#the stranding

[deadly-dapperling]

I've been enamored with The Stranding by @belethlegwen ever since reading all 71 (at the time) chapters in 2 weeks. This was a perfectly acceptable and normal way to enjoy a story.

Regardless, Here's a scene from chapter 65 in which Melanie startles the shit out of her commander. I genuinely love their interactions so much and this was an especially good one.

[belethlegwen]

The Stranding - Chp 72 - Higher Visibility

IT'S AN UPDATE JUMP-SCARE

WELL WELL WELL, look what I managed to do!

It's been slow progress, I won't lie. Life has been a wild rollercoaster for me this year but it's been so, so amazing. I feel like my brain just needed a few months to really catch up, adjust, and ease itself along with all of the new things now that we're in a beautiful semblance of routine now, and here we are. Writing, again, however slowly.

Can't promise it'll be regular updates, or that if they are some kind of regular that they'll last a while, BUT. Makin' hay while the sun shines and so on and so on.

Thank you all so so much for your continued patience, your interest, your love and kudos, your kind words, and your amazing fanart, even!! It's been incredible. Please take good care of yourselves, as much as you're able <3 You deserve it.

Love, Belle

[entomolog-t]

GtWAC Day 1:

Reblog your go to comfort fic

If you have not read The Stranding (and by extension, The Rescue) by the darling @belethlegwen you are deeply missing out! The sheer amount of content is truly a blessing, and considering its still being updated?? ASDFJHSLK

Belle is an incredible story teller, and this shines through in her writing so well I feel like I'm getting flashbanged by talent.

You know that typical writing advice about not introducing too many characters, especially early on as it divides the reader's attention?? BELLE STOMPS ON THAT.

AND

IT

WORKS

I genuinely can't get over how much I am in love with her characters. I must admit- I am the typical reader with one too many bonks to the head that can't seem to focus on/ remember/ care about more than 3-5 characters- that is not the case here.

Every character she introduces has my interest piqued- each one feeling alive and at home in their setting. And its not just likeable in the sense of "oh I'd be friends with them" (and she absolutely has many characters I'd love to be friends with)- its these raw and real characterizations that make you like them as a character.

They have their own mystery to them too- even if its not direct. Her characters make you wonder more about their past and why they act the way they do. They can be frustrating, immature, stubborn, even cruel- but they feel so deeply real.

Both written works from Sizeable Ship Wrecks are among my favorite things I've read- both inside and outside of the G/t sphere to the point I feel as though I could shamelessly recommend this to someone outside of the G/t community and be confident they would enjoy it.

[justagiantpotato]

I've been waiting to post a drawing for weeks but today I decided to draw the other person as well...

It's Melanie and Henry, from the lovely writer @belethlegwen! (Guys, if you haven't read The Rescue and The Stranding, do it. I'm a changed man.)

Anyway, the art:

I started with drawing Melanie but decided I needed to do Henry as well, I finished him in a couple of hours (usually it takes me days to finish digital art)

Also, I did an alternative outfit for Mel, inspired by the fanart @hollewdz did! (I didn't quite finish her shirt because I wanted to start drawing Henry lol please forgive me)

Sketches:

I used a prefrence photo for Henry, the person's name is Joel Magnus, you can find him on IG.

Ref.pic + Omg this guy looks like Henry (to me)

ANYway, I hope you like them Belle! Honestly the stories did change me, I got inspiration to write again and to come back to this community. Might start writing again thanks to you! Also, I hope things will calm down for you soon.

Much love! —S

[aceouttatime]

live laugh lemuels

Once again I’ve drawn @belethlegwen’s handsome tiny man, this time out of sheer spite because he is refusing to leave my thoughts. Not mad, though. S’ my own fault for rereading The Rescue and starting The Stranding—it was inevitable.

Fun fact: Alex drew this in the car on a stolen(?) iPad. What else are you supposed to do on a road trip to vacation?

[gt-daboss]

Melanie, from @belethlegwen's stories The Rescue and The Stranding

Just a little photoshoot I suppose. Sorry if the hair is a little off, I was having a lot of fun drawing her, so I may have taken a couple creative liberties with it!

[tj-crochets]

A teeny tiny embroidered bead* lizard for my jacket!

*no actual beads were used but I figure if I can crochet a bead lizard I can embroider one

[langernameohnebedeutung]

My favourite little x men thing is when someone is like "Give up, Magneto! You stand no chance against this plastic weapon/gun/suit I have built!"

And Magneto is like "I see. Whatever will I do."

and throws the surrounding infrastructure at them.

[queen-mabs-revenge]

Striking New York Times tech workers have created a “Guild Builds” page dedicated to strike-themed games you can play, including a spin on Wordle, a word search, and the custom Connections I reported on earlier today. As part of its strike announcement on Monday, the New York Times Tech Guild requested that people don’t cross the digital picket line to play the NYT’s daily puzzle games. This collection of five other games offers an alternative if you want to support the striking workers but also do some brain teasers.

[juiche]

a moment of peace before the whole world shatters 😇

get your own print here ❤️

[tsotc]

fucking obsessed with the uni town i live in

[belethlegwen]

Crying sobbing weeping at this amazing fanart I got on Twitter this morning from the amazing @hollewdz!! I'm so glad I haven't uninstalled Twitter yet or I might not've seen it for ages ;o; <3 <3

Holly is incredible and does amazing (18+ on that account!!) work and I was SHOCKED to see that she had found and enjoyed my stories enough to do this and I aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa It's been hours, I even took a (very cold, it's 6 degrees and raining here now) walk and I still can't be normal or coherent about this. This is beautiful work of Mel and Henry and I love the clothes and colours and the poses and I am gonna be riding this high for a billion years. I ALSO got an incredibly sweet message on Ko-Fi this morning from another reader and y'all I'm deceased, you're being so so so nice and incredible and I just want to cry. Thank you all so much for enjoying what I do, I'm so glad that it could bring even one other person even a little bit of happiness and stuff like this takes my utter breath away.

Love you all to bits, please have a fantastic weekend!!

~ Belle

[entomolog-t]

G/tWAC Day 4: Favorite Scenes

Mild spoiler warnings for The Stranding, Blanket, and Clumsy

(Nothing that's a huge plot reveal- just quite literally spoiling some amazing scenes)

I want to have a diverse spread of author's but theres NO WAY I can talk about favorite scenes without bringing up @belethlegwen again.

One of my favorite scenes is Mel's first time meeting Edmund, Bravest-soldier-in-the-ranks, Miller. The scene hits so well- A giant woman washing up on shore, the general sentiment of unease, if not outright fear from The Watch...

Then theres Miller.

Even without ineracting with him yet, Mel notices he's a bit different than the other men- with just this overall lack of hesitation when getting nearer to her. Brother is straight grinning like the lil big goon he is.

Belle does such a phenomenal job setting the scene. The expectations set, and swiftly subverted, the way she describes his actions and voice just beautifully showing he just is not scared. The goofy chemistry between the two just so wonderfully cuts the tension of the previous chapters, but without fully severing it. Things still feel uneasy, but Miller (as well as the wonderful Lionus) feel like a reprise.

“They’ve even got a name for soldiers like me in the company!”

“Oh?” she asked, placing the empty barrel down on the other side of him, and then moving her hand toward the freshly opened one. The other two men had gone back for the last two barrels from the cart and were rolling them towards her at speed.

“Idiots,” - Chapter 5 of The Stranding.

JAFGSFLKH- here we witness the birth of The Idiot Brigade😭 Every interaction with that man just has me cackling.

---

Next up is the the short that is the Literal embodiment of AJFHLkfhkfh by @bittykimmy13 / @kendsleyauthor

Never has a scene made me want to bark so much as the blanket scene???? If you haven't read it PLEASE don't let me spoil it for you because this is the juicest fearplay spice- I physically cannot restrain myself from keyboard mashing when talking about this.

What makes the blanket scene so incredibly good is just this fun yet high tension game of cat and mouse between Micah and Everly. Its this playfully predatory flirting that just gets the heart pumping and the mind flustered, and it just all cumulates with Everly trying to avoid Micah catching her while she dodges his hand under the cover of a blanket- with Micah just giving in and crawling under the covers to get her??

I DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT THAT VISUAL??? ASFDKJASJF

----

Lastly is an incredibly recent fic/short(?) (please let it be ongoing I love them your honor) by @clumsiestgiantess (Everyday I am thankful that my brainrot is apparently wildly contageous to @clumsiestgiantess) that just??? The perfect timing of the slightly angsty fluff?? *screams into a pillow*

Fen is a borrower who has been through some nasty events in the passed 24 hours (and frankly just in general) and is just trying his best. Alice is a human who's clear concern and care for others (along with her grades) is palpable. Together the pair have one of the most tender interactions I have ever read. Just FFHKFH- Its literal catnip and I want to roll in it.

“Are you ok?  You look sick.  If this makes you uncomfortable, I can put you back down.  You didn’t have to get on.”  It’s just like in the car — her blue-eyed gaze looking me over with genuine concern.  “I- I’m alright.”  She gently shakes her head.  “You aren’t, though.  You’re shaking.”  The gentlest pressure alights on my chest as a soft finger brushes up against it.  “And your heart’s beating really fast.”  Her touch is so soft — incredibly cautious like she’s holding something precious and delicate.  Maybe I am, to her.  It’s nothing like what I had imagined a human would feel like, nothing at all.

In a brief moment of weakness, my eyes tear up and I squeeze her finger closer, pressing my forehead against it.  It is absolutely terrifying thinking about where I am.  I’ve spent all my life believing it’s a place of certain death.  Why is it so comfortable? - Part 2 of this work of literal art

Just the word choice and pacing of this whole interaction? The dialogue is just so compassionate. And then there the action. GOODNESS. Alice taking her figure to his chest? FEN THEN TAKING THAT FINGER AND PRESSING HIS FORHEAD TO IT???

The line "Why is it so comfortable?"

I promise you- this scene made me audibly gasp.

The mix of such sweet and tender dialogue with that visual?? Gosh it had my heart racing like a lovestruck teen.

I highly recommend you all check these works (and these authors) out!

[clickerpunk]

My sweater is finally done!

It has lovingly been named the 'Unicorn Hunt Sweater' and the pattern can be found on both:

Etsy and Ravelry

Very happy with it, i will wear it forever probably.

[belethlegwen]

=shows this post to Henry=

Henry: =incredulously= That's not--

Henry: ...........

Henry: Ok it IS, but that's NOT THE POINT

Classic sea shanties like:

"I fucking hate this ship and I cannot wait to get off."

"I got off the ship on the dock but I know I'm going to get back on the ship when my leave is up. Fuck."

"Storm."

"Big storm."

"Is it just me or does this ship have like. Really clean lines. Like damn. Okay. Not saying I'm feeling attracted to the ship, per se, but. Damn."

"Sometimes you see weird shit that you cannot explain and you just kinda have to shrug and go. Welp."

[gt-daboss]

Melanie plays (gently) with Henry's hair, I really wanted to draw a giant messing/playing with a tinies hair, and Henry's luscious locks did the trick!

If you want to read more about these two, you should def check out their story(s) by @belethlegwen The Stranding and its prequel The Rescue. I hope I did your characters justice!