#maybe 2024 will be the year I actually set up a good archive for this shit

[sadaveniren]

Why none of this matters

Sada's Yearly Post Christmas BG round up I guess?

A study of 2015 (since we've lost a lot of resources since BG started)

Shit from 2015 with Evidence

1. She got a nose job while pregnant

Left: the “night” of the conception*. Right: her at the London 1D show in September, “pregnant”

*Louis didn't go home with Briana she instead spent the night with Calvin, Ashley and Oli (the two were dating) and there’s a pillow fight video of the four of them while Louis "slept upstairs" that @luckyagain found 🤗🤗

2. The Disappearing Christmas bump

Left: Briana on Christmas 2015 (8 months) Right: Lottie in July 2022.

3. The only bare bump pic we got of her… with her 2016 face

4. She didn't even use her own pictures to post her baby belly

Left: Picture of "her" pregnant belly with no mole. Right picture of her stomach post pregnancy with a mole (also, this is just me but while you may be able to convince me there is a belly button piercing with no jewelry on the pregnant belly, as someone who had a belly button piercing AND a pregnancy that's.... the right picture is not what that looked like post pregnancy)

Shit I can't find evidence for* but I saw with my own fucking eyes

1. The fucking changing timeline of her pregnancy in the early dats (10 weeks to 12 weeks pregnant after we bitched about it being too early)

2. Is it a girl? Is it a boy? The Clarks sure don’t know and also Briana did have a baby show- wait no she didn't have baby shower. No baby shower for Briana.

*probably because i didn't bother to reblog it at the time because 2015 was fucking wild and I honestly didn't think I'd need to - you know - archive EVERYTHING. And the few people who did have since deleted/were deleted by tumblr 🙃

Shit that isn't "evidence" but always bears repeating

It's not real

2. Dirty Dancing Tweet and one of the subplots of Dirty Dancing is a pregnancy thing.

3. The! Pregnancy! Announcement! Was! About! Larry!

4. Were they friends? Were they enemies? Who knows! Not us!

5. This was 2016 but GOD THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. Her post partum attire was WILDLY inconsistent with someone who just gave birth.

I will forever die at the thought of wearing a fucking mini skirt* so many days post partum holy shit.

*reminder the time period post her birth was convoluted as all hel probably to try and get us confused and mixed up in the future (no i don't think they intended bg to go on this long)

And ultimately... even if you can excuse all that, just remember, she literally can't be the exception for everything.

Thank you for your time please enjoy some of the stuff I wrote about last year:

Believe in the Douis break up rule

You're not crazy or dumb or weakfor being frustrated for this

Try not to let shit affect you!

Some more long posts I made last year

Remember! Time is BG's best friend because people end up forgetting a lot of shit that's happened!

[ladysarai]

Inception Olympics AU Fanwork Fest!

The other day I posted a little interest check, and it looks like there is some interest! So here we go!

Day 26 of @inception30daychallenge this year was "Which summer Olympic sport would each character compete in?" and the fandom answered with countless AMAZING ideas! Between that and the actual Summer Olympics happening in Paris, I went searching for Olympics AUs for Inception. I found some, but not nearly enough!

I am putting out the call to Inception fandom: Bring us Olympics AUs!

I've created a collection over at AO3: Inception Olympics AU Fanwork Fest | Archive of Our Own

The collection is unmoderated and open for posting! For fanworks that can't be posted to AO3 (or for those who don't have AO3 accounts), please post here on Tumblr and use the hashtag #inceptionolympicsAUfest.

As inspiration and a gift, I have found and bookmarked all of the existing Olympics AUs I could find on AO3, here! There are 14, 5 of which are part of a series! And, as per usual with this fandom, they are all of them EXCELLENT. Do yourself a favor and go enjoy them, then create some of your own!! (If I have missed a fic, please let me know!)

I figure this can run for the month of August. If you're inspired or have started something and haven't finished it by then, that's okay! The real goal of this fest is to create more fun AUs and amazing fanworks. So let's have some fun!

FAQ and more info under the cut.

What can I work on for this fest?

This is meant to be a collection of fanworks, including:

fanfics (no word limits (min or max), no deadline or start date)

fanarts

fan mixes

gif sets

a collection of prompts up for adoption

Rec lists

literally anything accepted...

Gen or ANY pairings

Whatever!

Anything goes!

Are there any prompts?

Not officially! But here are some ideas:

Men's gymnastics AU (I mean, look at this shit!)

Fencing AU!

Equestrian events! Any/all of them!

Wrestling/Boxing/Judo AU!

Swimming AU!

Diving AU!

Bicycling AU!

Shooting AUs--guns or archery!

Tennis AU! (Look. Dom and Arthur as a duo. Maybe up against Eames and Yusuf? GUARANTEED CHAOS.)

Rowing AU!

A full list of all Olympic sports to choose from!!

Competing coaches! Good coaches, bad coaches!

Are your faves on a team together?

Or do they compete against each other in the SAME SPORT?

Do they compete in DIFFERENT sports and support each other??

Are there career ending/threatening injuries leading to hurt/comfort??

Does everyone win a gold medal?

Does NO ONE win but get to go home with something better than a medal??

JUST THINK of all the shenanigans that can be got into in the Olympic Village!

PARALYMPICS!!! Why are they competing the paralympics?! Is it one character or several?!

What are the Rules?

Create a thing, post it to this collection! If you're on Tumblr, tag a post with #inceptionolympicsAUfest

Make sure the thing you make is for the Inception fandom.

Make sure the Olympics or Paralympics are somehow part of the story. (Even if the story is that they don't qualify for the Olympics!)

Be kind to each other.

Let your imagination run wild!

Have fun!

That's it.

Is there a deadline?

Currently I'm thinking this could work as a month of August 2024 thing, but obviously anything submitted at any time will be welcomed! And I can guarantee I'll want this again come the Winter Games. I know myself.

[chameleoncharm]

Aug 2024 News!

Hello hello! Meant to get this up a bit sooner, but had some family things come up and I've been down with Covid the last bit of time. If you're a paid member, this will sound like a repeat of things I said a little earlier this month, but please bear with me, as I try and get everyone caught up with my plans. First off, major apologies again for falling off the face of the Earth the last... bit of time. Life has been hectic, but in between the crazy, I've managed to catch a few moments to come up with game plans for the comic. I won't go over everything right now, but just cover the up and coming things on the docket. The biggest thing to note coming up in the next month though is the relaunch of the comic.

I've been putting together a new home for Chameleon Charm over on ComicFury. You can actually view it here: https://chameleoncharm.thecomicseries.com/

There's no pages up yet and the extra pages - like the Cast and Fan Art pages and the like - aren't fully functional yet. I'm not actually very good at coding, or rather no good at all, cause I know nothing about code, so it's been a struggle getting the page to look the way I want it. It looks pretty good now though, so hopefully nothing breaks going forward, hahah. If it does, it because of my spaghetti coding and I apologize. Anyway, the plan is that starting Sept 18 - the comic's 12th year anniversary - I will be re-releasing the comic over on the new ComicFury page. I hope to get my custom domain to point to the ComicFury soon, though the Tumblr will remain up, for archival reasons/purposes. What I mean by a re-release is that I will be trickling out all the past pages over the next bit of time; all five chapters. There will be minor differences, as I'm doing some editing on the pages to readability and consistency, will some minor art edits.

The release schedule will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and once I get everything posted, will revert to the Tuesday and Friday release schedule I had back in the old days when I was hosted on Cup of Comics.

With what I have in terms of page count, for Chapters 1-5, it should neatly gets us to September of 2025, where then, I will finally start getting into Chapter 6, for real. I know that's still a long time, but this way, I have a built in buffer and time frame in which to work. Since I've gone on hiatus because of life and writer's block, I had not solid time frame in which to get back on the horse, so I'm setting one with the relaunch. So, short form, the plan is this: - Starting Sept 18, 2024, I will release Chapters 1-5 on the new ComicFury webpage, with a "new" page released on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays - By Sept 18, 2025, I should have things all set to roll smoothly into the long awaited Chapter 6

I've alluded to this before, but really, the time to think things through as really actually helped when it's come to story developments. Handing things on a page-by-page basis really wasn't a good idea, but hey, when I started the comic, I was young, dumb, and stupid and didn't know better. I'm older now so like to think I've learned some kind of lesson, lol. Anyway, the rest of the month is dedicated to the aforementioned edits so I can get pages queued up. I hope you'll enjoy revisiting the series through this relaunch and maybe have fun playing a game of Find the Difference on what I change. Again, they won't be big changes, but you know; for those people who like to keep track of such things (one reason why the Tumblr will remain). All I ask (aside from beseeching more of your continued patience and support, which I am eternally grateful for) is for you guys to help spread the word of the comic's release. I'll be putting up posts on the social media pages whenever a page goes live on the ComicFury (see here for all the official Chameleon Charm social media pages) and if you could like and share them around to get the comic in front of fresh, new eyes, that would be extremely helpful. But that's all for me for right now! I'll check in with everyone next month when the relaunch finally happens and to celebrate the 12th Year Anniversary. I'm sorry again for the absence, but I hope the stuff I have planned for the future will be worth it. I've been doing a lot in terms of world building and story development and I can't wait to share it all with you. Thank you again for your continued patience and support. For advanced news and behind the scenes, consider joining the Patreon! Take care now! - Fil

[savebatsartedition]

Whumptober 2024 Day 13:

Summary:

The Monkees are in a bit of a tight spot, at their last gig, Micky's kick drum went boom, and not in a good way. Prompt piece used: Multiple Whumpees

Notes:

I didn’t have time to write my original prompt for this day so I just took the “Multiple Whumpees” part and wrote whatever came to mind. This isn’t really based on a specific episode? It’s KINDA inspired by that one where they go on the children’s show and get humiliated repeatedly but isn't actually set there. It could be after anything that includes the breaking of Micky’s drum set, which is multiple episodes unfortunately. (All of them are getting whumped trust me, it’s just that Micky is the focus.) Also it’s kinda bad sorry. :( Content Warnings: Nervousness, mentioned struggles with living/getting money, instrument damage (trust me) Words: 1,255

(Fic also under the cut.)

The four of them squeezed side by side into the booth of the diner, nervously fidgeting as they waited for the seat across from them to fill. Davy was absentmindedly fluffing his hair, smoothing it down, and fluffing it up again. It was almost shoulder length again, but he hadn't been showing any signs of cutting it. (It seemed at least some of the chicks were fans of the look.) Mike was humming some tune he'd written recently, miming the hand positions needed to play along as he did so. Peter was tapping his fingers along the table in front of him, staring off into space as he usually did when things started to get stressful.

And Micky? Well, that was a bit more complicated. On the outside, Micky was shockingly calm as far as things went for him. He wasn't fiddling with the napkins, or jumping up and down, or chowing down on food (actually, he hadn't even ordered any), and he wasn't even chatting to thin air or anything. But as things usually were when he seemed okay on the outside, his thoughts were pointed in a much different direction.

All of them were taking this seriously, and of course they were. This meeting was sort of very important. Sure, maybe not quite important enough to be hinging your life on it, but in the moment it felt like it, and they played the part. They had to appear perfect, Davy's obsessive hair fixing checked that off. Creative, Mike's suspiciously “I'm Gonna Buy Me a Dog,” tune was good enough for that, Focused, Peter's stare could seem that way, even when he was actually zoning out, and... responsible. 

Responsible.

Micky wasn't really ever that, he was the silly one. The one who made the jokes. The one who came up with plans and got them out of trouble, and got them into some more on the way out. Boy, he’d gotten them into trouble this time. Sometimes (a lot of the time) he wished that the things that happened to him would at least let him put on that mask of responsibility. Like seriously, what kind of self respecting starving artist would break their own drum? That was for the really popular rockers and the overexcited beginners and not for overexcited non-popular beginner rockers. (Hah. Beginners. As if they hadn't been working at this for over two years now. They shouldn't have been beginners anymore.)

Huh. Micky kinda felt like crying, for some reason.

The bell on the door jingled as it opened, and the hum of the busy diner slowed for a moment as people looked to see if the newcomer was there to see them. A fancy hat, a well fitted suit, clipped hair, sunglasses and what seemed to be a permanent frown. It could have been anyone, but Micky knew that this was who they had come there to see. The man was looking across the diner, but he didn't seem to notice the four shivering Monkees as they stared back. This was the potential customer, the one who had promised enough cash to get a new kick drum and some more. They needed this.

”Davy, go flag him down,” Mike finally said, waving the shortest band mate away. Micky probably would have gone himself, but he was wedged between Peter and the clear glass of the window. Mike wasn't much better.

Davy looked into the shiny metal of the table edge one last time, decided his hair would look best swept even more dramatically, and stood to wave their meeting partner down and into the booth. Micky couldn't even manage a joke about his friend, his stomach was doing flips like a professional gymnast.

The man walked their way, his face unyielding in its frown as he looked them down. It was clear he wanted the best of the best, something that the ruffled bunch of long-haired weirdos did not seem to be. (But they had broken their kick drum. Debatably the most important drum in any performance. They needed to be the best of the best, or they weren’t going to get to play at all.)

“Are you the Monkees?” the man said, voice so flat that it wasn’t really a question.

The four nodded, Davy squishing back into place next to Mike as they did. Yes, they were the Monkees. (Micky’s heart was in his throat, he couldn’t even speak if he’d been given the place to.)

“Are you up for a performance?” the man continued, looking unimpressed by the shivering quartet as they nodded again, “I hear you ran into a bit of trouble at your last gig,”

Micky’s eyes widened enough to give them away. He wasn’t supposed to know about the drum. How had he learned about it?! He did his best not to look at the others, but Peter had already looked at him so it was useless.

The man was now angry. It made sense why he’d arrived so late.

“I specifically set out an advertisement for bands who were responsible,” he growled, “Not those who will waste my time and money with a shoddy performance and broken instruments,”

Shoddy? They weren't shoddy!

“Well,” Mike tried to defend the group, though his voice shook and broke (as the member of the band who took care of most of their finances, he understood very well how badly they needed this gig to fix the drum and get back in the swing of things), “It's not really our fault it got all messed up sir, there was this whole thing-,”

The man cut him off with a raised hand. His frown even deeper and his eyebrows so knit that Micky could imagine his eyes burning with real fires if his sunglasses had not been in the way. “I don't care how it happened,“ he said, ”It got broken all the same, and I cannot allow a group of irresponsible lowlives to be playing for my event! If you can't even keep your drummer in check, what else slips through your fingers?”

“Hey!” Micky yelped, much against his better judgment, “I'm not some pet! I didn't even break the thing!”

He felt Mike's eyes on him, but the damage was already more than done.

“I suppose you thought you would take the payment and fix up your kit before the party?“ the man said, his voice full of contempt that Micky didn't really think he deserved, ”Is that it?“

Peter nodded. ”Yes, we thought that would be a responsible use of the money,“ He smiled nervously.

The man's face twitched, “Responsible, huh?”

He stood and knocked the table into the four musicians as he pushed away from his booth. “You shouldn't have waited to fix your drum. I know you rocker types,” he grumbled, “you should think about using some of your saved up money on your job instead of spending it all on yourselves and girls,”

Micky made a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a shout. They didn't HAVE saved up money, that was the entire point!

But he couldn't speak even if the words in the back of his throat had been convincing, and in a second the man was gone, leaving the four boys to do their best not to cry as the other patrons peered curiously towards them. What a show. The bell on the door jingled, and Micky slowly laid his head down on the cold metal of the table.

What were they going to do now?

[dreamingofmuses]

New Year's Resolutions: RP Edition

Howdy all, Ash here. I've been having a think while with family this week, and I've decided I'm going to implement some new 'resolutions' to try and help make writing in 2024 be way more successful than in 2023. This will include things from the running of blogs to jobs I really want to get finished. I'm putting them under a read-more to keep the dash nice and clean.

I will say, this has taken me an hour to write up, and I'd recommend you doing likewise if you think there's little ways you want to improve.

-

Overall Running of Blogs

I'm going to experiment a new approach to running the blogs. For this, I'm going to put all active blogs to low-medium activity. In other words, even if I am personally lurking on mobile, I won't be constantly writing things if I'm not able to. (Work is just about to get super busy and I'm anticipating chaos)

A queue/schedule function will be used for all blogs. I intend to dedicate one weekday evening to working without interruption on replies. Taking commutes to the city and family visits into account, this is looking to be a Thursday, which is the only day I am neither travelling to the city nor have a guaranteed family visit. Of course, this may fluctuate, but that's what I'm hoping to work with, assuming those things stay as they are.

However! What all this means is that I am going to tentatively take skullandbowties off hiatus. With that blog being quiet, it should be possible to juggle it better now. Plus, it's officially off-season so the demand for him from new blogs ought to be low. I'm very smart :D

I also plan to update all pinned posts. I am aware some of them are marking a vacation from months ago.

Individual Blog Maintenance

Create "New Here?" posts to add to the pinned posts/info tags. This is going to be a very quick crash course on what to expect from the blog, especially where some characters might diverge from fanon expectations.

FINISH. WILF'S. BIO. It's not actually relevant to anything being written on the blog itself at present, but I really want to flesh out his character and show that he was stuck in stories for years, decades even! The doc has the word count to 4,888 at this precise moment. This is a mix of summary and brainstorm. Since it's getting a 'little' out of hand, I intend to have a 'tldr' at the start that people can read, and then longer versions if they're curious to get the full story. Maybe even have it that they can jump to particular parts but... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Likewise, Noah's version of Space needs to be finished. This one is going to be a summary, but it's a case of making sure the pieces are in place sufficiently to have parts match canon Space, but also make it clear that there is a lot of differences between canon and what he went through, with his plot entirely spiralling away for 'Part 2'. This is at 5,794 words, and the ending has yet to be ironed out...

(I am going to stop creating needlessly long-winded projects for myself that realistically add nothing of value to my blogs. These two projects are exhausting...)

Theauthorlives is returning to a very small multimuse. Any muses that aren't ones I genuinely enjoy writing are being fully archived, unless they are muses that get no traction but I want to keep the possibility open. Details of that will be shared when I do this.

Redo some muse icons (not all of them!). Though the selection I have for particular sets is a lot, I still feel like I'm missing some expressions or poses. I would like to remake one batch of icons for three characters, and finish iconning a third. Replies seem to be shifting toward iconless, but I like them for asks or IC commentaries.

OOC/Mun Related stuff

Following matters that have happened both online and IRL, I've decided to take a step back from actively engaging with people. My focus will be people that I have been in good communication with for the last twelve months (as well as people I don't talk to frequently but am on friendly terms with) rather than people I feel I have to 'chase' after. Saying that, I'm going to try and not let past experiences meddle with anything in with new writing partners - whether these are brand new to the community or people I've not had the chance to properly interact with prior to this. Just be aware that I might not be super outgoing at first. (This is where setting limits and boundaries is good practice, everyone! Don't sell yourself short, and don't spread yourself out too thinly!)

Which is where I now say I want to send even more asks! Not just memes or sentence starters, but general questions about headcanons or muse opinions. I want to get people thinking more.

My stance on Discord still stands, in that it's solely for OOC stuff, but I'm not giving it out to everyone. However, I have been in two group servers that have little-to-no connection with writing rp threads in them. I would hope that I can fully regain my sense of comfort using Discord as a whole.

Art related

Despite socially stepping back, I still want to keep some semblance of 'community' where my blogs are active so people don't feel isolated. For instance, I want to do something that encourages invasions of ask boxes. That was good fun to watch as the chaos began to spread, and when people are good-humoured to go along with my silly ideas.

I want to have one huge art-related event at some point this year. I'm not entirely what or how to do it, but I think it would be a great excuse to practice something. Portraits, comics, something like that. I'll have a think. (For those who remember, the water gun event was supposed to have an art conclusion but plans for that fell through.)

I want to try and upload drawn responses to heythereneighbor once a week if I can. Obviously, this is depending on how busy it is.

I'd also like to try doodling more on other blogs? But I'm not sure if this is even something people want to see anymore. People might prefer I focus on writing if I have free time instead of doodles or little comics.

... the writing blog. I need to do stuff with that in general. Whoops.

Finally, I want to do what I can to the best of my abilities on a particular day. I've always told people over the years that real life comes before rp, and I still stand by that. Whether I'm around or not every day isn't the end of the world. The communities I write in are a lot slower paced than they were when I started, which is great! I need to remind myself that I don't need to be writing just because I have a bit of free time.

[meltotheany]

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018! hi hi, loves! i hope you’re all doing well and staying cool (or warm) in whatever hemisphere you are in! i always love doing posts like this, and just reflecting on all the good book options i have for the last six months of 2024 (which feels wild to even type)! but truly, so many good books are publishing over the last half of this year, and i can’t wait to talk about them all with you! 😍 🌞 SUMMER RELEASES ☆ The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark – august 6th ⤷ once again, this book is about necromancers, assassins, and a vow our mc isn’t supposed to remember, but does. it very well could be my new personality very soon! ☆ Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright – august 13th ⤷ maybe the summer buzzword is assassins, because this queer filipino debut also stars one who is forced to work with two others to solve a magical murder mystery that could also involve vampires. this is truly the debut that i have been looking most forward to all year! ☆ The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter – august 27th ⤷ we love a tuesday birthday, and this year for mine i get a sapphic snow white dark retelling. i am obsessed with this author’s writing and her malice duology that ended up being a favorite of mine. i can’t wait for all the sapphic stories she will give us, but this birthday release one feels very special to me already. 🍁 FALL RELEASES ☆ Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio – september 24th ⤷ i mean, once everyone saw there was a new ml rio book coming out i think the entire book community let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. it is “only” a novella (i say this as a novella lover), but it is about a group of night shift workers trying to solve a mystery at the graveyard, involving a gravedigger, and i know it’s going to be everything. ☆ The City in Glass by Nghi Vo – october 1st ⤷ at this point, i will just beg tor for anything that nghi vo writes. but this is a brand new standalone all about angels and demons and a lost city and i just know that i am going to love it like everything else this author writes! ☆ Lore Olympus: Volume Seven (Lore Olympus, #7) by Rachel Smythe – october 1st ⤷ there is just something really happy and healing about waiting for my next preorder of lore olympus to come in. volume six  was actually my favorite so far, so i extra can’t wait for this newest installment for the fall! ☆ Spectacular (Caraval, #3.5) by Stephanie Garber – october 22nd ⤷ i cannot believe we are actually get a caraval holiday story right before the holiday season! i am so curious if we will see characters from both of her trilogies in this, and if we will get some hints for what is to come next! but i love being in the world of caraval and i can’t wait for this! ❄️ WINTER RELEASES ☆ The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong – november 5th ⤷ this is actually one of my favorite covers… ever. but is a new debut about a immigrant fortune teller, traveling from town to town with her magical cat, and i think this is the tale of them trying to help someone in one of these towns! this is going to be cozy and heartfelt and i can’t wait to read. ☆ The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia, #3) by Carissa Broadbent – november 19th ⤷ i am all caught up and so ready to read this new carissa broadbent book! this third full length story is about a character we know and love from books one and two, but i am curious how i am going to enjoy it because i really didn’t love the last novella i read set in this world. but i am still excited to find out this winter! ☆ Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson – december 6th ⤷ the fifth and last (of this story arc, before a very big time jump) of the very beloved stormlight archives. i cannot believe it will be in my hands in six months, and i also can’t believe brandon has said it is the longest bo...

[pocketramblr]

Everything I see about stormlight is exactly the kind of thing I'd love to read I think except there are so many books and I have no fucking clue where to even start. So... suggestions pls?

Local libraries (I have 5 library cards for different cities) unfortunately have very little Sanderson, but I do have a £10 voucher for waterstones that I need to spend in the next year sooooo

oh hohoho ok yes i can answer this question very normally while vibrating an average amount

So, Stormlight Archive itself is a (fairly) straightforward series, but it's part of a bigger Cosmere series that is, uh, less so. I do recommend reading Mistborn at some point, since it's kinda his breakout series and will be important but uhhh i haven't done that and when in doubt you can look everything up on the wiki so anyway, here's Pocket's Reading Order

1- Warbreaker. This one is set on a different planet than Stormlight, but it's first for a couple reasons. One: it's free to read online at Sanderson's website. Two: four characters (so far) show back up in Stormlight after Warbreaker and i love them so you should know about them going in. Three: it does a good job kinda breaking down a lot of the magic workings in the Cosmere.

read it here

2- Emperor's Soul. I actually read this before i read Warbreaker but it does a REALLY good job at breaking down the magic more. I'd say this one is optional though, it's a shorter little novella and doesn't really impact the main Stormlight storyline (it's on another different planet). I'd say it kinda helps you grasp Sanderson's reading style more, because you're kinda gonna need to trust him going into Stormlight. but if you already are sold, this one isn't too vital since it can be harder to find. (on its own for audiobook, or in Arcanum Unbound collection)

3- The Way of Kings, Stormlight Archive Book One. Look. this book has three prologues and is much bigger than Warbreaker or Emperor's Soul. You've got to trust him but it's worth it. Honestly if you skipped ES, a lot of the magic explanation gets there anyway through the book, just broken up a bit more.

note: DO NOT read Way of Kings Prime, his first draft of the book. its um. its really a first draft. noncanon, a lot of the cool stuff wasnt in it yet.

4- Words of Radiance, Stormlight Archive Book Two

The sequel!

5- Edgedancer, a Stormlight Novella. Yeah you don't want to move on to book three without reading this one. Um, you can find Edgedancer in Arcanum Unbound, the same collection that Emperor's Soul is in. There are probably standalone versions of it somewhere but im not sure where. all else fails, the Coppermind Wiki has very good summaries if you want to read those to move past it. (thats uh,,,, what i did with the first mistborn trilogy oops)

5- Oathbringer, Stormlight Book Three

6- Dawnshard, a Stormlight Novella. (Lie! it's actually just long enough to be a novel but everyone very politely pretends its a novella. this one you can get by itself and ahem. if you want to borrow my copy you just let me know once you get there.)

7- Rhythm of War, Stormlight Book Four

im uh. not gonna lie to you. this book is kinda the 'lowest of lows' emotionally, it gets real dark. im p sure Brandon actually published it with a trigger warning. but its REALLY GOOD just ugh. delicious.

That's all the Stormlight books that are out so far, but uh, book Five releases 2024 and there'll probably be another novella between four and five since there was a 2.5 and 3.5 novella but thats it so far.

so yeah get started with Warbreaker maybe? then see what libraries around you have the other stuff.

[dinluke-ao3feed]

C'Mon Baby Cry

Read it on https://archiveofourown.org/works/56892064 by Maered “Hi, I’m-“ “Skywalker.” Din says, crossing his arms, already annoyed at the car parked in his usual spot. Skywalker looks just like Din expected him to. All flash, no substance. “Exactly,” he grins and looks Din up and down. “-you must be Mando.” “Guilty as charged.” Din says, “-if you’ll excuse me, I gotta bring-” “Want some help?” “No.” Din says, immediately. “-it’s my job.” “Oh, I don’t mind.” Luke grins, “-Owen would insist on helping you.” It’s annoying that Mando is handsome, Luke thinks. Makes it harder to hate this interloper on sight. “You’re not Owen.” Mando points out, raising a brow. Luke gets the feeling he’s just been insulted straight to his face. “No.” Luke says, "I'm not.” Nevermind. Maybe hating Mando will be easier than he expects. Camie's getting married. Estranged from Owen & Beru, Luke goes home for the first time in 10 years. He's not looking forward to meeting their farmhand, the man who’s been living his old life ever since he left. Din isn’t particularly excited to meet Luke either; not when he already hates him for abandoning people who are like family to him now. They both try to be civil. Fireworks ensue instead. Words: 29184, Chapters: 2/4, Language: English Fandoms: The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M, M/M Characters: Din Djarin, Luke Skywalker, Owen Lars, Beru Whitesun, Grogu | Baby Yoda, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Biggs Darklighter, Camie Marstrap, Laze "Fixer" Loneozner, Cobb Vanth, Peli Motto Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Owen Lars/Beru Whitesun, Leia Organa/Han Solo Additional Tags: Cowboys & Cowgirls, Cowboy Hats, Alternate Universe - Western, Country & Western, Song Lyrics, Inspired by an Orville Peck Song, Period-Typical Homophobia, this is a trashy romance novel (affectionate), this is also a period piece, as it is set in the year of our lord, 2008, dont at me with historical innacuracies, my primary source is fallible, (my own memory), Enemies to Lovers, author does not even have a GED in country music, we had to rely on our lovely friends at, Discord: DinLuke Server, The Dinluke Server Made Me Do It, Baseball, Found Family, Grogu | Baby Yoda Being a Little Shit, Luke Skywalker's Nickname is Wormie, smalltown stuff, Secret Relationship, Switch Luke Skywalker, Switch Din Djarin, razor and artoo are horses, threepio is an alpaca, Estrangement, when i mean this is a trashy romance novel (like the kind the drugstores sell) i MEAN IT, DinLuke Week 2024, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, happened in the past to a minor character, Bar fights, as usual, dinluke week prompt, meet the family/culture and traditions, 16 percent of the playlist is cancon if u were worried about me being on brand, Summer, Summer Romance, Summer Love, Luke Skywalker Has Daddy Issues, and it just so happens, That he's faced with, Good Parent Din Djarin, save a horse ride a cowboy, no pining in this for a change.... Well actually, we can have a little, Pining, as a treat, but it's mostly, Denial of Feelings

[rsadelle]

Yuletide 2016

Below the cut is a Yuletide round-up of recs and also the things I wrote.

Stories For Me

all that is good (10136 words) by sevenfoxes Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Bourne (Movies) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons Characters: Jason Bourne, Nicky Parsons Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, unprotected sex Summary:

You think about Landy, how the hearings meant to expose corruption instead started to swallow her whole, destroying the last genuinely good person you knew at the CIA. You think about Vosen and Conklin and Abbot and all the fucking men who hid behind the flag and a thick line about patriotism while pursuing their own agenda, their own power and money. You think about your father dying alone, believing you were gone, that the last of his family was dead.

“There have to be consequences,” you tell him.

That is the difference between the two of you. Jason wants to be left alone.

You want vengeance.

What I liked: NICKY! I was really excited to get a story all about Nicky. This does a really good job of alternating past and present to flesh out the characters and their relationship. Plus reproductive choices.

make haste from Babylon (3990 words) by Addison R Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Killing Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Stephen Holder & Sarah Linden Characters: Sarah Linden, Stephen Holder Additional Tags: Soul Bond, Writing on Skin Summary:

This must be the new guy, but he sure doesn't look the part.

What I liked: SOULBONDING. I won't give it all away, so suffice to say there's a match to shapes that I enjoyed, and also a pull to keep them together.

Other Stories I Enjoyed

A Divinely Attractive Arrangement (5895 words) by Fahye Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Love and Friendship (2016) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Sir James Martin, Lord Manwaring, Lady Susan Vernon Summary:

A selection from the Private Diary of Sir James Martin of Martindale. Concerning Peas, Friendship, the state of Blessed Matrimony, and several wonders of Modern Medicine.

What I liked: This is absolutely hilarious. The characterization is spot-on, and I laughed all the way through it.

Exclusive, Mutually (1507 words) by youjik33 Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Arrested Development Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: George Oscar "Gob" Bluth/Tony Wonder Characters: Michael Bluth, Lindsay Bluth Funke, George Oscar "Gob" Bluth, Tony Wonder Summary:

“You realize they’re only even having a wedding for the attention, right?” Michael asked.

Lindsay looked at him quizzically. “Well, yeah, why else?”

What I liked: This is an outsider pov on Gob and Tony Wonder's wedding. It's funny, and I also suggest listening to the mood music linked in the notes as you read.

Aviens Rex (1603 words) by sumeria Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: birdsrightsactivist (Twitter) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bird (birdsrightsactivist) & Original Character(s) Characters: Bird (birdsrightsactivist), Original Male Character(s), Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Twitter, Yuletide, epistolary?, no politics Summary:

In which Brad and Steve just want to have a picnic and a Tyrannosaurus is only another kind of bird.

What I liked: This is a very funny story told in tweets where we see both sides of Bird's interaction with a family having a picnic.

They Call it Undercover Work for a Reason (But Not That Reason) (8273 words) by greywash Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Spy (2015), Olympics RPF Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Nancy B. Artingstall & Susan Cooper, Susan Cooper/OFC, Susan Cooper/Nancy B. Artingstall/OFC (ish), Susan Cooper/Rick Ford, Susan Cooper/Rick Ford/Nancy B. Artingstall (ish), Nancy B. Artingstall/the Italian men's Olympic rowing team Characters: Susan Cooper (Spy 2015), Nancy B. Artingstall Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, the olympics, Actual Bids for the 2024 Summer Olympics, (but everything else is made up), (definitely 100 percent made up), Los Angeles 2024, Paris 2024, Budapest 2024, international espionage, Adventure, The CIA: Have Fun and See Europe While Hitting Lots of Dudes in the Face, Rivalry, Hatesex, Alternate title: The Dr. Seuss Compendium of Hatesex, Would you do it on a plane?, Would you do it at a party?, Would you do it in an alley?, Would you do it on a Ferrari?, Cephalopods, Oh my God Rick Ford be better at your job, Susan and Nancy 2017 World Tour, I have 'friends' at the American embassy, Everything author knows about French accents they learned from Harry Potter IV, (sorry France), Irresponsible use of Google Translate, (sorry everyone), shh shh you have a head wound, maybe guest starring some famous person's second cousin once removed or something just because, also there's a yacht Summary:

"Cooper," says Crocker. "We've had word of an agent trying to undermine the American bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics."

"Do we care about the Olympics?" asks Nancy.

What I liked: This is exactly as absurd as a Spy story should be.

10 Things I Hate About Reunions (17278 words) by BryroseA Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kat Stratford/Patrick Verona Characters: Kat Stratford, Patrick Verona, Bianca Stratford Additional Tags: Partial epistolary - text messages, Post-Canon, the 2nd chapter is just the story stripped of all formatting for accessibility Summary:

Is there anyone less likely than Katerina Stratford to go to their high school reunion?

Well...maybe there is one person.

What I liked: I loved the mix of Kat and Bianca's relationship and the improbable coincidences that happen because of Bianca's scheming.

And All The Roads Are Blinding (7978 words) by moemachina Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kat Stratford/Patrick Verona Characters: Kat Stratford, Patrick Verona, Bianca Stratford, Cameron James Additional Tags: Lovers to Friends to Lovers, Sisterhood, Social Media, History of Technology Summary:

In the years after high school, Kat tentatively becomes friends with her ex-boyfriend Patrick. And then Bianca gets married.

What I liked: The slow reconnecting, and also the bits about Bianca's relationships with her exes.

Days Gone Down (1614 words) by Nomad Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Eroica Yori Ai o Komete | From Eroica with Love Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Klaus von dem Eberbach, Klaus von dem Eberbach's father, Dorian Red Gloria Additional Tags: Future Fic, Yuletide Treat Summary:

An aging Klaus has a conversation with his father.

What I liked: Aging, the connection between Klaus and his father, the mix of that serious conversation with the ridiculousness that (of course) occurs when Dorian shows up.

Friday Night Bracing for Monday (21485 words) by Addison R Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Good Will Hunting (1997) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan Characters: Chuckie Sullivan, Will Hunting, Morgan O'Mally, Billy McBride Additional Tags: Sharing Clothes, Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, Postcards, Canon-typical language, Families of Choice, Past Violence, Past Child Abuse, Post-Movie(s), Yuletide 2016 Summary:

Chuckie grows up a little, and Will moves back to Boston.

What I liked: Stories about people growing up and getting their lives together are my faaaavorite.

The Dame's Only Doing It for that Doll (1561 words) by major_general Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Guys and Dolls - Loesser/Swerling/Burrows Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sarah Brown/Sky Masterson Characters: Sky Masterson, Sarah Brown, Nicely-Nicely Johnson Additional Tags: Rule 63, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sky Masterson, Misses Clause Challenge Summary:

Sgt. Sarah Brown runs a mission on her own terms in the years after agreeing to a Boston marriage with Sky Masterson.

What I liked: Lesbian Sky Masterson! Also the effect of a gangster and a missionary making a life together.

Renovation (2712 words) by faithfulcynic Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Practical Magic (1998) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Bridget "Jet" Owens, Frances Owens Additional Tags: Humor, Siblings, Magic, The House has Opinions, Franny watches HGTV, Jet wants another brownie Summary:

Every decade or so, Frances has the urge to renovate the House and every decade or so the House has other plans. Jet always gets caught in the middle.

What I liked: I enjoyed the House's personality and the battles it has with Frances.

Stories By Me

Every Single Holiday (4043 words) Fandom: Spy (2015) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Susan Cooper/Rick Ford Characters: Susan Cooper (Spy 2015), Rick Ford, Nancy B. Artingstall Additional Tags: Dick in a Box, 5+1 Things Summary:When it comes to gift-giving, Ford's repertoire is somewhat limited.

First Choices (2017 words) Fandom: Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: the Bastard (Chalion), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary:A growing number of L.G.B.T. Quintarians are choosing to devote themselves to gods other than the Bastard.

Life to the Kingdom (2097 words) Fandom: The Huntsman (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Snow White (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), Snow White/William (The Huntsman) Characters: The Huntsman (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman), Snow White (The Huntsman), William (The Huntsman) Additional Tags: Threesome - F/F/M, Infidelity, Future Fic Series: Part 1 of The Huntsman: Future's Hope Summary:When the kingdom of the north had been freed and the mirror's shards taken to Sanctuary, Eric and Sara returned to Snow White's kingdom.

Hope Of Our Hearts (4031 words) Fandom: The Huntsman (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman)/Snow White (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Sara (The Huntsman), The Huntsman/Snow White (The Huntsman), Snow White/William (The Huntsman) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Snow White (The Huntsman), William (The Huntsman), The Huntsman (The Huntsman), Sara (The Huntsman), Ravenna (The Huntsman) Additional Tags: Future Fic, Past Infidelity Series: Part 2 of The Huntsman: Future's Hope Summary: When the Heir to Snow White's kingdom, who was known to the people not only by her name of Hope but also as Hope-of-our-hearts, had reached her majority, word came from the kingdom to the east that they were being harried at their eastern border by an army of nearly supernatural strength.

[savebatsartedition]

Whumptober 2024 Day 30!!

Summary:

Wally lays in his hospital bed. Emerald watches on. Prompt: RECOVERY | Hospital Bed | Holding Back Tears | "What have I done?"

Notes:

I wrote this while looping Meteor Shower by Cavetown, who isn’t a regular artist for me. (But one I like a LOT.) Perhaps that’s why I wrote a ship I like a LOT but haven’t really ever written before. :) Content Warnings: Crying, hospital setting, implied/referenced asthma attack and something else probably, mentions of ableism, past bullying Words: 1,048

(Fic also under the cut.)

Despite the fact that this marked the tenth time it had happened, Emerald was scared.

His hands twitched as they held the thin fabric of his green and red tunic. He wanted to move them, to hold Wally's hand or pet his hair gently. To do something that could maybe actually be of help to his sick boyfriend. Boyfriend? It had been such a short time of them actually being officially together that Emerald really couldn't think the word without a feeling of wonder washing over him.

But as his eyes burned with tears in the familiar prick of pain that all his life he had fought to hold back and ignore, that feeling of wonder was closer to one of horror. Wally had, as far as Emerald had known him or been told about his childhood, always been a rather sickly kid. As the green hair stereotype went, he was the type of person who could get hurt just by running too fast. The type of kid to recognize the white walls of a hospital room more than those of his own bedroom back home.

But he had never let that stop him. Like Emerald, Wally had always wanted to fight for more and to keep moving, despite everything about his physical body that tried to hold him back. Like Emerald, he wanted more than to be looked down on and coddled or laughed at. Emerald respected that, loved it, and loved the way it meant that Wally could understand him.

They were so similar, the two of them. Fit to be nervous around the word, but boyfriends nonetheless.

And now he was in the hospital again, hooked up to several beeping machines as Emerald waited at his bedside for him to wake up. He should be fine, he always was. The combination of super potions and surgery nearly always did a guy good, but that didn't mean Emerald wasn't rocking back and forth in near panic anyway.

:Oh Arceus,“ he whispered to the beeping room (he wasn't even religious, but he invoked the Pokemon's name aloud anyway), ”Please let him be okay,“

Honestly, he hardly even knew what had happened. It had been just the two of them, practicing a few moves with their Sceptile, and suddenly Wally had collapsed onto the ground. No matter how much the doctor had reassured him that he had done nothing wrong, and that Wally would be okay, and that the Super Potion that had been sprayed down his throat was enough to keep a man almost unharmed without air for up to ten minutes, Emerald still blamed himself.

What had he done, what had he done?!

He stared at Wally's still form. Hooked up to machines that Emerald had always been too orphan and homeless to see before starting to go out with Wally, he was quiet. Emerald would have called it too quiet, if he couldn't see the blankets rising and falling gently over his boyfriend's chest. (And if he hadn't always seen his seniors frozen into literal stone just a few years prior.)

They were okay. Wally would be okay. He always was. Recovery was sort of his thing! If the professors had kept it in their heads that he was a true dexholder, he could have been named something about it, that was how good he was. (Emerald hardly felt he deserved his own name, despite how impressed he was of his own skills, whenever he watched Wally go through the daily treatments he needed to complete just to keep fighting.)

But just knowing all that didn't make it any easier to hold back the tears. Emerald may have been a ridiculously strong trainer (and, let's face it, a ridiculously strong human being in general), but that didn't mean he hadn't missed out on a good cry over close friends he should have been able to have earlier in his life. This young man was his first boyfriend, and, honestly, one of his first actual friends. Just knowing he would be okay didn't mean that Emerald suddenly could ignore the idea that he wouldn't.

Emerald wiped his eyes on his oversized sleeve and sniffed loudly. His bangs, which he had allowed to grow out slightly without the gem to center them there, fell into his face and green eyes. Despite how hard he tried to force them dry, they still swam with tears to the point of blurriness.

Wally stirred slightly and Emerald looked up with hope. For a few seconds there was nothing, and then Wally's eyes were opening and searching the room. He did not seem the least bit surprised to find himself there, and smiled when Emerald made his way into his vision.

”Emerald,“ he murmured, his voice a decent bit scratchy but definitely better than it would have been if Emerald hadn't forced that super potion down his throat, ”Your face is really red.“

Emerald sniffed for longer than was probably necessary and wiped his eyes again to cover them, hoping against hope that he wouldn't just start sobbing. He was strong, he had to be. (Despite the fact that it was just him and Wally there, he couldn't help but automatically assumed someone would burst in and start laughing at him.)

”Ahw Emerald,“ Wally said, sitting up as best he could, ”It's okay, I'm right here...“

”That's not right,“ Emerald half joked, half sobbed, ”I'm the one who's supposed to be comforting YOU.“

He felt weak, weird, like the world had almost been pulled away from him but had been brought back at the last second. He felt like younger him would have laughed at him just as hard as those bullies once would have. 

But Wally wasn't like those bullies, or like Emerald had once been. He was just Wally. Adventurous, sickly, strong, lovely Wally. ”Why can't you do both?“ Wally asked him with what must have been a slight smile, ”You beat Ruby and Sapphire once, you know. Can't you do anything?“ He laughed quietly, and Emerald finally tore his face out of his sleeves. Snickering (with difficulty) despite everything.He was so glad that Wally was okay, he was alright with looking a little stupid. He loved him. There was nothing more that he could hope to do.