#it seems like posting original poetry is a thing we do here

[reinedeslys-central]

Lilac buttercream and magic all kinds I want to see you with laughter lines Shadows on the curb and the daily grind I want to see you with laughter lines

-reinedeslys, "laughter lines"

[geopsych]

re: the tumblr ai stuff, please don’t wipe your blog!! your blog has been so important to me and many others as a place of authentic light and beauty and i would hate to lose it forever 💕

there is a way to download the contents of a tumblr blog (it’s in settings, i don’t remember rn, but i’ll find it if you need it) maybe you could upload to another site or a personal site?

i know this is very serious, and i hate how we are unwillingly contributing to synthetic art, but the world would be poorer for me without your pictures <3

Thank you. Your words mean a lot to me.

This is a dilemma for me. I have loved doing this blog and going out to look for pictures and interesting things to bring here has given me motivation and meaning through years of struggle with depression and several kinds of grief. Going out to look for pictures has put me in situations where I have seen incredible beauty, much of which I never really managed to capture. Also, the many warm and kind messages I've received from people all over the world have given me heart and made me feel less meaningless as a person and more connected. Sometimes I've been criticized for buying the checkmarks and giving money to Tumblr but I wanted to do what I could because Tumblr has been my one happy and safe place online. But now this. To me AI in relation to creativity is just a way for well-to-do but untalented people, the proverbial tech bros, to profit from other people's hard work and creativity. It has no redeeming value in relation to creativity and is actively harmful to artists of all kinds. <trying to figure out how to put a read more link here> I don't even count myself among the real creatives, artists and writers and others who have worked hard and put years into honing their crafts, into learning to translate their hearts and unique spirits into their creative expression. I just see beautiful things and take pictures of them. But it would still make me sick to see AI works based on my pictures, on these times and places that have meant so much to me. Recently I saw a set of cat 'photos' on here that everyone was reblogging and exclaiming over but that to me seemed to just be AI art that was more convincing than most. As time goes on more and more output of AI is going to be almost indistinguishable from real works and unscrupulous people will pass them off as real, getting credit for what was actually created by others. Whether they profit from them becomes almost irrelevant at that point because what's worse is that we will have less and less sense of what is real. And as some have pointed out AI will now also be scraping from AI, muddying the waters further from here on in. This is an apocalypse of sorts, an apocalypse of creativity, ultimately likely to kill the joy of artistic endeavor for many who would otherwise produced brilliant, beautiful, funny, and/or shockingly original things. I'm still parsing and dissecting my thoughts and feelings about what Tumblr has done and how to react. Staying and leaving my blog up feels like consent. I am not confident in the integrity of anyone connected with scraping sites for AI. I'm not convinced that a little toggle in settings is going to make much of a difference in the long run. On the other hand I like posting here and I have received enough messages over the years to know that my blog is a positive influence on some lives. I was looking forward to May and June and posting pictures of the incredible beauty of eastern Pennsylvania in those months. And I was planning on making a side blog for posting some poetry I've been working on. It will break my heart to leave.

I haven't decided yet. Believe it or not this whole thing has given me awful physical symptoms. I'll let you know when I decide. Thank you again for your kind and lovely note!

[secretmellowblog]

Hi! From your posts and comments, you know a lot abput the different translations of Les Mis. The one that I have is Wilbour, which I like the most of the ones I’ve encountered, in terms of wording and writing style; are there any issues with it I should be aware of? As people following Les Mis Letters comment on the original French, I’ve noticed a couple things missing, or bits where the translation seems less clear than in some others versions. What are your thoughts on this translation?

Wilbour is a great translation! It's the first English translation of Les Mis, but has many errors because it was published very quickly after the publication of the original novel. The most common criticism I've heard of Wilbour is that it's extremely stodgy and old-fashioned, even compared to Hugo's language; Wilbour often adapts the sentence structure of French very literally in ways that can read awkwardly or not completely correctly in English. But! I've heard he also captures the poetry and feeling of the language better than Hapgood, though, when it comes to 19th century translations. I believe Wilbour was the first translation I read, and if Hapgood weren't the most easily accessible on the Gutenberg it might be my translation of choice! He and Hapgood also cut sentences here and there but don't rise to the level of massive deliberate censorship, the way other 19th century translators like Wraxall do. The only serious error i remember Wilbour making is in Combeferre's speech at the barricade, where he discusses how women are left behind by society. Combeferre says "Women, we are not much given to thinking about them." But Wilbour mistranslates this as "women are not much given to thought" which is the EXACT opposite sentiment to the one Combeferre expresses XD. If you want a "more accurate" version of Wilbour that fixes the errors he made while translating at an unhealthy pace in a time before the internet existed-- the Fahnestock McAfee translation is meant as an updated version of Wilbour that corrects his errors! However, they occasionally "correct" things he didn't get wrong. For example, there's a moment where Javert boasts "I have claws like a woman" but FMA mistranslates it as "you have claws like a woman." Like, FMA is wrong and Wilbour is right there- Javert is just a strange little guy. For a translation comparison: here's a comparison of how various Les Mis translators handle Les Amis's introductory chapter, "A Group Which Barely Missed Becoming Historic!" You can contrast Wilbour with other translators here to see the general way he approaches things in comparison to other translators ^_^.

[cleolinda]

Varney the Vampire: A Preface

I want you to think back to what it’s like to reread your old work from years ago—your old stories or poetry, your old school papers, or even your old tumblr posts. Sometimes you’re actually kind of pleased, sure, but I want you to really go back and locate yourself in the heady cringe of that feeling.

In related news, I'm going to pick back up with the Varney the Vampire recaps I started in late 2010 CE. I got about nine chapters in, and then something, who knows what, derailed my life, as things tend to. Like, I'm used to this, it happens with the regularity of a lunar cycle. But I like writing about vampires (clearly), and since I feel like Dracula has been tread pretty thoroughly in recent times, I figured I might go back to something different; we had some lively discussions about Varney back then.

But 2010 was a time before A Lot of Things happened. I was in my early 30s at that point, so I won't say, "Oh, I was so young," but I had a very different energy as a blogger 12-13 years ago. So I've decided to rewrite the recaps a little—some more than others, some not much at all. I just feel like I have a really different perspective on the first chapter in particular, in 2023.

As before, I'm using the full, unabridged text. It is hideously long, something like 230+ chapters, but go big or go home, I figure. The thing is, I was using the files hosted at the University of Virginia, and now you can only get those through the Wayback Machine, but they are still usable for now. I have various backups saved, but I do want you to be able to see that I am, as ever, Not Making It Up.

I'm also not going to quibble anymore as to whether James Malcolm Rymer or Thomas Peckett Prest wrote this behemoth. Per Wikipedia sources, scholars seem to agree that it was all or mostly Rymer. When it's mentioned that they figured this out based on his dialogue style, I went... yeah, that checks out. Because it sure is A Style, and I'll be honest, the repetitive filler dialogue in chapter 10 was such a speedbump for me that I just threw up my hands and said, "I don't know how to recap this. Something I can't remember now is going on in my life and I Cannot. I no longer Can."

Well, it's the 2020s and we're gonna. Like I can't tell you how much stress I do not have about this. I've had covid three times and also spinal surgery. Varney the Vampire can no longer hurt me.

To start, this ordeal has a preface—apparently written upon the occasion of collecting the serial into book form—wherein The Author expresses his gratitude for "unprecedented success of the romance of Varney the Vampyre." First off, Rymer uses "vampire" and "vampyre" interchangeably, because fuck me for caring about consistency, I guess. Second, as Wikipedia notes,

It first appeared in 1845–1847 as a series of weekly cheap pamphlets of the kind then known as "penny dreadfuls." The author was paid by the typeset line [YEAH, I NOTICED], so when the story was published in book form in 1847, it was of epic length: the original edition ran to 876 double-columned pages and 232 chapters. Altogether it totals nearly 667,000 words.

For comparison, all of Lord of the Rings plus The Hobbit is 576,459 words. I sure do blanch every time I see those numbers! It's fine. We're gonna be fine. Back to the preface:

The following romance is collected from seemingly the most authentic sources, and the Author must leave the question of credibility entirely to his readers, not even thinking that he is peculiarly called upon to express his own opinion upon the subject.

"Seemingly" is doing a lot of work here.

Nothing has been omitted [for real, nothing down to the tiniest fly-swat has been omitted] in the life of the unhappy Varney, which could tend to throw a light upon his most extraordinary career, and the fact of his death just as it is here related, made a great noise at the time through Europe, and is to be found in the public prints for the year 1713.

I've seen more than one Dracula multimedia art project where people recreated the letters and diaries and recordings in the book (have you heard my whole thing about how Dracula actually was a cutting-edge techno-thriller back in 1897?), but I've never heard of anyone creating ARG-style media for the Totally for Actual-Fact Real tale of Sir Francis Varney the Vampire, and I think it would be hilarious if someone did.

I won't belabor the entire preface, but what I do want to touch on is Rymer's mention of "unprecedented success." Varney is actually standing on the shoulders of a vampire giant, and it's not the one we would think of. Nowadays, our big touchstone—the influence so great that most works either evoke it or take the trouble to say "Our vampires are different"—is Dracula, obviously. Which was published exactly 50 years after Varney, in 1897. But Varney's touchstone is Polidori's short story "The Vampyre" (1819). And for most of the 1800s, this was everyone's touchstone. Per Wikipedia (which I'm going to lean on for how concise it is, but I concur with this from my own research as well):

An adaptation appeared in 1820 with Cyprien Bérard's novel Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, falsely attributed to Charles Nodier, who himself then wrote his own dramatic version, Le Vampire, a play which had enormous success and sparked a "vampire craze" across Europe. This includes operatic adaptations by Heinrich Marschner (see Der Vampyr) and Peter Josef von Lindpaintner (see Der Vampyr), both published in the same year. Nikolai Gogol, Alexandre Dumas [note: I have the Ruthven play he wrote around here somewhere] and Aleksey Tolstoy all produced vampire tales, and themes in Polidori's tale would continue to influence Bram Stoker's Dracula and eventually the whole vampire genre. Dumas makes explicit reference to Lord Ruthven in The Count of Monte Cristo, going so far as to state that his character "The Comtesse G..." had been personally acquainted with Lord Ruthven. [...]

In England, James Planché's play The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles was first performed in London in 1820 at the Lyceum Theatre based on Charles Nodier's Le Vampire, which in turn was based on Polidori. Such melodramas were satirised in Ruddigore, by Gilbert and Sullivan (1887); a character called Sir Ruthven must abduct a maiden, or he will die.

Back when no one gave a shit about copyright, Polidori's work was spun out into a cottage industry of knock-off stories and plays, an entire horror zeitgeist. Lord Ruthven was, for 78 years, who you copied, who you riffed on, who you parodied, what Count Dracula is to us now: the archetypal vampire. The Big Guy. And Varney is clearly cut from his cloth—the ostensible gentleman who worms his way into the lives of respectable, unwitting people. Unlike Dracula, there's no foreigner Othering, no "historical basis," no undercurrents of contagion and infection, no ambition to make the world his wine-press, none of that; Ruthven is a simpler figure, but the dominant one of this time no less. He is a stranger who shows up in the middle of London high society, icy and distant, his eyes “dead grey”—stern, yet somehow compelling when he cares to be. And when he cares to be, you're in trouble.

And this is the cultural consciousness when Francis Varney shows up.

[Chapter one will go up sometime this week, March 8-10 or so.]

[misc-obeyme]

Hard Lesson 20. I'm just. What the. Speechless.

Spoilers below!

WHAT WHAT WHAT.

Now, I know we never truly get to know who Raphael is talking to because their name remains "???" the entire time, but really we all know it's Michael, right?

And you are TELLING ME that Michael was the one in the Devildom DISGUISED as Raphael the WHOLE TIME?!?!?!

Also can we just appreciate Raphael for a minute, though?

Pfff. Poor guy. I'm getting pretty fond of him.

Anyway, here are the things I realized:

First - this could be the answer to my double Solomons theory. If Michael can disguise himself as anyone to the point where nobody can tell the difference, maybe it's him that's been pretending to be Solomon all this time? I was originally thinking it was past!Solomon, but maybe it's just been Michael in disguise? On the one hand, it makes sense because Michael knows MC is from the future. On the other hand, though, there's one part of this that doesn't quite make sense to me. While Michael is in the Devildom disguised as Raphael, we have the Solomon who is wearing his casual sorcerer outfit (and later the suit). I have always thought this was our Solomon, the one who came back in time to help us. Which would mean that if Michael has been masquerading as Solomon, he's been doing it in Solomon's human world outfit - the trench coat one. And if that's the case, then it would mean that he was the one who made a pact with Asmo. And that doesn't seem possible. Soooo I don't know. It's an interesting thought, but I'm not sure it actually works.

That being said, it could be an indication of the fact that this is a possibility, though! Like maybe Michael isn't the only one who can disguise himself as other characters. Maybe... if Michael is not Nightbringer... maybe Nightbringer can do that too and he's the one who's been pretending to be Solomon?

Second - speaking of Nightbringer... I had officially crossed Michael off the Might Be Nightbringer list but now I think he's back on it. Because if he can disguise himself like that... I mean, really all bets are off! I don't know if he can only disguise himself as other angels? But if he can disguise himself as anybody then that means he could be interfering in all kinds of different ways. I don't think that's been happening (aside from the Solomon possibility of course), but it does make me question things.

Third - my entire perception of Michael as a character has changed. Back in this post, an anon asked me what I thought his personality might be and obviously I was way off. Because if that truly is Michael behind those ???s, he sounds like way more of a troublemaker than a strict older brother type. He straight up left Raphael in charge of the Celestial Realm so that he could assume his identity and travel to the Devildom to give the brothers that he supposedly still loves and misses an ultimatum that would require them to leave behind one of their own or bring war to their new home. Like. Dude. What the fuck.

So, anon, if you're reading this, I think I was completely wrong lol. I think maybe Michael is more like... a guy who clearly has a lot of power, but never really takes anything too seriously. The way Raphael talked about him saying he runs away and that he's probably just going to fall asleep at the poetry reading... like, clearly he doesn't take anything too seriously at all. And yet he's willing to do some really crazy stuff just to see his old brothers again. We still have very little information, so it's hard to say.

In conclusion, when does the next season start?? Anybody know? I have no idea how much time they used to have in between seasons and I KNOW this one just ended but I need ANSWERS.

I think it might be a while, which is fine I'll just write some fanfics in the meantime, thanks.

[annlillyjose]

Green Room – WIP Intro

hiii cuties!

have you ever been overcome by an irresistible urge to write a memoir at the age of twenty, or are you normal? i'm definitely not, so here's a new project (again)

green room is an experimental memoir that delves into my teenage years as a writer. i started writing seriously at the age of thirteen and self-published my first book at fourteen, which is something that haunts me to date. but here's the thing – i feel like i've learned a lot in the last six to seven years and wanted to explore it with another writing project.

i don't really know what this book is going to be yet. i'm going to start drafting during nanowrimo as a side project and hopefully finish it by the end of the year, but i'm not in a rush. i want to enjoy the process of writing this so i might take my sweet time.

now because this is an intro post, let's get to some specifics.

disclaimer: this is my original work. plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated.

genre: creative/literary non-fiction

pov: first person retrospective

structure: a combination of chapters, vignettes, and poetry maybe

projected word count: 50k

concept: literary memoir on a writer's journey through teenage as they navigate genre, form, tense, character, story, plot, theme, atmosphere, and setting.

aesthetics/vibes: abandoned art galleries, mountaintops, beaches at midnight, falling asleep on the terrace, coffee mugs, word documents, cute stationery that never gets used, rejection e-mails, daydreaming, moon phases, still rivers, birds flying in groups, rain, academic validation, morally gray people, the colour green

THE ORIGIN STORY

i had always wanted to write something in retrospect of my teenage and document my growth, but didn't want to be so didactic in doing so. the memoir seemed like a serious piece of writing so i didn't really know if i was qualified enough to start. but if i've learned anything about writing in the last few years, it is that you can write whatever you feel like writing. so here i am with a new wip.

a little bit about the title – i struggled with this the most. but the novel i wrote during my late teens (dairy whiskey) was an entirely green book and i found myself finding thousands of green things every single day. my life had turned a shade of green. i was very inspired by the books bluets by maggie nelson and the white book by kan hang. i decided to make the colour green an important aspect of the book.

i don't know how this is going to turn out or if i'm going to do updates for this one, but who knows, i just might. until then, i hope you enjoy my other writing and shitposting. until next time, goodbye.

– ann.

general taglist (ask to be added or removed)

@shaonsim @heartfullkings @vnsmiles @dallonwrites @wannabeauthorclive @sienna-writes @violetpeso @flip-phones @silassghost @ambidextrousarcher @zoe-louvre @writing-with-l @magic-is-something-we-create @femmeniism @frozenstillicide @wizardfromthesea @rose-bookblood @coffeeandcalligraphy @rodentwrites @saltwaterbells @snehithiye @at-thezenith

[esther-dot]

I feel really bad for the originator of the Ashford theory, reading those posts you screencapped. It's not a 'crack theory' (unless they're putting it down because Jonsas took a serious hold of it), since structural foreshadowing is a basic storytelling tool. Hiding poetry in history, which seems a past-time GRRM particularly enjoys--- it's not just there to be there, but to lesson us in reading the past and make us understand the current story more deeply.

We should be confident in our analyses, regardless of whether we share a ship in common (I am do believe in Jonsa, but this goes for everyone), because storytelling can generally be trusted to be intentional. Anybody who wants to act like being incurious is more intellectually justifiable because it's less emotionally fraught is not worth spending time on. It is actually disappointing when stories are not considered and thoughtful (which is not a testament to so-called 'complexity'; The Little Prince is considered and thoughtful)--- fault in reading too much into things usually lay in perspective, less in doubt of substance.

Then again, Originator of Ashord Theory being possessive as claimant probably points more to dismissing it as crack because other people have taken ahold of it in a way they didn't like. If I am perfectly honest, were it not them having noticed it, someone else would have later (and someone else on Reddit did).

It's exactly the sort of thing I look for when I am engaging in a story because it is a tool I see used often. It was what attracted me to Jonsa, not that I was looking for evidence.

(about this ask)

The issue definitely wasn’t a lack of confidence in their own reading, they’re a tumblr BNF! I think Jonsas have written so much about it and so convincingly, it’s become widely viewed as a Jonsa theory and eclipsed the original intent which is their problem with it. Sometime ago someone shared an AltShift video here (a YouTube BNF), and he had included the Ashford Tourney as evidence for Jonsa, so I do think the goal of the blogger now labeling it “crack” is to detract from the Jonsa of it/for shipping reasons, not because they don’t believe in their own work.

As for the broader idea, I certainly agree that pre canon characters and events are written to add depth to the canon events. We can all expect that and look for parallels and contrasts with assurance that they are conversing with each other. It seems to me that every part of the fandom attempts that in some way, we simply come to different conclusions about what those things mean. I can look at something and accept a Jonsa interpretation but also understand, there’s another factor here too. And while I agree that many things are intentional in ASOIAF, I’m also aware that things can subconsciously influence and slip into a work. I recently watched this clip of Spielberg being told, he didn’t recognize this on his own, that he had included his parents love story in a film. Anyone might think, it had to be deliberate, but it wasn’t!

So, not saying anyone should be less confident, I just think it’s good to be aware that after a parallel is recognized, our interpretation of it is where we can all take off in different directions. For example, Jonnel and Sansa is perhaps the most beloved Jonsa foreshadowing (if it isn’t the Ashford Tourney 😅), and I absolutely think it’s groundwork for canon events. The question isn’t if it is, but how. Will it be a parallel, only, the point of the marriage this go around is to right a wrong? Give the girl her home back? (If say, Robb’s Will is recognized). I’ve questioned that simply because it seems like a big task to get everyone on board with Jon being legitimate and becoming their Lord and/or their King only to have them then immediately turn around and all accept he’s actually a Targ and will marry his “sister.” I wouldn’t be mad if that’s what Martin did, but when I think about how much agency he likes to give non POV characters, I’m a little skeptical he’d pull that turnaround off.

So then I think, well, maybe the idea is that unlike Jonnel, Jon will refuse Winterfell again and insist it is Sansa’s again only to ultimately be rewarded in the end by marrying her when she has the power to choose, and she chooses him? People have been very outspoken about how dumb they think the idea of Sansa being QitN is, and maybe that’s too much of a leap for the North because Martin does like his realism, but considering all the female heirs talk going on, Martin is certainly going to say something there, and Jon will have some complicating factors that might make Sansa more favorable to people.

Basically, Jon is a good person, he’ll do right by the Starks, is that the entire point? Look at the way the older generation of men treated women, this generation will be better? Or will Martin use the extraordinary circumstances to benefit Sansa / female heirs? Create an entirely new normal for the North? The story will talk to itself, but what exactly is it saying? That we can endlessly debate!

[queerical]

those "who are you outside of your media consumption" "what do you do besides consume media" posts are so fucking annoying like we get it you have a superiority complex over the "fandom weirdos"

first of all, this is a site that lots of ppl come on to talk about stuff they are fans of. plenty of people talk about varied interests and activities they do, but some people just come here for fandom things. that doesn't mean they are "obsessed" with "consuming media"

are some people a little annoying and don't know when to get fandom off the brain? sure. but those who like to gather in a circle jerk about their intellectual superiority for having "real hobbies" are just as annoying

second, i want you to define "media consumption." i assume it includes watching movies/tv. does it also include reading? what kinds of things--novels, non-fiction, comics, poetry? what's acceptable and what counts as "media"? does it include listening to podcasts? does it include playing video games? what kinds? what about interactive fiction? does it include listening to music? are soundtracks bad but independent albums are good? does it include looking at art? does it depend on the kind of art? are fancreations okay or does it have to be something "original"?

genuinely i am asking you to define what falls within the limits of your much derided "consumed media." becuz at this point, the vagueness seems to be working as a nice catch-all that neatly excludes anything the claimant has deemed as a "real hobby", something which is intellectually valuable while the "consumed media" is not

listen. i don't think there's anything wrong with encouraging people to have hobbies that are active, like gardening or knitting, or which provide certain mental challenges like sudoku or jigsaw puzzles. if you can, it is important to provide your brain and body with multiple kinds of stimulation

but istg y'all do not actually care about discussing these things or encouraging others to take them up. you just want to feel superior to the "media obsessed" plebeians and invoke shame in them for engaging in activities you've deemed intellectually lacking

[perpetualexistence]

Sea Monster AU: Poor Unfortunate Soul (1/2)

'What's with the 1/2 in the title, that's new' you might be asking yourself. You see, this part right here was actually originally supposed to be just one Then, I realized I'd need to split it into two, 'Poor Unfortunate Soul', and the next part I'm not spoiling the title of yet.

Then I started going into this, looked at the time, looked at the word count, and realized it's for the best if I just split this up once more. Future Perp might end up renaming this chapter as the title definitely fits more for the second part than it does this one. Time will tell.

Either way, before we get to the post proper: Warnings! Oh boy have we got them for this part and the next!

Content warnings: Non-suicidal self harm, Body horror

Since the content warnings happen as part of a scene like rather than a brief mention, I've separated the more gruesome bits with asterisks. You can look all the way down at the bottom for a safer summary.

<- Prev | First | Next ->

Now that Noah has a book on magic, he has to deal with the problem that Chris could never get past: actually reading it. It's not in any language that Noah can recognize. Still, he's smart and can recognize patterns in text thanks to his poetry phase. He manages to work out the basic alphabet. Now that he's got that, his next step is simple. Create a program that will translate the text as he scans it. He'll get to save so much time, and might even be able to get what he wants faster as he can just search for whatever seems most promising.

The book snaps shut the first time. Noah can't excuse it as the wind when it happens again. After a few attempts, he finally manages to get a good scan of one of the pages.

One waterlogged phone later he realizes why there weren't any references for how to actually use magic on the sea monster database.

Magic really doesn't like cheaters.

So instead he has to translate everything himself using the alphabet he figured out. It gets easier as he keeps doing it, and eventually he no longer needs to look at his reference sheet in order to read it.

Before that can happen, he needs a new phone. Both because he's a young adult addicted to having a screen with him at all times, and because without one he won't be able to talk to Owen, who is currently one of the few things reminding him that there's some good in humanity, and that all of this pain is going to be worth it.

He doesn't have any disposable income. Yes, he has some of the treasures that Alejandro gave him from the ships they hunted. But the problem is actually selling those. Now that people are noticing the disappearances (thanks Alejandro), he can't exactly sell anything identifiable from those very ships that have 'gone missing'. His lazy ass had just sat on them assuming that he could sell them whenever he pleased.

Present Noah would slap Past Noah if he could.

So he goes to his mother to ask for a new phone. Which is a task in itself given her multiple jobs. He'd text her, but that's part of the problem. He'd also prefer not to get his older siblings involved because they'd just ask questions. The one good thing about having an overworked mother is that she rarely questions why you want things, and as the baby you can exploit this to its maximum potential!

Noah's a terrible son.

He'll make it up to her when he actually does manage to sell off his stolen goods. Like a criminal. Which he is. As an accessory to murder. Multiple counts.

He can either think about this too hard or he can have a new phone.

So he manages to track her down and asks her for a new phone. He doesn't ask for anything fancy, just something that works. She looked at him, gave him an all too familiar rueful smile, and told him they don't have the money right now, though he can try using one of his siblings' older phones.

Noah's not too surprised by this answer. Living as they are, it's always a gamble for when they do have spare cash. What does concern him is the look in her eyes of someone who doesn't want to burden others. Not just the burden of saying no.

The burden of hiding something. And there's only one things he's ever tried to hide from him. The loan shark's back.

He does this every once in a while. Usually when they're getting too close to fully paying him off. He'll hike up the interest rate or make up some bullshit fee. He'll expect a big immediate payment, and then lay off for a while until he's ready to wring them by the neck again.

He'd have pushed the bastard directly into Alejandro's mouth himself if he wasn't so good at covering where he was. The fact that he's in town means he's going to stay a while. There's no telling when he'll move out, or if he'll even do it by boat.

That's a problem for another time, as much as he loathes to leave it hanging. He's got to get more money from somewhere else. Not just for the phone now, but to get the loan shark off his family's back again.

Noah remembers Duncan. The guy made his reputation as a delinquent known just from the five seconds he got to know him, and spoke about going to juvie. It'd be a risk, but Noah's running low on options. He's not about to watch his mom work herself ragged again.

He gets in touch with him Duncan via Owen. After assuring Owen that no, he's not dead because it's been two full days since he texted, no he's not mad at him either, he just dropped his phone in some water. Luckily for him, Owen's willing to help the two meet without asking too many questions.

Duncan, meanwhile, has plenty of questions. First of all, who Noah thinks he is just asking for Duncan to fence stolen goods for him. Second of all where someone like Noah would even GET stolen goods. Noah lets him know that he can either have answers to those questions, or he can get a profitable cut. Duncan begrudgingly agrees (which has nothing to do with the fact that Noah accidentally lets slip why he needs the money, and Duncan's still got a bleeding heart).

Noah starts with just enough money for a new phone. He can't just dump everything onto Duncan, because then his curiosity/suspicion would definitely outweigh his willingness to help Noah.

Now that all of that is settled, he can finally get back to translating and studying magic.

He learns that in order to use magic, he needs proper tools to do so. And he can't simply buy these tools. No, for the magic to work properly, Noah needs to make these tools. The making imbues them with his essence and makes it so the tools will only ever work for him. Since he's working with sea magic, he's got to use it from materials he finds underwater.

The only place underwater he can safely look without Alejandro catching on is an underground cove he found connected to Chef and Chris's place. Which limits his options severely. So he decides to keep on reading for the actual spells to see what he'd actually need before figuring out how much of a migraine he's going to have.

One thing he notices rather quickly is that all of these spells must be prepared and performed underwater. This part wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact that unlike merfolk, Noah does need oxygen. So solving that problem takes priority.

He finds that solution in a ritual that will give him gills. However, it presents him with a choice. For there's two different branches of magic: the slower, safer process and the faster, more painful process. In this case, Noah can either take the time and effort needed to gather ingredients for a potion that will give him gills that he can open and close at will...or he can make himself a permanent set of gills.

Noah would love to pick the first one. But the longer he takes, the more Alejandro will eat, and the longer he stays a threat. So the second option it is. He starts wearing a scarf and uses the perpetually cold lie. Mostly for Alejandro's sake. Which is good because Alejandro does 'playfully' remove the scarf to see what's underneath the first time he sees it, and once satisfied that there's nothing, doesn't mess with it like that again.

Now Noah needs a knife of coral. Noah's lucky that the new cove he's in has agatized coral. With it being fossilized, it's old and has more of a connection with nature, making it a perfect magic implement. Noah's able to get pieces out, but now he has to make a knife out of it.

Who better to ask but the resident knife expert?

Noah does need a more reasonable excuse for this one, so he pretends that he only needs to learn how to make a knife due to self defense because he's getting paranoid with all the disappearances. Duncan points out that that's bullshit because Noah could just buy a knife then. Why the hell does he need to learn how to make one?

Duncan's asking too many questions, so Noah throws his hail mary. If Duncan can stop asking questions about pretty much any of Noah reasons and helps him out with learning how to make a knife and maybe a few other things, he'll use his hacking abilities to get rid of Duncan's criminal record. That's an offer Duncan simply can't refuse. So Duncan agrees to teach him, and over time, Noah crafts his knife of coral. He adds the runes that he needs to enchant it by himself. Both because that's meant to be a private affair, and so Duncan doesn't say anything despite his bought silence.

Now to actually do this.

***

Noah gets all the underwater runes and preparations done one dive at a time. He also makes sure to get makeshift medical supplies for himself. He's doing this as close to the surface as he can in case everything goes to shit. He'd prefer not to bleed out.

He stares at the knife in his hands. He's actually going through with this, isn't he? No going back. There will be permanent evidence that he's taking a stand against Alejandro if he finds it. The whole 'sea monster vs. sea witch' conflict he'd read about doesn't promise anything good when Alejandro realizes he's using magic.

He could seriously screw himself up. He's a genius, but he's no medical expert. One wrong cut and it's lights out forever. One wrong move and he's fish food either way. He's come so far, he can't afford to let himself get choked up now.

He slices the right side of his neck before he can let himself doubt any more. He's unable to stifle a yell of pain. He loses precious oxygen when he's just started. He has to finish or else this won't work.

He slices the left side of his neck to keep it balanced. More oxygen lost. Now that he's cut both sides of his neck, he can feel the cuts throbbing. It feels like the cuts are burrowing themselves deeper than he made them. They are creating new passageways into his lungs and they burn.

His instincts kick in and he begins to swim for the surface. The runes he set forth earlier start to glow and he finds himself unable to move far from the spot he started in. He's holding his breath in for as long as he can. There are more cuts to be made but he wants to pass out now. But he can't. He has to keep going.

It's when he starts making the second cut on the right side of his neck that he feels his first set of gills go from a burrowing sensation to a throbbing one. He's about to pass out, but it should be safe now. He just needs to breathe.

It's a battle of sheer will over his instincts to force himself to breathe in while underwater. He feels water go in through his gills yet not through his throat like an injection. It is shoddy and feels like when Noah is so congested he can only breathe through one nostril. That would likely be why he needs three pairs of gills total.

***

With at least enough air not to die, he forces himself to finish the ritual. By the end, he's underwater, breathing in and out. It's no longer panicked as he forces himself to take nice deep breaths. He has to pinch his nose shut to stop himself from instinctively breathing through it when underwater. He'll either stay here or keep coming down until breathing underwater comes more nautrally.

He still can't believe he's even thinking that. He's actually breathing underwater. He did magic. It can be done. This crazy, stupid plan of his might actually be doable.

It's a start.

[Safe for work summary: Through a lot of pain, Noah manages to make himself a working set of gills.]

[smaller-comfort]

AHHHHHHHHH oh my god how is it over 6000 words what the hell.

This fought me so hard, but it more or less ended up where I wanted it. Resh'an gets to be a little bit weird sometimes, as a treat.

Notes below the cut.

Posting this story as a chaptered work instead of a one shot probably made the whole thing seem a lot cooler and more mysterious than it actually ended up being.

I hope the reveal is satisfying, but I honestly can't tell anymore! My google doc clocks in at nearly 10k words. It's an absolute mess.

Ultimately both Resh'an and Aephorul make stupid mistakes, frequently. We just see the aftermath of Aephorul's fuckups more often in the game. Sure, they're basically gods, but Resh'an can't even remember that he stuck a cork in his hat on a good day. Aephorul's first response to any minor inconvenience is to murder something. They are terrible at this.

I cut a whole lot of stuff about Aephorul wanting to be human again. There's an epilogue scene that I didn't write where he dismantles his lab- the world eater he was keeping dormant there primarily served as a power source. He drains off all the energy of those devoured souls and uses it to transform himself back into the body he remembers having when he was alive.

It only lasts for a few minutes, and every second is agonizing. The price of inmortality: he can never get back what he lost. He'll destroy the universe trying, though.

Originally Resh'an was a lot more of an asshole- or rather, Aephorul perceived him as being more of an asshole- and that's partly what I was struggling with in writing this chapter.

I considered leaning into the time loop shenanigans and including all of the stuff that I cut as one of the other 26 iterations that Resh'an experienced. That felt excessive, though.

Resh'an was definitely lying at least a little when he said he didn't remember much of the times when he wasn't lucid.

I keep making accidental locked tomb references. I swear I don't mean to.

"If we're awful together, I can't even imagine how much worse we'd be on our own." Still probably my favorite line, although the one about laboratory precautions in the third chapter makes me laugh a lot. Their bickering is a lot of fun.

Resh'an's ears aren't the only thing Aephorul pierced when they were younger. (It was his nipples. Aephorul absolutely pierced Resh'an's nipples.) (His were already pierced when they met.) (It's my sexy AU, okay, I can do what I want.)

Resh'an's terrible poetry:

Hang my heart in the sky

And see it outshine the sun

For love of you

Am I more embarrassed by this than any of these characters ever could be? 💯 That's where the series name comes from, anyway.

These guys have invented sex acts that are probably illegal in at least three separate worlds. Of course Resh'an thinks being dismembered is sexy, he's got the depression. I don't fucking know.

At some point I'm going to end up writing skullfucking and it's going to be like the assassin's creed stump fucking kinkmeme fill all over again.

I am so, so sorry I just wrote that sentence!

I will probably post some of those cut sections here tomorrow.

[catboy-jaebeom]

this shapeshifting vessel is a lie

it's been a year already since my last pinned, and I got shadowbanned exactly around that time back then because of course I did, so here's a new one 🩷

I'm Autumn, but you can call me Faon as well. my pronouns are they/ them. ticked all the boxes on the queer registration form, and I'm currently in a queerplatonic poly relationship. I was born in '95. central european & white. future linguistics student. proud plant parent. kpop fan. I really adore vampires and I write original and fan fiction, as well as poetry. I speak english and german, and I'm studying french, japanese, korean and finnish. lover of bats, snakes, horsies, deer and cats, as well as sharks. I sometimes make cat ear edits and vampire edits of idols and actors ( see: my icon ) so if you want me to make one for you, you can DM me.

my interests and hyperfixations change over time — yes, it was a phase, mum! name a constant state of being, mum! — and I change my username every two years, round about. currently I'm really into the quantum leap spin-off, live action one piece show, and I'm watching a couple of kdramas and such at the side. I play baldur's gate 3, vampyr and control, but also 2064: read only memories.

I was very active in the shadowhunters and the dragon age as well as the james bond / 00q fandoms, and I will reblog every single gif of spirit - stallion of the cimarron, it's my childhood movie. also, Jin Oshiro from STRAY (2019) deserved better, thank you. you may know me as leafmiilk, taehdenveri, fliederfuchs or thetevinterelf.

this blog of mine was created in 2012, I was on here already when you could still count on the superwholock people to throw gifs at posts although I was never one of them, which, trust me, was a hilarious feeling in hindsight asjfjahajft. I have one sideblog worthy of note @splittergheist which is my writing blog, and I have a secret sideblog for my omegaverse / miscecanis stuff ( much more the lifestyle, world building and concept than the smut and stuff, I'll be honest, but no hate at all!! ) that I might give out if someone asks nicely and privately.

that said, I tag my posts extensively, and if you ask politely, I will try and tag specific things for you too! please be nice in my inbox or I'll simply delete your ask and block you. 🦈 oftentimes I will message you privately when you've sent me an ask that doesn't seem to be an ask game or such! and while I do post stuff for tag games I'm not a fan of tagging others unless we're, like, really close, sorry ><

relevant kpop stuff can be found under the tag. I also put some "reviews" written by mutuals about my blog there, thank you everyone, you're lovely 💚🌼

and thank you everyone else for reading this, may your days be bright I think we all could need that at the moment. I would super love new people to talk to ( please have your age / some approximate of it in your bio; I'm totally fine with talking to minors but I would like to know I am before I do, thank u ) so message me or reply to this!

kpop stuff

ult group: GOT7

other groups I like: NCT 127, WayV, Red Velvet, ITZY, Seventeen, SHINee, ONEUS; ...

soloists I like: XIA / Kim Junsu, Taemin

biases: Lim Jaebeom & Choi Youngjae; Nakamoto Yuta; Xiaojun; Kang Seulgi; Hwang Yeji; Joshua Hong & Lee Seokmin; Choi Minho & Taemin; Kim Leedo & Lee Seoho; Park Seonghwa & Jeong Yunho; Kanemoto Yoshi; ...

wreckers: Mark Tuan & Kim Yugyeom; Ten Lee; Kim Mingyu & Lee Woozi; Kang Yeosang & Song Mingi; ...

for as long as xitter still lives, you can find my kpop account under: jaebueomgi

blog reviews

@meant-to-be-a-hero wrote on 22nd November:

Shall I compare Autumn's blog to a summer's day? I shall not, because I am not a hack. Equal parts language jokes, kpop boys (and girls, but I don't look at those) and #bitter millennial blogging, there's something for everyone here at Autumn's blog. They are also one of the few people who still write funky things in the tags, a true dying breed on Tumblr. I feel like I'm reviewing a restaurant or something. Either way, click follow, thank me later, because you will. It's a good blog, Bront.

— ★★★★★(★★) [ 7 out of 5 ]

@klutenpetter wrote on 22nd November:

It seems I have misplaced the URL of the blog in question that I was supposed to review.

— ★★★★★ [ 5 out of 5 ]

[reinedeslys-central]

Help me The escapism is wearing off, I think it's not working anymore And I can't just Take a bigger dose I don't know how

And the only real way I know To put my anger to rest Is to put it in prose I know It means nothing It means nothing, I know. If that future dares to look down upon me and use all those names reserved To belittle pain and sadness Should they become bitter and jaded too much To respect empathy and self love I will smite them from the sky, from the resting place of souls I dare you to fight for me. I dare you to keep me whole. - reinedeslys, "of souls"

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 5 of Harrow the Ninth

Another broken memory, with the broken skull, in the third person, of a scene from Gideon the Ninth but involving Ortus instead. I went back to this scene in Gideon briefly so that I could compare

So here is where the "necro suitcase" comment is clarified, I see

In the original scene, she didn't do this (the sitting on dirt thing). Gideon mentioned that it's something that necromancers in the stories she read did, but Harrow didn't do it for whatever reason

Gideon originally just mentioned that the planet had a lot of water, and was mainly interested in the fact that it wasn't frozen or boiled away, but Harrow here is saying that all she can see is water, and Canaan House. I guess it's possible that Canaan House is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but what if this is something like what happened in Homestuck where future Earth became a waterworld that was entirely ocean? I guess it might explain why there aren't people living there, and why no one has wood or paper anymore, but like, there are people in this universe living on Pluto and Mercury, I'm sure they could figure out how to support a decent population on a planet that is 100% ocean, too

In the original scene, Harrow said the planet was a tomb, but there's nothing in the narrative here to explain why she thought that, and she doesn't say that this time around

I honestly don't know what Ortus did mean by "bone frenzy" here, unless it just meant blood lust or something, and how he thinks it related to Harrow's schizophrenia, and how Harrow thinks it could be misinterpreted, but interpreting poetry has never been something I've been good at. Is Mattias Nonius, and Ortus's epic poem about him, going to become more relevant in these Ortus-related memories?

Ok, this is funny, because I was 35 myself four years ago, and definitely did not feel this way about it, and actually still don't, living forever still seems pretty cool to me, modulo situations like Cytherea's and the whole thing where the Lyctors are being eternally pursued by Resurrection Beasts. Given that neither of them know about those things in context of this broken memory, I think this might just be Ortus, personally

She did talk to the pilot at this point in the original scene. But here we get a cryptic note that only Harrow can see:

I have no idea what this means, but I'm reminded of Cytherea's "you lied to us" message at the end of Gideon the Ninth. This therefore seems like the person who said, or wrote this was probably a Lyctor, and someone else's thoughts or memories or whatever are getting mixed up with these broken memories. I'm curious now if these broken memories were just a side effect of Harrow's Work, or if they were specifically intentionally rewritten as a separate step, or if they are just Harrow's imagination trying to fill in the gaps of memories or pieces of memories that are just gone now. If they were specifically rewritten, I'm guessing something about how that was done injected this message in here, but if it's just post-Work Harrow's imagination, this might be something that she heard someone say at some other time and then forgot about

In the original scene, Harrow offers Gideon a veil to shield her eyes and Gideon puts on sunglasses instead. Here this scene ends without Ortus covering his eyes at all, or Harrow worrying about him, which is sort of interesting

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Just a small sampling of H. P. Lovecraft's influence on popular world culture...

1. There's stores now that only sell Lovecraftiana!! This is as amazing as the 1st stores that sold comics & related paraphernalia alone...

2. This would make for a great paper head on your personal website...

3 thru 5. Here we see the effects of more modern culture on Lovecraft's own ideas. An unholy melding of humor, madness & the commercial realms of the Peanuts, a now free Disney rat & (fittingly) sea monkeys!!

6. This 1 is a new ad - but, is it real?! Or, just another fever dream?!! I can't tell...

7. The long time coming - strange eons? - meld between the Great Old One & Victorian retro-stylings. Hoping for more to come...

Like say, an 'armed' (Heh) Cthulhu Pirate-King!!

Make it so...

8. Finally, the finality of the human race is on!

But, is it so?

Remember, everyone who can hear or even know about the Lovecraftian Truth of Reality... Goes Mad!!

So, I wouldn't be too quick to accept some mad dude's tale... There's no telling what's in his brain stem.

Remember, the original story was that we'd become 'like' the Great Old Ones! Free to know 'beyond' Good & Evil.

If that 'fate' has changed - then, any future possibility is possible...

1914: "End of the Jackson War."

Intro: When writing of HPL, writers use letters, essays & biographies about him. Even his stories can tell us much about his innermost being.

Taken together, this mass of info make Howard 1 of the most well documented fellows ever!

There seems to be few periods that we don't know something about Lovecraft's life.

Even during the "Lost Time" of HPL's retreat from society - as new info is always been discovered...

Researchers now know what books Lovecraft read, who he was with & what they spoke about.

They even know what flavor of ice cream Howard was eating & when!

A good example is how HPL never mentions James Dwyer's "City of the Unseen" published in the Argosy mag of December 1913.

It's not a good story, but, not only did Lovecraft read it, it's central image¹ reappeared in HPL's own later works.

We know Howard owned a copy of it, because this issue contains the 1st return volley in the weird Lovecraft/ Fred Jackson Letter War.

Which HPL had originally instigated in the earlier September 1913 issue of Argosy.

But, all things must pass...

In the end, Lovecraft wrote his War's epitaph. And he didn't use overlong or overblown language!

But, he did sneak in some martial terms...

Work: "Pray spare an inch or two², (to) print (these) critics's joint adieu."

"So long... since we began (this) fray, That readers swear we've (stolen) your Log³ away!"

"Forgive... sinners that presume. To fill with... verse⁴, such precious room."

"Inflamed by war & in... martial rage, We held awhile the center... stage."

"Til, blinded by... (such) furious fire, We battled on, forgetting to retire."

"But, (even) feuds draw... to their ends & foe(s) live to meet as friends:"

"So do we now... in lasting peace, Lay down our pens & slander(s) cease."

"What sound is this? ...A joyous yell, As we say farewell."

Notes:

1. Dwyer's "City of the Unseen" is a Lost Race story about an ancient city in the Arabian "Empty Quarter"!!

This sounds a lot like Howard's Irem! The City of Pillars that was swallowed by the sands of Araby!!

It was the lost city mentioned in the holy Koran... And, it might have been found - thru spy satellite footage!

2. This is about the measurement of column space given over to stories, pics & letters in newspapers, mags, etc...

In some cases, stories had to be cut in length, summarized or re-edited to fit the available space.

At the worst, the affected story would be 'saved' for later publication...

3. The "Log" was probably the name of the Argosy's letters page...

Some mags might also use a 2nd name like "Action Log", "Adventure Log" - even just "The Letters Log."

4. As mentioned in earlier posts, some letter writers used poetry to project their 'attacks' & to 'defend' each other.

And, Lovecraft was right in the middle of it all, slinging poetic barbs at Fred Jackson's writing skills...

It was this Letter War that brought HPL to the attention of the mighty UAPA.

More next time...

[karahalloway]

DWAW 2023 - Day 1: HCs

I would not be a proper Drake stan if I didn't make some time to wax lyrically about my fave LI (okay, maybe not lyrically - I suck at poetry, but you know what I mean!) as part of DWAW 2023!

Originally, I planned to do one post featuring both HCs and Appreciation, but both parts ran away with me, so I decided to split it up into two posts. This post will feature HCs, while this other post will feature Appreciation 😇

Headcanons

If you have read my stuff, you'll know that my Drake is not 100% canon, and that I've also filled in quite a lot of blanks left by TRR in his characterisation, so here is a (near) comprehensive list of everything that sits around in my head:

🥃 Whiskey 🥃

We all know that Drake's favourite drink is whiskey, but I HC that specifically it's bourbon. I made this choice quite consciously because (a) he is half-Texan, so the primary choice of whiskey would be bourbon on those parts (rather than scotch), and (b) I HC that this was also Jackson's drink of choice, so Drake took after his father in this regard (this is explored in a bit more detail in Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service of (Less Than) Noble Intentions and the Burnt Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction).

Apart from whiskey, I HC that Drake is a coffee addict (and won't touch tea with a ten foot pole, unless - of course - if it's sweet iced tea, in which case he'll drink it by the bucketload like a true southerner🧋)

🇺🇸 Texas 🇺🇸

As far as I remember, the location of Walker Ranch is left ambigious in canon, but in my HC, it's located approx. 2.5 hours from Dallas (in Morris County, somewhere around the town of Lone Star - I know, I know... but when I saw this, I couldn't resist!) because I also HC Drake went to university in Dallas, specifically University of North Texas (see Chapter 20 - Party Yacht of (Un)Common Attraction). I chose Dallas because I liked the look and feel of the city, as well as the surrounding countryside.

Also, as readers will know, I have upped Drake's Texan-ness quite significantly in comparison to canon - he talks with a slight Texan accent, he can put on the southern drawl when he wants to, and his vernacular is a bit of a mixed bag (though he gravitates towards southerinism). I HC that this is because even though he spent most of his life in Cordonia, he (a) had a parent who spoke with a Texan accent at home, (b) he went to university in Texas, so he woud've picked up the accent/lingo while there (yes, accents can change later in life - I am a living testament to this, having lived all over the world), and (c) this was a concscious characterisation choice to differentiate his way of talking from the aristos (who - in my fics - talk more posh British).

💂‍♂️King's Guard 💂‍♂️

Similarly to @angelasscribbles I HC that Drake is a member of the King's Guard (in my stories, he operates covertly, but he does reveal his status to Harper is Chapter 34 - Secrets and Lies of (Un)Common Attraction. This was a very targeted HC in retaliation to the massive cop out in TRR2 where MC asks Drake what he actually does around court and he answers 'Erm... stuff?' 😖😡😒 Epic fail PB... Epic fail.

This is probably the biggest reason why my Drake started to deviate quite significantly from canon during the course of my rewrite - as a result of him being a Guard, he became a lot more focused, self-assured, tactical, pragmatic... basically all the things that readers seem to like about him. Because if he has a job, he has money, he has a purpose, and a position at court - he is no longer just a freeloading hanger-on. Plus this (for me) helps explain a lot of things in canon - like why Liam asked him to look out for MC, why he was helping Bastien with the NY bachelor party photo leak investigation, why he picks up on random things like the lock missing on MC's door at Applewood, etc.

🏋️ Extra-Curriculars 🏋️

Similarly to pretty much every other Drake stan, I HC that Drake is a military routine orientated mofo who always wakes at the crack of dawn to run five miles / go for a swim / hit the gym before eating a protein-filled breakfast (bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice) and then roughing himself into shape (shaving is optional) and getting on with his day.

In addition to this, I HC that he is kind of an adrenaline junkie - in my fics he has a motorbike and a car (like @angelasscribbles' Drake), and he drives like every road is an F1 racetrack (that said, he is a very precise driver and has never had an accident - this is based on a few real-life guys that I know - go figure lol).

He also knows how to ride (I HC he rides Western and Lone Star is a Quarter Horse), snowboard*, shoot, enjoys swimming, sailing, fishing, martial arts, and has tried pretty much every sport (including polo) because he is one of those high-energy people who (a) enjoys physical activity, and (b) uses it to burn off steam. On top of this, he of course goes camping, and has a cabin in the woods that he likes to escape to when court and the nobles get too much for him.

All this kinda combines to make Drake super competitive - people who have read my fics know that he'll compete with Harper for pretty much everything (including who can get up the stairs the fastest), and this is the rationale behind the (in)famous karaoke scene in Sleepless in New York - even though he hates performing, or putting himself on show in any way, he can't allow himself to lose a bet (which is why the fact that he loses the pool game during his birthday party is that much more significant).

*I thought this was more of a Drake sport than skiing (and it was something that he and Harper could bond over), though I also HC that Drake learnt to skii first and the switched to snowboarding)

💓 Sex💓

If you've read my stuff, you know that sex with Drake is... intense. The reasoning behind this is multi-fold:

Underneath the closeted and slightly stone-faced exterior that he presents to the world, he is a raging inferno of emotions underneath (fear, doubt, uncertainty, inadequacy, guilt, etc.) So when he has sex, all the pent-up emotions that had built up inside of him get released and he actually seeks out sex (or equivalently hard-core physical activity) in order to achieve this kind of release because he does not always know how to 'deal' with his emotions in a rational/intellectual way - see the Burnt Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction and Chapter 5 - Sparks Fly of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

Sex - especially with MC as I think this kind of applies to other Drake x MC pairings that I've read - is a way for him to express how he feels about MC, even (or especially if) he does not want to / feels he cannot express how he feels using words (so he lets his body do the talking) - see Chapter 2 - I've Been Waiting for You and Chapter 13 - Invidia of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

He is just plain good at it 😆 I think several (if not most) Drake stans have the HC that before MC came along, Drake was a raging poonhound (either because he got burnt by a previous relationship, or he just feels like he does not have the time/energy/emotional capacity to invest in a serious relationship), so, he has many notches on his bedpost, and with those notches comes experience - see Crazy Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction and Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

🍔 Food 🍔

As we all know, Drake enjoys the simple things in life, especially when it comes to food, and I kept this aspect of his characterisation in my rewrites. He loves a 99c burger, BBQ (especially ribs), basically anything you can eat with your hands, but also enjoys a good steak with fries and knows how to cook (see Chapter 2 - Sparks Fly of Sleepless in New York, Chapter 9 - Go Nuts for Cronuts of (Un)Common Attraction, Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service and Chapter 7 - Independence Day of (Less Than) Noble Intentions).

However, I don't HC that he's a fussy eater - except when it comes to fancy hors d'oeurves at royal functions. Because let's face it - there's only so much cocktail shrimp you can eat before you start choking on it.

🕺Dancing 🕺

Anyone who's read by stuff knows that one of the biggest changes I made to canon is that Drake can dance (see Chapter 25 - When You Move and Chapter 38 - In the End of (Un)Common Attraction, as well as Chapter 4 - Showtime, Baby! and Chapter 6 - Let It Whip of Sleepless in New York).

The rationale for this is that (a) Drake grew up at court, so even if he never had dance lessons specifically, he'll have seen other people dancing, and also chances are high that Liam/Leo/Max would have roped him into dance practice, so he'd have at least a basic knowledge of the common ballroom dances (waltz, tango, foxtrot, etc.) but (b) him being Drake, he doesn't like dancing ballroom (too stuffy and formal), especially at royal events (aristos watching and judging), but he's got moves and knows how to use them 😏

This is also why I HC that Drake can speak more than just Americano - in my fics, he is fluent in French (because of his mom* and the fact that he went to school in Cordonia, which I situated between France and Italy) and Italian (because of Bastien, who I HC is from Corsica), and also understands / knows basic phrases in a variety of other European languages - if he grew up at court with the Liam, Leo, Max, etc. and travelled around all these countries, he would - at the very least! - be able to order food and drink at a restaurant in the local language (looking at you, TRR2 Italian restaurant scene 😒

*In my fics, I switched the nationalities of Drake's parents around, so Jackson is from Texas and Bianca is from Cordonia.

👖Threads 👖

Another (relatively) big change I made from canon is the way that Drake dresses. In my fics, while he 100% prefers comfortable and functional clothes (his go-to ensemble is cotton button down shirt with sleeves rolled up, distressed jeans and boots), he will dress up for formal events (even if he doesn't really go all out - he leaves his top button unbuttoned on his collar, he doesn't do ties or bowties (except very occaisonally), and he ditches his jacket the first chance he gets) - see Chapter 3 - Masquarade, Chapter 13 - Table of Exiles, Chapter 24 - When You Move, Chapter 36 - Down to the Wire and and Chapter 38 - In the End of (Un)Common Attraction.

The main rationale for this is that while he may hate court and the aristos, I cannot see him showing up to an even in jeans and a t-shirt because (a) he would not actually be allowed in, and (b) I think he has a lot more self-respect than that (also, it's physically impossible for someone to have that many jean shirts).

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[writingforevren]

 Hi there, I'm Evren or Ren or Ev- or whatever you wanna call me, honestly totally down for funky nicknames haha. This is my writeblr intro and here's some random stuff about me and the things that I do so you can decide whether you hate me or like me. I’ve been on writeblr since 2020 but just moved across the country this year for the first time so I was inactive for awhile. This is the blog for you if you’re LGBT+, A Writer, or Neurodivergent (or maybe all of the above)

About Me:

I’m chaotic af so please don’t expect regular posts my mental health is unpredictable

I’m 17 at the time of writing this.

I'm here, and I'm Queer, Asexual, Gay, Gender-flux, Transmasc, Grey-romantic, probably among others, I'm trying to collect all of the letters and colors of the rainbow if you couldn't tell.

I'm on the autism spectrum, also ADHD so yeah my brain is a bit of a cluttered but organized mess, this is also why I may disappear from the internet for months at a time and why this is the only social media I can somewhat keep up with.

I play & DM dnd games, I mostly dm comedy/horror stories that I’ve written- haven’t played for a bit though because creating a consistent group is nearly impossible.

Also very much into witchy shit, a tarot card a day keeps the depression away and crystals keep me sane.

I'm totally down for tag games

I enjoy writing fiction although I tend to get burned out easily after writing long projects, you'll see some of my writing posted on here, no clue how often. I also occasionally write fanfiction and poetry though not much.

The genres I generally tend to write have themes of LGBTQ+, mental health, romance, urban fantasy, dark imagery, comedy, horror, coming of age, mind-bending, dreamy, etc.

I also hate plot twists- PLOT TWIST I love them and you will see plenty of them in any and all of my writing.

I love reading others works and if you do too I have a seperate blog dedicated to reblogging other works of fiction @original-writing

Here's a list of my current hyperfixations that I have taken some inspiration from for my stories also if I write fanfic it will most likely be one of these things - Ghibli movies my favorite being Spirited Away | Coraline | Scream | It 2016/Chapter 2 | Gravity Falls | Helluva Boss | Hazbin Hotel | Stranger Things | Arcane | Thirteen Reasons Why | What we do in the Shadows | Our Flag Means Death | Good Omens | The Nevers | The Midnight Club | I Am Not Okay With This | A Series of Unfortunate Events | The End of the F***ing world | BBC’s Sherlock | The Addams Family | Life is Strange | Little Nightmares | Scott Pilgrim | The Seven Realms

My ask box is always open to anyone if you have a question or just wanna chat.

My Writing:

I had more WIPS but have broken this down to the ones that are active. I try to keep the descriptions vague because I don't want to give much away, it's more of a vibe if you will. I am going to be redoing all of the WIP intros so that’s why there aren’t any links currently. Also the writing posted in the tags is a bit outdated since I’ve updated a lot of the stories but I didn’t want delete old posts. I’ll hopefully try to drown it out with new writing. For now here’s a new tag for writing I’ll do from now on If you’d like to be added to the taglist for any of these projects let me know.

Rainclouds 

Rain clouds, y'know those little thoughts that seem to pester you mind when you try to convince yourself that everything is fine? yeah that's what this story is about. LGBT+ students in a small town of britain dealing with that voice coming to life as a shadow in their minds. Bittersweet and full of twists and turns. Dark imagery meets slow-burn romance that's seemingly destined for failure. Shattered glass, shattered thoughts, but maybe there is a way to clear the rain, to let someone in. But what if letting them in is what leads to the bridge collapse?

Intro | Playlist | Writing Tag 

Stormclouds 

Another side of the rainclouds story. A darker side of the story. A friendship lost throughout time but one side still painfully obsessed with the idea of that coming back. Putting on a fake smile to fend off the storm that has already overtaken them, the world that has already decided it doesn't want them there. Full of wonderful fantasies and ideas but those fantasies turning into nightmares as everything seems to go wrong in every way. The mirror never matched, the stories never finished, and worst of all the lights were starting to flicker.

Intro | Writing Tag

Rainy Grove

A forest full of secrets, a place where the sun never seems to come out even in the dead of summer. Haunted perhaps? Who's to know what resides deep in those woods that everyone is warned not to wander into. Once you go in you never come out. But when one bored girl decides it would be fun to take her friend on a hike into the woods to see what really lays beneath. They come to realize that it's not ghosts at all rather seemingly friendly people with very sharp teeth. Full of twists and turns, dark imagery, and characters that turn out not to be black and white as originally believed.

Intro | Writing Tag

Dissociated

It was normal to experience voices in your head, giving you advice, telling you what's right and what's wrong right? At least that's what he'd believed most of his life, even as a child the one thing he remembered was a friend, a friend who didn't actually exist but rather hugged him from the inside and gave him words of hope. But now he was in University where the things that used to only happen sometimes had gotten much worse. The memory blanks, the coming to in places he didn't even remember going, friends talking about conversations they'd had when he hadn't seen them for weeks. It was all getting out of hand, racing through the endless maze in his own head had gotten so much worse. He needed to find a way out, Just a door, something, something that could tell him what was wrong with him.

Intro | Writing Tag

Eldenstow Creek

A drive through the empty roads of the countryside, along the edge of the woods and away from everything they'd once known. Sounds nice right? well not when you're running from something, something far more sinister than what they were about to encounter. The world was not as it seemed, there was another side, a side where strangeness & evil resided. Circuses popping out of seemingly nowhere, pools of mystical water trying to pull them in, unintended consequences after trying to fight this higher power. Everything had seemed normal but then they’d made one mistake, messed with the wrong person, spilled the blood of something they never should've. So yeah. They were in the same car and driving along the edge of the woods. Nothing to it.

Intro | Playlist |  Writing Tag

Fanfiction | My Ao3  

Skull Rock (Stranger Things Steddie Fanfic) | Read Full On Ao3

Even after everything Steve Harrington was still obsessing over the idea of Nancy Wheeler. Robin kept trying to match him with other girls but it was never right, no matter who he went out with it didn’t work. It didn’t click. But then the dead man walking, Eddie Munson stepped into his life again. Someone he could just talk to, someone who shared the same experiences, Someone who felt just as alone as he did- Well maybe more considering Eddie wasn’t really able to go outside since he was still a ‘serial killer’

In Conclusion

If you made it this far I’m impressed, If you wanna see more from me feel free to give me a follow, if you’re a writer I’d love to be mutuals and I’ll see you sometime soon. This post will continue to be edited and updated as I work on updating my blog. I probably won’t post too much but we’ll see.