#wait does anyone else know that meme that’s like I hired this [picture of character staring] to [picture of character staring] at you

[capricioussun]

🌻 for Edge?

🌻 (sunflower) - What’s something your character has grown out of? Did it happen gradually or was it a drastic change? What caused this shift?

When Edge was little, he was actually entirely nonverbal! I always like to imagine most Papyri are quiet when very young, and took a while before their first words, but few to the same degree.

Id say it was both gradual and drastic, as he started offering a few sparse words to Red when he was around 6-9, but once they were on their own, there was more pressure to "act normal", so he wound up forcing himself to verbally communicate more frequently than he would've chosen.

Whiiich also sort of answers the next part! It was mostly pressure from "the outside world" (the rest of the underground). Pretty much anything can be perceived as a weakness, and since "quiet" reads more as "shy" for a child/teen, Red discouraged Edge from communicating predominantly in Hands.

[terramythos]

My reread commentary on October Daye #8, "The Winter Long" or "more shit goes down in this book than the first 7 combined, holy shit".

I apologize to anyone who reads these cause I literally hit the length limit on this post and had to pare it down lmao 

-Good start: Under the Acknowledgements section: "Everything I have done with October's world to this point has been for the sake of getting here". Sooo basically the first 7 books? Setup for this one. We're in for a Ride.

I want to emphasize some of the best meta foreshadowing I've seen:

FOR REFERENCE, Rosemary and Rue is the title of book 1. It's also the only book whose opening Shakespeare quote (from Hamlet) doesn't really match the title. If you know your Shakespeare, you probably would have caught that and figured out that it was from The Winter's Tale instead. Plenty of conclusions you can draw just from that. Since then the series has been chock full of hidden identities, and this book has two BIG ones coming into play. Foreshadowing was here from the very fucking beginning, and it is some next level shit. Very well done.

-If you skipped book 1 you are SO fucked, btw.

- we're going to great lengths to describe Sylvester's physical appearance. Gee I wonder why. I'm sure it's not relevant

- yes Sylvester has FOX COLORED HAIR and YELLOW EYES and his magic smells like DAFFODILS and DOGWOOD FLOWERS. He is Toby's LEIGE and FATHER FIGURE.

Me on a first read: oh it's just beginning book exposition, they all do this

Me on a second read: god fucking damn it

- toby: I should have known Sylvester would never disappoint me.

Me: oh sweetie. Oh honey.

- "He smelled like smoke and rotten oranges.

This man wasn't Sylvester Torquill."

Anyone who read book 1: OHSHIT.AVI

Welcome back, Simon! You know, Sylvester's evil twin? You know, the big bad (so far) of the series? The the one responsible for turning Toby into a fish for 14 years?

-Yet he seems kinda... off, huh? Comments about how he didnt know the spell would last 14 years, how he hates to upset October's mom, of all people? Whatever could he mean? :)))

-New toby power: spell reflection? Hell yeah? Also spell BREAKING, but to be fair she did do that one other time. In, you guessed it, book 1.

- "When I tried to picture Sylvester's face, I kept seeing Simon's instead" ow oof

- Simon calling Amandine "Amy", which we've established is an affectionate nickname (it being what, you know, THE LUIDAEG calls her). Why would Simon, of all people, call her that?

... oh.

-That sure explains a LOT, huh? That sure was set up... this whole time, huh?

-Little "fuck you" lines like "I didn't know Sylvester had a niece" in book 2. Talking about January. Well, uh, he has several actually! You're one of them!

-Explanation for why Sylvester had any inclination to be October's mentor... eventually becoming her liege and father figure... even giving her the Changeling's Choice (something family is supposed to do). It seems mighty convenient that a random noble was involved in the life of a changeling to such an extent. BUT, if he was her uncle, and knew his brother wouldn't step up? Well...

-This isn't even the biggest reveal of the book. Like, we're only a handful of chapters in and this bomb gets dropped.

-Sylvester, every 10 minutes: oh boy I cant wait to see my brother so I can like, completely eviscerate him!

Everyone else: uh,

- Tybalt: and here I thought I was going to have to ask Sylvester for his blessing. Now I technically have to ask SIMON?

Toby: uwotm8

Tybalt: oh god uhh I'm joking yeah uhh I'm just trying to distract you from all this stress :)) yeah (nailed it!)!

-And now we begin the "wow Sylvester is actually not a great person" slide. It's been hinted at that he's pretty unstable and has shitty priorities regarding people he cares about. But Toby glossed over a lot of it because she adored him. Welp.

- It's also an interesting aside that Etienne was kind of a dick to Toby for a reason in the earlier books. He legit thought she had been knighted because she was family, not that she had earned the post. And after the last few books he clearly knows now that that's not the case and they've actually become friends. That's interesting hidden character development.

- ok so The Gang finds out that Simon was telling the truth when he said turning Toby into a fish for 14 years was to save her. Because he had actually been hired to KILL her and didn't want to do it. So it was a loophole-- everyone thought she was dead, and then (as established in book 1) pretty much everyone forgot she existed until the spell broke.

-BUT Simon is bound by a geas (where have we seen that before) and cannot divulge his employer's name. But who had such a grudge against Toby and/or her mom to order a hit on her AND forcibly bind everyone to secrecy?

-who knows? Not toby. So they go to The Luidaeg to maybe get a lead, and she establishes right away that she is ALSO bound under a geas and can't say who did it. So we play some 20 questions, and then...

ULTRA DISTRESSING LUIDAEG LORE :((((

-additional: another month name just came into play. August. Toby's half sister, missing for a century. WHAT IS WITH THE MONTH NAMES

- "please don't mistake villainy for evil." That's an.. interesting quote re:Simon.

- Simon's way of protecting toby from the impending threat is "well maybe you turn into a tree for a few centuries but like. You're safe, right? Why are you mad?"

- The Luidaeg: *is straight up dead*

Toby: hey tybalt remember that time in book 2 when I Resurrected the Dead

Tybalt: yeah, it was fucking terrifying and I didnt speak to you for 6 months

Toby: *finger guns* guess whaaaaaat

-The Luidaeg: *says just. A bunch of Lore*

Toby: Luidaeg dont you dare drop that cryptic shit on me then pass out

Luidaeg: nap time

-"If you so much as whisper the first word of a transformation spell, I'll have your larynx in my hand before the second word can form." DAMN, Tybalt.

-Simon: I am VERY sorry for my bullshit earlier. I can't tell you who my employer is, but I CAN give you this BOUQUET of ICE COLD ROSES. Ice cold, like winter. Winter Roses, if you will. Yeah. Uh have a nice life, bye!

Everyone: well this sure is a mystery

-Simon is definitely a morally grey character. Has done really awful shit, is built up as a major villain... but turns out he had relatively little control over his actions. He does the wrong thing a lot but it's usually not for a truly evil end? If the context is to be believed he got stuck in the geas contract with Unnamed Employer to save his daughter, which explains the bad shit he did that we know of. Which then inadvertently kicked off like the whole series. He seems to genuinely care about Toby in a warped way? It would be so easy to write him off as an evil stepdad or whatever and there's plenty of canon to support that stance (she's an illegitimate CHANGELING child) but he seems like he wants to just be her dad. I hope we explore his character more, is what I'm saying.

-And not to keep rambling about it but Toby is an established unreliable narrator and a horrible (initial) judge of character. So it's not like this is an asspull or off base at all.

Twist of the fucking century here.

-You know... the character who set off the events of the series? The character who was murdered in book 1 and bound October to a geas forcing her to find the culprit or die? Evening fucking Winterrose?

-There were hints, most very subtle unlike the other big twists, but probably the biggest one is SHE NEVER SHOWS UP AS A NIGHT HAUNT. And they're in the story quite a bit, and they ALWAYS feature killed off characters. Except Evening.

-My favorite hints were the ones just piled in book 1. Comments like "no one knows who Evening really is" said with zero self awareness. Because we are actually about to find out who she is... 7 goddamn books later.

-dead meme but "surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you saw the last of me."

-God she's so awful lol

-Toby thinking Quentin died then calling him THE SON SHE NEVER HAD is a BIG OOF right to the HEART. ;-;

-The book also points out that The Luidaeg through the series has ALWAYS referred to Evening in present tense. Even though she "died" in book 1.

-The Luidaeg ALSO never refers to her as Evening. It's always "The Winterrose". You know, a title. Which we have heavily emphasized is something the Firstborn use in place of their true names.

*jazz hands* Surprise!

-We also (finally) have a canon explanation for the... rather remarkable coincidence that Quentin, the fucking Crown Prince (from TORONTO), is in San Francisco at all. It was always weird he got sent to Shadowed Hills, and it's been commented on multiple times... Evening arranged it, of course! For reasons we don't quite know. But as the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn, her descendants couldn't exactly say no. Even though they didn't know who she really was.

-We really are falling all over Firstborn in this series? It sure is.. an odd coincidence, huh?

We got:

The Luidaeg: Roane/Selkie

Amandine: Dochas Sidhe

Acacia: Blodynbryd

Evening: Daoine Sidhe

Blind Michael: ... uh actually I don't think we ever learn what race he's Firstborn of. All his "children" are kidnapping victims forcibly twisted into monsters. Well, except for Luna, but we only know the Blodynbryd side.

But it's weird that for being so rare that we've run into 5 of them in 8 books. There's gotta be a reason for it.. but what?

-Luna starts the series as Toby's Surrogate Mom and is now just straight up an enemy huh

-I made this observation in my book 1 notes, but I find it very interesting that all of Toby's initial friends and allies... aren't by this point. Whereas her current allies are either former enemies or people she initially disliked or distrusted.

Starter allies: Sylvester? Was lying to her the whole time. Luna? Pretty much tried to sacrifice her (+above). Evening? Uhh this whole damn book. Devin? Tried to kill her for personal gain. Lily/Connor? Both killed off for real.

Current allies: Tybalt? Literal former enemy turned lover. Quentin? Kind of a snotty, vaguely racist kid she whips into shape. The Luidaeg? Extremely powerful witch who Toby assumes is True Neutral and wouldn't hesitate to kill her. May? Literal personal walking death omen.

It's just a cool reversal. There's so much really excellent character development in this series and I love it.

-Simon still is a pretty major bastard but.. less outright mustache twirling evil than we were led to believe up to this book. You learn his Backstory and while it really doesn't justify his actions it does...explain them.

-Blink and you miss it Lore: August is missing because she entered a contract with the Luidaeg. She's holding the candle from book 3 :)))

I'm starting to realize I stan The Luidaeg so hard I just have to take a picture every time she shows up and does stuff lmfao. (Best character).

-But... nothing like your inconceivably ancient and powerful aunt suddenly owing you a life debt, I guess???

-Toby. You know, just an ordinary weak changeling who has somehow managed to KILL A FIRSTBORN and RAISE THE DEAD. yikes.

I'm just putting this here cause it's funny as shit. Tybalt really is just... a cat

This book: I heard you like distressing Luidaeg lore??

Me: oh thanks I don't need to feel things

-God Evening is awful. Like, if you didn't know that already, see above.

-It says something about The Luidaeg that despite all that shit their Firstborn did to her she ends up becoming such good friends with Quentin, a Daoine Sidhe?

-BIG LORE with The Luidaeg talking to Maeve??? And Maeve "responding" kind of? This series damn well better explore what the fuck happened to those three it's been built up all series

-Omg the showdown with Evening and The Luidaeg. And Toby managing to break free and realize she deserves so much more than Evening-- all without magic. And Simon showing up for a last minute redemption trying to hit Evening with elf shot? I mean he gets shot in the process, but...

-We now have like, 3 or 4 characters just... asleep indefinitely thanks to elf shot. that's gonna be a Thing isnt it. Rayseline, Evening, Simon, Arden's brother...

WE DID IT BOYS

-This is the last full one I've already read. Most of my reactions in 9-12 are gonna be new. So.

[writingsfromthenight]

I got your letter today. I came home from work and I was in shock. I honestly still am. It’s a Saturday and mail doesn’t get delivered or picked up on Sundays so I have to wait till Monday night to put it in the mail boxes. The letter I wrote you was kinda shit. I think these emails explain things way better. They’re daily and I can go more into depth with what I’m feeling and what’s going on without my crippling ADHD bouncing off the fucking wall. Your hand writing is shit by the way. Are you in second grade? My nephew has better handwriting than you. I think about us too. I honestly don’t know anymore. If we did date, I would want to know for a fact you changed, but there’s no way for me to know that for sure. You promise me in august that you wouldn’t get in trouble and by October you where in shuman. I don’t think you understand how bad that hurt. Vince, I cried for a week straight. You know how hard it is for me to cry. I don’t even get upset. 2018 was a hard year for me. 2018 literally tried to kill me but I’m still here bitch gang gang. I don’t ever want to go through the shit I went through again that year. It was heartbreak after heartbreak. I don’t know if I cried hard harder in may or when you left. Both months where really hard once. Anyways, lets say we do date. How do I know that when you make me a teen mom, something isn’t gonna happen. Like I know we joke and talk seriously about having kids, but lets say we do end up together and we have a kid. I don’t want to put the kid through that. There is no way I’m letting my child grow up fatherless. You did too, you know how much it hurts. That child grows up not knowing a strong mother/father figure. That child has to deal with all the stress their parent is under too. That child grows up wondering how someone else can love them, when the people who are supposed to don’t. Lets say we don’t end up dating. Do I still be friends with you? My mom used to have a friend who, like you, was in and out of jail. She stopped being friends with him because one she didn’t ant him to do something to me and two she didn’t want to be guilty by association. I don’t want to be guilty by association either. I trust that you would never put me in a situation like that because I know you care about me and don’t want to see me hurt, but if you didn’t want to see me hurt you would never have let yourself et in trouble in the first place. I’m gonna say what my dance teacher said though. One of these days something might happen and I won’t be able to stop you. It scares me thinking that I can’t always keep you and my other favorite people safe. I just want to keep all my little ducklings in a row and shield them from everything bad. I can’t do that though. You’re gonna be gone for at least another year. Lets say I don’t wait it out. I would feel bad about it. You said you might be able to have home visits and I want to spend those with you, but I know you would be upset about me moving on. Honestly I don’t think I’m meant to end up with anyone. I know I’m young but you know I have a sixth sense for things. I just know things before they happen and they’re right. I don’t know how I know them, I just do. I know on some level I’m just meant to be alone. I don’t ant to be, but I don’t think there’s anyone out there for me. Ya I have met a few people and thought hey maybe this is it, but I’m also not even 16 yet and things just don’t look that way now. I don’t know. I’m glad you’re on medication though. Part of me thinks it’s more than anxiety. I also can’t believe you might come home middle of you’re sophomore year. I thought you would at least be back before school starts. There’s no telling what will happen by then. To be honest I think by then I will have moved on. I also don’t see it at the same time. I honestly just give up on everything. Life is so good right now, but at the same time shit is so fucked up. There’s a million and one things I wish I would have done differently.I quit my job today. I don’t 100% know how I feel about it. I know it caused me a lot of stress and I would have panic attacks all day. I won’t even there for 30 minutes and got corrected 6 different times by 5 different people. I think that’s a new recored. It said leaving you’re first job let me tell you. I was crying with the hiring manager for 10 minutes before I left. I don’t know why they where so upset, they made it clear they don’t like me. As does everyone else. Waverly told me I’ve been pushing everyone away lately. Can you blame me though? No one cares about me and they make it so obvious. I tell them what’s wrong and they either take the other persons side, make it obvious they don’t care or don’t even try. That’s why I don’t talk to anyone anymore. I wish I could just shut everyone out and start everything over. But then I remember certain things and I start smiling and laugh, sometimes crying because the memory was when times where good and I realize how much I’d miss certain people. I cry a lot more than I’ll admit to. I don’t know what you’re mom thought about my message she never replied to me. I do want to know what she thinks but I also don’t give two fucks. I honestly don’t know how you got me to even apologize. You people convince me to do the dumbest things. Like shave my legs and wear shorts in 25 degree weather. Wasn’t the first time and definitely not gonna be the last. A hoe never gets cold. I’m happy I might get a chance to see you though. Haven’t seen you since November 18th. I’m gonna tell you the same thing here that I did on you’re hand written letter. I don’t care what you say we’re watching friends. I got told today I’m way too obsessed with friends. I guess just have a strong relation to some of the characters and what they go through and long for a strong friendship like theirs. I know it’s a tv show and so of course everything I gonna be perfect, but one can hope. Hope is for suckers though. I wish I could remember that more often. You hope for things you get hurt. I don’t talk to Ali and Trent anymore, I can’t stand anyone in that group. I don’t talk to anyone anymore really. Everyone gets on my fucking nerves. There’s not even a handful of people I care about anymore. Don’t worry eventually I’m gonna get it down to no one ahah. I used to be so nice, what happened to me? You’re whole grade is terrified of me. I did find out today I actually am freakishly strong at least a little bit. Mike took me driving today and long story short we ended up playing footsies and I like broke his hip. I felt so bad, but it was kinda funny. I’ve been told I’m a little beast by hunter. I remember I started going to the gym because I wanted to look skinnier, now I just want to look like I could kick your ass. I honestly need to chill with how mean I am though it’s gotten so bad. But speaking of Mike, he’s scared you might hurt him or like try to kill him. He knows you don’t like him. I know I’ve said it before but I’m gonna say it again. Don’t you fucking dare start anything with him. He means a lot to me and you do to you. So don’t you dare put me in any type of situation between you two. I’m telling you now it won’t end pretty. Anyways, don’t worry I’ll proof read Lilly’s letter. I wish I could send you memes though. My meme game is fire. BUZZ LOOK AN ALIEN! I think I need to still send you that video.it’s my favorite video. I’ve actually. escalated my picking on people into memes, and let me tell you, once I’m making a meme it’s game fucking over. I destroy people. I was told it’s funny when I make fun of people though. I think they think I’m joking though but I’m not. I say things like it’s a joke but 99% of the time I’m being looked serious. I wanted to get those touch bracelets for your birthday. They where $88 dollars though. Not that I had a problem with that just one big dawn would have spread my ass cheeks and two all the what if from before pop into my head. Maybe when you come home. I would send you hoodies on amazon but like I said, my cheeks will be spread like butter. Plus let’s be honest. I’m gonna steal them anyways. Don’t worry though I won’t cut them this time. It think I’m gonna cut all the hoods off my hoodies. Well not all. I need something to put me into my final cancerous egg form. There’s an egg on Instagram by the way that has more like than Kylie jenner’s baby picture. I’ll try to write and send you weekly letters though. I’ll still write these daily ones. I hope you can come home early and I don’t just mean a home visit. I miss you. I hope you mean it when you say you’re being good and I hope you stay that way. Get you’re shit together before I beat you up. I miss us wrestling. You’re like the sibling I never had. The ones that just randomly pick you up and world star you to the fucking ground. I’d be lying though if said I didn’t start it. I’m such an asshole. Anyways, I’m hungry. I’m gonna wash my face, eat and go bully the autistic kid. Be good and stay good stupid. Good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite. I love and miss you,  Your tadpole

day 115 without my tadpole