#one last thing. I love how most other people make these fantasy esque ones. and I just made mine as close to myself as possible

[cuteniarose]

Thanks for tagging me :)

@upsettimyspagetthi here you go bestie I know you like picrews))

Another picrew chain (look, it’s 1 am, and I’m bored, and I found a catalog of picrews)

The picrew:

@lilacquintet @rantapes @barzfrommarz @myaminecraft @riku234

@m-llohi @dukingadorablez @kristinafandit @rxccoonboo @lovelielaurel

@inktasticmagic @d0mb1l @alchemicalwerewolf @a-sociopath-do-your-research @kyuummie

@anon-h3art @plaguethewaters @kirafesmaichuu @cerberussys @justonebitebaby

@silverwaredrawersys @cotableats @thealsers @aninkidumbass @wren-writes-things

@hopalongfairywren @piizgaxw @leftover-cravings @anobnoxiousnerd @lmanburgseulogy and anyone else who wants to :3

[tirralirralirra]

something I love about having read/watched frieren and dungeon meshi concurrently is getting to see that, despite their similar broad genres (fantasy, DND-esque settings, failure op elf girls /lh), they are two very distinct stories that ultimately achieve the same* thematic goal through different narrative means.

like you have frieren's contemplative, almost slice-of-life style storytelling that focuses on how the connections between people make an impact, and how it's beautiful to cherish the memories of those we love, even the small ones (especially the small ones), and that being alive is so, so beautiful because of those things. Then juxtaposing this with the overall narrative of a literal journey to a land beyond in order to meet with the dead, while not losing focus on those that are alive. Frieren as a story takes time to explore the small things that make life beautiful (fields of flowers, the beauty and not the power of magic, stargazing and sunsets with your friends).

and then you have dunmeshi's tight narrative arcs that are built around urgency (saving falin, first from digestion, then from...chimera-ization), but also continually return to the same concept as a core tenet to both the literal narrative structure around meals and the overall story: to eat is a privilege of the living. That there is joy to be found in eating because it means you are alive, that you survived. That taking time to take care of yourself is honoring your life. That death is a part of life through the acts of killing monsters to eat, and that the dungeon's condition where a soul remains tethered to the body is unnatural.

For that last bit, I love how we're just introduced to the concept in the beginning as a bit of world building, something you might just take at face value of, "oh, I guess this is how this works in this story", and over the course of the story the characters start to interrogate that reality, culminating in Marcille's realization at the end that they took death for granted because of the dungeon's condition:

[ID: Manga panel of Marcille looking down in thought and saying "Look, this might sound a little weird, but...I think the entire point of this journey we went on....was learning how to accept death.]

(Panel is from the ehscans version, will update with official eng when the final volume releases)

I also love that the story takes the time to say, look, you can be in a hurry, but you still need to take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep well, What will you achieve in the service of yourself or others if you don't take care of the most basic qualities to survive first? The most recent episode is a good example of that with the focus on shuro vs. laios, and then there's this reinforcement of the idea by the end:

[ID: Dungeon meshi manga page showing Laios, Chilchuck, and Senshi shouting "A balanced diet!!" "R-regulating our daily rhythms!!" "And moderate exercise!!" respectively, followed by the three in various poses in front of the word "VICTORY" and Laios saying "If we watch these three points...we'll naturally work our way to strong bodies!!"]

Anyways this is all very disorganized and I have other things I need to do and I could write a more cohesive, actually organized thought piece on all of this with like, coherent points, but I don't really like to delve into literary analysis on my fandom account. it just lives in my head, rent free. thank you for coming to my ted talk tumblr. don't expect to see more of this, lol.

*I say same goal, which is not to say the only goal. stories can have more than one theme, it's ok if you disagree with me on this, but please bear in mind that I'm speaking very, very broadly.

[imagine-a-sanctuary-like-this]

Some early thoughts on Arcane S2

Just a few thoughts on the 1st Act of the new season. No strong commitments or opinions just yet, it's still early on in the story. I'll start with what I especially liked, then cycle into things I'd have liked to see done differently.

Animation

Visually, this season's a step up from the last. I've especially enjoyed the differently-stylized into sequences to each episode (the charcoal-like funeral, the overlords' last supper and the Grey, respectively). I've read some complaints about the music-video-esque treatment of the fights, but I enjoyed that. The music's not my thing, but it fits the steampunk/sci-fi-fantasy aesthetic pretty well.

Vi/Cait

Good to see it become canon! I also like the tragedy they seem to be setting up, and I do like how they wrote their relationship. Again, have read complaints about them getting together and breaking up too quickly, but I think it makes sense - the kiss is a pay-off to almost a season's worth of build-up. The breakup is the result of the gap between the characters' beliefs, conditions and natures. There's always been tension between them, and they're not perfect for each other, so them getting together all at once would not have been believable. Also, since Act 1 sees basically everything uprooted and thrust into chaos, it makes sense for them to make impulsive decisions trying to find comfort. Sure, they're probably not deeply in love, they've known each other for a short time, but they've clearly liked each other for a while. I don't really get where the people that think it's rushed are coming from.

Cait's arc set-up

I really like where it's going! The arc they seem to be setting up looks like it'll be about the effects of grief on perpetuating hatred and violence, which fits right in with the story. I do wonder if they'll attempt to take Cait to the 'extreme' and then bring her back in a sort of redemption arc. It seems like that might be difficult to do after some point. But I'm excited to find out where it's going.

Jinx, Isha and Sevika

Not much to say here, I like how Jinx's family themes continue even after Silco's death. All kinds of nice parallels going on. I like it.

Alright, now for the stuff I'm not so positive on. There's quite a bit, but simply because it is easier to criticize than to praise, especially when S1 has set a very high standard.

Too many plotlines

I've seen people talk about pacing issues, and I do agree, but to me the more fundamental problem (which is the cause of the first) is that this season's juggling too many plotlines. Just the ones that come to mind:

(1) Zaun vs Piltover, undercity uprising (2) Mel and the Black Rose (3) Ambessa's Noxus interference (4) "The Arcane is waking up" (5) Vi, Jinx and Warwick family drama (6) Victor's becoming (7) Vi and Cait relationship drama (8) Singed

My hope is that these will be bettered by uniting some of the plotlines. Victor and the Arcane will probably end up one storyline, same with the Black Rose and Noxus. Still, the story feels over-loaded with STORIES, and not in a very water-tight writing kind of way, but rather in a 'there's too much going on' kind of way. I'm afraid that they will not have enough screentime to set up, develop and pay off all of these, while also doing justice to the character arcs. I might be wrong, we will see.

For now, I feel like they should have cut one of the plotlines above to make more space for the story to breathe. It's also a little thematically messy. There's usually at least a loose thematic connection (family, using magic/science for good/bad, dangers of the arcane, oppression), but sometimes it feels too loose. Again, I'm sure some of this will come with time as we get these 'looser' plots developed, like the Black Rose, Noxus's political interests, etc. Hopefully, they can pay it off right.

A consequence of so much going on is, yes, some moments are not given enough time. This was most evident for me in the Jayce/Viktor goodbye scene. Perhaps it is meant to be underwhelming and this will be relevant later, but as it stands, it's rushed. I've seen someone given another good example, Jayce and Heimer's reunion scene - it should have been tensed with residual conflict, but there's kind of... nothing.

Another consequence is that some characters screentime feels insufficient for their story importance (e.g., Jayce, Viktor, Ekko), while others', excessive (Maddie, the enforcer dudes). Isha's screentime is fine, since she works as a parallel to Powder, and Salo's is also alright because of politics plotline. I've seen some leaks about Maddie which I will not detail here, but I'm not sure that they justify her abundant screentime.

Scale of conflict

I quite dislike the seeming shift away from the core Zaun vs Piltover conflict towards a more 'global' feel. Makes sense for S2 to have a bigger scope, but this is a little too big for my liking. Both the Arcane waking up and the Noxus stuff is very global, and since the show is more about Arcane than about world politics, I would've preferred to have seen the latter cut down in favour of more screentime to the former, as well as main characters from S1.

I also quite dislike the 'let's put aside our political differences to save the world' direction that this all seems to be winding up to, because it kind of puts the more interesting, interpersonal conflict on hold, and takes what I'd consider the 'easy way out' of the moral difficulties of the conflict. I do not know if this is what they will do this season, but it feels like they're edging towards that with the Jayce, Ekko, Heimer and Victor stuff (and possibly the Grey?).

Viktor and Agency

Once again, with so little screentime it's difficult to tell, but the set-up seems to suggest a certain direction here, which I can't say I like. It's unclear whether Viktor is controlled or mind-addled by the Hexcore, but I do dislike the seeming lack of emotion. If he's controlled, it kind of takes away from what S1 was building towards. I do like that Jayce is pushed to use the Hexcore on Viktor (he chooses to do it, despite promising to destroy it), but I feel like the fallout would have been more compelling, especially in terms of Viktor as a character, if he'd seemed more in-control.

They seem to have chosen to go with something else, and I don't doubt they have an idea for his arc, but I wish there'd been more of the original League concept in Arcane's Viktor. As it stands, all the desperation from S1, the anger and helplessness, have sort of... gone, without a good conclusion (I don't really consider Sky's death a good conclusion). Or at least, without one for now. I thought that S1 had been building up to the Machine Herald stuff. Maybe this is an intentional subversion. I've never found Viktor's character to be very compelling, but he was at his best when pushed to desperate measures by his dying body.

This is a matter of personal enjoyment, but I do genuinely hope they bring some emotions back for him, and I really hope he is not controlled by the Hexcore.

[utilitycaster]

you got me. i binged all of midst in two days and it was great, but now i dont have a lot of other podcasts to listen to. do you have other good fiction podcasts you like?

DO I. I am not the Most Podcast Person I know but I definitely follow a lot because I drive a lot and walk a lot and put them on in the background while I do chores. Also, I'm sticking to scripted/plotted fiction here and not actual play but I can provide some actual play podcast recs too, though none are terribly obscure.

Wolf 359 is a completed podcast but a great binge. It also is science fiction and deals with capitalism and corruption and complicated characters and weird space stuff; it regularly makes the "great fiction podcasts" to check out and I think is closest to Midst in that it's also a tightly plotted work that goes to a natural end point.

I frequently talk about and recommend the Silt Verses and the thematic nature is remarkably close to Midst, but the vibe is very different. It has a lot of folk and body horror elements (audio-only, but they are absolutely present). Also covers the "man what if capitalism and religion were working explicitly in tandem" element of Midst with the added dimension of "what if there were many many gods and and they all demanded literal, physical sacrifices". Sister Carpenter is cut from a similar cloth as Lark and I love her dearly. To draw other comparisons would be to spoil it. It's on season 3, which will be its last. It is extremely intense in that when I fell behind I found it tough to binge without taking breaks, but it's really fucking good. (I also recommend this to people who like Candela Obscura, though that's more for eldritch horror vibes).

The Penumbra Podcast is great because it has two separate storylines (it was originally intended to be an anthology, but people fell in love with Juno Steel specifically). I like both, but Juno Steel is the more popular one - it's set in the future, in our solar system but in space, and follows Juno Steel, a private eye. It's extremely weird neo-noir. There is a homme fatale and a fantastic cast of characters, and it's also an interesting ongoing plot. The Second Citadel is more fantasy rather than sf though it's also kind of in that general New Weird bucket and is even harder to describe but I think it's underrated. It's also on its final season but it's been going on a while so it will take a bit for you to catch up.

Within the Wires is also a podcast I've recommended in the past. It's by the people who do Welcome to Nightvale which isn't listed here both because I assume you are aware of it, and because that's an ongoing slice of life sort of thing; there are plots but there's sort of that sitcom-esque "nothing really changes the status quo" element though the earlier era had some more structured stuff. Anyway, Within the Wires is found audio, so each season is different - the first is relaxation cassette tapes, the second museum audio guides, the third voice memos, etc. There are callbacks/connections between seasons at times, and I would recommend listening to at least the first two seasons in full (which are very strong) to get a sense of the world before hopping around later. The reason I recommend it here is because the worldbuilding is spectacularly done in a way that reminds me of the elegance of the worldbuilding in Midst, and because it's found audio, while it's one narrator per season you will get those weird asides and interesting tonal choices.

Tentative rec for Camlann, a roughly modern day post-apocalyptic take on Arthurian legends and the folklore of the British Isles only because it just started and has 3 episodes. I like it, but I don't know what plot it's building to (nor how long it will be; they have funding for one season but aren't sure about future ones.)

[the-hungdeli-hermit]

This is the first time for me getting so obsessed with my oc it’s almost scary. But hey, I did say I’d make a somewhat of a ref sheet, even if I can hardly consider it one. It’s your choice to get to know my sweet baby or not, though you can read the text below to get some music recommendations at the end.

(and just a lil’ doodle of Roulette wishing to be friends with 808)

Roulette (or just Ru)

Height - 162

Age - 24 

A no-nonsense type of woman at first glance, Roulette is an HR Assistant at Vandelay Tech, starting her job at least 3 months after the the ending of the main game. A walking dichotomy of a person, you can never guess what she is currently thinking or might blurt out, so you might say there’s never a dull moment with her. 

Despite her outwardly cold and standoffish appearance (and sometimes even attitude), Roulette is actually a pretty friendly and deeply caring person, willing to help most folks in need. She usually remains polite with her colleagues, and even jokes around with some of them. Despite “hating” her job (it’s complicated), she tries to take it seriously, and keep a positive attitude in most situations.

Outside of work, Roulette is more… quirky, bordering on being a weirdo even by her friends’s standards. They have to sometimes keep a good eye on her just so that she wouldn’t do anything brash or crazy, especially when bored. Rather candid and open-minded, most people feel at ease with her, and can sense that they won’t face that big of a judgement while discussing what’s troubling their minds. That openness to most things though might be fuelled by her insatiable curiosity.

Even with her rather amiable and upbeat demeanour, she is a introverted individual who almost always seeks to isolate herself from the outside world, escaping into her fantasies where she doesn’t have to worry about her existence and personal problems. Unfortunately for Roulette, her consciousness doesn’t let her off easy, manifesting a sort of tulpa-esque being that only she can see. That is literally herself. 

(might as well call it a shadow now that I think about it)

Some facts and tidbits✨

Can forge signatures pretty well, and picked that skill up from her last job (nothing really illegal; can’t forge super simple signatures, Chai’s included)

Doesn’t really have a specific fashion style. She doesn’t like being restricted in any way when it comes to her choices, so she prefers wearing anything she deems fitting for her

Which is almost everything.

Prefers it when people use her nickname instead of full name, for a reason that might seem a bit surprising. To her, using a nickname helps set some sort of imaginary wall between her and other people, making Ru feel just a bit more comfortable. With that, only people that are close to her can use her full first name without her getting annoyed or angry

But most people can’t even read/pronounce it so-

It’s even worse with her last name

On the topic of names, she likes giving out nicknames to both friends and random people (and it helps since she’s often bad at remembering names)

Likes clever words-play, puns included (loves them because they are funnily stupid)

Has anger issues stemming from her past, but she’s trying to work on that (and is not always successful on that front)

Tries to let off some steam through fighting games and her hobbies (which, apparently there are a good few of them)

Master baker and master bai-

No, literally. Makes bomb banana bread and other treats

Has chromesthesia, but doesn’t even realise it

Picks at her skin/hair/lashes, bites her lips when feeling anxious or frustrated (🫵 coded?)

Her hair bun and locks are constantly inconsistent (and not because I don’t know how to draw them one way, she’s just like that)

A sensitive baby as a whole, though you won’t be able to pick up on that easily

Sometimes knows too much. Take that as you will.

(didn’t know what theme song to give her when she’s all “chill“, but Ladytron’s “Ghosts“ and NIN’s “Discipline“ kinda fit her.

(Though you can probably listen to “With Teeth“ and understand her current mood and feelings better)

(might draw Chai next just to see how he looks under my pen)

[betasuppe]

It occurred to me just yesterday that I still only have a sad ending with Flint & Rinzler & still haven't conceived of how they could have a happily ever after.

A lot of it came from how most people want Rinzler to revert fully back to Tron post-Legacy & like, that's fine and all, but because Rinz has always been my fave guy, I got all sore at it & decided to say FUCK IT, WE ALL HAVE A BAD TIME HERE THEN!!

[long exhausted ramble... otherwise Flint's life sucks, nothing new here lol. feel free to ignore]

Anyways, the not very happy ending I've had in place for ages is that, just like how Tron helped Flint escape the Grid before Clu took over.... in the very last seconds of the human world before rolling over into the new millenia, Rinzler holds up the Grid from caving in as Flint is eked out just before y2k drops & the Grid undergoes a hard reset.

Anyways. When Flint finally leaps back the next day into the digital fantasy world to find even the smallest trace of Rinzler & yo ensure everything is ok & that the Grid survived smashing into the year 2000... Flint quickly runs into Clu & Tron & quite a few other familiar faces who are all in cheery good moods, happy to celebrate the new user year & see Flint too but... no one has any memory whatsoever of anything that took place from far before Clu's regime ever took over, all looking at the user all wild-eyed & in a panic with definite concern.

Considering Flint had started to feel like this world was the closest to home he'd ever known, & now not a single part of the adventure he'd been on, the bonds he'd formed & the times he'd shared were remembered by a single other soul... it's like the rug was completely yanked out from under his feet & Flint finds himself in some unknown Twlight Zone-esque version of the Grid that he had once called home... basically standing around strangers with familiar faces.

So like. Flint tries to spur on some memories with Tron, with no success of recalling anything of his time as Rinzler, & Flint has to come to grips with the fact that YEAH, he really did lose Tron once & now Rinzler too &... it hurts too much to realize that the Tron Flint's left standing in front of is neither parts of the program he'd loved. As is, they're just pals at this point again & Flint feels like he can't run the risk of going through this all once more, just to lose Tron again.

So Flint quickly wraps up everything by wishing his fellow programs a happy new year before dipping out... & a bunch of Flint's digital pals all wondering worriedly if the user is alright, but like that's it.

Flint goes back to the real world & hopes to find some archived Rinzler data hidden elsewhere, but the y2k bs messed everything up & kinda. It's just done. Flint leaves the programming & computer based world behind. He becomes a photographer since he'd always been interested in environmental storytelling & then like. Otherwise he feels the need to make sure he has full proof of what he's seen & done after feeling like years of his life were dumped down the drains in the Grid 😬

Anyways, I feel like it'd be easy enough to have Flint wind up with one of Rinzler's identity discs before he escapes the Grid during it's y2k refresh, but would it even work to restore memories on Tron? Would it even sort of be the same? I feel like that's a jerk move, letting a messed up copy of Rinz parasite onto this poor unsuspecting Tron & it's just. Pretty sucky.

Would Flint just hold onto it as the last memory of the greatest bond he ever had in his life?? Hard to say.

If nothing else, may need to rethink the full ending? Maybe it's possible Rinzler gets dragged out with Flint before the y2k restart? But otherwise, Flint having all the memories & no one to share them with... he could try to rekindle things with Tron from the start button that point, there's no guarantee anything would even happen, I guess. I dunno.

Either way, the only version of Flint & Tron/Rinzler that actually has a happy ending is with evil Flint & Rinz, since they get digitally bonded for life & lock themselves up in the Grid forever & live happily for eternity in their little digital paradise bit otherwise like.

Most every version of Flint & Rinz but one does not end on a happy note... usually with Flint lying face down on his bed, praying to disintegrate & stop existing & all because he gave his whole heart to the same guy TWICE & ruined his life BOTH times & feels like he himself is the one who's ruined Tron/Rinzler's life. It's confusing & awful & dreadful, but. There it is.

Sorry about that, buddy...

[In which Flint ends up sad & alone because he's too tired to give his heart to anyone else after losing his first loves... & at least Flynn gets out of the Grid way earlier than 2010 but still, all sorts of things suck here... I'd like if somehow rinzler could remember but hOWWW]

[andiwriteordie]

prompts um . um ! may i suggest a little piece with one of the boys having bird/angel wings

wibble!!!! ok i was a little nervous for this one at first because i've never done any wing fics, but this was such a fun prompt! so thank you for indulging my two current loves: 1) fantasy-esque byler aus and 2) some good ole fashioned mike angst :)

—

take these broken wings 

People always say that right before you die, your life will flash before your eyes—memories and images of the moments you lived, your worst failures and greatest successes, the highest highs and lowest lows, and every moment in between. Some people who have had brushes with death and lived to tell the tale claim that life flashes before your eyes in the same way that lightning strikes—there, one moment, and full of crackling energy which calls all of your attention, then gone the next. 

Mike’s had a lot of close calls with near-death experiences. After all, it just comes with the territory of knowing about the Upside Down and all its monsters, what with their faces literally made out of teeth and their creepily evocation of actual, less terrifying animals. Death’s not exactly something new to him, which is sorta sad, as a seventeen year old.

But in the five years since this shit all started, he’s never, ever had a “lightning strike, life flash before his eyes” kinda moment.

At least not for himself.

It’s funny, in like the world’s least funny and most morbid kinda way. Is it possible to have someone else’s life flash before your eyes? Only if you know them well enough, Mike would venture to guess. Only if you’ve been part of so many key moments in their life, only if your life is so deeply intertwined with theirs, and only if they are the one brushing hands with death and preparing to meet their end. 

Yeah. That would be Mike’s guess.

Except that it isn’t a guess anymore. It’s actually something that’s happening, right here, right now in front of him, playing out like the world’s worst movie written by a screenwriter with a personal vendetta against Mike Wheeler himself. Lightning strikes—figuratively and literally—and Will’s life flashes before Mike’s eyes, right as his best friend pushes him out of the way and puts his own body in between Mike and a rabid, snarling demodog.

We killed it, a voice in the back of Mike’s mind protests, and that voice isn’t wrong. Mike could have sworn that thing was already dead, that its snarls had been reduced to mere whimpers, that the threat had already been neutralized by a stroke of sheer luck and some unfortunate How To Fight In the Apocalypse 101 training they’ve picked up on over the last few years.

Clearly, the thing’s not dead though. Clearly, it’s alive, and in the slow motion moment when it lunges at Mike and Will pushes Mike out of the way and the demodog makes contact with Will’s back, Will Byers’ entire life as Mike Wheeler knows it flashes before his eyes.

Kindergarten and the swing set. Becoming best friends.

First grade and meeting Lucas. Their party of two becomes a party of three.

Second, third, fourth grade and running around on the playground together. Late nights spent talking back and forth about their favorite comic books. Dreaming of worlds together.

Fifth, sixth, seventh grade. Dustin joins their party. DnD is discovered by the four of them, and Will the Wise, as well as all their other characters, is born. Mike’s basement is the safest place in the world.

November 6, 1983. The nightmare begins.

Halloween 1984. It continues.

Summer 1985. It keeps on going and going and going.

Fall 1985. The Byers move away, far, far, far from Mike, and Mike doesn’t know what happens after that—in the in-between months, because he wasn’t part of Will’s life back then. He did that to himself.

Spring 1986. The worst fucking road trip ever and the start of the literal fucking apocalypse.

1986, 1987, 1988. 

Every. Single. Moment. 

And now.

Thunder rumbles above them, and with it echoes Will’s cry of pain as the demodog sinks its teeth into his back—into his wings, Mike thinks, vaguely, somewhere in the haze of his mind. He hasn’t heard Will scream like that in years. Not since the Mind Flayer incident, that night at the lab. 

The scream’s enough to kick him back into action. 

Well-thought out action? 

… 

Not exactly. 

See, there are actually no logical thoughts running through Mike’s mind when he throws—quite literally throws—his entire body weight against the snarling demodog. The sheer impact does succeed in his intended, vague plan of getting the dog off Will, but it does, unfortunately, come with the unintended (and very obvious, now that Mike thinks of it) consequence of having said demodog on top of him now. 

That’s a lot of teeth, Mike thinks. That thought is quickly followed by a barrage of curse words, Shit, fuck, shit, shit shit, holy fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK, as pure survival instincts kick in, and Mike tousles with the demodog. The thing’s growling at him, its entire face full of teeth and spit and blood—Will’s blood and honestly probably some of Mike’s too—snapping at him and trying its best to maul his arm, and holy fucking shit, there’s no lightning strike, but Mike’s going to die, Mike’s going to die, Mike is going to die—

A single gunshot rings out above the silence. Mike’s pretty sure his own heart stops.

Then, barely a split second later, a pained yelp follows the gunshot, and suddenly, sixty something pounds of pure monstrous muscle and evil collapses onto Mike, complete deadweight. Something warm and sticky presses against Mike’s old jacket, and he winces, doing his best to squirm away from the now dead demodog. 

Once upon a time, he remembers Mrs. Blackburn from across the street used to complain about how difficult it was to get up when the family’s golden retriever used to make a bed out of her lap. Growing up, Mike had never really understood that, having never owned a dog in his life.

He gets it now.

“Jesus,” Mike breathes, right as he manages to pull himself out from under the dog. His heart somehow must’ve restarted, because now it’s beating faster than it ever has before, and adrenaline courses through his veins, making him feel jittery and out of breath. There’s blood on his clothes and on his arms, so God knows he’ll wake up feeling like hell tomorrow.

But he’s alive. He’s alive. That’s all that matters. Mike’s alive, and so is Will, and—

Suddenly, a pained groan interrupts Mike’s thoughts, and he whips his head around, eyes widening as he catches sight of his best friend. 

Lightning strikes above the two of them. Will looks pale in the dim light, his eyes drooping and his legs swaying. He opens his mouth, like he’s going to say something, but he never quite gets to. 

Will’s body hits the ground before either of them are able to say or do anything.

“Will!” 

The strangled cry tears itself from Mike’s throat, and once again, his body moves on pure instinct as Mike throws himself down onto the pavement beside Will. Up close, it’s easier to see just how bad Will has been hurt—the ever darkening color of his fabric as the blood continues to flow, staining his shirt and the jacket he’s wearing over it, the open gashes and bite marks underneath torn pieces of fabric, the unsteady rise and fall of his best friend’s chest as Will tries desperately to stay conscious, and—

Bile rises, burning the back of Mike’s throat. His hands, which had been moving with a mind of their own, panicked and full of a desperation and need to help Will, save him, make sure he’s okay, oh God, he has to be okay, now freeze. His heart damn near comes to a stop, and it’s probably a miracle Mike’s still alive with how much his heart has been pounding, then suddenly stopping, then pounding again this evening. 

And worst of all, his eyes… his eyes take in a sight Mike had never wanted to see—the familiar, white feathers of his best friend’s wings, now mauled and stained with red. With Will’s wings still folded under his shirt, kept close to himself, it’s difficult to see the full extent of the damage, but Mike knows it’s bad. 

This is your fault, the harsh, critical voice in the back of Mike’s mind whispers. This is your fault.

Those words feel like a knife in the heart, and Mike falters, his hands still lingered on Will’s broken and mangled wings. Your fault, that voice taunts again. This is all your—

“M-Mike,” Will wheezes, and Mike can’t help but flinch, looking down to see Will straining to look at him. His face is still pale; his eyes are still barely open. But worst of all, there’s a fear in his eyes—one that Mike has only seen a few other times. 

It’s that fear that kicks Mike back into action. His trembling hands, now covered in blood that’s probably Will’s but also Mike’s but also the demodog’s, reach for Will, and Mike squeezes his best friend’s hand as tightly as he can.

“You’re going to be okay,” Mike reassures, even though he has no business saying that. “Just stay with me, Will, okay? Just stay with me; please don’t leave me, okay? Okay, just hold on, just hold on—”

Those words continue to tumble out of Mike’s mouth, mixed in with desperate, snotty sobs, even after Will’s eyes flutter close. He’s still breathing in small shallow gasps, and his hand is slack in Mike’s own, and he’s hurt, Will’s hurt, it’s your fault, your fault, YOUR FAULT—

Please don’t go, Mike thinks. The thought feels far away, lost somewhere in the loud cacophony of anxious thoughts. Please, please, please don’t go; stay with me, please, Will; please don’t go; please.

And then:

I love you.

Truthfully, Mike doesn’t really know what happens after that. He doesn’t know how much time passes or how the others manage to find them or how his body becomes unfrozen from its place, keeping watch over Will. Everything else becomes a blur of rainwater and blood—so much blood—staining the ground and Mike’s hands and Will’s clothes and Will’s wings that awful scarlet red. 

This is your fault, that voice whispers to him, the entire ride back to their makeshift home. This is all your fault.

**

It takes a scary amount of time for Will to wake up.

Time’s a really fucking strange thing, you know? Mike still remembers being six or seven years old and how the weeks between the first day of school and picture day in the first week of October always felt so long. That month stretched on for forever and ever to his little six year old brain, but slowly, as he got older, the month seemed to become a little bit shorter. Then, even shorter the next year and shorter again the next. Growing up, it was as if the older he’d get, the faster time would fly right past him.

But apparently, time has decided it wants to do a complete one-eighty on Mike while he’s down for the count. Apparently, time no longer wants to fly; no, it wants to move at a fucking snail’s speed, dragging on until every second that passes by feels like a minute and each minute feels like an hour and each hour feels like a day.

Time’s really fucking strange. 

And so, by the time Will wakes up, Mike honestly doesn’t know how long it’s been since the two of them were attacked. He knows a few things though—some that are helpful and some that aren’t.

Mike knows he hasn’t slept since then, choosing instead to sit by Will’s bedside and watch over him, as if that might do any good. 

He knows practically everyone in their little group of Upside Down survivors has tried to convince him to leave, and he knows that, in response, he’d turned into a creature about as vicious as the one who did this to Will. 

He knows that the fucking demodog that had attacked Will deserved a far crueler ending than a well-aimed bullet in the heart. He knows that it’s maybe a little sick and twisted for thinking that, and he knows he doesn’t really care right now.

He knows that Will’s wings are broken and torn, feathers brutally ripped off, bones broken underneath, damage near irreparable. He knows that Joyce cried when she saw her son, and he knows that she then picked herself back up and did everything she, with Hopper and Jonathan’s help, did everything she possibly could to mend Will’s broken wings and ease his pain.

And Mike knows that all of this is his fault.

So, when Will wakes up, eyes fluttering open and searching the dimly lit room, relief and guilt go to war inside Mike’s heart and mind. Relief wins out the initial battle, because Will is finally awake, and Mike doesn’t even care that Joyce and Hopper are in the room and can see him cry. But it’s guilt that ultimately wins the war, taking its place as the victor when Will sits up and immediately cries out, instinctively curling his wings around himself and only making things worse.

Bile rises in the back of Mike’s throat, and he feels frozen—just as frozen as he did in that moment when Will had stared up at him, terrified and bleeding out on the pavement. Joyce and Hopper are quick to jump to action, and Joyce’s soothing words fill the quietness in the room, “It’s okay, baby; you’re okay. Just relax, okay? Just breathe for me; that’s good; you’re doing so good, baby.” 

Mike can barely hear the words over the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears. 

Get out, something in the back of his mind pleads. Get out, get out, get out— 

He would get out, if he could. But instead, Mike’s stuck here. Completely frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch in horror and try not to throw up as Joyce and Hopper slowly unwrap the bandages around Will’s wings. 

Red is the first color Mike sees as the bandages come off. Blood, sticky and dark red, has stained the bandages, and Mike’s eyes wander from that gauze to the wounded appendages. Massive gashes, still a bright, painful shade of maroon, marr Will’s normally white wings, and there are chunks of feathers missing from where the demodog had attacked him. More than that, with Will now awake and able to stretch his wings out more, it’s easier to see the awkward, painful angles his wings are twisted at. 

Every single moment and every single touch seems to hurt Will, even if he doesn’t say it.

And all Mike can do is watch. He’s breathing. He has to be. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel like it. His chest is burning; his lungs don’t feel like they’re getting any oxygen. Will’s bandages are discarded to the side—red, red, red replacing white, blooming, spreading, overtaking, and—

“Mike, sweetie?” 

Mike flinches sharply, and finally, his body feels unfrozen. He’s able to look somewhere other than the blood-stained bandages and the bloody gashes on Will’s wings, and instead, he turns his attention to Joyce, who’d just called his name. 

“S-sorry.” Mike swallows the lump in his throat and tries to remember how to breathe. “Did you, um… did you say something?”

A sad smile forms on Joyce’s face. “I didn’t,” she reassures gently. “But I, ah… I think maybe it would be best if you stepped outside for a bit. Maybe… go get some rest now that Will’s awake.”

Mike’s gut reaction is to protest, but the words die in the back of his throat as Joyce’s gaze flickers to Will’s face. Mike follows her line of sight, and—

Oh.

Red colors Will’s cheeks too, and he’s hiding his face from Mike, like he’s ashamed to be seen crying. It’s hard to see, but Mike can feel the heartbreak and the pain his best friend is experiencing right now. All he wants to do is make it better—to help Will, to somehow make this up to him, to let Will know that he’s here and that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Protest rises again, clawing its way up Mike’s throat, but he manages to bite his tongue and stop himself from yelling, It’s okay; please, it’s okay; you don’t have to hide, not from me. Please don’t hide. It’s okay; I’m here. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere, and you’re my best friend, and I love you—

Warmth rushes to Mike’s face, and for just a moment, he feels frozen again. There it is again—that thought that keeps sneaking up on him, more and more with each passing day. It’s the confession that Mike’s too much of a coward to say out loud, but he’s no idiot. There’s no denying the implications of those three words.

Not when he couldn’t even write the damn words in a letter to his own girlfriend.

Not when the words sneak up on him, in the most mundane and the most insane moments of his life, like they’re something as natural as breathing.

Not when it’s Will.

I love you, Mike lets himself think again. 

Unfreeze.

Mike takes a step forward, ignoring the way his heart pounds inside his chest and the skeptical looks both Hopper and Joyce give him. Instead, he just sits down as carefully as possible as he can onto the bed, and he reaches for Will’s hands, pulling them away from his face so the two of them are looking at one another again.

This is your fault, that voice in the back of Mike’s mind whispers as Will tentatively looks at him, eyes full of grief and shame and embarrassment. It’s all your fault.

Maybe, Mike thinks. But Will needs me. 

So, without giving it another thought, Mike scoots close, and he wraps his arms around his best friend, being careful to not exacerbate Will’s injuries. Like two puzzle pieces slotting into place, Will falls easily into his arms, and Mike hugs him close, running his hand up and down Will’s bare arm. 

“You’re okay,” Mike whispers. It’s a reassurance and a reminder wrapped up all in two simple words and meant for both of them. “You’re going to be okay. We’ll get through this. I promise. I promise.”

Maybe that’s not a promise he should be making, but it’s one that Mike is going to try and do everything to keep.

**

Eventually, Will begins to get better.

His wings will never be the same again. That much is clear. Wings are already sensitive appendages—something that both Will and El can attest to—but it doesn’t help that they’re in the middle of the apocalypse with limited medical supplies. Hopper and Joyce do their best, and Will does slowly begin to heal from his injuries.

But his wings will never be the same again.

He doesn’t like talking about it, and that’s fine. Mike doesn’t like thinking about it, much less talking about it, so instead, he pours all of his energy into making sure Will knows he isn’t alone and also into keeping Will’s mind off the current reality of their situation. It’s no easy task, but if there’s one thing Mike’s gotten good at over the last twelve years of their friendship, it’s making Will Byers smile.

It’s… strange, actually. These past couple of months have objectively been some of the worst months of Will’s life—and Mike’s too, if he’s being completely honest. Will has spent these months recovering from a severely traumatic ordeal, both physically and emotionally. They’re living in the middle of the apocalypse, and One could literally return any day now to try and… destroy everything or whatever the fuck he wants to do.

And yet somehow, even in spite of how shitty things have been, the two of them have been able to find a little bit of light in the middle of the darkness. 

It’s different, and it’s maybe too soon to say this, but also not soon enough. They’ve been walking down this path for years now, and only in these past couple months has that walk turned into a sprint towards… something – something remarkable and exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Something Mike doesn’t dare name yet, but that he wants to name, every single time those three words, I love you, come to mind.

It’s an ordinary day when he finally finds the courage to.

“Okay, so I was thinking,” Mike announces as the door to Will’s room flings open, and he walks in, the way he’s done dozens of times, “we should—” 

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Before he can, Will turns around quickly, arms wrapped around himself, and he yelps, “Mike! Jesus, knock next time!” 

His face is bright red, his eyes are wide, and his expression is caught somewhere between embarrassed and actually mortified. Part of Mike wants to point out the fact that he’s done this multiple times and Will’s never seemed to care, but the words die in the back of his throat as he takes in the sight of his best friend.

For starters, Will is shirtless, and that – that’s totally fine. That’s fine. Mike doesn’t feel like his face is on fire or anything. Pfft, no. He’s seen Will shirtless hundreds of times, so this situation? Right here? Totally normal. Completely.

…

Anyways.

Beyond that, Will is… clearly trying to hide his wings. Despite the fact that Mike knows it hurts him to not stretch his wings out, he’s folded them down, so that Mike can just barely see the tips of his wings not hidden behind Will’s back. His eyes dart back and forth around the room anxiously, and a pang of hurt and guilt forms in Mike’s heart.

“Will,” Mike whispers, and he takes a step towards his best friend, unable to help himself. “Hey, it – it’s just me. It’s okay.”

Those words, apparently, aren’t the right ones to say, because Will’s face falls. He looks away quickly, wraps his arms around himself, and mutters, “It’s not okay. Just… please… can you go?”

His voice breaks on those last few words, and though he doesn’t say it aloud, Mike hears Will regardless. There’s no one in the world he knows better than Will, just like there’s no one in the world who knows Mike better than Will does. The two of them get each other.

“If you really want me to go, I will,” Mike says quietly and takes another step, holding out his hand for Will to take. “But if not…” 

He lets his voice trail off, waiting for Will’s reaction. It takes a few moments, but then finally, Will looks up, eyes watery and heartbroken. He doesn’t say anything; instead, he just slowly unfolds his wings and takes a step backwards, sitting down onto his bed and keeping his arms wrapped around himself. 

The invitation goes unspoken but not unsaid, so Mike takes another few steps forward, sitting down beside his best friend. Not a moment later, Will rests his head on Mike’s shoulder, and Mike responds by wrapping his arms around his best friend and holding him close. Neither one of them says a word, but Mike can feel the way the tension dissolves from the room, the way Will’s walls begin to crumble, the way both of them walk hand in hand back towards who they used to be. 

There was a point in their lives when things were too confusing. Too messy and too big to figure out. There was a time when this didn’t feel right, even though all Mike wanted to do was keep Will as close to him as possible. He didn’t understand it back then, but he gets it now. 

It’s pretty simple, actually. Mike is in love with Will, and he has been for a long, long time. Maybe since before he even met El, but definitely during the extent of their relationship. And while the feelings for El were there, they were never as strong as the ones he felt for Will.

…

The ones he still feels for Will.

So, it’s easy. It’s the most natural thing in the world for Mike to hold his best friend close, to let the rest of the world fall away, to think back to the very same thoughts that had flooded his mind on the rainy night all of this first began. Please don’t leave me, and You’ve gotta be okay; you’re gonna be okay, and even I love you, I love you, I love you. Please don’t go. 

Eventually, the tears stop falling, and the room grows quiet once more. The two of them sit there, arms still wrapped around each other, with Will’s head resting against Mike’s chest lightly. He’s shifted a little bit now, wings wrapped around the two of them as best as he can, and it reminds Mike of when they were little, back when Will’s wings were the secret Mike was lucky enough to know and back when the world seemed just a little bit smaller and less overwhelming.

As carefully as he can, Mike adjusts ever so slightly, and he lifts one of his hands, running it across one of the long, jagged scars on Will’s wings. He feels his best friend shiver under the touch, and hesitantly, both of them turn their gazes towards one another. 

There’s hesitancy written all over Will’s face, and his gaze flickers to Mike’s hand for just a brief moment, before returning back to Mike’s eyes once more. He looks like he wants to say a million different things, but finally, he settles on quietly saying, “They’ll never be the same again.”

He doesn’t say it aloud, but the words don’t go unsaid. 

I’ll never be the same again.

And there – there is the root of all of this, the grief that Mike knows Will has been feeling this whole time. Hell, it’s the same old grief and confusion and pain that’s been around since Will was first rescued from the Upside Down. It’s the same grief that appeared again the year after, and it’s the same grief that keeps on coming back, manifesting itself in new ways, and always posing the same question. 

Will I ever be the same person again?

Will any of us?

“Maybe not,” Mike says quietly. The words don’t feel nearly big enough to even begin to say what he truly means and how he truly feels. All he can do is hope that Will understands what he’s trying to say—that the words he can manage right now are enough until he musters up enough courage to truly tell Will everything Mike needs to say to him. “But they’re still beautiful.”

You’re still beautiful, he thinks but doesn’t say. Instead, Mike just runs his hand delicately down the broken, scarred wing, never once taking his eyes off Will. And I love you.

Will takes a shuddered breath, and despite the watery look still in his eyes, he manages to smile. “You really mean that?” 

“Yeah,” Mike whispers back, and he scoots closer, one arm still wrapped around Will and the other still gently stroking the patches of white feathers on Will’s wings. In return, Will wraps his wings around the two of them even tighter, and the smile on his face grows. He seems more relaxed. More at home. “I really do.”

The words still aren’t everything that Mike wants to say, but Will gets it. He always does. And one day, hopefully soon, the two of them will be able to talk about this, and Mike will be able to speak the words that have been echoing through his mind and that he’s kept close to his heart ever since the moment he came to this realization. 

Someday.

[c-schroed]

Podcasts I Adore - SPINES

This week, I finished the last Episode of the "Mirrors" podcast by ZoomDoom Stories. Which means that I have now heard all of their marvellous productions. And now I feel this need to tell everyone what great stuff they make! Meaning that I'll write some reviews for all the three podcasts they produced and post them on iTunes et al., but before I post them there, I might as well leave the reviews here. So, tune in for some rambling about three audio fiction productions that range from "very good but sadly incomplete" to "so very fricking close to perfection that I really can't call it anything but DARN PERFECT". We'll start with the DARN PERFECT one:

"Listen again: Grove. Mosaic. Trumpet. Listen, and remember. Because those three words, those are the most important words in the world. This is SPINES."

"SPINES" is a fictional audio drama, which, like all productions of ZoomDoom Stories, is written by Jamie Killen, and congenially so. It is told in the form of podcasts made by its protagonist, a young woman who named herself Wren. At the beginning of the story, Wren seeks to find out what happened in a bloody ritual that she barely survived, and which left her without any memories of her past life, but with supernatural powers that she slowly has to explore.

Think "X-Men" meets "Supernatural", with a nice dash of Lovecraftian atmosphere and some sweet bits of Cronenberg-esque body horror. "SPINES" is a truly unique experience, and it clearly is one of the best stories I ever heard. What I love most about it is that it perfectly understands and respects the strengths and limitations of the medium it chose to be told in: Podcasts enable a very intimate way of storytelling, and the very talented voice actor playing Wren just perfectly allowed me to quickly grow attached to her and everyone around her. Wren has lovely quirks like naming every informant that reaches out to her after characters of anime shows she just watched, she has to deal with terrible situations and huge losses, and she is granted one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard.

And being told in the form of a podcast really helps the story to flesh out Wren. She comments the stories she tells in clear and unfiltered language and often directly addresses her audience. We, the listeners, also know exactly who this audience is. Besides people that are similarly gifted as Wren, most of the episodes are addressed to Zachary, a man she quickly saw during the ritual that started everything, and whom she since then feels weirdly attracted to.

Of course, telling a story in the form of a podcast also entails some limitations, and "SPINES" respects and works with these limitations better than any other audio fiction I have heard so far. The show's author Jamie Killen is very aware how information is told when broadcast into the public, which makes "SPINES" an all the more fascinating listening experience. For instance, huge changes in the status quo are often announced right at the beginning of an episode, because when something important happens that has to be told immediately, than why wait until it slowly unfolds in the narrative? A broadcast is not necessarily about suspense; it sometimes is much more about giving the important info right away, and then adding all the details. Furthermore, Wren is very careful with the information she shares, and often leaves out details that might help her enemies too much. Details like these make "SPINES" very special; it is one of the most thought-out and self-aware productions I know.

The second best thing that I love about "SPINES" is how each of its three seasons has its very own feel and atmosphere. Season one feels a lot like an urban fantasy version of "Supernatural", with Wren, on her quest for the truth about the ritual, encountering urban legends and terrible secrets scattered everywhere across the city she lives in. Season two, on the other hand, involves a lot of changes, and feels much more like a late-80s action show, with Wren being sent to different places from week to week; hopefully helping the people there with whatever supernatural catastrophe is going on, very much like a MacGyver or an A-Team. But with superpowers, and with more ghastly antagonists. Season three finally is characterized much more by urgency and emergency, with Wren and her allies always being forced to react to an enemy that they can never allow themselves to underestimate.

What also impresses me greatly is that every season ends with a perfect equilibrium of frustration and hope. There's always some kind of terrible catastrophe, but this terror is balanced out with something equally beautiful, making Wren never the triumphant heroine she might deserve to be, but giving her just enough hope to go on. I admit it; sometimes this kind of ending is too close to home for me, sometimes I'd just direly want Wren to win, and live happily ever after, period. But on the other hand, this masterful balance is what will always keep this story in the back of my mind, and close to my heart.

One final thing I want to mention, and I'll make it quick this time: Besides being a nail-biting story about fascinating superpowers and secret societies that worked among us for centuries already (which are depicted in the most realistic way I have ever seen!), "SPINES" is also a perfectly wholesome love story. I know I already mentioned this some paragraphs before, but I really can't stress enough HOW DARN WHOLESOME this love story is!

So. "SPINES" is the perfect combination of urban fantasy, horror, and romance. It has a perfectly fleshed-out narrator, played by an incredibly talented voice actor, and it masterfully uses the possibilities of its medium. To me, "SPINES" is close to perfection, and its very few flaws should stop no-one from giving it a try. As long as one likes horror, of course. The show can get quite drastic, from time to time.

10 out of 10 points. Sheer perfection. And a lifelong love for Wren and Shan and Winry. And Akira, and Bilal (because who would not want the literal perfect moment as a friend?). And all the others.

Besides my general opinion about the show, I'd also like to go into detail regarding three episodes that I find especially noteworthy. All of them are part of Season 3, so please be aware of minor spoilers.

Season 3, Episode 6 (Episode 22 overall): The Trade

This is my favourite episode. It marks the second time that the narrator of an episode changes to Shan, whom I adore at least as much as Wren, and it might have one of the most dramatic beginnings of all episodes. But what really makes this episode stand out is how well-thought its time-travel plot is. It makes perfect sense, and it involves my favourite temporal paradox, the bootstrap paradox (I you don't know it, go look it up; it's so much cooler than some poor dead grandpa). Plus we get to know a supernatural brothel in Vienna. Which I didn't even know I desperately wanted to hear about, until I heard about it. But now I need a spin-off about Ilsa and her Gifted courtesans. :D

Season 3, Episodes 2 & 3 (Episodes 18 & 19 overall): Iris, Part 1 & 2

There's much about this two-part episode that I really love, be it that it gives satisfying answers that I wanted to hear for a long, long time, be it that we're given a very credible reason for this story being split into two parts (once more, "SPINES" shows how perfectly well it is aware of its podcast medium). So I really, really wanted to like these episodes. But still, they turn out as some episodes that I really have trouble with. This might maybe due to me being not a native English speaker, but I have terrible problems with understanding the narrator of these episodes. So if you, like me, have problems with listening comprehension during this episode, please be reminded that there are transcripts of each episode. Although they currently can only be reached via archive.org's ever-so-useful Wayback Machine.

2019 New Year's Special:

This is a crossover with "Mirrors", another marvellous audio drama made by ZoomDoom Stories. And because I listened to this right after finishing the final episode of "SPINES", I did not know that it contains some major spoilers for at least the first season of "Mirrors". Furthermore, the events at the end of the episode play an important role in the third season of "Mirrors", but that's not that important in my opinion. But should you not know "Mirrors" by now and maybe want to listen to it later (which, again in my humble opinion, YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD!), then maybe listen to this New Year's Special after finishing "Mirrors" season one.

The episode itself was a bit of a disappointment for me, if I'm honest. Both "SPINES" (in at least one episode; i. e. episode 22: "The Trade") and "Mirrors" usually deal perfectly with all matters related to time-travel and temporal paradoxes; to me they really are a paragon of how to tell stories that involve different interacting timelines. So the way that time-travel is treated here is just disappointing to me. Don't get me wrong, please. It still is a perfectly entertaining episode. It's lovely to hear more from Wren and Shan, and it is hilarious to hear about the events in "Mirrors" from their perspective. But as to the time-travel aspect, well, I'm spoilt by now. I'm used to it being told so much better than here, with much less paradox narration. So this special might be the biggest flaw in both series. I mean, I'd still give it 7 out of 10 points. So that says more about how fabulous the rest of "SPINES" and "Mirrors" is.

[travelerclondike]

I came across a vid that made me really want to just talk about my dragon dweeb Gil.

I've never really gotten to play DnD but I love the world's and the story and a friend of mine I used to role play with decided since there was just two of us we'd create our own fantasy DnD-esque world where we grabbed s few of our pre-existing characters from other forgotten projects to give them new life in a new adventure. The main crew had our pirate queen, a Halfling named Lang Porter; one of her devoted shipmates a Swamp Triton nicknamed Firlan, a Tiefling fortune teller with plenty of shady ties named Prill, a very young Wood Elf nicknamed Vii, a human Tempest Cleric named Bree, and lastly there's Gil, a great mess of a "wizard".

And by mess I mean the gang originally met him while on their first mission. Lang wanted her crew to stay a while and set up shop so she could hock off some of her stolen goods and rest easy a while in the great port city of Sprinos. The problem is, Sprinos is basically owned by a powerful Mafia family and she finds out quick that if you want to do business in this town, you'll need to make some friends first. Fair enough, alliances are good if it means she can come back at a later point and have some protection, but the people are uneasy about outsiders since there's been a series of missing people lately and no one is sure what's happening to them. After some information gathering and making friends with Prill (who's uncle is the leader of the clan), they hear rumors about strange activity at the lake and many a curious warrior hasn't come back from investigating. They find a cave hidden along the base of the mountain where they find Gil, a fierce Gold Dragon who turns out to be a human once he realizes they're not here to hurt him. There's been a lot of people coming to his home lately, claiming he's the monster of the lake, but he's really just some old recluse who would rather stay alone. He goes to town sometimes for supplies so Prill recognized him, but had no idea where he stayed since he clearly didn't live in Sprinos. In that case, she feels she can trust him. Warily but enough to believe him that he'd like to get his name cleared. After their success, he ends up deciding that he's missed out on a lot of changes in the world, and he's curious to see what else is out there. An adventure would do him some good, and admittedly he's been pretty lonely so seeing he can actually do some good in the world makes him wonder what else he's capable of. Why would he think otherwise?

Because he's actually a dragon.

See, in this world, about 300 years before events, there was a great uprising where all of the dragons were thought to be wiped out. It started with the Dragonborn (in this world once being second class denizens to a draconian empire) overthrowing their cruel masters but it spread far and wide. Gil, it turns out, was a very young Gold Dragon in the crumbling days of the empire and since he never really had the chance to learn, the one thing his father bestowed on him was how to Change Shape in the hopes he might be able to flee in the chaos. This is fun because it opens up the possibility of other Dragons being out there in disguise, but few can hold the illusion as long as his kind. He's been in hiding for the last century or so out of sheer terror to his childhood trauma, but dragons are so long lived, he's not really sure how much time has passed and has long feared that the slayings were still going on. It also doesn't help how going into town has allowed him to overhear the tales of these wretched creatures and see the rare and expensive dragon hides in the shops to know he's not safe there. But in a way it's given him some internal complexities because he knows what he is, but almost wishes he wasn't. Gil is around 400 years old, making him by far the oldest of the group, but that's true of his human form too as he appears to them as someone in his mid 40s. Most of the group will make fun of his archaic way of talking (he does start to learn more Common as he visits more) chalking it up to fact he's been living under a rock surrounded by his books and other old world things he's collected. It's a bit of a running gag that he's SO timid and SO unassuming, the others aren't even covering for him when he does something weird, they genuinely think he's just an oddball of a human. Doesn't understand social cues? He's been living under a rock. Knows a lot about history? Yeah he's a nerd, this is not news. Magic goes awry? Well he's a wizard in TRAINING since for all his reading he only tried putting things in practice on that first mission. Surprisingly durable for a human wizard? He's a total coward that will fake injury since he knows if he gets knocked out, his cover spell might dissipate. Prill is so annoyed early on to realize he's not hurt, he just laid down to hope the fighting would stop. Even once he starts showing other magic traits, there's discussion that yeah he's been living in the woods since he was a kid, but did it ever occur to him he might have some dragon blood in his lineage?

He really does start to warm up to the "other" Dragonborn they meet along the way, even if they're surprised how little he knows of their customers and feel sad to learn he's grown up without a clan to have ties to. Little Violex knows how that goes. She's the member he's gotten most attached to, not just because she's so young, but because he found out she came to the group under similar circumstances. When a mysterious force was unleashed and threatened to wipe out her entire home, her parents set up a teleportation spell to send her far from the forest in hopes someone would take her in. Someone had to survive to tell what happened. It's cute though because Gil will sometimes drop his spell during a long rest, but says he's setting up the illusion to help scare away bandits. Elves don't sleep as much as other races so Vii was the first one to see him in his true form but as a druid, she wondered in her wide eyes innocence if him turning into a dragon was similar to her turning into a squirrel when she's scared. He says yes, even if he's not one for lying. After all, it is similar, just she doesn't realize he also makes himself smaller because he's scared, it just happens to be almost all the time.

[soulventure91]

emoji asks for u:👑,🙈 (esp for dir) and i'd love to know 🌌 -- for as many of ur blorbos as you see fit!

emojis bb! |

Diric Vajon 👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why? I think I answered this one in the last round doing this, BUT. If he's to be remembered, Dir would like it to be as a protector, someone that could be counted on when he was needed. He grew up believing that being a soldier, a fighter - someone able to stand up for himself and others - was how he was going to make it out of Blackthorn and make a difference in the world. He's not as sure now as he's been in the past whether that's how he'll be remembered - if he'll be remembered at all.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don’t want to show other people? It's peeked out a bit since he's come back from Tsenden, and it's a side he is trying to be more comfortable with letting out: being playful, not being wound up in his armor all the time. Diric's never felt comfortable letting down all his walls and allowing himself to have fun. He's going to make an attempt once we get out of the Shadowfell, though - day at the spa, do some frivolous shopping and maybe some new piercings, and get down some dancing if he finds a good place. Dir needs something to help his soul heal and stabilize his broken heart at the very least.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them? So when I fist started playing a ttrpg in uni, I was able to get my hands on a HeroLab license (that group was running a heavily modified Pathfinder 1e game, hence HL) and started working with a few different concepts. Around the same time as I was starting to read up on Drow (since I wanted to play one and my DM wanted to ensure I didn't accidentally make a Drizzt), I also discovered mind flayers! There's actually a sequence in the second Homeland Trilogy book where Drizzt is! Briefly captured and enthralled by mind flayers! And part of that stuck with me enough that when I was passing time doing concepts and inspired by art on Pinterest, I created a psionic dhampir ranger - a man that had been captured and enthralled by mind flayers and escaped, but was forever changed by the experience. I then shelved that concept and that character sheet has since been lost to time - sometimes I'd think about it again, though, and the thought came on strongly after Tac died and Tez was spiraling rapidly out of the party. Of course at the time 5e didn't have dhampir or psionics, but I could still have the mind flayers in the background - and I could play not a full Drow (at the time that PF1e Drow had gotten kinda shafted in terms of chardev so playing full Drow some years later had left a bad taste in my mouth, and something similar happened in an in-person game I'd been in while also playing a full Drow) but a partial Drow, who would be outside the dangerous society and more easily exit onto the surface. And that's how you get to Diric!

Rosette Gang 🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them? So for the Rosette kids, it began with Kassi and playing the first open beta of Diablo 4. The opening intrigued me, and Diablo being a dark fantasy universe the idea of playing a necromancer seemed like a cool, lore-infused place to start. Of course though the necromancer's body model was bony and starved-looking - but that just set my creative juices turning. Necros in Diablo are sort of a combo class of D&D wizard and warlock - sturdier than a sorcerer but still a solid magical cannon, if restricted in some ways compared to a magic-heavier class. Building from there I could reckon Kassi as someone that tried to be the full-wiz style of necromancer - but can't. So she needed a more warlock-esque arc - leaning again into Diablo and the character of Rathma, born of an angel and a demon and known as the First Necromancer. So of course with most things when I want to develop further, I turned to my bestie @tatooine92 and said 'hey what if some portal magic went wrong and this skinny little necromancer that actually has 15 STR landed in Thedas'. She followed it up with 'what if she landed in Kirkwall??' This is how we get to Dylen and Jerrik - originally two nobody Templars guarding the Kirkwall Chantry when the Veil gets popped open briefly and this maybe-demon person falls right out in from of the Grand Cleric. Jerrik was the Quiet Stoic Protector, while Dylen was the Curious-But-Wary-And-Witty Newbie (and yes they're husbands, we knew this immediately). Kassi immediately bonded to them, and when I started developing her original world Steph agreed that I could port Dylen and Jerrik in as well - which meant I had to figure out "Templars" without actually having Templars. Cue D&D again and the Eberron setting with dragonmarks - just altered and made rarer! That's how you get the most sunshiney-yet-goth necromancer who can bench press you while still grinning; an ex-con who suddenly has magic that lets him be EVEN SNEAKIER; and a very tired sword-and-board-plus-protection-magic man who really doesn't like necromancers for Deeply Personal Reasons \o/

[whumpinthepot]

This or That tag game

Thanks for the tag @verkja <3

Historical or Futuristic

I’de honestly have to say historical but I do like futuristic if it’s science related or post apocalyptic so it may be a tie it just depends on how its done or what genre it is. My own writing usually takes place present times with some futuristic technology added in, just because I would be too nervous of messing up anything historically related.

Opening or Closing Chapter

Closing chapter. I love it when things end its my favourite it just feels like checking something off a to do list, otherwise im left with an empty unaccomplished unfinished feeling and that mental list in my head never gets checked off (im looking at you manga i never finished reading)

Light and Fluffy or Dark and Gritty

Dark and Gritty is always my go to, but certain genres I do like just nice fluff- Like most G/t related things. Hamster story is pretty light compared to most of my other works… TSATS is verging on concerningly harsh.

Animal Companion or Found Family

Found family <3 I love <3 especially when it represents the queer community. Animal companions I never really felt anything for… Like an anime mascot. Clarence reminds me of a mascot character since they’re sadly outnumbered by humans.

Horror or Romance

Horror. Idc about romance pretty much at all, like I have ships, and its cute and a common story element but im pretty ace (probably aro) and it just isn’t in my top interests. I have done romance rp’s which I adored but horror is always my top pick <333

Hard Magic System or Soft Magic System

My world building has a hard magic system with some loose rules if that makes sense… Especially my small elves they have a lot of set rules that I try to follow, especially with how their magic works and what they can do.

Stand-alone or Series

I like both, but series does have more impact a lot of the time. Pretty much all of my own stories are meant to be one book though. Theres already so much detail and world building and stuff for me to remember its easier for me to keep it at a manageable length. TSATS is by far my longest story but I don’t really know how long it really is in a book format…

Edit- I didn’t understand this last night at 2 am LMAO, I definitely like a series better than stand alones.

One Project at a Time or Always Juggling 2+

Im juggling so many things its actually disastrous. Its too much. Hamster story is taking priority right now because I seem to have a steady follower base for it and I want to keep it going at a nice pace ^_^ the other ones I don’t know if I will post so they’re really not in any rush. I would like to finish rats race though just for myself because I want to move onto better things and move away from the boxboy-esque genre.

One Award Winner or One Best Seller

Doesn’t matter either way. I don’t want to get too well known because I am uneasy about people forming negative opinions on me, which tends to be unavoidable for many many famous people, even if they’ve done barely anything wrong.

Fantasy or Sci-Fi

Both :) I do have to admit I lean more towards fantasy most times because it’s usually pretty and whimsical and foresty which is all mesmerizing to me. TSATS has both which I still don’t see too often so I find that really fun to play with. It still definitely leans on the fantasy side since its from my small elves perspective.

Character Description or Setting Description

Character description. I read things for the characters and like to know what they look like and know their quirks and such. Honesty I always have to look at my writing and try to see where I can add more setting descriptions because im always so focused on the characters and forget that people kinda need to know their surroundings… The characters aren’t just standing in a white void 😭😭 I swear. Sometimes I its more vague because I will not remember the colour of Ratty’s car, or what Kats house looks like for example… so I leave the details out…

First Draft or Final Draft

I only ever do first drafts and trying to get more comfortable with doing second drafts and editing but I would really love to have a final draft someday hoo boy… someone teach me how to do it haha 😂 /srs/gen/pls go into my dms

Tagging who ever want to join!!

[homebody-nobody]

Can you share someone of your favourite enemies to lovers books? Also I loved the new jiara fic, you never disappoint 👏🏽

omg thank you!! I worked on it in so many fits and starts, I wasn't super satisfied with what I put out, so I really appreciate that!!

ummm.... enemies to lovers books.... so I read fantasy and contemporary romance the most, so I'll demarcate based on genre

(oops this got long so see below the cut)

for fantasy: Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros - this book is MAD controversial because so many people were like 'I simply do not get the hype.' Anon, I got it. I agree that the writing and worldbuilding has flaws but also I'm an SJM fan so like, I'm here for dragons and romance, not airtight fantasy worldbuilding and poetic writing. Xaden and Violet have literally the most deliciously toxic relationship and it fills me with much joy.

Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross when I tell you I *gobble gobble gobble* ATE this book up!! The world is really unique and interesting, the rivals are truly divine, and I loved the fantasy premise -- a soft fantasy/magical realism world where the tech is legend of korra-esque and magic has depleted but still hides in delightful corners. Like, magical typewriters??? phenomenal. The love story is VERY compelling and the plot had me gasping and nearly crying til the end. Once you've read this one, make sure you've got 'Ruthless Vows' (the sequel) ready to go!!

Also, honorable mentions to Guarded Treasure [Mae Lovette] (a The Mummy (1999) inspired potato chip read my sister got my mom for Christmas that I read on Kindle Unlimited and thoroughly enjoyed) and Cities of Smoke and Starlight [Alli Earnest] that I am reading slowly but surely that has a fun world to hang out in but just hasn't held my attention. (The author advertises as a dynamic inspired by anya/demitri in childhood favorite 'Anastasia' and I'm not saying she's wrong but I have yet to see it. But other readers seem to love it!!)

for contemporary romance:

Anything Ali Hazelwood. LISTEN!!! I know. I know, okay! I know she's Sarah Dessen, vol. 2, but she made the jump from fanfiction writer to MASSIVELY successful romance writer so maybe we all have something to learn from her!! Also, she writes enemies to lovers with different characters falling in love in different ways every time, and it's comfortable for my auDHD ass that likes to know how things will end. Yes, I've read all of her books, and here's how I rank them --

Love, Theoretically Elsie, newly graduated PhD fights for a prestigious job at MIT, while her ultimate rival and physics nemesis, Jonathan Smith-Turner sits smugly on the hiring committee. Except, he's a lot hotter than she thought he would be. And he's also the brother of the guy she's been fake-dating for money bc adjunct professors make dick and diabetic physics proteges need insulin and cheese to live. I literally go back and read my favorite pieces of this book when I'm in a reading slump/missing my boyfriend when he's on tour with his band. 10/10. Some catastrophically silly moments but like, we aren't here for the next literary classic.

Bride is it published omegaverse fanfic reminsicent of the self-insert days of livejournal yore? yes. yes it is. It's also a pleasure to read, laugh-out-loud funny and a novel take on supernatural romance, bringing in elements of SJM's Crescent City, Twilight, and a touch of omegaverse. As a treat. Even if you're not into A/B/O dynamics usually, (I'm not), I would still rec this book. It's more supernatural romance and relies on the reader knowing nothing about omegaverse lore -- baby's first omegaverse smut, if you will.

Loathe to Love you this is a MAJOR shoutout to her UNDERAPPRECIATED short story collection!! Ali's niche is Educated Women in STEM ready to destroy asshole STEMlords that want nothing more than seeing them fail, and this anthology has THREE engineers fighting for recognition in a sexist world and falling in love along the way. The last one, 'Below Zero', is my favorite !!

Love on the Brain Another disabled protagonist that really needs to checked for Ehlers-Danlos and POTS but lives undiagnosed after my own heart. Bee, a hopeless romantic with an odd attachment to Marie Curie, has the opportunity of a lifetime with NASA -- except her grad school nemesis is co-leading the project. People criticize the 2014-esque fashion choices of the FMC, forgetting that the book came out DURING that era of fashion, and would have been the HEIGHT of cool, in fact. The love interest in this one is def my fave, and there's a very large, very improbable, and thrilling twist right there on the end.

Check & Mate Ali's foray into YA, about a chess prodigy returning to the world of professional chess after dropping from the public eye in her adolescence rises fast and is a favorite to beat 'the bad boy of chess', who is DEFINITELY an asshole and cold and emotionless... right? Liked it, but I'm just not the target audience for YA anymore and I adore Ali's smut, which she obvs did not write for the two 18 yr old protags. But still good!

The Love Hypothesis. Yes, I've read it. And yes, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But it's still painfully obvious as published reylo fic and also Ali crosses some hideous lines about bio/chem lab safety in this book that I simply cannot forgive her for. Also, since it's her debut, it's just not as good as the rest of her work.

As I've already written probably FAR more than anon was looking for, I'll spit out the rest of my contemporary romance enemies-to-lovers recs and be on my way

It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey (the sequel is not EtL but imo is better)

Enemies with Benefits, Roxie Noir (all 5 loveless brothers are excellent potato chip reads, but only the first is EtL)

Icebreaker, Hannah Grace (obviously)

The Hating Game, Sally Thorne (a pioneer, in its own right)

Well Met, Jen DeLuca (again, her whole series is PHENOM - I mean, renaissance faire themed romance series?? what's not to love?? She's a small author that doesn't have NEAR enough hype as she should and I met her in person last year at the MD ren faire. she is SO nice and SO cool so I def rec the entire series, but only Well Met is EtL)

ANYWAY, thank you for your lovely praise, and let me know if you read anything on this list!!

[adrianharley]

My Top 10 Reads of (the first half of) 2023

I have lucked out in reading so far this year, so it is now my duty, nay, my privilege, to insist that everyone else read these books as soon as humanly possible. These are all books I read from January through June--I haven't read a single thing in July yet. 

10. The World We Make, by N. K. Jemisin. Everything Jemisin writes is gold, and even though this one didn't quite hit the highs of the first, it was a solid conclusion to the duology.

9. Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo. Early Hollywood, but make it magic--fae magic, where stars become literal stars and a Wild Hunt happens behind the scenes.

8  You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, by Akwaeke Emezi. I will read anything Emezi writes. I would have trusted very few authors with this premise: an artist grieving the loss of her husband starts seeing other men again, but then starts falling for the father of the man she is seeing. The lavishness of the descriptions, my goodness. The book comes alive.

7. Witch Hat Atelier (volumes 1 through 5), by Kamome Shirahama. It's a testament to the strength of the books I read this year that the series with baby penguin-gryphons is this far away from #1. I cannot emphasize enough how cute they are--and in case you care about something other than baby penguin-gryphons, I cannot explain in words how incredible this world is. Just look. You'll see.

6. An Immense World, by Ed Yong. I am an animal nerd. I love sinking into a good nonfiction animal book, and this one is miles above most. I was blown away and humbled by how little I know about animal senses, and I thought I knew a lot. The writing is engaging and charming, too.

5. The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jiminez. I have never read a book like this before, and that's saying something. The frame structure of the dream theater, the way the narrative points of view flow back and forth, the dips into everyone's (EVERYONE'S) thoughts... this is one of those books that shows how arbitrary some of the fundamental "rules" of writing are, and how vivid a story can be without them.

4. Little Thieves, by Margaret Owen. A good first-person narrator is worth their weight in gold. This was a delightful romp with a selfish protagonist. She's robbing the rich and trying to outwit the fantasy law enforcement! She might have to Learn About Friendship! She's slowly turning into gems! I loved her and all the supporting cast.

3. The Monsters We Defy, by Leslye Penelope. I hope historical fantasy heists keep on coming, but they'll have a hard time surpassing this one. Features a prickly protagonist who slowly learns to trust and folktale-esque spirit magic, with spirits that can't be trusted and bestow a gift alongside a "trick." The pairing of "You will be a flawless actor who can take any role, but nobody will remember your true self" is one that's going to haunt me for a while.

2. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty. An absolutely flawless piratical adventure. A retired pirate captain gets called away from her peaceful life and motherhood for One Last Job. This has everything you could want in a pirate adventure--a crew of lovable characters, a sinister job that's more than it seems, sea creatures, and a rich and teeming world (the better to be looted). In any other year--half-year--this might have been my very favorite...

1. Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed. ... but Shubeik Lubeik won my heart and hasn't let it go. You know when you finish a book and want to shove it in everyone's hands immediately? This is that book, and all the more so because I had never heard of it before picking it up in the library and devouring it in one glorious evening. This graphic novel is about a world like ours, but where wishes are real. Three interconnected tales in Cairo follow three people who end up with a first-class wish. If you like graph-based humor about mental illness, gorgeous art, well-thought-through alternate worlds, and getting emotionally torn apart and put back together again, read this.

[frostythefrostedfox]

What we just saw is a classic tacting done so many times before, where the end goal is to shift the blame and put it on the consumer, it defects all the blame and makes us point fingers to the other monkeys in the cell intead of the scientists behind the glass

If I were to ask every single one of my children what do they want for dinner without telling the others that I did, I can make up the results of said questioning to perfectly line up with what i was going to buy before, except that now the kids are morally/emotionally bound to like whatever I give them because in their minds, this is what they chose, this is what they decided they wanted to eat.

I, random big shot corpo, log on twitter and ask people to tell me what they want in the game, for obvious reasons some of the things people says will line up with what we were going to do, and now these tweets are gonna remain as evidence of their demands, so when I push out this shitty *cut content* of an update, they will forcefully like it because this is what they asked for, the ones that do not like it will point at the ones that do and say "this is your fault, you did this", while I, the corpo, did absolutely nothing, the content released was the same as it always was, just a PR stunt.

Is not rare for a big corporation to hate its own products, do y'all have any idea how many times Konami tried to kill SIlent Hill? YES, THAT SILENT HILL, starting from Silent Hill 2 onwards, they wanted to fuck up the franchise and stop making games, Silent Hill 3 was supposed to be a House of the Dead-esque game, an onrails shooter, Downpour and Homecoming devs were subjected to extreme animosity and a lack of understanding in regards to creative changes and storytelling resources/ideas from Konami while developing the games.

And I have no idea if this fits the thing but Imma say it anyways

We are still living down the consequences of 06, 20 years later and SEGA and Sonic Team still can't let go of that one time people said bad things about their game, ever since that game came out they stopped caring about love and passion and instead they doubled down on their already shitty tactics.

Sonic has always been a clout chaser, his games are modeled after whatever is popular at the time of release, hell, 06 is trying so hard to be Final Fantasy, you can see it on the pre-rendered CGI cutscenes engine that they used and in the way the story is structured, but that just doubled down after 06, is it a coincidence that Black Knight appeared at the peak of the wii's popularity while at the same time using the same colour palette and screen filter that Gears of War and every single game of that era was using? Lost world was so desperately trying to be like the last Mario game released on 3ds, Colours is just a kirby game with a sonic skin on top.

And frontiers is just coping with the fact that Nintendo made a popular open world game, and that SEGA found itself a goldmine with Bayonetta, so someone's lightbulb shorted and they thought that was a flash so they combined the two in the most lazy, non comitting way ever made, slapping some extra shit from other games so everyone will be pleased.

Now this, put together with what I said earlier makes for the perfect game, Sonic Frontiers, written by the guy that *they* adore, featuring the mechanics that *they* like and with the gameplay style that *they* love, a very expensive PR stunt that worked to the tee, now you got a bunch of people defending this lackluster exhibition of pure mediocrity because since it got the tiny bit of frosting they asked for, they not only feel validated, they feel forced to like it, and they become an amalgamation that will quickly shut down any sort of negativity coming their way because if they let SEGA hear anyone else, they might lose their little piece of pie that they shouted so much for years to get.

In my country we have a saying that goes "Everyone worships the idol they deserve", and this is no exception, the people that genuinely likes all of this shit behaves exactly like the ones that make it, and if you don't like it, you're not a real fan like me.

What I learned is that if I wanna run a succesful franchise is to never to listen to the people that likes it, and if I do, is so I can do the exact opposite of what they ask.

For years fandoms have criticized big corpos and franchises for being lazy, bad and for shitting out soulless products for nothing but monetary gain and they've always insisted about how THEY wanted to have the reigns because THEY know the material best because they're fans goddamn it!

Well cases such as NFCV, Frontiers, Prime and IDW are clear examples of big corpos giving fans a shot at their franchises and the result is some of the most fanfictiony shit one can imagine.

It's a very smart move by the likes of Netflix, Sega and Konami because at the end of the day who can give the fans what they fans if not other fans?

Unfortunately what most fans want in most cases is not for a series to be true to itself, it's to be pandered to. Hell even the idea of a series that is true to itself is somewhat sketchy as that necessitates some third, omnipotent party to dictate what a series is "truly" about in a decisive, perhaps arbitrary manner

And since many fans are arrogant they don't stop to think that maybe their vision for a series may be flawed and the masses who accept their product do so readily because, more often than not, they share their same views for they themselves are fans

At the end of the day all of this goes to show a very harsh truth: what makes something popular and widely beloved is not its quality, it's how much people like it. And there's a difference

Sorry I had to vent some cynicism :)

.

[zirconpetals]

Well, after that fic, I need the Cinderella AU more than ever, can you imagine Hunter fighting with Amity and Willow? And then he is normal Blight, fighting her and all, insulting her and having no mercy, and then "Oh... Will-I MEAN plant witch😳 are you ok? O-oh... You want me to stop fighting? Well if you ask me like that, being so kind 👉👈" so shy and you have Amity looking at him so confused.

THANKS FOR THE RECOMENDATION!!! 💞💞💞

You're welcome!!! ^-^

HONESTLY I think if Amity realized that GG has a thing for Willow she would try to kill him on the spot. (The only thing stopping her would be Willow herself because she finds it hilarious)

GG would be all tsundere-like "It's not like I have a soft spot for her or anything" because he's a coven official and he's got to keep up appearances.

But the real Hunter is absolutely open and obvious about his feelings. He doesn't need/expect Willow to return them, he's just happy to have an opportunity to actually express them.

A lot of the dynamic would depend on whether others know his real identity or not.

Because if they did know, even "fighting" with Amity at some point would become routine and insults aren't serious. Hunter still believes Belos is the best thing in the world, he still needs his Hollow Mind moment, but he also cares about the other witches and has nothing against them, they just need to understand that if everyone followed Titan's will things would be better! But he doesn't want anyone to doubt him or his loyalty to the coven so he tries to keep up appearances. And everyone thinks it's so funny to see him try to pretend to not have the fattest most obvious crush on Willow. He would say something dumb as GG (he likes making up dramatic speeches but doesn't always think them through), and when he's in the Normal Hunter Mode everyone would be like "Oh why are you sitting so close to Willow? I thought you said her vile sorcery wasn't strong enough to distract you from the Titan's plans?"

Of course this dynamic can't last long, and eventually a Hollow Mind esque thing would happen, because you just can't keep someone who works directly with the main villain in your friend group with them changing sides or betraying you.

If they don't know however... I don't know how that would happen. Maybe Hunter wears a concealment stone under his mask and it changes his appearance when he meets Luz and Amity but he doesn't wear it for some reason when he goes to meet Willow? And the whole kidnapping bit at the end doesn't happen. He still goes by Caleb. Now this one has genuine secret identity.

Willow enjoys how flustered she can get the Golden Guard, but why would she think twice about him when Caleb is so sweet and right there? Maybe the fact that GG is attracted to her just makes her angry. He's a creep and he's working for Belos. It makes her skin crawl that he's probably having some weird fantasies about her. Maybe she even thinks he feels the same for her as Warden Wrath does for Eda. She likes Caleb, but he's so secretive. He probably doesn't feel comfortable sharing his secrets yet, and he's definitely not attracted to her like that. Why couldn't she catch his attention instead of GG? (This probably frustrates her and makes her go all out on GG when they meet).

In this one it might be the opposite to the previous actually: Caleb feels too scared to slip up and reveal his secrets, but as GG he has more confidence to actually say what he thinks (more or less. He still needs to keep up appearances).

But of course Luz and Amity from their encounters and Willow herself eventually sees that he's not that bad, that he has a heart and doesn't like to bring harm to people and he's just really misguided. Aaaaand there comes my favourite trope "I'm in love with two people what should I do (but actually those are the same person)"

Eventually the secret identity would have to get revealed, I don't think it would be too dramatic, but it would probably happen like. Just the day before Hollow Mind or something.

[athenagc94]

WRITEBLR INTRO

Basics:

Gabbi

she/her - demisexual

28

Communication Specialist by day - Writing Gremlin by night

ask game and tag game friendly!

Hello! I’m Gabbi. I have been writing ever since I could string together words. I started with fan fiction, but have since branched more seriously into the world of original novels. All of my WIPs, for now, take place in the same fantasy world during different time periods and with different characters. It allows me to make new stories without having to reinvent a world/lore each time. I focus mostly on the relationship between two people and how their story unfolds.

I’ve never been very good at sharing my work, but I really want to challenge myself to be part of a community of writers and I can’t quit tumblr so... *gestures vaguely* ...here I am.

Favorite Tropes/Content: Fake Dating, Found Family, Diverse Casts (LGBTQ+, POC, mental health and disability representation), male characters that aren’t afraid to show their emotions and just feel (let our boys be soft sometimes), I’m willing to read most things if they’re well-written.

MY WIPS:

Of Yarrow and Daffodils (Current Nanowrimo 2022 Project):

Low fantasy in a contemporary time, Third person alternating POV between the two MC’s, romance (some smut) and exploration of how success is relative to the individual and you shouldn’t compare your success to that of others.

Eusadora knows her life is in shambles. That isn’t anything new. Her ex-fiancé called off their wedding a month before they tied the knot, she’s still stuck at home with her family, and, to top it all off, the elder crocus flowers have yet to bloom this season and she can’t figure out why.

Clearly, the god of good fortune has it out for her.

When Zebulon Yarrow shoves a bouquet of daffodils in her face and declares his crush on her, she wonders if the strings of fate are finally pulling in her favor?

Tags: #oyad #oyad wip

WIP Page

Setting

Of Coast and Courtships:

Fantasy in a regency-esque time, third person alternating POV between the two MC’s, romance (some smut, lots of sexual tension), heavy political intrigue b-plot

Nemaia Nevarro, aptly referred to as the stone hearted heiress by her peers, has played the game of courtship for the last four months. Some would say she’s bad at the game, but she thinks she’s quite good. She doesn’t play it to find love. No. It’s so people stop talking about her father and the fact that he’s off chasing after ghost ships. 

But when people start speculating on his whereabouts, Nemaia is forced to face a harsh truth. Is she ready to take the mantle?

Mordan Rothenel may have made an error when he agreed to accompany his employer’s son, Theus Maistel, across the Jasper Sea to try to win the heart of the Nevarro Heiress. He thought it would be a quick trip, one that had him back home by the Eve of Frost, but his hopes are dashed when he’s forced to bear witness to the most painfully one-sides courtship in history.

His only silver lining is that he now resides in the largest port city on the continent. His experiments require rare goods and he can find them here – right at his fingertips.

Tags: #ocac #ocac wip

WIP Page