#kat tss

[worldofkaeos]

I swear, the first case of every lockwood and co book is just there to mock them (ok except maybe the fourth book)

Screaming staircase: they forget the chains, blame each other, fail miserably to not mess up the circle made from iron fillings, burnt down the client's house, accidentally brought the source along back to portland row, and then get themselves deeep in debt.

And that's the best way to start a series, folks.

Whispering skull: they failed to find out that the place was a execution ground, then dig at the ground and stir up so many spirits that kipps' team had to come and save their arses, only to realise that the source was the stone they toppled over at the start 😅

And yes, I've got to agree with Kipps and Kat on this one.

Hollow boy: they get locked into a room full of ghosts, door bolted shut by iron, by two elderly folks 👵👴. I know they're young, but I'm the same age, can't they say something to those elderly murderers like "you go first, show me around"???

After that they couldn't even climb up to seal the source because George fell off the ladder. And then:

I swear, I have to agree with the skull 💀

The empty grave: First they tumble down a dangerous mausoleum

Then, when they found the coffin they laughed and turned their backs towards the coffin, which led to the revenant clawing after them...

Tell me, could they ever get more stupid?? With Lockwood and Co, obviously yes.

Look, even Lockwood predicted and warned George about the trap, and he still managed to set it off!! 🤦‍♀️

I'M WHEEZING 😂🤣 I swear, I could laugh at their idiotic tendencies all day. Somehow though, the show definitely made them seem so much more idiotic, I didn't even know that was possible 😂

[thehauntedair]

I also just keep thinking back to that one conversation about video games. The way Zachary participates but Kat drives it. The way the observations the students make about storytelling are basically the themes of the book.

Long analysis under the cut

Starting with the difference in how Kat and Zachary introduce themselves;

Zachary saying “I mostly study video-game design with a focus on psychology and gender issues”. He studies games, he focuses on internal things that are part of them.

Kat saying “I mostly spend my time trying to turn games into theater and theater into games”. This is more active. She spends her time transforming things into other things. Affecting change.

A student asks “how are we defining ‘gamer’” and Zachary answers by saying the definition is in itself and that he resents defining things, and Kat changing the question and defining it at the same time. Kat chooses to define the parameter of “game”, the implication being of course that a gamer is one who plays games, and sets the terms of the conversation. And the term she sets being “everything should come back to story”.

Kat then prompts Zachary to explain the parts of a video game, points he says he has retread a thousand times in writing but finds refreshing to a new audience- Kat’s audience, who keeps veering into parallels with theater.

And then the conversation about why people play story based games: the peanut gallery posits that “you want the narrative there to trust in, even if you want to maintain your own free will”, “you want to decide (…) but you still want to win the game” “even if winning the game is just ending the story”. Their theory is you want both- choice and will. And positing “win condition” as the end of the story.

Zachary agrees with this, adding that this is especially true if the games have multiple endings, that the draw of story based games is “Wanting to co-write the story, not dictate it yourself”. Basically, wanting the illusion of being an active participant.

A student posits this works best in games and theater, and then another posits choose your own adventure stories, which Zachary had mentioned enjoying earlier in the book. And then vine girl makes a statement basically encapsulating the difference between Zachary and Kat: “text stories are preexisting narratives to fall into, games unfold as you go”.

And then Kat changed the conversation to “what makes a story compelling?” Of the answers provided (change, mystery, stakes, character growth, romance, obstacles, surprises) the one Zachary latches on to is “meaning”. His focus, after all, is finding meaning. In that very moment he is trying to find meaning for the book he is a part of.

And in answer to “who decides what meaning is?” He gets “the audience, that’s what you bring to it”. And they discuss how stories are personal, and everyone is already a part of one.

This causes a moment of self reflection- Zachary wonders “why he had spent so much time propelling stories forward” this in regards to playing video games- and wondering how to apply it to his current situation.

And then the conversation ends with a student asking if it isn’t just easier to write a book, given that a book can encapsulate endless possibilities, which is answered by “the words on the page are never easy” and “until you run out of ink”.

I get a lot from this. The interplay between valuing agency versus just wanting to be a part of something. Kat outside of the conversation driving it while Zachary is inside, a part of it. Zachary saying part of the reason to participate in a story based game is that it can lead you down paths with different endings- and Zachary in real life feeling basically purposeless until he starts following a story where there only seems to be one ending for him- the only choice he makes being to follow or to not follow the trail of the story, and continuing on after that. Zachary being the “text story” and Kat being the video game story.

What makes a story compelling? Meaning. But what defines meaning? You do. So you are the one making the story compelling to yourself, by engaging with it. By engaging with the story you are participating, you are adding meaning.

And setting up from the beginning the end of the story as the win condition. Why play story based games? You want to win the story. Can you win a story? Is winning really completion, or is it meaning, participation?

I also keep coming back to the participation of cat glasses girl who is the one to give Zachary information about his book. Obviously there is the overarching cat themes in this book but also looking at what she says- she is the one who says “you want the narrative there to trust in (and,…) your own free will”. And “the words on the page are never easy”. Often I have thought she is another vessel or agent of Fate, after all that is one of the purposes of the cats in the story. But also “the words on the page are never easy”. This, about writing, and about reading. Yes, writing is hard. It is difficult to trap your imaginings with words and leave them for others to experience. And yes, reading the words is also not easy- if only for the emotions they inspire, the meaning you ascribe to them.

The multiple levels to this conversation, and the fact that it is one of the only conversations that happen outside the Story Proper in the Starless Sea, give it a particular importance to me. I like how so many of the major themes are set up so early and so blatantly. It’s almost didactic- willing you to think about what you are about to read next.

Anyway I would appreciate any other thoughts on the matter

[the-harbour-official]

Harbour Drabble Event 2024 coming soon!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone! So brilliant news...July is coming up and I've been thinking about the drabble event we hosted in our server last summer, and how much fun it was and how batshit insane i went on it lol, and I've decided it's a good idea to host it again this year! so this is the post with all the important info for the Harbour Drabble Event 2024 <3333333

"what is this even anyway roo???"

you may ask! if you were not here a year ago! it's a very lowkey event, low commitment for anyone who wants to participate- basically the idea is that you write drabbles about The Starless Sea during or before the month of July and submit them, and I'll post them on this blog!

if you don't know what a drabble is!! it's a very short piece of fanfiction- we're going for this event with the traditional definition meaning its exactly 100 words of fic, usually capturing just one small moment! i highly recommend going for it if you've never written drabbles before, it's a really fun creative exercise and way to write fic without spending a huge amount of time! i had never written a drabble before we did this event last year and i became. quite prolific lol

"ok but what do i do with the drabbles tho????"

some options! you can:

post them to your own tumblr blog and tag us so i can reblog them!

submit them to this blog so i can post them!

if youre in the server and more comfortable with discord you can dm them to me and i will post them here!

"ok fine so what do i write drabbles about then"

the starless sea! lol

last year i gave myself a theme for every weekday (because i was posting AT LEAST once daily god that was unhinged id be like posting two drabbles from an airplane or some shit) but anyway i thought id use these as optional prompts for the event this year! these are not mandatory just some ideas of what to write!

More Drabbles Monday - anything lol

Time and Fate Tuesday - drabbles about Mirabel and the Keeper or their previous incarnations!

Cheese Wednesday - not actually one of my themes last year but kristin @boogleboot wanted a cheese day so a cheese day you will have my dear <333

Monday Part Two Thursday - anything again

Fateheart Friday - drabbles focusing on characters, events, and/or the new Harbour from Fateheart! (the greatest known work of tss fanfic if you havent read it you should)

Sad Times Saturday - angst <3333

Son of the Fortune Teller Sunday - drabbles about Madame Love Rawlins and her children <3333 (yes dorian and kat are her children be so fr)

more prompts may be to come! but yes submit drabbles any time from now until the end of July <33333 love you all peace out

[krash-and-co]

they way I die a little when I see aus where kipps and kat are the mean couple

[thatwasntlikeridingabikeuasshole]

eyeliner

a More Drabbles Monday drabble for the @thehauntedair Starless Sea drabble event <33333

---

Kat taps her foot impatiently, watching Zachary’s needle-sharp focus. “I could do it faster and better, you know.” 

“Nah, I’m…fine,” Zachary mutters, shifting slightly. He is straddling Dorian’s lap, leaning in, gripping the eyeliner. Dorian has one perfect wing framing one eye, but it’s been an hour. Zachary’s waist is held comfortably between Dorian’s hands. “Sit still.” 

Kat raises an eyebrow as Zachary’s nose presses against Dorian’s. 

“Fuck, I messed up again,” Zachary sighs, casting the eyeliner aside in frustration. Dorian grabs him, kissing him deeply. They tangle closer, wrapped up in their own world. 

Kat rolls her eyes, smiling. 

---

🐝 🗝🗡

[befuddled-calico-whump]

hyperfixated on the hunger games rn but like.. the scene with kat and peeta and finnick and mags in the poison fog.. how would the tss crew fare in something like that?

they all have an advantage of being somewhat used to running for their lives/from the law, so that's a perk

Kaius and Benji are prime candidates for twisting an ankle and needing to be carried because they're both dramatic in their own way

Hunter would probably already be hiding a wound and now fuck, he has to run. 50/50 if he collapses before or after they escape the fog

Joy would have blisters/burns covering one arm/part of her face and side because she'd wake up and be like "oh sick! Spooky fog!" And just walk right into it

Jericho does not like running and would be the one to scoop up anyone who faltered, so he'd probably collect some blisters on his back/the back of his legs

[virgeandhis-pocket-protector]

My take on a webcomic/comicbook cover for the SaSi fic Spoke No More for this year's @tss-storytime Big Bang! The fic it's inspired by was written by the masterfully eloquent @i-will-physically-fight-you. Go read her incredible fic over here. (and thank you for your patience Kat <33 xoxo)

The vibes playlist I made/listened to while drawing: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mv5b4oXT7l7wLLhQehFvk?si=4345ab52f83b450e

I'm past the posting date by two days but the extra time helped me get through this super convenient hurricane (sarcasm) and finish the rendering. And I think it was worth it ??? I had a lot of fun with the perspective, though I wish i'd done the lineart differently. Overall a success I think! 'specially because I've not done a full piece like this in roughly a billion years

Stay tuned, if you like, to see some webcomic panels I'm working on for specific scenes! I'm really excited to work on them, I love this series a heckin ton. The art style will not be consistent, most likely, because I love messing around with different lighting and styles. It'll be fun B)

[katyaromanoffpetrova]

Put a hat on Kat and she would be Kat in the hat 🥁 ba dum tss thank you thank you ill be here all week

Okay but Kat in a cowgirl hat 😏

[keikatt]

I was unsure what to do for the back so stripe connect head and tail made sense to me. But I'm really glad you like my silly mouse doodle ^^ I can loaf. I sit and lay in all kinds of weird positions pff, I basically am a Kat buh dum tss

Hap Birth! Have silly quick doodle because you're great! I just woke up lol. sleep schedule bad. I attempted loaf. It's okay. I hope you like! I gave you king floof, oopsie lmao

It's a me loaf! Very cute! I can kinda almost lay like that. It's a nice way to stretch my hips lol

I never really thought about what's on my 'sona's back, but after this I might just give her a stripe. I like the way it looks~

[likethesword]

hey you! are you interested in Sanders Sides? looking to meet cool new people who share your interests?

come join logicality heaven!

This is a server that I've been in for close to two years, and recently started acting as an admin! it's a super chill place, and I've met so many good friends through it.

it's not just for Sanders Sides, either! we have channels for Minecraft, The Owl House, Undertale, and much more!

we’d love to have you! https://discord.gg/f4pVFPJtgA

[little-kat07]

i have so many ideas it's a creative burst mostly fueled by pure anxiety but i mean thats normal also im really freaking tired but here we go

random head canon time!! patton: he actually stores emotions in bottles somewhere logan: hates hot things and hates kool-aid roman: drinks paint. any paint. if its paint its his. janus: loves zodiac stuff remus: used virgil's hair dye to dye his hands on at least 4 separate occasions

-lumineers anon

hjbjserhfgoqiuwr3hgwp3 these are all amazing

I think the idea of patton storing his emotions in bottles is actually really cool because he literally has a room that takes hold of emotions AND makes him forget bad things. I wonder if he stores his emotions away himself, drawing them out of himself like Dumbledore did with his memories in harry potter, or if the room is doing it, unconsciously because Patton only wants to feel happy feelings? ALSO imagine stepping into the back room of your friend's house and finding shelves upon shelves of little corked bottles with little glowing swirly things inside? Would they have labels? Would they be labeled as their contents, such as "Regret" or "Hatred"? Or would they be labeled as experiences, like "When Logan interrupted me" or "When Virgil didn't like my gift"?

Aside from that, the idea of Logan hating hot things is hilarious because that leaves so many prank ideas for the twins to pull on him. Especially if it involves kool-aid.

For the roman one, I feel like Virgil would he helping roman paint his room, and then he'd look over to see Roman gulping the paint right out of the can. And he doesn't know what to say but he can't look away for some reason either.

Janus would ADORE zodiac stuff, honestly, he would spend so much time connecting sides's personalities to their zodiac traits and it would be confusing for the others but also hilarious. I feel like Logan could be really into zodiacs too, just for the fun of it, and they could nerd out together

Remus dying his hands with Virgil's hair dye sounds like something he would do. Definitely feel like he would hide under Virgil's bed and reach up his purple hands out from underneath while Virgil is still awake, making virgil think there are monsters under his bed.

Another amazing ask from Lumineer anon! You're amazing :D

[benevadeca]

Hm! Thinking raphael thoughts and while I get why he targeted the lovably stupid kat in hamefura canon (he is a deeply traumatized and repressed young man who's self-control is hanging by a gossamer thread thru basically all of the plot), BUT while he is that in original FL!timeline hamefura, kat and his fake mom/abuser have like. a lot of similarities that i'm sure the author didn't so much think abt as it was their habit of them recycling the same 4 plot points, but nonetheless i'll take it.

marioness dieke, victim of a misogynist who nonetheless obsessed over him to the point of redirecting all her self-worth into her kid who she then basically groomed into her only emotional crutch, willing to be as cutthroat and callous to others as she needs to be to acheive her own ends. also like extremely classist in her whole "im gonna murder a commoner lady and steal her son, to murder"

vs OG kat, also a victim of societal misogyny and obsesses over a man who won't give her the time of day, classist and belitting to others.

[thehauntedair]

I think you can really understand the role of Fate in the Starless Sea by looking at the characterizations of Zachary and Kat, Fate’s successors at the end of the novel.

Essentially we have Zachary, the “heart”- inevitability, trust, mystery- and Kat, the “body”- agency, will, forcefulness. Fate needs both to fill her role in the story because that is the nature of fate- both passive and active, inevitable and a series of branching choices.

In Zachary we see someone who, for better or worse, wholly believes in fate and continuously puts his life in its hands. Zachary is fairly passive, and follows the role expected of him beginning to end. The signs of his personifying fate are seeded constantly- from the very first story (son of the fortune teller), to drawing mystery books from the library, to continuing to follow breadcrumbs of a story seeded for him even when it brings him to mysterious strangers and threatens his life. Not going out of his way to make friends or meet people but rather letting them approach him- his connections being chance encounters. The way he describes novels as basically like a video game where someone else has already made all the choices for you. The way he is constantly treading old ground- rereading old books, replaying old games, seeking out meaning in things that have already passed and looking for them in other works. The way that- when he reads himself in that book- his first thought is that someone has predicted him- that he comes from the story.

And then there’s Kat- and Kat being forward progress. Kat changing how stories are told by making games with more branching lathways, more choice, more agency. Kat who approaches Zachary, Kat who doesn’t ignore his disappearance when everyone says she should but keeps pushing. Kat doesn’t wait to see what happens- she makes things happen- she happens to other people. She sees the paths and follows them, but is always seeking out new ones, unexpected ones. Kat wants to change things, to make something new. Kat wants to make stories more real, more vibrant. Takes what has happened before as inspiration. Kat understands that Fate is also a choice in how the story moves and breathes.

In the two of them we see a balance. Fate is inevitable. If you do nothing to stop it, fate is something that happens to you whether you like it or not. But fate is also a decision tree, where your choices Do matter in telling the story, in making the story different, yours. Iteration with modification. If you do nothing your choices will be made for you, but that is in itself still making a choice. Fate can happen to you, and you can happen to it. If you move in certain ways, fate can simply be how a story moves, not all that it is.

And I like this.

Zachary fills the role of the fate who lives in the harbor (the story), loving time, moving across predestined paths, retreading old ground and finding meaning and purpose in it. Kat fills the role of the fate who is reincarnated and comes to the harbor new, over and over again, in different bodies, playing new, different parts in each story and becomes a part of and shaping them in her turn.

Zachary becomes literal bosom buddies with Fate, meeting her, seeing her, following her wherever she goes. Fate leads, Zachary follows. For Kat, Fate has been here the whole time, watching, shadowing her movements with curiosity. Turning the paths that Kat walks down towards where she needs her to go, but the paths themselves being choices Kat is taking on her own. Kat leads, Fate follows. If you take them together, Fate can live in the center, or, as she wishes, at the beginning and the end.

[fingertipsmp3]

No one is ready for this, but if there’s ever a movie of The Starless Sea, Oscar Isaac needs to play Dorian

[thatwasntlikeridingabikeuasshole]

dancing

a Fateheart Friday drabble for the @thehauntedair Starless Sea drabble event! (Fateheart Friday is not part of the event it is part of my own organization for my own posting ghahaha)

this drabble, and all Friday drabbles, is based on Fateheart postcanon and may contain spoilers, read with caution!

---

Kat is giving Leander big, shimmery puppy dog eyes.

“Pleeeeeeeeease,” she begs drunkenly. “Please dance with me. Those two are too busy…” She waves off at the couple, who are lost in each other. There is nobody else. 

Leander sighs. “I don’t dance, Kat.” 

“Please.” 

“I don’t even know how.” 

“Pleeeeeeease.” 

“No.” 

The song changes and she beams. “I looooove this song,” she grins, grabbing his wrists. “C’moooooooon.” 

Leander grimaces, but she is already dragging him out, so they dance just one dance. And for the way she giggles uncontrollably when he twirls her, it might actually be worth it. 

---

🐝 🗝🗡

[kat-of-letters]

bdg: [grows mustache]

me: i am disgusted, i cannot believe this man would do this, and i cannot wait until it’s shaved o-

bdg: [shaves mustache]

me: