#tristan ward loves

[byronvera]

way to motivate yourself to do anatomy practice: draw your specialest little guy

[pitaenigma]

I've spent an upsetting amount of time thinking about why Rain sucks so bad. I read Ward as it updated, as I had a lot of interactions with the fandom, as I discussed it daily with other people who, like me, were way too intense about an online web serial. But the one conclusion I agreed with most of them about was that Rain sucks. Like, in a story about a group of people who all need redemption, he's the only one in the group who doesn't seem to have any of that past person in him. The story tells us he does, with exchanges like

“Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Natives, Middle Easterners, then gay, trans,” Tristan rattled off. “Deeper than that,” Rain said.  “I had to start with re-figuring women and how I thought about them.  I’m still pretty shitty, as much as I’m trying, because I hear you rattle that off and my first thought is ‘some of these aren’t like the others’ and I have to stop myself.” “You’ve said a few things,” Chris said. “Probably.”

But we never actually see him like that. We never see Rain go "trans women aren't women" or quote Ace Ventura or something like that. He is a fairly milquetoast character who doesn't have much going for him in the way of character traits, which is a little odd in a group like Breakthrough where every single member is a flavor of fuckhead.

It is Very Bad Literary Analysis to blame something on the author, but I do have a theory about how this happened. Wildbow has said he considered Rain for protagonist of Ward, and parts of that still come through in the text - the first big arc relates to him, a lot of the secret mechanics that the story unveils are first hinted at through him (he's far from the only member of Breakthrough with power fuckiness, but we never see Chris, T&B, or Sveta deal with entities in the very direct way he does) - but he is also fairly flat as a character, and doesn't have *that* much to do. I suspect Wildbow, when planning Ward, was dealing mostly with the contingent of fans he spoke to: A few die-hard nerds on Cauldron in the few channels he frequented at the time, people on r/parahumans, his IRC friends... While he was aware of the worst parts of the fandom he didn't have to deal with them directly. Rain, as planned, was not a problem in his eyes. Actually writing Ward forced the worst parts of the fandom (yes, worse than Amy stans) to his attention, as many of them were interacting with the parts of the fandom he interfaced with. I think Wildbow realized that if he had a main character, one who is vital to the narrative, say these bigoted things, he would encourage the worst parts of his fandom, and I believe Wildbow is someone who doesn't want to encourage the bigots. I'm highly critical of him, but he is someone who dislikes bigotry to an extent that he'd try to fix it. I think some Ward choices come from that, and I think Rain being kinda dull is part of that. However, another part of Wildbow is that, as much as he "improvises" these stories, he does have a hard time letting go of plot beats if he likes them. The worst example of this is the plague at the end of Ward, timed perfectly with COVID, that had half the fandom in a state of constant outrage. So he kept Rain, figured he'd do something interesting with him, but didn't really figure it out by the time Rain entered the narrative in 2.5. He didn't re-figure who of5 was, he just worked on his instincts and tried to write his way out of where he got except he never quite did and the result is that Rain is someone we are told was totally a bad person offscreen, where the guy we get is basically an average egg.

[hottakehoulihan]

Ward, arc 11 chapter 10. Binding

Why?

Aroa just freaking said.

I read Ward through several years ago and there's a lot I don't remember well. ...but that "She wants to wrap Foi's skin around a rocking horse and ride it all day long" bit?

That's been stuck in my head verbatim.

I don't love it when published versions of stories get 'touched up', primarily because my memory gaslights me enough all by itself. I'm glad that line is retained because it's really not far from the truth as I understand it.

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

I absolutely adore Worm and Ward and there are very few things I'd actually complain about either of them. Some of the best fiction I've ever read. But there is a recurring thing within both stories that kinda just feels really shitty?

On occasion, we will get a character (mostly women) who is insinuated to be queer in some capacity only to then firmly deny it in a way that just comes across as slightly mean-spirited and queerbaity, despite having a ton of well written canonically queer characters?

Assault implies Battery is into women and she gets really upset by that. Cassie and Chastity... I mean, even with Cassie's long-winded explanation about how they are totally just besties that ends up reading even more like they are gay and just not out to anyone else. Or when Swansong argues with Damsel about fantasies of having servants and mentions having "cute girls too", only for her to shut down when Damsel asks if she's more "worldly" by saying "we're talking about Rain." Or when Imp taunts Vista/Canary/Sophia/so many others with lesbian innuendo. Or when Regent body-snatches Sophia and has her "confess" her love to Emma to ruin her life. Or, to a lesser extent, when Taylor kisses Rachel and Lisa to cure them of Bonesaw's agnosia plague and Lisa says "no tongue". And this isn't even getting into the writing of character's internal thoughts or even the narrative structure that is so incredibly queer despite that (somehow) not being the intention.

In all these cases, it really feels like there is nothing that could be changed by simply... making them all queer? Battery is into women too, cool, that's fine, doesn't change the fact she loves Assault. Cassie and Chastity are practically girlfriends at this point there is absolutely nothing lost by making them such. Ashley wanting girls in her power fantasy without deflecting away from it again, changes literally nothing in the narrative. Or if Imp really is flirting with every girl she comes across. Or if Sophia and Emma maybe did have a crush, mutual or one-sided.

Of course we do get some really important canonically queer characters. Parian, Foil, Tattletale, Regent, Legend, Kenzie, Sveta, Tristan, March, Amy, Goddess... which makes it more baffling that Wildbow keeps writing in sapphic innuendo as a punchline.

There are legitimately very very few things I'd criticize Parahumans for writing wise but this is one of the few I would. If it was once or twice it'd be weird but it wouldn't feel so targeted as it does when you see how often it happens. Even in Ward where queerness is so much more at the forefront of the story this keeps happening.

Regardless, even with Wildbow shoving in "haha they aren't actually gay" in the story... it doesn't exactly make the story less queer. He keeps accidentally writing Taylor and Victoria and Swansong and so many others as being extremely queer to the point that any deflections otherwise only make it even more obvious they are queer. Seriously, Breakthrough and the Undersiders are a bunch of fruit loops in a rotating polyamorous relationship.

This isn't a hate post, just something I've thought of a lot lately. And it's this that fuels my desire to write Wormfic where the protags are just the queerest little people ever. They are some of the gayest girls to ever gay for girls.

[seyvia]

gameplay/concept/banner by @jonquilyst

character drawings by me, @seyvia

Find all these amazing characters below! Cheer on your favorites as they take on @jonquilyst challenges in! TOTAL, DRAMA, SIMS!🎭

(LINK) to the first post incase you missed it!

note: I drew them based off of their intro posts as they were posted, so if your thinking "why is my little bean wearing that?" it's because that's how you showed them.🤷‍♀️These are purely my impressions of your sims in TD style, it's completely fine if you feel like your sim would look different. ...I do hope you like them tho♡~(๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)

ASHLEE SCHAEFER (she/her) by @shmoodlet - A rap artist who always wants to be the center of attention

BRODY SHERMAN (he/him) by @aniraklova - A football captain who loves to party and cause mischief

COFFEE BEAN (she/her) by @riverofjazzsims - A gloomy and introverted polyglot who was entered into the competition by her twin sister so she can have more typical teenager experiences

LIANA MORRIS (she/her) by @bloomingkyras - An introverted computer whiz who chose to compete in TDS so she wouldn't have to go to her grandparents' house

DREW PINTO (she/they) by @witheringscreations - A talented track athlete who wants to make friendships outside of those she trains with

ENZO ESPINOZA (he/him) by @seyvia - A handsome model who wants to prove to his brothers that he's the most exceptional sibling

FLO HARPER (she/her) by @akitasimblr - A nosy "rebel" (she only dresses the part) who secretly loves to bake

PAULINA CALLAWAY (she/her) by @cowplant-ate-my-sim - A cheerful girl who signed up for TDS so she could have a free vacation

HANS SOMME (he/him) by @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants - A physically gifted, socially inept snob who doesn't think TDS will be that hard

NEAL WARD (he/him) by @nakasumi-sims - Son of famous actor Judith Ward. Judith signed him up for TDS2 so he could be occupied while she's filming overseas

TAKASHI ABBOTTSFORD (he/him) by @stargazer-sims - A friendly and talkative boy who thinks he'd be good at TDS due to growing up in a large chaotic family

TONI STROUD (she/her) by @simsinfinitylt - A creative and imaginative thespian who is determined to make a name for herself

TRISTAN BACHMAN (he/him) by @micrathene-w - A snarky academic genius who accidentally arrived at TDS when he was meant to go to his academic decathlon meet

WILLABELLE LOWES (she/her) by @invisiblequeen - An overachiever who is confident she'll win TDS

🎵 I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS! 🎵☆*: .o(≧▽≦)o｡.:*☆

[jonquilyst]

Day 0 - Introduction

🎵 Dear Mom and Dad, I’m doin’ fine. You guys are on my mind… 🎵

Welcome to the premiere of THE 2ND SEASON of Total Drama Sims: the hottest, freshest reality TV show on simblr. I'm your host jonquilyst, though if you tuned in to the show last season, you'll already know who I am!

14 more teenagers have gathered to put their wits, guts, and strength to the test to seek out the ✨ grand prize. ✨ Like last season, they will compete in crazy challenges, deal with less-than-perfect living arrangements, and face the judgement of each other!

🎵 You asked me what I wanted to be, and I think the answer is plain to see… 🎵

🎵 I wanna live close to the sun. Pack your bags 'cause I’ve already won… 🎵

Allow me to give you the grand tour of the no-longer-abandoned film lot we claimed for this season! Instead of cabins, contestants will be staying in these cramped trailers, just like actors on set! There's one for each team with 7 beds each and complimentary bathrooms.

Our mess hall is a bit less rustic than the one we had at the summer camp, but it's got that same ol' charm with 2 dining tables and a small living area for everyone's convenience!

Now, on to the fun part: replacing the shoddy outhouse, our contestants' destination for providing their juicy confessionals will be a makeup trailer right behind the trailers! Get used to it: it'll appear every single day with a different contestant providing their thoughts.

And finally, the auditorium! This will be the site of our ever-so-exciting elimination ceremonies. In front of it is the walk-of-shame, where losers will say goodbye to Total Drama Sims to catch the lame-o-sine at the very end!

🎵 Everything to prove nothing’s in my way. I’ll get there one day! 🎵

Now, allow me to formally introduce you to our 14 new contestants!

(from left to right; top to bottom)

(also fun fact: the poses are all different this time, so everyone's portrait is truly unique to them!)

ASHLEE SCHAEFER (she/her) by @shmoodlet - A rap artist who always wants to be the center of attention

BRODY SHERMAN (he/him) by @aniraklova - A football captain who loves to party and cause mischief

COFFEE BEAN (she/her) by @riverofjazzsims - A gloomy and introverted polyglot who was entered into the competition by her twin sister so she can have more typical teenager experiences

DREW PINTO (she/they) by @witheringscreations - A talented track athlete who wants to make friendships outside of those she trains with

ENZO ESPINOZA (he/him) by @seyvia - A handsome model who wants to prove to his brothers that he's the most exceptional sibling

FLO HARPER (she/her) by @akitasimblr - A nosy "rebel" (she only dresses the part) who secretly loves to bake

HANS SOMME (he/him) by @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants - A physically gifted, socially inept snob who doesn't think TDS will be that hard

LIANA MORRIS (she/her) by @bloomingkyras - An introverted computer whiz who chose to compete in TDS so she wouldn't have to go to her grandparents' house

NEAL WARD (he/him) by @nakasumi-sims - Son of famous actor Judith Ward. Judith signed him up for TDS2 so he could be occupied while she's filming overseas

PAULINA CALLAWAY (she/her) by @cowplant-ate-my-sim - A cheerful girl who signed up for TDS so she could have a free vacation

TAKASHI ABBOTTSFORD (he/him) by @stargazer-sims - A friendly and talkative boy who thinks he'd be good at TDS due to growing up in a large chaotic family

TONI STROUD (she/her) by @simsinfinitylt - A creative and imaginative thespian who is determined to make a name for herself

TRISTAN BACHMAN (he/him) by @micrathene-w - A snarky academic genius who accidentally arrived at TDS when he was meant to go to his academic decathlon meet

WILLABELLE LOWES (she/her) by @invisiblequeen - An overachiever who is confident she'll win TDS

🎵 I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS! 🎵

Wait... What About Teams?

Yea... about that: teams will be sorted a little differently this season! Instead of randomized teams right away, they are being formed after the first socialization day, when everyone has time to form relationships! Shortly before the first challenge, two people will be selected at random to be the "captains" of the teams. From there, they will select their teammates schoolyard-style (alternating between boys and girls) based on their relationships with the other contestants!

[vigilskeep]

regarding the amaranthine/wardens vs kirkwall plot happening in the background of da2, how does minerva handle that?

oh she’s running that show.

i doubt she engages in trade and combat on the waking sea personally, there’s an image to maintain, but it’s definitely her people. definitely it’s her people out there asking shady kirkwall mercenaries to take out those trying to stop her.

she’d be so into throwing amaranthine’s weight around a bit, and of course defending the fereldan crown’s interests on the high seas. (while they’re platonic divorced, king alistair and warden-commander minerva still get a kick out of doing things in each other’s interests, both out of devotion they can’t otherwise act upon and because it lets them get an inch of the moral high ground on each other. it’s as weird as it sounds. and for more pragmatic reasons, the closer she can politically tie him and anora to herself, the more indispensable and integral and convenient she is to them, the better. as a sensible ward against them ever being able to turn against her or cut her loose.)

i’d love to see a saga of her joining hands with the sons of the sea wolf—in my heart my tristan cousland still exists as well as fergus, though god knows what happens to him—to do it. highever & amaranthine have always been closely bound for a reason, sharing the northern coast, and i would love to see minerva negotiating that dynamic after its, ahem, complete breakdown under her predecessor, while categorically refusing to swear the fealty the howes once did. really fun. she’d be incredibly in her element in all of this and i’ve been thrilled ever since i found out that da2 hints at it

[victoriadallonfan]

We give Byron a lot of shit, but he might be less cringe in conversation

Not high praise but…

I don’t think Tristan has any rizz.

Not intentionally.

I think he’s just a huge himbo that thinks he suave and it’s endearing enough for the boys to give him a chance.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in June 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy Pride Month!! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ The Shadow of Summer - Marlon Yelich 🧡 Of Stardust - (ed) Avrah C. Baren 💛 The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye - Briony Cameron 💚 Triple Sec - T.J. Alexander 💙 Same Difference - E.J. Copperman 💜 The Pull of the Tide - Various ❤️ The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date - Eija Jimenez 🧡 Surface Pressure - Adrian J. Smith & Neen Cohen 💛 Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse 💙 The Fire Within Them - Matthew Ward 💜 One and Done - Frederick Smith 🌈 Digging for Destiny - Jenna Jarvis

❤️ She Who Brought the Storm - Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea 🧡 Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights - James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler 💛 London on My Mind - Clara Alves (translated by Nina Perrotta) 💚 The Deep Dark - Molly Knox Ostertag 💙 Furious - Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos 💜 Gay the Pray Away - Natalie Naudus ❤️ Such A Small World - Jordan Clayden-Lewis 🧡 Make It Count: My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner - CeCé Telfer 💛 Cicada Summer - Erica McKeen 💙 We Used to Live Here - Marcus Kliewer 💜 Dandelion - Merlina Garance 🌈 The Curse of the Goddess - C.C. González

❤️ The Schoolmaster - Jessica Tvordi 🧡 Cigarette Lemonade - Connor de Bruler 💛 Coil of Boughs - Penny Moss 💚 Ballad for Jasmine Town - Molly Ringle 💙 Asking for a Friend - Ronnie Riley 💜 Pleasure Principle - Madeleine Cravens ❤️ Perfect Revenge - Jessica Burkhart 🧡 Lockjaw - Matteo L. Cerilli 💛 Markless - C.G. Malburi 💙 Queer Art - Gemma Rolls-Bentley 💜 Morally Straight - Mike De Socio 🌈 Our Bodies Electric - Zackary Vernon

❤️ Love Is All - Various 🧡 Becoming Ted - Matt Cain 💛 Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet - Molly Morris 💚 Dear Cisgender People: A Guide to Trans Allyship and Empathy - Kenny Ethan Jones 💙 Pole Position - Rebecca J. Caffery 💜 Something to be Proud Of - Anna Zoe Quirke ❤️ Hot Hires - Nan Campbell, Alaina Erdell, Jesse J. Thoma 🧡 Lord of the Empty Isles - Jules Arbeaux 💛 Kissing Girls on Shabbat - Sara Glass 💙 When You Smile - Melissa Brayden 💜 We Could Be Heroes - Philip Ellis 🌈 But How Are You, Really - Ella Dawson

❤️ A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence - Jess Everlee 🧡 Take All of Us - Natalie Leif 💛 One Killer Problem - Justine Pucella Winans 💚 Why Are People Into That? - Tina Horn 💙 Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity - Jack Turban 💜 Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow ❤️ Sea of Broken Glass - Jenna Pine 🧡 Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair - Ella McLeod 💛 Wolfpitch - Balazs Lorinczi 💙 Looking for a Sign - Susie Dumond 💜 Director's Cut - Carlyn Greenwald 🌈 Wish You Weren't Here - Erin Baldwin

❤️ Act Two - Rochelle Wolf 🧡 Unexploded Remnants - Elaine Gallagher 💛 The Stars Want Blood - Morgan Lawson 💚 Shadows Dark and Deadly - Andrea Marie Johnson 💙 Design of Darkness - R.D. Pires 💜 Two Sides to Every Murder - Danielle Valentine ❤️ Meet Me in the Sky - Jeffrey K. Davenport 🧡 A Shore Thing - Joanna Lowell 💛 The Lions' Den - Iris Mwanza 💙 Under the Dragon Moon - Mawce Hanlin 💜 A Sea of Wolves - Sarah Street 🌈 Saints of Storm and Sorrow - Gabriella Buba

❤️ Private Rites - Julia Armfield 🧡 Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous - Mae Marvel 💛 The Stars Too Fondly - Emily Hamilton 💚 Keeping Carmen Ruiz - Alyson Root 💙 Cuckoo - Gretchen Felker-Martin 💜 Heartwaves - Anita Kelly ❤️ Bound to the Wild Fae - Tavia Lark 🧡 Four Squares - Bobby Finger 💛 The Ghost of Us - James L. Sutter 💙 Poison in Their Hearts - Laura Sebastian 💜 Puppy Love - Elle Sprinkle 🌈 Hot Summer - Elle Everhart

❤️ Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen and the Matchmaking Scheme - Mari SanGiovanni 🧡 All Friends Are Necessary - Tomas Moniz 💛 Six of Sorrow - Amanda Linsmeier 💚 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💙 PROUD - Anthology 💜 Little Rot - Akwaeke Emezi ❤️ Fling - Deja Elise 🧡 Too Many Stars to Count - Frances M. Thompson 💛 Rakesfall - Vajra Chandrasekera 💙 The Unrelenting Earth - Kritika H. Rao 💜 Freakslaw - Jane Flett 🌈 Please Stop Trying to Leave Me - Alana Saab

❤️ A Sense of Shifting - Coco Romack, Yael Malka 🧡 Moonstorm - Yoon Ha Lee 💛 Now, Conjurers - Freddie Kölsch 💚 Hide No More - Rita Potter 💙 Running Close to the Wind - Alexandra Rowland 💜 The Afterlife of Mal Caldera - Nadi Reed Perez ❤️ Her, Him & I - Christian Weissmann 🧡 The Sons of El Rey - Alex Espinoza 💛 Show Me Your Teeth - Amy Marsden 💙 Defeating Demons and Breaking Up With My Boyfriend - Dylan James 💜 For Real - Alexis Hall 🌈 The Clarity of Light - Jade Church

[captainsophiestark]

So something crazy happened this week - I hit 1.5k followers! 🥳

Genuinely thank you all so much for following me and supporting my writing. When I first joined Tumblr, I truly never could've dreamed how wonderful the community, friends, and fandom I've found would be. I love you all so much!

I've never done a follower celebration before, but I really wanted to do one for this milestone, so here we are! It's D&D themed, but no knowledge of D&D is required to join in the fun.

Our 1.5k follower campaign is going to be running from today, May 29th, to Wednesday, June 6th. During that time, feel free to send me as many things off the list below as you like! Interacting with people on here is one of my absolute favorite parts of Tumblr, so feel free to come into my ask box as many times as you like 😄

I'll be tagging all posts for this celebration as #Sophie's 1.5k Follower Campaign. You don't have to follow me to participate, but it would be greatly appreciated. Without further ado, here are the actions you can take during this campaign:

Zone of Truth - Send me an ask with a game, like KMK/FMK, Would You Rather, or anything else you can think of!

Roll Initiative - Roll some dice and send me a character from the list at the bottom of this post, along with the numbers you rolled! I have prompt lists left over from my Year of Fic planning, and I'll put your character and your dice rolls togeter to write a corresponding headcanon (or possibly longer fic, if the inspiration really strikes!). Roll one of the following, some of the following, or all of the following: 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, and 1d20. You can roll with real dice or by typing "roll dice" into google! Please specificy if you have a strong preference between a romantic or platonic fic.

Nat 20 (2 left) - Send me a character I write for and a request, and I'll write you a oneshot! My time's a little limited right now, so I'm capping these at 3 total requests. In the immortal words of Brian Murphy, "Roll three Nat 20s in a row!". If you want to also roll a d20 and send me the result, I'll add a dialogue prompt corresponding with the number you rolled to the request. Please specificy if you have a strong preference between romanitc and platonic fic.

Perception Check - I have a good amount of writing queued up for my Year of Fic and a few other projects, so send me this for a sneak peek of works to come! If you want to include a few fandoms or characters you'd most like to see included in the sneak peek, feel free to do that! Just no promises that I'll have something including them to show you

Behind the DM Screen - Send me the title of an existing fic of mine, along with specific questions if you have them, and I'll give you a little info on the process of creating the fic!

Free Action - Come into my ask box and chat with me! About fandoms, cute pet pitcures, or whatever else! Anons are welcome as usual, and if you feel like you want to be recognized without coming off anon, then you can claim an emoji and use it as a signature on your asks, so I know who you are! As of now, 🥰 emoji is the only one taken

Thank you again to every single one of you who's here with me now, from the beginning of this blog or from earlier today! I'm so happy to have you here and as a part of the party!

Writing Request Character Options:

Bridgerton: Anthony Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton

Crescent City: Tristan Flynn, Ithan Holstrom, Lidia Cervos

DC: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd

Marvel: Grant Ward, Jack Thompson, Daniel Sousa, Angie Martinelli, Harley Keener, Pietro Maximoff

*Riordanverse: Luke Castellan, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Jason Grace

Star Trek: Jim Kirk

Star Wars: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala

Top Gun: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Natasha "Phoenix" Trace

The Vampire Diaries: Mason Lockwood, Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Enzo St. John, Kai Parker, Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan

*All characters in the Riordanverse are going to be book-based, since that's what I know best, and will be written as their ages at the end of Heroes of Olympus or older for requests involving romance

****************

Tagging a few mutuals who I've absolutely loved getting to this point with 🥰 thank you guys for being such a wonderful part of my experience in this place!

@ghostofskywalker @bandshirts-andbooks @trekkingaroundasgard @arttheclown-coveredinblood @flowers-and-fichte @everyhazyday @dawn-petrichor-world @space-helen @ro-is-struggling @writeroutoftime @shadowdaddies @hawaiianpizzaenjoyer

[rainof5]

ward opinions (as of 12.3)

I might start liveblogging (if I do, it'll be tagged as #ward lb, so block that if you want), so I figured I might as well put out my opinions thus far.

Firstly, I went in with very low expectations, given the popular opinion of Ward. And so far, I've been very positively surprised. I really like Victoria as a narrator, and I find it a lot easier to relate to her than I did with Taylor. A lot of her thoughts and actions regarding Amy remind me of myself, and her experiences with and as the wretch sound a lot like how I've experienced dysphoria.

I like Breakthrough as a whole a lot. I find the Capricorn dynamic to be very interesting, and I fucking love Rain. Each of the characters have intriguing storylines that keeps me interesting in their development.

For storyline, I think the Hollow Point fight dragged on a bit, but I've never been super invested in fight scenes. I tend to get distracted and can't keep track of who did what, when, where, etc. I'm not able to visualize well and I can't really "picture" the fight happening as I read it, so I either have to put in a lot of effort to think logically about how things are happening or, more often, it just kind of blends together. I actually ended up taking ~6 months off from reading in the middle of 5.3 or 5.4 I think it was. That's just personal preference, though.

I'm personally much more invested in the character development and interpersonal dynamics, especially with Breakthrough.

I definitely thought the Goddess arc would be bigger and more disastrous, but I don't mind how it went. I knew that Chris eventually left the team and went with Amy, but I didn't expect it to happen like that, nor did I anticipate the Lab Rat reveal.

Currently, I'm loving the Cradle/mall cluster arc. I imagine if you don't like Rain/the mall cluster, their story would seem way too drawn out and obnoxious, but I really like it, with Rain definitely being my favorite character (at least thus far).

So far, my favorite moments have been Rain getting his haircut (I was reading it in class and had to try really hard not to cry during lecture lol. I still get teary-eyed thinking about it). I also really liked the Capricorn interludes. I relate to Byron a lot, and I don't think I've gotten so angry, especially while reading, at something in a while.

Character relationships I'm interested in seeing how they develop include Victoria and Tattletale, Victoria and Ashley, Rain and Tristan, March and Foil, Kenzie and Chicken Little, Vista and Bitch, and Victoria and Byron.

As with Worm, I'm constantly being surprised by moments of foreshadowing or just referencing small details. One example I can think of off the top of my head is the Lab Rat reveal. When it was revealed, I immediately went back to Worm to reread parts of it with this new context in mind, as well as to refresh my memory on who Lab Rat was. In Worm, he's described as "the last person one might expect to be a tinker. He had a mouth full of teeth that were screaming for braces, all crammed towards the very front of his mouth, overlapping and sticking out of lower gums" (27.3). That immediately hits two notes from what we know about Chris: 1) he has braces because him "changing" affects him physically. 2) he hid the fact that he was a tinker, claiming to be a changer instead.

I love these little details, and I'll notice some subtle foreshadowing as I read because of the things I've been spoiled on.

Of course, there are criticisms to be had (do we really need to know this character's chest size, Wildbow?), but overall, I'm really enjoying the story and characters.

[asravenous]

slice of pi

task: write a self-para of your character presenting their talent. evening (sometime between 6–8pm), the spare room september 7th 2005 with mrs. tristan & the rest of the wards

The whole thing was outrageously absurd. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how Mrs. Tristan had come to the conclusion that a talent show in the middle of the week would be the perfect way to raise their spirits. To take their minds off grief? Vikram shifted uneasily in his seat as Celia and Angus performed a cello and violin duet. All the announcement had given him today was even more grief — once he came to terms with the miserable reality of being asked to perform at a “family” talent show at thirty — the irritation slowly simmering under the surface, like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

He still had half a mind to sit out of this one. Being sentenced to wash dishes didn’t sound completely awful. Tiring and laborious, sure. But awful? That was yet to be determined. Given that the threat of menial labor came after their day at the greenhouse, however… He was sure the rest would choose to stand in the center of the room, subjected to 16 pairs of eyes.

Joining in the discordant applause, Vikram looked on as Mrs. Tristan pulled out the next name out of her head. Alison. Not him, which meant he could still sit in the shadows and continue mulling over his decision. He stared at the table in front of him, zoning out as he played with his food.

“Vikram dear, are you participating?”

Without his knowledge, his name had been drawn out of the hat. That either meant Alison finished her performance and he missed it in its entirety or she had withdrawn. How long did he not pay attention, anyway? He took a moment to compose himself, looking up from his plate and meeting Mrs. Tristan’s eyes.

“Yeah,” he mumbled dumbly, not immune to her expectant gaze. It was always hard to say no to Mrs. Tristan, having relied on her all those years he spent in Woodrow. Clearing his throat, he nodded his head in assent.

“Yes,” loud and clear this time, “sorry, I’ll make my way there now.”

“Perfect!” She clapped her hands, equal parts relieved and delighted that he didn’t refuse. You could never be too sure with Vikram, in spite of his apparent predictability at times. “Come now, sweetheart, I can’t wait to watch what you’ve prepared.”

Unfortunately, Vikram thought sullenly as he walked over to the makeshift stage, I haven’t prepared anything. He didn’t share the same musical talents as Reece, Celia or Angus. River as well, odd as his performance was. As far as talent shows went, the acts presented thus far were pretty much standard fare. Celebration of Richard’s love of the arts, indeed. Too bad he couldn’t just pluck any of the pieces he made in Ceramics Club as a teen and showcase them here. By this point, everyone had already seen those.

Finally taking center stage, standing in front of people who were simultaneously familiar and strange, all Vikram could feel was his own heartbeat thudding in his ribcage. Awkwardness and a general unease encompassed his lanky body, as much as he tried to present himself otherwise. The confrontation with Talia that night aside, he hadn’t felt this way in years. Not even when he first started giving lectures in front of hundreds of students. 

“Well…” he started off, stalling a little for time as he quickly racked his brain for something he could do on the spot. “I can’t say I can hold a tune like some of us, even though I might have pestered you guys to teach me when we were younger.”

There’s a wry laugh at that — his own. If anyone else had reacted, Vikram couldn’t hear while he balanced being in his head and being present. Always a toss-up. He couldn’t have both without giving up one thing or another. 

“It’s a shame I didn’t keep up with any arts or crafts. Watching the lot of you performing while having dinner was an amazing experience. Honestly, they deserve another round of applause,” he paused for a bit, clapping as well. His posture straightened, confidence growing the more he spoke. “I can’t wait to watch what the rest have lined up as I finish my dinner.”

Knowing his own tendency for going down a rabbit hole every now and then, he had picked up a few too many things over the years. At best, they were mildly useful and at worst? They served no purpose, shelved away to the back of his mind. Maybe it was time to blow the dust off at least one of them. 

“It got me thinking: the dinner we had together on Monday featured some of his favorite dishes. Dessert was apple pie à la mode,” Vikram squinted a bit then, the spotlight suddenly feeling a little too bright; the segue into what he wanted to do a little too forced for his liking. Being put on the spot really tested the limits of his creativity. Perhaps he should’ve done an introductory class on How to Bullshit instead of Physics, with the way this was going.

“So here’s my favorite slice of pi. Just one hundred digits of it.” Light work, really. But boring them with anything more than that would be overkill, wouldn’t it? “Three point one four one five nine two six five three five…”

“…eight nine seven nine three two three eight four six two six…”

“… four three three eight three two seven nine five zero two eight…”

“…eight four one nine seven one six nine three nine nine three…”

“…seven five one zero five eight two zero nine seven four nine…”

“…four four five nine two three zero seven eight one six four…”

“…zero six two eight six two zero eight nine nine eight six…”

“…two eight zero three four eight two five three four two one…”

“…one seven zero six seven,” he finished, slightly bowing his head in thanks before using those long legs of his to walk briskly back to his seat.

[starrrling]

TASK 005: THE TALENT SHOW

"Y'know, I had to retune my guitar for this, you guys..."

Richard got her the guitar for her fourteenth birthday, and she named it Desdemona. It was a vintage Taylor, exactly like she’d asked for, an electro-acoustic Dreadnought in whiskey sour. She’d loved it fiercely for years, irritating everybody on the third floor (Reece didn’t like the sound-proof music room in the basement—not enough light) with her covers of Liz Phair, The Cure, No Doubt. 

How many Fridays in a row were the wards treated to a breakfast performance from Reece, singing “I don’t care if Monday’s blue…!” into her cereal spoon? (That was after Richard made a rule about Reece not bringing her boombox down to the breakfast table, but before Mrs. Tristan made a rule that Reece could only eat cereal with her hands—a rule which lasted all the way through 1992.)

Desdemona remained behind at the Woodrow House when Reece moved out, replaced by her more portable electric Jaguar, Jenny. But she had Desdemona with her again now, still spangled with faded stickers, just a little bit too big for her to comfortably cradle sitting down. She wanted to tell herself that something about it just felt right. She didn’t want to think about the fact that she’d forgotten the Jaguar at the apartment that she was not sure she could go back to, the apartment she’d shared with Jack and from which she’d fled to Alison’s car with only the essentials. But Jenny had been an essential, and Reece had forgotten. 

So she had Desdemona in hand when she stepped into the pool of golden light in the spare room, onto a sort of stage they’d set up, because they were doing a talent show. Reece was plaintively aware of her status as entirely unextraordinary in comparison to the vast majority of the other wards; rather than brimming with potential, she’d been a lost soul, somebody to be saved. 

“Last January,” Reece said, moving to the mic, squinting a little against the light, her smile self-effacing, “when D was driving me to rehab—that long, quiet drive downstate, y’know, hours where you don’t see a single other soul on the road—he turned on the radio. Switched it from static to NPR, sort of mindlessly, but they were talking about Bush’s second inauguration, which made me want to drink, so I changed the station until I got to one playing Green Day. This song. The chorus came on, and there’s this part, right, where Billie Joe Armstrong rhymes the word ‘again’ with itself, a little clumsy. So, when he heard that, Richard sort of frowned, and he said, ‘Adverb epiphora in a chorus? That makes me want to drink.’ So, this is for him. Just the verses.”

The song’s main riff itself was simple enough, a lot of 0-2-3 stuff around the fifth and sixth chords, quick and twangy and vaguely hypnotic. A few repeating counts of just that sound in the quiet, her calloused fingers plucking at the strings in rote memory, and then Reece began to sing. Her voice was somehow both dulcet and hoarse; she didn’t think she had the kind of voice that anyone really needed to hear, but when had that ever stopped her?

Summer has come and passed,  the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends. 

Richard had signed her up for singing lessons shortly after she arrived at Woodrow (“What she lacks in discipline, she makes up for in volume,” the instructor had told Richard once); then followed piano, percussion, guitar, music theory. When she started really learning to write music at 15, it was euphoric, like her skull had split clean open, but her actual aspirations for her future remained vague. Maybe she never really believed that she was talented enough to get very far, or maybe she just couldn’t picture any future version of herself that was successful, capable, exceptional. She wandered her way through a few years of majoring in ‘recorded music’ at NYU, and she ended up as a dropout guitar teacher in Staten Island. 

Like my father’s come to pass,  seven years has gone so fast, wake me up when September ends. 

The song, she knew, was so absurdly apt, almost too on-the-nose. It seemed somehow like the safest option for her performance, like the plain honesty of the song would keep every other true thing that Reece didn’t want everyone to know from pushing past her lips when she stepped onto the stage. Reece was trying very hard to make herself opt for whatever the safest option was, but it was behavior that didn’t come naturally to her at all. 

Ring out the bells again, like we did when Spring began wake me up when September ends. 

Her voice was too loud in her own ears; her exposed skin felt sunburnt from the spotlight’s glare. She was too terribly present, so here and now exactly when she didn’t want to be, exactly when she didn’t know if she could handle it. It was as if Reece could suddenly see her whole life condensed, a series of saviors and nosedives, the bleakness of who she was when nobody else was around to hear her. The word curse was lodged behind her uvula, it was catching between her two front teeth. Richard was dead, and she was starting to wonder if maybe it mattered that she was a lost cause who was probably completely doomed.

[darkwolf76]

49 from the angsty prompts for Criston and Deidre 👀👀

Thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun with this one! Enjoy!

49. “You hurt me. I didn’t think…”

The blood leaves of the weirwood shivered in a passing breeze. Deidre found Criston under the heart tree’s bone white branches when she came to the Godswood, seeking solace after recent events at court. Off shift and out of his armor, he sat in his simple linen shirt and gray breaches, leaned against the trunk, whittling a broken off piece of the sacred tree itself, carving through the white bark on the surface to sap soaked wood underneath, red as blood and the leaves above him.

Deidre froze when she saw him, a myriad of emotions swirling inside her. He studied her with hard dark eyes, black and unreadable as he tilted his head like a predator and slowly stood, tucking away whatever he had been carving. Both regarded the other silently across the clearing before the heart tree. Deidre should have walked away but her mother’s grief won out and the words slipped from her lips before she could think to hold her tongue. “Alicent is taking my boy from me. You put her up to it, didn’t you?” Her words came out sharper than she intended.

Criston smiled at her, a slight and mocking thing. “Your boy? I thought he was your husband’s younger bastard brother, your ward you call him.”

“Bastard he may be, yet Alicent covets him as a companion for her sons and a squire for the crown? She would never make such a request of me unless you put it in her ear. You are taking my son from me simply to spite me!” Deidre narrowed her eyes as she stepped towards Criston, standing tall as she could. Yet the slight stature she had inherited from her Crannogmen mother could not compare with the tall warrior’s build of the Kingsgaurd before her.

Criston let out a bitter laugh, a thin and hallow sound far from the deep, warm chuckle she had so craved to hear in her youth. “Your son, your boy? Are you so quick to forget yourself, Lady Blackwood?”

Deidre flinched at the accusation in his voice but forced herself to meet his judgmental gaze. “Why must you resent me so, Ser, after all these years? Every decision I ever made was to protect you, and countless others to come. There are things greater than our personal desires and fancies.” Her eyes flickered to the heart tree, it’s morose face weeping tears of sap blood.

Criston’s sun kissed face, normally a stoic mask of hard lines, erupted with emotion, anger curling his lip into a sneer. “You continue to speak in your cryptic riddles, using your ancient gods as an excuse for what you did.” His jaw twitched in anger. “You didn’t protect me! You hurt me. I didn’t think…”

Deidre stared up at him wide-eyed, her mouth opening but no words coming out in response. Never before had he judged her faith, her, so harshly. He had once looked at her with fascination when she talked of her old gods, accepted all of who she was freely and with love, as she had him. Her eyes began to sting and she felt a lump form in her throat.

Criston shook his head. “So many of these high lords have made their judgments of me, a brute of a knight, when none of them know me at all. Of all people, I didn’t think you’d ever be among them, but…” His brow furrowed in disbelief. “You think I would hurt you, intentionally? Tristan is not just your boy. He is my son and Dyana is my daughter! You took them from me, and you were about to do it again! Already are they beyond my reach, and you’d have taken them beyond my sight, where I might never see them again, at least ensure they were safe!”

“I never meant to cause you pain,” Deidre whispered in a tearful voice. “I simply wanted you safe. I just want to keep all of us safe. The gods have whispered unspeakable horrors of what is to come if the course of fate doesn’t change. I had to do something.”

Criston’s hard eyes softened, a dark brown filled with sadness and agony as he stepped towards her. “And what do you think I want for the children? I did ask the queen to let the boy stay to train with the princes, so I may watch at least one of my children grow, give him opportunities even the highest born of lordlings could only dream of, and to keep him safe.” Criston stopped not a hands width from Deidre, staring down at her with pain and yearning warring in his amber gaze, chest heaving with emotion he’d suppressed for so long.

Deidre’s lips quivered at the tenderness she’d missed in that hard face, an earnesty and devotion she had once so treasured for herself burning in him for Tristan. “This place is a pit of vipers. Tristan will get hurt, if I leave him here alone.”

“He will not be alone. I will keep him safe. Let me keep him safe, and teach him so he may do that for himself someday. Please.” Criston’s hand came up to her shoulder, the squeeze of his callous fingers soft and reassuring.

Feeling his firm and steady touch after so many years broke Deidre. She nodded as a sob left her lips. “I will let him stay.” Tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she gasped, “I am sorry, I am sorry I kept him from you.”

Criston trailed his fingers along her shoulder, up her neck, and to her jaw. His thumb traced her cheekbone, wiping the wetness away as he tilted her face upward towards his. His face drew close enough so their noses almost brushed. Deidre knew she should step away from him, a wife, a mother, but she could not. His breathe warm on her lips, she closed the remaining distance, tangling her fingers into his black hair as her mouth closed over his.

Criston’s arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her against him, his fingers finding their home again in the soft flesh of her hips. As their lips continued to dance, Deidre pulled him back under the cover of the heart tree, the weirwood’s bone white branches shielding them from prying eyes once again, for the first time in many years. Overhead, the blood leaves of the weirwood shivered in a passing breeze.

[ofxbutcher]

TASK - EULOGY @woodrowhub

Jacob never have a fear of public speaking. He hardly ever feared anything. And he would often-times mistake anxiety for excitement. But today he felt oddly on edge. The whole funeral was starting to feel like a play, like a practice event for the real funeral that will happen many many years from now. Richard was dead, but he was not, Jacob could not accept it. So he’s stood now, in front of everybody, uncertain what to say, hiding from Mrs Tristan’s judgmental gaze. Old wrench. He clears his throat and there’s a nervous smile, and while he really shouldn’t be smiling right now it certainly beat having a laughing fit, something he was fairly known for in the most inappropriate situations.

"I uh, don't know what more there is to say..." he'll start, shifting through small post-it notes in his hands containing the last-minute speech. Mrs Tristan was cruel for making them do this. And most of the points he jotted down were already addressed in the previous eulogies so he held on to them more so for comfort than anything else. His palms were sweating, but he wasn't nervous. "Today's made me realise we all knew Richard in our own ways." there's a small pause as he thinks. "He really shifted into whatever person each of us needed him to be. And although he was not our parent..." those words sting, no matter how true they are. "-- he was still the best and, well, the only father I ever knew." the memory of Richard is vivid in his mind now, the good, the bad and all the in-between.

"The Richard I knew was patient. That's what he needed to be to put up with my —well, our shit.” He looks up ant the other wards, certain they knew what he meant. “And he is— he was generous, warm, but also stern and unyielding in uh, many ways. We didn't always see eye to eye, in fact, we rarely did but --" he loved him anyway, and there was not much else to add to that. “He was always there for me, for us…and, I- I guess I just wish I had the chance to properly thank him for that.” in any other situation, this would be the time Jacob would cry, maybe take a sip of his drink, try to numb himself out. But none of those emotions came up, he was just…fine.

“I’m not…I’m not gonna lie to y’all, this whole thing feels…I can’t really picture it yet — him being gone it doesn’t feel…real. I know some of you might understand what I mean and..” he feels he should stop talking, enough was already said. “Anyways, Richard is…Richard was a wonderful man. And whether we agreed with him or not, we sure owe him a great deal so, I hope we can at the very least try and live up to all his modest expectations.” Now he laughs.

“Right, yes, he’ll be missed…uh, that’s it — that’s all I got.” Mrs Tristan nods and he’ll take that as a sign to return to his seat, which he did swiftly, making sure to take a sip from the flask the second he sat down. He’ll turn towards the ward to his right “That went well right?” whatever, it was better than he'd hoped for anyway. "Should we dip and get stoned in the toilet?"

[lakesbian]

i understand if i sound like i've been assimilated into the ward hivemind but. did you ever read the brian interlude of ward or just the aisha one. some stuff in there you might find interesting

this is fucking hilarious and i love him. he's such a strange little man. i am also reminded of the excerpt you posted earlier where he was like "sigh....i used to be normal....i used to do groceries and chores..." except during the timeframe he's remembering he was literally fucking seventeen. SEVENTEEN and his life was about Groceries And Chores. my god brian "would've taken care of him if he'd gotten cancer" 😭 you're not sixty please. he's SUCH a strange little man. i think during worm sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night and remembered he (seventeen) hadn't drafted a will yet (17yo) and then started experiencing crushing guilt over an extensive 30 minute long imaginary scenario where he died and aisha didn't get any money. i think he took it really seriously when the dentist told him he had gingivitis and stresses the importance of good flossing. i miss him so so much every day i yearn to return to worm and see him again. losing my mind over Alternating Chore Schedule being canon. i bet he watched her vacuum in a calculated grid pattern to ensure neat and visually satisfying parallel lines on the living room carpet and got flustered about it

who do you take me for charlie brown. "no trust me THIS time wildbow will hold the football for you." you just read through tristan dying and kenzie being kenzie maybe your perception of how good the brian interlude actually is is skewed due to the horrors. i am NOT going in there. if i refuse long enough The Ward Hivemind will dripfeed me all of the information i would care about as an attempt to convince me anyway. gonna keep eating all the free ward samples and then run away when someone tries to ask me to pay (actually read the book)