#is this similie doing literally anything

[skittytales]

“Her cloak flaring out behind her like a cape” girl what does that mean.

[coinandcandle]

Coin's UPG: What is Magic?

As the title says, this is my upg, my unverified personal gnosis. I'm posting this because I want to spark discussion on the topic or even just spark your interest. Beginner witches are welcome to read! But idk how beginner-friendly this post is gunna be...

Edit: I suppose this also could fall into "magical theory" but still take this as my own opinion rather than a set in stone thing.

What is Magic?

I feel like what most people refer to as “magic” is like a substance. People talk about space and time as a fabric, and I think magic is comparable to that, though it strikes me more as a viscous liquid. Something a bit more fluid than fabric but still not quite as thin as air. Almost like a gel perhaps? It honestly looks to me (in my brain of course) like the gif I've added above. Now, I don't think people can feel this substance on a physical level, but to some degree, we can feel it on a metaphysical level.

Except I don’t think I’d call this substance magic, I would prefer to call it “substance” (a little on the nose) or something like “aether”, to borrow a term from antiquity. Magic, to me, is like an equation rather than the substance that fuels magical workings.

I think often in metaphors and similies as they help me explain myself. It’s hard to use one here but this is what I came up with:

To think of it like a painting, aether is the medium, the paint. Energy is an ingredient in the paint. Your intention is the plan for the painting. The physical components of your spell (wand, herbs, vessel, etc) are the different types of tools (paint brushes), each one used in a different way but they all falls under the same overall purpose.

Magic is adding it all together. The finished painting is the result of the magic.

All of these moving parts together form “witchcraft”.

So what does magic do and how does it work?

So...“things” (events, scenarios, odds, movement, rest, lots of things are things!) are happening everywhere all of the time and “things” won’t stop happening for a while. Working magic is similar to pushing or nudging these “things” in our favor. This can be done by casting spells, enchanting, divining, and praying or petitioning spirits, entities, and gods for example. Everyone’s definition of what is considered "working magic” is different and I don’t have a concrete list myself, tbh. I just know that, to me, working magic is influencing the world around you on a metaphysical level. For example:

You want to get a new job?

Physically you would go on a job searching website, update your resume, show up to interviews, etc.

Metaphysically you could cast a spell to send job opportunities your way, wear an amulet to make your interviews stick out in the mind of the interviewers, or write a sigil to increase the chances of your resume standing out to name a few.

My upg is bound to change over time but as of right now this is how I find myself explaining "magic". Let me know if you'd like for me to expand on anything in this post.

How would you explain what magic is? <:

List of terms for clarification:

Aether: Aether here is used to refer to the "substance" that is magic rather than its Greek meaning or its meaning as a classical element. For now, it's the term I use as a placeholder unless I find something that sticks better for me.

Energy: Similar to the literal definition "a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work" (MW) but, like, make it magical.

Intention: Essentially the desire, the thing that makes you want to actually work the magic at hand.

Magic: The equation of several factors or the sum total of the moving parts involved in magical workings.

Metaphysical: I use metaphysical as a way of talking about things that are beyond the physical, some people use terms like magical, spiritual, supernatural, immaterial, mystical, incorporeal, and more. To me, metaphysical makes more sense because it’s not the opposite of physical but it’s not quite physical either. Metaphysical pretty much means “beyond/after the physical”.

"Things": In this post, "things" are events, objects, beings, or otherwise the workings of the physical and metaphysical universe.

[jules-ln]

This is in no way meant to be aggressive or anything OP

But I think you are forgetting that Achilles and Patroclus aren't meant to be hypermasculine either

It's funny because the Iliad (and the Odyssey) is full of similies that invert gender (in the Iliad Achilles and Patroclus get compared to feminine things and in the Odyssey Odysseus is compared to feminine things while Penelope is to Masculine)

In the Iliad Achilles compares himself to a Mother and his own mother, and then later the narrator also does the same. And in Patroclus's funeral he literally assumes the role of Patroclus's wife

Meanwhile with Patroclus, he does the domestic chores expected of a wife (cooking, cleaning) and is compared to Meleager's wife, Cleopatra while Achilles is compared to Meleager

Besides the main characteristic of Patroclus is precisely that he is sweet and kind. Menelaus says that they needed to get his corpse back because he was always kind to everyone. And even Briseis said that he was his friend and the only one who consoled her after Achilles had kidnapped her

So, I don't think the interpretation of both Achilles and Patroclus as somewhat feminine would be wrong by the Iliad

Maybe not hyperfeminity either

But I do think there's a tendency by modern Fandom to insist that all mlm should be hypermasculine; when in reality several gay men are at least a bit feminine, and insisting in masculinity is as harmful as insisting all mlm couples should be feminine.

They are warriors yes, but I think Homer was trying to say that more than being warriors, they're people and that always comes with a mix of both masculine and feminine traits

my controversial take is I don't think Achilles and Patroclus are gay

let me clarify by saying it is fine if you think that they are, I understand their relationship not only inspired the term 'achillean' as a mlm term but also is widely accepted as such

But I didn't read their relationship as gay at least in Homer's Iliad. Patroclus is Achilles' 'dearly (/most) belovéd' and it might just be from my romance repulsed view that that is a strong friendship, and Achilles' grief can still be acceptable if you take it in that context.

I think my main issue is that with many popular mlm couples- wether they are gay in the og text or not- one is often feminised. And this happens across all media but I think in the context of Patroclus and Achilles both are very burly, butch warriors, who are powerful in their own right.

So the people who go 'aw, Patroclus little baby' are just as infuriating as the people who go 'sweet summer child Achilles who has anger pwoblems..🥺'.

And while I think in part Song of Achilles is responsible for this view on either of the characters, it is NOT Madeline Miller's fault.

She is an incredible writer who utilised Patroclus' biased narration to display Achilles as this wonderful hero. Because Patroclus, despite being a great warrior, is still second to Achilles.

And it's worth mentioning I hate Achilles on a level I can never explain but I understand his grief. He's lost everything, and losing Patroclus, wether they are lovers, best friends, even cousins (Troy I'm looking at you) is the final straw for him and I think that is written beautifully by Miller.

The issue comes when people don't use their critical thinking skills and go 'Patroclus is a greek warrior fighting in a decade long war' and immediately jump to making him overly feminine which clashes with his character. So both Achilles and Patroclus' complex characters (in the context of both the Iliad and TSoA) are washed out.

I realise I'm being very snobby and not accepting of other readings but I think it's incredibly unlikely Miller would write characters that clash with the original so much the only option is to make one hyperfeminine, and is much more likely an en mass reading of it.

This started as a 'partroclus and Achilles aren't gay' post and turned into 'hyper feminisation is a real issue we need to discuss with mlm relationships' post, but it drives me up the wall.

So, Achilles and Patroclus could've been gay, and it is a perfectly acceptable view to take/have. However, making Patroclus a 'little baby who only trained as a medic and can't really fight' is in my opinion, infuriating and incredibly juvenile.

Or maybe I'm just romance replused and want more strong platonic relationships.

[mousegard]

why hubert von fireemblem is a trans woman

ok so this morning i wrote a rambly little essay in a discord server i’m in about why i read hubert von vestra from fire emblem three houses as a closeted/in-denial trans woman and figured i’d share it here on tumblr:

so the in-game details about hubert, the pegasus knight yearnings, the straight razor as one of his lost items (prefers a close shave... i bet you do, buddy), outright disliking being called a man is all just... so very very eggy but what really got the trans headcanon juices flowing was the way hubert talks to edelgard in their supports. particularly their c-support. the dynamic of edelgard's feelings of regret that hubert is forced to share her path in life and hubert's insistence that there is no path he would rather walk really struck a chord with me regarding gender dysphoria and what it does to you 

in my experience, most of the trans people i know, myself included, start out from the assumption that our own desires are impossible to achieve. whether because you don't yet know that trans people even exist, or because you've only ever seen them portrayed as jokes or cheap pathos perverts. even when you know that transition is possible it still feels like something you can never hope to achieve. and so since you can't live your own life, you live someone else's life. you bury that yearning part of you that knows what it wants and dedicate yourself to being the person your parents want you to be. or your friends want you to be. what your social circle expects you to be. and you say, "yes, this is what i want. this is the path i want to put my life on. this is who i am. no it doesn't bother me. i'm happy like this" 

not to discount hubert's loyalty to edelgard, of course—he's clearly a true believer in her ambitions and her goals and will do anything to bring about the world she seeks to create. and like edelgard, hubert is willing to throw aside his own desires, his own freedom to decide what is to be done with his life, so that the rest of the world can have that freedom. like edelgard is resigned to being a villain and dying a villain's death, so too is hubert resigned to being a man and living a man's life. i think details in the game, from the way he carries himself and performs masculinity, to very obvious things like the pegasus knight fixation (more on that later)

somewhat related, there are some lines in hubert’s b-support with byleth that really jump out at me when i associate them with the dynamic between edelgard and hubert:

hubert is, of course, talking about byleth in these quotes and discerning the presence of sothis within them. but, of course, there's no way for him to know just how literally correct he is in these lines. after all, only byleth can see or hear sothis. so i think the aptness of hubert's similie here and how telling the language he uses ends up being for byleth isn't just hubert talking about byleth but rather him using that imagery of a second self with desires different from one's own lurking beneath the surface to describe himself

there are no details in fe3h canon regarding how easy or difficult it would be to transition in the game's setting, which is hardly surprising, but it's a bit of a moot point. even in the modern world, with hrt more easily available than ever before in human history and the vast strides in transition related medical science that have been made through the 20th and 21st century, transitioning still feels impossible before you've started to do it. you'll tell yourself, "well, sure, that other person transitioned, but i can't, it's still impossible for me," whether because transitioning would expose you to danger in your family/larger community or because "hormones just won't work on me like they work for other people, because reasons" or both. but i digress. with fodlan's institutional heteronormativity we can assume cisnormativity as well.

thinking about how impossible it might feel to be trans in fodlan makes me think of a section of a poem written by a 14th century jewish philosopher, kalonymus ben kalonymus, that is very clearly about transfeminine longing and suggests the possibility that kalonymus may have been a trans woman. this section, titled "prayer for transformation," is such a strong examination of dysphoric feelings and despair. i personally love this poem and i have used it in other trans headcanon fics in the past, in other fandoms, and you can read the full english text beside the original hebrew here: https://opensiddur.org/prayers/civic-calendar/international/transgender-day-of-visibility/prayer-of-kalonymus-from-sefer-even-bohan-1322/

that's not even getting into hubert's overall character design—with his height, his build, and the general matt smith-esque features of his face, being a trans woman would no doubt feel more impossible in his eyes than it would be for someone who got a more "favorable" spin on the genetic roulette wheel (someone like ferdinand, perhaps, who definitely seems like he could perform androgyny or femininity with so much more ease if he were so inclined than a broad-shouldered, six-foot-two frankenstein's monster). and of course, he prefers clothes that cover from head to toe, much like edelgard herself does, hiding as much of the body he does not feel comfortable in as possible. which is, also. a very trans thing. all in all, hubert comes across as uncomfortable in his own skin and with the trappings of masculinity to a degree that honestly strikes me as entirely intentional on the writers' part, especially with this (thanks to teaspoon translations on twitter for this nugget of localization):

this in particular is what pushes my thoughts on hubert being a trans woman from "headcanon" to "no, this isn't a headcanon, this is actually just what the game's text says, and i will die on the hill of hubert having been intentionally written by someone on the writing team to have gender dysphoria and be a closeted/in-denial trans woman"

i could go into so much more detail about how hubert performs masculinity and how he leans into being off-putting and frightening around other people because it’s easier and safer than being the person he wants to be while also not wanting people to feel unsafe or uncomfortable around him (see his supports with bernadetta) but i think that’s enough on why hubert is very obviously written in-game as a closeted/in-denial trans woman for now

lastly, i want to talk about how i write transfem hubert in my fire emblem fanfics and how i picked a name for her, which of course lean harder into headcanon territory since they involve actually making things up:

the name "hubert" is derived from the germanic elements hug, "heart, mind" and beraht, "bright"—bright heart. when i was searching for a name to make hubert's own in my first transfem hubert fic, i looked for similar meanings and found "heidrun"—derived from old norse heiðr, "bright, clear" and rún, "secret"—"bright secret." a secret that has been made clear, a desire of the heart brought forth for all to see. making "heidrun" the name of an in-universe fictitious(?) (wink wink) legendary pegasus knight whose origin story was a boy being blessed by the goddess and transformed to a girl as a reward for his faith so that he could be a pegasus knight was my way of tying that name as well to hubert's feelings of religious disillusionment and complex attitude toward his faith

also if some sort of magical and/or folk medicine hrt does exist in fodlan (1.) manuela definitely knows about it and (2.) a couple years of facial feminization via hormone replacement would make heidrun look like sigourney weaver and i think that’s great

also also jeritza is also very arguably canonically transfem in the same respect, but you can go to @strawberry-crocodile​ to learn more about that because i am not the jeritza expert here. anyway both in-universe and irl edelgard von hresvelg just draws trans women toward her like stand users attracting other stand users and i think that’s real fuckin neato

[kpop---scenarios]

Bruh... if seeing the post upsets you so much, why not give tips or advice instead of sending an ask that's lowkey rude and might make Bee uncomfortable smh. There are so, so, so many people on this site that ask for money w/o giving anything back in return. Bee makes content for us all and isn't even asking for money, just asking for help... If you're that pressed about it, you can just unfollow?

Don't wanna seem like I'm attacking the other anon because peace and love always and to everyone ♡ but we all have times when things get rough and we need a little extra help and support. Literally just reblogging that post could help Bee so much, or giving advice or just offering an ear to vent to.

Anyway, Bee. Have you tried sites like Medium and Simily? You can write articles and get paid for it eventually. If you have video editing software, you can make compilation videos on YouTube. You can offer services online like beta reading, critiquing, artwork, editing, etc etc. Or even just on here, if you offer someting like a Patreon or KoFi membership where people can pay monthly to get additional content from your fics / extra stories / commissions and so on. Maybe even repurpose some of your long fics into original stories and work on building up a following on Wattpad to self-pub them there. There's also boring jobs like doing surveys or, if you have a craft skill, you can make/sell things on etsy. Start up a youtube and read your fanfics there ahjsdkfk jkjk, anyway

Good luck and I hope things get better soon!!

I got so sad seeing that last ask cause I legit was just asking for ideas, and then when I saw I got another ask I got nervous again but then this is so sweet and you're so sweet.

Thank you for standing up for me, I greatly appreciate it and thank you so much for the ideas! I do have a Kofi for commissioning stories but since I haven't been super active lately I don't get any and I'm trying to get back into it!!

But again thank you again, I love you, you sweet human you!! 💕💕

[bisluthq]

Could you explain to me why Dress has gay connotations? I just don’t see it, and it’s been years now.

Yes I can, because that was the song that lead me down this path of sin and insanity. The year was 2017. With more marbles and brain cells and far less COVID, I sat down to listen to the album Reputation. Perhaps I poured a glass of wine first. I don’t recall. I was but a more or less normal, very casual fan who had for many years enjoyed mocking Taylor for her messy ass personal life, supposed hyperconfessionalism and regular PR kerfuffles. One of my best friends and then roommate used to, as I’ve told y’all before, blast Blank Space as a chaos anthem every time we went out. Fundamentally, though I was too cool for Taylor Swift. I was listening for like... general pop culture knowledge because my brain is a treasure trove of entertainment tidbits and gossip. I got through almost the whole album and then I heard the song Dress and I said, “what the fuck did I just listen to?” And I replayed it and I went, “Damn Blank Space. That was gay.”

And that was the fateful day I came to believe in 2+ muses, Gaylor and, I guess, Kaylor as well because my (albeit surface level but even if I’d dug) Googling brought me mostly to supermodel Karlie Kloss’s door.

So why is this song so gay? I’m not even gonna give y’all the Kaylor reading today we’re literally gonna time capsule to 2017 before I knew any of this shit and when the only thing I knew was THIS SONG WAS GAY.

Our secret moments

In a crowded room

They got no idea

About me and you

Okay so they’re out and about. What secret moments? Like looks and stuff? I mean bold of her to assume nobody knows it’s pretty easy to convince people hets are fucking especially if they’re giving each other meaningful looks and shit. Idk like people whisper and gossip about hets just looking at one another all the time. This seems like she’s a bit overconfident in their sneakiness.

There is an indentation

In the shape of you

Made your mark on me

A golden tattoo

Right so whatever is happening between the speaker and the subject of the song has had an impact on her. This isn’t a thirst anthem. Like the secret moments aren’t because they’re just... looking at one another respectfully and kinda doing that “your place or mine” telepathic conversation. No, Tay’s body has a mark, an indentation from the shape of her lover’s body and the whole thing is a golden tattoo - temporary and removable, presumably, shiny and glittery, but visible to the naked eye. So shit’s already gone down. Friends with benefits maybe?

All of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation

My hands are shaking from holding back from you (ah, ah, ah)

All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting

My hands are shaking from all this (ha, ha, ha, ha)

Nah, not simply friends with benefits. This is forbidden, right? Taylor can’t touch her lover. All they have are these secret stolen looks in the crowded room that absolutely nobody can tell mean anything. That... sounds like “gal pals” to lil gay me. Like she can’t touch her lover because it’ll be too obvious but as long as they don’t touch it won’t seem sexual at all. It’s not just that they’re friends and nobody knows there’s more going on, because why can’t they be friendly then? Why are they sharing secret moments but they can’t come close to the point where her hands are literally shaking from staying away? Why can’t she do that good old link arms with her good guy friend especially if they’re out and tipsy? And then it ends off with orgasm noises because... it’s this song so of course it does.

Say my name and everything just stops

I don't want you like a best friend

Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off (ha, ha, ha)

More nails in the coffin of “friends with benefits” and people just don’t know. This person saying her name makes her world stop. This ties into the forbidden vibe but it’s also so innocuous that it does fuck with the “we’re just friends with benefits but I want more” interpretation that a hetsplanation would require. Like this is clearly a lot more. It’s already a lot more. It’s not that she just wants more, this girlie is gone.

And then we get to my gayest line: “I don’t want you like a best friend.” Now I get saying you don’t want to be “just friends” with a guy. I also do get being best friends with a guy. One of my irl besties is Blank Space Chaos Anthem girlie and the other is a (mostly) straight dude. I also have other straight dude friends like my mate who I was trying to rescue from accidentally having to marry a converting girl a few years back. I’m like a (woke) straight dude whisperer tbh because being friends with me is a big win for their woke credibility and let’s be real I’m 1) irreverent and great fun and 2) give great advice on girls.

Now I can guarantee you my proposition to fucking any of my dude friends from besties to casuals would not be “I don’t want you like a best friend.” They’d be like, “my bitch wut? Are you with Pothead YouTube Ex again? Tell her BE GONE WITCH!” And sure, maybe that’s just me. But if was already fucking a dude I can guarantee you the words “I don’t want you like a best friend” would not exit my mouth. It’s not “I don’t want to be friends” or “I don’t only want to be friends” she says “I don’t want you like a best friend.” The implication is there’s an appropriate way to “want” a friend and the way she wants the person she’s speaking to is not like that. It’s a similie, she’s comparing the subject of the song to a best friend and saying this is not like that. Now, explain to me why that level of clarification is important in a fwb setup? You’re trying to make it more serious, I get it. You don’t want to be “just” friends with benefits (and we know they’re already fucking) I get that too. But why the similie?

Why would a dude you’re fucking ever misunderstand and think you want him like a best friend?

Carve your name into my bedpost

Cause I don't want you like a best friend

Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off (ha, ha, ha)

I mean again, if we needed clarity on why this is a sex anthem it’s the first line of this song. And she’s saying “have sex with me because I don’t want you like a best friend” again, they’ve already fucked that was established in the first verse. Why would this be stuff you clarify with a dude? Why would a man who is fucking you get the wrong impression and assume you want to be best friends? Not friends. Best friends. Why would he think that?

And then we get the dress line. Now, I know some people are like “I dress up for my boyfriend!” and sure. But let’s all be honest. 85%+ of the time girls of any sexual orientation wear outfits out - and we established this is an out type situation - it’s for other girls to notice their fashion. Come on, you’re not expecting your dude friend to be like, “nice dress, where’d you buy it?” “Oh, this? Hahaha it’s just Zara, they were having a sale. If you hurry you might get one too!” Like there’s something inherently sapphic/feminine about discussions of buying clothing. And come on, fellow queer ladies, clothes is a great way to get a chat going.

In this song, Taylor draws attention to this feminine article of clothing she bought to wear on the night in question and instead of saying “it’s Zara” she goes “I only bought it so you could take it off” - I’m doing an eyebrow wiggle but you can’t see because I’m just text on your screen. Why would you say that to a guy? Like if you did, if you’re that girl why are you holding back from him? Y’all are fucking and you have a massive thing for him. Surely he should know by now? Why is this dress even featuring in the conversation? Like I say bringing up a dress you bought in a conversation about sex feels pretty fucking gay. It’s either a really bizarre and kinda desperate flex which doesn’t really match the sexiness of the song or... it’s gay.

Inescapable

I'm not even going to try

Girl you’ve fucked why is there a point of trying at this stage? Unless you... can’t do this or it feels in some way wrong?

And if I get burned, at least we were electrified

Why the I/we split? Like why is only one of them burned if they were electrified? Sure maybe it’s a fwb thing and he can turn her down for more than sex and friendship but it sounds more like - given the best friends - this is her female friend and she’s maybe uncertain of the other woman’s feelings. This feels - and again we’re not doing a Tay’s personal life reading here - like one of them can be fully destroyed by this but despite that reality they are both lit up and hurt in the process.

I'm spilling wine in the bathtub

You kiss my face and we're both drunk

I mean this isn’t inherently gay it’s just sexy, get it Tay. This sounds hot.

Everyone thinks that they know us

But they know nothing about

All of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation

What do they know about you? Like again we’re not doing the Tay reading thing but like what’s the sekrit? She’s fucking her friend? Why don’t they know anything about this? Surely they can imagine it’s a possibility? Like however unlikely, why does nobody know anything about this?

The next chorus is the same as the one above and I still have no hetsplanation for it. Like especially in the broader context of this, again, very gay song.

Then we get a very straight bridge. It’s like it’s from a different song or was written much later:

Flashback when you met me

Your buzz cut and my hair bleached

Even in my worst times, you could see the best of me

Flashback to my mistakes

My rebounds, my earthquakes

Even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me

And I woke up just in time

Now I wake up by your side

My one and only, my lifeline

I woke up just in time

Now I wake up by your side

My hands shake, I can't explain this

Aha, ha, ha, ha

Okay but this is a completely different vibe to the... entire song. The rest of the song was about the other person not being sure and that being the issue. “I don’t want you like a best friend.” So why: “I woke up just in time”? Like “if I get burned at least we were electrified” but then... “I woke up just in time” - is the rest of the song like a weird nightmare? That’s not, to me, enough of an explanation. She spends the whole song in sexy anxiety pining after someone who cares about where and why she bought her dress and then she’s like “you’re everything to me” - it doesn’t make sense.

The rest of the song is the chorus again. As I’ve said, I don’t see a hetsplanation for it.

This is a gay song. The bridge isn’t and the line about the bathtub isn’t inherently. But the rest of this song is gay af.

[violettduchess]

Lovestruck Writers Appreciation Week Day 7

Current favorite writer(s):

Cal's writer: Its rare that I stop during an episode and re-read a sentence. It's even rarer to immediately go back after reading and pay tickets to read it again. I found myself doing that a lot when I was reading Cal's route. Because the writing would literally stop me in my tracks. Her use of figurative language, in particular metaphors and similies, is so creative, so beautiful. Her writing is painting with words. It's music made written. I post A LOT of screenshot from this writer (I know I know 😏) Because I want to share how damn good it is. I want people to experience the ways the writing moves you the way it does me. Needless to say, she's a dream to read.

Nikolai's writer: Just look what she has written: Razi, Renzei, Remy, Nikolai, the incredible Across Time, Elizabeth's debut in her own story. There are all routes and stories that inspire people and have fervent fandoms. She brings a depth and honesty to everything she writes. Nikolai or Renzei are routes that slam you emotionally. I can't just reread a Nikolai episode. I need to have the time to savor it, let it wash over me and embrace whatever emotion is going to come up. And something always does. Her writing is not only moving, it's also at times downright hilarious (Kotik, anyone? 😅) And I appreciate the balance between humor and drama. I'd read anything she wrote in an instant.

Nav's writer: the chemistry, the banter, the humor. This writer stands out because they completely caught me off guard. I did not expect to be so engaged within an episode..and yet I was. And it's not just the humor. There are some very real, very deep things happening within the route. And that feels natural to the story too.

*

SUPPORT @vowtogether in their fight for FAIR working conditions and workplace transparency!!

[attilarrific]

The one fandom I know for sure we have in common is Discworld, and my week also got a bit weird at the end. Mutually brighten our lives with a little Vetinari fabulous-ness, your choice of how that plays out? ^^

First off, I’m SO SORRY you’re also having a rough week. Utmost sympathy from me, your friend in Chicago who’s Suffering With You.

Second, if you meant this to be a prompt, I’m also so sorry! I cannot write Vetinari. The idea of writing Discworld fic terrifies me (I almost wrote Polly/Maladict once, but only because that’s one of the only books I actually believe is lacking something---in this case, lesbians), because I’m Not Good Enough For It. So instead you’re getting meta!

Night Watch meta, specifically, because that’s.........just what I’m like. Any Pratchett questions ultimately circle around to being Night Watch meta for me, which is why it’s still infuriating to me that I FORGOT TO INCLUDE IT IN MY UNDERGRADUATE THESIS. AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. FLAMES. FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE.

Anyway.

I’ve said before and I’ll say again how utterly infuriating it is to read Night Watch and realize that young!Vetinari and Keel!Vimes are never going to meet, despite being literally in the same room that one time smh. And I say that despite knowing that it’s completely not the point and it would, in fact, be a distraction from what is the point (revolutions. corrupt politics. ‘you can’t take the law into your own hands.’ history finds a way.), so let’s sit here and analyze what Vetinari’s role is in a narrative where he’s not allowed to meet the main character.

As you do.

I am here to sit and argue (with only medium coherence, because I’m spitballing and also gin) that the most vital characters in Night Watch, bar Vimes and Carcer (who are driving the overall Plot) are Vetinari and Ned Coates (GOD, Ned Coates, I could talk about Ned Coates all day, WHAT A CHARACTER). Because Vetinari, somehow more than Vimes, is our link to the future. Vetinari is who we see the future of Ankh-Morpork in. Vimes is from the future, but somehow that means we don’t feel the possibility of achieving the future in him, because he’s already there. Vimes is a symbol of what Ankh-Morpork will become, but not of becoming it, because he’s already there, you feel? We got to watch him become it in previous books, but by Night Watch, he is the future. Literally. Narratively. He represents the future.

Vetinari isn’t there. Vetinari has barely started to conceive of a there existing, but he’s the one who ultimately creates there. (”I rather think I [created Vimes],” anyone?) But still, in his actions and his thoughts, we see the future of Ankh-Morpork in a city that’s nowhere near it. He’s so far from being the Patrician! (I gasped SO LOUD the first time he showed up and you realized it was him Downey was tormenting, like. Damn.) He’s got no vision, really---he’s working for the revolution, but mostly just because he’s working for his aunt, and he’s not really improving anything when he does. (”Bossa nova similis bossa seneca.”) But you can feel the beginnings of who he’s going to be. Vimes thinks to himself that Snapcase promised the seamstresses a guild, but the one who’ll give them one is Vetinari, and here Vetinari is, working with the seamstresses. Closely. How could he not give them a guild? Don’t we feel the seeds of that here? And his support of Keel!Vimes, taking up the lilac in that last street fight because he believes in the city---young!Vetinari is so cynical already, so disaffected, but he fights in a street duel, because some things matter. It would’ve been so easy for him to become as corrupt as the others, but he doesn’t, because some things matter. The city matters (because Vimes will always represent the city). He can’t meet Vimes, because if he understood that the future was there, it might take away from him fighting for something that feels so fucking uncertain. He’s going to create the future, and he has to do it without knowing what it’s going to look like.

Vimes is the future in that book, but Vetinari is the hope of becoming the future. Vimes is already there. Vetinari has to get there with the rest of us.

[wigglebox]

Bit late in asking I was in a food coma for the past 24hrs, How about 8, 15 and 20 for the author asksxxx

I mean -- sounds like the food was good though! Thank you! [writing questions]

8: How do you feel about epilogues?

I like them, but not all the time. Lol. Does that make sense? xD 

It really depends on the story and the author. JK Rowling, I liked her idea of an epilogue, but I don’t think she executed it properly. The epilogue in ‘Carry On’ by Rainbow Rowell I liked. It seemed like bonus content. It showed us life after the action. I am of the opinion where I will like an epilogue if there is nothing new to learn. I don’t want to learn much. I can learn where they are living now, what life is like 10 years from now if the people settle down -- but I don’t want to learn anything new story plot-wise. I view them as little vignettes and if I have to read an epilogue to realize that someone was a werewolf the ENTIRE TIME-- then I’m like, not that super-duper happy. That should have been part of the main plot. An epilogue to me is just a small glimpse into a life settled. 

I don’t mind myself, personally, writing an epilogue if I have some more I want to show you but that isn’t really pertinent to the plot. 

15: How do you write a really good metaphor?

Oh goodness. This is hard for me to really answer because I come up with mine in the moment. I usually rely more on similies. To be honest, I’m not that good with metaphors (unless I write them and don’t really notice them). They are kind of like a figure of speech that uses a comparison that can’t possibly be true. 

“That test was murder” well no it wasn’t because you’re still here, but you convey the emotions of... a murder I guess (fear, terror, panic, relentless) and apply it to this situation. 

The deep-dive into metaphors and other analogies and similies and allegories is a very very deep dive and one I won’t pretend I know much about. If I stumble onto a metaphor, I’m lucky (I guess you could even call that a metaphor -- I can’t literally stumble over a writing device but since I am not looking out for a metaphor when I come across one, I associate that feeling with stumbling, caught off guard). 

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a way to magically write a really good metaphor. At least not for me, so if you wind one, please let me know! 

20: What is your best piece of advice for writing smut scenes?

Putting this one under a cut! 

Aight -- so. 

I never wrote smut before April, 2019. I would allude to it, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing it. 

Mostly out of second-hand embarrassment. 

So, my first piece of advice is: If you get second-hand embarrassment writing smut (and we’re very much talking Fanfiction here where you picture certain actors), substitute the names. 

Personally, I use town and city names for characters (since I know I won’t be using those words at all to do a Find+Replace later). Anyone who’s beta’d my fics or has been at the mercy of my writing woes will know that I substitute all the time. TRENTON is Dean, NEWARK is Cas, EDISON is Sam -- so on and so forth. With Good Omens, CORNWALL was Aziraphale and AMITY was Crowley. 

If you have a hard time even writing the word ‘cock’ or whatever, just use a nonsense word in there as well and come back to it. 

Name substitution honestly just gets me, personally, writing faster. When I write their real names, their images come up in my head and then I feel awkward. 

Writing “What he does focus on is the glimpse in the mirror, their hips together and NEWARK’s fingers leaving marks in TRENTON’s skin” is easier to me than writing that with their actual names. I can get by it faster. 

Eventually, you may get to a point where the second-hand embarrassment goes away and you can write the character’s names. I think personally my second-hand embarrassment has gone at least in the way of using their real names, but I’m attached to this method now! lol. 

2nd: Use references. You want this to feel realistic. 

This is important for writers like me who aren’t sexually active, asexual, demisexual, or any other spectrum where we aren’t sexually prolific and therefore have a good grasp on positions, feelings, and reactions. I have never had sex in my life, so I use references. 

I first tapped into articles (what does a blowjob feel like, prostate teasing, frottage --) and then I tapped into a guy friend for his own personal experiences (if you have a friend willing to do this, guy or girl, make sure they are comfortable). I put it all in a word document, and draw on it if I’m writing a scene and need to really understand a reaction to something. 

It’s very important to use references with things you’re 100% not knowledgeable on at all. I wrote a FTM-Cas fic and had NO idea where to start and how things would feel and how he should feel about his own body. I reached out on here for help, and I was able to message someone back and forth. I made sure they were comfortable with the line of questions I was going to ask, and asked them what I needed. 

You need it to be realistic in order to get the desired effect. You want it to be believable. This is when positioning especially goes into play, which is why it’s okay to reference pornography videos -- ESPECIALLY if you’re new to the whole thing. I can get by now, but in the beginning, I had to look up videos because How The Fuck Do Guys Move. I recommend homemade videos or, if you use pornhub, verified creators (usually their own people doing their own thing). Anything that’s really staged will not give you realistic results. 

You won’t always find a video for what you need, or a gif, or even a picture, but if you can find something close, you can work off of that. 

Basically, hoard any and all references you can, especially if you’re a demi-sexual woman like me who’s never had sex in her life.

3: Don’t be TOO analytical and technical.  

I’ve had this problem and had to go back and delete. If I went back to all the other things I wrote, I can probably rephrase something and make it more ambiance and less technical. 

You want the scenes to not feel like someone’s reading a sex-ed textbook. You want to put them in the moment with these guys. Be descriptive. I will put links into how to do that below. There are two links I pull up when I’m feeling stuck. 

But essentially, “He took his dick out and ‘so and so’ put his mouth on it.” doesn’t really fly. You need emotions from whoever’s POV it is, write what it looks like the other character is thinking (hungry look in his eyes, cheeks flushed like it took all his strength to restrain himself) 

4: Dialogue is OK -- but be careful.

Always remember your character’s voice. Dirty talk is cool, reactionary dialogue is amazing, but there’s nothing worse than someone reading a scene only to be taken out of the story by dirty talk that isn’t in the character’s voice. I have read some fics where a character calls another a pet name during the action that is so not them. Also, they aren’t going to be talking throughout the entire thing. 

They may make audible noises and curse, but you can also use other descriptors. 

Moaning is good, whining is good. You can use those as well along with a ton of other reactions. Check out the links at the very end of this post. 

If they’re going to have a straight-up conversation, then make it snappy and witty or make sure it really really fits the scene. And again: Always keep your character’s voice in mind. 

5: Don’t be too scared of going there. DO have fun with it.

In the end, nothing will be 100% entirely accurate, so you may as well have fun. You want someone to get face-fucked? Do it up. You want someone to have multiple dry orgasms, edge, or whatever? Hell yeah that’s pretty dope. You want someone to get DP’d on a motel bed while trying not to wake the neighbors? You got it -- open that document and do it. 

You’ll be in good company! 

6: Get a beta reader who isn’t afraid to go through it and make proper edits.

Even if you can’t get a beta, read through the scenes a few times before you decide it’s something you want. I wrote a sex scene in ‘20 Hours in Lebanon’ where I kinda had to like, close my eyes and just write and write and write because the scene wasn’t sticking in my head and I just had to go for it. 

I re-read it maybe 4-5 times before finally finding happiness with it. When the scene is flying out of your brain, through your fingers, and onto the keys or through the pen, things will get jumbled. You see it in your head, and you’re writing it, but sometimes things get lost in translation or scenes get turned around. 

The worse is when you’re writing two same-sex characters and there’s just a bunch of ‘He, Him, or She, Her’ everywhere. (Also, just a personal note, using descriptors like “The blond, the brunette” gets very tired, very fast for a lot of people, so be careful with those). 

The other worse thing is positioning. You see it in your head, but did you describe it well enough? Did you describe their emotions well enough? That plays into a bigger picture with writing and making sure what’s in your brain comes across properly on the page -- but in this case, it’s really important. You want to make sure whoever is reading can really track the scenes from start to finish. 

Betas would be ideal, hell, even two. But, if you can’t find anyone, then go over it a LOT -- even take a night or two to sleep. At least in the beginning when you’re not sure what you’re doing. 

7: I can’t stress this enough: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD USE LUBE AND TRY FOR FOREPLAY (ESPECIALLY FOR ANAL SEX). Rough sex is fun, it can be electrifying especially if someone is desperate, but also keep in mind that it is painful if some measures still aren’t taken. No lube? Fine, what can they do instead? Frottage? Blow jobs? Handjobs? For the love of God please don’t use like, lotion or conditioner or shampoo. Like, it’s not the end of the world if you do and sometimes, in your story, maybe they are really just too desperate. 

Also, with anal penetration, it’s going to be PAINFUL if they aren’t worked open at least a little bit. Dick size jokes aside, when it’s inside you, it’s gonna feel huge no matter what. Vaginas stretch, accommodate and can self-lubricate (though it’d be nice to use lube there as well). The other end? Nope. You have to work a little for it. 

The sudden roughness can be a kink, but if you’re not careful with it, the reader’s gonna go “Jesus did they rupture something?” 

ALRIGHT LINKY LINK TIME:

Fanfiction.net - Ultimate Guide to writing Smut

The formula for writing sex scenes

Types of kisses 

If you want some romance with your smut

The five DONT’s of writing smut (youtube video)

There are going to be a lot more references out there for you if you go digging. 

I’ve come across some writers who are too scared to post their smut, but I encourage y’all to. If there are still some things to learn, reach out to people. A lot of us 

[terraqua-archives]

Stories inspired by Films, TV, and Video Games

The following list contains 15 completed works and 2 works-in-progress that are directly inspired by either a movie, TV show, or a video game.

So if you’ve always wanted to see Aqua as a mermaid, or Terra as a secret agent, or ever thought that Keyblade Masters sound remarkably like the Jedi and someone should probably write something about that, then this is the list for you.

We hope you find something you enjoy!

Completed Works

When she loved me by Plume De Simili

Inspired by: Toy Story 2, specifically the song, ‘When She Loved Me’.

‘I remember a time where everything seemed so beautiful, countless hours spent together, playing, laughing, chatting. These memories will remain anchored in my heart forever.’

Words – 666     Rating – G

Read if you want Terra reflecting on his relationship with Aqua, from childhood to his current predicament, all inspired by a film sequence that’s been known to make grown men cry.

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Evermore by ShrinkedPink

Inspired by: Beauty & the Beast – 2017

A while after his possession, Terra began to have strange dreams. However, they were not actually dreams. It takes memories of a certain girl he was fond of for him to notice this. How will he feel about everything?

Words – 859     Ratings – T

Read if you want to see Terra struggling with who he now is, Xemnas struggling with who he once was, and excellent use of song lyrics in a story.

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When True Love’s Kiss The Spell Shall Break by amazonstorm

Inspired by: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Aqua comes across something she wasn’t expecting. Namely Terra.  In a glass coffin.

Words – 978     Rating – G

Read if you want the sincere sappiness of Disney, confessions of feelings, and true love’s kiss.

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I’ll Find You by Engineerd

Inspired by: Star Wars

“Terra didn’t just not pass the trials,” Eraqus said bitterly. “Terra is a great warrior, and defeated every enemy in record time. However…” Eraqus finally trained his eyes on Aqua. They were full of regret. “Terra used the dark side to do so, Aqua. In front of the entire Jedi High Council.”

Words – 1684     Rating – T

Read if you want a fantastic reimagining of the beginning of Birth by Sleep in the Star Wars Universe, forehead kisses, and Ven being an adorable young Padawan.

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I’ll Wake You by XemnasForceXIII

Inspired by: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

In Dwarf Woodlands, Aqua eats a strange apple and falls victim to the same fate. Terra comes back to find her, but he’ll have to do something to wake his sleeping maiden, something romantic.

Words – 1727     Rating – T

Read if you like fight scenes, Aqua ruminating on her feelings, and Terra finally confessing his with the help of a kiss.

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Fateful Dance by XemnasForceXIII

Inspired by: Cinderella

In Castle of Dreams, Terra asks for a request of Aqua, it starts in the ballroom but will end on the balcony.

Words – 1843     Rating – T

Read if you like Aqua becoming flustered, confessions of love, and parallels with the story of Cinderella.

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Inconclusive by deep_doot

Inspired by: The X-Files

a·li·en

1. a foreigner, especially one who is not a naturalized citizen of the country where they are living.

2. a hypothetical or fictional being from another world.

3. a plant or animal species originally introduced from another country and later naturalized.

Words – 2432     Ratings – T    

Read if you like first meetings, Terra and Aqua as partners at work, and Terra being a protective older brother.

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Snow White - Aqua Blue by AquaSaberXIV

Inspired by: Snow White and Rose Red/Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

None in the land is fairer than the Queen. Or so one would think… In a nearby village lives a girl named Aqua Blue whose pure heart outshines the Queen. The Queen, threatened by Aqua’s existence, sends men to kill her, including her own son, Terra, but something rather unexpected happens when Terra meets the girl he’s supposed to kill…

Words – 37,188     Rating – T     Chapters – 17

Read if you want a fairy tale AU where Terra is a literal prince, commoner Aqua having a lovely relationship with her Grandmother, and a fantastically creative interpretation of the Seven Dwarves.

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The Man from D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S. series by deathrae

Inspired by: The Man from U.N.C.L.E, with more than a hint of James Bond.

Anarchist terrorist faction: “The Unversed.” Led by: “Shatterheart.” Sometimes “The Man in the Mask.” When one of their own goes missing, presumed defection, Agents A and T must embark on one of their hardest missions yet. One that will test the utmost boundaries of their faith to their organization…and each other.

Words - 41,689     Works - 2     Rating - T    

Read if you like spy thrillers, action scenes, and Terra and Aqua (Aqua especially) kicking ass.

----------

Sapphire Scales by Majorie Franklin

Inspired by: Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid

Aqua had always been quiet and contemplative. She longed for the land, the Keyblade wielder, and an immortal heart. Aqua could gain all of those things, but only if Terra loved her more than anything and vowed to be true to her forever. She cut out her tongue and relented her fins to be with him, but would it be enough?

Words – 71,915     Rating – T     Chapters – 10

Read if you want to see Aqua as both a mermaid and a princess, a more realistic portrayal of falling in love than the original story, and the interplay between love, marriage, and politics in a fairy tale/historical settings.

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Breaking a Hollywood Beauty Series by deep_doot

Inspired by: The Godfather Trilogy

‘He said they would always come after the ones she loved. But he never said it was true.’

A period piece drama series focusing on mafia families in 1950s Los Angeles. Aqua must learn to balance her public life as an actress with her secret life as a member of a mafia family. And maybe try not to get too distracted by a fellow family’s rather handsome son.

Words - 97,517     Works - 3     Rating - M     Warnings – Graphic Depictions of Violence

Read if you like period dramas and crime thrillers, family always looking out for family, and Aqua proving she’s very much capable of handling things for herself, thank you very much.

----------

The Shrouded Path by Arcawolf

Inspired by: Silent HIll

What started as a routine mission becomes a nightmare when Ven disappears. After tracing his path to a strange town, Aqua and Terra find themselves ensnared by a power darker than any they could have imagined. It will take everything they have just to escape intact.

Words – 108,933     Rating – T     Chapters – 32     Warnings – Graphic Depictions of Violence

Read if you want an alternative interpretation of the search for Master Xehanort, atmospheric descriptions, and psychological horror.

----------

Works in Progress

The Night Shift by After The Lights

Inspired by: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Detective Aqua Lowe only really wants three things in life: her boss to mentor her; to become the youngest Captain in the Radiant Garden Police Department’s history; for emails and bills to stop spelling her name as Agua.

What she gets is the night shift, a bachelor party gone wrong, and a hot, shirtless guy waiting at her desk.

Words - 2262     Rating - T     Chapters - 1/3

Read if you want to see Aqua and Axel as work partners/spouses, Axel being his charmingly witty self, and all the joys of working the police night shift.

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You’re Idiots, The Both of You by Lyssala

Inspired by: Gilmore Girls

Sometimes growing up in a small town where everyone has known you since birth really sucks, but sometimes it’s not so bad if you have the right friends. Especially if you've been in love with them for too many years to remember when it even started.

A one shot collection set in an alternative universe where Terra and Aqua lived across the street from one another in a small tourist town. Set throughout their lives as they grew up with their families and friends.

Words - 49,630     Rating - T     Chapters - 14/20

Read if you want best friends to lovers, Terra and Aqua being frustratingly oblivious of their feelings for one another, and some truly lovely moments when they finally get together. Delightful and emotional fluff.

----------

Read. Enjoy. Review. 

[vowel-in-thug]

GEMMA I have once again fallen in love with another piece of your writing!! I think you mentioned a while back that you really enjoy writing extended metaphors. Do you have any tips on how to write good metaphors/extended metaphors? I still haven't graduated from similies :)

Awww thank you!!! I appreciate it, sincerely, especially because i’m in a Mood.

but i LOVE answering questions on writing, for probably deeply psychological reasons, which we won’t get into right now! and i’m going to use myself as examples in all of these which is REALLY OBNOXIOUS!!! but i’m too tired to try and hunt out other examples so sorry about that

recently, when i’ve been tackling metaphors, I’ve been trying to find things to compare that aren’t even the same kind of Thing. it’s helpful especially for writing noir which is all ridiculous metaphors. An example from the first noir au: “It’s barely a breeze, really, the waves twitching only as much as an accomplished sinner in church. They’re moving, sure, but they aren’t exactly calling attention to themselves.” You wouldn’t think on the surface that a weather pattern could be like a professional asshole on a Sunday morning, but that’s what makes it work, i think. 

and that in itself is an extended metaphor so let’s NUT for extended metaphors for a little while, my very favorite. technically, all it needs to do is go on for more than a single sentence, but you really want to assault people with these metaphor. you wanna knock em OUT. 

 if you’re looking for something formulaic, a good way to go about it is one of these ways:

1. A Large Extended Metaphor, aka the “Beatdown.” This is when you want to compare something to another thing, but you go broad with what you’re comparing it to. That way, you can list all the ways the first thing is like the second thing, in a row of maybe 3-6 sentences, exploring the idea of the first thing being this second thing from every possible angle you can think of. You hit ‘em with everything you’ve got, right from the start. I think this is a traditional take on the extended metaphor

an example from let us possess one world:

Silver always thought himself a single wave, out in the middle of the sea. He’d been out there by himself all these years – sometimes rising up in fearsome storms, sometimes becalmed with no purpose, ebbing and flowing endlessly. But now he was finding himself edging closer to the long, golden, rocky shore that was Captain James Flint. He knew at any moment he was going to find himself crashing down on that shore, pulled to it by the fates or the moon or God, and for a while he’d felt helpless, thinking about it. Recently, however, he couldn’t help but anticipate that moment of impact - the intense collide when they became one. He found himself yearning for it.  

Wham-bam, done. goodnight, nurse! 

2. The “Suckerpunch.” Write a regular, single simile or metaphor (they’re the exact same, if you want to write a metaphor but think you can only do similes, just remove the like or as and BOOM. ya good). Then, maybe a paragraph later, or even a whole page or chapter later, bring it back around to really knock the reader on their ass. 

From the cowboy au:

Flint had thought this part of himself had been killed off long ago, slowly dying over ten years, first beaten and hanged from a low branch outside a small Pennsylvania town before the killing blow, a shot through the back of the head in the Black Hills. The concave of his body was nothing more than an abandoned mine – absent of anything of worth, leaving only cold stone, the faint trickle of icy water, coughing dust, and the fading footsteps of people long gone. Truthfully, he’d been glad to be rid of those usual urges of most men. He knew all too well the mistakes they inevitably caused.

He’d known John Silver all of three days, but Flint was smart enough to know he had “mistake” written all over him.

But a part of him – a stupid part of him, a small part of him all lit up like a lantern at the end of a dark mineshaft – thought Silver had “inevitable” written all over him too.

These look very complex, but it’s actually really simple, you just gotta keep track of what you’re writing. Anytime you write a metaphor (or simile) and you’re like HOT DAMN THAT’S GOOD, tuck it into your head to bring back around some other time. it’s even something you can add in your second or third draft. if you like a metaphor, never let it go.

3. Use both. aka the “Death Blow.” Be Obnoxious Like That.

from the final smallpox:

In the moonlight, Thomas looks as still and cold as marble, though Flint can feel he’s anything but. He’d been stone for so long in Flint’s memory; for so long, he had seen himself as Odysseus, eager for rest after a perilous journey, far away from the sea. But now he knows he has a little bit of Pygmalion in him, warmed and wrapped around his own Galatea.

…(a page and a half later)…

Flint watches him a little while longer, the deepness of his sleep turning him back into stone. But no longer is he the flat, detail-less picture in his memory, the features all smoothed away by time. Now, the masonry is perfect for its imperfections — the scars, the stubble, the bend of his fingers, the unruly tufts of hair, the slightest rise and fall of his chest like Rome. He’s a sharp, precise, finely-carved relief, etched right into Flint’s heart.

Literally just. Never shut up. Keep going. Beat it like an unwanted mule. Wring that metaphor out with your bare hands until all that’s left is crumpled computer code and a reader begging for mercy. If you ever think your point has been made from just a single-lined metaphorical sentence - you’re wrong. You need at least seven more sentence before the reader FINALLY understands exactly what you mean because you’re writing it and therefore it’s all necessary. 

[lpitaliaofficialsquare-blog]

LP sui fischi, risse da bar e ex.

-Sono Derek e siamo nella sala verde con LP, benvenuta!

• Ciao! Come stai Derek? Come va?

-Tutto bene! La domanda che voglio farti è: come prepari il tuo fischio? Come fai a ... Come fai a sapere che è a posto e che è pronto per l'esibizione?

•Non lo preparo realmente, non mi preparo davvero, ma dovrei. Io... Solitamente mi piace bere una bottiglia d'acqua, sai? Sai, mi piace ... È come se fosse il primo indicatore di quanto la mia voce sarà intatta durante l'esibizione e poi perchè bisogna cercare di essere idratati: per esempio, se le labbra sono screpolate, probabilmente, si rimane disidratati la maggior parte del tempo.

-Quando hai imparato a inserire il fischio nella musica? Quando è stata la prima canzone in cui ti sei detta: "wow! Questo funziona?"

• Penso che fosse ... "Into the wild" è stata la prima volta in cui ho inserito il fischio nel mio ultimo album. Ero... [tossisce] scusami... Stavo registrando la canzone ed avevo appena posato l'ukulele. Stavamo prendendo in giro qualcuno ed ero seduta dietro al produttore... Stavo giochicchiando e fischiettando talmente inconsciamente  che non sapevo neanche cosa stessi  fischiando e  tutti avevano sul volto quell'espressione tipo "ma che roba è?! Non conosco quella melodia!" E poi l'abbiamo buttata giù insieme al fischio ed ho pensato "oh wow! Dovrei fischiare così sul palco!" Ero però molto spaventata all'idea... Pensavo di non essere in grado di eseguirlo se non con persone con cui solitamente rido o qualcosa del genere.

-Come hai perfezionato il tuo fischio, magari fischietti mentre lavori?

•È come un'abilità, come qualsiasi altra cosa. Immagino, sì, la cosa poi è andata avanti e, uh, credo di eseguirlo meglio di quanto non lo faccia nella realtà, uhm, sai, uh, oserei ... Mi viene da dire che è qualcosa che penetra. Sai, il fischio deve piacere proprio per come entra in profondità.

-Eh, ti ho sentito fischiare e penetra molto nel profondo ...

•Oh bene! Proprio come dicevo, Derek! [ride].

-Mi piace come il fischio riesca a penetrare nel profondo, è molto emozionante per me. Te l'ho già chiesto prima, ma vorrei che lo raccontassi al nostro pubblico. Ti ho chiesto se fossi mai stata coinvolta in una rissa. Ci puoi raccontare questa esperienza e dove ti trovavi?

•Ero sul treno e ad un certo punto, non lo so, è scoppiato il caos, sai, come capita tra ragazzi. Due dei miei amici si stavano azzuffando e ... Beh poi sono solo tanti ricordi... Ad un certo punto un ragazzo mi è caduto addosso ed ho iniziato a tiragli pugni tipo così [mima un pugno]. Era proprio come ... Non lo so ... Sembrava veramente sciocco a quel tempo, non lo ricordo nemmeno, come se non fosse... Come se non ci fosse così tanta rabbia, ma tutti hanno iniziato a darsele. Non so se lo sai, ma eravamo come dei ragazzini. Ero... Sai, saremmo dovuti essere in macchina, quello della rissa era un mondo che non ci apparteneva. Sai, qualunque cosa sia successa, anche se si tratta di una faccenda risolta, non ... Non lasciate che i vostri bambini prendano il treno, tutto qui.

-Stavate bevendo in quel momento?

•Esattamente! Sì, stavamo bevendo! Stavamo bevendo birre...

-[La interrompe] Eravate minorenni e stavate bevendo birra su un treno?!

•Ecco qua, persone che si picchiano su un treno.

-Non riesco ad  immaginare un treno come il teatro di una rissa... come nel West. Mi racconti questo episdio?

• Sai... Voglio dire, le risse sono divertenti da guardare in TV. Mi spiego, non sono gradevoli o qualcosa di simile al gradevole, perciò sconsiglierei a chiunque di trovarcisi coinvolto, ma questo è quanto... Sembrava proprio il west. Buon divertimento!

-Prima, mentre cantavi "lost on you" , stavo davvero pensando al significato dietro al testo e me lo sono sentito addosso: è lo stesso modo in cui ho interpretato i suoi occhi, ognuno ha una propria soggettività, ciascuno di noi interpreta la musica in modo diverso, ma mi sentivo come ... Mi ricordo di esserci passato attraverso relazioni in cui eravamo come... Mi sento come se avessi ci investito. Era quasi come un ... Come una transazione in cui ho investito tutto questo tempo e poi quando è finita, quando mi hanno lasciato andare così freddamente ho pensato: "... Ho fatto davvero tutto questo, come può finire così?!" Mi sono sentito esattamente così. Però, voglio dire, odio i cliché ... Ma a cosa ti sei ispirata e come è nata questa canzone?

•Questa canzone è stata una vicenda un po 'più complicata, come se avesse un ... Sai, non ci siamo  neppure lasciate ufficialmente per un altro anno dopo che l'ho scritta.  Il modo in cui eravamo era pericoloso, come quello che ci stava succedendo, perché era come se tutto questo stesse accadendo davanti a me, nel mio... Come se fossimo insieme, come se avessi iniziato... Sai, mi spiego, quando inizi a sentire una specie di solitudine è la cosa peggiore in una relazione. Penso che quando ti trovi in una relazione e pensi "perché mi sento così sola?" Sembra...  Sembra strano, sai, specialmente se, voglio dire, se ci vivi insieme, mi sono sentita così, e mi è sembrato che questa persona fosse assente, come se non considerasse nemmeno quello che portavo in tavola e penso... Sai, penso fosse una strada a due direzioni  opposte, dentro di me sapevo fosse così. Quando ho iniziato a lavorare a questo album, la mia ispirazione è stata Paul Simon e alcune delle canzoni che ha scritto, come "still crazy" e "slip slidin' away" in cui racconta vicende simili alla mia, rapporti dove, sai, non è tutto chiaro e nessuno ha necessariamente ragione, ma ci si ritrova profondamente feriti e molto ... Uhm, sai, ferito nell'anima... E ti fa mettere in discussione tutto ciò che ti riguarda e, sai, anche i momenti trascorsi insieme!

-Era davvero un buon momento?

•Non erano i cinque giorni della rissa che sai ...

-...Come durante la rissa, buon divertimento!

•Sai, qualunque cosa sia, che siano rose!

-Grazie mille LP per essere stata con noi! Lo apprezzo molto! Per voi il singolo "lost on you" su novanta sette sette fresh F, è tutto dalla sala verde.

-It's Derek we're in the CBS DC green room with LP, welcome!

•Hi! How are you Derek? What's up?

-I'm doing good! My question to you is: how do you prepare your whistle? How do you... How do you make sure that it's intact and it's...Iit's ready for performance?

•I don't really... I don't really prepare... I should prepare. I just like... I usually like chugging a bottle of water, does it? You know, I just like... It's kind of like the first indicator of like that my voice is going to be intact as well because you have to be like hydrated; it's kind of like if your lips are chapped you're probably dehydrated most of the time.

-When did you learn to incorporate the whistle and music when was that... When was the first track that you did, where you're like "wow! This is going to work?"

•I think it was... "Into the wild" was the first time on my last record that I put on the whistle to... To the chest. I was, uhm (she coughed) excuse me, I was recording the song and I just laid down the ukulele and we were putting down some face and I was sitting behind the producer in the engineer like playing along and whistling that like subconsciously I didn't even know what I was whistling and they were like "what is that?" That melody is I got unknown and like just go put it in there and that was a whistle and then I was like "oh wow! I'm gonna have to whistle this onstage!" It was like kind of daunting... I was like wouldn't be able to do that only people with I'm laughing or something.

-How did you perfect your whistle, maybe to take practice whistling while you work literally?

•It's like a skill, like anything else. I guess, yeah, it just like kept going and, uh, I think I got better like really, uhm, you know, uh, dare... I say like penetration. It just you know the whistle has to like it just like it goes deep.

-Yeah, I've heard you whistle and it does penetrate very deep...

•Oh well! There you go Derek!

-I like your whistle penetration, it is very satisfying to me. We asked you this question earlier but I wanted people to hear it. I asked you if you've ever been in a bar fight. Can you tell everybody about that experience and where it was?

•It was on a train bar car and it was just... I don't know... Just a melee broke out, you know, like a guy's a two of my friends were fighting and... And then I just remember so many... Like some guy like fell on me and I'm just like punching him like, you know, like some of it  (miming a punch). It was just like... I don't know... It seems really silly at the time, I don't even remember it like there was no, like there wasn't that much like anger in it, but everybody just started beating on each other. I don't know you know we were like teenagers, I was like, you know, we should have been in the car anyway we're like fake ID in it. You know, whatever it was, a sorted story don't... Don't let your kids on the train, that's it.

-Were you guys consuming alcohol at that time?

•We were! We were! We were drinking beers...

-[The interviewer interruped her] You were drinking beers underage on a train?!

•Here's on the train beating people up.

-I can't envision this saloon fight from... Like the Wild West. You tell me that story?!

•You know... I mean, bar fights are fun to watch on TV. I mean, you know, they're not nice or anything like that I wouldn't recommend them but but, yeah, this was... This seemed like that kind of thing. It was just like, you know, good fun.

-You know, when you were performing "lost on you" earlier I was really thinking about the meaning behind the lyrics and I felt like I've been to me: this is how I interpret her eyes, everybody's subjective, everybody interprets music -differently- but I was like... I remember being in relationships we were like... I feel like I invested. It was almost like a... Like a transaction I invested all this time and then like when they let it, when they just let me go so coldly I was like: "...But I did all of this for you, how could you do that to me and that's kind of how I felt but, I mean, I hate to sound clichè... But what was your inspiration or the genesis behind that song?

•This one was a little more complicated like it had a... You know, we didn't even really split up officially for another year after I wrote the song like we that was the thing it was kind of like insidious the way it went down because it was like happening in front of me in my like... Like as we were like together, like I was started... You know, you know, when you start feeling that like kind of lonely, feeling when you're in a relationship like that's the worst. I think when you're in relationship and you're just like "why do I feel lonely?" That seems odd, you know, especially, I mean, if you're home together so I felt like and I just, I just felt like this person was not, it wasn't registering what I was bringing to the table and I think you know, I think it was a two-way street, it's you know the thing is. when I started this record my inspiration was like Paul Simon and some of those songs he wrote, like "still crazy" and like "slip slidin away" and he's, you know, there's like super adult like kind of like dilemmas that happen in relationships where, you know, it's not all clear-cut and nobody's necessarily right but it's deeply hurtful and and very... Uhm, you know, it cuts very deepen and... And makes you question everything about yourself and, you know, one of those good times!

-It was really a good time?

•It wasn't the bar five days you know...

-...Like the bar fight good time!

•You know, whatever in roses!

-LP, thank you so much for joining us! I really appreciate it! you're single lost on you on ninety four seven fresh F and we're in the green room CBS DC.

Potete guardare l' intervista originate qui / You can watch full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Q1dXrMl50&feature=youtu.be

Traduzione a cura di Ludovica Lano

[velkynkarma]

You're such an amazing author and I'd love to write as well as you some day. How do you do it? I try to write sometimes it feels bland and forced and an overall struggle and just not very fun. Any tips?

It’ll sound like the most cliche response ever, but honestly? You just gotta do it. You just gotta practice. And trust me, the first things you write will probably be terrible. Mine were, too! Man, I look back at some of my really old stuff and I swear I want to burn it. It’s bad and bland and forced. But you get better over time. You learn what you like and what you don’t, what works and what doesn’t. You adapt a style. You get better enough to look back at your older work from even 1-2 years ago and objectively critique it. And that’s an amazing feeling.Other than that, my biggest suggestion is to read. Anything, literally anything, but the point is to think about it while you do, don’t just passively let it happen to you. Read comics and learn how they put plots together. Decide what you think works, and what doesn’t. Read fantasy authors or romance novels or mystery paperbacks. Are there sentences or similies or ways the entire plot is constructed that you like, or don’t? Learn from it. Reading is an amazing way to passively learn to write. It expands your vocabulary, teaches you how to plot stories, and makes you think both objectively and subjectively about the media you just consumed. I find the more I started to ask ‘why did they do it [X] way when [Y] was an option?’ or ‘I like this character’s backstory, but why were they used THIS way in the plot?’ I started to build concepts better for my own writing. I find what kinds of characters I really like and learn from how the author built them. I learn what kinds of things I wish I see in novels, and put a focus on it. “What ifs” are always great, and the very building blocks of fanfiction—what if something happened differently? How would you envision that going? Books are a great tool. And finally? Don’t give up. If the way you’re currently writing isn’t fun, try to do something different. Try word sprints with friends. Try prompts. Try challenges. Try setting a schedule. Try roleplaying. Try just worldbuilding. Find a way that makes it fun, because the best writing for me happens when it’s not work anymore.

[lowat-golden-tower]

Out on a Limb

Chapter three, quite longer than the last. I’m not exactly planning these lengths, they just sort of happen. Of course Host’s chapter would be extra wordy.

Major inspiration and Host hc’s taken from @alcordraws, of course.

AO3 Mirror

Chapter 3: nested narrative

"The Host was unaware the lot even had a walnut tree."

Said ego's deep tone was laced with an irritated sigh. He had hoped, after hearing about the incidents with Dark and Wilford, King would avoid trees for at least a little while. He should have known it was all wishful thinking. Just because a squirrel's tree is cut down or burned in a fire, that didn't mean they stopped using trees altogether.

No, if anything, the incidents only served to make King more wary and nervous around the egos involved. Host was sincerely hoping not to join their ranks today, but like the others, he was not prepared to take "no" for an answer.

"King. The Host has talked about this. He does not appreciate King's..." Host couldn't eye the squirrels he sensed in the tree with the disdainful trepidation he was experiencing, but perhaps he managed to convey the feeling through his expression. "...subjects, tearing apart his books to insulate their homes. Also, Host has no qualms with King borrowing some of his material, but he has explicitly stated time and again to return said materials intact."

Host allowed a poignant pause. Part of him was hoping it would drill the point into King's head, while another part hoped the ego would own up to his transgressions. Neither seemed to occur, as he could sense King continuing to simply watch him from the thick branches. Just like his "subjects." Host sighed more wearily.

"That means without missing pages, ripped pages, muddied pages, leaves in-between the pages... and chewed spines and covers. Really, King? Chewing on Host's books?"

"It wasn't me! Samwise likes to chew on hard things! He's got growing teeth. It helps." Finally, King spoke, but of course his choice of dialogue did nothing to assuage Host's aggravation.

If Host had eyes, he would have rolled them.

"Look, I tell them to keep out of your library but it's nice and warm in there! And I can't help it if they want your paper for their nests. They don't have a lot of other options. They won't go near Dark or Wilford's rooms, Bim only has plants, and all the others have threatened them with various forms of awful, terrible death! You don't wanna know what Yandere did when he found out Billy'd taken some stupid shirt scraps...."

Host couldn't see King, of course, but his mind's eye and near inaudible narration showed pursed lips and furrowed brows. Worry, and an irritation of his own, coupled with indignation and righteous fury and a protectiveness akin to that of a mother with her children. Host sighed the heaviest yet. At this rate, his lungs were going to forget how to breathe normally. He was already getting a headache from this conversation. Reaching up, he rubbed at his forehead and adjusted his bandage.

"Just because the Host hasn't threatened to stuff or experiment on one of King's subjects, that doesn't mean the Host has endless patience. It is wearing very thin and King would do best to rectify the situation immediately. Starting with the return of Host's tomes on rodents and the pages missing from his latest thriller."

"Nnnn... mmmnnn... nnnnaaaa... no."

"What?"

"No."

"Are you refusing?"

"Nope."

"...is that a no to the question or are you- nevermind." Host rubbed a bit harder at his forehead. Now he was giving himself a headache. He needed to end this interaction. "Why?"

"Well. I can't. Marshall's got some babies coming along, see, and she needs all the stuffing she can get for her hollow, especially after Wilford destroyed the oak tree-"

"Technically, the King destroyed it when he-"

"I know I'm the one who smushed it but he shrunk it first! It's his fault! And he still hasn't apologized."

Host let loose a rough huff of air; scarcely a laugh. "Host would not hold his breath if he were the King." Now he could sense the King's pout.

"Anyway... so... yeah. I can't give them back. She needs them. Just write more!"

"That's not..." Host's next exhale couldn't really be considered a sigh. "That's not how it works, I just- fine. Fine. Just give Host back his books, then."

"No."

It took all of Host's remaining, yet rapidly dwindling patience, not to narrate the tree being wrenched from the very ground by some invisible force. His fingers tensed and clenched as his body language stiffened. Like running coffee beans through a grinder, the word slipped past his teeth, "Why?"

"Can't."

"Why?"

"I just can't! Look, I'm sorry, but you're not getting any of your stuff back. I'll talk to them about taking more of it, but I can't give back the book they already took."

"Why not?"

Silence. When Host didn't receive an answer for almost a full minute, he decided he'd had enough. He'd played along and played nice but now play time was over. He was getting his book back, at the very least, even if it would be covered in squirrel spit. A bit louder, he started to hone his narration, feeling the words spill through his veins and out into the universe around him; bending it to his will. "King of the Squirrels decides to change his stubborn ways and in a gesture of courtesy takes the Host's book and-"

Thunk.

Host blinked. Or, he would have. The urge was still there, but no reflex could fulfill it. The awkward sensation that followed only served to fuel his frustration. What had hit him? He hadn't been paying attention to his immediate surroundings, as he'd been putting forth all his efforts to control King. Unwilling to waste more time, he shrugged it off and opened his mouth to begin again.

Thunk.

A walnut. He'd been hit by a walnut, he "saw" it that time. He wished he could narrow his eyes. "Really."

Thunk. "Yes really. They don't appreciate you trying to control me!" Thunk.

The muscle beneath Host's left empty eye socket twitched behind his bandage. Every few seconds, another walnut would bounce off some part of his person. They were easy to brush off... until one happened to hit a little too close to home. Host felt more than "watched" a walnut spiral gracefully towards his face, where it promptly smacked into his bandage. More accurately, the part of his bandage resting over nothing. The reverberations against the barest edge of his empty socket sent chills racing across his skin. His spine tingled and his breath hitched. A bead of blood slipped out from beneath his bandage.

He could sense an apology already forming on King's lips, knew it was coming, even though he hadn't thrown the nut. It didn't matter. Host officially had enough. His voice cracked through the peace of the summer afternoon like a whip, shaking the fabric of all things to its core. Metaphorically, he reached into the threads of the universe, grasped them firmly in his hands, and pulled. With his words.

"King of the Squirrels abruptly forgets himself and proceeds to fall off his branch, hitting several on his way to the ground. He lands on a large root."

Judging by the sounds of cracking wood and smashing branches, coupled with King's screeching, Host's narration was successful. He waited until he heard the appropriate thud, then continued. "His furry subjects follow suit, falling from the tree and scattering like water droplets in a sizzling hot frying pan." King should be grateful Host didn't make his similie literal. He listened to the sounds of furious squeaking and chittering, watching the rodents dash wildly about in his mind's eye. King was still laying on his back, half-bent around a large root and groaning.

"The Host's book falls primly into his hands from where it had been perched in the tree. King of the Squirrels learns a valuable lesson and deigns never to borrow the Host's books agai-"

Host's latest bout of narration was abruptly halted when he noticed a faint chittering coming from his hands. He'd caught the book, as described, but apparently someone had already been using it. He choked on his next word, his tongue catching on his teeth. "You let it make a nest out of my book?!"

It was the last words he was able to say before suddenly there was a squirrel latched onto his face, tugging at his hair and bandages with its tiny paws and screeching up a storm. He screamed himself in a mixture of shock and panic, dropping his book and flailing backwards. He ran back to the parking lot, doing his best to narrate or rip the squirrel off his face and abandoning his efforts entirely. One book and a few pages were not worth this.

King let loose another groan and rolled his head to the side, watching Host flee. A victorious chuckle wheezed from his mouth. "Marshall wasn't the only one nesting babies...."

[ohnohetaliasues]

Blood Raining Night{Chapter 30}

(Kat)

Yes, I know this is late, but I decided to finish the story. This is the last chapter that’s been posted, but it seems to be ongoing. Anyway, let’s begin. 

The last night was very stimulating from conversation about Reicheru's sister growing within Mew. It was not morning.

How is Mew pregnant is my qiestion? Pokemon lay eggs. 

Elaine came out of her room rubbing her eyes. "What's up mama?" She groggily spoke. "Don't worry about it Baby." Reicheru said as Elaine hopped up onto her lap. Breakfast was laid out. 

You know, I still wonder when the next episode of the fanime  is coming out. 

"Gimme fork please. nyu" 

Elaine instructed to Amirru. He gave her the fork and she shuffled a mouthfull of salad into Reicheru's mouth. "Good mama?"

Who eats salad for breakfast?

"Mmmmm yes. Very good. THank you sweetie." Reicheru and Elaine smiled. "Your like a mommy...BUT DON"T be one because its very hard to be young and have babbies. But every hardship is worth every moment with you, Baby."

This is too sugary. 

Off on the other side of the table Mew stirred her Captain cruch tragically, "What will I do..." Mew said.

Die.

Also, how do you stir your Captain Crunch* tragically? I’d like to learn to do that. 

"We'll help you raise your baby. I'll have a little sister and Tenshikuzu will have an aunt."

After all this time I’ve never gotten over TEHNSHIKUZU. 

"Yeah you're right..." Mew said. "This could be good for everyone!"

Teen pregnancy is not good for everyone. 

Reicheru had the tiniest bit of a smile on her face and turned her head towards Mew, "I wish times were better. I'm sure my daddy will be back for Tenshikuzu. There is no normal family right now...But we will be one once all this is done."

Mew left and Reicheru nuzzled her hair against Elaine's ear and spoke very softly into it like a babbling brook,

Oh god I forgot about the bad similies. 

 "We're going to go shooping for Mew's new baby! It'll make her feel more at ease and ready for her new life!"

That exclimation mark does not imply that she  ‘nuzzled her hair against Elaine's ear and spoke very softly into it like a babbling brook.’

Elaine put her hands on her big full cheeks and squeed, "SOUNDS FUN!" she said and was immediately hushed by a smiling Reicheru. Amirru wiped off Elaine and Reicheru's dirty ass faces and spoke, "Will you need assistance mam?"

Was that really necessary?

"oh thanks Ami! But no there are times when Tenshikuzu

or Yuki can allow me to look through their eyes. Elaine will be up for it today. You need keep Mew-chan calm." Elaine and Reicheru left, holding hands. "Nya~ON!"

The mall was full and loud with the heat of a woman very fat and angry.

I can’t even anymore.

 You could smell the cinnamon rolls, and that's all Reicheru knew was there until Elaine let her look through her eyes.

I’ve run out of anything to poke at this with. 

As the light came into her mind's eyes she gently squeezed Elaines hand...It had been the first she's seen since she was at the island with Yuki when Elaine was kidnapped. "What do we get mama?" Elaine walked her mom through the many shelves. "Well she will need baby clothes and a few how to baby books, and some baby chewable food..." BUMP! Elaine was so short and without noticing she ran Reicheru right into someone. "HEY! WATCH IT!" Came a very demanding and manly feminine

voice from giant pudding lips.

Does that seem racist to anyone else?

 "Do you just let your daughter lead you around like that?? You knew I was standing here!"

She’s blind.

Elaine looked up at the girl so Reicheru could see her, "Oh sorry," Reicheru sweated "I cant see too good and my daughter is helping me out..." Reicheru furry cat ears flatted in embarrassment. The girl had on a purple and black bikini with black short pants and had pink eyes with pink hair that was light blue at the tips almost like sharp cotton candy. "Baby we should go look in the clothes section..."

Rude people are rude to blind people. 

The girl thought about something hard and then stepped in front of Reicheru, "Eh!" She said stepping in front of Elaine, "you guys seem like you need help with taht. I'm Shartara Akainiku. you can call me Shart-San

HER NAME IS SHART. 

 or Sha-San if your lazy," she shookhands with Reicheru. "Oh hi..." Reicheru nervously shook her hand which was painted with pale blue nail polish. "I'm Reicheru and this is my daughter Elaine." "NYU!" Elaine squeeked. 

Die.

Shartara looked very unamused 

Same.

at the child and rolled her eyes to the other side of the store, but petted Elaine on the head and faked a "What a cute little girl."

She is literally me.

As they were picking out clothes and other things Shartara stayed behind them not saying much but texting a lot. "Ugh," she sighed, "this is kinda boring. I think your a bit late anyway your daughter isn't a baby."

Wow, Reicheru sure treats Elaine like a baby, so I’m not surprised that’s what she thought. 

"These things aren't for me their for a friend who will have a baby soon." Reicheru said as Elaine put a bib in the shopping basket. "She's really scared and she needs some help preparing. It's gonna be my little sister!" "AND MY AUNT!" Elaine said excidedly holding toilet paper. Shartara looks confused "Um...Okay." She grinned about something and then bent down to talk to Elaine, "Hey you know what sounds liek fun?" Elaine's eyes bugged in mystery and wonder like two red bubbles, "What Shart-San?"

I’m dying her name is shart.

"If we got...Cinnamon rolles!" she got Elaine very excited!

Cinnamon rolls are really good.

"Mama can we get some? PLEEEASE?" She tugged at Reicheru's pink dress. "Uh...Welll..." Reicheru was put on the spot, "Sha-San we really need to finish shopping for Mew and then we can get cinnamon rolls." Shartara took Elaine by the hand and started walking them to the food court, "live a little bit you guys," she said, "This is gonna be tons more fun then shopping for baby stuff!" They sat at a round table in the middle of the food court and stuffed gargantuous fluffy cinnamon rolls into their moths. Sweet cream cheese icing drooled from the corners of their lips and Shartara and Elaine looked very happy.

Reicheru shouldn’t be letting some woman she just met do this with her daughter. 

But this is Reicheru we’re talking about. 

"Now this is my kinda thing” Shartara said. "Isn't it Elaine?" Reicheru stood up and grabbed Elaine's sticky frosting hand, "Sha-San it was fun having you tag along and all..."

Good. Reicheru is actually being moderately responsible. 

Kill me.

"Oh yeah I didn't bring any money..." Shartara quickly threw her napkins down and backed away from the table "Your right Reicheru it was very fun. I'll see you guys around." She ran off texting.

Also, PAY FOR YOUR FOOD YOU MEDIOCRE DUNCE. 

"What the hell..." Reicheru was angrier than the bull "What a load of crap and that was weird. Id like to smack her!" "Shart-San is sugoi!" Elaine beamed with a glowing look on her face. Reicheru sighed.

Don’t speak bad Japanese please. 

"Sweetie I need to go to the bathroom. Could you take me there?" Reicheru asked. They walked thorough the mall until they found the bathrooms. "Okay Baby just wait on the benches in the hall. I can feel my way around in the bathroom door." Elaine did what she was told and sat on the benches which were in a different hallway next to the bathrooms.

Shartara is gonna kidnap Elaine, isn’t she.

As Reicheru was washing her hands and feeling her way to the door, she could hear something very strange. SCREEEETCH...CLUNK! Reicheru leaned her ear against the door. The noise was stop. Through Elaine's eyes she could see a smiling figure walking towards her from the bathroom hallway. It was Shartara. She was all happy and saying SOMETHING to Elaine but Reicheru could not hear what. 

Help.

Shartara got on one knee and told Elaine, "Hey you want to go do something fun?" She grabbed her hand.

Oh no. 

"But mama needs me to wait for her!" Elaine pouted.

"Don't worry kid women take a long time in the bathroom you know? You wouldn't understand it's lady business." Shartara pulled Elaine off the bench.

I called it. 

Frantically Reicheru jerked the bathroom door handle but the door wouldn't budge. She could see Shartara quickly lead Elaine away. "Elaine!" Reicheru screamed. "Don't do it come back! Come back! Don't trust her!!" She threw her body against the door over and over again. She kicked the door and felt around for something big, but nothing seemed hard enough to break the door. "Help!!!!" bloody tears of fear and pain dripped from her orange crush colored glass eyes.

It was like watching a horrible silent movie. She saw them looking at toys and having fudge fingers. Two figures walked up to them. One of them was Mew!

"Oh thank Kami..." Reicheru cried. "I can't believe it!" Another figure stood with Mew. It was... ...Reicheru?

We’ll probably have to wait a long time for the next chapter, so I’ll levae you guys here. Until next time!

~Kat

[agent-85]

Hello Jane! ^^ I just saw the ep... so it's delated but thanks for the reply

(2) All that began with “Self control” (which I hate as much as 4722h…) with lmdFitz in a very domestic violence/abusive boyfriend imagery scene…, then in the framework torture and to finish murder, and all that without an hesitation. The moment he killed Agnes, it was too far, they killed Leo and tainted him forever with all of that… Because yes Aida messed up with his memories and gave him a new fake backstory but being abused as child and even manipulated and misguided as an adult don’t

(3) justify in any way killing and torturing someone. And that’s where I think we won’t agree, but Framework Fitz does take his own decision, based on fake experiences yes, but pulling the trigger is his choice, “interrogating” people is his choice… he can say NO! And that’s why it is awful. If they had made him hesitate, shaking hands, have second thoughts, regrets I would be less harsh but it’s not the case. Where is his main quality: his heart?? I hate this arc so much and I think I need

(4) help because if they think it’s the best storytelling they made, i just don’t see it. Plus still no Fitzsimmons… what the hell is Jemma doing ?? another disappointment… and that insulting, disgusting simili redemption arc for Ward… really nothing to hold on. :( The show sends a lot of weird messages and there is one that I can’t stand anymore. It’s the apology of “you have to suffer to have something good at the end”… Hurt is not good! When life or your body hurts you

(5) its an alarm signal that it has gone too far. You don’t need to suffer all the time to have something good in your life! Sorry for rambling. Anyway thanks again for your blog, your fics and everything. You are trully amazing!

Hey there, Laurent!

Okay, whoa. First of all, I’m going to say that Self Control is one of my favorite episodes, and it shouldn’t malign Fitz’s carrier in any way. Fitz didn’t do anything wrong, because Fitz was not present. He was literally kidnapped, brainscanned, and uploaded into the Framework by that point. You can’t blame him for something that was done by someone else, even if that other person was wearing his face. That’s unfair and wrong. Do we blame May for everything Kara Palamas did while wearing May’s face? No, because May didn’t do them. All of LMD Fitz’s actions are on RADCLIFFE, who captured, kidnapped, and imprisoned the team, then sent murderbots in their place to get everyone else. RADCLIFFE.

It’s true that Framework Fitz is the complete opposite of real Fitz. That’s on purpose, not to make Fitz look bad, but to show how much control AIDA has over this world. If she can make good, pure Fitz do that, then she can really do anything. The point is that this is not Fitz! The point is that this is AIDA’s crazy, fascist fantasy land. 

It’s true that he did kill Agnes and torture Daisy, but again, as I have said time an time again, he has been brainwashed. It’s not just that he believes an alternate history. He has been conditioned to have alternate values. He has been purposefully programmed to be somebody else. In the real world, we are presented with differing world views from different people. Fitz has been sheltered from all that. He doesn’t know that there’s anything other than what he sees before him. This is his home.

And yet, somehow, he still has doubts.

I don’t know if you were watching the same show I am, because he DOES have doubts, and him having doubts is VERY important.

Here it is, right after he shoots the gun:

Here it is again, when he’s had some time to think about it:

Seems pretty clear to me. 

The thing about making a choice, about saying “NO!” is that you have to know that you have actual options. We know that Madame Hydra is keeping things from Fitz. We know he has a purposely distorted view of the world. As @agl03 says, it’s like Fitz is at an intersection, but he roads going left and right have been removed. He has no choice but to go exactly where Madame Hydra wants him.

You also can’t ignore the emotional manipulation happening here. Madame Hydra is tricking him into killing Agnes, into shooting down Mace, into torturing Daisy. He literally thinks he’s doing something else. He doesn’t think they’re innocent people. He thinks he’s doing the right thing, because that’s what Madame Hydra is telling him, an he has no way of knowing any different.

Soon, he will be able to see conflicting points of view, and he will change. We’ve already started to see that. The light is coming soon.