter if they deserve it or not<3 and finally, finally, he gets acknowledged for it, and the favor returned.)

ACT 2

Lemon-Dotted Days + Remnant

Two Holloway chapters! I’m actually massively pleased with how they’ve turned out. Last year, I said the main issue was that I had an outline, and that never works for me. So I did what I do best and rewrote everything from scratch, and the result is both uncanny and… unexpected.

Unexpected, because I never in my life thought Holloway’s voice would make me laugh so much. He’s supposed to be unsympathetic, but then you get his interactions with Saintlark (the new crewmate, possibly Beast) where they’re contemplating the harvest of a nebula, and he’s harshly critical of it, which gives Saintlark hope… only to go deadpan One Moment Later: if they’d used the nebula to prolong their lives instead of bolstering the war, they wouldn’t have died like clown idiots. 

And, they could’ve maybe stolen immortality from the nebula. They would've had to share it with him, of course. Or he would've murdered them to get it.

That, my guys, is his personality in a nutshell.

I have a lot of feelings on Holloway now, and most involve me huffing and slapping my forehead while groaning, but oh my gods. Was it ever so fun. And wait, wait, wait. Since I'm talking of humor (apparently a lot of comedy fit into this horror lmfao) I have to show you guys the following section🤣🤣👏:

Corpse Snow

The drifters are set howling on the ice. They share glances, five separate vehicles nodding at each other. Madigan revs up the engine, splitting the air with a jet of steam and vibration.

The last of the marines are climbing into the box. A figure flashes past Madigan’s drifter — and he leans over, teeth grinding because of his ribs, and he does his very best to grab someone by the back of their suit and pull. Workout days were never his strength, though. He only succeeds in stopping them in the frost smoke.

It’s Spica dangling from his hand, expressionless.

Lieutenant Hahn instantly seizes on the situation. He throws Madigan a long, withering look. “Whatcha doing, Boss?” he asks softly, about to unhinge his jaw again.

Madigan nudges Spica into the drifter. “Picking up your boy.”

Spica gets the hint and deposits himself into the front seat, glancing from his father to his Superintendent. He seems to give up on whatever’s going on, and makes himself cozy in the frosty spot. And Madigan, of course, pretends not to notice Hahn’s drifter sliding closer.

��And you didn’t consider I might want to have my son with me?”

Madigan looks up and sighs. “Lieutenant, dear Lieutenant,” he starts pleadingly. “Why won’t you show some leniency to a poor, wounded man?”

Hahn’s drifter stops, summoning a breeze across the icy floor that gently rocks the other vehicle. His breathing distorts the comms with static. “And what exactly is my son right now?”

“My trusty navigator,” Madigan answers easily.

“Sir’s emotional walking stick?” Spica pipes in at the same time.

They both look over. Spica’s quietly turned to the navigation, as serene as daylight, seemingly oblivious to how Madigan's expression changes, lightning-fast. He quickly hides it under the guise of a polite mask, as the marines stir and turn their attention on them. They’re snickering.

Lieutenant Hahn throws up his hands, giving up on everything.

This is also the first 30k chapter I’ve ever written. It's everything I've ever wanted to do with ice.

Heart of the Void

The end of the book. Originally, it was the ending section to Corpse Snow, but since it already got so ungodly long, I chipped off that bit and I have to say I’m very happy with how it works as an epilogue! So it ends the frosty, weary journey, and I can’t see the two books as separate yet, but here we bid goodbye to the first.

Aberration of Sunlight♧♧♧

I did the unthinkable and created a fifth arc. This might not seem like much to you, but I was screaming bloody murder you guys😭😭😭. Sigh. It’s so sigh. For so long, AoS consisted of four clear-cut acts, but it was necessary. With the introduction of Sycamine, and making it two books, it was just needed. It’s still one of the worst things I’ve ever done because I was used to four😃💔

(The chapters continue from where RoaN left off – from chapter 10, to 21.)

ACT 3

Retro Spectrum

Sycamine, oh Sycamine. Definitely the break I needed before Days in Darkness. It made for a really neat beginning. It’s calmer, focusing on the knowledge they have on the Beast. It’s also a reflection on Procyon (their main star) and the story of the two straggler dog constellations, and what they'd been running away from. I liked the direction it took. It veered away from the Beast for a bit, so the tension kept expanding in the background. And when it returns, well... maybe they shouldn't have been so eager to see it again🤭.

It suffers from the same syndrome as draft 1’s first chapter… it’s there in the vicinity of the idea, but too much to the left. Not bad for a first attempt. The setting annoys me – I really don't enjoy writing cities, and AoS didn't change that. So, for our next try, I was thinking... maybe we don't need to be on the planet, but up close and veeery personal with it. It's a secret❤.

And, oh gods. I put a moustache-twirling villain in this. And then I couldn’t stop myself from naming some sucker Sweetman Calories. I don’t know what happened to me during those days, but I’m crying🤣🤣🤣.

Toast to the Light

Holloway and Saintlark’s story is slowly coming to an end. Unexpectedly bleaker than draft 1, yet it feels much more sincere. Holloway has a way of saying everything Saintlark needs to hear. No surprise. They did that to themselves.

Dissonant Recognition

Ahhhh, the Madigan-is-slowly-losing-his-grip-on-reality chapter, or maybe he should really stop staring into the suns. One of my favorites<3 Also because it features Moren (!!!) who has a blast staying in the grey morality area, because she doesn’t know if her actions could ever matter, or if she could change anything. Does she just exist? Is she a player or just pawn? Who knows. Besides that, she gets along great with Spica. They form such a teasing duo, the level of mutual respect they felt for each other on sight was a delight to write. My favorite ally of theirs, even if her destiny lies elsewhere.

Night Beneath the Elevator

Best title hands down, dethroning Solgesis. I’m going batshit crazy about the visuals, it's exactly my thing. This half-light slanted over an elevator waiting in a rundown basement to be boarded. And there's something underneath it, and always has been. Something insidiously creeping up and waving its tendril fingers at you as you're just waiting for the fucking thing to ascend. Immaculate, guys, I'm telling you, and I'm cursing my hands because I can't make a wallpaper of this. I want to eat that atmosphere.

Time-sensitive missions, y'all.

And why the heck did nobody inform me I was going to add Command as an actual character and have them talk with Madigan?! That entire convo, made up entirely on the spot but somehow with a direction, made me realize what an idiot I’d been for not doing it sooner. They mean so much to Madigan, after all.

(And Mariya. So much Mariya in these chapters.)

ACT 4

Loop System

Like Who Puts These Tombs in Ice, draft 1 might’ve done it better. Not Spica and Madigan, though, because of the sheer development Spica’s been through and the dynamic he’s managed to form with the crew. It's different from Madigan’s, but similar enough that it’s got Hahn commenting lightly: [Spica’s] picked up quite a few habits from Madigan, hasn’t he? Almost as if they’ve gotten very very close, huh? How about Madigan tell him more?

(I adore writing Hahn.)

Outreach

Another Holloway chapter. Doesn’t have the punch of the kids subplot from draft 1, but this just makes it worse for Saintlark personally, because, this time, the consequences are on her.

Days in Darkness

I knew the moment I first got the idea this would be my favorite chapter. Well, it finally happened in draft 2: when the entire crew is here, this time, and ready for the final countdown, to relive the experience of being trapped in a ship that's disintegrating. No more heroes left behind. I'd been so tired writing this chapter in draft 1, but this time around it was incredible. Everything went up sharply from here, both in terms of events and how on fire I was.

(Maybe less than the gorgon, but I was.)

ACT 5

Echo Terminal

The first of the two log chapters.

I've never written smoother, more visual chapters than in this period. Days in Darkness changed me so much, I was writing day and night by this point and couldn't get enough. Well, I hit my limit in the second half of the very last chapter, but I am beyond satisfied. Even the Beast's metamorphosis took me by storm, because I'd been wondering what the final verbs, the final images, the final design for it was going to be. I didn't expect it to come to me this early, and with such thrill. Those were my very best days of the year, and I toast to them.

(And I knew it was going to be fantastic when Halo's Warthog Run OST started blaring in my head, with as much adrenaline.)

Where, Now? + Solgesis

My beloved. The second and last of the two log chapters, but it’s Noelle Saintlark’s log.

Holloway’s timeline ends here. Or maybe it just gets carried into the future. I thought I’d want to rewrite his parts again, make the plot just a tiny bit more psychedelic and nonsensical because it’s so close to the Beast… but Solgesis put all my fears to rest. Even the formatting and layout is a bit of that special thing I’ve always wanted to try, and it really changes the perspective of the previous chapters. There's a new confession that stands at the heart of Holloway's stories.

Honestly, the only thing that needs urgent working on is the anger at the end of the chapter.

Anger is so hard for me to write sometimes. Not because I don’t connect with it, but because I feel self-conscious writing it. The wildest I felt it was when I tackled 'quiv's chapter 3 and Imera's Turning speech, both in quick succession (before I'd even written draft 1. I'd been taking notes.) Since then... I just thing back to how keenly I'd felt that anger, and I kind of intimidate myself out of it. Kind of like a natural resistence, I quench it from myself. Which is actually hilarious when you think about it. It’s like I’m going I BANISH THEE FROM MY BRAIN because generally, as a person, I dislike feeling and operating on anger. But no worries. I’m going to find a way around it.

Watch me😎.

What Goes Around…

(Now it’s the time for me to start crying some rivers, and, alright, it won’t be visible so I’ll say it: the chapter titles are holding a conversation, guys. They speak to each other. And sometimes it’s both sides of the same coin, like how What Goes Around (comes around) hints here. If you take two chapters, one from the beginning and one from the end (for example 1 and 21) it'll tell you a little secret. Okay, What Goes Around and Rain Through the Universe communicate through their plot, which I can’t spoil but of course it has to do with Madigan and Spica and how they first meet… but there is one title pair that does it best visibly. 

Lemon-Dotted Days and Days in Darkness.

And I hadn’t even planned this. All the parallels I wanted to draw… I feel like they built themselves, guys. They really did, and it makes me so wildly happy I don’t even know how to stop my hands from flailing.

And, with them being 21 chapters, they meet in the middle, on the one unpaired chapter.

Called Toast to the Light.

I friggin’ love everything.

New Sunrise, Forget-Me-Right

Of course, Forget-Me-Right is a play on Scorpion Grass. But it’s also such a gentle name for the chapter, because everything ends here. Lying on their backs, staring out into the universe, and it really, really is over. Just a dark horizon on which stars flare and bloom. And suddenly, that maddened rush to make every sacrifice count, to remember every soul they’ve encountered because the legend says the Beast absorbs you when it kills you – all that suffocating pressure dissipates. Lightness remains. Because they’ve protected each other.

For the first time in my writing journey, blood rushed to my head with such emotion I had to stop writing, which never happens. I had to look up and exclaim, holy fuck. But how could I not, considering how the story ends for the Beast? I am speechless. A lot of gorgeous surprises this draft.

Conclusion□●□

Whew, what a year it's been! As for how 2024 will probably look like, though I don't like making plans: finishing the beta stage for 'quiv, and tackling RoaN and AoS's draft 3. Thaaaat one I'm actually starting on Christmas, when I can (finally!!) reread draft 2 with my mug of hot cocoa (or maybe mulled wine for a change) and, no surprises here, I'm hyper stoked for that<3 <3 <3 I legit can't wait to see where the new draft brings them. I might not have set any expectations for them, but they're vying to keep up with 'quiv and I adore it🤭❤

As for my lovely friends... well, you know by how I spam your tags how much I adore you and wish you happiness forever🤩🥺🥳 I don't know what my activity will look like in the near future, so for now I won't be saying anything, and my semi-hiatus continues. Semi, because you're unforgettable and I crave to see what everyone's been up to and (!!!!) what you've written!

So let's meet in 2024 again, and all the best wishes to you, the reader🥰🥂❤.

[wings-of-ink]

Hi again! Now I'm done with replaying old content and with reading the new chapter!

And damn, I loved it so much!

I have to say, Duri is probably my biggest surprise here. With the character intros, I expected them to be my least favorite RO, but somehow, they "feel" quite different from what I imagined, and I ended up really adoring them! If I wasn't so in love with Oswin, I would certainly have picked them!

Also, "You just bonked a demigod on the nose and lived to tell the tale." has to be one of my favorite lines in an IF ever!

But you know what has me frustrated (not saying that in a bad way)? The fact because of everything that happened, Oswin STILL didn't tell MC what he wanted to tell them nor did he give them that famous gift! I neeeed to know so badly!

On that matter, I've been thinking a lot about what could have caused Oswin to distance himself from the MC the way he did, and so far, I have two main theories - though both may be wrong. I will share but obviously I'm not expecting you to comment on them as that would be spoilery! - First one would be that after the MC started being sick, he felt more and more helpless about that, and his frustration about not being able to help MC ended up translating as him being frustrated WITH MC. As a kid it's possible he didn't think as much on this, but the more he grew up, the more not being able to do anything could have bothered him. And then acting badly with MC could have led him to feel guilty and keep his distances even more. The thing that makes me hesitant about this one though is the fact Lakota already feels that sort of frustration too, and as a healer it makes more sense for him, so I don't know if it would be the same for Oswin. - Second one would be that as he grew up, Oswin started having romantic feelings for the MC, but since he was older than MC - even if both were teens - he felt bad about it, or simply didn't consider the MC could ever reciprocate because of the age gap, which while very small once a person is an adult is way "bigger" for teenagers. In that case, him being frustrated and angry and lashing out may have been a result of him setting himself up for rejection or considering a relationship - even in the future - would be impossible, and thus sort of putting a wall to prevent further damage, even if said wall CAUSED the damage. Though that would highly depend on Oswin canonically having feelings for MC regardless of player's choices when it comes to MC's feelings, and for the time being I really can't tell if that's the case.

Anyway, I'll stop here with the theories cause it's starting to be quite long! But I just need to ask... will we be able to cuddle with Duri again - no matter the form - even if not romancing them? My MC seems compelled to just hug people and animals!

Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

I was hoping Duri would gain a few more fans with their reveal and it seems that is happening. All the characters are layered, but Duri has some special flavors to discover. They're better experienced in story I think too; they shine a little more true.

And I am so glad you caught that bit with Oswin, my dear! You're the first so far to mention it. Your MC will get the chance to bring that up, don't you worry. He's such a tease sometimes without meaning to be, lol.

I like your take on Oswin, and all I will say (but I won't point to specifics) is that you are on one or more correct paths. Chapter 5 should yield a conversation that will help paint the picture as well. Also thinking I should do some POVs sometime soon, and Oswin has several moments that are well-suited to this.

Duri will be available for cuddles, even the platonic ones in the coming chapters. They're pretty affectionate, especially towards friends.

Thank you for the message my dear, I really enjoyed and appreciated it! ^_^

[scribble-dee-vee]

Writeblr Intro circa 2024

Hi writeblr!! Sooo, I've been around here since about 2014. (Yes, I am ancient.) However, I've been dormant for the past 4-5 years. Blame college and a brief stint on Twitter. Now that I'm active again, I thought I should make an updated writeblr intro so ppl know my Deal. Basically, I want to engage with other folks who write fiction (esp original SF), and that's a little easier if I have a clear post that outlines what I do. Here to make connections and hear about your blorbos :)

About me

Hi, I'm Vee! They/them, 23, 💖 🤍 🧡

I do journalism/comms in western New York

My literary jam is feminist/adult SF and gothic lit (OG or modern) 🥀 ⚔️ 🌙

Enthusiastic about gay people, body horror, and sociopolitical allegories

I cook, run, play tabletop games, and occasionally draw. Other than that, I'm mostly writing (for work and for fun)

If you were on pre-2020 writeblr, you likely know me from my eight billion daily tag games. (I still like tag games and appreciate u for tagging me. I have also gained adult responsibilities and better mental health, so I respond very slowly now. <3)

Always happy to get asks or dms, tho as I've noted: I may reply slowly.

Sometimes open to beta read! I only read one longer project at a time, but it's always super fun :)

I tag very consistently – happy to tag triggers for followers/moots

Fun fact: I love mushroom hunting and worked as a mycology TA. #cottagecoreera 🍄 🧚‍♀️ 🌱

About my creative writing

I write,,,, feminist/adult SF with gothic leanings (surprise!)

Longform and short! Trying to do more short writing this year, and I'll likely share a bit on Tumblr. It's easier to clip a short story than a 150k novel, god bless.

The Aesthetic: moral g(r)ays, Victoriana, androids/cyborgs, Women™, monstrous femininity, incessant Hamlet/Frankenstein motifs, extremely boring socioeconomic worldbuilding, evil queens and/or dilfs, psychosexual witchcraft, probably a cat. Also, an ominous, plot-relevant letter laced with anthrax from your unhinged and brilliant ex-wife. Open if you dare.

Major projects

I'm going to be writing some short work this year, but these are the longer projects that I have going in the background. If I reblog blorbo-related text posts, they probably have something to do with these.

Let me know if you want to be added to any project-specific taglists 😎

Heart of Lead – Series

The big one

Perpetually evolving

Never ceasing

Pls send help I can't stop adding shit

5-book gothic fantasy epic that I'll definitely publish one day but probably no time soon! My bastard child, my wicked firstborn, my greatest love <3

Character-oriented political drama set in a pseudo-Victorian, dystopian oligarchy where everyone's heart is made out of metal. It's about coming of age and discovering queer identity in a world that is absolutely fucked. God is an extraterrestrial lesbian who gives ppl very traumatizing magic powers. There are cyborgs, shapeshifters, and morally gray women in STEM. It's tight as fuck idk what else what to tell u.

Book 1 is about achillean monarchists, and book 2 is about sapphic anarchists. There are only two genders, I guess.

At this point, I've drafted most of the books at least once. Working to refine a lot of raw material atm!

Tag: "heart of lead tag" or "hol tag"

Lost Letters – Book

Aka the current active HoL WIP, and book one in the revised series structure

Length: 80k as of now; around 120-140k when the first draft is finished, I presume.

Genre: adult fantasy, gothic, noir detective drama?? um?? If you want me to frame it in BookTok terms (why?) it's a dark academia villain x villain tragic romantasy. Hrgh.

Summary: Cyborg soldier goes to college, joins a shady socialite frat, and falls in love with the jilted heir-apparent to the throne. Hilarity ensues.

(By "hilarity," I mean a militant revolutionary faction and a tragedy of Greek proportions.)

POV characters: Charles (the cyborg), Dale (the heir), and Cecelia (Charles' sister, a junior detective, the love of my life and potentially the Chosen One???)

This book is twisty and dark and immensely fun to write.

I'm about halfway through the first full draft! Hoping to share snippets and vaguepost about my children here.

Tag: "lost letters tag" (also "hol tag," tho that one's less specific)

The Last of Mortal Tourists – Book

The next longform project on the docket!

Length: a standalone work that will hopefully fall on the shorter novel/novella spectrum.

Genre: literary SF, cyberqueer, psychological space quest

Summary: The consciousness of a dead coding genius, trapped inside a spaceship, seeks a new planet to sustain their sister, the last surviving human, after the destruction of Earth.

If you're here to get wildly philosophical about gender and the myth of essential self, this is the story for you! That's why I'm writing it, lol. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🚀 🤖

This one started out as a short story (100% finished) which I want to expand.

POV: Archer Alto, the coder. Spaceship? Human? Soul?

Supporting Cast: Pandora, the last human, and Abby, a holographic impression of Archer's childhood consciousness

Tag: "the last of mortal tourists tag" or "tlomt tag"

If you read all this way, you get a whole bouquet of flowers that are certainly NOT poisonous: 🌸 🌹 💐 🥀 🌺

<3

[mirageofadesert]

Looking back on my first year as a c-drama fan!

This year I fell - first down a flight of stairs - and then (because I couldn't walk properly for a few weeks) down a rabbit hole of cdramas!

In total, I have watched 28 dramas since May. I actually finished 17 of them. I re-watched 8 of them at least once. My most rewatched show is Till The End Of The Moon, followed by Love Is Sweet and The Untamed!

Shows I loved

Till The End of The Moon: This drama triggered my hyperfixation, and I still love it so much. Tantai Jin became my new obsession.

Love is Sweet: This one surprised me because I don't usually care for romantic dramas. It made me more open to different genres.

The Untamed: I watched this for the first time in 2019, and now I can appreciate it even more.

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasties: It took me several tries to get into the drama because the political setting was too complicated. I'm glad I didn't give up. Wang Zhi became one of my favorites!

New Life Begins: I was just looking for something light in between and was quite surprised how much I liked the show.

Things I learned as a newbie:

Cdramas are an acquired taste. Sometimes it's worth going back to a drama that you initially gave up on.

To avoid spoilers, it's best to skip the intro and especially the outro.

I love my characters unhinged.

Apparently it is okay to share leaks from filming.

Never believe anything that comes from yxh accounts.

Shippers are toxic in any fandom.

C-drama fans are a bit older than K-pop fans, but they can be just as unhinged and have trouble distinguishing between how to treat actors and the fictional characters they play.

My ADHD is better regulated when I watch shows in a foreign language while reading the subtitles. I don't get bored watching TV, which is rare!

Shows I dropped, and what I learned from it:

Hidden Love: I still don't like romances that have no significant plot beyond the relationship. Especially if I don't care about the characters at all.

Back from the Brink: Sometimes dramas that start well become an unwatchable, rage-inducing mess halfway through, and it's not worth sticking it out to the end.

Beauty of Resilience: I'm a character-driven audience. If the characters aren't compelling and the story isn't interesting, I don't care about the show.

Ashes of Love: I hate childish FL with baby voices and naive personalities. I need better written female characters. I'm on my 3rd attempt to watch this show and I only have a handful of episodes left, so I'll actually make it to the end (eventually).

I've dropped a lot more shows and actually watched some to the end that I didn't like very much in the end, but those are the ones I learned the most from.

What will stay with me:

Tantai Jin: I'm still obsessed with this character. He is everything I need in a fictional character.

Luo Yunxi: This will come as no surprise to anyone who follows me, but my obsession with TTJ soon extended to Luo Yunxi.

Bai Lu & Sun Zhenni: While I appreciate both of them as actors, it's their fun and uninhibited personalities that made me fall in love with them!!

Costumes: I adore the detailed costumes and hanfu styles, and do prefer costume dramas to modern ones.

Food & drinks: I'm now looking into more Chinese foot now and how to cook vegetables in more interesting ways. I also bought "moon cake stamps"... so wish me luck!

New online acquaintances: I have made some new friends online who I can fangirl with to my heart's content!

What I'm looking forward to in 2024:

I'm really looking forward to Luo Yunxi's upcoming dramas, Follow You Heart, Shui Long Yin and Immortality (🤡). I'm also looking forward to Sun Zhenni's first leading role!

There are still many dramas I want to watch, but haven't found the time for. Like A Journey to Love, Goodbye, My Princess, Nirvana in Fire, Then Miles of Peach Blossoms and The Blood of Youth.

I'm not sure what else I'll post here next year. Probably more reviews and content related to my favourite actors. Let's see if something triggers my hyperfixation soon!

Happy New Year!

[markantonys]

episode 5 thoughts!

heartbroken by no mat, but i was expecting it since min wasn't credited for this episode on imdb, and there was so much other amazing stuff going on, so i can cope. i do think they must be gearing up for a mat-heavy episode soon because his content has been so sparse thus far! we also didn't have lan this episode, which i'm good with since he got so much last week.

(minor imdb casting spoiler: ayoola isn't listed for ep6, so i'm guessing we may have no perrin next week. they definitely do have a lot of different groups to juggle! but IF mat & lan soon join the cairhien crew, we could condense things)

also sad at not much elayne, but again, the remaining episodes will probably be pretty big for her! same with egwene, that storyline didn't progress as fast as i'd thought it would in this episode, but OOF the preview for next week looks like A Lot!!

back to the beginning! falme looks SO COOL!!! and the opening scene with the seanchan was fantastic, it showed off so many different aspects of their culture in just a few minutes (namely their various Ceremonial Things and ideas of who's allowed to speak to whom)

lanfear just whispering "bitch" the second she revives killed me djkfjg what an icon. and we get confirmation that it is indeed the True Power that she used to revive herself.

Lanfear Unleashed is SO much fun oh my god, i love seeing her in full forsaken mode

moiraine telling rand that he can't sleep because lanfear will get him, girl don't tell him that he's going to internalize it and not sleep for the next 6 seasons. this season is really Wheel Of Time Origins: Rand's Various Emotional, Mental, and Physical Health Problems

elyas saying the ef5 aren't perrin's pack HOW DARE!!! i feel like they're making elyas even more standoffish/human-averse than he was in the books, which makes for an interesting dynamic and contributes to perrin's sense that his human & wolf sides can't coexist.

but hopper follows perrin!!!! the goodest boy!!!!!

AVIENDHA IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE'S EVERYTHING!!!!! although ngl her fake accent does sound a bit Fake to me lmao but i'm sure i'll get used to it after a few more scenes

hot dain bornhald is also here! he kinda compels me and i'm furious about it. if whitecloak why hot? in all seriousness, i can see already from his intro episode + the basics of his book story that he has the potential to be quite an interesting character if fleshed out more and given more screentime compared to what he had in the books, sort of a liandrin-and-alanna-like Main Secondary Whitecloak for us to follow

also he totally wants to fuck perrin you can't change my mind. buying him drinks and giving him a Cute Nickname, boy you ain't subtle! and then aviendha briefly hits on perrin later and also perrin stops her from killing dain. wake up babe, insane new WOT polycule just dropped djkfjfg

OB!!!! FREAKING!!!! SESSED!!!!!!!! with verin's detective subplot!!!! it is SO much fun, it delivers a ton of great exposition (namely about the black ajah), and it gives us a bigger peek into the brown ajah than the books ever did. i love this squad!! also katie leung was probably my first Girl Crush (not that i was aware of it) when i was like 8 so i was thrilled to see her show up here, god bless

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT GAVE US CONFIRMATION THAT GAWYN EXISTS IN SHOWVERSE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH when i tell you i came extremely close both to screaming and to falling off my bed!!!! i'd been hoping for a gawyn namedrop all season but having it here was SO unexpected! my current theory is that he'll be introduced in caemlyn next season along with elaida and galad, and all 3 of them will head to tar valon to look for elayne because they're worried after not hearing from her for a long time.

also now i want a fic where the wondergirls actually do get special permission from mommy morgase to leave the tower just so that they can attend gawyn's birthday party

anyway, someday gawyn and egwene are going to kiss with tongue onscreen and haters can die mad about it <3 oooh now i have a brand-new meetcute for them to look forward to since they didn't meet at the tower!

liandrin & nynaeve's convo in the ways was so good! they continue to do amazing work with that relationship and liandrin's character. AND WHEN SHE SUBTLY FREED THE GIRLS RIGHT BEFORE LEAVING HOLY SHIT i gasped!!!!! the LAYERS they have given this character!!! because yes she serves the dark BUT she still feels loyalty to her sisters (as seen in s1 too when she appeared genuinely upset over kerene's death) and can't stomach the thought of any of them, even the light-serving ones, being collared!

suroth saying with her whole chest "oh sure you're a forsaken but you're not even of the blood soooooo" god grant me her confidence. also another great illustration of the insane heights to which seanchan high blood take their superiority complexes. good god, what's tuon gonna be like?!

avi's fight scene was just as amazing as i'd been hoping and expecting!! 10/10 no notes. can't wait to see what she can do when she has weapons at her disposal!

and later avi tells us that she is out in the wetlands Looking For Her Man (that she doesn't yet know is Her Man) <33

moiraine saying "get rand some nice new clothes" and barthanes immediately offering to dress him, Sugar Baby Rand lives on! also, anvaere and barthanes definitely thought rand was moiraine's sugar baby after they cleared the warder possibility, you can't change my mind

also also, barthanes is so surprisingly sweet! i wonder if he'll still be a darkfriend, or if anvaere will be instead

lanfear making ishy dream about caressing rand's face in bed is something i will go insane thinking about every day until i die. like oh my god i don't even know where to START with unpacking that, so i won't even try djfkjg

like for real, they ALL BUT made it explicitly canon that ishy had/has a crush on LTT/rand LMAO it's what we deserve

and we get forsaken namedrops! moghedien, graendal, and "the boys." it could be that semirhage did still make it and lanfear just chose not to go on and on listing every single one (slash the writers wanted to give themselves some leeway in specifically naming forsaken in case they don't get enough seasons to deal with all of them), or it could be that one of the statues from last season was actually a man and/or stepin's statues aren't accurate, and we've got 5 men instead of 4 (in which case i'd imagine ishy, asmodean, sammael, demandred, and rahvin)

i'm gonna have to watch this ishy & lanfear scene again to pick up more because i was FAR too distracted by the initial homoeroticism to keep focusing lmao

aww i'm kinda sad not to get elayne & nynaeve hiding out in falme completely on their own, but for their sakes it's nice they've found (been found by) some Real Adults to help!

LANFEAR'S OUTFIT IN THE END SCENE LMAO this season really just went off the WALLS with horniness and kinkiness, and i am here for it. it's what rj would've wanted

now that moiraine and rand are indeed staying in cairhien after all, i really think we might get a cauthor reunion next episode!!!! fingers crossed!!!!