#pinterest quote turned art

[leulahart]

the mountain's daughter

[carrionne0]

THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR OCS

If you’re like me and you like to play around with your OCs a lot, here’s some things you can do with them!

ART & CRAFTS

Put your OCs in character scenario memes! Here’s some I found on Deviantart.

Do an art trade where you draw someone’s OC and they draw yours!

Use those "Draw The Squad" templates and draw your OCs.

Crochet/knit/sew/etc. a plushie of your OC.

You can also make a paper doll! You can find tons of tutorials on youtube.

You can also make a figure of them out of something like clay, cardboard, or another material.

You can build them out of Legos!

You can also create a hand or finger puppet of them.

Draw a comic featuring your characters!

Create an animation of your character.

Draw your characters as animals!

Create pixel art of your OC! Maybe even make it look like video game sprites.

Draw your characters as playing card designs.

Draw your characters as tarot card designs (Suggested by @ultragirl-parsley)

Create a coloring book full of your OCs!

Create a large cardboard cutout of your character. There are tons of tutorials online!

Put your OCs as designs on cookies, cakes, etc. (I kinda want to do this one but I know it won't turn out well for me 'cuz I suck at handling food T_T)

Design your OC's home.

Make a board game about your OCs and their story

Make Minecraft skins of your characters

INTERNET

Make your OCs in picrew or other dress-up things!

Create a character playlist on Spotify or other music site!

Create a Pinterest board with inspo for your OCs! Maybe outfits they’d wear, a moodboard, etc.

Reblog those “tag your OC as” blogs! They usually have a prompt and you can reblog it and tag which OC it describes. Here’s a few blogs which do this: Tag Your OC on Tumblr develop your oc on Tumblr Daily Asks for your OC (tumblr.com)

Take quizzes as your OC! You can find some on Quotev or IDRLabs.

Make a roleplay account as your OC.

Create a quiz on Quotev about your OC. Maybe something like, "Would my OC like you," "How similar are you to my OC," etc.

Put your OCs in the incorrect quote generator.

Find OC questionnaires and templates online.

Create a page on your Tumblr just for your OC! You can include things like a character sheet, general facts, your posts about them, etc.

WRITING

Do character exercises for them! You can find a lot of these on the internet, but here’s an example.

Write from your OC's perspective. It'll help you understand them better!

Create a list of media they enjoy. Maybe movies, video games, songs, etc.

Write a song (or just lyrics) about your OC or parts of their story.

Write a random story about their childhood!

Create an in-universe news report from your OC's world.

Write a poem about your OC.

OTHER

Put your OCs in character alignment memes! Here’s some from a search on Pinterest.

Create voice headcanons for your OCs. Here’s an example of Vivziepop’s for Hazbin Hotel..

Play as your character in video games! Like, maybe design your character in Miitopia or Sims.

Do some theatre improv games as if you were your OC.

Edit your OC on to pride flags.

Also, you could maybe make those like, Tiktok edits of your OC? (Y'know the ones I'm talking about?)

Create an AU version of your characters! (I’ll create a list of AU ideas soon! :D)

Have your characters solve the trolley problem and other moral conudruums.

Cosplay as your OC!

Create ship names for your characters!

You can also find baby names that your OC might like or something.

Create a visual novel/dating sim in Google Slides (or if you can code, you can do it like that!)

Create a crossword/word search relating to your characters and story.

Answer "Would you rather?"questions as your character.

Find poems that remind you of your OC.

Make family trees.

If anyone has anymore ideas, please tell me and I’ll add them to the list!!

[foranpo]

ੈ˚ʚ welcome to my notion tutorial !!

♡ my notion took me a month to make. It's a bit frustrating sometimes, but i want you to know that it's possible to have some organization in your life.

notion is meant to help you have a more organized life: trackers, goals, diary entries, anything can be turn into a notion page and i'm here to teach you how ♡

ps: sorry for being so long and with some typos and whatnot ♡

♡˳────── 1st step: the choice of an aesthetic.

it's important to have an idea when you start your notion;

for me, i wanted a place cozy and warm that reminded me of spring.

my main color is green. and with that defined, i started looking for color palettes with the types of green that i liked the most.

(i used this website, but any is good enough. it's just to give you an idea of what you're going to work with.)

i chose an aesthetic more gloomy, academic, and obviously green, (for my main layout, a retro blue-ish layout for my fanfics and a melancholy yellow for my original works) and with that i jumped to step 2.

♡˳────── 2nd step: hunting images and inspiration.

pinterest, pinterest, pinterest.

i can't stress this enough. use keywords to find what you actually need.

if you're a beginner, start with notion inspo, notion [aesthetic] ideas, anything notion related. pick your favs and choose what you like most about each one:

the font, the pictures, the layout, even a small detail like an aesthetic quote design -just make sure you know what you like the most.

once you have a list of what you want, you start searching for images.

keywords i suggest are: [color] aesthetic, [color] cinematography, [color] photography, and, especially, [color] png icon.

i find it really satisfying having pngs on your notion: it gives a better sense of home and they cute, so it's a plus!

(most png aren't transperants on pinterest, so i use this app to make it a real png. now, know that it's not perfect and on dark mode might look funky, but it's worth a shot ig ♡)

now you should be left with a small gallery of photos with the same color scheme and this takes us to step 3!

♡˳────── 3rd step: dividers save lives.

pick one image to be the base of your notion layout.

it might be for your notion icon, header, or just a random pic laying around your notion. but make sure you only have one.

with that, go to an app that finds colors (i use this one) and pick the 3 most predominant colors! i suggest one darker, one lighter, and one in between.

this works not only as dividers but to enhance any quote or pic that you have. e.g.:

as you can see, this little dividers (size that i use: 948x8) work better than the ones provided by notion and they're easy to make. just open paint and you're done!

and once you have all the inspo, all the pics and dividers, it's time to create some art ♡

♡˳────── 4th step: the creation of art.

is time to make pages and more pages.

now, please know that this requires lots of work, frustration and patience. sometimes the website doesn't want to collaborate and it might get a bit annoying. but know that it's totally fine to take breaks and take your time. this is something for you and you only.

you can take all the time you want ♡

ㅤㅤ♡˳────── 4.1 step: page outline.

choose the number of pages !

i suggest you have one homepage with quick links to your other pages:

trackers, school related, hobbies, anything really.

it's your notion after all, you can do anything.

after having the number of pages you can star outlining the pages.

the beginning is always difficult and embaracing, but if you give it a try, i'm sure you will create art!

i suggest, if you do a full page, to use 4 to 6 columns. it might be a bit overwhelming at the start, but i found it easier to work with more columns and less rows. also, it's more compact which makes everything x3254 cuter.

nut you can literally do whatever you want! so here's my organization ♡

my personal organization !

homepage (5-6 columns, 4 rows): quick links to my other 4 pages. daily routine. quick reading and writing trackers. my performances schedules and feedback. goals for the month. clock, weather, year progress bar (see end of post).

original works (4-6 columns, 2 rows): my three wips. websites that help me with writing. my progress in each work. motivational quotes.

fanfic works (4 columns): folders for each fandom with more folders for hcs, one-shots, multi-chapter and ideas. motivational quotes. goals for the year. pretty pics and quotes.

trackers (5-6 columns, 4-5 rows): media that i'm currently consuming or consumed, with details such as rating, author, and some sub-pages with my extensive thoughts.

in short !

have one big page at the beginning to help you navigate easier.

don't be afraid to had columns and rows! if there's a blank space, throw some png's and quotes at it. it always makes everything 10x cuter.

ㅤㅤ♡˳────── 4.2 step: widgets are your best friends.

add some widgets to make it prettier ♡

i use this website. it's pretty easy and has the main widgets.

a quick google search might take you to other websites so feel free to explore ♡

♡˳────── 5th step: a touch of magic and stardust.

the start of a new page is always frustating: what aesthetic to use? what do you put first? what if it's corny? too much quotes? so many questions and, hey!, i hear ya! it's a pain in the ass.

that's why i'm here to tell you that you will change your layout lot's of time. even if you have already in mind what you have, it's only normal to change stuff every now and then until you have the perfect page.

e.g.:

you can see how my first homepage (pic. 1) changed drastically to my current homepage (pic.2). not only the color scheme changed, but the layout itself.

more artistic pictures, cuter png's and quotes, and my homepage changed completely!

so don't be afraid of change! it is important fr ♡

♡˳────── don't forget about...

you can change the font and size of the page by clicking on the three dots on the top right of your screen ♡

make your text pretty with cool symbols !!

again, just surf the internet and tumblr and i'm sure that aesthetic bios will provide you with the cute little symbols to make everything cute ♡

be creative with your picture layouts ! ♡

i personally use pinterest (frame template) and clipstudio to make prettier pictures, but i'm sure any photoshop app can give you this effect as well.

play with png's and make your notion look more alive ♡

any hanging or 2 png's similar can help with a look cleaner and more organized.

add spotify playlists (it had to be public, i'm afraid) and youtube videos for more diversity!

table view is a life changer for organizing trackers, especially books and movies ♡

let me know if you want a deeper tutorial on how to use any function or if i forgot mentioning something you would like to know more about ♡

i hope this helps you and it's clear. know that i'm here for anything you need and i'm sure you're gonna do amazing things there ♡

[natequarter]

if the ghosts had social media:

pat has facebook. probably also twitter. he pretty much exclusively posts fun family photos, except for when he turns up out of the blue with a 'recovering from near-fatal arrow injury xxx'

kitty has instagram, pinterest, and tumblr. her instagram is all cute selfies and her tumblr and pinterest are full of gory photos

julian is a nightmare on twitter. the less said about that the better

#spilled ink #poets on tumblr #quotes #dark academia #shakespeare #words #love #austen #relationship #thoughts #light academia #BYRON DNI

the captain has whatsapp - you would not believe how much wheedling that took on kitty's end - and that is IT. he does send kitty funny cat memes, however

fanny begrudgingly downloaded facebook (and then undownloaded it in a huff a week later), but spent more time analysing the (now disastrous) coding behind twitter than actually using it

humphrey mostly uses social media to post his art and pretty landscape photography, occasionally interrupted by posts about how much he loves his wife and how lucky he is to have the friends that he does

robin does not have social media. he also does not appear to have a phone number. or an address. if you want to talk to him, you'll have to communicate the old-fashioned way (semaphore flags). failing that, you'll just have to hunt him down

[wisteriagoesvroom]

playing pinterest roulette and seeing what AUs i can make up based on the pics (part 1 of ???)

so this is a charlos AU, where carlos is not a racecar driver but went to a top university and eventually became a speculative fiction writer instead. his first book was an ambitious story about the theory of relativity as told through a series of art heists.

except: strange things start happening as carlos works on his highly anticipated follow-up, which is set to the backdrop of the monaco grand prix. in his restless nights, he keeps dreaming of a down-on-his-luck f1 turned getaway driver named charles.

it's a snowy winter's day, and he's stuck on the fifteenth chapter of the draft, wordsmithing a line that's going nowhere, staring at his laptop. nursing a café con leche that's quickly going cold. the doorbell keeps buzzing, and in his annoyance he opens it, about to give the delivery guy or some unfortunate christmas carollers a piece of his mind –

only to stare right into a pair of forest green eyes.

"it's mass. with time and space." charles says. carlos is too confused to even process how the figment of his imagination has appeared in the flesh. charles barges past him, fully takes up space in his apartment.

"the speed of light defines the relationship between energy and matter." charles continues, brushing ice off his gloves, face red and hair a mess under his beanie. "that's what you were thinking of. and don't stop on my account. i am so curious to see how this ends."

carlos stares, and stares, and stares. his hand has not moved from its death grip on the doorknob.

several thoughts flit through carlos's mind. uh, my macbook can do magic realism now? is this what they meant by writers being too close to the text? dios mío...¿tengo que ir al hospital??

carlos settles on: "how are you here?"

charles smiles, clutching his gloves betwen his hands. boyish and rueful as carlos ever dreamed him to be. "well. you are the one who created me, no?"

----

originally from a pinterest prompt -

letting the first pinterest posts choose my vibe - first real person, character, quote, outfit

tagging whoever wants to play it too!

[vlouette]

quotes/lines from Pinterest x Marauders era

"You broke me like I was one of your fucking promises"

- regulus to sirius when he left

"The moon reminds me of you. So beautiful, so bright and so far away"

- Sirius thinking about Remus when he was in Azkaban

"People will come and go. The best ones will always stay"

- the marauders + the girls (valkyries) + slytherin skittles/emeralds friend group

"In a room full of art I'd still stare at you"

- James to regulus at some point

"It's hard to turn a page when you know someone won't be in thr next chapter.

But the story must go on"

- James when Regulus died, Sirius when James and Lily died, Remus when Sirius died

"Just because you loved me doesn't mean I felt loved by you"

- James to Regulus post-breakup

(I changed the quote a little)

"stay close to people who feel like sunlight"

- everyone when they're around James

"I don't miss you, I miss the person I thought you were"

- Sirius to Regulus when he thought regulus chose his parents

"always be kinder than you feel"

- James

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"

- Jegulus post-breakup

"The way they leave tells you everything"

- Regulus after Sirius left

"I hate getting flashbacks from things I don't want to remember"

- Regulus

"Remember, your words can plant gardens or burn down forests"

- Sirius

"Your idea of me is not my responsibility to live up to"

- James

[phussenartzzz]

Saiouma “Fan art”

Drew this months ago after seeing the post (1st image) on Pinterest. I put fan art in air quotes because really this is a “Draw your Oc/ship like this” prompt

(Yes I did draw this on my homework BUT I did erase it before I turned it in😃👍)

[chloeangelic]

Why does it seem like everything you've put out lately is just trying to rip off netherfeildren? Like the art, the plots, the aesthetics... Especially weird since you used to seem to always hype them up

I went back and forth on responding to this but I’ve decided to because I don’t appreciate having my integrity questioned. I kind of expected that I'd get something like this because there are some thematic similarities between Seeking and SWITBOSH. However, I won’t respond publicly to anything else like this cause I think we’re all very over The Discourse, and tbh it’s a massive fucking insult to accuse me of ripping someone off when I’ve spent seven months writing ca 200k words of fic and developing my own unique style of writing. If you can’t see the difference between two writers, just because they write emotional depth and full sentences, then please read an actual book and not just brainrot fic. I’m gonna properly address everything under the cut - anon domming is back on the menu today. 

That being said, because this feels weird and uncomfortable for me and likely for Vic, I’m turning off anons for the time being and I’m taking a posting break to decide whether I want to continue posting here at all or continue posting purely on AO3. I post there anyways under the same name. If you still have a bone to pick with me or my writing, please message me directly. Please do NOT pester Vic about this, I know very well that she does not enjoy The Discourse or any sort of drama. Everyone is sick of the copying discourse - please have some trust in writers’ self awareness. 

Firstly, the words “recently” and “plots” should be defined here - I personally don’t see how stepdaddy Joel, pornstar Tim, sex addict Dieter, baby daddy Javi or any of Love Me back is similar to her works at all. The Seeking teaser I posted yesterday was similar to her Pink teasers purely because it had text on a photo - my text wasn’t even from the fic, it was a quote that represented the series as a whole and the quote that finally made the series crystallize in my head. It’s the quote I want people to have in the back of their mind when they go into reading it - it’s from the song that I consider the series theme. Our formatting is not the same. Yes, I have quotes at the beginning of the chapters - my friend sent me a bunch of poems and a couple, I felt were relevant to the story so I wanted to add them somehow. Several writers do this. I stopped putting in previews above the cut cause it was making it difficult for me to write the beginning of the chapters. My masterlist art is the same as, like.. Everyone’s else’s masterlist post - the norm on here is to have an artwork from Pinterest, the title slapped on top and the writer’s name. I literally just loved Pascalisbaby’s masterlist art so much I decided to do it too. 

When you say plots, I’m assuming you’re drawing parallels between Seeking what is desirable and Someone’s Wife in the Boat of Someone’s Husband because cheater!Joel (or maybe even Pink cause DDLG, but I’m literally in a DDLG-type dynamic irl and I decided to incorporate it into a fic for once - there were CLEAR ddlg undertones in Love Me Back, it just wasn’t explicit. I also wrote several chapters of Seeking before Pink even came out, and I wrote a cheating + father in law oneshot this summer). 

The MC in Seeking is based on myself and my own life, moving away from my parents in order to live with my boyfriend at the time very far away, who ended up being extremely absent and shitty. MC+Jeremiah relationship is based on Adam and Hermine from EXIT, Jeremiah is based on Tony Soprano, Gwen is based on Janice Soprano + a story I heard from my cousin about how his wife let him do all the childcare while she went on a women’s retreat. They are not in a marriage of convenience, the MC doesn’t feel bad about the affair at all, she never pushes him away, and Gwen has no plans on leaving. Sarah and Ellie are both 16 and living with Joel in Seeking. The MC does not have similarities to Sarah like she does in Love Me Back (which was also literally based on my own life) or Someone’s.

MC is a teacher who cheats with Joel - so is the MC in my post outbreak series I wrote many months ago. They're drawn to each other immediately cause I hate slow burn fics and I didn't feel like writing two chapters of him fucking someone else this time around. She goes out intending to cheat, and he thinks it'll sustain him for the next several years. The first thing I thought up in this entire series was Jeremiah - I had his character crystallized in my head for weeks before I planned anything else.

Of course Joel is unhappy in his marriage - neither Vic or myself would write a Joel who cheats for fun, that’s just not something either of us finds interesting. It actually started as a Sopranos AU, but I decided against going that route cause I don’t know enough about white collar crime. Also, if you are familiar with my writing you’ll know I love writing infidelity - it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m writing a series with this as the central theme. The central question for Seeking is when is it okay to cheat? That’s what the entire fic is about. It’s not about him finding the love of his life after marrying someone else (like the summary of Someone’s), it’s about two instances of cheating and how we justify those two scenarios. Of course it has a happy ending - I’ve used up my non-happy ending quota for the year. 

I’m not sure what you mean by aesthetics - Vic actually edits really nice graphics for all of her Mando chapters. She spends a bunch of time on those, and you’re doing a disservice to her by overlooking how unique her artwork is and how much effort it takes. She also made really cool teasers for Pink. I’m way too lazy for any of that, I just slam a moodboard together. I started doing 3 slot moodboards cause the 6-7 slot ones were a hassle. The fact that only art pieces are used in this series is half coincidence, half me being sick of trying to fit Pedro pics into the moodboards when the colors are often wrong. 

I literally texted with her when I planned this series, saying I was afraid people would accuse it of being a ripoff of Someone’s, purely due to the Joel infidelity + uninterested wife factor, and she did not think the overall plot was similar enough to be of concern. I still hype her up, she just doesn’t post as often now so I don’t reblog as often, that’s pretty simple. I’ve also asked Iris, my editor, SEVERAL TIMES if it reads too similar to Someone’s or anything Vic has written - she is extremely familiar with both of our works and she did not think so. What exactly am I supposed to do when I’ve gotten the green light from everyone? 

This specific anon didn’t mention the actual writing, though, which is funny and it makes sense because I don’t write like Vic and I don’t try to. Her vocabulary is way larger than mine, the diction and syntax are not similar at all. She actually uses metaphors, I use them very rarely and only when it’s super dramatic. My writing isn’t poetic, it’s not flowery, it’s not formal - it’s literally just how I think inside my own head. When I read my own writing, I imagine Charles Gross doing a dramatic reading. I learn like one new word every month and eventually I’ll add it to my writing when it’s something I’m confident using irl. She has a lot of depth to her fics, I also try to write with emotional depth - I’m sorry if that’s unfamiliar in a landscape of dbf porn with no plot and 5 word sentences (I’m shading my own first series here). Seeking reads more similar to the first series I ever wrote, which I never posted, than anything else I’ve written. Half of Seeking is also straight up daydreaming sequences cause that’s literally how I think - the MC lives a boring life and daydreams, so do I. 

I’ve learned a ton from reading Vic’s stuff - I don’t read that much irl cause I rarely find English novels captivating, but her writing has really made an impression on me. I talk constantly about how much her writing makes me cry, and it really does. Reading her stuff has absolutely influenced me to be more confident about weaving in actions and little plot points that are more vulnerable and personal to myself, and that adds a lot of depth it otherwise wouldn’t. I’m very inspired by her, of course I am - but I know the difference between being inspired and trying to leech. 

I’m sorry my writing style has developed. I’m sorry I no longer write like I did in April, with matter-of-factly short sentences and little emotional depth. I have short series and long series because some plots deserve more emotional depth and some don’t need it. I wouldn’t bother writing anymore if all I did was shady lawyer Joel or Father Joel and I never improved. 

If you don’t enjoy my writing, please just unfollow. I’ve seen other fics on this platform that read similar to mine, some that have exactly the same plot points/origin stories, and at no point have I thought they were ripping me off. At some point, this specific fandom needs to realize that it’s possible for two writers to have similar ideas without it being one person copying the other. My personal opinion is that if you copy someone’s plot, you won’t be able to execute it well because you don’t have the ideas necessary to actually flesh it out. If you’re familiar with my writing, you know damn well I’m capable of coming up with my own ideas and plots. I feel zero need to rip other people's in order to gain traction - I have enough followers and idgaf how many notes anything gets. Please don’t overestimate my ability to give a fuck about my popularity in this fandom. 

Anyways, thanks for making me want to vomit, anon, you truly made me feel like shit today and I hope you have a great night! I’m not sure how much I’ll be checking tumblr for a while so feel free to message me on discord under the same name.

[judithan-xing]

🎉I am now taking commissions!🎉

⬇️ Click readmore for more info ⬇️

If you are interested in my art and would like to support me in other ways considering checking out my itch.io and ko-fi pages.

Commission Items Offered:

Icons (25$)

Chibi Fullbody Illustrations (50$)

Sketch Illustrations (45$)

There are base prices (USD) and are not guaranteed final quote prices. Simpler designs may be cheaper while more complicated designs may incur a complexity fee (as will additional characters, etc.) To get a finalized quote please reach out.

Ordering Process:

Shoot me a DM or Ask about commissions. We can discuss what you're interested in getting and come to a conclusion on how to quote. Once we have a quote decided on I'll send a paypal invoice or a kofi item sale listing (I haven't used it yet so I'm excited to try it out), and I'll get started then. I will not start drawing until I have received at least half payment. Turn around time is about 2-7 days give or take how busy I am with work/if the queue is backed up.

Character References:

I do require some form of visual reference for characters, specifically for designing a character. I will accept Picrew mockups, stick figure poses, and pinterest boards as valid references. I will not accept AI generated references. (Not even on any moral ground but just because they're usually way too complicated and nonsensical)

Things I Won't Draw:

NS/FW is on a case by case basis. Some things squick me so I won't draw them, others are fine. I'm okay with most things but please ask first and do not assume an automatic yes.

Furries/Mechas just because I can't guarantee the quality.

Genderbends that are binary-to-binary. I find them reductive and hurtful. (Trans characters are a-okay obviously, I myself am trans)

Group shots of More Than Three characters (up to three is fine), I just don't have the mental fortitude for that many characters interacting. Ordering a bulk order of say, chibis or something is a different matter and is entirely up to discretion.

H*zbin H*tel anything. I'm sorry but they're so fucking ugly.

Things I Will Draw:

Ship art of any nature (OC x OC, OC x Canon, Selfship, etc etc, I'm not here to judge)

Pokemon, MLP, and Sonic style furries.

Design a humanized version/gijinka of a monster/furry/dragon/etc.

Design a DnD character

Any specific pose provided I'm given a reference

💖 Thank you for checking out my comms! 💖

and note: if you think my prices are low please don't comment "you need to raise your prices!!" I am aware they are on the lower end of things. I haven't taken commissions in 2+ years so I'm trying to find my footing. If you feel so strongly that I'm undercharging please commission me and tip what you think brings it up to a "fair" price.

[ramblingoak]

The Cardinal's Bride, Interlude: Meanwhile Back at The Ministry

Previous Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 ~~ Pinterest Board ~~ Spotify Playlist  

Something a little different while I finish up Chapter 7. I think it's time we met Secondo and get a taste of what life is like at his casino, The Ministry. Thank you to @tasty-ribz for the very very nice gambler/cowboy Secondo art. And thank you to @kissingghouls and @writingjourney for being thirsty for Secondo and cheering me (and him) on.

~ Secondo, Mist, Cirrus and Alpha (no pairings, alternate universe, gun violence, lots of swearing, nsfw 18+ only, mdni, 1,600 words) ~

“Copia did what?”

Secondo watched as Alpha nervously shifted from foot to foot. The Ghoul took their hat off and cleared their throat before continuing.

“He, uh, kidnapped Saltarian’s fiancé. Sir.” 

Of all the fucking stupid things his brother could have done.  He clenched his fists on top of his desk and resisted the urge to flip the damn thing over.  When would Copia learn to let shit go?

“How did you find this out?”

“There was a courier that rode through about an hour ago.  Dropped off the usual warrants and some new wanted posters from around the area.”  Alpha pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and nervously set it in front of him.  “This was in there too.”

Secondo unfolded it and gritted his teeth.  There was the familiar picture of his little brother that was posted everywhere that had a damned window but next to it was a picture of a young woman.  He got progressively angrier as he skimmed over the text. The Cardinal and his band of Ghouls kidnapped the generous Mr. Saltarian’s fiancé.  The poor woman was being held for ransom less than a month away from her wedding.  It ended with a quote from the banking magnate that a hefty award would be given to anyone with info on the whereabouts of the devil worshiping outlaws. 

Unholy fuck. 

“Should I wake up the sheriff?”

“What do you think?”  He crumbled up the paper and set it on his plate from dinner.  Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a cigar and his matches.  “Wake Omega up instead.  I need to know where the fuck mio fratellino is.”

“On it.  I’ll have him come here right away.” 

Secondo ran a gloved hand through his hair and took a few puffs on the cigar to get it going.  After it was lit he flicked the match onto his plate, watching as the paper began to burn.  His eyes flicked back to Alpha and he called out to him before he left his office. 

“Deputy…don’t tell anyone about this, do you understand?”

“Got it, Papa.”  

He nodded towards the door but it burst open before Alpha had even turned around.

“What now?”

Mist narrowed her eyes at Secondo’s tone as she shoved past Alpha. 

“Got a problem on the floor. Some asshole thinks Cirrus is cheating him at poker.”

Secondo pushed his chair away from his desk and ripped open a drawer. His gun belt rested inside, something he rarely wore anymore. Mostly because he was always too tempted to shoot anyone that pissed him off. 

“She’s supposed to be playing the piano.”   Secondo settled the belt around his hips and then grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.  “Who the fuck is on stage right now?”

“Cowbell.”

Fucking Cowbell.  He straightened his jacket and stalked around his desk, glaring at Alpha when the deputy still hadn’t left. 

“Shouldn’t you be doing something?”

Secondo narrowed his eyes when Alpha hesitated. 

“Uh, are you going to shoot someone?  I could stick aro—“

“You’ll do what I fucking tell you.”  

Alpha held his hands up and quickly turned, heading out of the office. He could hear the Ghoul’s boots thunking down the hall as he went. 

“You ready?  Cirrus might’ve killed him by now.”

“I’m not that lucky.”  

Mist snorted and turned on her heel, Secondo trailing behind her as she headed out and down to the casino floor.  Secondo used the walk to check things over.  He could hear the piano playing and Cumulus’s voice accompanying it.  The sounds of glasses clinking and dice hitting tables got louder as the pair started down the stairs.  The place wasn’t particularly busy tonight, but there was still a low hum of chatter from the patrons.  Secondo easily picked up the sound of an angry customer as they started weaving through the tables. 

“I know you fucking cheated so just admit it!”

“You can say it as many times as you want, asshole.  It ain’t gonna make it true.”

“I know what I saw, you had cards up your sleeve!  I didn’t come to this shithole to be cheated on.”  The man took a step towards where Cirrus was still seated and spit at her feet.  “Especially not by a woman.”

“I don’t know sweetheart, you look like the kind of guy that gets cheated on by women a lot.”

“You fuc—“

Secondo had reached them right as the man advanced on the Ghoulette.  He held a hand out and stopped his progress, splaying his fingers wide on his chest and shoving him back away from the table.  

“What’s the problem here?”

“The problem is this stupid bitch has been cheating and costing me money!”

Cirrus slammed her fist down onto the table and jumped to her feet. 

“If you say I cheated one more fucking time I’m going to slice your damn throat.”

“You’re a fucking che—“

“That’s enough.”  Secondo once again had his hand on the man’s chest but this time he grabbed his shirt in his fist. He yanked him closer, blowing smoke down into his face.  “My games are fair.  My employees don’t cheat.  I think you’re just having a bad night friend.”

“I ain’t your friend.”  He shoved away from Secondo, stumbling back and falling onto his ass.  “Should’ve known a bunch of Satan worshippers would cheat.”

Secondo narrowed his eyes and took a step toward him. He pushed the right side of his jacket back and tucked his thumb into his belt so his palm was close to the handle of his revolver. 

“Care to repeat that?”

“You heard me.  Everyone knows about you guys.  Fucking sacrificing people and animals and shit.”

“Well if you believe the rumors why did you come here?  For someone with such a strong moral code you seem willing to revel in sin.”  Secondo smirked when Mist stepped close and lifted up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.  “You even spent the night with one of my fallen angels.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Liars.  Devil worshippers.  Cheaters.”  He shook his head as he stared the man down.  “Serious accusations from a drunk that can’t back them up.”

Secondo smirked when the man growled and clumsily got to his feet.  He was itching for the man to try something, honestly for anyone to try something tonight. His anger over what Copia had done was simmering in his veins.

“Oh I can back them up.”  The man straightened his clothes and then reached towards his belt.  “But first I’m gonna shoot you in your smug fucking face.”  

“Are you?”  Secondo clicked his tongue and let his palm rest on the handle of his revolver.  “What a pity.  I had plans for later.”

“Yeah well fuck your pl—“

The man had finally gotten a grip on his gun and pulled on it, but he barely had it out of the holster before a gunshot rang out and echoed through the now quiet casino.  Secondo watched as his body jerked and collapsed in on itself.  The bullet had lodged between his eyes, blood quickly pouring from the wound and dripping onto the floor.  Secondo grimaced for a moment before he turned to look at Mist.

“Take care of this please.”

“Yes, Papa.”

Mist pointed at some nearby Ghouls and snapped her fingers.  While Earth and Water lifted the body up Secondo uncocked his gun and spun it back into its holster.  He turned and took a few steps towards the bar before glancing back at Cirrus.

“Cirrus, a moment por favore.”

As he walked towards the bar he shot a look towards the quiet stage.  Cowbell took the hint and started playing again, Cumulus’s voice joining not long after.  At the bar he leaned against the front of it and nodded towards Air who quickly poured him a whisky.  The liquid burned down his throat, but he held the glass out for a refill.  Before he could tip that back Cirrus stepped up to his side and slipped the glass out of his hand, coughing after she swallowed the contents.

“Lucifer, how do you drink this?”

“You get used to it.”  Secondo held his hand out for his glass and nodded towards Air again.  As the Ghoul filled it once more he met the Ghoulette’s eyes.  “Are you that bored?”

“Can you blame me?  There’s nothing to do.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her statement, downing his drink in one gulp.  When Air filled it once more he handed it to Cirrus.

“Let me guess, you’d rather be riding around with my brother.”

“Well yeah, those shitheads need my help.”

“Do they?”  Secondo watched her throat move as she gulped the drink down.  “Help with what exactly?”

The only answer he got was Cirrus coughing as the liquid burned her throat again.  The fact that she wouldn’t meet his eyes was answer enough though.  Copia’s Ghouls were loyal to a fault.  When she finally spoke, Secondo froze.

“Don’t you want revenge?  For what Saltarian did?”

Secondo sighed and held his hand out for the glass, holding Cirrus's gaze when she handed it back.

“What I want is to live my life without looking over my back waiting for the next Saltarian.”  He also wanted more whiskey and another cigar.  Cirrus sighed and started to turn to head back to the poker tables, but Secondo shot a hand out and grabbed her wrist. “I also would like you to take over for Cowbell please.” 

Cirrus nodded her head, but when Secondo didn’t let go she turned back to him.  He brought his other hand around and slipped his fingers into her sleeve. When he pulled out the two aces she had stuffed up there he smirked at her and flicked them behind the bar. 

“Oh no, how did those get there!”

Secondo snorted and let go of her before pointing towards the stage.

“Piano, please.”  He winced as Cowbell hit a few wrong notes.  “Before I shoot him too.”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

my masterlist

my ao3

[icaruswasadreamer]

If We Were Villains: a book review

Or, the power of environmental storytelling, amazing characterization, theatrics and what it does to a STEM student with a passion for the arts

A/N: This is my first time writing a book review, and I decided to make up a little formula for myself to follow for the rest of my reviews. Truthfully, IWWV is not my first book, but it has defintiely inspired me enough to write something for it that isn’t fanfiction so here it is. Feel free to share your thoughts and bring up discussions, as this book is dear to me in many ways and it deserves to be talked about. Do note all of this is my opinion and that is all it will ever be. Hope you enjoy this review/semi-analysis of IWWV that I am less than qualified to talk about, but that is the beauty of self-expression. Please be warned of spoilers which will be marked as to where they Start. 

How I was Introduced to the Book

I first learned of the book through booktok. And I know the implications of that statement and the reputation of booktok in the bookish community. I, myself, don’t think too highly of booktok (as it is where all the colleen hoover fans worm about), but I have to admit that it is, by far, one of the best avenues to discover authors and books, no matter the romanticization of reading as a hobby or the misinterpretation of these books. Truthfully, without booktok, I would not have asked my friend to buy me a copy of If We Were Villains for my birthday and I wouldn’t be enamoured by its narrations and characters as I am right now. There was a specific tiktoker that I followed for the fact that they have read a lot of dark academia books – which is a genre that I’m getting into right now! If We Were Villains was introduced to me as a really great book with a lot of twists and turns, and I went into it with that expectation.

The Book Itself in My Own Words

Imagine that one picture that comes up whenever you search “dark academia aesthetic” on pinterest. There is a manor at the far end of the photo, distant and castle-like. Vines and greenery cling to it as if it were the old cobblestone shrine of a forest God and its windows are hauntingly grey with dust as if it were lived in by no one except ghosts. You are only outside looking in, and there is no scene you can manage from the manor. What you can observe, however is a lake. It reflects the greyish bluish white sky above it and it does not move against the life, the nature that surrounds it. It is ever present and everlastingly still; ultimately very boring to the people who spare it a glance, but go beyond depths you and I can comprehend or imagine. Think of that image, but in book form. Oh and add several other complicated things in it too, just for flavor.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio is a hauntingly, tragic mystery about 7 friends who made the mistake of being gay theatre kids. It’s the found family trope in reverse as you watch as their life fall apart in the incident of a murder that no one is really sure who did. We follow Oliver Marks, essentially the main character and the narrator of the story as he describes what his life is like and how it’s about to be ruined because some guy was too petty to accept that he isn’t always the star of the show. Watch the 6 of them go through the motion, pretending everything is fine and that they’re all not mentally ill in some way while quoting shakespeare that no normal person does. 

As sarcastic as I sound, it is genuinely a wonderful, captivating story about grief, friendship and art. Everything is so complicated (in a good way) and you’re not really sure what to feel about all of it, but at the same time, you stay for the ride because the feelings are worth it, just to see this show to the end just so these characters can reach their epilogue finally. The way I would describe it is imagine all those reading assignments and book reports you had to do in your english class about a sonnet or play, then mix it with all the gay fanfiction one would read in the witching hours of 3 am as you sob quietly to yourself because you know your ship will never be canon. It is a culmination of these two things, and it’s awesome. 

First Impressions/Last Impressions

I struggled with getting through Act I of IWWV. And I do genuinely believe that this was not at all the fault of the author or the story as the set up was interesting and mysterious and curious enough for me to get hooked. It just so happened that the fish was uninterested and busy with other things that I did not get into immediately as I would have hoped. Despite this – and after several months of not reading – I managed to pick up the book again and return to where I left off.

Perhaps it was the fact that there was a large gap of me not reading IWWV and then the sudden bolt of me reading it religious explains why I found the first parts of IWWV quite slow. I do recognize this as a part of the set up and exposition of the book and was entirely necessary for the emotional impact that it would give me by the end, but prowling through those first few chapters was hard as someone with a short attention span and have several hobbies aside from reading and writing. 

But now, after almost a year of trying to finish this book properly, I have to say that I am wrecked and I will never be the same again. I thought I was going to hate the endng, truthfully, as its implications was bleak and somehow, undermines the efforts of its characters. But, the epilogue had me pleasantly surprised and relieved, that I would have to say that the ending was exactly my cup of tea. I’m still not sure on where I stand with happy endings or tragic endings, but I do in fact love open endings – endings left to interpretation, the kinds that will make you tear your hair out because where is the rest of it? Why is the book just- done? And here is where fanfiction comes to play, my friend. 

The journey has been a journey, and I definitely have to say that I have learned a lot from this book and that it was easy to fall in love with the book despite the rough beginning. 

//SPOILERS START HERE//

How I fell in Love with It

The atmosphere IWWV gave me which was extremely immersive and can only be described as delightfully haunting. It is peak gray – and gay – atmosphere that I really enjoyed as it felt like the right amount of theatrics to not be too dramatic and satirical. Something also surprising is the fact that it is oddly humorous despite being a book about murder, shakespeare and what makes a tragedy. Actually, considering it is inspired by shakespeare, the humorous aspect is not so surprising if you take into account some shakespeare being pretty absurd as it is. The unironic things these characters do like randomly quote shakespeare out of nowhere is so pretentiously funny, but also contributes well to what the book is going for. 

As unnatural as that would be for like a normal person, because Oliver and his friends are so deep into the shakespeare of their classes, they make it feel natural and you get used to that as the story progresses. Oliver had a really good justification for this which he explains to Colbourne in a way that I truly resonate with. This book, as well as the characters, are so in love with Shakespeare’s words that it’s hard to not find yourself enamoured by it to. I love the way they describe taking art like this as I feel, as an artist and creative, that this is an artist’s ulttimate purpose. To capture the things that cannot be said properly through ordinary words, and to encapsulate those moments of heightened emotion and feeling. Any piece of art is an attempt to reanimate emotion, and we use art to deliver those emotions that we, ourselves, cannot fully comprehend. 

This is what I love about this book, aside from its brilliant storytelling and interesting and raw characters. It feels like it was made with the intention of appreciation for art, and I really respect that as art means so much to me. This book is art and it is about art as much as it is about this specific friend group dealing with whatever just happened, and I really really love and appreciate that about this book. 

Strong Points/What I learned from It as a Writer

IWWV is genuinely a master class in environmental storytelling. The Castle, where everyone stays at during their time in Dellecher is the most effective use of environment I’ve seen in a book (which I’m sure there’s more, I just haven’t read it yet in which I will at some point). The way the castle has a place for everyone, and the scene wherein Oliver is seen cleaning the different rooms of the Castle goes to show the amount of detail the author puts into each little cranny of their descriptions of the Castle. One specific detail I remember was in Richard’s room where a chess board was described with one horseman toppled over and another missing. I may be tweaking, but that might just imply something about story. Aside from the environments, IWWV also makes good use of its inspiration material which is shakespeare.

I definitely should have gone into IWWV with some knowledge of shakespeare and I would encourage anyone who wish to read IWWV to read at least one shakespear book, because I didnt and I am incredible lost on how IWWV uses those narratives of Shakespeare’s plays to reference its own tragedy and characters and I am extremely upset that I didn’t get to experience that other narrative of the what the play were trying to tell the reader. But of course, you don’t have to have a background in theatre or shakespeare to read IWWV. It would extremely as they constantly quote shakespeare and if you don’t know what those quotes mean, you will get lost at some point, but you can manage through it (as I said, the book does well with these quotes that it starts feeling natural enough that you, too, would start to make sense of these quotes even if you would struggle at first). But, from what I have heard from people who have read the book and Shakespeare, the plays do reference and foreshadow the story within IWWV. 

The play Ceasar directly reference how Richard is going to die and who’s going to kill him. Like Richard is the modern Julias Ceasar, he is someone who has caused tyranny in their group of friends and provoked James to hit him on the head which led to his friends eventually leaving him for dead. I still struggle sometimes with that betrayal because in truth, Richard was their friend for 3 years and then they’re just gonna throw him away like that? I think it’s just how I view friendship, but to be fair I don’t like Richard enough to be angry that he died. And that’s a good way of utilizing source material! Because who killed Ceasar if not his most intimate of friends. 

This is kind of like Chekhov’s gun in a way except we’re talking about multiple guns and you’re in a gun shop and the fact that the guns are constantly being fired. Everytime the environment is being described, it doesn’t get boring or go into super great detail. I’m always seated for those descriptions of the environment because at some point one very specific detail will mean something to the story more than you expect it would. Otherwise, it contributes to the atmosphere and helps you feel incredibly immersive. I think much of what I read are heavily character-driven (which isn’t a bad thing!) and IWWV is also heavily character-driven in terms of plot, but it uses its environment well. Like it exists and isn’t just an extension of the actors themselves, but it doesn’t just exist as a setting, it exists as a plot device. A carefully crafted set for a performance. IWWV was a wonderful case study for me to be able to spot those little details in the environment and try my hand in interpreting what they mean, like a detective looking for clues – which is very fitting!

Characters and characterization was also very good in IWWV. Every character was equally flawed and all of their actions warrant a “What the actual fuck?” from me. The amazing thing about IWWV is that despite its title, none of these characters are bad people, just very flawed with poor decision-making skills. Even Richard, I would argue, is still a gray character despite being an asshole! It was entirely his fault for becoming needlessly petty and aggressive towards his friends, but I don’t really think that undermines their 3 years of friendship together. I genuinely believe that Richard was just a guy with a big ego that was too fragile for his own good and he did really dumb and shitty stuff about that. He isn’t your 2D Villain, because his actions were triggered by the event of something – being casted as someone that wasn’t the main focus of the play. And his friends and the reader have in their every right to be angry at Richard for the shit he’s done, but you have to admit he wasn’t always like that. He changed and that is the most admirable thing about the character writing in IWWV.

Everyone is very dynamic, but not too drastic for it to be jarring. They fit well together despite having contrasting personalities and all of them have something going on in terms of their personal life. It’s a shame we don’t exactly see ther perspectives as we are limited to Oliver’s narration, but we do get glimpses of it and I believe that is enough for the characters to feel real. My favorite character, Filippa, is the most mysterious one from the group in terms of backstory, but I know enough that she is willing to do everything – even hide a murder – just to protect her friends, her family, probably because she doesn’t have one of her own in more ways than one. And I got that from a single line that she said to Oliver when he asked why she hid the fact James did it. 

“You all were the only family I had. I’d have killed Richard myself if I thought it would keep the rest of you safe. [...] I was terrified you’d do exactly what you did.”

Each main character of IWWV have their own tragedy to their character which is rooted upon the “type” of character they are in the beginning of the story. They all both defy and fit perfectly in their own roles in the narrative and that is their tragedy. Oliver is the sidekick who became the center of attention by his arrest, James is a hero who murdered a friend, Richard is a dead tyrant, Meredith is a temptress who wishes she was seen as anything but, Wren is the broken and frankly, no longer as innocent as she ought to be ingenue, and Alexander is the villain with good intentions. Filippa is the curious case as she does not have set role, this does not excuse her from being tragic, but it does makes sense how she is the only able to stay relatively stable throughout the story. In the very beginning we were already told of what tragedy these characters would have and it is all connected to their role in a stereotypical narrative, how they are type-casted in their plays.

I would go into each of the characters and their own personal tragedies and flaws, but that would be really long, so I won’t. But these characters and the play on the type-casting of these actors are perfectly executed. I would like to cite James’ arc for this as he is described as being the hero, but slowly, as we see how he and everyone else copes with Richard’s death and how he gets casted into the villain role, we saw how this changes him and how his archetype of being the hero slowly crumbles to make way for a darker James filled with immense amount of guilt that only perpetuates with Oliver’s arrest. We see how it breaks him as his hero persona is no longer his. He takes up the role of the villain, and that kills him because he was never meant to play that role. Everything about him screams hero and I think he himself believed that, so his sense of self crumbles away as it is slowly revealed that he is in fact, the villain of this story. And yet, what makes him the villain is still technically a heroic act. He killed a tyrant after all. And that is just hella clever.

IWWV almost reads as really complicated fairytale if you think of it as these characters as the archetypes of their roles. It is definitely the most fascinating and creative way of character writing I’ve ever seen and that is a feat on its own. It follows a formula, yet it defies the routinely-ness of that, the audience can understand what’s going on like in the middle of the book and I think that serves well in this scenario because now, it’s only a matter of dread and waiting for the final act to commence. I never felt like I was reading an intermission in any parts of it as everything, both character and environment, serve the plot really well. 

Criticisms/Pet Peeves

But of course, despite all my praise, this book is not free of the criticisms and I did feel frustration for some parts of it whether it was good or bad frustration. It’s not a perfect book and I have a few gripes with it. 

The way it treats Meredith and Wren specifically is appalling. It, sadly, goes into that really bad trope in some queer books of the women getting in the way of the men hooking up. I really feel bad for these women because, even if they still have their own things going on and they are able to be their own characters, they somehow become extensions of the men that they are involved with, and everytime, it is extremely unfair. 

I’ll just say it, Oliver is just using Meredith to forget about James. I don’t doubt he loves her or doesn’t think of her as attractive because he does, but there is an aspect to their relationship that they both don’t deny is really connected to Oliver’s and James’ relationship. This is a flaw of Oliver’s character that I don’t like because it’s so unfair for Meredith and the way they started their relationship is also kind of dubious? I mean, Meredith went for Oliver not only because he was “nice”, she also went for him because he was the only one available and the complete opposite of Richard. Meredith had no interest in Oliver in the first few scenes of this book and Oliver also didn’t really think of her much because she was already with Richard, but he couldn’t deny she was pretty. I just don’t like the implications of their relationship to Meredith’s character and her struggle with objectification and her constantly being sexualized by the men around her. I know Oliver wouldn’t do that, but at the end of the day, isn’t he just using her? 

I desperately want to believe in their love and I do! But it gets so bad when you mix in James because suddenly, Meredith no longer exist to Oliver. He literally went to jail for the guy, of course, his love for James isn’t equal in any way to his love for Meredith. I also just don’t agree with how the ending has Oliver and Meredith together only for Oliver to essentially leave Meredith because he finds out that James might still be alive. He admits that he was still in love with James! I understand that polyamorous relationships are a thing, but clearly Oliver has shown to be neglecting of Meredith whenever James comes to his peripheral vision! I just think that, maybe, Meredith deserves better than how Oliver is treating her. 

And god, don’t get me started on James and Wren. They, frankly, came out of nowhere! I think its because we are limited to Oliver’s perspective so we don’t see how their relationship developed and how their dynamic would go. I do see that James cares much for Wren and vice-versa and that they could totally work, but god, when you mix Oliver into it, Wren just doesn’t exist. I am extremely upset about the part where James gets incredibly drunk and then drags Wren to sleep with him for the same reasons Oliver sleeps with Meredith! And I hate it.

It’s very messy, and very well-written and very in-character, but god the implications. The way these women are being treated in the relationship drama is just to serve the men’s own relationship and how they totally belong to each other, but somehow they’re not together and they have to stay with the women and it’s really messy and Oliver is a disaster bisexual. Maybe I just don’t like love triangles or love squares, but this is just a prime example why you shouldn’t date someone in the same friend group. It’s messy and sometimes, I debate with myself if it was necessary. Either way, it happened and I can’t do anything about that.  

Overall Thoughts/Scoring

I have a lot of thoughts about IWWV and the book itself has a lot of themes and messages that really struck me. One thing that I really liked about IWWV as an aroace-spectrum person is the friend group’s relationship because despite all the tragedy around them, they manage to be really wholesome and there examples there of platonic intimacy that I don’t usually get to see in books. I love how Oliver and Filippa are essentially like siblings with how they are always there for each other and Filippa is always looking out for him and their other friends. I love the brotherly relationship between Oliver and Alexander. And despite my gripes, there are moments in Oliver’s and Meredith’s relationship that remind me that they were friends first and lovers second, and I really appreciate that.

I didn’t mention Oliver’s and James’ relationship as much because I’m pretty sure that’s what you would expect for me to say. It’s a good relationship, I like it since I’ve always been a fan of that kind of dynamic where they transcend the meaning of best friends, they’re gay essentially, but they are also each other’s person and their intimacy is beyond physical. I’m just describing sexual/romantic tension here but everytime they are in screen together, you just know that they are looking at each other with so much emotion. And of course, what Oliver did for James was incredibly stupid, but also just states what James is to Oliver. And it’s really codependent, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a kind of love that makes you feel thing.

I also would like to comment on how it tackles grief and guilt as those are major themes in the story. I appreciate how despite being dead, Richard is still ever-present in Oliver’s mind and everyone else’s that no one even bothers to go to his room aside from Oliver who just has to because he has to clean it. Guilt haunts everyone in If We Were Villains and I feel for that, especially when it comes to grief. It captures perfectly what mourning for someone who did some really bad stuff to you is like with the added guilt that you somehow contributed to his death. And it’s cruel how these people just have to deal with that major change; nothing is ever the same when someone dies and we can’t do anything about it. The show must go on, unfortunately. And that’s what happens to these characters, on or off the stage, life will continue with or without them and they have to go with out, otherwise they might end up drowning in their own misery. I think that is much the moral we can find in IWW, if it even has one.

//SPOILERS END HERE//

My scoring would be an 8/10. It’s really good and I recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of shakespeare or really into dark academia. I wouldn’t say it would be the best introduction book for this genre, but it got me into it so maybe it could work for you too!

[therandomwatcher]

I fully support people being able to curate their own online experience, and blocking anyone they feel they need to.

That being said, the occasional times I've gone to like/comment on Pinterest and can't because I've been blocked have always been a bit baffling. I don't get into debates on Pinterest and the majority of my interactions are positive types, sharing a joke, telling someone good job, or occasionally correcting misinformation in a dull sort of way.

It's extra baffling when I double check the users boards and it's a bunch of fairly benign and inane stuff like comics, funny tumbrl quotes, fandom, art, memes... The same stuff I tend to gravitate towards incidentally. Not exactly highly divisive stuff. (Side note: I don't get into ship wars).

I always wonder, did they misinterpret something I said? Easy enough to happen online and my brain damage post-Covid definitely doesn't help. But of course there's no chance to apologize or correct what I was trying to say.

I'm sure some of them are just plain disagreements. Which okay, sure, if you gotta protect your sanity you do what you gotta do.

Course that leads to the last thing which always makes me feel a bit sad. The number of times I've gone to tell someone they have a good point, or their joke made me laugh, or to offer encouragement about something.

They never get to see those either.

I dunno, I guess I just wish there was some kind of less nuclear option sometimes, or at least a way to tell what it was that set them off. Maybe I've got a turn of phrase that isn't taken the way I expect. Be nice to be able to have the option to change something if I need to.

But I'll never know.

[jxe-jxer]

Breaking Down the Wall with Pinterest

Pinterest has become an unexpected ally in my journey to break down and understand complex texts like William Blake’s "The Little Vagabond." What started as a simple search for related imagery turned into a deeper exploration of the poem's themes, symbols, and ideas, all through the visual language that Pinterest excels at.

I began with William Blake himself, diving into his various paintings and portraits. Seeing his work laid out like this gave me a better feel for his unique style and the deeper meanings behind his art and poetry. Although I couldn’t find much directly related to "The Little Vagabond," this challenge nudged me to think creatively. For example, I stumbled upon an image from an anime called Vagabond—not what I expected, but it fit surprisingly well with the poem’s themes of spirituality.

When I was exploring the idea of God and Devil as Friends on Pinterest, I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d find. Blake often blurs the lines between good and evil, challenging conventional religious beliefs, so I wanted to see how this concept could be visually represented. That’s when I came across the quote: "God has a plan. That doesn't mean it's a good one." It struck me immediately because it seemed to encapsulate the uneasy relationship between divinity and morality that Blake explores. The quote I found resonated with this idea of Blake’s belief that the institutional Church has distorted the image of God, making Him a figure of fear and control rather than love and freedom because it questions the inherent goodness of divine plans as dictated by religious institutions. It suggests that just because something is presented as part of God’s plan doesn’t necessarily mean it’s beneficial or just. This echoes the little vagabond’s dissatisfaction with the Church’s strictness and the idea that true goodness might not always align with the Church’s teachings.

Some searches were more challenging. I was looking for a "Priest at a pub" to match the poem's imagery, but the results weren’t quite what I had in mind. Still, I didn’t give up. I kept searching and eventually found something that clicked with the tag "Congregation Pub" —a priest talking to people in a pub, which captured the communal, more joyful atmosphere the little vagabond longs for.

When searching for an "Ideal Church," I wanted to find a place that felt welcoming, not stiff or judgmental. As someone who isn’t religious, many of the images felt cold to me, but eventually I found one that looked warm and inviting, the kind of place that aligns with the child’s vision in the poem. Finding an image of an "Ideal Church" that felt welcoming, rather than stiff or judgmental, was important because it allowed me to connect more personally with the child’s vision in "The Little Vagabond." In the poem, the child contrasts the coldness of the Church with the warmth of a tavern, imagining a church that is more joyous, inclusive, and human—a place where God, the priest, and the congregation come together in harmony and happiness. For someone like me, who isn’t religious, it can be challenging to relate to traditional depictions of churches that often seem imposing or distant.

The "Critique" tag led me on another unexpected journey. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for—just a certain vibe. Most of the results leaned towards academic critiques, but then I found a powerful image of Jesus driving merchants out of the temple. This scene, representing a critique of turning religion into business, echoed the poem’s themes in a way I hadn’t anticipated, and it added a new dimension to my understanding. This scene echoed the child’s frustration in "The Little Vagabond." The child’s wish for the Church to be more like a warm, joyful tavern is, in its own way, a rejection of the cold, transactional nature of institutional religion. Just as Jesus opposed the commercialization of the temple, the child in the poem opposes the way the Church has become a place of rigid control rather than spiritual nourishment.

Finally, the tag "Happiness and Joy vs. Oppression" brought me to a quote about love and freedom that felt like the perfect encapsulation of the poem’s message. It was one of those rare moments where everything just clicked. This quote perfectly mirrored the child’s yearning for a religion that isn’t about control or repression but about love, freedom, and genuine happiness. It captured the essence of what the child in the poem was trying to express—that true spirituality should liberate rather than confine. This realization brought the poem’s tension between joy and repression to life in a new way. It made me think about how Blake’s critique isn’t just about the physical coldness of the Church but about a deeper spiritual coldness—a lack of true love and compassion. The Church, as depicted in the poem, tries to possess and control, rather than uplift and liberate. The child’s vision of a joyful, loving church is a radical departure from this, representing an ideal where love is about giving freedom, not imposing restrictions.

In the end, Pinterest didn’t just help me understand "The Little Vagabond"; it made the process more personal, more engaging. Curating these boards and finding the right images wasn’t just about visualizing the poem—it was about discovering new connections and deepening my relationship with the text. It’s a reminder that sometimes, stepping outside the usual methods of analysis can lead to surprising and rewarding insights.

A link to the board: https://pin.it/6gWldTxUy

[hitmewithsomebooks]

My modern-day marauders thoughts

Remus: has an insta acc but never uses it-- all posts are from Sirius using his phone. Hates calls but is really good at answering texts. WILL send you Pinterest book quotes no matter who you are. Spotify is his god, will send blends immediately. Almost always has an airpod in one ear. Likes to use filters to imagine his life without scars. Will beat anyone @ iMessage 8ball. Has the iPhone max bc his hands are freakishly large and long (in the best way). Shops online for jewelry for him & Sirius. Slightly obsessed with custom Converse. TikTok pfp is him & Sirius.

James: hates texting, loves calling, bc texting doesn’t hold enough emotion. When he’s forced to text, he uses an excessive amount of emojis. Posts a lot on insta, not really on tiktok unless he’s doing smth silly w Sirius. Likes to post cooking vids/pics, & his fav photography pics (James is totally a shutterbug). Prefers wireless headphones to airpods. Has the regular sized iPhone. Impulsive online shopper, especially clothes. Loves loves loves iMessage mini golf. TikTok pfp is a deer.

Sirius: will text or call, LOVES ft especially w Remus. Posts on insta and TikTok all the time, 100% knows all the popular tt dances & songs. Reposts anything he finds funny or remotely interesting. Perfect Spotify blend with Remus. Adds as many people on snap as he can because he loves meeting people from all around the world. Uses the silliest filters. Is incredibly good at iMessage darts & cup pong. Has the iPhone mini. Very impulsive online clothes buyer, worse than James. Together = never let them near a device. When he’s angry or excited his texts turn into gibberish. TikTok pfp is a black dog.

Peter: doesn’t mind texting but isn’t very good at it, likes calls but he can’t plan out what to say. Sweeps in iMessage tanks, which annoys everyone else. Originally had a Samsung but Sirius bought him an iPhone so they could play iMessage games. Watches a lot of art videos/tutorials. Still has the grey icon for TikTok pfp, only has it to watch things & like all his friends’ stuff. Same with insta, but pfp is him and the marauders.

[princepr]

Customer Persona

Name: Prince Prince

Demographic Information:

Age: 23

From: India

Professional Background:

Nature: Entrepreneurial

Occupation: Aspiring Entrepreneur

Personal Background:

Hobbies:

Art and craft

Making handmade items

Biography:

Prince Prince is a 23-year-old from India with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. He is passionate about creating unique, handcrafted items and takes great pride in his artistic skills. His love for art and craft fuels his ambition to turn his hobby into a successful business. Prince enjoys experimenting with various materials and techniques to produce high-quality, handmade products that reflect his creativity and attention to detail.

Motivations:

Creative Expression: Prince values the ability to express himself creatively through his work.

Entrepreneurial Success: He is driven by the desire to build a business around his passion for handmade crafts.

Customer Satisfaction: Prince aims to delight his customers with unique and personalized handmade items.

Goals:

To establish a successful business selling handmade crafts.

To expand his skill set and explore new crafting techniques.

To build a loyal customer base that appreciates and values his work.

To leverage social media and online platforms to market his products and reach a wider audience.

Challenges:

Resource Management: Balancing the costs of materials and time with the pricing of his products to ensure profitability.

Market Competition: Standing out in a competitive market with numerous handmade product sellers.

Brand Building: Creating a strong brand identity that resonates with his target audience.

Scaling Operations: Managing increased demand while maintaining the quality and uniqueness of his products.

Preferences:

Shopping Habits: Prefers buying high-quality materials from trusted suppliers to ensure the best outcome for his crafts.

Media Consumption: Frequently uses social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to draw inspiration and market his products.

Technology Use: Utilizes online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms to sell his handmade items.

Ideal Customer Experience:

Personalized Service: Appreciates when businesses offer personalized interactions and custom orders.

High-Quality Products: Values quality over quantity and seeks products that reflect meticulous craftsmanship.

Community Engagement: Enjoys being part of a community of like-minded artisans and entrepreneurs for collaboration and support.

My motivational Quotes :

"Creating something with my own hands gives me a sense of fulfillment that no other activity can match."

"My goal is to turn my passion into a thriving business that brings joy to my customers and showcases the beauty of handmade crafts."

[peachysunrize]

Could I be cheeky, and ask for more info on Eternal Frost, and The Lost Art Of Murder? 

Nonnie, by all means, please be cheekier!!! I’m gonna put the answer under the cut because I’m so excited to talk about these fics!!!! I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING ASK!!!!

Starting with Eternal Frost!

I haven’t seen many time traveling fics, and even those that I’ve read are always about reader going to past or Aemond coming to the future. But what if Aemond goes back in time?👀👀

The story takes place in a very new settings, and since I’m obsessed with royalty core, I needed to write something that I could world build as well!! And with new settings, comes new characters!!

Naelassa Veltheon is my main OC, which is also the protagonist and the main character all in all, she is Aemond’s love interest as well! The story is about 20 long chapters with a prologue and Epilogue.

Here’s the description of the series ->

[ Meeting his uncle on the battlefield, he was promised by his witch that he would survive and win the war, he was promised glory, the Iron Throne, and the realm. But the spell did not work as he had hoped to. Certainly not when he wakes up in an unknown place with an Ice Dragon staring into his soul, lying on white sand on a beach. ]

Here is the aesthetic moodboard!

NOW, MY FAVORITE CREATION ALONGSIDE ETERNAL FROST!!!

The Lost Art Of Murder was inspired by a quote I saw on pinterest: It takes a monster to destroy a monster.

And me being super creative and giddy, came up with this true crime/thriller idea and my friends hyped me up to turn it into a fic! It’ll be around 40 long-ish chapters with heavy plot. It’s not romance focused because I truly wanted to write something different.

This story is reader insert, in modern Westeros and Targaryens are modern royalty. Vizzy Targaryen, The King, is found dead, and suddenly the speculation of murder rise and everyone starts talking about it. Rhaenyra becomes the queen and wants to start the investigation, and there comes reader!! Our detective, our main character👀👀

It’s gonna be super psychological, disgusting, scary, and so much murder and dark content because it makes it this perfect story to tell.

Here’s the description ->

[ The murder of the King leaves the realm in chaos. Politicians, journalists, and even normal citizens are left gasping at the horror they see in the news. It has been so long since a murder this complicated had taken place, but fear not, Rhaenyra Targaryen, the new Queen demands the King’s Guard to find the best detective in town. Maybe King’s Landing will fall apart, a new serial killer coming out, or maybe you will put a stop to it. After all, it takes a monster to destroy a monster. ]

Here’s the aesthetic moodboard!