#planning ahead babey

[buysomecheese]

I am seriously considering watching an episode of Community instead of listening to the new dndads episode

[3amsnek]

ending aro week with a special bonus cozy pride bean :3 an aroace friend!

I couldn’t find a specific event/day to draw them for but I really wanted to make one of these guys for our sunset flag so! here they are <3

and as always here’s the links to their now quite sizable horde of accompanying pals: trans, ace, lesbian, pan, lgbtq+, nonbinary, bi, & aro :]

click for better quality

reblogs > likes! please don’t like if you don’t rb!

[bonefall]

Do you have any plans for Frost’s littermates in ASC?

It's odd that Canon!Curlfeather is portrayed on the screen as a scheming character who was fully willing to manipulate her daughter into a position of power, and smart enough to know that she needed lackeys to carry out her dirtywork... and yet, seemingly had no plans for her other two kids.

On one hand, I can understand her wanting to "use" her family as little as possible. You could say she's willing to make a sacrifice with Frostkit's comfort, but wants to spare her other children from it.

On the other hand... I just don't feel like that works. I want to portray BB!Curlfeather as someone who truly believes every choice she made was good for her children. She might reconsider some of her beliefs based on her closeness to Morningstar while in the Dark Forest, but in life, she is absolutely the sort of person who would have a use in mind for her kittens.

I'm not super proud of these quick designs I made for Mistpaw and Graypaw, but here's a first draft;

You probably notice that they're all dog-like, and that's because they are direct descendants of Bluestar in BB! WOLF MOTIF BABEY

In fact, this is going to be a massive contributor towards their characterizations. I may be shuffling my tree in some other ways to make for better faction drama in RiverClan, but BB!Curlfeather priding her lineage, especially as it connects to Crookedstar and Stonefur, is very important to how it shapes her identity.

DESIGN AND DRABBLE BENEATH THE CUT;

On the wolf motif as a whole;

To begin with; note the apple-leaf eye markings! They are subject to the Mapleshade Curse.

Something I like to play with a lot is misconceptions about wolf behavior. For Bluestar herself, where this all began, I use the myth of the "lone wolf" as symbolism that she never truly acted alone.

At every turn, she had friends and family. Her sacrifices, her ruling style, everything she's ever done, is based on her love for both ThunderClan as well as the cats in other Clans.

The symbol of her friend group, the Forget-Me-Not, comes to symbolize Fire Alone as an ideology.

So... the Curlkin.

What I'm playing with is the idea that wolves are perfect, ferociously strong predators from birth.

Curlfeather wants to eventually give her children strong, respectable positions in the Clan. For Frostpaw, that's the Cleric position.

For the other kids, she was still assessing them as they were growing. Deputyship would have been for one of them, but she hadn't planned so far ahead that it would have been unreasonable.

"When you see a fish upstream, you don't race ahead to catch it downriver."

So, she wanted Mist and Gray to be strong and always encouraged them to achieve greatness. They were battle training as soon as they could, and never missed a day.

But it wasn't really their interest, and they weren't really "naturally gifted" or anything. They just do what their mom tells them is good to do for their future.

As a result I want all of them to look a little goofy in some way, except Curlfeather herself.

Frostpaw herself is the softest of the lot, but I want to make sure Gray and Mist are pretty obviously sweeter than they seem too.

Unfortunately though, I don't think I captured what I was going for. I'm definitely gonna give the Frost Siblings a second pass, while Frostpaw will just get refined a little.

Graypaw

He's naturally huge. Even as a newborn, people would comment about him being a big fat kitten.

As a result, he was probably the most "promising," early on.

Understand though; this wasn't necessarily nefarious. Having accomplished warriors as offspring is a sign of a great warrior, it makes a strong family.

It didn't mean she only saw her largest child as an opportunity. He just had great potential, which she would nourish.

He's a little bit entitled as a result. He's big, he works hard, his family's a big deal, he knows it.

And that's sort of his "issue," if you want to call it that. He's not really interested in honor for honor's sake, or improving himself for the sake of the Clan, the way his mother would expect a great warrior like herself to be.

He likes the tangible rewards of strength and is motivated by approval.

...which causes him to be a bully to those he considers weaker.

That ear got shredded in a fight somehow, I haven't decided yet if there's going to be another set of apprentices around the time, if it was Splashtail or his sister, or if it was a cat from another Clan who got tired of his shit lmaoo

(In any case it was NOT his mother.)

Since him and his sister have "obedient to their mother" as major personality traits, I decided to give them both domestic dog characteristics. Graypaw has a german shepherd "stance."

I really like when people give Gray some cream in his design, so I made him look kinda like how I imagine Stonefur.

I don't really like it, though, especially since he's usually described as "silver tabby."

In my next draft, I'll probably make him look more like "Swansong if he had the wolf motif."

And also fatter. They are not fat enough. These are RiverClan warriors and they are all too damn skinny.

Frostpaw

Since this arc began, I've imagined that Frosty has a sort of "little red riding hood" vibe. It's been mixing in my head with the wolf motif, the phrase "wool over the eyes," and the idea of a wolf in sheep's clothing to result in a sort of wooly cloak idea.

Something about a wolf cub who doesn't know who to trust-- the Big Bad Wolf, or the Lumberjack with a blood-soaked axe.

Lost, confused, their whole world turned upside down.

(hmmm.... maybe I'll do a thing where, before their mom's death, the wool covers her eyes. When she sees her die, the look of shock and horror is etched into her face forever.)

In BB, the Clan cats are monitored by scientists. They wouldn't be spaying or neutering the subjects of their investigation-- so I made her iconic "scars" MUCH bigger.

In fact, they're autopsy stitches. I'm going for a sort of "BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD" vibe there.

Real "there is no way you would have survived those injuries without modern medicine" hours

I'm satisfied with this design, so I probably won't be changing it much besides tweaks. Though, I might make it so her "belly" wasn't exposed before the scientists shaved it to stitch her back up.

NOTE: If you wanna see more Frostpaw Plans, go check out this post where I jotted down a ton of ideas, it's also got further links to explore on BB!ASC thoughts I've been sitting on

Mistpaw

This is the one I like the least. She looks waaaaay too much like an Ivypool.

In my next pass I need to make her look cuter and goofier, give her some curls.

Like Graypaw, she only has one particularly unique scene in ASC so I'm building her personality around that.

Graypaw was a bit of a bully, so Mistpaw's got her mom's silver tongue and sharp wit. She can give a Mistystar speech if she wants.

She's a natural thinker, very curious, willing to question. It's something Curlfeather encourages in her, always coming in with the right answer to keep her satisfied.

"Mom, why do we train so much harder than everyone else?"

"To outdo them, of course."

"But... why train so hard when there's no threat? The impostor is gone, we're at peace."

"Oh, my love. You cannot pack a week's worth of training into the minute before a battle. They come hard and fast, and your attacker will have the advantage of surprise. Only practice will compensate."

Though Gray was a really big kitten and naturally imposing, Mist would be the one Curlfeather would ultimately decide was most fitting as a deputy.

If they'd gotten to that point, the siblings probably would have gotten in more fights as Gray started desiring the position for its benefits.

He'd see his mom was clearly giving Mist more opportunities to prove herself, and demand equal chances.

Mist would start thinking of Gray as a stupid bully who thinks he deserves everything because his shoulders are big.

BOTH of them would probably start trying to get Frost to support them over the other.

It would have been a MESS.

BUT, they never did get to that point. Curl was pretty equally focused on them at the point where she died.

When Graypaw got his ear shredded, Mistpaw thought it looked disgusting and horrific and "decided" to crop her own entirely. For reasons I covered in this Hearing Loss guide, RiverClan relies very little on hearing while hunting anyway.

I wanted Mistpaw to look extremely practical, and reference the cropped ears of a domestic dog. Give her a sort of "doberman" vibe.

Something struck me that Curlfeather could have talked her daughter into getting her ears cropped, both to show visually that she's politically grooming her just as much as she's politically grooming Frostpaw.

But... I'm unsure if I'll stick with it. I might have both Gray AND Mist get their ears cropped, or neither.

I also batted around the idea of a cropped tail, too, but THAT would definitely be too far since a tail is very important in swimming.

In fact, I made her tail waaaay too short and her build too thin, in the pursuit of that "doberman" idea.

Again; not a fan of this design. I will probably re-use it later or just give it away. Maybe I'll wait until I have a couple of "Rejected BB Designs" and do an adoptable batch lmao.

[miodiodavinci]

post cancelled my doctor's appointment was exceptionally pleasant and i got the specialist referral i desperately needed ;;;` v ´;;;

feeling tired and weepy , , , ,

[siilvan]

https://www.tiktok.com/@lexxiiiii__0/video/7287296853022919982?_r=1&_t=8gQAWU49HZh

Some of Vladimir's voice lines and him saying "quiet" and "perfection" have me all like 🤤🥵

oh great heavens… the thoughts i am having would get me sent to a convent… 🤤🤭

his "perfection" just scratched an itch i never knew i had… disregard, i know i love praise from him 😩 anon, you’re responsible for this drabble that i had no choice but to write while gnawing on the bars of my enclosure…

(we’re skipping ahead in the Bloodsport timeline for this babey)

makarov feels a twinge of something akin to pride at the sight of you, crouched low next to the open window, rifle carefully trained at the objective— one of the general’s top men, a prime target that would surely disrupt not only his plans, but those of shadow company and the one-four-one.

you don't seem to consider the latter consequences, your mind solely on ways to cripple the soon-to-be disgraced war hero. he's seen this laser sharp focus from you only once before; when you stood less than five paces from a corpse, blade in-hand, regarding his soldiers like they were mere children threatening you with prop weapons.

he likes it, this side of you.

"convoy's moving west," your voice, low and controlled, distracts him from his musings. "we'll lose sight of them soon. it's now or never." you continue, finger twitching against the trigger.

makarov hums, dragging his gaze to his own scope and examining the scene on the street below. "you have clearance. take the shot." he murmurs.

with a silent inhale that makes your chest puff out against your vest, a sight that tempts him from his peripherals, you squeeze the trigger. a single shot rings out before the target collapses to the ground. as the rest of the convoy falls into a panic, you withdraw and lower your weapon, eyes flitting from the scene to your companion.

"perfection." he mutters, turning to you with a satisfied grin tugging at his lips. the praise glimmers in your eyes despite your neutral expression, freely giving away your true reaction.

"me, or the kill?" you ask, attempting to flirt your way around the observation.

he pauses, letting your question sit in the air just long enough to make you squirm. slowly, he lowers his rifle to rest against the floor as he lifts a hand and brings it to you, his thumb and forefinger capturing your jaw in a gentle grip. he pulls you in, forcing you to place a hand on his outstretched arm to steady yourself while his lips hover dangerously close to yours. you let your eyes flutter shut and swallow at the feeling of his soft breaths mingling with yours, before his whispered reply is sighed against your lips.

"always you, my dear."

[wooahaes]

let’s go, hold hands tightly, so that the end can’t be seen

pairing: non-idol!jeongwoo x fem!reader

genre: fluff

word count: ~0.5k

warnings: food mentions!

daisy’s notes: i wanna be ur morning babey... from now on be alright... i want u to be my niiight....

The moment the two of you stepped off the bus, Jeongwoo was holding your hand again.

To be fair, it was the least your boyfriend could do for you. He showed up to your home, was let in by your family, and woke you up at too-early-to-get-up-o’clock. You were asleep all happy and cozy in your bed, but Jeongwoo had plans. He told you he did, and, to be fair, he told you he’d be picking you up this morning. You just didn’t realize he wasn’t joking when he said to be up bright and early, which meant you had to deal with him pouting a little when you weren’t ready to go when he showed up.

In your defense, it was your birthday... and this birthday girl was not an early riser.

But as your boyfriend, Jeongwoo was proud to say he knew you well enough. He knew that you loved breakfast foods, and he had been planning the first few hours of today in the event that you’d like to spend more time with him post-breakfast. He knew you’d be meeting up with some friends later and that you’d be celebrating at home with your family tonight, which meant he had to be the knight in shining armor to face the sleeping dragon... just with a lot less slaying. More “charming prince” stuff.

He swung your arm with his own, hand still intertwined with yours. “I can see the place now,” he said, pointing ahead. “I came here with a few friends last week to taste it, just to make sure the reviews were all right.”

Meanwhile, you had still been drowsy. You’d nodded off for a few minutes on the bus ride over. “Mmhm...”

With a tiny pout, he shook your arm a little. “Jagi... Are you upset? You could have told me to go away if you wanted more sleep--”

“It’s okay,” you said, looking back at him. “I’ll be fine. I went to bed early last night--” You paused to yawn. “Just... Sleepy still.”

He chuckled warmly. “I promise you’ll like this place... I’m paying, by the way.”

“You don’t have to--”

“You’re the birthday girl,” he said immediately. “It’s my job as your boyfriend to pay today.”

That had earned a giggle and an eye roll out of you, and you squeezed his hand a little tighter. “Okay,” you had said, dragging the word out a little. “If you insist. You can have my morning, then.” (You nearly added on that you could be his night, too: he knew your love of the song 20, after all.)

But he had immediately launched into a excited explanation of what he had planned for the next few hours instead, giddy to be able to spend more time with you. Maybe getting up so early wasn’t so bad when you had Jeongwoo at your side.

taglist: @twancingyunhao​

[sebsxphia]

SEB! Tell us about the verses/preacher!Rhett p3 pretty please?!! 🫠💙

yeaaaaaah babey! i’d love nothing more! 🥹 this will be the last (planned chapter anyway) chapter for the ‘ptolemaea’ universe and it’s based off this ask below from @hangmanapologist!

here’s a small snippet!

“I think I’ve found a way to show you how much you mean to me, when you’re lookin’ all pretty, lyin’ in those sheets undressed.” Rhett motioned to the backseat in his truck as he kept his gaze fixed ahead of him.

You leant over and retrieved the plastic bag. You reached inside and fished out an old cam corder, still in its box with the cardboard tattered around the corners.

“I wan’ remember everythin’ when we get to the West.” Rhett reached over again to touch your knee, but this time his hand skimmed higher and squeezed your thigh. You felt a million and one butterflies swarm your stomach at what Rhett was implying.

thank you so much for this my love! 💌

ask me about my wips!

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (31 Dec 2023-6 Jan 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 The PostScript Murders (Harbinder Kaur #2) (Elly Griffiths, author; Nina Wadia, narrator) - entertaining cozy mystery (even tho Harbinder is an actualfax police officer). Though it's nominally Harbinder's series, she's just one of the characters, not the main character per se. Anyway, I enjoyed!

💖💖 +366K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved (YULETIDE, BABEY!) 💖💖

Put to Their Books (ribbons) - Sotherans twitter acct; KJ Charles' England & WDA series: archie/daniel, fen/pat, 2K - v clever modern social media AU feat Southerns, cameo by AZ Fell

A Particular Force (TwoWeevils) - The Will Darling Adventures (KJ Charles): will/kim, 5K - Yuletide 2023

It was of this that he had been dreaming (ExceptMaybeYou) - We Could Be So Good (Cat Sebastian): andy/nick, 4K - Yuletide 2023

Permanent Residence (Nabielka) - The Cabots (Cat Sebastian): peter/caleb, 1.7K - Yuletide 2023, 'on staying in California'

Finest of the Flavors (whetherwoman) - Lilywhite Boys Series (KJ Charles): jerry/alec, 5K - Yuletide 2023

I love you--all I can (goseaward) - England Series (KJ Charles): bill/jimmy, 5K - Yuletide 2023, Bill & Jimmy across 30 years

The Alternatives of Summer (iberiandoctor (jehane)) - Call Me By Your Name: oliver/elio, 8K - Yuletide 2023, 8 yrs later Elio & Oliver meet at Fire Island

The Matrimonial State (beautifulduckweed) - The Cabots (Cat Sebastian): tommy/everett, 4K - Yuletide 2023, "Being a short account of three different weddings in Massachusetts attended by Thomas Cabot and Everett Sloane."

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Zarna Garg: One in a Billion

Midsomer Murders - s24, e3-4

Dirty Laundry - s3, e9

D20: Escape From The Bloodkeep - e1-5

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Hit Parade - The Bridge: Moguls Can’t Be Choosers

Desert Island Discs - Marina Abramović, performance artist

Overinvested - Ep. 291: Doctor Who 2023 specials

Welcome to Night Vale - The Haunting of Night Vale

Vibe Check - My Spiritual Finger Is Wagging

Today, Explained - Israel’s next move

Films To Be Buried With - Chelsea Peretti

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Books We Love: No Biz Like Showbiz

What Next: TBD - Why the New York Times Sued OpenAI

Up First - Trump's Pardon Promise, The Islamic State's Iran Attack, Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracies

Endless Thread - This episode is a sign from the universe

Dear Prudence - I Don’t Want to Cancel My Retirement Plans to Babysit. Help!

Cautionary Tales - DANGER: Rocks Ahead!

Our Opinions Are Correct - New mini episode! All about our cats

You're Dead to Me - Catherine the Great

What Next: TBD - Tesla's Cybertruck Problem

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Now With Real Journalists!

Up First - Jan. 6 Insurrection Revisited, Blinken to Israel, COVID Resurgence.

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Disappearing Acts: When Popular Brands Are Discontinued

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

The Essential REO Speedwagon {2004}

I Wanna Know What Love Is

Soft Rock Ballads

Relaxing '80s Rock

Merengue Mix

AM In The A.M.: '70s Pop Morning

"Beach Baby" [First Class] radio

'70s Mellow Gold

'80s Slow Dance

[dharmasharks]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

😘😘😘

Hi hi Tej and thank you for the inbox delight 💜💜

I'm in a weird writing headspace right now, which means it's probably the right time to reflect and be nice to myself. But it's haaaaard, wah. Well, here we go in no particular order:

You are here (cacw; canon-compliant)

20,000 words on why oh why Bucky hides from Steve, why Steve is such a big meanie to him all movie, and making them talk and hug about it. (Among other things.) I kind of wish I could replicate how it felt to write this one. I was just having a lot of fun with absolutely no plan, pressure, or expectations for myself.

Head in the sky (canon-divergent Cold War shrinkyclinks)

Everything on this list is self-indulgent but, whew, this really made (1) me happy. Featuring: a determined bossy Steve, a lost yet competent little soldier, and the both of them against a world, babey. Held together with a big helping of mutual protectiveness and devotion, naturally.

The more things change (WWII, post-bar scene)

I wrote this a while ago now, but there's something about the tightness of the story/plot that still makes me happy on rereads.

And you, you must’ve been looking for me (post-canon Brooklyn boys)

Maybe someday I’ll finish a long fic, but until then I’m much more confident in getting an idea across with as few words as I can get away with. There are not a lot of words in this one, but I like the ones I picked and they all work pretty hard, I think. Also I clearly need to put this on ao3 because it took forever to find what even is a tumblr blog.

Till there were no more wolves in the West (western + historical AU)

Speaking of longer fics I'd sure like to finish... What can I say, it's my most favorite of the bunch. Probably because it is so very specific to my interests in hyper-competent battle boyfriends, doomed promises, feeling unworthy of love (and being proven wrong), and also American myths and misremembered history. I first-drafted the epilogue last week and I'm feeling a little misty eyed about it.

Okay, that was way too much talking about myself, eek 🙈. But thank you lovely Tej, hope you have a fab weekend ahead of you 😘

[kafus]

2, 3, 5, 12, 14, 15, 20?

2. Have you had any fusions that eventually split back to the (more or less) same parts?

not in particular... we've had fused alters split again but not to the same alters as before? i will say some of our fusions have been kinda like. Fuzzy/not complete so i will notice them being more separate sometimes and more fused other times but that's not so much a fusion...... unfusing later down the line and more like that's just the State Of Their Fusion. if that makes sense

3. Have you had any fusions that eventually split into new parts?

oops i did not read the questions ahead and basically answered this in the previous question. yeah we're pretty fragmented so we have had a Lot of fusions over time and alters will split into new parts... and those parts will fuse with other parts... and all our alter histories are a mess. there's a reason we don't care to self identify in public other than as "kiki" and "ayano" because explaining it to people or constantly knowing who exactly we are would be Fucking Exhausting

5. After a fusion of named parts, how do you decide which name to go by?

really just depends on the fusion and the feelings of the alters who are fusing? there's no clear cut way we handle that every single time, no rules, kind of just between the alters who fuse. i wouldn't even necessarily say it's a "decision" either - something just Naturally Feels Right for the alters in question and That Is Their Name. we've also had cases where alters fuse and have a completely new name none of them had before after fusion

12. Have you had parts that attempted to fuse but couldn't?

Yeah actually we have a running issue right now with two alters who WANT to fuse but like... they just can't rightnow for a variety of personal and upsetting reasons, including you know. hating each other and not accepting each other. that's what therapy is for babey !

14. Have you had a positive fusion experience before?

yes! many :] we don't look poorly at fusion, it's a sign of healing and moving forward in our life. usually fusion is celebratory, especially if it's expected/planned and not spontaneous

15. Have you had a negative fusion experience before?

yeah but less because of ourselves and more because of people in our life. have had times where an alter fuses and everyone around us acts like a person just died which. i can empathize with feeling loss in that situation (in a sense i kind of do too sometimes depending on the fusion) but it's kind of frustrating and Not productive to act like fusion is killing someone. that's just not the case. the alter is still there! just in a different way.

20. What is your system's thoughts on final fusion? Is it a potential end goal for your system?

we don't want Final Fusion but i think one day in the far future it would nice for it to just be Two. dual existence is ideal for us. right now we have at LEAST 30 alters if not more but we would like to be Two one day. we've presented ourselves as two for so long and identify as a mirror or "two people" internally so much that it's hard to imagine being happy as One. i actively value my life as multiple as well - i don't see my DID as a curse that needs to be deleted, it is literally why i survived life altering childhood trauma (no pun intended), and it is a part of my identity... i care deeply about my alters... but it also is still a mental illness at the end of the day and i would like to be more functional and less fragmented. i think i am capable of being more whole and happy than i am now if we were brought down to two. two is good. but of course this varies for everyone and if final fusion is a system's goal or functional multiplicity with a lot of alters is their goal good for them

sorry for answering this so late i got busy LOL and sorry if it was too ramble-y i'm just sorta saying shit

[werederg]

Bloodborne DND time babey!

Today’s Topic: Combat

Okay, so I wanted to change the dnd combat to feel more bloodborne-y, like fast paced, a lot of back and forth, and high stakes.

So as far as I know, for 5e, you have a standard action, a move action, a bonus action, and a reaction per round. For Bloodborne DND I changed that to:

Attack action: on your turn you can consume this action to make a weapon attack or additional movement/bonus action if you want.

Parry Action: you can consume this action on your turn to make an additional weapon attack, or you may consume this action on an enemy’s turn after they declare an attack against you to attempt a parry. I’m not quite solid on how the parries work, but right now I have it as, you make an opposed attack roll with your gun and if you beat the enemies AC, your bullet hits, and if your roll is greater than or equal to the enemy’s, you stagger the enemy and they become open for a visceral attack. I wanted it to be difficult to parry but not impossible. Also obviously, not all enemies can be parried. I’ll probably just default to the wiki’s on whether or not an enemy can be parried.

Dodge Action: you can consume this action on your turn to move, or you can consume this action on an enemies turn after they have declared an attack against you but before they roll to hit, in an attempt to avoid the attack. You roll an opposed Skill (dex) roll, and if your roll is greater than or equal to the enemy’s, the attack misses.

And then I just kept the bonus action as is. I think the only thing I have it being used for so far is to transform your trick weapon.

And I think with how reactive the other actions can be, probably don’t need to keep the reaction, mostly bc I don’t know what it would be used for anymore.

I actually made little tokens for my players, so that they could get used to the new action economy and remember which ones they used so far. I only play tested once after I developed this and it was a bit messy. I learned you definitely need like a white board or something to put the initiative order on so everyone can see it and plan ahead with their actions, otherwise people forget to use all their actions. Everyone said it was fun tho, so I think it works pretty well. I’ll go more in depth about visceral attack tomorrow probably! Stay tuned!

[inkantation-arch]

@ourple-octoling sent in: "You didn't ask." + uuh tsu and vio! yakuza time babey....

never shared // accepting!

Tsunaomi, normally, does a marvelous job at keeping her expression neutral. Lips set in a straight line, eyes only ever looking forward - the unfazed captain, willing to roll with the punches. It was a powerful skill, to constantly keep people guessing her reactions.

This, however, was not one of those times.

Her ears were twisted downwards, fangs bared in sudden panic, ❛ What?! ❜ She hisses. Naomi's not angry with him, but clear fright plays in her mismatched eyes. Of course, she's running through every single scenario in her mind, planning ahead. The NSS was not equipped for anything like defending themselves from a crime family - but there were preventative measures, the work of a spy that Tsunaomi knows well—

Viorel, had, in his defense, said it incredibly plainly: He used to live that life. But, well, Captain will do as she does. ❛ Vio! How are you so calm? ❜

[ladycatofwinterfell]

I know I’m making these posts for an audience of one (1) person and that person is me. But I like writing it out, it’s easier to make sense of all my thoughts and impressions that way. And it will give me something to look back on ahead of or during next season.

And so here it is. Thoughts on episode 8.

Maybe this time I’ll start with what I didn’t like and then do it more or less chronologically. Yeah, let’s do it that way.

The episode felt kinda… idk, clunky to me? It feels like maybe some things would have benefited from being a little more drawn out. And with that I’m especially thinking of the Louis/Armand divorce. After their fight in ep.5 I guess I was expecting more at the reveal that caused the end of their relationship. Something even more explosive. Or an actual confrontation. Though I guess we’ve been slowly seeing their relationship fall apart during the season and this was just the very last thing that cemented the end of it. I also would have liked more of Louis burning down the theatre. The cut between the New Orleans scene and Daniel's tv appearance was also a little abrupt for my taste.

The thing with Armand wanting Louis dead kinda annoyed me at first because it just straight up doesn’t make any sense for me. It just felt evil. It might be the bias that I went in expecting his motivation to be the same as in the books that brought this feeling out in me, but I really wanted that. He wanted Claudia dead so he could have Louis, it was never his intention for both of them to die. Though after a couple of rewatches I'm more willing to accept it. Armand seems to desire stability and reassurance and at that point in their relationship Louis could not promise him that. He refused to join the coven and was actively agitating members of it, which brought danger to Armand. He could not trust Louis to stay with him in the long run and so he chose his coven of 200 years. And when he realised it was not going according to plan he improvised in the hope of that he would land on top. And he did. And so I choose to trust them on this decision for now in the hopes of the next season giving more clarity. This season left Armand’s character in a similar place that Lestat was left in last season, the place as the villain in the story. This season gave nuance to Lestat without changing all of the bad things he did last season. And I hope the same will be true for Armand. And if it isn't I'll take the evil gremlin. I don't hate the evil gremlin. Armand <3

NOW! Good things. Because there are a lot of them. I saw that some people didn't really like this ep and while I consider it the weakest of the season it's still great. So let's talk about it.

Louis' monologue at the beginning of the episode is so good. Jacob Anderson is so good. I've fallen in love with both Louis and Jacob and it's all due to this wonderful performance. Wondering what he could have done differently to avoid ever falling for Lestat and reaching the conclusion that it was inevitable. There was no version of events where he didn't kiss Lestat on the altar (loooooove that they've leaned into the wedding implications of that in both this ep and ep 7). And so there was no version of event where all this could have been avoided, it was inevitable. He's probably right, it was inevitable, and that's part of the tragedy babey! And Claudia is dead. Claudia doesn't exist any longer. Her absence this episode is so striking. While it's all about her she's not truly there and there's a gaping hole where she was before.

His manic planning was also just beautifully acted. And it paired with Dubai scenes of Louis and Armand being like noooo Daniel you don't understand Armand was also a victim :( we prooooomise :( and Daniel just quietly waiting for when he can drop what he's discovered. Seeing Louis burn down the theatre was so satisfying. Setting fire to those who had wronged not him but Claudia and saving her things from that fire. Taking the last physical remains of her and committing murder with them in his bag <3 him knowing he can get Santiago by agitating and mocking him. and saying come to me???????? iwtv writers what the fuck were you on because I want some. All through the season I've been just a little in love with Santiago because of Ben Daniels' incredible performance and the fun pizzazz he brought to the character. With that said I was happy to watch him die after he said the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life about Claudia's ashes. Burn in hell bitch. All love to Ben Daniels though.

The scene with Armand afterwards? Where Armand admits to lying but not about that he played an active role in it? He knows he can't deny that he knew it would happen, but he knows he can deny it was largely due to him. Giving him a little of the truth, a bit he's carefully curated, just enough for it to be believable? Excellent.

LESTAT DE LIONCOURT!!! For now we'll just go with that I was wrong and that Lestat was chilling out in the dungeon out of his own free will (even though I still suspect we'll hear a different version later on. and if we don't and that was the truth i'm fine with it). Louis going to him with full intent of killing him that time, of burning him for what he did to Claudia. For crossing an ocean to rehearse a play that would burn his daughter alive. Big fan of them reversing to Claudia being their daughter btw. While she wanted to be their sister, while they called her their sister she never was their sister. That was their daughter. That was their little girl, as tragic as that is. Anyhow. He can't burn Lestat because Lestat has the blood of Akasha in him (Akasha mention let's fucking go). He can't kill Lestat. But he has to hurt him, he NEEDS to hurt him. And so he hurts him by being with Armand. I'm a big believer in that Louis and Armand really did love each other in the beginning and that their relationship was genuinely built on a connection. But that changes in Magnus' tower. That's when Armand becomes the rebound, that's when he becomes the companion Louis kept out of spite because he could not hurt Lestat in any other way then and there.

End of story. Armand breaths a sigh of relief, even allows himself to gloat a little. Too bad for him that Daniel is out for blood and is just itching to bring down his empire of lies. He points out flaws in Louis' story. He points out inconsistencies. And then he slams down the scrips for the trial that has Armand's notes scribbled in the margins. Because it was Armand. Armand had an active role in it. Armand wanted him and Claudia dead. Lestat saved Louis at the trial, and he didn't look very healthy in that version. He looked pale, he looked like the swaying Lestat we saw briefly just before Claudia died. Love how in the version of the trial from the previous ep Lestat wears black while Armand wears white, and when we see them rehearsing it's the other way around. Anyway I fell completely for that it was Armand that saved Louis, I believed it because that's what happened in the book, but it was a nice twist that it was Lestat. I think Sam Reid said he believes Lestat would have saved Claudia if he had had the energy for it, but he was simply not well enough to use his powers to save them both. Cool, doesn't at all make me want to die. Daniel lives for the drama, I'm here for it. His dramatic reveal was incredible. Louis snaps, as one might do when one finds out one's partner of 77 years murdered one's daughter and then fucked with one's head so one can't remember the truth of it. Him throwing Armand into the wall where the paintings were before but that they left bare because they couldn't agree on what to put up there? Fucking poetry.

Louis getting his accent back when he leaves Dubai is so beautiful. He lived in that grey and soulless apartment, spoke in a way that wasn't his own, wore only black. And now he's in New Orleans. He goes on a little tour that includes part of his own life and smiles at the incorrect things said like he's fondly reminiscing about it. And he is. He might have told a story that wasn't entirely how it actually happened in the interview, but it helped him to process some very painful things. It led him to come to terms with it in a way that he simply couldn't before. And now he's treated like a respected person, not looked down upon the way he was when he left New Orleans. And he sees a vampire catching rats, and he follows that vampire.

Okay so let’s get to the elephant in the room. The Louis/Lestat scene. Because while my first thought was Louis, girl, GET UP!! I really enjoyed the scene. Out of everything in the episode that one hit the hardest and how could it not? I’ve already come out as a loustat enjoyer, you know how it is (this show is very much not about shipping for me, but it’s also built on the relationships between all characters and loustat is simply THE relationship). He follows the young vampire and finds a Lestat that's a shadow of his former self. He returned to New Orleans because New Orleans is his home, but he hasn't been living there. He says he has, but that wasn't a life. He's been punishing himself ever since Paris, lived in atonement for what he did. He denies himself everything. Eats rats, lives in a shack, wears the robe he wore the first night he and Louis spent together, he even denies himself the joy of playing the piano. AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE SEE LESTAT!!!! this is the first time we see Lestat in the flesh and not through someone's memory of him. And he's the most pathetic wet dog of a man you've ever laid eyes on. Gone is the grandiose personality and the seductive presence. He's just so sad. And he has an ipad. Who gave this man wifi??? and taught him to use siri???? I was taken off guard by siri pause, it was very funny. And while it wasn't the same tone as the rest of the scene it worked. Shows we're in the presence, grounds the scene in, idk, realism? Like it's not a big thing, a great happening, it takes place in the real world. With that said it is a great happening and I’ll be thinking about it for the rest of my life. The way Sam and Jacob acted the entire scene is so great (as always with those two). The initial gentleness from Louis at seeing what has become of Lestat. Lestat being a very miserable and watered down version of himself but not without a lot of the same mannerisms as before (the way he moves his head when talking, his little shoulder shimmy, the way he drums his hand against his board). I like Lestat holding the board in front of him like a shield until they get to the point where Louis asked why he didn't say that he saved his life in Paris. And Lestat questioning if it was saving him. Louis thanking Lestat for the gift of time is sooooo touching. He wore vampirism like a curse, couldn't accept it, but he's come to realise that the nights he has ahead of him means something. He can use those nights to learn to live honestly. And it truly is beautiful that after having seen Louis struggle with vampirism for two seasons that he can embrace his own nature in a different way and consider it something positive that he has eternity to do right by himself and others. And Lestat, upon hearing that, asking about if he tried to end his life in 1973. If it was truly so bad he hurt himself. Which ties very well into his doubts about if he truly did save Louis in Paris. And he's clearly spent a lot of time thinking about this because he remembers the exact date and the exact time, both in New Orleans and in San Fransisco, when he heard from Armand. And that's the only time he's heard about Louis since they left Paris!! More than 70 years and all he knows of Louis is that something terrible happened to him in 1973. And when Louis says he was lost he immediately brings up Claudia, because of course it's about Claudia. He can't stop thinking about her either. And perhaps this (apart from the unbreakable vampire bond) is what will always tie Louis and Lestat together from now on. That they are the only two people in the world that understand the loss of Claudia and that knew the joy of Claudia when they lived together in New Orleans. No one else fully understands their pain. Lestat blames himself for the trial, Louis blames himself for the turning of Claudia in the first place. Both of them think themselves partly responsible for her death. And in a way they are, but they didn't mean for that to happen and it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

New paragraph because Tumblr forbid me from having one that long. It's the first time that has ever happened to me. Cool, I love this show. Anyway Louis heard from Armand that Claudia looked to Lestat in her last moment, but now he hears it from Lestat. He hears Lestat say she looked at him like he was her father, and then try to continue by saying he never was her father but the thing is that he was!! They were always her fathers. She referred to him as her uncle until she refused to be anything but a grown sister, but he was always her father. That was their daughter. Even when things were bad, even when she resented and hated them (especially Lestat), even when she tried to kill Lestat. Claudia was their daughter. In her last moment she did look to her father. The father that didn't save her. Side note, if they do "Claudia was my dark child, my love, evil of my evil. Claudia broke my heart" next season I'll die, I think. Claudia and Lestat are so interesting, character dynamic of all time if I'm being honest. Anyway they hug and it's such a relief for both Louis and Lestat. Finally they're embracing each other, sharing some comfort about Claudia's death, which is something they've both been denied for an entire human lifetime. And there's a storm going on around them, it sounds like the house will fall apart. 1 "Another round in the stormy romance of you two" and 2 "I was just a roof shingle that flew off of your house". Nothing is about Claudia because everything is about the two of them and it's always been that way, but simultaneously everything is about Claudia. And it's so deliciously tragic that everything becomes about her only after she dies. She could not be that while she was alive, she had to die for them to realise that. Just as with Claudia and Madeleine I love that we can't hear what they're saying to each other, again that's not for us to know. It's just for the two of them. Jacob and Sam deserve to have that.

And on a completely different note VAMPIRE DANIEL!!!! I saw him wearing sunglasses indoors and was like wait a moment... and then I saw his nails and YES he's a vampire!! Sad they've already burned half of my wishlist for season 3, but I can't be too upset about it. Daniel upon becoming a vampire immediately returning to his annoying and rash and twitchy 20-year-old self is gold. Becoming dated in his leather jacket and acdc shirt the same way Lestat became in his silk cravats. He's an old man physically but a very young vampire and it shows as soon as we see him. He's cocky and seems to think himself invincible, proudly proclaiming for all that will listen that vampires exist. I saw people upset that his turning was off screen but I like it. We know what's implied, we can definitely imagine approximately what took place after Louis told Armand not to touch Daniel. DID I HEAR MAITRE ONLY WHEN IT'S HOT OR CONVENIENT??? I'm a strong believer in that we'll get devil's minion, only in a different format than the one in the books, I'm not willing to give up on it. Louis and Daniel's relationship continuing is great though, and Daniel calling Armand an asshole wasn't bad either. Daniel pushing for more books because he's high on everything and on top of life. Great idea to make an addict into a creature whose entire existence revolves around the next fix.

Louis wears patterns now! He has a yellow couch! There are flowers on a table and a colourful painting on the wall! Claudia's dress is up on the wall, as is a portrait of Paul! The magnolia tree is gone, it's simply his little garden now. The apartment is his, he himself is his own. And the other vampires want to kill him for Daniel's book, and he lets them know they're welcome to try and fuck with him. Because he owns the night. When I saw him I was at first afraid of that Lestat would also be there with him, and I'm so glad he wasn't. I'm so glad that for now Louis is on his own, learning to live with himself and be himself again. I'm so glad that it ended with the focus on only him. Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, you will always be famous. Also relieved it's been at least partly confirmed that while Lestat will narrate next season Louis will not take a step back, it's still also about him. I love Louis <3

[munkah]

2023

Well, this year sucked. I failed myself a lot. I am really disappointed in myself. I lost a lot of headwind in my career, I lost confidence in myself and my ability. I left a lot unsaid and undone, I didn’t communicate well, I didn’t plan ahead, and everything I tried, I ended up giving up on.

I had a few short relationships that didn’t last, I had a job for 2 months, then I was adrift for 6 months, then I had a crappy casual job stacking chairs.

I hate my portfolio, I feel depressed and have no self confidence. This year really took it out of me and I feel the fight left me a little. I don’t have the same drive to understand what’s going on with me and try to improve things concretely. I feel small, beaten, hopeless.

I don’t have a plan for next year, I tried to really think one up, but I don’t have a good way of achieving any of the things I want to next year.

I’m scared that the rest of my life is going to be as bad as this year.

I feel lonely, isolated, scared of the world. Going outside is rare for me, seeing friends is basically a non-starter. By saying no to so much this year, I’ve closed myself off entirely. I think I needed to understand and contract this year. I needed to see what I would have done if I’d just lived inside my comfort zone.

I don’t want to do that next year. I really hate leaving my comfort zone, but I might not make it to 2025 if I don’t. I’ve gotta work on being vulnerable.

A few concrete steps I will take next year:

- Therapy babey, gonna make money so I can go back

- Eat good. Cheap, bulk, protein, snacks.

- Yoga, gym.

- Job. I want one. I want it so bad but I don’t feel very lucky right now. I want a job though

That’s all,

Sorry for the bummer post, this year sucked, next year will be really hard, I’ll try.

[3d10fire-damage]

Colors That Run Highlights 51

steven universe season 1 episode 52

The next morning at the Grounded Sparrow, Avi and Calypso sipped mimosas while Calypso considered what to say or do to get arrested. Her primary plan was to simply go from the heart, but Fea suggested that she call the guards fascists. Calypso needed an explanation of what a fascist is, which became a group activity for the three of them. She concluded that Harmonce currently seemed pretty fascist, before the group reconvened at Gale’s place. Also, Avi walked out with a fresh mimosa-- the glass included. He just sorta stole it. Alas.

Gale presented more of a complete plan for how she and Calypso would get sent to Prison City. They (along with Jericho, who quietly offered to go with them) would bust up a spell mill (where spell scrolls are made en masse under not great circumstances) as a sort of two birds with one stone thing. Gale worded it like, hey we might as well go out with a bang, right? And Calypso was all about it.

Meanwhile, a branch of the Rising Tide called Geyser would be assisting the rest of the Breakfast Club along the way and at the prison. Once everyone was prepared, they headed to a spell mill where Gale would steal back the workers’ confiscated IDs from the administrator’s office. Jericho would keep a look out, and Calypso would go onto the main working floor and set off any and all scrolls she found to just explode the whole mill in chain reaction of all sorts of spells. The workers were warned of this ahead of time, and so at Calypso’s arrival they began to hurry outside to safety.

Gale advised Calypso to give her a bit of time to get the IDs and get out before she started setting off spells, which Calypso obliged... kinda. She waited about five seconds before finding a Delayed Blast Fire Ball scroll on her first try(!) and set it to go off in the middle of the mill. Just as she was doing this, she received a message from Slim via Sending Stone, asking if they were all behaving over there. Calypso casually picked up the stone to reply, saying "yeah I’m gonna blow up a building, go to jail, and bust out. S’all good. Bye.” And that was the limit of their correspondence for the day. Poor Slim.

Luckily, everyone (important lol) had gotten out of the spell mill once the fire ball went off, and that giant explosion (22d6 babey) began a chain reaction of other spells, blasting apart the building in a blaze of fire, ice, storms, acid, everything. Big fuck yeah moment for Calypso. Kattie hadn’t been able to make sense of the explosion with her unique vision and received a play-by-play from Avi. Fea was worried for her girl but also proud of her success. Valor lamented her loss of the Sending Stone.

Soon enough, guards swarmed the place to arrest Gale, Calypso, and Jericho. Calypso, as she would the whole way to Prison City, was very uncooperative and offensive-- she even tried to punch one of the guards but nat 1′d and got super countered. Avi clowned on her for it from a distance.

Then, there was travel back to the Fire District. Along the way, Valor had a dream where she spoke with Kildak, who informed her of a powerful magical bow located in Bren. Naturally, she wanted to go get it, which was unfortunate since the group was going the total opposite direction at the time.

Fea also had a vision while traveling, where she saw a memory(?) of her past life. She was in Celestia, in a crowded Elyseum, being spoken to in a rush and led somewhere by angels, though the vision ended before she could see where she was going.

Kattie received a Sending from Eve, though she kept the message to herself. 👀 Calypso, having not been relieved of the Sending Stone quite yet, got a (bitchy) message from Slim the moment it recharged the next day. Basically he threatened to come to Harmonce, admonished Calypso for making him worry, and wished the group luck in whatever they had gotten into.

On the road Avi spotted a duck and her babies. Delighted, he gave them some food before having to shoo them away as the “dogs” of the party started getting antsy. Then at the Fire District’s border, Team Not Arrested were greeted by a fire genasi who introduced herself as Burnie, and gestured to the group that was Geyser, here to help them in Prison City.

Meanwhile, Team Arrested were pushed into the prison itself, had all their possessions taken from them, stuffed into identical prison jumpsuits, and stood before the warden. The warden was a very intimidating woman who laid down the rules of the place and threatening those that stepped out of line. Calypso got called out for smiling like she was mocking the warden, though she said that’s just what her face looks like. The warden grabbed her face and warned her more personally, but after that the group were taken away to the cells. Gale and Calypso were placed in the same cell all the way on the 7th floor. Sooooo many stairs

By that night Calypso was getting surly after going so long without any cigarettes, and eventually began doing monk workouts to keep herself occupied. Meanwhile, Team Not Arrested made their way toward Prison City, preparing for the coming attack. Valor helped train some of the inexperienced archers in Geyser. Kattie kept spirits up with some Jams. Fea seemed distant and not very sociable. Avi was pretty normal.

The next day, the inmates gathered in the cafeteria to eat their not very good meal. Calypso lamented her withdrawals as Gale kept an eye out for her inside contact. Soon enough, a young man called Scribbs approached them and slipped them some handmade maps of the prison, to be used to aid in the jailbreak. He also managed to get some bootleg cigarettes for Calypso from a friendly orc across the room.

Fea mentioned to Kattie that Valor has Big motivation to go to Bren, where Kattie is from. Kattie wished them luck and maintained she would not be going with them there. She’d just meet up with Luna or something while they were gone.

It was then night-- nearing the time for action, for both teams. Gale explained to Calypso that another contact of hers would be using a Knock spell to unlock cells and let out as many inmates as possible. From there, they’d steal the guards’ keys and free more people, and repeat the process for each floor, working their way down. This would be aided by the outside team attacking the prison from the front and back to distract the guards.

Kattie and Avi sprung an attack at the back, where guards were resting in the barracks-- a combo of a sick riff Shatter and Flame Strike. Fea and Valor headed the strike at the front door, kicking ass and taking names up close and at range respectively.

There was a brief hiccup on the inside, as Calypso realized she would be breaking her no-stealing contract with the Infernal Champion if she grabbed any keys, so Gale had to be the one to take the keys and open cells. But they managed to mow their way through, gaining more and more assistance as their army of freed inmates grew. Avi used Locate Creature to find Jericho and Sent a message to Calypso reminding her to find him and get him out safely.

Soon there was a loud roar and a crash at the roof of the prison, as a familiar copper dragon joined in the commotion. Beldyr! Summoned by correspondence from Valor. She assisted in the assault at the front, reuniting with a delighted Valor.

The guards were defeated, and Prison City had been liberated. Kattie managed to find Gloam as he left the building, catching him up on who the party was and that Thedda sent them after him. Avi spotted Jericho being led outside by the friendly orc from earlier, and Avi proceeded to fully Disengage from the conversation with Gloam since the group had basically raided his chest for his magical belongings. Kattie then contacted Thedda via Sending to let her know they found Gloam.

Valor caught up a bit with Beldyr, who still lacks her memories and had been in Calamity (apparently she has plans with a new acquaintance there 👀). A battle-messy Fea immediately scooped up a re-equipped Calypso upon finding her.

Kattie attempted to pull Avi over to Gloam, but he cast Freedom of Movement on himself to escape. Kattie then tried to hit him with Irresistible Dance, but it didn’t really slow him down any. At the group’s persistent worry about having to return Gloam’s stuff to him, Gale offered to talk to him and allow the party to keep his items. After all, they would be helping the Tide fight against the authority of Harmonce. Miraculously, Calypso was the one to get Avi to stop freaking out.

Gale also told the party about an upcoming masquerade ball... in Bren. In fact, it would be taking place at Kattie’s family’s home. 😬 Kattie was very hesitant to agree to come along, but the group (mainly Calypso) argued that she should go so she could tell her parents to fuck off and let go of that lingering part of her past. Not to mention Valor was dying to get the dragon bow she learned of from Kildak. Once Kattie was assured she could Teleport out at any point if she wanted, she agreed to go.

So the group’s gonna crashing a fancy noble party in a couple weeks! Calypso asked what people even wear to a ball, having no experience dressing formally for such an event. Valor was thus summoned, appearing at Calypso’s side promising to help her get appropriately dressed up. Valor was then sent away by Calypso joking about her being around a lot of balls.

Once things had settled for the night, Calypso took up the Sending Stone and messaged Slim: “hey we busted up the jail, it's all good. bye.” Slim promptly replied that he expected a more thorough explanation later. Poor guy.

next time more crimes. also we leveled up, hell yeah

[writeblrfantasy]

I have the same problem every year which is that:

I plan ahead with one project

I get bored of that and invent a new one

Write most of the new one before November 1st

Which is what I’ve done this year again haha. it’s secret project hours babey

what about you how are you feeling

who is doing nanowrimo this year? how prepared are we feeling?