#thank god i can still love tolkien

[thesecretlamppost]

That's it! New Rule: I will no longer list any living authors amongst my favorites. I can only like the dead ones

[elodieunderglass]

I am absolutely wild and feral over HDM (legit like, daemons fit SO well. I'm watching dunmeshi wondering where Laios' dog went) and super curious if you do plan a sequel or other fics following this AU??

(In reference to the His Dark Materials / Dungeon Meshi fusion fic)

thank you so much for this question I love this question god!!!! Thank you thank you thank you

God sorry about HDM being delayed, I’m going through hell over it at the moment. It’s meant to end a little after the dragon, then a timeskip epilogue, with special coding so that you can read it two different ways, depending on whether you want spoilers for the manga/season 2. (My idea is that you’ll click a button to reveal/hide it, and the spoiler-free epilogue will be like found poetry.)

Firstly, if you or anyone else would like to take the concepts/characters in His Delicious Materials forward for themselves, you must do this. You don’t need my permission (but I’d love a link! so I can read, scream, reblog, comment, link to it, etc. there is also the “inspired by” setting on ao3 so we can link works directly to HDM, forming a collection for anyone who reads one and wants more.) I don’t own any of it! We are all just having fun! YOU can be the sequel you want to see in the world! If your heart feels a way forward, then follow your heart!! A daemon AU is really about revealing character and I find them really inspiring, like adding a whole engine to a story idea.

If I were to write something to follow up, I do know what the sequel WOULD be! It would be a sort of Discworld novel about the slow social revolution occurring in the half-foots as a chain reaction to Bee settling as a weasel, all occurring behind Chilchuck’s oblivious and unhelpful back. Pushed into a sort of bottleneck of sparrow- and mouse-souls, and marginalised to the very edges of society, half-foots are precarious and endangered. Chilchuck is mostly eating a ham sandwich unhelpfully in the foreground, and at the end of the story looks back and sees to his bewilderment that his people have found a way forward (they don’t have a Shire or a Chosen One, but they do have a goddamn functional worker’s union and their own collective dignity.) kind of Discworld-commentary-comedy, kind of a loving argument with Tolkien, kind of Sharpe hostile-and-awkward-protagonist-POV-doesn’t-know-and-wouldn’t-believe-that-his-men-genuinely-love-him, kind of about the experience of parenting, and kind of gently warmly political BUT FUNNY so it would be ok. but feel it would be too much of a stretch of people’s patience and the original materials’s intentions to call it fanfic. Too many OCs needed to carry the weight, too little reference to the other Dungeon Meshi characters, almost too little “payoff” for what would be a full 70k word work. So maybe to let the story breathe, it would be better worked up as original fiction?

(Plus, that is actually an actual novel: if people write their own novels and manga about orc coffeeshops and dnd parties, I could just write my own too: wait but how do you know if you should?)

Anyway, that is an entirely separate kettle of weasels and my own cross to bear! If your heart cries out for a sequel the best way to manifest it in the world is to write it!

If you feel that A Weasel Heart In Defiance feels like it would scratch that itch, here is a bit that is mildly relevant to Dungeon Meshi, which is Chilchuck and Bee starting to work away from home while the girls were still small. You’ll probably see what I mean from it.

About seven of the village children, including his own three, had a snake in a wooden bucket. They didn't look up.

The reappearance of a random guy who functioned mostly as a postal service and occasionally shouted at them about bedtime - in a way that could be easily blanked out if something more interesting was happening - simply could not be expected to compete for attention with a snake in a bucket.

Chilchuck could recognise this on some level, but as his own children ignored him, he felt very hot and angry, in a way that he had never wanted to feel about children, especially his.

Bee, also rigidly pissed off, growled, "Easy, boss."

This was where Chilchuck did the only thing so far that he was proud of, in this day. He did not start shouting, even though his temper was going something like What the fuck, kids, but worse. He stopped, took a minute, and remembered he'd had this whole thing where he'd wanted his kids to love him. He rubbed his nose, said, "Remind me," and his daemon reminded him: "What do we want them to actually do?"

And he said, "The bare minimum fucking acknowledgement would be nice."

And Bee said, "Have we explained that to them? Do they know?"

So Chilchuck and Bee, hot and tired and cross and still on the job apparently, sat down on the ground with the kids and looked in the bucket. The snake, poor bastard, looked very limp and tired. Chilchuck could relate.

After a while, Chilchuck said, "Girls?"

Or more accurately, something like, "Girls! Girls. Meifleurpatti-I mean Puck-PUCK. Listen up. Mei! Fleur, I'm talking - thanks Fleur - Puck. (Ryeland, stop the baby.) PUCK. Mei, Fleur, Puck - PUCK, eyes on me - thanks, Ryeland - PUCK. EYES," which condensed in parent-speak to a single roar of "Girls!"

When he had them more or less listening, he remembered to set his voice to the more singsong cadence one used for children, instead off the deeper version of his natural voice that he used for shouting at the top of his abilities at tall people; making the choice to be patient and gentle, or at least pretend to be someone who was; and in this manner he said reasonably, "Now, your dad's been away for a very long time and missed you all very much. What do you say? What do you say when your dad comes home?"

Six children stared at him blankly, and the baby toppled gently into the bucket. He fished it out, stuck it sideways under his arm, allowed the snake to escape in the confusion, acknowledged someone's grievously injured finger, stopped Fleur from pinching, took out his pocket handkerchief and wiped Puck's nose in essentially one continuous motion.

To be completely fair, now that he'd let go of the initial anger, he could see that the kids had absolutely no idea what he'd wanted of them. Kids had practically no social instincts at the best of times. Chilchuck coming home was remarkable, sure, but beyond their influence; how were they supposed to react? What do you say to a comet? What do you say to a hailstorm? What do you say when daddy comes home?

He repeated the question, as the children had universally drawn blanks and devolved into staring vacantly.

"Good morning, Daddy!" A child chirped helpfully, setting off the rest in an automatic drone of "good morning, Daddy," in the strangely universal dreary tone of all children saying that.

"So close, Fernwise! Is it morning? What else do we think?"

Bee, fighting for order among the kit-daemons, was simultaneously washing Fleurtom's daemon, Pantoufle's, face; receiving a long rambling report of a grievance from three incoherent witnesses; and minding the baby's chick-daemon; up to her ears in parenting. She said, around a mouthful of Pan, "Speed it up, boss, you're losing them."

"Where are your spots, Daddy?" Pan asked him. He was in the form of a young ferret and scrabbled against his mother's grip on his scruff.

"My what?"

"Your freckles," Bee said grimly, and seeing he'd been temporarily disarmed - and being a valiant beast in her way - charged in to her human's defense, "Is that nice, Pan? We don't want to make people feel bad about their looks, do we?"

"Yes we do," said Fleur.

"Fleur! We've just - we haven't seen much of the sun, that's all," said Bee, taking charge, the best and most loyal soul a man could have. "They'll come back, and they're not spots."

"Mei has spots."

"Freckles."

"Grimbob has spots."

"Yes, and you shouldn't notice," Bee said. "Think of Grimbob's feelings."

"I do, I think he feels spotty."

"I'm thirsty," Puck said flatly.

"Stick to the point, kids," Chilchuck said, recovering from the fact that his usual face was apparently indistinguishable to children from Grimbob's, who had been taking puberty hard. This was surprisingly difficult to do.

Ryeland, a mildly bright spark who was older than the Chils girls, connected two dots and suddenly roared "WELCOME HOME DADDY," so six children all repeated that automatically, and Fleur added sunnily, "I missed you Daddy!"

And just as a very small piece of Chilchuck's heart was finally allowed to melt, she added, equally sunnily, "Mei didn't."

"I did a little," Meijack said vaguely.

"That's great kids, well done, we got there in the end," Chilchuck said. "Remember it for next time, okay? It makes Daddy feel better about his stupid life. Now, next time, let's remember that it's traditional to do a hug."

He realised his mistake instantly, as six children and their daemons all bore him - and the baby he'd forgotten he was holding - to the ground.

___________

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

God, Rest Ye Merry

Warnings: kidnap and other dark elements. Not all kinks or triggers are tagged. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Summary: You're sick and you don't think things can get much worse until they do.

Character: God the Bounty Hunter

Day Twenty-Four of the December Daze Challenge.

Prompt -i'm too sick to go anywhere!

Note: As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

It’s the happiest time of year and you couldn’t be more miserable. Your head is pounding, your nose is stuff, lips cracked from having to breathe through your mouth, and you just want to go to sleep and never wake up. Still, your body is too addled with the flu to allow you that peace. 

Watching the snow through the window, you dig deep down to find the strength to go out. You shudder as you hook a mask over your ears and bend the wire across your nose. As much as you’d love to share the cheer, you’re not that type of person. 

You take your reusable bag and your keys and set out. You pull your hood up as you emerge into the white swirl. The fur around the edge blocks out your peripherals and before you is an endless sprawl, untouched by shovel or plow. It isn’t far to the pharmacy; across the street and down the next corner. 

You trudge through towards the prize of more cough drops and possibly some vitamin C. You’ve gone through most of your supplies, not having bothered to replenish since the last time you had a cold. You’ve been lucky for so long that it has to be absolutely horrid this time. 

You kick through the drifts. The snow is getting deeper by the minute. Some might relish the festive fall but you’re not into it. Thankfully, you’re staying in for the holidays. Not that you have much choice with this chesty cough. 

The snow dampens the sound and you slow as you come in sight of the pharmacy. The silence is eerily still despite the winds sweeping the flakes over the blanketed ground. You dust the snow from your hood and pivot to see around you. You’re the only one desperate enough to be out on Christmas Eve, aside from the poor retail employees sentenced to work in purgatory for those last-minute sales. 

You press on and enter the pharmacy with the jangle of the bell above. You do your best to kick the snow off before you cross the threshold. You pass the shelves of Hallmark cards and wrapping paper and pull your hood down. You read the hanging signs of the aisle and drag your treads towards the cough and cold section. 

As you turn down that aisle, the bell on the door rings again. Strange, you didn’t see anyone on the street. It could be someone who works down the next street or someone brave enough to drive in this. You stop before the shelves of cough drops and get the extra menthol. You might try the vapour rub too. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some electrolytes too. 

You spend a bit more than you should on your haul but at this point, you’d sell yourself for some relief. You bring it all to the counter as another pair of footsteps softly trace the rows behind you. You pay and the girl behind the till puts it all in a paper bag. You choke back a cough and thank her. 

You pull your hood up in expectation of your delve back into the elements and hug the bag to your chest. Your head slumps as the short walk back seems a Tolkien-ish trek in your condition. You push through the door with your shoulder and slow as you step into the calf-deep downfall. 

You get about halfway down the street. You’re panting as your legs ache and your chest thrums. You look ahead of you as the soft crush of snow comes from behind you. You blink as your head pulses and you turn slowly as you try to see past your furry hood. 

Not fast enough. The snow cushions your fall as you’re thrown into the piles. Your bag falls out of your arms as you murmur and fight weakly against the powder and your own weakness. Your struggle is short and pathetic as the white fades to black, the world and all your agony with it. 

💝

You cough yourself awake. Your throat feels as if it’s lined with shards of glass. You groan and chatter as a chill washes over you. Your arms are heavy as you drag them up to hug yourself in an effort to ward off the cold. 

There’s a tug on your wrist as you do. Your lashes flutter and your head lolls as you raise your hand shakily. The leather cuff below your hand blurs in your hazy vision. You pull again, the resistance enough to deter you. What is that? 

You cough and use your other hand to wipe your nose. What’s going on? What happened to you? You just wanted some relief and now... 

You remember falling. Did you trip? No, something knocked you over. You’re sure of it.  

You wince and force your eyes open, even as they ache. You peer around the dim space. You lay on a thin mattress on a metal frame. There are two pillows, one under your head, another beside you, a grey duvet over you, and that cuff on your wrist. You lift your hand again and examine the chain attached to it. It trails over the edge. 

What the fuck? You’re too sick to even think about trying to get it off. Your eyes scan the shadowy walls, your scalp slaked in cold sweat, and you shiver again. There’s an electric heater glowing orange like the doorway to hell in the corner of the room, and a folding table shrouded in the dim. 

All this because you wanted some cough drops. You shake your head, sending another echo of heaviness through it. You whimper and try to touch your temple, the attempt drawn short by the restraint. 

“What’s wrong with you?” The voice is like gravel. 

You flinch and lift your head, searching the room. Something shifts in the corner and the figure steps closer, his silhouette just discernible against the dark. You scoff and send yourself into a hacking fit. What a stupid question. 

“I’m... sick,” you rasp. 

He’s silent. He moves around as you try to see him clearer. He goes to the table, still nothing more than a fuzzy blob to you. Something crinkles as he bends and he hauls up the paper bag onto it. He peels open the tear in its side. 

He turns and hesitates. He comes around the foot of the bed and the heater gives light to his features. You see him clearer as the single metal lamp next to you illuminates him completely. His features are sharp and stony, his expression emotionless. He holds out the pack of cough drops, almost cluelessly. 

“Will this help?” 

You frown. You sigh but it catches in your scratchy throat. You reach for the lozenges. He lets you take them. He watches you tear open the package and then unwrap one of the drops. You shove it in your mouth and groan. 

“Do you feel better?” He asks. 

You squint at him, “not really. They’re just menthol... for my throat.” 

“Oh.” 

What’s wrong with him? Hasn't he ever had a cold? Bigger question, why did he bring you here? 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says as if he can read your mind. You can’t help but show your discomfort. “I could but I won’t.” 

You frown at him. Did he have to say that? 

“You’re sick.” 

You nod. 

“And alone.” 

You don’t move. 

“My family--” 

“You said you couldn’t go this year. Too expensive to take the train.” 

You snap your teeth shut. How does he know that? You look down at your wrist. He does too. 

“It’s for safety,” he explains but that doesn’t make sense to you. 

“Why...” you begin the question but can’t decide which one would get the right answers. Probably none of them. 

“Take another,” he points to the cough drops. You’re still sucking on the other one. You shake your head and drop the pack on the blanket.

“Won’t help,” you croak. 

He blinks and his blue eyes round, “what will?” 

You just stare at him. You’re half-sure this is a demented fever dream and you’re currently face down in the snow, slowly sinking into hypothermic delusions. He twists on his heel and marches away. He grabs the bag, cradling it to keep the contents inside, and you brace yourself as he comes back your way. 

He puts it on the bed and sifts through. He holds up the large bottle of orange electrolytes. “It’s for babies.” 

You push your elbows into the bed and sit up. He shifts closer. “You should relax.” 

“I can’t,” you say hoarsely and reach for the bottle. “Elecrolytes. Help...” 

“Keep you hydrated,” he finishes. “Makes sense. What else?” 

He reaches inside and takes out the vapour rub. He examines the tin. He untwists the lid and gives it a deep sniff that makes his eyes water. 

“Stinky.” 

“Here,” you reach for it but he keeps it away from you as he reads the tiny writing on it. “Spread across chest...” he mutters as he reads then his eyes flick to you, “take your shirt off.” 

“What?” You exclaim then cover your mouth as you cough yourself halfway into oblivion. 

“I’ll put it on for you. Like it says.” 

“I can do it...” your voice crackles. 

You don’t have time you react as he reaches for you. He shoves the blanket down then tugs on your sweatshirt, drenched in your feverish excess. You squeak but can’t resist him. He strips it over your head as you writhe helplessly. 

You cross your arms over your bra as he pushes his fingers into the menthol rub. As he extends his hand towards you, you shy away. You crush the pillow as he presses his fingertips to your skin and smears the cream over your skin. Your heart is pounding. 

“You shouldn’t be afraid,” he says as his touch lingers and he brings his hand down to feel your heartbeat. “I’m taking care of you.” 

You furrow your brow and stare at him, in confusion, in horror. You have no idea who he is or what he wants, at this point, you’re rooting for the flu to win. He slowly peels away his hand and caps the tin. He turns and searches around, dissipating back into the shadows. 

He re-emerges as he wipes his fingers. He watches you from the foot of the bed as you grab your sweatshirt and pull it back on. He grips the two fingers he used to apply the cream and twists his fist around them and the cloth. 

“Are you better now?” He asks. 

You close your eyes and sink back into the bed. You can’t. You don’t have the energy for this. 

“Not yet.” 

“Oh...” he utters as he looms still. “Well, when you are, let me know.” 

You snort. The way he speaks, the way he just stares, it’s like he’s missing something. It’s just as scary as the cuff on your arm. 

You open one eye and find him still there, watching. 

“God.” He says. You open your other eye and tilt your head.  

“God?” You repeat. 

“That’s me.” 

You drop your head again and exhale. Right, so, maybe you are dead. 

[inthehouseoffinwe]

I feel like the whole "Elwing jumping out with the silmaril due to trauma" explanation doesn't really answer the question about why she and Earendil seemed to just "turn the page" with their kids when they got to Valinor. It's strange to me that when meeting with the Valar and giving them something very important like the silmaril, they didn't try to leverage their position and secure/negotate something for their kids (at least verifying if they're dead or alive, getting an affirmation they'll be safe, or trying to retrieve them) from the gods. It's like they just decided there's nothing more to do here, got immortality, and never looked back since beating Morgoth is the only important issue now. Maybe this is just a narrative hole resulting from Tolkein trying to keep things brief, but it gives me the striking impression that they chose ultimately chose each other over their own kids.

Hey! Thanks for sending this!

I’ll admit, I’m not totally clear with what happened post arrival to Valinor but I do agree. It could explain the initial jump but everything after? Ehhh.

I know they were worried about the twins. But their actions don’t really… show that.

I guess my only thought is they didn’t expect to never come back (a bit of a weak argument imo, it’s pretty clear Valinor is a one way trip) and barely got the Valar to agree to do something in Beleriand. I won’t get into how messed up it is the Valar waited for a stolen silmaril before even considering to help, but maybe because of that they didn’t want to push their luck?

But I also know 99.9% of parents still… would. Or they’d at least ensure their kids were safe. If Elwing’s so traumatised by the SoF, you’d think this is the first thing she does. It took time for the Valar to decide, long enough to get over the initial stress and start demanding, even if it was done through Eärendil.

Even if we say they only thought of Morgoth. I’d think to say ‘hey I got you this thing, now make sure my kids survive your war against our enemy.’

I don’t think it was Tolkien’s intention, and this is partly because he’s brushing over large swathes of plot. But the way things went and nothing really mentioning they thought of their children or regretted what happened to their people doesn’t do any favours. It also follows a very Beren and Luthien trend of ‘choosing each other against the world’ (and dooming everyone else in the process.) Which doesn’t help either.

And this leads to my issues with Eärendil x Elwing in general.

They remind me of every single couple who weren’t ready for marriage, rushing into it with this romanticised idea, and having no idea what to do after. Add kids to the mix and it’s a recipe for disaster. They love them, yes, but they don’t know what to do with them when things go wrong.

Especially in this case where Elwing should be expected to rule when her husband’s away, considering he’s gone so often and for so long. If she was so traumatised and young, why let her get into a marriage which would result in so many responsibilities?

The whole ‘but they were in love!’ thing has always annoyed me across every fandom I’ve been in 😂 It seems so selfish to condemn an entire people to an unfit ruler because you’re in love. It’s selfish to bring in a weak leader when there’s war constantly at your doorstep. This goes for both Eärendil and Elwing.

Ok sure. This case it was the sons of Fëanor. But what would she have done if Morgoth launched an attack? Can anyone honestly tell me she’d know how to direct and lead people to relative safety? It’s a pretty basic demand from a ruler in as bad a situation as they were in.

You don’t bring a traumatised woman, or even ignoring that, you don’t bring a young inexperienced woman, who won’t be able to think clearly or make good decisions when put under pressure.

And if you know you’re traumatised and/or inexperienced you don’t agree to the position.

[symphonyofsilence]

Thanks for answering my ask before. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 7 favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series) and your top 7 favorite ships (can be canon or non canon) from any media ? Why do you love them?

Sorry if you've answered this questions before......

My pleasure! Thank you for your thought-provoking ask, and sorry for taking so long to answer.

Oh... that's very hard to choose!

1. Tolkien legendarium

Well... I think this one's kinda self-explanatory. What can I say that hasn't been told in these 70 years better than I could.

2. MXTX's works especially Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed and Heaven official's blessing but especially the former

God I love everything about how she writes! Especially the characters and the relationships between them! They all feel so real... so humane! And the relationships especially the platonic ones are so top-notch that like right now nobody can convince me that Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli are not my siblings! The characters and their relationships are so layered. And the subplots! THE SUBPLOTS! So beautiful! So haunting! They live in my head rent-free 24/7!

I love how the climaxes of the story, where everything starts to go down, they go down in such a spectacular way that you honestly can't find a way out of it even from a third-person perspective and they're so devastating they truly leave an impact on you to the point that it'ss hard to rawatch or reread them. I love how connected you feel to the characters that you feel the same love or sadness over their loss that the main character does. I love how things are sometimes so complicated that just like in the real world, there's no simple solution for them, and just like the real world, a magic solution doesn't descent from the skies, but the characters, true to who they are, in their own way try to deal with them the best they can (or not). (like how Wei Wuxian's and Jiang Cheng's love for each other would always be what separated them. And how there was never any way out for Jin Guangyao, ...)

Honestly. It's storytelling at its best!

And I think "The Untamed" is the peak of adaptation even if they had to face censorship from China's government, the adaptation is perfect! Some characters are even better in the show. I have such a deep emotional bond with it that I don't with the book itself.

3. Mike Flanagan's TV series especially Haunting of Hill House and Haunting of Bly Manor

Every single one of his TV shows is written and made in a way that every writer would wish to write! In his shows, Loss is not separable from love, heartbreak, and conflict and unintentional lasting harm is not separable from family, mortality from life, and price from success. They have a way of showing the ugly side, the usually ignored and always feared truths of the most beautiful concepts of life to you, and then show the beauty and grace that humans still can have in the face of it by bravely facing it and doing the best they can, and the solace they find in themselves and in each other. It always has such beauty and such solace and gentle sadness to them.

4. Avatar the Last Airbender

Exemplary worldbuilding, amazing character writings, extraordinary character developments, great relationships between characters, a masterful balance between lighthearted and serious and impactful and occasionally heartbreaking moments, perfect ways to address the many important issues it intended to address, marvelous finale, all in all the most flawless storytelling one can wish for.

5. Asoiaf

it's simultaneously the peak of High Fantasy and the peak of realism. With a few exceptions (Like Jeoffrey, Ramsay, Twyin, Maegor, Walder Frey, Roose Bolton, Gilly's father, and some other few I can't remember), people are not good or bad, people are people. they're multi-layered, they're complex, their characteristics feel real, their decisions make sense from their point of view, so does their mistakes, and they immediately, or sometimes in the long run, get the natural result of their actions. Their arcs and developments are amazing, their developments and redemptions feel earned. And the story! God! The story! What can I say about it! It's phenomenal! The pacing, the structures, the ups and downs, everything! And everything happens as the intertwined and natural result of every character's decision that is perfectly in line with the characters. Every character brings their own game to the table. Every character is unique and has a unique perspective. The dialogues are top-notch. The worldbuilding is extraordinary. The world feels so lived in. The concepts the story explores are explored thoroughly and in such great ways without being on the nose. It's really such a great work of fiction. I just wish GRRM WOULD JUST FINISH THIS GODDAMN BOOK!

And the TV series, the set design, the costume design, the music, the acting, the castings, the direction, the makeup, honestly everything except the writing of the last 2 seasons (and maybe more than two last seasons) was amazing.

6. Jujutsu Kaisen

The characters, heroes and villains and grey characters alike, the character dynamics, the character arcs, the plot, the themes, everything about it is absolutely perfect! The Hidden Inventory arc and Geto Suguru's character arc alone deserve all the awards! The power system is so intricate and interesting. Whether it's heartwarming, funny. or heartbreaking, at every turn the story makes you feel exactly what it wants you to feel. Every emotional peak of the story definitely strikes a chord without fail. It's so well-written in every aspect. The animation is out of this world and the music is great. Definitely one of the greatest out there. I could go on and on about it!

7. Bungo Stray Dogs

Each and every character is written masterfully. They're each unique and endearing. Every side character is as well-developed and as explored as the main one. And there's not a single character you can actually dislike till the end. Every antagonist (except Fyodor) that is introduced in one season is an ally in the next. (Or even before that) And explored more. And don't even get me started on the characters' dynamics! It's the heart of the show. And each and every one of them is perfect! The story and its ups and downs are so engaging and delightful, the pacing and the blend of comedy and drama are great. The way the characters outsmart each other is superb. The way every single character, friends, and rivals and previous enemies alike, with their abilities come together at the end and bring their own game to win against their common enemy is so beautiful and gratifying. The fights are always top-notch. The very interesting ways the lives and the books of the real authors are intertwined with the characters are nothing short of masterful. The way it explores its themes is very impactful. The character designs, the art style (in both the anime and the manga), and the animation (especially the fight scenes) are all perfect. I love everything about it!

the honorable mentions:

The Umbrella Academy

The Last of Us

The Sandman

I really enjoyed MCU while it lasted for a long time

Husky and his White Cat Shizun

Attack on Titan

The berserk

Good Omens

Fleabag

And here are the ships:

1. Satosugu (Gojo Satoru/Geto Suguru- Jujutsu Kaisen)

Such devotion, such longing, such yearning, such an everlasting bond despite all the years and everything in between, such a burning loyalty, such love, such grief!

What do you mean "My six eyes tell me that you're Geto Suguru but my soul knows otherwise"?! What do you mean that 11 years after their breakup, Gojo saw Kenjaku for one mili-second and immediately knew that it's not Geto despite all the evidence, and Geto, 11 years after their breakup, and one year after Gojo had literally killed him still upon hearing Gojo's voice rushed into action trying to choke Kenjaku- his own body- to save Gojo? Not because he was alive but because protecting Gojo was instinct to even his dead body! Something that he didn't do when Kenjaku threatened the two girls he raised for 10 years? What do you mean that Kenjaku, accessing Geto's memories, based his whole plan to capture the strongest based on the fact that Geto would be his weakness and Gojo would turn back and would be too shocked to do anything for a few seconds and his plan actually worked. What do you mean that Geto Suguru is actually Gojo's one weakness? What do you mean that Gojo smiled for a second when he thought Geto was back even though the prison realm was right in front of him? What do you mean that the whole Shibuya incident happened because Gojo couldn't burn Geto's dead body? What do you mean that he only lived one year after Geto and died on the same day as him on the most romantic day of the year because it was the day he chose for his fight to take back Geto's body and give it a proper burial? What do you mean Gojo chose to become a teacher because of Geto after he left, after "he couldn't reach him."? What do you mean that Gojo kept using "Boku" years after Geto left because Geto told him so? What do you mean that Geto wore a Gojo-kesa for ten years? What do you mean they're literally like "and everything I ever did was just another way, to scream your name, over and over and over again."? What do you mean "even so, Gojo's gaze, covered under the white bandages, had always, always been staring at the shape of Geto's soul"? What do you mean that when Gojo found Geto dying he chose to tell him that he sent his students because he still trusted him that he wouldn't do anything to really harm them? What do you mean that his last words made the dying, bleeding man blush and giggle despite him saying moments ago that in this world, he couldn't even smile? What do you mean that Gojo still fondly remembered him as "my best friend, my one and only."? What do you mean that Nanako and Mimiko knew how much Gojo meant to Geto that they wouldn't even direct their rage and hatred towards him even after he killed Geto? What do you mean that till his last breath and beyond, Gojo was thinking of Geto? What do you mean "Since all those years ago, I was left behind, I have to catch up now."? WHAT DO YOU MEAN "SATISFIED? MAYBE I WOULD HAVE BEEN SATISFIED IF YOU WERE AMONG THOSE PATTING MY BACK."

2. Soukoku (Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya- Bungo Stray Dogs)

The way Chuuya is the thing keeping Dazai alive and Dazai is the one that makes Chuuya feel the most humane. The way both of them can be just normal teenagers around each other. (Even way into their early twenties). The trust they have for each other! The way Dazai gets himself captured every time and even dies once fully believing that Chuuya will come (and succeed) to save him and Chuuya does, and every time Chuuya uses corruption he trusts Dazai with his life and Dazai never fails him, the way in the Dead Apple Chuuya knew Dazai so well and had such a faith/or maybe just hope in Dazai being alive that even knowing that he'd die using Corruption if Dazai were truly dead and weren't there to nullify his ability, still risked his life and used Corruption and single-handedly fought and destroyed a dragon made of all the abilities and saved Japan because of Dazai. The way Dazai risked the destruction of Yokohama and got a great portion of the Port Mafia killed to fight Verlaine just for Chuuya because Chuuya didn't want to go with Verlaine. The lengths they would go for each other!

The way with all Fyodor's genius, the one flaw in his master plan was that he didn't consider that there wouldn't be a moment when Chuuya wouldn't be on Dazai's side.

They work so well and so naturally together. They don't even need to communicate to know what to do it's like they just know and work in harmony together by instinct.

True soulmates!

They fit each other perfectly and are just what the other needs. They're both adrenaline junkies and in one way or another, adrenaline is what they provide for each other. Chuuya reminds Dazai why life is worth living. (Like 15-year-old Dazai before meeting Chuuya is like "Is there any value to this thing we call living? And 15-year-old Dazai barely a few days after meeting Chuuya says that he thinks living is worth trying), and Dazai firmly believes that Chuuya is human and makes him feel every human emotion possible. He makes him feel the moment so he doesn't keep troubling himself thinking about the past. They challenge each other, they support each other, they work perfectly together, they make each other feel alive.

3. Braime (Brienne of Tarth/Jaime Lannister- ASOIAF/GOT)

I love that they bring out the best in each other. I love the relationships where the ones involved are the best of themselves when they're together! I love it that when they're together, they both can the honorable knights they always dreamed to be. I love that with each other, they are for once, accepted, understood, believed, and believed in.

4. Xuexiao (Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang- Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed)

Oh, the Yi City arc was a novel of its own. One of the greatest arcs ever! The agent of chaos and a kicked abandoned kitten in the world that has seldom shown him any good, being helped and gently taken care of by someone he swore revenge on, someone who's captured him and insisted for justice to be brought upon him, and then in the middle of enacting his perfect revenge plan he realizes that he's actually enjoying this little life in this little corner of the world that they have together. Realizes that he's experiencing warmth, peace, normality, affection and a home for the first time and he doesn't want it to end. He wants to play house just a little longer. Only for it all to come crashing down in the worst way possible. Only for the man who showed him nothing but kindness, and wanted to do nothing but good, to kill himself when he realized he's made his hands bloodied and even made him kill his own best friend that he gave his eyes for. Only for Xue Yang to realize, after Xiao Xingchen's death, how much he has meant to him and how he can't go on without him. Without the only one who showed him kindness. And he has no one to blame for it but himself. He risked his life, and eventually died clutching to Daozhang's last candy, trying to bring back Xiao Xingchen, who was shattered by this horrible betrayal beyond repair.

And they were so genuinely happy together and enjoyed each other's company!

Xiao Xingchen laughed easily and Xue Yang was funny and enjoyed making him laugh. Xiao Xingchen wasn't good at telling stories but Xue Yang was and told A-qing stories when they gathered around fire at night. XXC gave them candies because XY said he loves candies. XY would voluntarily go grocery shopping, he'd volunteer to go shopping for clothes with A-qing, he'd make her bunny-like slices of apple and give her advice against bullies! They were really like a little happy family in that coffin house.

But the tragedy of it all was so epic and so twistedly beautiful you can't help but love it!

It's a twisted found family, it's enemies to friends but not really, it's enemies to lovers but with a twist (they're still enemies), it's got fluff but makes it dark, it's got angst, it's got betrayal, it's got self-made tragedies!

It's wretchedly beautiful and perfect in every way!

5. 3zun but especially Xiyao (Nie Mingjue/Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao- Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed)

This absolute trainwreck <3 It's so horrible I can't help but love it! The gothic horror of Nieyao, the being stuck in life and literally in death in one coffin, the way they'd never meet each other at one point in the middle because everything about them is polar opposites (as MXTx said, Nie Mingjue was written to contradict JGY in every sense) yet NMJ is so obsessed with JGY and they are stuck together!

The way NMJ was the first one (in the show) and or the second one (in the books) to respect JGY for his many capabilities and give him the status he deserves and JGY felt indebted to him for it but eventually JGY killed NMJ after NMJ's many attempts at his life and NMJ brought JGY's downfall and didn't leave him be even after his death and they'll be stuck in one coffin fighting each other for hundreds of years and won't ever find peace or get back to the cycle of reincarnation.

The way NMJ only saw the bad in JGY and LXC only saw the good.

The way JGY risked everything by saving LXC for no reason other than his kind heart, the way LXC always saw the best of him and was so understanding and considerate towards him. The way he always saw him and took his situation into account. He was the one who noticed others' behavior towards Meng Yao when he was serving them tea and shamed others by showing him respect and gratitude, he was the one who knew about his home situation in Jinlintai and explained it to NMJ and asked him to act more considerate towards him.

The way he always trusted him so much. in his capabilities, in his goodness, in his words, in whatever he did. Like even if he kept stepping up to protect him, the moment JGY indicated that he's got this handled, he'd step back and let him handle it. He said that it's not like he didn't know that JGY was doing fishy things all these years, but that he believed that he had good reasons for doing them.

The way they not only respected and admired and loved each other so much, but they really enjoyed each other's company and they kept seeking it. They used any chance to spend time together. They gossiped about Wangxian's love life!

But all this wasn't enough in the end. And LXC by mistake killed JGY but was still willing to stay and die with him in the end. And yet JGY even then couldn't Let that happen and used his last ounce of strength to push him away. And LXC was never the same person again.

And god! "Of all the evil in the world, what haven't I done?! But I've never even thought of harming you!"

The way this triad ended up ending each other!

6. Qijiu (Yue Qingyuan/ Shen Jiu- Scum villain's self-saving system)

Ah, the curse of Yue Qingyuan always being too late to save Shen Jiu. how he only ever wanted to save him and was never able to. How he spent his life trying to make up for it but even that wasn't enough and he was bound to lose him every time. How once Shen Jiu said that he'd give YQY all his loyalty and even after many future grievances he never stopped being loyal and always tried to save him. Even in his last days even with everything that LBH had done to him, he used the one chance he had to talk to YQY to break his heart so he wouldn't try to save him and endanger himself, but he didn't succeed and died knowing that YQY had died trying to save him. But in both the worlds he died without knowing why YQY never came back for him. all this tragedy! the way at the end of SVSSS everyone's got their happy ending except YQY and SJ. The way it's one tragedy if YQY never knows that Xiao Jiu is dead and one even worse tragedy if he finds out. There's no happy ending for them in any universe, but the love was and will always be there.

7. The ineffable husbands (Crowley/Aziraphale- Good Omens)

They are every Hozier song!

They've been together and loved each other since before the world was made. They're both too inquisitive and strong-willed to have a place among angels and or demons. They have a side of their own. Their bond prevented armageddon. They're so wholesome! So fit for each other! So... ineffable!

Honorable mentions:

Dani ClaitonXJamie Taylor (The Haunting of the Bly Manor)

GutsXGriffith (Berserk)

YumiHisu (Ymir/Historia Reiss- Attack on Titan)

Fengqing (Feng Xin/Mu Qing- Heaven Official's Blessing)

Beefleaf (He Xuan/Shi Qingxuan- Heaven Official's blessing)

Wanda/vision (Marvel)

Russingon (Maedhros/Fingon- Tolkien legendarium)

Nerdanel/Fëanor (Tolkien legendarium)

Ranwan (Mo Ran/Chu Wanning- Husky and his white cat Shizun)

Light/L (Death Note)

Hannigram (Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham- Hannibal)

Obanai/Mitsuri (Demon slayer)

Rapunzel/Eugene (Tangled)

[shhh-secret-time]

I'd really like to know your headcanon on Clyde!

💄 An appearance headcanon!

Oh yes! God I love you guys for indulging me!

Clyde Donovan

💄 An appearance headcanon!

I headcanon that Clyde has dimples! I love the idea of that dork laughing and those little dips his cheeks just shine!

I imagine as he gets older he buzzes his hair but keeps a bit on the top! Giving him a bit of a cowlick!

He gets a new varsity jacket every year! There is no way in hell Clyde Donovan can keep his jacket clean and I don't see him as the type to try and patch his clothes when he tears them!

》 On that note my boy is covered in grass stains! I know the Fandom loves to make Stan THE football guy, but I think Clyde is the guy for that.

Between dating Bebe and his sister I wanna say Clyde dabbles a little with makeup. Nothing fancy or mind blowing, maybe like foundation! Blending King.

I think most of his fashion style is simple! Can't imagine he gives too much of a shit, mostly sports stuff.

BUT he's so very protective of his hair. He can't stand a strand out of place! I can see him carrying one of those stupid switch combs just to keep that cowlick looking good!

He has the prettiest eyelashes?

Baby cow brown eyes too?

Models hate him. Whoever he's dating also hates him.

Because those puppy dog eyes dude! That little shit knows how to use them!

Axe body spray smellin' ass tho

With Craig and Tolkien being his friend, they bully him out of the "shower in a can" mentality.

Thanks God

I imagine his pretty average height too! I subscribe to Clyde shedding a few pounds but he fluctuates depending on football season. More bulky body mass the more he plays! Idk still on the fence on that one!

Dude would be a bit of a brick in the wall if it wasn't for his personality, I think that's what kind of leads him to being the charming dork we know him as! (Or at least how I write him. 🫠)

[amaltheas-garden]

You’ve really put so succinctly why Dany is my favorite despite being a dark Dany believer. I love tragedy I love doom I love when the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Her arc has been set up so beautifully and her peacefully ascending and ruling happily is just something I don’t think George would ever write based on his criticism of Tolkien. George also clearly loves tragedy. It’s a shame that discussing Dany with any sense of nuance and analysis of George’s actual themes has to be classified as “anti dany.” She’s my favorite character! I’m not anti Dany in the slightest! Cersei is also a huge favorite of mine. But people are somehow able to handle nuance in Cersei (well, more than with Dany) and can acknowledge that she’s tragic and sympathetic despite also being despicable and doing unforgivable things

Thank you so much <3 I definitely agree Dany won't likely get a smooth-sailing happy ending on the iron throne. There are so many similarities in how the fandom treats Cersei and Dany! I think Cersei gets a lot more sympathy now than when the books/show started, but Dany discourse sort of devolved into she was always an evil tyrant who loved killing people vs she's the savior who can do no wrong and grrm will make her the god empress of the universe in ADOS after the show fumbled her arc so bad. The most innovative part of Dany's narrative on grrm's part is that we the audience will be more upset when Dany dies despite her, for lack of better phrasing, turning to the dark side. Usually authors who write "morally grey" characters do so in a way where they don't make the character do anything too bad so the audience will stop liking them, or they give a villain a few appealing qualities, while still having their actions be firmly rooted in the "bad" camp. If Dany does burn KL, that action alone puts her beyond redemption, yet we've followed her entire journey and seen the immense amount of good she's been capable of. Dany's death I think is supposed to be the climactic tragedy of the series, in which the most classic high fantasy trope of the good guy defeats the ultimate big bad guy and we all clap and cheer is turned on its head. Grrm does not reward violence, he does not justify revenge, and he makes a point of denying the audience the satisfaction of violence being inflicted onto any character, no matter how deserved we think it is. So even though Dany takes the narrative place of the final villain, her death will be somber and tragic rather than a victorious moment. Someone who tried so hard to be good but was ultimately corrupted the same as everyone else in the endless machine of war, fighting over a throne that everyone hated sitting on anyway.

The anti tag imo is meaningless 😅. It could mean literally anything from "I dislike how the writers handled this character's arc" or "I dont have a problem with the writing I just really hate this one fking character" and of course analysis of a character that paints them in a negative light (with the assumption it was done intentionally by the author) which goes against the popular interpretation of said character. I think Dany is a phenomenally written character, but a lot of her fans don't like the dark Dany theory (completely fair) so I tag it as anti for filtering ease.

[hopeforchanges]

i audibly gasped when Yavanna visited Saurbrand in his forge and told him that for a god he couldn't act more human. they say nothing is truly original, i believe someone must have pointed this out somewhere in the long years of LOTR existing but by god what masterful writing this is. how surface-level and yet deep, it's right there in front of you and yet you don't notice until someone points it out. Saurpasta really should have been a human, i think he secretly wishes for nothing more than to BE a human. i think the agelessness has taken its toll and so he does everything in his power to feel like it isn't so. he is prideful, petty, he likes food, he likes to joke and smirk and he loves Galadriel and he loves life like you wrote but he still cannot completely shake off what he truly is, which is a powerful immortal being. man. what a woman you are, ms Hope.

😭😭😭 now you really done it and made me cry 😭😭😭

thank you, thank you, thank you, this is absolutely heart-warming.

I can't really elaborate on this incredibly thoughtful and insightful ask unless you want me to spoil the fic lol

What I can say is that Galadriel in both direct and indirect ways is going to make Sauron confront that which he's been avoiding since Morgoth was defeated - why the fuck am i still doing any of this???

I think that the beauty of Tolkien and his mastery over the genre comes mainly from the fact he understood that in order to write a fantasy, you must allow people to 'fantasize' and not answer every single question on their mind, to let them think and imagine what the answer is.

So when Tolkien wrote 'Sauron fell back into evil because the chains Morgoth lay on him were too strong' (i'm paraphrasing) I as a fan immediately go into overdrive imagining all the psychological reasons behind Sauron's fall (back) into evil. And exploring the concept of "I just can't live anymore but the world won't let me die" is one of the more fascinating ones I have decided to dive into in Echoes of Mairon.

Thank you again for the ask, anon, and for the beautiful words, they will get me through the bitter winter.

[gi-nathlam-hi]

Ugh the Celebrimbor and Annatar stuff this episode was SO GOOD! Tell me where is Elrond though, I feel like I haven’t seen him since episode 2🥲 hopefully the next couple of episodes will make up for the Elrond lack.

I’d love to hear your more in depth thoughts about this season so far sometime, no pressure of course! But you always have such balanced and knowledgable opinions on this show. I’m liking the season so far, but have some major problems with it still and have come to the conclusion that it’s probably never going to be what I want it to be, and that’s ok! I do love the community around it though, and reading everyone’s thoughts and theories, and I love your blog!

I'm super late to responding to this but holy god yeah. Just in general the Eregion plotline is carrying this entire season. Though the Numenor plotline is doing a lot of interesting things, too! Thank you so much for the ask.

Under the cut for potential spoilers (I am not being super specific in this at all though, but I want to be safe!)

As for some Season 2 opinions, I'm trying to withhold a lot of judgement until we reach the finale, but there have been some things they've done/lines they've chosen to use which are rather...how shall I put this...lore breaking? I will probably have to do a rewatch of the series and take notes. There are certain moments which stand out to me (most of them being in the uh. Really, really, really bad Rhun plotline. I want to like the Stranger & Poppy and Nori, I really do, but it's just...not. good). A couple lines said by Cirdan and moments in the Lindon-focused episode also come to mind. It's frustrating because the writers seem to grasp so many things about the lore and Middle Earth and Tolkien's themes -- and in general they do a good job! But there are a few moments where they miss the mark so widely that it's honestly lore-breaking - much of that has to do with choices they're making regarding the nature of Ainur and uh, the rings, but again I think I'll have to do a rewatch and take notes on the parts that really irk me to be able to explain myself properly. My criticisms in that regard are mostly vague right now.

But I love what they're doing with the dwarves. I adore what they're doing with orcs. I love the characterization of Elrond (though I have no doubt that a huge chunk - at least 70% if not more has to do with Rob being the one who's playing him). And of course the exploration of gaslighting and abuse within the Eregion plotline is so well-written that it's astounding to me. I love that they are being so clear that Sauron is a manipulative, truly evil asshole. They're not making excuses for him. They're not trying to romanticize things or soften things, neither do they try to excuse his behavior in interviews and bonus content either. Sauron sucks. He's a manipulative abuser and I'm so relieved that this is the direction they went with him. Sure, he's sexy as hell while he's doing it, but...how else can I put this...they're not turning that sexiness into an excuse, you know? It just makes it that much more unsettling and scary how sexy and charismatic he is.

Also from a production perspective I'm so pleased to see just how much more time, budget, and allowance was given to the props and costuming department! The thing is -- it's not that the costumes last season were bad, necessarily, but it was painfully obvious that the (immensely skilled, if you look at the roster!) costuming department simply wasn't given enough time and budget to make anything competitive. And while I hate that the show has been forced into competition with other fantasy shows (House of the Dragon, cough cough), it's simply a reality that people are comparing the two, and House of the Dragon's costuming had, thus far, simply been far superior in terms of tailoring, structure, and quality of fabric. They're not really super comparable (Game of Thrones has always gone for prop/costuming realism -- taking more direct inspiration from historical fashion, vs the Rings of Power's art department clearly taking inspiration from Romantic and Baroque art). I'm really pleased to see that they've stuck to their art direction while being obviously given the appropriate time to create something of higher quality. The difference between the fabrics and tailoring from S1 to S2 (as well as the wig quality, holy shit), is just astronomical.

This season in general just feels like a massive upgrade to season one. I loved season one. I didn't really think it was very good, but it was fun. Whereas season two I'm slowly transitioning into "this is good. this is well made" (with the unfortunate exceptions of Rhun and certain moments in Lindon, but that again comes down to writing which bafflingly continues to be a weak point. I say baffling because now the writers have proved to me that they are capable of writing some truly incredible stuff via the Eregion arc. So I simply don't understand how we got the Eregion arc alongside uh. Some really glaringly awful writing in the Rhun arc. And it's such a shame because the art direction and production in Rhun is so good. I wish the writing lived up to it).

I'm a bit nervous for the time budget for the finale, but I'm withholding judgement until we have it in our hands.

Anyway thanks for giving me the opportunity to ramble! I have more thoughts for sure, but this is what comes to my mind off the top of my head lol.

[sauron-kraut]

Blood Moon

Summary: Amandil encounters a strange being in his dream.

The second of two little Kinktober prompt fics that took me forever to finish because I had other projects going on and because I had surgery in October - but that I did not want to abandon, so here we are!

Thanks to @cilil, who gave me the prompt "wet dream & mind control" from her lovely prompt list for Mairon/a mortal of my choice. This might have turned out more... horror-ish than I anticipated, and some elements might be inspired by my own experiences with sleep paralysis. Here you go, dearest. 🖤

Pairing: Mairon x Amandil

Words: 592

Warnings: explicit content, pwp, nightmares, mind manipulation, sleep paralysis

As always: If you like this little piece, comments on AO3 are appreciated! 🖤

Not beta read!

Find the smut under the cut.

Darkness all around him, save for a sliver of pale moonlight bathing part of the bedding in silver solitude. It extends across the bedpost, the wall. It touches the creature astride him. Amandil fails to move a limb. All four of them feel odd, his entire body feels… strange. Weightless, and terribly heavy. Floating and drowning all at once. All sensations converge in his lower stomach, and a bouquet of red hot pleasure sprouts from his groin area. The being frantically rolls its hips, mouth open. Too wide, it opens too wide like a gaping black wound. A witch, it must be a witch, with eyes of fire and hair of gold. Amandil wants to moan, wants to thrust up into the thing’s hot insides that clench around him. No sound makes its way past his lips, and his hips remain still. Bodiless whispers fill the air with dread, tingling pain like pinpricks all over his skin. The thing wails, and the walls come closer. The moonlight turns a murky red. A weight on his chest, restricting Amandil’s breath. The creature above him pants and groans like an animal, fear strangles him and yet spilling himself into that red-hot slickness sliding up and down his achingly hard length is everything he wants. Everything Amandil has ever wanted. He needs no other thing. 

The witch’s distorted features smoothen, cheekbones rise, tousled hair forms luscious curls, and the open hole of a mouth becomes perfect lips, glistening in the blood moon’s light like a promise.

The creature smiles.

Its thin robe slides off one shoulder, revealing a small pale breast, rosy nipple hard and skin flushed with feverish lust. Amandil wants to reach out, touch, thumb at that nipple to wrench more wanton moans from the now invitingly curved mouth that forms another silent oh, can’t, can only feel how the slick warmth tightens around him, hot, pulsating, and all of a sudden Amandil’s throat tightens with it, he chokes, tries to gasp for air, watches the thing as its cheekbones rise higher, the face of a fair maiden now distorted into something else, less youth and more eternity, features perpetually angelic, sharper, deadlier. No less beautiful. Amandil chokes on the thought, chokes again.

The creature parts its lips, moans, then laughs, its eyes molten gold. The air becomes warm and thick.

Amandil’s heart beats in his throat, as though desperately keeping his body from failing. 

The creature bends down, its cascading hair framing them both. Its face is close now, so close, and Amandil recognizes.

The king’s advisor, the one contorting him into a traitor, into a shadow of a regal man. Captive, priest, god, the coddled demon. A scream lodges itself behind Amandil’s tongue when Zigûr brings his lips to Amandil’s ear, hips rolling frantically.

Puffs of hot, damp air on his skin as the Maia breathes, in his ear, and Amandil fears they will worm their way past his eardrum and into his brain.

Let go, Amandil, he whispers to him, and Amandil does. He drowns in pleasure.

Amandil jolts awake. Cold sweat soaks his night clothes and runs down his temples, making him shiver in the night air. A stain of warm wetness between his legs and hot shame burning on his cheeks. He tries to catch his breath and clears his throat, sits up in bed. The night is silver and the walls where they belong. He is alone.

When Amandil turns his head, eyes searching the dark of his sleeping quarters, two fiery orbs gaze back at him.

[topazadine]

Five Common Anxieties of Newbie Writers, Demystified

A simple post for today to address common concerns I have seen from younger writers over the years, which includes:

"Everyone else is so much better than me; I'm behind."

"I can't share my writing or someone will steal my idea."

"I am in direct competition with other writers; their gain is my loss."

"I shouldn't read while writing because it will ruin my unique voice."

"If I don't explain everything in meticulous detail, people won't understand my vision."

As always, this is my experience and my opinion as someone who has been writing seriously for about 15 years and reading, well, since I was a tiny baby. I also have several years of experience tutoring younger writers at both the K-12 and collegiate level.

Here goes!

1. "Everyone else is so much better than me; I'm behind."

You are not behind. Even if you start writing in your 60s, you are not behind. That's because there is no such thing as being behind in writing; you are where you are, and you'll only get further if you keep going.

Of course you're not going to write like Brandon Sanderson, or Tolkien, or Stephen King, or whoever when you're 20, because you're twenty. You just got out of high school two years ago and haven't even graduated college! These writers have decades on you and are naturally going to be better because they have had more time to learn.

Comparison is the thief of joy. You will not be happy if you are always comparing to yourself to every other writer and bemoaning your lack of experience.

As I have said multiple times throughout my blog, I encourage you to try to write 1 million words before you even think about publishing anything. Do fanfic, because then you can't publish it and you know you're just practicing. You will likely look back at where you started, with your first story, and go, "oh thank god I didn't try to publish that. I wasn't anywhere near ready."

And even then, you still will not be behind, because there's no one track toward success in publishing. You are just where you need to be right now, and you'll keep going where you need to go as long as you keep writing.

2. "I can't share my writing or someone will steal my idea."

I have seen a lot of this on writing subreddits. People will ask questions, but be intentionally vague about their plot because they are worried about someone else filching their idea and making it their own. However, they will refuse to share nearly anything useful, making it impossible to answer their question with any specificity.

Now yes, theft does happen. There was a horrendous story recently where an agent stole one of their author's ideas to give to another author, who then published faster because the agent had left Author 1 in Revision Hell on purpose. I'm not saying it never happens.

But the thing is that it is not the idea that makes any story special, it is the execution.

My Eirenic Verses series centers around poetry magic. That's the whole gimmick. But poetry magic has been done before to great effect by several other authors! There's a book called The Poet Empress out on sub that I'm hoping and praying will get published because I want to read it; everything about this story sounds AMAZING.

From the blurb, this book is vastly different from my own, which is a great thing. Both of us came up with this concept and took it in unique directions, giving readers more options for engage with poetry magic in completely different ways. And I love that!

Don't worry too much about people stealing your ideas. After all, your idea has been done dozens of times before already, even if you haven't been able to find an exact copy of the plot. We are all riffing off ancient plot forms and tales.

3. "I am in direct competition with other writers; their gain is my loss."

The joy of reading books is that you can read hundreds in a year if you want to. It is not like car sales, where people buy one single car every few years.

People buy books that they don't even intend to read; how many of us have dozens of books in our TBR pile that we'll probably never get to?

Yes, it's possible to lose out on competitions or publishing slots to other writers, but that is the nature of the economy, not the fault of any other writer. Placing yourself in opposition to a well-respected writer, especially one in your same niche, does you no favors.

Other writers are your peers, not your antagonists. No matter what you are writing, no one will do it quite like you, so you shouldn't worry if someone else's story is somewhat like yours. That just means that there is overlap between your audiences, and you should support them even more so that people like both of you.

The best way to be successful is to build community. People support those that they like and who are nice to them.

4. "I shouldn't read while writing because it will ruin my unique voice."

Your 'unique voice' is a mishmash of every other writer you have ever read because that is how learning works. You have absorbed the lessons of every other book you've put before your eyes (or into your ears), picked out what you liked, and left the rest. So yes, you do have a unique voice, but it is based on other writers, and the more you read, the more you refine that voice.

My favorite authors are Emile Zola, Willa Cather, Emily Dickinson, William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, China Mieville, Terry Prachett, and Herman Melville. As a child, my favorite books were the Redwall series and The Unicorn Chronicles. My favorite nonfiction series is The Inspired Traveller's Guides by Sarah Baxter.

You can find all of those influences in my work, but you can also find dozens of other authors I have loved throughout my life. There are books that still haunt me today whose titles I can't even remember, just the concept or a specific scene.

My writing voice has become so strong because I like so many different kinds of writing and I have synthesized them all together. I learn something from every single book I read, even if it's just what not to do.

You can't become a strong writer if you don't read. It's essential to developing your voice. The more you read, the more you develop your voice, and the more that you can resist the urge to completely change your style based on what you are currently reading.

But you can only get to the point of having a strong, coherent voice by reading. So don't shy away from it.

5. "If I don't explain everything in meticulous detail, people won't understand my vision."

Here's a brutal truth: it doesn't matter whether other people see exactly what you see in your work. What matters is that they enjoyed what they saw. No one is going to have your exact same vision unless you turn your book into a movie.

Everyone's journey through a given book is influenced by their own life experiences. For example, if you asked a French person to describe a castle, they are going to say something completely different than what a Japanese person would say. What an Indian person envisions when you say "sword" is going to differ from what an English person thinks about. And that is fine and good!

You do not need to put your reader in a chokehold and make sure that they are seeing exactly what you see. This can be a huge turnoff to readers, especially if you do not present things in the proper order, because now they are constantly having to revise their setting with the new details you are providing.

Here, for example, is a description from my first book, 9 Years Yearning:

Every few steps, he ran across another example of a High Poet's work: ostentatious stone structures with smooth stucco sides, dramatic depictions of wild animals and fantastical beasts jutting from their surface. Others were more sculpture than home, tiny pebbles that slotted together to make a swirling mass of windows and doors. Goldnin, being one of the more well-heeled cities, had many wealthy merchants more than willing to spill quillim for a poetry-infused property.

Everyone who reads this is going to see different "wild animals" and "fantastical beasts." They are going to imagine the pebbles as different colors; maybe one person thinks they're all different shades that make gradations, while another wants them all to be tiny chips of quartz that sparkle in the sun.

I am fine with this. A story is a scaffold to allow readers to adorn with their own imagination, creating a personalized experience. I have given the reader some specific elements but left the rest vague so that they can envison what they want, and I'm okay with it not being exactly what I intended.

Once you have put a story out into the world, you're done interpreting it for the reader. It is now theirs to enjoy. They can do whatever they want with it, just like you can go buy something from the store and spraypaint it neon orange if you want to.

Your job is not to grab the reader by the face and tell them what you want them to see; it is to provide enough detail that they can see what they want to see. Giving up ownership like this allows you to make a story that isn't oversaturated with detail but still enables readers to have fun with it.

I hope this helped to ease some of your fears about writing. The most important part is to have fun, relax, and continue to learn all the time!

If you enjoyed this, maybe you will consider purchasing my book, 9 Years Yearning! This gay coming-of-age romance follows two boys in a military academy as they learn the arts of love and war. It includes poetry magic, strong sibling bonds, and all the awkwardness that young romance entails.

[echo-bleu]

In Elrond v. the Valar, if Elrond is successfull in going against the Valar (which I hope he is), do you have any plans for Elrond then getting to see his sons, his parents and the Feanorians again? I obviously don't know all the things you plan on having Elrond challenge the Valar on, but I think it'd be great if he could get those imprisoned releasted, those doomed to horrid fates saved (cough Earendil) and travel between Aman and Middle Earth made possible so people can visit each other. Or hell, if Elrond manages to change things for the better in Aman, maybe the twins might come join him after all. But really, very excited for the idea of this fic, as I've been feeling very anti Valar lately.

Thank you for your ask! This actually gives me a great opportunity to dig deeper into my feelings on the Valar xD I'm going to put it under a cut because it got long.

The short answer is, I have no idea. I started this fic (I've rambled about it here) as a vent fic where Elrond gets to yell at the Valar, without really thinking about ever posting it. I was writing those towers we built and getting very angry at the Valar, and for some reason in the first months of my presence in the fandom I only saw very pro-Valar (or, at worst, "the Valar made a few mistakes but mean well, it's fine") takes. I'm fine with fics that go with that, but I think it's a point where my atheism butts heads with Tolkien's catholicism in a major way.

I really love fics where my favourite elves re-embody/sail and reunite in Aman in the Fourth Age and find ways to heal from their traumas, so naturally I wanted to write some (and also some angst such as those towers) but I found myself constantly stuck on what to do with the Valar. It's easy to just kind of ignore them when writing about LOTR events or even, to some extent, about First Age Beleriand. They're not there. They exist in a more material way than most gods but they're still remote, except for Morgoth and Sauron.

It's different in Aman. I went through a whole spectrum of questions/opinions such as "Aman is the Valar's domain and thus if the elves want to live there they have to play by their rules", but it just keeps falling apart whenever I think about it a little harder.

The sticking points for me are this: Númenor's Downfall, and "if thralldom it be, then you cannot escape it". The problem with the Valar, as a group, is that they are gods. They are both gods and rulers, and thus their rule is in the simplest sense of the word a tyranny. They are all-powerful. There is no recourse against them. They have no oversight (I'll get to Eru in a moment), no checks and balance, and they experience no consequence for their actions.

They have a prison system that you are put in by dying, so without trial, and are only released from if you are deemed to no longer be dangerous to society by some nebulous standards. There is also no recourse and no appeal, at least none within a recognizable system of law.

They claim all of Arda as their kingdom, but they abandon anyone who doesn't cater to them to whatever fate. They say the Noldor are free to leave Aman but completely shun them when they do, punishing them (the Doom) again without trial, and definitely not trial by peers. (Also even their way of "recompensing" people who do goodTM is dubious *cough* Eärendil *cough*).

And, even more crucially, they can decide to wipe out an entire people on a whim, again with no consequence.

Here we come to Eru, briefly: Eru is much easier to deal with for me because he is in nature remote. He is all-powerful but more in the way the laws of physics are all-powerful, if that makes any sense. He's not good or evil and he doesn't deal in the individual. See: Númenor (I tend to go with the headcanon that Eru didn't directly order the destruction of Númenor, but ultimately it doesn't matter, because it was the Valar who did it). That's also why he's not a useful oversight for the Valar: if the Valar decided to just wipe out all the elves, Eru would probably just make more elves and have them wake up at some other lake. And anyway, Manwë is the only one who can even communicate with Eru, so the Children can't exactly send complaints.

So we have a tyranny. Or at minimum, we have some kind of oppressive/unfair government, at its root (whatever the result is on the surface). How do we change that?

In real life, a fair government is one where the people in power switch regularly, and only the system remains (preferably with separation of powers and fair laws). It's subject to constant change. Even an absolute monarchy, the king dies eventually and, in theory, can also be overthrown. But a world ruled by gods? They are immortal and unchanging. There is no way to overthrow them. They literally have all the power.

This is where I get stuck in Elrond v. the Valar, and to some extent in those towers as well. It can't end in a revolution. The elves cannot do anything to change their situation that isn't the will of the Valar. The only change that can possibly happen, is for them to somehow convince the Valar to see their side, and/or sow enough dissention among the Valar that they no longer agree with each other.

So that's where I'm going, more or less. There is no fully happy ending there. Elrond will have to make his point, pray hope for meaningful change, without ever being able to trust it, because I don't think there's any way he can trust the Valar again after Númenor.

(It is, in the end, very much like real-life. We can only hope that the people who have power over us will hold themselves to the standards that they promised, and they generally don't. Even when there are recourses, they only work so far. Which is probably why the Valar make me so angry – they are an excellent stand-in for all these powers in our lives that betray us again and again.)

I'm trying to spin a lot of it around the concept of self-determination, which is something that I believe the Valar do not understand. The only one of them who ever exercised it was... Melkor. I am not having thoughts about Melkor redemptions. The Valar are made to be exactly what they are, and they don't change, so they don't recognize the Children's right to make mistakes, to learn, and to choose their own path.

I think we can get to a place where the Valar might understand that they need to defer the making of laws and judgment and generally governance to the people themselves. But the changes would take a huge amount of time and more than one fight (far more than I can do in one fic, in any case). So, is there a happy ending for Elrond and his family? I don't know. Release for those in Mandos, for Eärendil (whose fate always breaks my heart)? A mostly peaceful, bittersweet ending? Maybe.

I also cannot guarantee that it doesn't include a long stay in Mandos for Elrond.

[cha-melodius]

9 books

I have been tagged by a bunch people on this (thanks @cricketnationrise, @clottedcreamfudge, @kiwiana-writes, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @myheartalivewrites, @cultofsappho), so I guess I better do it even though choosing my 9 favorite books sounds impossible. A bunch of these are series, almost none of them are in any way new. Let's go!

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien A perennial favorite. Fun fact, I once planned to pull a Christopher Lee and reread these every year but then my hyperfixation faded a bit lol. Still love the story and Tolkien's prose.

Dune by Frank Herbert This counts for the whole series, yes, even God Emperor. It took me a while to get to the last two books but I love them just as much, actually.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin Still obsessed with this story and desperately hoping we get the full ending that it deserves and not just what D&D butchered on the show.

The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde The perfect combination of literary nerdery, comedy, and crime-drama intrigue!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Quite possibly the funniest book I've ever read, full stop.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer A nonfiction entry! I love all of Jon Krakauer's books but I'm also obsessed with mountain climbing (reading about it, not doing it lmao), and this one is one that still haunts me.

Blindness by Jose Saramago Read this in college, became obsessed with the poetry and imagery of it.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske Became absolutely obsessed with this one very quickly. Also I'm pretty sure the third book is going to become my entire personality when it comes out.

Dracula by Brahm Stoker Gonna be a hipster and say I've been obsessed with this book since I was in high school, which was long before Dracula Daily.

(Also reading everyone's lists has reminded me that I really need to actually read the copy of Circe sitting on my shelf...)

I can no longer remember who has and hasn't done this, so apologies for any double tags. @indomitable-love, @mirilyawrites, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @wolfpup026, @tedlassc, @beskarsoshiny, @lilythesilly, @jettestar, @iboatedhere, @pragmatic-optimist, @thesleepyskipper, @heytheredeann, @swearphil, @sweatersinthesummer, @petrodobreva, @b13-maybethistime, @liminalmemories21, @nontoxic-writes, @designatedgrape, @noahreids, @leaves-of-laurelin, @celeritas2997, @orchidscript, @athousandrooms, @welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, @dumbpeachjuice, @ikeepwatchinghelicopters, @okilokiwithpurpose, @thetamehistorian, @hummingbee-o0o

[artist-issues]

(I may have accidentally clicked the Unfollow button instead of the Ask button, my bad!! 😅 Still following ya!)

I'm here to deliver you a fun question amidst a world full of negativity, and that is;

If you ever had the opportunity to create your own story/animated film, what would you want it to be about? Who would be the characters and how would you want to write their stories? Would you bring in subtle tenets of your faith, or go all-out Lewis/Tolkien and dive into analogy/Christian values? Fantasy or Sci-fi? Romcom or thriller? Adventure or something cosy and intimate? Any worldbuilding?

Basically, if you could write your dream stories, what would they be about?

Sorry if you've got a similar question before, but I am really curious. Your posts talking about storytelling and faith always fascinate me, and I'd love to know how someone with such a love for Christ and stories would go about creating their own stories 💙

This is a wonderful question! I can't tell you how wonderful. Thank you! I'm so glad you follow me still!

I guess I'd always lean more toward allegory, and fantasy. I don't know how to make a story that isn't saying something very intentionally about God and people and their relationship to God.

It's funny, my taste in stories is more intimate. My favorite Disney movie is Lilo & Stitch, for example. But I have a hard time boiling it down when I make my own stories, because I like to trace every character's motivations back to their source--and when I do that, I wind up world building without meaning to, for way longer than I planned!

I make my stories based off of the Invisible Ink model by Brian McDonald, with a few tweaks to the outline so that it makes sense to me specifically.

So I always start with a thesis statement, the Point of the Story, the lesson I'm hoping it teaches. Then I break it down by listing "characters that need to learn it" and "characters that believe the opposite of it" and "characters that know it already." And then how they all interact, and where they'll be by the end of the story. Fun stuff like setting and fictional history and characterizations come while I'm filling all of that in, kind of naturally, which I wish I was better at giving in to.

Anyway! On to the fun part of your question;

I keep my stories really private because I have learned that if I "tell" the story, even just in a summary or a tumblr post or a text to a friend, I lose a lot of inspiration and a lot of...mental freedom to finish the story itself. It's like once I say it out loud, that version of the story is final in my subconscious, and I have less motivation to tweak it.

So I don't tell people about my ideas. Not unless we're officially or professionally collaborating.

But this question is so GOOD and I so APPRECIATE IT, that I'm going to get over that and tell you about one, for example, that I started doing but probably won't get to make.

I call it "Come When You're Called" and it's a story about a sheep farm, from the perspective of the farm animals (but specifically the dogs.) The style is like if all of Ruyard Kipling's Serious Animals With Their Own Noble Cultures met Albert Payson Terhune's How Animals Thrive Serving Their Owners met Disney's Fun Anthropomorphic Animals.

The main character is a border collie named Sky Blue (she's liver-colored with blue eyes) who is learning the lifestyle of a good dog on her master's farm. She's very energetic. Thats the one word you could use to describe her. She never stops trying to play or have fun. She's proud of being the fastest dog on the property; the older border collie she's learning from, Sharps, isn't even as fast as she is. He's teaching her how to recognize the Master's commands and obey them immediately.

Sharps is excellent at what he does, but he's super irritable because all he cares about is the work. If he had a character arc, it would be to find his identity in how much his Master loves him instead of how well he can do his job. When he first meets Sky, he doesn't like her because there's a subtle fear that he's getting too old to do the work himself. He's very strict.

There's another older dog on the property. His name is Lockjaw but everybody calls him LJ, and he's the opposite of Sharps. He's even older, wiser, and downright jolly. He used to be the guard dog for the whole huge property, but he's been raising a young German Shepherd named Buckwild to take it over. Buckwild and LJ have southern accents and Buck is a very smart, good dog...as long as someone tells him what to do, and exactly how to do it: his default state is laziness. He becomes Sky's love interest.

Anyway, the music would be very highlands-folksy—think The Oh Hellos. Each animal species on the farm has its own "culture," but they all function like a kingdom serving their king, the human Master. When you're living by that code of obeying and fulfilling your purpose, the animals generally call it "Coming When You're Called." But if you are disobedient, lazy, or out for yourself, stealing food or killing the Master's chickens or whatever, you're twisted and looked at with scorn and apprehension by the good animals.

It would be super episodic. 🤷‍♀️ There's villain characters, like a pack of wolves that like to try picking off the sheep every once in a while. Theres also a tomcat who does not Come When He's Called, but just sort of does whatever he wants around the farm and causes mischief. Theres a tiny black kitten who Sky teaches what she's learning, about how to Come When You're Called, who wants to grow up and chase the lazy tomcat off and take his place. Stuff like that.

I have other ideas. One, in particular, I've mentioned before, got me involved with the studio I'm currently working in. It's an allegory to do with a siren, vampire, and werewolf in the early 2000s. But I'll keep that one to myself 🫢 for now! The story the studio and I are making right now is sci-fi fantasy adventure, about a family that needs to figure out their relationship to each other and the world they're finding themselves rulers of...but that's all I'll say about that until it's out there for people to watch!

Really I like creating all of it. I've got a sci-fi idea, three fantasy ones, and then an ongoing batch of monster stories, too! I guess I always tend to create as if my audience is...in that 12-20 range? But really, like Disney, I'd like it if my stuff could be enjoyable for all ages. We'll see! I think! I hope!

Thank you for this question!

[seekerreads]

3 over-hyped, 3 appropriately-hyped, 3 under-hyped books!

been meaning to do this for foreverrrrr and i'm finally getting around to it!! i've been feeling a bit burnt out on reading so i think i might take a little reading break until the new year, so i can do some cool little posts in the mean time!! (spoiler warnings abound, all books are listed in the tags if you want to avoid!! if i hate on a book you love i promise it'll be okay!! act your age please and thanks!)

3 over-hyped books:

✧.* title: The Haunting of Hill House

✧.* author: Shirley Jackson

✧.* explanation: i heard RAVE reviews about this book for a while before i picked up, including people genuinely calling it the sort of founding father of new-age horror novels. here's the thing though: this book is not scary. there are points where it definitely tries to be and i don't know if it's the book showing it's age or if the author just isn't good at writing horror but it's not effective in the least. most of the book is just the characters going "wow this house is creepy!" and the creepiest the house is 99% of the time is just the rooms being arranged weird or the furniture being old fashioned. the one big 'scary' scene was so incredibly trite and low-hanging fruit that it kinda pissed me off. and the ending was supposed to be this big scary twist but it had virtually no build-up and just had me rolling my eyes. definitely didn't enjoy this one.

✧.* title: The Fellowship of the Ring

✧.* author: J.R.R Tolkien

✧.* explanation: let me just start by saying i absolutely adore this series. the movies are fantastic and i love them. i love the story itself, but the book? oh my god. genuinely the slowest thing i've ever read and you can't even say it was for a reason because most of the reason for the slowness is the absolute BLOAT added to the book through traveling scenes. this book made me hate traveling scenes as a whole in any book. and i understand the purpose of having them and explaining the surroundings to set the scene but i'm talking about paragraphs upon paragraphs of the dryest scenery description and "we walked a lot and got tired" that you've ever seen. i had to force myself to finish this book by setting a timer every day. love the story but the books are just NOT for me.

✧.* title: Carmilla

✧.* author: J. Sheridan Le Fanu

✧.* description: this was not queer. this was not scary. there was barely any vampire happenings in this book at ALL. i was soooo excited to read this and so incredibly disappointed when it boiled down to "pretty mysterious lady lives with other lady for a while and says some vaguely lovey-dovey things that can also completely read as the poetic language of friendship of the time and then they just kill her in her coffin without an actual confrontation or confirmation of her being a vampire the end!". absolute waste of time. still hoping to maybe find a good retelling though because the potential is there!

3 appropriately-hyped:

✧.* title: Six of Crows

✧.* author: Leigh Bardugo

✧.* explanation: it is what it is. the SoC duology is fucking phenomenal and there's just no denying it. breathtaking heists, intricate world-building, gritty and sharp character work, complex and heartfelt friendships, and romances so sweet they'll bring your cold dead heart back to life. 5 stars across the board.

✧.* title: The Six Deaths of the Saint

✧.* author: Alix E. Harrow

✧.* explanation: the things this story manages to accomplish in 30 pages should be STUDIED. i can't give too much detail because it's so short that it could be spoiled but the way this could EASILY be a full 300-page novel and still manages to pack in enough depth and emotion and growth in a fraction of that space is truly incredible. you just need to read this. it's so short and you NEED to read it.

✧.* title: Red, White & Royal Blue

✧.* author: Casey McQuiston

✧.* explanation: unfortunately the girlies are not wrong about this book!! an absolutely charming time as long as you can suspend your disbelief politics-wise, but even though I didn't specifically ignore that un-realism it still didn't bother me too much, and i've lived within the american political system all my life. this is such a comfort read for me; there is enough conflict to drive a plot but it's very much a heartwarming, lighthearted read and the happy ending is satisfying every time.

3 under-hyped:

✧.* title: Fireborne

✧.* author: Rosaria Munda

✧.* explanation: this is my favorite series of ALL time. not only is it about dragonriders (!!!) but this series tackles so many hard-hitting and timely topics in such a heartbreaking and sharp way that i was absolutely riveted throughout all 3 books. this series truly has everything i want in a fantasy story: deep and complex characters, relationships with depth and conflict, characters who struggle with their morality and choices, and a world on the brink of revolution. i recommend this series to absolutely anyone who will listen.

✧.* title: Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

✧.* author: Clare Pooley

✧.* explanation: this is what i like to call a "state of the human condition" book. this one takes you across the entire gambit of emotion and individual experience that gives books with a larger cast like this the absolute oomph it really needed. seeing these total strangers come together and form a sort of found family for no other reason than they shared the same train during their commute was so beautiful and makes you believe in the inherent goodness of humans.

✧.* title: An Accident of Stars

✧.* author: Foz Meadows

✧.* explanation: it took me working through a bit of hesitation to pick this one up because it IS a portal fantasy (a genre which has always given me wattpad-vibes) but i am so, so glad i did. this is one of the most unique and complex fantasy worlds i have ever encountered in fiction. and even though it's a portal fantasy this series does a REALLY good job of not just focusing on the portaled character (though she does get time) but also on all the other characters she interacts with and their own stories and plotlines. i really need to reread this one; it was like nothing i'd ever read before.

(divider credit: @finnegancosmos )

[underworld-park-offical]

CLYDE: Hey, so have you heard this one song?

CLYDE: “Aye e aye e aye I'm your little butterfly”?

TWEEK: What?

CLYDE: Okay

CLYDE: Do you know what fuckin’

CLYDE: Nightcore is?

TWEEK: What the fuck is nightcore?????????

CLYDE: Okay so like

CLYDE: You know what music is, right?

TWEEK: No?????????

CLYDE: Okay, Okay, Okay

CLYDE: You sweet

CLYDE: Sweet

CLYDE: Summer child

TWEEK: Uhhhhhh??????

CLYDE: So like

CLYDE: Nightcore is like

CLYDE: When you take a song 

CLYDE: And speed it up

CLYDE: Like really, really fast

(Meanwhile in Craig's mind)

CRIAG (Thinking): Goddamn that new kid is giving Jeffery Dahmer vibes, frfr

CRAIG (Thinking): Maybe I should just ask him straight up

CRAIG: Hey uh

CRAIG: Hater

CRAIG: Or whatever

TWEEK: UGH

TWEEK: WHAT

TWEEK: WHAT DO YOU WANT

CRAIG: I'm like

CRAIG: /nbr rn

CRAIG: But like

CRAIG: Are you like

CRAIG: A demon?

TWEEK: WHAT????

TWEEK: OH MY GOD NO TWEEK: JUST WHEN I THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T BE MORE OF AN ASSHOLE

TWEEK: NO

TWEEK: I'M NOT A DEMON YOU ASS!

CLYDE: Don't worry about it

CLYDE: Craigs just an asshole

CLYDE: We all hate him

CLYDE: It's okay

TWEEK: What????

TWEEK: Then why do you guys still hang around with him????

CLYDE: It's fun to pick on him

TWEEK: ….Oh

TWEEK: AAGAFAYIDXJUYHVKHCXJHV>KGJCKHVCJGVHK

CLYDE: WHAT THE FUCK CLYDE: GRA^YFYUGFYAFIU WHAT IS HAPPENING CLYDE: I'M GONNA PISS MYSELF

TWEEK: Don't

TWEEK: Just Don't   

TWEEK: I’ll start projectile vomiting

CRAIG: NAURRRRR the power went out!!

TOLKIEN: Oh thank god

TOLKIEN: Maybe you can actually be a member of society for once

CRAIG: Bitch

CRAIG: My followers literally love me sm

CRAIG: They’re probably really worried about me right now

CRAIG: Wondering where my mid-day Insta photo is

TOLKIEN: Sure buddy, they're definitely worried

CRAIG: They are 

CRAIG: You're just like

CRAIG: Jealous of me and my awesomeness

INTERCOM:  ╬╒ ╬╬╬■ ■ ╬╬╬ ╧╧╬ ╬ ╒ ╬╬ ╬ ╬ ╧ ╧ ╬ ■ ╬ ■ ╬ ╒ ╬ ╬ ╬ 

CRAIG: Ewwww

CRAIG: That was that gibberish language I heard in my dream!

CRAIG: So that means the new kid is giving demon

TWEEK: FOR THE LAST TIME I'M NOT A FUCKING DEMON YOU BLUE GUMBALL SON OF A BITCH

TOLKIEN: Leave the new kid ALONE

INTERCOM: ╬■ ╬╒ ╬╬ ╒ ╬╬ ╬╬B╬■ ■ ╬╬ ╬ ╬ ╧ ╧ ╬╬ ╬╬ITT╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬ CCHH╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬ FA╬╬╬ GGO╬╬╬TTTS╬╬╬╧ ╧ ╬ ╬

INTERCOM: ╬ ╬ ╬Q╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ UE╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ EER╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬MMM  ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬OO ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬ ╬SS╬ !╬ !