#my original list had to be around like 30 it was kind of ridiculous lol

[forgotmynametag]

Old piece I did for a discord challenge! Wanted to pay a bit of homage to my learning through Dasheng/JTTW media. The background I modeled after the famous One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains painting and then I did a bunch of chronological studies of different jttw adaptations. In the end I had to cut down alot and mostly stuck with the adaptations I spent a lot of time watching and had a lot of fun piecing it all together!

[lululawrence]

Wordplay 5.0 Reflections

I dunno what else to call it lmao it doesn't sound right to call this a meme, but whatever it is, here we are! lol @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed came up with these questions after @wordplayfics wrapped up last year and I love them so i'm gonna use them for this year as well.

I'm going to start out with listing the prompts and linking the fics i wrote for each one for everyone's reference, though I'll be linking them again through the answers as well. I'm also putting all the questions and answers beneath a read more because, as usual, I rambled lmao Alright! Here we go!

Struggle: I Said It Wrong, But I Meant It Right Reduce: I Love This Feeling (But I Hate This Part) Divide: He Carries The Key Rise: Thou, Sun, Art Half As Happy Sketch: I Heard You Talking

How did you come up with your ideas for the fics? Can you take us through your process after first receiving the prompt?

I don't know that I have a set way I come up with my fic ideas for Wordplay. It all depends on the prompt and what fic ideas I've got on my "to write list" that might fit that prompt. If nothing on my to write list fits or can be tweaked for a prompt, then I just go through my prompts tag until something strikes me for it, or I just ruminate on the different ways the word can be used and see if something comes up.

So, when I did the random word generator for the first prompt and "struggle" was the word that came up, I immediately thought of "struggle bus". lolllll and when I went looking through my to write list, I saw the girl Payneshaw fic I wanted to write and I was like omgggggg Nick ABSOLUTELY is riding the struggle bus the ENTIRE FUCKING TIME and I knew that was my fic for the week. lmaoooo and there you have it.

What is your favorite fic you wrote for Wordplay this year?

oooohhhh this one is HARD AND MEAN lmaoooo i forgot this was a question asked. okay legitimately i cannot choose a favorite because i'm actually stupidly proud and happy with all of the fics i wrote this year.

If you’ve participated in previous years of Wordplay, what has been your favorite prompt from all years you participated in?

WELP. as the creator of this challenge, i've participated in all 5 years which means there've been 25 prompts i've written. lolllll and honestly i think my favorite prompt is STILL from the first year. it was "bloodsucker". like, how great of a prompt is that???

What was the shortest fic you wrote this year? The longest?

the shortest one this year was... I Said It Wrong, But I Meant It Right at 4381 words.

the longest one was... I Heard You Talking at 10580 words.

What fic of yours surprised you?

i think all of them surprised me in some way. that's part of the joy of writing fics, isn't it? lollll but i think the one that surprised me the most was Thou, Sun, Art Half As Happy. it was a last minute change (i'll elaborate in the answer to the next question haha) and it was a VERY different direction than i had planned. it was all based off of a photo i saw on tumblr, and there was no prompt with the photo. i got to just take in the basic idea of the sticker being placed on a bridge overlooking the city and what might make that spot a good kissing spot.

now, as an ace who doesn't actually ENJOY kissing, i... didn't think about the fact that i would be writing a lot of it. lollll i actually have a super hard time writing kisses and trying to make them varied while also relaying the emotional intimacy of the moment, and then add on top of that the fact that once i started writing the fic, both harry and louis let me know pretty much as soon as words started getting written that they were both genderqueer and that worked differently for each of them, so harry would use they/them pronouns and louis would use he/him still, it just made things more interesting. and the way the fic developed??? like, i had a very vague idea of what would happen in the fic. so the way it actually came about all surprised me.

long answer short, from the very start, this fic surprised me and i was just along for the ride. it was a BLAST and i sure do love it, even if it does have the second lowest hits of all the fics i wrote this year haha

Were there any prompts you struggled to find an idea for?

STRUGGLED HAHAHA sorry. just funny since struggle was a prompt this year. ANYWAY. the prompt i had the hardest time with was defo rise. i've had this fic idea ever since greg james tweeted with shawn mendes months ago about how shawn basically forgot his interview with greg on the breakfast show, so greg had to last minute wing a LOT OF AIR TIME AND SHOW CONTENT and he did a great job, but it brought about some funny content... anyway. that made me wanna write a triad a/b/o fic where greg is louis and harry's beta. rise was going to be used in a lot of different ways through the fic, as well. because breakfast show requires greg to rise from bed early, he gets a rise out of harry and louis with his behavior and overt flirtations with shawn, they have to rise above their jealousy, etc etc etc. i was VERY EXCITED.

except i only had three days i was able to write every week this summer, and those were really really difficult to get. if i wanted to write on tuesday or thursday, i was often curling up with my laptop in a dark room with some caffeine and candles burning to soothe me after the insanity that is my life atm, and write for as long as i could before my brain stopped functioning, which was often only around 30 min. but see, that particularly week was the worst part of my son's 18 month sleep regression, which meant instead of him sleeping and letting me write, i was driving him around or trying to rock him back to sleep or letting him play in an attempt to tire him out etc etc etc and by friday morning i had to admit to myself there was no way i could write that a/b/o fic in my one guaranteed evening to write every week (saturday, btw). so i was suddenly left with around 36 hours to find a new fic idea and develop it enough to be able to write it in one evening.

as i said in the answer to the first question, i usually go to my prompts tag to see what might inspire me with this prompt word in mind, but for this one that wasn't the first place i went. i tried looking at more definitions even though i'd done that earlier and nothing was inspiring me. so i then spoke to several friends and was still having a hard time finding any ideas that felt like something i would enjoy writing and could do so quickly.

by saturday morning, knowing i had less than 12 hours to figure out what i was writing so i could actually WRITE IT in only like 2-3 hours of writing time, i finally sat down and scrolled through my prompts tag. once i did, i saw the photo for the "good kissing spot", and i immediately thought of sunrise. so i ran with it. but i wanted to make it stylinshaw, so how would i work that in, etc etc etc. it was just very fast and very difficult trying to figure out how i would structure it so it could be a fun meet cute kind of fic, but also work into them actually building a meaningful connection etc and... well. it was a lot. haha so yeah, it was just a hard time overall that week, but i'm super proud of it in the end.

Were there any prompts you had an idea for but ended up writing something different? If so, what made you choose to change what you wrote? Do you think you’ll ever write your original idea at a later date?

HA okay well i already answered most of this above, but for the last part of this question, yes i will absolutely write my original idea at a later date. the whole reason i decided not to do it wasn't because i couldn't turn it into a fic that could be written in that one writing session, but because i had hopes for what that fic would be, and i didn't want to shorten and condense it enough to do that. i didn't want to have to lessen the dreams i have for that fic in my head, so i decided i would just put it back on my to write list and save it for later. who knows when, but that fic will absolutely get written.

What do you think was the most difficult as well as the easiest part about the Wordplay Challenge?

most difficult was 100% finding the time to write. that was insanely hard for me all summer, but by the time wordplay was going, things at home had ramped up to being very overwhelming regarding the demands on me and my time, and what i had been doing to carve out some time for myself and writing wasn't working anymore, so i had to adjust even more with the understanding that i was working on a really strict timeline too. so yeah. just finding the time was absolutely the hardest part for me.

easiest part was the actual writing. these fics really flowed from me, outside of the pack fic, that one was actually pretty difficult to make sure i was getting the dynamics exactly the way i wanted to have them turn out, but even with that aspect, it still was like it flowed from me most of the time. these fics really just took over and i was along for the ride. it was a blast.

If you participate again next year, is there anything you’ll do differently? If so, what?

lmao well assuming people still want wordplay to happen again, i'll run it again and very likely will take part. so... with the difficulty i had in finding any time to do anything this summer, i was actually ridiculously stressed when it came to the writing part, but also the modding aspect of it. so i am not sure that i'll run it during the summer again next year. i might have it go during the early fall once school is back in session so i at least have only one child at home instead of three to battle lol so that's one thing i'll hopefully be doing differently.

as for the writing aspect, i don't think so actually. i've done 5 years of this, and i'm having fun with it. haha if i ever find a fic idea i think could work for it, i would consider doing a series for it next year, but it all depends on if there's something i'd like to write that could work for that kind of set up with this challenge.

if you made it this far, thank you for reading!!! xxx

[ocsandallthatjazz]

RIZZY FOR A L L 👁 👄 👁

Lol putting it under the cut for length. Take your kids and go <3

1. Who is the most affectionate?

Rory brings out Izzy’s sappy side, but he’s the king.

2. Big spoon/Little spoon?

Izzy is such a little spoon, secretly wants to be doted on in her home.

3. Most common argument?

Insert any instance of Izzy going "why would you do that" at Rory and Sam.

4. Favorite non-sexual activity?

Izzy loves holding his hand. Loves it. Thinks it’s so cute when Rory starts swinging their arms around.

5. Who is most likely to carry the other?

Rory, and I'm getting the specific image of him doing it spontaneously and like trying to just carry her away over the shoulder.

6. What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Look at Rory's cheeks when he smiles, he's so cute he looks like a puppy. And he loves the way her eyebrows quirk while she talks.

7. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Izzy gets surprisingly giddy and flirty but in yknow the shy teen with a crush way. Wouldn't take long for her friends to figure things out.

8. Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

I get to mention “Izzy Bizzy” again, yay. This is Rory’s equivalent to going “woah, take it easy” when she starts to go super high maintenance on their group and it’s accidentally super smart and effective of him. The rhyming is cute so she gets trapped in endearment and bizzy is a slang word for cop, which she can certainly sound like a ridiculous authority figure when she’s too in her head.

9. Who worries the most?

Izzy, my anxiety ridden legend.

10. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Izzy does that the most!

11. Who tops?

“Bestie, you didn’t finish the question. I know you wanted to ask ‘Who tops the Broadway singing charts?’ And the answer is Vi Avery. Goodbye!” - Izzy

12. Who initiates kisses?

Izzy!!

13. Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

Rory. Gotta do that cute hand swing.

14. Who kisses the hardest?

You know Rory is the kind of person who like accidentally leaned in way too fast and bonked noses.

15. Who wakes up first?

Izzy. If the alarm goes off, she's up.

16. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

You heard it here first, Rory is slow in the morning.

17. Who says I love you first?

Rory! Realizes he loved her around Valentines Day.

18. Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)

Rory is the type to forget to pack a lunch entirely, but he'd put little words of affirmation in her lunches.

19. Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

Izzy had to, her family kept giving her Looks when Rory was coming over after school so often.

20. What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Izzy's family don't think there's anything wrong with her having her first young relationship, but they were shocked that Rory was her type and I'm certain they didn't expect him to be The One. Rory's thinks Izzy is amazing and a great influence on him, but him permanently moving back to the US right after coming home was A Topic of discussion.

21. Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

Rory! Head empty, Rory's off-beat dancing in the mash-up.

22. Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

Izzy can do some of her mom's recipes pretty well. She doesn't know much outside of what was made most often at home, but hey they're good.

23. Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Rory!!!

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Rory you’re dumb I love you but please be quiet or take your whispers to Sam.

25. Who needs more assurance?

Again, Anxiety Izzy, my beloved...

26. What would be their theme song?

I think I currently have it listed as "Invisible String" by Taylor Swift.

27. Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

Rory and he'd be damn charming looking.

28. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Izzy took their long distance as a time to focus on exploring herself and building the bonds with her friends - so she would just study half the time and the other half let herself get sucked into the NY antics without as much complaining.

29. one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

Me: I constantly stress the fact that it’s important and healthy for couples to have close bonds with other people.

Also me: The idea of a subplot in early NY days where Izzy and Rory both keep calling each other just to get put off by the other being busy having fun with other people (which they’re partially doing to stay busy and avoid their big life changes) makes me break down inside.

30. one headcanon about this OTP that mends it

Someday I will write a drabble for Izzy coming out as ace to Rory because his instant support is so good 🥺

otp question meme

[sveasauvageon]

HSWW ROUND I STORY

I never gave it a neat title, oops.  Svea Year I + Pre-Seventh Year Midsummer Celebrations {HSWW}

─═Featured HSWW/Polyvore Era not-mein oc’s═─

Eloise Avery | @.themadmonarchist

(also mentioned Lord and Lady Avery, but they don't appear)

Syn Lothbrok | @.ghostpastey

Hvitty Lothbrok | @.ghostpastey

Entire Lothbrok Family (too many to name individually)

Damien Greaves | @.natasha-maree13

Tyler Lee | @.maybones (lol, I originally typed @minahbones)

Minah Kwon Delacroix | @.maybones

Tara Lee (I couldn't leave out Little T from this nutty dance) | @.maybones

Theo Nott | @.themadmonarchist

Moses Park Jr | @.koby

Lyra Greaves | @.natasha-maree13

Oberon Greaves | @.natasha-maree13

Henry Clark | @.lady-stoneheart

Xander Carlyle (I think I've been listing him as clark all this time, whoops) | @.lady-stoneheart

Sungjae Lee | @.chrissykinz

Loralei Expura | @.thespian-at-large

Lyrae Mino | @.skyfalll

──════𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀════──

Up in the northwest quarters of the Sauvageon Estate, Svea was braiding her young sister's hair with little bells and complex knots. Khalessi style? Yes, obviously. The show is garbage, but is visually stunning. Also the music. Back to point, as the elder heir wove in the little bells, Lili enthusiastically recounted her first year at Koldovstoretz; her classes, teachers, friends, and her first Russian Quidditch game where they play on entire uprooted trees instead of brooms (A/N: true fact, look it up on the wikia).

Her ardor and excitement made Svea nostalgic of her own first year. Her letter had arrived at the Prince Manor in Cornwall, where she had been staying for a year. The darkest year in her life she may add. The arrival of the letter was nothing special or shocking, there certainly wasn't any doubt about her having magic after she had set the manor on fire. Though, she did note a mild expression of relief on her grandfather's face, presumably he was pleased she'd be out of his house soon. And she was pleased about that too, the Prince Manor was dark, dreary, and drab, and they refused to allow Aunt Brigitta to remodel it after the fire. Svea never understood why they insisted it be restored as it was, the poor interiors were what she called "discount gothic", it was nothing like the true majesty of actual gothic architecture.

Anyway, decidedly pleased her time with the Prince's was nearing its end, Svea was positively beaming when she went to King's Cross Station on September the first. She was accompanied by her aunt and step-mother, the later of whom had apparated to London the day before, much to the displeasure of Svea's mother, who also accompanied them to King's Cross. Svea questioned her mother's instructions of walking into a wall, part of her believing that it may just be some kind of trick to humiliate the "foreigners", as she so often called Svea and her paternal family. However, the Prince simply huffed in annoyance, glaring at the odd silvery-gold colour Iliana had died the little girl's hair, before briskly walking through the wall first herself, with Svea, Iliana, and Brigitta quickly following thereafter. 

Svea had barely a moment to admire the victorian vibe of the station before her mother pulled her aside. "Richelle, ensure that you're sorted into Slytherin, and try not to do anything to disgrace the Prince name." she commanded, disappearing with a loud crack before Svea could retort. Sighing to herself, she made a mental note to send a howler reminding her mother that her name is Svea Sauvageon, not Richelle Prince, before reuniting with her aunt and step-mother, who were overseeing the loading of her luggage.

She spotted Eloise Avery looking out a window on the train, but she was looking in another direction and didn't notice Svea, not that she wanted to catch her attention when her grandparents were around. If they were around that is, one short playdate and tales of admiration from her own grandfather was enough to cement a cold and unloving image in Svea's head. She shuddered at the memory, she was grateful beyond word that her grandparents were nothing like that. Well, her Sauvageon grandparents. It's a safe bet that all Grandfather Marcius aspires to be is a slightly less rich and more grumbling version of the "great and powerful" Lady Avery.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Svea hugged Iliana and Aunt Brigitta goodbye, promising to write and look after herself, before quickly boarding the train to find an empty compartment to save for herself, Syn, and Hvitty. The Lothbroks were amongst their closest wizarding friends in Scandinavia and practically family to Svea, she was pleased beyond measure to have her best friend at this far away school too. She'd always been fairly independent, but having familiar faces at Hogwarts would be a great comfort too, and endless fun. No one knows how to enjoy things like a Lothbrok. Okay, like Syn. No one knows how to party like Syn. Even at 11, she was more fun and energetic than anyone you could think of.

She waited by the window until she spotted them getting on, before rushing to the corridor to call them over. The subsequent assault (as she would put it, they might just call it a hug) nearly took Svea's head off. Grinning at being reunited, they chatted throughout the train ride, and purchased ridiculous amounts of British Wizarding Treats when the Trolley lady stopped by. They also met some other first years as well, some of whom, Svea noted, were less than pleased to be in such a rowdy compartment.

Once they neared the school (or as Svea's alarms warned her they were), she changed into her school robes, dragging along Syn to do the same who complained that they were "nowhere near there yet". However, exactly as her alarm warned her, they were at Hogsmeade station within 30 minutes. ("hah! Told you so Tamsyn", she screamed internally and definitely not with every fibre of her being). Seperating from the others, Svea, Syn, and Hvitty disembarked from the train together, where they and the other first years were greeted by a staff member from Hogwarts who led them to a number of boats. Grabbing a boat upfront, they were joined by Henry Clark, whom they had met on the train and whom Syn had immediately given the nickname "Hank", which he seemed to vehemently dislike. Once they had all boarded, the boat seemed to propel themselves as they all sailed across the vast lake. The Black Lake, she recalled it was called. Her cousin Viggo often talked about visiting it one day.

"Vig told me that there's a colony of merpeople living in the lake." Svea excitedly mentioned to Syn and Hvitty as they crossed, gazing down into the murky water to try to spot one.

"Fishman would know." replied Syn, joining Svea to look over the edge of the boat.

"He's not a Fishman."

"As always, you're right." said Syn, nodding solemnly before adding, "He's a half-fishman."

"Well, you're not wrong there," Svea conceded.

Syn grinned triumphantly as Svea dipped her fingers into the water. It was cold, just as Vig told her it would be, but it wasn't as cold as the water in Lake Mälaren.

Despite having been raised in marble coated mansions, even Svea was awestruck when they neared Hogwarts Castle. Whilst Sauvageon Slott was certainly brighter, the large stone structure was absolutely stunning, and far more inviting than her father and family's descriptions of Durmstrang. As much as she loathed her mother's family, she was glad just this once at their persistence of doing things the "English" way. The little boats they were in soon passed through an ivy curtain and carried them along a dark tunnel, which seemed to run beneath the castle itself, and eventually docked by some rocks at what seemed to be an underground harbour of sorts. 

Once all the students were out of the boats they were led to a small room (the Chamber of Reception, she later learned it was called), where they were greeted by a tall, red haired woman. She introduced herself as Professor Hester Weasley, Deputy Headmistress. She ushered them into the Great Hall and began reading their names out one by one in alphabetical order. Once called, they were to sit on a stool facing the other students and had a dingy old hat placed on their head which would announce what house they're to join after thinking about it for a bit. It might be a magic, talking, singing hat, but the whole process seemed unnecessarily drawn out and somewhat silly to Svea. She was fairly certain it was thought up by someone forest crazy (Swedish phrase, equivalent to "raging mad").

Svea's was amongst the last few names to be called. Hvitty went off to Gryffindor, and Syn to Hufflepuff. Eloise went to Slytherin, whilst Hank (*wink-wink* @.ghostpastey) went to Gryffindor. She noted that the hat had barely gotten within a foot of Damien Greaves' head before it screamed Slytherin. When the Headmistress finally said her name, Svea tottered up to the little stool, starving by that point and eager to get on with dinner and classes in the morning.

"Impatient, aren't we?" said a voice in her head once the hat was on, 'causing Svea to nearly jump out of her skin. She didn't realize it was talking during those minutes in-between the hat being worn and shouting the student's house.

"I'm hungry," she replied, well, thought, once she had brought her spikes down (Swedish phrase effectively meaning to "chill" -shrug emoji- Sweden is weird, also, awesome). "Any recommendations on what's good?"

The hat chucked in her ear, mind's ear. "Try the steak and yorkshire pudding," her mouth began watering at steak, she needed it now. "I'll try to be quick then. Swedish I see, muggle friends, oh dear, the ministry won't be happy about that breach of secrecy," the hat muttered as it rummaged through her mind.

Svea shrugged. "Not my ministry. Can you hurry it up, I don't really care, but I would prefer not Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin, eh? And why is that?"

"To infuriate my mother."

"But I see you also have the desire to be in Slytherin to outshine her and your grandfather, quite petty, no?"

"Yes, but I am only 10."

"Then would you prefer to be petty? I see great things for you in Ravenclaw, where those of wit and learning find their own kind. You have a great thirst for knowledge."

Svea shrugged again. "Whatever magic hat, isn't it your job to figure that out?"

The sorting hat sighed. "SLYTHERIN!" it shouted aloud, applause erupting on the table to her far right. The hat was barely off her head before she practically bounded over. She was so hungry and there were only a handful of students left to be sorted before she could finally eat. She ended up next to a third year and the speedily sorted boy from earlier. 

"Svea," she said, introducing herself with a smile as another students sorting began. 

"Damien," he gruffly replied.

"You shouldn't look so murderous, you're 11." She chided, impatiently tapping her foot whilst the last children were finally being sorted.

Damien rolled his eyes. "What if I am one?"

"Then you shouldn't be broadcasting that desire to everyone. Isn’t a killer best served if their intentions are secretive?" before he could retort, however, Svea's attention turned elsewhere. Specifically, their table. "OH YES! FINALLY FOOD! Hey, can you grab me some steak please!" she asked of the boy in front of them. "I'm Svea, by the way. You want one too Damien?"

"I can get it myself, thanks," muttered the British boy, looking quite irritated.

"Seyong Lee, but you can call me Tyler." answered the other one, placing a steak on Svea's plate as well as Damien's.

Once the feast was over (the hat was right about that Steak and Yorkshire Pudding), the Headmistress said a few words, mostly about forbidden places, Svea could feel none of those warnings making it into Syn's ears, and led the school in a rendition of the school song. She noticed some seven years really giving the song their all, and nearly toppled over with laughter. After the song finally ended, Svea and the other first year Slytherins were instructed to follow one of their House Prefects. Svea couldn't remember their name, but recalled them being one of those English Scared 28 people. They followed the prefect back out to the Entrance Hall, and through a door on the right, were led down to the dungeons. When they reached a bare stretch of stonewall, the prefect uttered a phrase and it revealed a passageway which led to the Slytherin common room. The password that month, if she recalled correctly, was "cantankerus".

Svea was less in love with the common room than most of her fellow first years, it was nice enough, but rather dark and dreary, much like the Prince Manor she noted. It had similar colourings of dark shades of green and serpentine décor everywhere (if it were up to her, she'd decorate it with dragons). She did, however, adore the large glass windows, and the water behind it, rushing up to it in excitement when a large squid went swishing by. The prefect explained that they were under the Black Lake and sometimes they saw creatures more interesting than the Giant Squid swim by the windows. 

The first night would've ended without incident, but her future bestie just had to be dramatic and get into a physical fight with a seventh year.

"Well, that was dramatic," she commented once the seventh year fell to the floor. "Anyway, where's our stuff and where do we sleep?" Looking back, it was probably impressive that an 11 year old could easily defeat a 17 year old, but meh. She was tired, and she really needed her phone. How can you expect someone to sleep without the honey smooth voices of Eurovision performers?

The year went by quite quickly. Her hair only remained valyrian silver for about a month, before reverting back to her natural gold, and as expected, she ended all her classes with top marks. She enjoyed History of Magic and Potions the most in her first year. Whilst mostly a positive year, she did make some pureblood fervent enemies, but she is not going allow such idioticy to stand in her house. Slytherins are intelligent and cunning, not backwards morons. She recalled Syn dropping out of the sky at point to defend her from a pureblood's oh so hurtful words. But as they say, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words from an idiot do nothing. It was also the first year she celebrated her birthday without her biological family (not including either of the Princes'), she did, however, still have Syn and Hvitty, and a whole new bunch of friends.

Speaking of said friends, time to pull out of memory lane and jump back into the present. With Lili's hair done, and hers' also, once again, done up in Khalessi style (also dyed silver again, she would've dyed Lili's hair too, but the little Swede-Ruski said no), anyway, with their hair finally done, the two siblings went down into the courtyard. The entire Sauvageon estate was decorated in greenery as they were celebrating Midsummer, and before the traditional Sauvageon ball in the evening, they had invited a bunch of friends (mainly Svea's and some of Lili's new friends) to participate in the traditional maypole dance. The Lothbroks, of course, always came along, Norway celebrated Midsummer too, though with a bonfire instead of dancing around a maypole, so weird (that's sarcastic, Sweden is obvs the weirdo here). Minah, and Eloise, and Damien, of course, came along, well, the latter two of whom had to be somewhat dragged along, Eloise on the excuse of "observing" the activities of "lesser" beings. And where went M and E, always came T and T, aka Tyler and Theo or as Svea called the three of them, very much without their permission, zaldrīzes raqiror (translation: dragon friends). Moses and Lyrae had also come, and so had Henry, of course, what kind of awful girlfriend would forget to invite her "paramour" (as Svea preferred labelling him). Numerous adorable siblings had come along as well, Xander Carlyle (who would like to clarify he's Henry's cousin, not brother), Tara Lee, forever shipping Minah with the wrong person; it’s Minah and Tyler forever, not Minah and Sungjae (sorry buddy), whom, by the way, was also invited and showed up. Even Lyra and Oberon Greaves had come along, though they were decidedly less comfortable around Svea and Damien. Also somewhat uncomfortable was Loralei Expura, but as Svea explained, in Sweden, you just eat good food, hold hands, and dance in a circle around a weird pole for some reason. 

---Post-credit scene with the zaldrīzes raqiror---

Theo: *leaning up against a tree* I'm not doing that.

Tyler: come on, it looks fun.

Theo: I don't remember asking for your opinion.

Tyler: you're lucky to have been graced with it.

Svea: *suddenly apparates to where they are* Just shut up and hold hands already, you're killing the vibe!

[mfackenthal]

The MFackenthal Show and @maxattack-powell!

banner by @whenyourheartskipsabeat

Hello all!  Welcome back to the MFackenthal Show!  I am so glad that you are here today.  If you’re new to the show, I encourage you to go here to find past episodes.  There are only a few.

The MFackenthal Show has officially been green lit for more episodes!  We used to only be able to afford to run the show every once in a while, but the people have spoken - they want to see the show more often!  The funding came through and we hope to give the people what they want!  Do you want to be on the show?  Do you have someone that you want to see on the show?  If so - reblog or comment or send a message to let MFackenthal know!  We’ll see what we can do!  We have this show and two others lined up for you!

I could not be more excited to bring you this next guest.  She has been with the fandom for quite a while.  She was one of the first people I started communicating with on a regular basis.  She has talked me up, supported me from the beginning and though she hasn’t written much lately - when she does drop a chapter - it’s long and it’s worth it!  Please welcome to the stage @maxattack-powell!!!!!  (Insert Cheering here!)

(Megs greets Max with a hug - which means that Megs essentially runs and leaps into Max’s arms.  Max is fairly tall and Megs is barely 5′3″) 

Megs:  Max, I am so happy that you are here!  Can you believe that you’re here today?

Max:  Haha, yes - I can.  But I am honored to be here.

Megs:  Max, sit with me.  For those in the audience who may not know you, tell us about when and why you joined the fandom.

Max: Yanno, I always made my best guess at this before, but I knew you were going to ask me this - so I looked it up.  Did you know that now there’s this Official Tumblr blog called @memories, and it knows down to the minute when someone joined? Let me go check it… *digs through the blogs posts* Okay, it was apparently 07/31/2017 at 1:17:15 PM, which means it must have been on the weekend because of the time of day haha.

As for why ... hmm, well… I found the Choices app one day, when it only had like… three series I think! Anyone else remember that time? 

Megs:  I do!  Because I was playing Hollywood University I think I downloaded choices the day the app came out.

Max: Awh!  Well, I fell in love with The Freshman Series. Mostly because of Chris Powell and Zack Zilberg, and a long time ago I was in another fandom that had tons of fan fiction/art… so I googled “Choices Chris Powell” and any other combination I could think of looking for possible fanfiction. The fandom was almost non existent at the time. There was actually one person, who has long since left the fandom due to fandom dramas - we all know the kinds I’m talking about - but a few others had started posting their works as well… and I got hooked. Eventually I felt the bug to write how I felt TF should play out as well, and here I am *looks back at the “joined tumblr timestamp”* uhh… 20ish months ago!  Haha!!

Megs:  LOL, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound like that long ago ... lets call a spade a spade - that was almost 2 years ago!  That’s amazing!  You have to have seen so much in this fandom!  What is it that keeps you around?

Max: There are so many awesome people in this fandom, in this world we’ve all created for our pixelated loves lol. Soooo many creative minds to follow and enjoy. The content people share, original or repost… it’s great. 

... Unfortunately it is also a double edge sword ... the drama, the jealousy, the rumors, the hate, etc. I’ve sadly seen far too much and it comes in so many forms… it’s unnecessary.

Megs:  I couldn’t agree more!  If you could tell the fandom one thing - what would it be?

Max: It would be that we’re all here because we want to have a good time. No one came here to get ridiculed, to be scrutinized or chastised for their opinions, their likes or dislikes. Real life has enough of that going on. We are all individuals - if you want to be treated nicely, fairly, etc. you must also do the same to others. There is no reason someone must agree with you or anyone else. Live and let live. Embrace our differences as it makes us who we are. Most of the issues I see stem from a simple difference in opinion. That is ridiculous. Everyone’s entitled to their own thoughts. We must build each other up, not tear one another down. No one here owes anyone anything, now go have some fun.

(The room stands up in applause!)

Megs:  You should definitely stand up and take a bow, Max! 

(Max does just as Megs suggests - but she also makes Megs stand up and do the same. Laughing, they both sit back down.)

Awh, Max ... okay, let’s get back to you.  We know that you’d fight anyone for the position of The Chris Powell Appreciation/Fan Club.  And for those who don’t know, Max has been retelling the full The Freshman series, interweaving dialogue and plot from PB but also adding much of her own content.  MC and Chris get a backstory.  Chris gets best friends from back home.  What is your favorite piece that you have written?

Max: Oh geez hahaha. Um… can I just say The Freshman Chronicles as a whole? I’ve written for different fandoms, and I have original WIPs but I’ll stick to the Choices fandom for this answer. I’ve put a lot of time into TFC. Tons of additional story work, research on characters and their backgrounds, PBs and my own OCs. You should see my file folder setup haha. It’s crazy… I have so many docs, pictures and gifs. Most organized by location (Hartfeld, Boston, New Haven, Cherryfield, etc.), then by character… and on some I get more detailed and split them by emotion and situation.

Megs: By what again?

Max:  Emotion and Situation ... Yeah. I warned you it was crazy! *laughs* TFC was the reason I joined tumblr really. Instead of staying a Nonny and only reading others posted works. I wanted to comment, like and reblog what I enjoyed, while I also worked on my own contribution to the fandom. I had a vision for Chris and MC that had more than the game could give, and I wanted to see if i was still any good at writing since it had been years and years… it’s funny to see how different my current posts are from my first over a year ago. Makes me want to go update a few because they could use a little help *awkward laugh*

Megs:  I’m sure we can all relate to that!  Hmmm ... I’m starting to get a feel for this, I think, but what is your writing process?

Max:  Lots of planning, mostly in my head. When I feel like I have a decent concept I might type out some notes or work it into my outline (another crazy thing I have going for TFC because it’s so big haha). But usually, once I hatch out a basic plan on where I’m going… I just start typing. Keeping the general plot and main points I want to hit in mind, I simply start typing… keeping it as organic as possible. It usually works out well. 

Megs:  Do you have any advice for other writers?

Max: First, and most importantly… do it because you enjoy it. Don’t do it for likes, reblogs, popularity, etc. If you’re having a good time dreaming things up and typing them out, that’s what’s important. The rest is just an extra bonus. Also, don’t give up. It’s easy to become discouraged, frustrated, distracted and more… but remember - your creative cells can’t be running all the time. They need to rest just like your body. Take breaks… go read, play games, hang out with friends/family, watch a movie… whatever. Just do something to help you relax, to reset and you’ll very probably find inspiration and/or motivation to continue. Remember, this is for fun. *wink and finger guns*

Megs: So what do you do for fun?

Max: I actually have a few things I do regularly. A big one is making costumes/props for conventions, small productions, etc. I also train and show horses. I do the same with my dogs, but more for competitions and not really any shows. I’ve always drawn, sculpted, painted since I was old enough to hold things with my hands… and about a year ago I started learning how to do it digitally as well. I run (not at all for fun haha) and play hockey (totally for fun), follow comics and watch anime. I've restored houses, cars and old furniture. I like to read as much as I can - that’s an important one. I also play video games. Something I’ve done since I was young… I've even competed, and won, a few gaming tournaments.

Megs:  You don’t know how to be bored do you?

Max: LOL, Megs.  Yeah, um, so there’s a “few” *makes air quotes* of my never ending list of interests haha. Gives me a lot to talk about with people, eh?

Megs: Not that I can understand how you’d have time for this ... but what do you do to help pay for your many activities?

Max:  Oh like, my job? Well that can be a simple answer… like “I work in software” but the more interesting way to say it is I use my MBA, experience in business, the financial industry and technology to improve and stabilize my customers environment through technological solutions that fit their specific needs. *presses lips together* I solve problems by designing solutions. Bored yet? Hahaha.

Megs:  No!  That sounds wonderful!  Who doesn’t want their stuff to be designed better?  Any chance you could start working for tumblr?  Some of us have a few complaints ... tags ... mobile losing our work ...

Max:  I’m not sure they could pay me enough to help them with all of their problems!  But, tumblr, feel free to send me an offer!

Megs:  Seriously - send her a 6 figure offer!

Max:  Okay, Megs, well now I have a question for you.

Megs: Uhhhh, Max, that’s not exactly how this is supposed to go. 

Max:  Yeah, don’t care.  Your fans need to know ... Hoooow do you find the time to read and review so much?! And I know that’s just in this fandom.  I know you read books and you may read for other fandoms!?  Seriously, it’s awesome. We need to clock your page flipping speed haha.

Megs:  *blushes* Oh my gosh, you have to stop!  Here’s the key to how I do it ... I wake up at 5:30am and read for about 30 minutes.  Then I workout and start my day.  I read in line at the grocery stores.  I read on my breaks at work. 

Max:  Oh my gosh - you’re such a nerd and I love that!  Okay, nerd, what is your favorite thing to do, besides reading all the things of course?

Megs: This show, of course!  And, of course, getting people to do silly things on this show with me.  For instance - with as athletic as you are, I hear you can’t jump? 

Max:  Megs, shhhhh.  You told me you weren’t going to bring that up.

Megs:  I did no such thing! (Meg says while laughing) I said I might not bring it up.

Max:  Uh huh.

(Kris Kross’s “Jump” starts playing in the studio)

Megs:  Come on - show me what you’ve got! 

(Megs starts “singing” along and jumping along with the song. Max stays seated.  Megs finally pulls Max up into a standing position. Max plays along and “jumps” next to Megs - getting no air at all.)

Oh, come on Max - put some real strength in to it.  Jump! Jump! Jump!

(Max jumps and gets the smallest amount of air time.)

Max:  *laughing* Megs - I’m tall!  I don’t need to jump to reach things!

Megs:  *laughing* That must be nice.  I got good at this type of jumping because I had to learn to jump up and gently grab things from the grocery so I didn’t knock everything down.

*continuing to jump around the audience - getting everyone to join her* And that’s all for the show today today, folks!  Thank you for watching!!  Have a great night!

[fleetofshippyships-archive]

WIP tag meme

aaah, I was tagged over 2 months ago by @parkkate O.O sorry for not doing this sooner @parkkate​ XD I’ve been offline for a few months! Just now catching up on everything I missed! but I’m ignoring asks for now because my inbox is a mess

The Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

I’m gonna cheat and only do this for my drarry wips, since I post everything else on another account now, and tbh I have so many drarrys it’s still gonna be a long ass post XD

Oh man *sweats nervously* I’m a bit of a hoarder in all aspects of my life...I don’t even know where to begin! 

I’m not tagging anyone cos I was tagged 2 months ago and I have no idea who has and hasn’t done this and don’t want to be a pain. But if you wanna do it, go a head, and please tag me so I can be nosy and hopefully find someone with a wip problem as bad as my own so I can be less embarrassed XD

Also I’m putting this under a cut for reasons

1. 4th year au idea 

Sooooo, right off the bat, I often open a new file to jot down an idea even though I have docs specifically to dump ideas...and then at some point during the process of jotting down basic details of the idea...I start writing it....? This is one such occurrence...but I had to open it to check...and now I want to keep writing it XD

But also yikes it’s super dark

2. ... 4th year au idea

I swear, this is an entirely different wip and I am going ‘wtf’ at myself because wtf that’s confusing! I had also totally forgotten the existence of this before opening it....probably because of the name of it and the only reason I apparently have 2 files the exact same name is that one is a word doc and one is a libre office doc XD

3. drarry character death idea

Soooo, I need to stop turning idea files into wips without changing the names because I actually forget they are wips apparently

Also, I really want to finish this RIGHT NOW IT HURTS SO GOOD GIMME GIMME GIMME

4. Veela fic followup

LOL LOL LOL I’m rewriting my veela fic so I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to end up doing with this XD I might have to try and merge it with the re-write if the story has a similar outcome when I’m done. or maybe I’ll just turn this into its own thing....

5. Veela fic present tense

I really need to get back to working on this, this is actually the full re-write that re-doing the tenses spawned...I was binge writing this before my life went to hell but then my life went to hell and I went offline for like three months and didn’t do any writing or anything XD

although, the last time I looked at it I got the itch to change it back to past tense so who fucking knows what I’ll do with it now

6. Veela fic Draco pov

Curse my obsession with alternate povs of the same story and Draco for being such a good angsty pov

7. Veritaserum idea start

At least this one has ‘start’ in it so I know it is in fact a wip and not just an idea outline XD

7. Veritaserum

So, turns out I started that fic over in a new file and just left the old one lying around XD I do that too often. I should delete that other one...

Also...this better not turn into another ‘Amortentia’ with me unable to think of a fucking title and going with the file name because lame

This is also my first time trying to do god’s eye 3rd person instead of 3rd person pov...also first time trying to do this weird structure thing...I dunno but I like it XD

8.  CTS followup

9. CTS sequel

Two separate followups set at different times in the same story verse... I hate myself. I love them both. I can’t pick which one to stop writing so I’m gonna keep them both around and try and make them merge at some point...

10. MMB saying sorry

11. another erase the shame

12. next erase the shame

I work on followups and lose interest so often (usually because people bug me for followups and I get very ‘fuck you’ about it and stop writing them...but I keep them around and tinker with them every now and then soooo they’re still technically wips

13. Tea and Coffee oneshot series (Tea and Coffee, Coffee and Dark Marks, The Cottage Kitchen, next untitled one)

There’s also a present tense version of the first one of those *sweats nervously* first 3 are finished, of course, but my original purpose is lost to them becoming a long fic soo....gonna merge them into one long fic soon...once I decide what tense I like better......kill me now

14. Communion of the Soul (folder name)

This is the sequel to One Touch and this is spread across 5 files because apparently I did that and even though each time I got to work on it I have to figure out which file holds which part of the sequel timeline and which I feel like working on...I have yet to merge them into one file to make my life easier...

15. Crumbling Facade

ugh working on this always makes me want to re-write restraint and actually put in the major plot line, or what was supposed to be Harry’s major plot line before the relationship crap got away from me and I had to cut out all the plot stuff because by the time I got around to addressing it, it started reading like a completely different fic and I had to cut a huge chunk and end it instead, because back then I sucked more than I do now and couldn’t juggle

sooo...I still work on this in starts and stops and then get frustrated for having to stick to Restraint’s chain of events when I have better ideas now for working in Harry’s plot about his damn magic problem and ARRGEHGEHGFVEDHDBVUIOFNBFKDB EFBVJ

I should just let Crumbling Facade take me where it wants to take me and fuck Restraint

16. Potter’s Insatiable Heart

This is my longest wip at 130k XD and I’m stalling now because if I keep going with it where I was intending to go it will end up my longest fic and I’m getting intimidated by the length and how much work it will be to edit that long of a fic so I just go in and write a few paragraphs now and again, get scared of the length and move on to another wip XD

I also periodically binge read this bitch because I love it to death even though it’s severely flawed XD

17. Corset Drarry

oh boy, when I started writing this this I was weirded out by writing a kink I didn’t understand and kind of tailed off and left it...then I did kinktober for voltron and now I’m laughing at myself because corsets and lingerie is so fucking tame after that kinktober list and all the the crap I wrote for it XD

18. Music in the Periphery

Emily bugs me about finishing this a lot...I bug me about finishing it, progress is non-existent because I have a clear plan for it and when I have a clear plan I can’t write for shit

19. Saying Sorry (Round 2) (MMB)

I gotta kick that habit of starting over with something but keeping the first attempt and still working on it parallel to the second attempt, because then I wind up with 2 fics too similar to each other to post both and I’m completely unable to pick which one I like more *facepalm*

Also, MMB is dead if I can’t stop turning the next fic attempts into angst, I just look at that big fluffy mess and want to angst it all up

20. scrapped MMB ficlets - theo’s letter

not technically drarry thought the greater series is drarry...torn between making it mmb or making it its own fic for a rare pair

21. Weather the Storm

*cries* my 6th year war au, I have such plans for this, but the plans get in the way of writing =(

22. Soulmate AU (folder name)

fucking hell, this is 10+ files and I’m not naming all of them, current count is 5 completed versions 60k+ each, 1 incomplete alternate version, all of which I’m seriously unsatisfied with, none of which I can bear to delete, all of which I periodically go and tinker with, thus leaving them all wips i’m such a fucking hoarder but also I have never gotten over all the awful comments that were on the original soulmate fic on ffnet before my purge and now I can’t ever be satisfied unless it is perfect and wont result in such horrible comments again

23. Turnabout (folder name)

Once again, multiple wips in here of the same 60k finished fic I’ve been unhappy with since the moment I finished it and keep trying to fix by starting over and changing things here and there to change the course of the story. Honestly ready to hit the delete button with this one unless my latest attempt pans out, liking it so far buuuut I’m a mess about my writing so who knows

In the Ways that Matter was based off this fic XD

24. Dependency 

Oh boy, I abandoned this cos it was so dark I got too uncomfortable writing it...I’ve since started revisiting it after being in the Voltron fandom gave me a new tolerance range for dark content XD

Plan on posting this on anon if I ever finish it, obviously changing the title XD it stopped being relevant after the first 30k anyway 

25. Dependency V2

LOL light version of the above that removes most of the dark aspects while maintaining the core plot, but I’m finding it a bit dull XD not sure how long I’ll keep trying to chug along with it

26. *censored title*

hahahaha omg why is this in a different subfolder, this is actually one of the soulmate au ones only it’s actually a spin off au of the original soulmate one I from ffnet and therefore it’s new ground and I’m less unhappy with it

.....I’m probably going to stop working on turnabout today and work on this instead now

(censoring the name because I might post this on anon because I’m too scared to post another drarry soulmate fic under my own name)

27. Retrospection

Sooo, I’m always on and off this fic cos it triggers my anxiety and depression, but fuck that I want to write it so I keep trying XD

I’m also thinking of splitting the two main plots and only going with 1 and using the other to write another story....see if that eases how difficult it is for me to write without self triggering

28. Sequel to mornings

29. Sunrise (loose prequel to mornings)

30. Surrender

I had no idea what this was, opened it and then holy shit THIS BITCH, THIS SLOW BURN FRIENDS TO LOVERS PIECE OF BULLSHIT. I DON’T WRITE SLOW BURN! I DON’T WRITE FRIENDS TO LOVERS. I REFUSE.

but also I really really really love what I wrote so far and now I’m itching to write more *cries* making this list is leaving me with so many open files to work on

31. day 2 ass worship

32. day 3 sensory deprivation

*laughs nervously* the kinktober oneshots that starting turning into a long fic hahahaha cos I really needed more wips

33. Perception of Angels

*wistful sigh* one day I will be able to finish a heavily plot driven story full of fantasy elements and creatures and magic I made up, and when that day somes, Perception of Angels....or that timetravel war au drarry fic idea I have sitting around.....which isn’t on this list only cos I’m not stupid enough to start writing it

So that’s all the drarry files in my wip folder.... I also have heaps more for other ships and fandoms, but I’m keeping that separate =)

And...now I have some writing to go do, cos after 2 months of being unable to write thanks to the bullshit in my life, I started binge writing again 2 days ago =) and opening a few of these to remind myself what they were has a lit a fire under my ass

[myqueendomawaits]

Hey Guys!

From fete to fete to fete to mas, partying non stop.

We have pre-carnival fetes as early as May, however if it’s one weekend you need to be here for it is the one leading up to parade day. Check out my Carnival Vibes 2017 post to see the comparison. New promoters came on the scene this year to make this weekend even more action filled. Before, people would complain about not having anything to do or why we couldn’t be like the bigger islands (Trinidad/Barbados) and have parties back to back, well now we’re starting to.

Carnival in Antigua

The list of official events for Carnival (There were date changes for some events)

Let’s see how I tackled this weekend! [August 3rd – August 7th]

So I was tempted to take Thursday off but didn’t wanna waste my vacation day *lol*. I also have unofficial “sick” days, but still would it be worth it? If you’re here during the week, on Thursday there’s a boat cruise: Drink till yuh Weak. I actually didn’t hear much people talking about it this year, before or after. I know I saw one person complaining about the time they left the docks, but that’s about it. Funny thing is I actually got the option to go after work (4:30p.m.) but passed on it.

FRIDAY: DUCK WORK, DRIPPING, MELTING POT

First up was DUCK WORK. As you guessed it from the name, the whole mission of this fete is to “duck” (skip) work on that day to party. I actually took a day and ducked work completely just to experience the full vibe of this fete. It’s a BBAC (Bring a Bottle & Come) fete with also a small monetary contribution. It’s a small-scale fete, but still a good time. There was complimentary seasoned rice which unfortunately ran out as we made it to the top of the line. Different food items were on sale however at only select times. Overall, the vibes were good and the music & drinks kept flowing.

I didn’t make it to the other two events; however Dripping was a pool party featuring DJ Puffy and Melting Pot was a concert with different Caribbean artists. This year they had Machel Montano, Jahmiel, Secreto and other local artists.

SATURDAY: RISE, BLUSH, FAHRENHEIT

RISE, the first of its kind, is a day break event powered by paint, powder, water and SOCA. By the time I saw it advertise I knew it was a must for me. I’m a soca junkie and got my fill of soca music at this event. The dancehall, reggae and hip hop tunes didn’t come until towards the end where I was just about to leave. The fete started at midnight and I got there around 1:30 a.m., I was shocked at the amount of people already there and how the vibes were. Usually, people walk into a fete late and it takes forever to get the vibes started. It was vibes from beginning to end for me even with the unwanted pushing and soaking with water/paint. The only downside was the wait to get food and drinks. There was complimentary food from 12-3 a.m., however, it was only one station and the line was way too long. I felt like I was missing out on the vibes especially when songs I liked were being played.

For more pictures from the event, click here Pictures by Two6Eight Promotions

BLUSH, another new event on the scene is an all-inclusive brunch event themed to all shades of pink. When the flyer released I was definitely interested however my liming buddies for the weekend weren’t. Fahrenheit was a headphone party and I actually never been to one but I opted out at the very end.

Also, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage all three of the events listed for Saturday as that was the initial plan. Thus I only ended up at one and slept for the rest of the day. Definitely not about this fete life.

SUNDAY: BREAKFAST FETE, SOCA MONARCH

The Original Breakfast Fete is the ultimate all-inclusive fete. If you read my post from last year, you’d get the gist of everything this fete has to offer. It starts at 4:00 a.m. and was to go until 3:00 p.m. but I’m not sure what time it actually ended because I left after 5/6. Sadly, the bar did close at 3 though.

Picture by Solo Photography

The set up this year was a little different with where the stage was and the bar access, I actually enjoyed it. There was seating available by the food section, but not as much as last year and also lounge options around the speciality bars. My drink of choice for the day was a Cosmopolitan with Grey Goose Vodka.

As usual the food lines were extremely long, but I managed to finesse my way into a variety of food such as KFC, Goddard Catering, Chicken & Bread, Chicken Pasta, and Fried Wings. More food options were definitely available but the wait time would have been ridiculous (due to the amount of people present.)

The fete featured a wide range of performances all of which I can’t remember *lol*. From Calypso to Soca music, both regional and local. Mighty Swallow, David Rudder, Baron, Peter Ram, Patrice Roberts, Orlando Octave, Erphaan Alves, Ricardo Drue, Tian Winter etc. You can check out my IG Carnival Story for snippets of the action.

Last year we did the Antigua Flag, this year we tried something different.

Picture by Trini Jungle Juice

MONDAY: JOUVERT, MAS

So, unfortunately I skipped Jouvert this year. The one year they actually had a pink shirt and more paint/powder. My jouvert troupe of choice would have been Caut!on.

Mas with Myst Carnival

Before we got on the road there was costume pickup. This happened the Friday before Carnival for my section, even though I was annoyed about this I didn’t take it on too much. The process also took about an hour, because it was crowded and felt like the organizers weren’t moving with haste. I had no problems with my costume, and their was also a goodie bag provided. The goodie bag was actually a fanny pack which would have been great on the road; inside there was lotion, sunscreen, glitter, gems, makeup remover, vitamin c, sanitary wipes and so much more. You can tell thought went into it.

Myst Monday – Definitely the best Monday of the year and the best Monday Mas experience I have ever had. As usual I met them at the lunch spot to ensure I ate before the action started. The food was okay, nothing to complain about and there were also many options to choose from. There was a live pasta station and a dessert section. At the venue there’s a refresher station where you can get hydrated, fix your make-up etc, as well as an area for massages.

The sun was blazinggg, so I definitely always had a bottle of water in hand. My drink choice on the road was English Harbor 10-year-old; I had no queries with the bar and always got my drinks in good time. The route started and ended at the Police Recreation Grounds and we crossed the stage some time after 6, so by then the sun was getting ready to set. From then, the jamming went to another level, there was a mixture of dancehall and soca to keep the vibes up. I can’t point out what exactly made Monday the better day, but it was vibes! We finished around 8:30 p.m. and I wanted more.

Carnival in Antigua

Hair by my sister & me: Protective Style: DIY Faux Locs Monday Wear by Needle & Threadz Makeup by Artistry by H.A.M

TUESDAY: MAS

The final day! What I love about this day is simply being in costume. Also, the food options were better on this day despite one minor mishap. We also received Haagen Dazs ice cream on the road, along with a variety of chips options.

Carnival in Antigua

To be honest, when they launched the costumes on social media, I hated most of them but somehow the black was calling my name. After seeing them in person at the mas camp, I was tempted to switch but stayed with my first option. The yellow my friend wore was definitely the “Hot Gal” section on the road though.

The theme for this year was Celestials. My section of choice – Noctis

Now to wait for next year!

As for the music on both days, it was a good thing I particularly liked 2018 soca music from across the region. To me, the most popular songs were Top Striker, Funky Business, Back Bend and Di Party Lit. Only on Tuesday we heard more of our local music like Total Oblivion and Out Deh. Even though our (Antiguan) 2018 soca songs may not have been up to par, music from previous years were hardly played.

A major plus for me for this year’s Carnival is the amount of recognition our festival was finally getting around the region and internationally. We had various media houses to include Trini Jungle Juice and Bajan Tube. There was also CDE Events who came for the weekend before with people from the UK and USA to include some pretty known youtubers and social media personalities. From since then I’ve actually seen individuals on twitter list Antigua as a carnival option for the coming years. It has been a struggle for us seeing as Cropover is held during the same time.

Carnival is always my favorite time of year. I truly can’t wait to experience it in another island.

Budgeting:

Roughly to do all the events during this weekend, I’ll budget USD $480 (excluding mas). However note that there is an option for purchasing early bird tickets as well as VIP options. The average price for an all/drinks inclusive fete is USD $65 regular, $112 VIP. To play mas the average price USD $500 – $800 for two days, depending on how extra you want to be (aka backline vs Queen of the Band).

More or less, that’s already USD $1000+ excluding airfare, so once you’ve decided that Antigua is the place to be, book your ticket EARLY! Also, add in extra for transportation, accommodation and food; most of the fetes are only drinks inclusive and you’d definitely want a snack after pumpin’ for so long.

If you have any questions about anything, don’t be shy! Ask me in the comments or use my contact form.

    Carnival Vibes 2018 Hey Guys! From fete to fete to fete to mas, partying non stop. We have pre-carnival fetes as early as May, however if it's one weekend you need to be here for it is the one leading up to parade day.

[notdeadjusttrash-blog]

My Friend has been Falsely Accused of Tracing So I Will Defend Him

Okay I accidentally deleted the blog I posted this one because I’m a dumbass, so I’ll just repost it here even though I don’t use this blog anymore, but apparently I still have followers. Bless caches because I was able to get this back from google caches so I don’t have to retype everything. I added further evidence and refutes to claims that were not in my original post btw.

Anyways, I am making this post to help out my good friend @5ru9 aka Falco who has been recently accused of tracing/copy pasting other people’s / official art!

I’ve known Falco for over 3 years, and we’ve grown as artists together. Once in a while we give each other advice on art (thanks for the mech and armor advice and teaching me how you line and color!), but most of the time we just meme each other.

Anyways, a lot of people have pointed out that they’ve seen him livestream before, and he’s already posted some of his block outs and other wips as proof that he does not trace in his post here:

http://5ru9.tumblr.com/post/168277137427/hello-i-have-been-informed-about-a-callout-post

To further prove his claim with solid evidence, I shall present to you!

Times he’s asked for advice on his art, or I randomly decided to mention things I notice in his WIPs!

Exhibit A-1:

A Tenkai Knight he made up! I pointed out a few things I thought were awkward about the perspective in his WIP.

Exhibit A-2:

He started working on this way back in July and didn’t finish it until much later because he was working on several other pieces at the same time. I suggested lowering the eyebrows and drawing the eyes a bit narrower to get more of the playful expression he was aiming for. In his final piece here, you can see that Falco continued to refine the piece.

By the way! The reason he sometimes posts a lot of detailed artworks one shortly after the other is because he sometimes works on multiple pieces at once! And then finishes coloring them around the same time.

Exhibit A-3

Falco and I spent good time trying to figure out why he felt like something was wrong with his sketch! I thought maybe it was the trapezius and I decided to red line (or blue line i guess) it so it’d be easier for him to see approximately where i thought the line should go to fix it.

Exhibit A-4:

The gif-ing process turned white bg into blue… anyways! Falco showed me an early version of his Tenkai Knights OC that he eventually used in an April Fool’s joke to pass off as a new character in the series. He mastered the tenkai style enough that at first glance, people really did believe it was official! Like you had to get a good look to realize Shiyu was not really a real new character! Btw I had to go into my old twitter acc to find this…. (Edit: the gif wasn’t working bc it was too big so i had to make it smaller… and choppier and stuff to fit the mb max)

Well now that brings us into!!!

Exhibit B

Some of his old art!! (I’m so sorry falco i’ll be exposing your ancient art to ppl now)

Here you can see his progress from 2014 Tenkai fan art to early 2015! It starts looking more and more like the official art, which is what he was going for.

For reference, here’s what the character Ceylan Jones/Washizaki looks like:

I blocked out fan art by everyone except falco (which i marked) that shows up in this google search. Everything else is official art. The two fan arts by falco you see here are more recent, the angel one being from 2016 and the chicken one from 2017 (i think he also made a version with sonic instead of the chicken? lol). They’re both on his dA accounts btw! The 2017 one really looks like official art, doesn’t it? But it’s his artwork! He practiced a LOT to reach that point, and I hope the earlier arts I showed above this one are enough to convince you in his art progression! Side note: i only used images w/ceylan because 1. i’m biased because ceylan is my favorite character and 2. he drew ceylan a lot because ceylan is his favorite character Also you can see his handle change from s3iwashi to burningbraven. 5ru9 is is a pretty recent handle.

ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THE TENKAI FANDOM FOR A WHILE CAN VOUCH FOR HIM!!!!!

And now for the last one,

Exhibit C

WHAT? WHO IS THIS???

This is my favorite character from a Chinese series called AOTU World! His name is Grey, or 格瑞。I commissioned Falco to draw Grey for me, and let me tell you it would be IMPOSSIBLE for him to have copied any of this. Why? Because the donghua is 3D and the manhua’s art is very inconsistent!

Let me show you the reference pictures I gave him to work with!

They’re all in my gdrive folder here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CqwH5KS-pHX0ZqLHQpoIZBi6W-gsU_Tz

This is all official art from the manhua, except the 3D model is from the donghua. Look at how inconsistent the references are! There’s no way he could have copy and pasted or traced this! Grey doesn’t even do this particular pose anywhere. lol. I told Falco “give him a cool sword pose”. (I’m sorry for being so vague, Falco! But it turned out great!!) The style he ended up drawing in was a mixture of all of them.

Btw!! here’s the blockout and the sketch he sent me before I sent my payment for the commission!! You can see his construction in the block out!! The arm construction and leg construction is light, but it’s there. You can also see the block out below the sketch. Notice he actually fixed the leg length from block out -> sketch?

ARGUMENTS AGAINST SPECIFIC ACCUSATIONS

LOOK, thte actual drawing doesn’t even match the sprites that closely. Pay attention to the collar especially. The whole frankensteining the image and then painting over it thing is just way more effort than drawing it himself. They don’t even match that well in the overlays. Like wow it’s such a crime to try and stay on model.

WHO WOULD EVEN NEED TO TRACE A MOUTH LIKE THAT? IT’S SO EASY TO DRAW. I CAN DRAW IT PERFECTLY JUST BY LOOKING AT IT. (well i AM an animator so I also do style mimicking)

Doesn’t the fact that you have to edit the sprites to match his artwork prove that you’re just a tryhard in making up fake evidence and not a tryhard enough at art since you think it’s so impossible for people to draw characters on model?

Yes he referenced the broom and possibly the heels from this image, but your overlays for the leg and arms are disingenuous and you know it. The leg positions are different, and the overlay doesn’t even match up. Face tracing also makes no sense. You literally stretched the mouth to try and make it fit but it still doesn’t fit. Do you really think it’s that hard to draw mouths and eyes in the DR style? DR faces are really simple to emulate. Also you fool, if you follow Falco’s artwork enough, you’d realize the way he draws bodies is actually rather consistent even as he does different styles. Especially when it comes to hands. His way of drawing hands is how I recognize his art and know right away it’s his art and not official art or a trace (also his coloring style). The heels he drew are also reminiscient of how he typically draws shoes/feet. he draws them bulkier. The other art has dainty heels. At most he referenced how backside works because he’s used to drawing sneakers.

Also come on, if all you referenced from an image was a broom because you liked the style (his is also clearly drawn by himself since you can’t overlay it on the other one. like i said he mostly used the style as a reference for how-to-broom) and you referenced pieces from many other images, are you going to list every single thing you referenced? While yeah it’d be nice to, it’s a little ridiculous to expect all 5-20 references whenever they post the image. It’s a thing where, if someone asks, you’d tell them, but it’s too much to list all of it. This isn’t a 20 page thesis.

If it’s such a crime, then holy shit sue all those people who parody other people’s comics and sue everyone who dares!!! to ever draw something remotely similar to someone else. Dang.

Art doesn’t live in a vacuum.

Okay, this one is just plain stupid. You distorted the sprite to match it up with his, but what would be the point for him to distort it just to trace? Also if he traced, can you explain the rest of the fingers that are drawn nicely but clearly different from the sprite? Also the thumbs don’t even match up. His faces more downward while the sprite is facing more forward. Also explain the turned body in Falco’s sketch, then!! And the hair! OH WAIT YOU CAN’T EXPLAIN IT BY ANY OTHER WAY THAN HE DREW IT HIMSELF!!! BECAUSE NO SPRITES MATCH IT AND YOU CAN’T FIND ANY SPRITES TO DISTORT ENOUGH TO EVEN GET CLOSE TO MAKING FAKE EVIDENCE FOR IT.

By the way, the style he drew it in is closer to the drv3 than this sprite. while it’s pretty much the same style as the older games, drv3′s art is more refined than the older games. Falco’s art is also more refined as you can see. (wow not only did falco’s art improved from back when we first met; even professional artists improve. shocker. /s)

Dude what the hell? The overlays don’t even match up even ifi you tried to frankenstein them. And these are really common poses at really common angles, and once again, must every single thing we reference from be listed in the description of every place we post an image? Let me just list all 30 videos and 50 images i used as reference for one of my prints. jfc.

As for the saihara animation based on the digimon opening animation? It was pretty clear to everyone that it’s some kind of parody. Many people when making parody animations don’t mention the original video either?? It’s a fun thing for fans of the franchise to recognize the reference themselves. Yes he could have said it was the digimon opening on the description, but at least he didn’t say he thought of the idea himself? And if you talk to him about the animation, he will openly tell you it’s from digimon. And the fact that you think it’s a trace despite how much the overlays do NOT work out is practically proof that you’re just doing this maliciously and hoping that saying he traces enough with shoddy evidence will make people believe you.

ALSO PEOPLE LITERALLY TRACE ANIMATIONS TO MAKE PARODIES OF, DOWN THE STYLE WHERE ALL THEY CHANGE IS THE HAIR AND OUTFIT, AND YET SOMETHING WITH DIFFERENCES EVEN DOWN TO THE STYLE LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING YOU THINK IS A TRACE? Do you need a new pair of glasses?

I was gonna ignore this one because it was the same as a lot of the others, but you literally erased Falco’s face line so it would match the sprite, and you covered the bigger boobs Falco gave her, and totally ignored that the angle doesn’t even match properly. Like you covered parts of his sketch in your overlay just to make it look more like it matches, but if you actually fucking overlayed it correctly, even with squashing it, it won’t fit. (Also sorry to point this out Falco, but the circles on your goggle lenses are too small compared to the sprite; Maybe if you actually traced like this person claims you’re doing, they’d be perfectly like the sprite. OH BUT WAIT YOU DREW IT YOURSELF SO OF COURSE THERE’S SOME DIFFERENCES. JUST LIKE HOW EVEN THOUGH ALL YOUR OTHER WORKS ARE REALLY CLOSE TO THE STYLE AND PRETTY MUCH ON MODEL, THEY’RE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME WITH THE SPRITES! SHOCKER...!)

HOLY FUCK. I already pointed out and gave evidence that Falco started on the Nier Automata drawing waaaaaaay before he posted the actual picture. The 2 sketches are sketches! They don’t take a super long time. I busted out 10 inktobers in 1 day. (thumbnails of my artwork below)

Look I even even lined and colored 5 fairly detailed chibis in 1 day (i did the sketches earlier though. btw i hand drew the plaid on ray. it was annoying)

At the moment I have 5 wips. They’ll likely all be done around the same time. I know Falco often has multiple wips as well, and sometimes he also finishes some of them close to each other. Some artists (like my friend Fish) can pump out extremely detailed paintings in less than a day. WOW some artists can draw at a fairly fast rate. WHO KNEW? (manga artists in weekly magazines pump out 15-20 pages of manga in a week)

He’s still developing a style; he’s mostly doing style mimics of series he likes in the mean time.

At the moment he’s mostly experimenting with the drv3 style, but he was practicing p5 earlier. By the way, he DESIGNED a phantom outfit for mishima. Who the heck would he copy that from? He made it up because he loved mishima and wanted to make him part of the gang in some AU fan art. Mishima doesn’t have artwork like this for him to trace, so it should be obvious it’s his own work.

And the pokemon and crash bandicoot ones are actually not that close. The pokemon one looks like a good attempt at imitating the pokemon style, but since he hasn’t practiced it enough, you can tell it’s a little off model because, well, he drew it himself and doesn’t practice the pokemon style a lot. Same with the crash one. Had it been a trace, with his level of control over his lines (which you can’t refute), it would have been much closer.

And you act like it’s a crime to imitate others’ art style. It’s really not. What is wrong with you? Do you want to slow down animation production by only letting the character designer draw everything? Or do you want animation where the art has 0 semblance of consistency because all the artists draw in vastly different styles? lol. What do you have against artists that try to stay on model?

LOL THIS IS ONE IS SO STUPID WHERE DO I EVEN START?

Oh, I KNOW. Why don’t I do that same pose with my own hands?

IT’S A MIDDLE FINGER, YOU IDIOT.

Just because YOU don’t know basic anatomy and can’t tell a middle finger from a pinky, doesn’t mean everyone else is as incompetent as you. He wasn’t doing the rock-on hand pose (sry idk if that pose actually has a name lol), and he’s drawn the rock-on hand pose properly before.

Closing statement

I believe I covered a lot of things and provided a lot of evidence here that Falco and his other friends did not cover in his defense against the false accusations.

I even added more counter arguments in this repost because apparently my original post wasn’t enough to convince people.

Perhaps the person calling him out meant well (no, I doubt it because they made a new side blog just to diss him because they knew if they did it on their actual blog, they’d be called out for being a jerk), but they did not do enough digging to find out if their claims were true or not (and they probably know well enough that they MADE UP THEIR EVIDENCE).

If you’re going to make a call out post, please make triple sure sure of everything before you accuse people. Talk to them first. Talk to those who know them too.

Many jobs require you to be able to draw characters exactly in the style given. Animators for example! There are multiple animators working on one series, and they all need the skill to draw consistently! Some games also have teams that need to be able to draw in the same style so they don’t have to leave everything up to one person. Comic artists often have assistants that help them draw background characters, but those background characters can’t be too different from the main style either.

As for the people who believed the call out post before, it’s perfectly understandable. I am also guilty of falling for similar posts in the past. Due to that, I decided it was best to double check before retweeting (i say retweet because i use twitter far more than tumblr these days. heck i almost never post anything on this blog) things, and if i wasn’t sure, I would just leave it be.

I hope my post was able to convince you on Falco’s innocence and all his hard work. And if you already believed him but checked out this post anyways… Thanks! ObligatoryPleaseWatchAotuWorld.

And again:

Art does NOT exist in a vacuum. All artists are influenced by each other and MANY artists, especially professionals, use a lot of references, whether it be from photographers, their own pictures, others’ artwork, life, or whatever. We all use many different resources. If you’re going to say that’s wrong, you just dismissed millions of artists in the world.

[valyrianstccl-a]

SHIPPING INFO // Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

REPOST. Don’t reblog.

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE?: I don’t really have an otp. for one the list of ships i have on this blog are excruciatingly  low. i officially only have one right now, a modern one where my muse is a cheating bastard. i mean, it’s a loveless marriage but still...... i do love the internal struggle it causes though.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?: i’m not very comfortable with smut. i know it’s a fact, but i hate that my brain child gets more play than i do lol. & i know it kind of goes under the smut category, but rape/non-con is also a big no for me. i mean, if it’s part of a character’s backstory, i’m not saying forget about it completely but if it’s more than a vague reference to something that happened before our characters met, i’m out.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?: it really depends on the verse. any verse set in a medieval-esque timeline, it is not uncommon for a 30-year-old man to marry a 16-year-old girl. smut is already off the table so that doesn’t bother me so much, i’m not going to deny a part of the world it takes place in just because i don’t agree with it. in other verses, as long as they’re both legal or, in the case that one or both aren’t legal, they really need to closer together in age.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?:  with the exception of danaerys, not particularly. i mean, i really love to have some well thought out plots to develop ships in. if i get too swamped with ships, then yeah, i will become more selective bc woman can not live romantics ships alone...

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NSFW?: once certain appendages are being mentioned, yeah it’s now nsfw. also this is basically the part where i would like to skip ahead ( unless the point of it is for something to happen once it gets started/halfway through, but then i’d rather not get into too much detail about the actual sex ).

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH?:   like i said, i officially only have one ship right now. i can tell you what other characters i would like to ship with. the top ship i would like right now is arianne martell because, for one, they are both legal which means they wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells like brannyn would have to with some other ships. they could talk dirty all the time, slap each other’s bums for no reason, and have sexy little wrestling sessions ( yes, i said that. arguments would be so awesome ). for another, brannyn certainly has a thing for subborn people who are ready to fight at the drop of a hat & also want to be loved & showered with affection. lastly, because brannyn has such an immense respect for her aunt, i kind of like the idea of them bonding over that ( i’m assuming arianne would not have many memories of elia, if she has any at all ). also on that list is cersei lannister ( hear me out ). there is the same argument for them both being adults & her being a strong woman but also, if i remember correctly, she still has the connection to rhaegar targaryen & how life would be different if she had married him. one of the big reasons, if not THE reason, cersei keeps aurane waters around is because he looks like rhaegar... except the eyes. which is part of the reason i believe it could kind of work. brannyyn has targaryen eyes & i’m assuming he would also share some structural features with rhaegar. i mean, it would be sooooo toxic. she’d just be in it bc of the lingering desire to be with his brother & he would be suspicious all the time ( i mean, he hates her brother ), and probably a little rough & bitter but since she’s a strong woman he really can’t resist the temptation. then we come to danaerys who, i’ve stated multiple times now, will be restricted to two completely different ship scenarios. if you would like to inquire or volunteer for them please send a message. if you just like posts i don’t know if you’re volunteering or you just like the idea. there is a wide variety of other ships i would be open to, but these are the three big ones i’m going to be constantly begging for tbh lol. also talk to me about polyamourus ships, k bye.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?:  please. i mean if it’s harmless flirting, whatever. if there’s something more to it, i would like to discuss dynamics & such. even if it’s something unrequited, just shoot me a line & let me know. i’m ridiculously easy to confuse sometimes.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?: I do love shipping, however given the stigma original characters tend to have about being these weird sex fantasy machines, i don’t actively go around asking for them. i’m probably down for the ship, but i will either wait until we are better acquainted to bring it up or just hope you make the first move. i am really afraid of perpetuating the idea that my muse is just a piece of meat.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?:  yes

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:   wow. this is a loaded question. i mean, obsession is generally not used as a positive word, & more-or-less seems kind of apathetic. i guess i am somewhere in the middle. i LOVE shipping, but i won’t die if i don’t have any ships.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?: are you ready for a super obscure ship? oberyn x cersei. i decided this was my favourite three or four years ago, when i briefly had an oberyn blog. if you like power couples, i strongly suggest getting on board with this one. c;

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:  well there are three ways. reply to any related posts, send in shipping call memes & come to my im AND YELL AT ME LIKE THIS. i like caps, actually, it makes you seem excited. but yeah, nine times out of ten, i will randomly start sending headcanons and thread ideas.

TAGGED BY:  @secxndstark TAGGING: again, i was tagged in this so long ago, i don’t know who all has done it, so i’m tagging anyone who want to do it.

[canaryatlaw]

Today was pretty awesome. So small group sign ups for my church went live at 7:30 am and they always fill up really fast, so I set my alarm for 7:30 so I could do that and then go back to sleep until 9 when I had to get out of bed. Originally I thought I wasn't gonna be able to do one again because of all my night classes which I was sad about, but being that the mock trial team is heading to one of their competitions this week my Thursday nights will probably be empty now, so I managed to make one of the co-Ed groups work. It's not the one specifically labeled "20s and 30s unmarried" but there's also a whole other section for married couples, so hopefully not everyone in the group will already be dating? That's been my issue haha, everyone at my church is already dating someone, I swear. So my alarm goes off and I go to log onto it on my phone, but the damn page is down, probably because a ton of people tried to log onto it at once. I tried for like 7 more minutes before being like fuck it, I'm going back to sleep so when I woke back up at 9 I logged on again and snagged the last spot in the women's sign ups for that group (they separate it by gender to try and have a balanced number of both in each group) so that was good. Got ready, headed off to church and got there just a bit early, so I ran up to the nursery to make sure things were going alright. It was almost at the end of the 9:30 service at that point, and the 9:30 is always the busiest so I was a little worried about only having two people signed up, but apparently it was a first serve day which means there was a bunch of other people in there belong which was good. So then I went back downstairs and into the 11 o clock service, which it was really nice to be back in. I haven't actually been in the service since before Christmas break, so like a month now, which is just way too long (I just get too easily caught up in wanting to stay with the babies, lol, and then I was home for several weeks too). As I mentioned earlier my awesome pastor went out of his way to say how awesome he thought the women's March was and how he loved that many from our church participated, and very explicitly stated that "if you weren't aware, the church you're attending is not one that allows women to lead, it encourages women to lead." And I mean his wife is the co-lead pastor with him so they definitely live that out and oh my god it was so refreshing to hear something like that actually come from the pulpit. My parents themselves probably wouldn't have had a problem with those comments, but if they were said from the pulpit (or in any context) in their church there would be droves of angry churchgoers banging down the pastor's door and demanding his resignation (and I'm not even kidding). So it was really cool to be reminded just how different this church is and how it makes me feel that much more at home there. He also said that in addition to a full sanctuary we had filled up 4 overflow rooms this service, which is insane given that it's just one of then4 Sunday morning services they have. It's obviously booming and it's so full of young people in a time when all I hear about is young people leaving the church, so they're obviously doing something right. The service was about a passage in John where Jesus is taking about being the vine and God being the gardener, who cuts off branches that don't bear fruit and prunes those that do so they'll be more fruitful, which for a song from my crazy bible song childhood stuck in my head lol but it was good. After the service I headed back up to the sanctuary for the 12:30 service I was working. We ended up with 4 babies and there were two of us, so it was a good balance really. We initially had another girl but she hadn't made it to the service earlier so we told her she could go watch it instead. The baby composition was interesting, haha. There was a little girl, 6 mo the old, named like one of my favorite names that I want to name one of my daughters, and she was mostly complacent for the whole service, no crying so that was appreciated haha, she was cute. Then there was another little girl who was screaming bloody murder when her parents left and was totally inconsolable for a good 5 minutes before becoming distracted and deciding not to cry anymore, though for most of the time she just kind of sad there and wouldn't respond to anything we tried to get her interested in even though we knew she could understand us, lol. They had some bubbles this week though (in spill proof containers, of course) and that captivated most of their attention for a good chunk of the service. Then I finally got to see my tiny girl again, who I haven't seen in like 6 weeks so that made me happy and she's just so freaking cute I can't take it. She was again refusing to let me put her down, but was also like, getting upset when I'd go to play with another baby and pull her back to her haha and when I was trying to get the formerly crying little girl interested in some of the other stuff I would be like "can you go through that side and show her?" and kind of motion with my hands and she did exactly what I asked, when I'm not at all sure she knew what I was saying haha so I was impressed with that. And yeah, she was just typically adorable. She was calling me "mama" at various points, which is curious only if because I know she calls her mom "mommy." She doesn't really have a whole lot of speech right now, just a handful of words, so I was trying to encourage her to say "Rachel" but that tends to be a mouthful for babies just learning to talk, and my name usually gets designated a shorter version until the child can fully pronounce it (I know my little brother called me "shell" for a while, and my sister, inexplicably, called me "hatoo" for a solid six months) so I knew that probably wouldn't work. She also has this super cute habit of pointing some of the other kids and being like "baby!" even when they're like, older than her haha but she gets all sweet with the little babies and gah it's so cute. I'm trying to remember if she did anything else particularly cute, but be probably bored you all by this point so I'll move on. The fourth and final child in our care was a boy who was 23 months old, so about to move up to the toddler's classroom, and he was pretty big compared to the others. Strangely, he didn't cry when his parents left and was totally fine for the first half of the service, then just out of nowhere insisted on standing at the gate and looking out the door saying he wanted his momma and he just would not move, despite our many attempts at comforting/distracting (we did get him away a few times, but not for more than like 5 minutes before he would go back). He wasn't actually crying most of the time, but I would go up to him and try to comfort him and he'd just kind of collapse into my arms (it was so sweet) and cry a little and oh man, poor kid but it was really the sweetest thing. So I kept promising him his parents would be there real soon since there wasn't all that much else I could do. They did arrive soon enough, and I told them about how he was acting and his dad said he had gotten a really small amount of sleep last night (and that he was walking around Walgreens with him at 5:30 this morning trying to get him to fall asleep) and that would definitely do it, so hopefully it's just that because I know he's been in with us before with no problems. But yeah, most of it passed without a problem, which was a giant relief compared to last week's fiasco, the crying was kept to a minimum thankfully. Headed home and when I got here I knew I had to jump into my LARC assignment, which I had this feeling of dread about because LARC stresses me out like nothing else, and this was no exception. A big part of it was researching and finding cases to use, but it's not a terribly specific issue so there's a ton of cases to sort through, though very few of them are actually on point, so that was irritating. I spend a while searching through those and compiled a list of 5 because our prof said if we sent her 5 cases by midnight Sunday she would send us 5 back, so I got those in but then I didn't want to do anything on the case front until I get her answers because those will probably be the best cases to use. So I tried to do the other pieces, but kept getting caught up in the "legal writing" vs "LARC" problem. I'm good at legal writing, I do it all the time, but LARC is an extremely specific type of legal writing where every sentence has to service a specific purpose and there's no room for anything else and it's very difficult to make every case fit into that formula when not all cases were built for it. Plus in all likelihood it's not anything that would be required of us on that level in the real world, so it's not really worth much. I tried to write the pieces not involving the cases but kept getting caught up in the different pieces and what to put where that I eventually just got too frustrated and stopped. I have about 2 pages done, a little under 600 words, with a word limit of 1750, so it's a decent dent at least. I'm not happy about having to continue working on it during the week because during the week my time is very limited, but I can't do much else at this point until I get the cases back from my prof, so that will she to do for now. Sigh. I had set out some chicken to defrost in hopes of making a meal I could use for lunches/dinners throughout the week, so I grabbed one of the Campbell's skillet sauces, creamy Parmesan chicken, and I'm about to sound like an advertisement but holy fuck people, this stuff is so good and it's ridiculously easy. All you do is cook the chicken, at the sauce, let it boil for a few minutes, then mix in pasta or whatever else you want and you're good to go, and it just tastes so fucking good I can't even tell you lol, I was very pleased. Once that was done I moved on to the tv, I didn't necessarily want to start a new show because most of my shows are coming back this week and I'll be occupied by catching up with them (weeknight classes) for most of my weekends from here on out, so there wasn't much point in starting a new show, so I figured I'd knock off one of the movies on my list and went with batman v superman dawn of justice, just because I love superman (even if I don't love THAT superman) and I felt like a bad fan for not having seen it yet. It was interesting. It was a decent movie, but not a great one. I don't think they develop Clark enough as a character beyond being superman, and for most of the movie I didn't have much of an idea what the hell was going on in Bruce Wayne's head. The supposed doomsday monster at the end felt like a cheap shot, because it was literally just some random monster they tried to slap the doomsday label on in an attempt to tie it to canon, when it's just a fucking random monster. I did like Clark kicking ass to find Martha, and how Bruce immediately changed his tune after finding out Lex had her, even when he had spent most of the movie plotting against superman. Any sadness I would've had over superman's death is pretty much tempered by the fact that I know there's an upcoming justice league movie that he will undoubtedly be in, so there isn't much chance he'll be dead for long. But yeah, fine movie, but not one I'd love for such an iconic character (two iconic characters, really) and nowhere near on the level of the marvel movies (and I say that while being a DC girl through and through). It's a shame they can't seem to find the dynamic in their movies that they've found in their tv shows....if they were smart they would do what marvel is doing and tie in the tv and movie universes, which would be soooooooooo easy to do because they've already introduced the concept of the multiverse and different characters being from different earths, like it would be incredibly easy to introduce them as different universes that are now converging. Sigh. I know it's never gonna happen, but I can dream right? The other exciting thing that happened today was that I officially purchased my ticket to the Heroes vs. Villains Fan Fest in Chi at the end of March which happens to fall on my birthday, because Caity Lotz and a ton of other awesome people will be there and doesn't that sound like an awesome way to spend your birthday?? I have a kickass cosplay in the works (and by that I mean I'm buying one because I have no artistic skills whatsoever) so stay tuned for updates there. Okay, this is long and I'm tired and it's almost 2 am, so I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight loves. Hope your Monday doesn't suck.

[mydearsadie]

Who do you like better Paul or John?

Firstly thank you so much for my first ask!

It’s a very tough question, I love them both in suchdifferent ways, it is difficult to put into words exactly how much their music –of course with the Beatles – but also their solo careers, has meant and donefor me.

I wrote out a very long response to this, justifying all ofthe many reasons I have for loving each one, as well as numerous mentions of myfavourite songs by them, but as my response to them both is of course deeplypersonal, it is difficult to express without revealing an awful lot aboutmyself. Your question definitely gave me food for thought, and made me quitedeeply examine why I felt the way I do, and what it is about me that made meidentify with them the way I do. So firstly to answer the question – and laterfor my actual reason as to why – if forced I would have to choose Paul, butthat doesn’t mean I love John any less, the reason why is quite complicated,and when I thought about it a lot, quite personal, so I edited the originalanswer I wrote a bit, to get rid of stuff I didn’t really feel comfortablesharing at this point. So sorry for the answer coming a bit later than youmight have expected! (And when talking about Paul, I talked about Linda a bitas well, this is not to devalue her worth by associating her only with Paul,but a lot of the things I admire about Paul have to do with Linda, so I felt Ihad to bring her up).

So, I love John for all of the reasons everyone loves John,he’s so painfully raw in everything he did - I feel sad writing past tense forhim :( -and said, you could feel his pain through his writing, and he laid himself vulnerablybare, on the page and in interviews. His music is some of the most memorableever created, his songs filled my childhood, with Imagine, Lucy in the Sky withDiamonds etc. When I got into the Beatles as a young teenager, his songs becamesome of my favourites, Girl, Sexy Sadie (after which this blog is partiallynamed). And in the last year or so I’ve gained a new appreciation for some ofhis solo creations, Woman and Mind Games being two obvious examples (as well asBeautiful Boy, an amazing and beautiful song, that never ceases to make me sad).I admire some of his political activism, most especially his later feminism, Idon’t know if you could credit him as bringing an anti-war message toprevalence, but certainly I love his bravery in speaking out against somethinghe believed to be wrong even if it wasn’t always popular (although I do have aproblem with some of his and Yoko’s activism, that’s by the by), and speakingout for Native American and civil rights. Obviously his activism comes withsome problems, but the place for discussing that isn’t really here. I love thathe’s such a complex individual, he denies attempts at creating him into astereotype, he is no ‘one’ type of person, he is just John. I could write pagesand pages on him, but I should probably keep it brief, and these are thethings, off the top of my head that I really admire about him.

 (I made this one a bit longer, probably to justify myself abit in my answer) However of course there is the other side of one the mostfamous song writing duo’s to ever exist. Paul’s music is sometimes regarded asbeing too light and airy (or as John ungracefully put it ‘granny shit’),compared to John’s. I disagree with this line of thinking, and put up songssuch as For No One (one of my favourite songs ever), and even if some of his songs can be seemingly meaninglesshe has such a fantastic ear for melody, Paul’s are the tunes that remain stuckin my head for days on end, prompting me to listen to them for days on end aswell, and as someone who loves playing the piano (although isn’t necessarilyvery good at it!) I love and appreciate his musical arrangements, and gift forbeautiful ‘wordless’ songs. If anything my love for Paul was strengthened bythe (thankfully fading argument) that he was the lesser genius to Lennon, Ifelt oddly protective (?), and I know that sounds ridiculous but I was quiteyoung when I first started getting into the Beatles. I’m finding it difficultto put into words exactly what I love about Paul, I could write a long list ofthe many songs I love by him – from the Beatles, Wings, and his solo work. Ifound especially Ram, but particularly Heart of the Country, I would sit downand listen to, when I was going through a difficult and very stressful timelast year, it’s difficult to write down exactly how helpful it was without gettingtoo personal, but it really helped me feel happy and relaxed at a time I reallyneeded it. Although I am very well aware that he has his flaws (as doeseverybody), I admire him. His fortitude (I’m struggling to think of the rightword as I am quite tired at the mo and have a bit of a headache, the closest Icould come up with is a type of Dunkirk Spirit), for example after the Beatlesfractured and began to split up he fell into (I think he said so himself alittle while ago, although my memory might be a little fuzzy) a deepdepression, and although it was a very difficult time for him and I wouldn’twant to lessen that, eventually, with help from his family, he began to heal,and make wonderful music again, I don’t know how to express it, but that’ssomething I needed to see. I wouldn’t say I admire this trait but he is aworkaholic, and perfectionist, which although it drove the other Beatles mad, I’mquite a lot like that myself, and I admire his work ethic enormously. AlthoughI’m sure he can be difficult around people he’s close to, I admire how kind andthoughtful he can be to strangers/fans he encounters. I love how sweet he hasalways been around children, and as someone who loves animals, his – and especiallyLinda’s work, which I wouldn’t want to undermine when talking about the amazinggood she did in this regard – will always be close to my heart, and it remindsme of something my dad (who has been a vegetarian for around 30 years or sonow) said, that they were speaking out for vegetarianism when it was unpopularand unfashionable, especially in the animal rights activism they did, and thatLinda’s food range (which I eat from and is delicious btw) came out at a time,when there were practically no options in supermarkets, or really anywhere(apart from salads lol) for a vegetarian (or vegan). I had to bring Linda intothis lol – I find it difficult to talk about one without the other. As well ashow close he is, and has always been to his family, and how much a family manhe has always been, I remember watching docs of him on tour with his kids, andI really admire the family life, and attempt at normalcy that Linda and hetried to create for their kids. On the flip side I think I’m probably a bitmore like John, in a way I suppose John reminds me of the parts of myself Idislike or cause problems for me i.e. my complete lack of self-confidence, andinsecurity, sarcasm, and sometimes being short-tempered with people I love.

 I feel as if I’ve written all of this as justification formy final answer, to sort of prove that I do love them both, and it’s difficultto quantify exactly why, I feel I haven’t done them justice though, I could writepages and pages on them. So, in conclusion, I do love John, I just feel like Ilove Paul for slightly different reasons. Is it weird that I feel incredibly nervous posting this? I hope I did ok, thank you

[lululawrence]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

All answers should be about works published in 2017.

I was tagged by @allwaswell16 and @londonfoginacup and @flamboyantommo and I feel like maybe someone else…so here I am lol also this got hella long, so i’m gonna put most of this under a cut.

1. List of works published this year: 

listen. believe it or not i published 40 fics this year. 40. in 2017. SO i’m gonna just…list them in chronological order, k? k. (this is why this is gonna have to have a read more)

1. Easy, Breezy, Beautiful 2. Bloody Mary 3. I Don’t Know What To Believe 4. The Day is Up and Calling 5. Bend Me, Shape Me with @a-writerwrites and @dimpled-halo 6. I Found a Love 7. That’s Not My Name 8. Be a Daymaker 9. Love Me Like You Do 10. What Happens Next 11. Validation 12. Cake, Phone, Harry 13. Same White Shirt 14. Now That It’s Over 15. A Word We’ve Only Heard 16. No Chance At All 17. (Make You Want To) Scream 18. Nothing Please Me More Than You 19. Let Me Make It Better 20. My Cup of Tea

21. (And Things Will Be) Hard at Times 22. Mistaken Identity with like the entire group chat  23. Wait for the End to Change 24. If It’s Meant To Be (It’ll Be, It’ll Be) 25. You Can Read Me Anything 26. (This Could Be Forever) Right Now 27. Will Love Be There 28. With You In Your Dreams 29. Couldn’t See Past Me, Till I Saw You 30. All I Want Is To Be Free 31. One Taste And He Want It 32. Better Walk That (Pap) Walk, Baby with @suddenclarityharry 33. Love So Soft 34. Got This Feeling In Our Souls 35. We’re Both Stubborn (Two Hearts in One Home) 36. Before I Knew That I Had Begun 37. A Real Work of Art 38. You Can’t Blame Me For Tryin’  39. Christmas at the Holly Lodge 40. You’ve Got My Heart

Okay, and now I’m exhausted. You still with me? Bless you.

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

@someonethatsfunny actually asked me a few months ago what work I’m most proud of, and I truly don’t know. I’m super proud of (Make You Want To) Scream, because bodyswap is hella hard to write, fam, and I DID IT. I’m proud of my reverse bang, All I Want Is To Be Free, because it was the first time I’d ever really teamed up with an artist like that. I wrote my first historical AU, my first ABO, my first cowrites, my first…A LOT of things, and all of them stretched me so incredibly so I’m not really sure which one I’m most proud of.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

I dunno. I have some that I’ve forgotten I wrote this year, but I am still proud of it because have you ever published 40 fics in a year? Just the fact I was able to do that has me patting myself on the back, so yeah. There are some I don’t like as much, but I’m damn proud for what I was able to publish this year.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

They walked past a street performer, Louis completely focused on the church.  Rather than walking to the entrance though, Harry first guided Louis towards another corner.  

“This part here?  It’s completely black like this because it’s the only part of the building that remained standing after the bombing.  They were able to salvage it and recreate it as best they could to look like the original.”

Louis leaned in closer to Harry, as if he needed to physically feel him there with him.

“The Hofkirche and the Kreuzkirche are both incredible in their own way, and according to most, none of these churches can even begin to inspire you or impress you in the way that other cathedrals, like the Cologne Cathedral, do, but the Frauenkirche?”  Harry paused here as he tried to pull his thoughts together.  “I feel like she’s the perfect symbol of Dresden.  Of people in general.  So often we find ourselves having to rebuild and start from scratch when plans we had hoped and planned on fall through, but even if we are only left with some stones and the corner of the building, we can be strong again.”

Louis was no longer looking at the church but was looking at Harry.

“Well shit, Haz.  Is that what you said when you did your episode on Dresden?”

Harry rubbed his hand nervously through his hair before wrapping his arm around Louis’ shoulders.  Harry couldn’t help pulling Louis even closer than he already was, and Louis didn’t resist.  He moved his Döner to his right hand and wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist.

“No.”  Harry swallowed roughly before placing a soft kiss in Louis’ hair.  “No, that’s the special version only you get.”

Louis tilted his head back, his blue eyes studying Harry intently.  “I like that I get the special version,” he whispered.

From If It’s Meant To Be (It’ll Be, It’ll Be)

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

Oh gosh. I love so many different comments and there were some this year that truly brought me to tears, but some of my favorites were on Validation. It floors me still that people took what I wrote in a fic and started to actually put it into play in their lives. Something that I wrote inspired them to change how they approached some situations and that just…wow. Incredible. 

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Honestly, most of this year writing was my therapy. It was how I coped with everything life was throwing at me, but the hardest time for me writing wise was this month. I wasn’t feeling inspired, I was having a crazy hard time even carving out ten minutes to write, and I was exhausted all the time. Even with that, though, I was able to write two fics, so I’m proud of myself for pushing through. Especially since I now have five million ideas of things to write again haha

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Oof. Uhm…like everything? For real. So many times I was writing and things happened that I didn’t anticipate or plan for and it turned out better than I ever imagined.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

SO MANY WAYS. My big goal for writing this year was to write more, and HOLY MOTHER DID I WRITE MORE. In talking with @briannamarguerite, she mentioned once that writing is a muscle and it can be strengthened when you use it more, and through this year I absolutely agree. I started the year off with a challenge I did with a group of people who became incredible friends (shout out to wordplay peeps @a-writerwrites, @taggiecb, @becomeawendybird, @afirethatcannotdie, @dinosaursmate, @phd-mama, @londonfoginacup, and @allwaswell16!) to write a fic a week, all using the same one word prompt, and that kind of set up the average I ended up keeping through the rest of the year of publishing a fic about every week and a half. I also branched out on tropes I had never written before, tried co-writing, different structures for fics, etc. I feel like this year was a huge one for trying new things and going out of my comfort zone, so I’m actually really incredibly proud of myself for all the ways I feel like I grew this year.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I want to focus on the quality I’m putting out. I worked on quantity and telling myself I could do it, so now I want to focus a little more on editing myself really well. Being really happy with not just the story I’m putting out, but the way it’s written. I also am finally publishing a fic I’ve been working on, off and on, since 2015 next year, and that’s the longest fic I’ve written to date, so lots of ways for me to try to stretch myself still!

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Oh holy mother. @silentlarryshipper as a massive support for keeping me going at the beginning of the year for sure! I couldn’t have done this without her. All the wordplay peeps I mentioned above as well. @becomeawendybird, @gettingaphdinlarry, and @briannamarguerite for being the best, most brutal and thorough betas ever, I love all you guys SO DAMN MUCH! And without a doubt every last one of the ladies not already mentioned who were more than willing to yell encouragement at me, even when I was being ridiculous: @freetheankles, @dinosaursmate, @haloeverlasting, @indiaalphawhiskey, @dimpled-halo, @a-writerwrites, @suddenclarityharry, @londonfoginacup!

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

Oh yes. My love story to Dresden has all my true feelings for the city, some of the ridiculous scenes from the mpregs i wrote are personal stories of my own, a lot of locations are from my own life, etc. 

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Don’t give up and find yourself a support crew! Having multiple writing support group chats was one of the best things to come out of this entire year for me. The other people you surround yourself with can make the biggest difference as to whether a project gets finished or not.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

oh yes! currently i have a to write or to publish list of:

wibbly wobbly, timey wimey fic (which might be my big bang after all)

a couple birthday fics to come

Marcel exchange fic

ABO exchange fic

a flicker album fic

a fic based off of Charlie Puth’s song attention

so we’ll see how that all turns out. lol

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

if you were tagged in this and haven’t done it already, please consider yourself tagged now! (or if you’re reading this and haven’t been tagged and want to, please tag me and say I told you to do it! I want to read your answers!!) OH and I would also love to hear from @justalittlelouislove :D