#weekly theme: royalty

[hmshermitcraft]

It was ridiculous for Grian to have a crush on High Prince Mumbo, of all things. He was just a lowly avian servant, his royal highness probably didn't even know he existed!

Well, they didn't at first. But then Mumbo's betrothed, Princess Ariana of the Avian kingdom, was killed after attempting to assassinate her husband-to-be, and the royal family needed a way to cover up the incident.

Being the only other parrot avian in the castle, Grian was quickly bundled up in stolen dresses more expensive than anything he'd ever worn, married to the man of his dreams under false pretenses, and now has to pretend to be someone he's not to avoid a war.

At least Mumbo seemed rather apologetic about the whole thing.

Grian's sorry about the whole 'fiancee trying to assassinate you' thing as well, so they even out in their misery.

And, hey, it's not the worst. Mumbo sets up a private wing of the castle for them, some excuse about wanting space for his new family. All the staff who attend to them are briefed on the situation, so it means Grian can at least be himself there.

Not that he minds being Ariana he discovers. The woman might have been a murderous traitor but hey! She had a good fashion sense. Grian also takes naturally to public events - it's a lot easier when you're already playing a character. He can be whatever people expect him to be. It helps Mumbo too, the guy wouldn't know how to get through a social situation with a script. One of the many reasons Grian loves him.

The only time Grian faltered was when he was chatting with some nobles and caught Mumbo watching him, the softest smile on his face.

He nearly melted on the spot.

[captainmullin]

Join me for Granblue OCtober!

hey all! Here's the list I came up with for my Granblue OCtober - inspired by @yuyuyumefairy from last year and my own love for inktober, I wanted an event for those of us with OCs and wanted to show them off!

There's daily prompts and weekly prompts - I encourage you to TAKE THIS AT YOUR OWN PACE!! You can start before October and continue even after it! (I would recommend doing your first post on the 1st of October if you start before) and never feel pressured to do every single day if you can't.

I tried to make the prompts both relate to Granblue and also have a more general theme. You can combine words, use one word - doesn't matter! and ANY type of creativity is welcomed, not just art!

Tag your posts with #gbfOC2024 and I'll try to reblog as much as I can!

Plain text version below the cut:

T 1. Fall | Fire Element

W 2. Secrets | Wind Element

TR 3. Forest | Earth Element

F 4. Ice | Water Element

S. 5. Beginning | Light Element

S. 6. End | Dark Element

M. 7. Lament | Royalty!AU

T. 8. Joy | Modern!AU

W. 9. Rest | Monster

TR. 10. Believe | Fight

F. 11. Angelic | Defeat

S. 12. Demonic | Victory

S. 13. Chains | Versus

M. 14. Tarot | Evokers

T. 15. Power | Eternals

W. 16. Blood | Class

TR. 17. Reunion | Weapon

F. 18. Flowers | Party Members

S. 19. Life | Erune

S. 20. Death | Human

M. 21. Spells | Harvin

T. 22. Swords | Draph

W. 23. Hearts | Valentine’s

TR. 24. Clubs | Holiday

F. 25. Spades | Summer

S. 26. Diamonds | Yukata

S. 27. Restart | SR Unit

M. 28. Evolve | SSR Unit

T. 29. Follow | Duo Unit

W. 30. Free Day!

TR. 31. Halloween | Celebration

Week 1: Favorite Element

Week 2: Favorite Moment

Week 3: Favorite Character

Week 4: Halloween/Celebration

[samsvenn]

𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐋 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

warning! mentions of drugging

ayato doesn’t shower after he plays basketball. he likes the ‘manly stench’ and will probably wait until his sweat has dried or until it feels icky.

laito has a love-hate relationship with fur because the texture reminds him of hairy spider legs.

shu owns a pair of military-grade ear muffs to mute everything out.

reiji’s favorite pastime is being a secret chocolatier. he likes the challenge and the fact that everything has to be perfect or else he won’t get his desired outcome. plus it further proves that he’s a ‘gifted child’.

kou loves cats but doesn’t like the fact that cat hairs get stuck on his face or mouth.

yuma has an album on his phone dedicated to harvest tiktoks. he loves the ones that show how ripe the fruits are in the center. now he has a gardening machete called “junior”.

azusa has auditory and visual hallucinations about melissa, justin and christina. he won’t tell ruki nor will he try because deep down, azusa understands that his pleas won’t be enough to convince him. he knows that ruki will try to find a way to make them disappear for good.

ruki experiences phantom pain, but not exactly. there’s days where his back just sting randomly or when his calves start stinging that feel vaguely familiar to the stings caused by a riding crop.

carla hates nutella because the aftertaste lingers too long.

shu once stole a knife from azusa's collection as he was too lazy to sharpen his own.

shin can’t stand dog whistles because they make his eardrums ring.

azusa has tried to replicate justin, melissa and christina on many occasions using limbs he has amputated from the previous sacrificial brides.

karlheinz is fond of lego sets (the ones that revolve around the world and not batman) because it reminds him of his kingdom miniatures he made during his early teens.

richter secretly wonders if karl fabricated the environment reiji was raised in to show how people react/act between the heir and the spare. the thing that confuses him is whether karl is trying to show a reason vs. an explanation in their roles as royalty because both words are extremely different 

reiji can’t stand strong and lasting scents like sandalwood or musk. he’s much used to tea notes and prefers their gentler whiffs.

kou, shu and subaru go through nicotine withdrawals. kou is weekly, while shu and subaru are monthly.

azusa is addicted and loves stretch marks on bodies and on his own body; simply for the fact that they look painful. 

subaru is extremely insecure of his appearance because of the fact that he’s inbred and that someone might be able to see that ‘inbred mess’ in him.

while in his wolf form, shin has multiple bites around his body due to him biting himself. 

kanato once opened a teddy-themed café but it was quickly closed down by reiji after finding out that kanato uses the café as a lure to ‘collect’ new dolls and familiars. 

the most disturbing part was finding out that kanato would purposely drug the victims’ drinks in heart-attacking-inducing doses if they checked off any of his preferences. 

all of the sakamakis are painfully, socially awkward in their own ways - including laito. their classmates noticed, but since they’re all painstakingly beautiful, it’s all dismissed under the pretense of being a part of their ‘charm’.

kou hates fans who want to control him in all aspects of his personal life (dating, dieting, etc) and the worst offense of this was when they belittled azusa’s speech while they were out doing groceries together. 

ruki keeps a mental note of the poses he wants to try out from erotic novels. his favorite chapters are slow-building tension that leads to a hostile, teasing back-and-forth.

reiji lays off drinking any liquid like tea, water or coffee for a while so that when he bites his prey, the taste lingers more and feels more heavenly. 

ayato started doing deep voice exercises after he heard carla talk for the third time.

shu has tried to overcome his trauma with fire, but it never worked. as soon as the smell of smoke enters his nostrils, he immediately teleports out of the room and into his bed. what he despises even more is if the smoke sticks to his clothes. 

reiji, carla, and ruki meet each other regularly, but it’s unintentional. the three frequent the same café that’s near a supermarket. they won’t stop going there though as their pride won’t allow it

[sambuckylibrary]

TFATWS Anniversary Event

The @sambuckylibrary will be holding a The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Anniversary Event! The event will start on March 19th and run until April 23rd. During that time, we will be reblogging and sharing the work you guys create here on our blog.

You can post fanfiction, art, moodboards, edits, podfics, etc. It’ll be a low-stakes event. No need to sign up. Just remember to tag @sambuckylibary in your post for each fill, and we will be tracking #tfatwsanniversaryevent2023 for reblogs.

If you are posting on AO3, please add it to TFATWS Anniversary Event 2023 Collection.

Each week will have a different theme with prompts from Monday to Friday. Each prompt will also come with a badge you may use for it when you post. The weekly themes and their prompts will be:

For the text version of the information above as well as the FAQ and rules, check the information under “keep reading”.

Pre-TFATWS Week: March 19th-March 25th

Monday: The Steering Wheel Incident Tuesday: Searching for Bucky Barnes Wednesday: On the Run Together Thursday: In the Soul Stone Friday: Six Months of Ghosting Sam

TFATWS Week: March 26th-April 1st

Monday: Plane to Germany Tuesday: Rolling in the Field Together Wednesday: A Night in Madripoor Thursday: Fixing the Boat Friday: The Cookout

AU Week: April 2nd - April 8th

Monday: Royalty AU Tuesday: Sports AU Wednesday: Angel/Demon AU Thursday: Social Media AU Friday: Vampire/Werewolf AU

Romance Tropes Week: April 9th - April 15th

Monday: Getting Together Tuesday: Enemies to Lovers Wednesday: Hurt/Comfort Thursday: Fake Dating Friday: First Time

SamBucky Week: April 16th - April 23th

Monday: Redwing Tuesday: A Couple of Guys Wednesday: I Would Be His Roommate, But Thursday: Costco Tub of Lube Friday: Best Friend's Best Friend

FAQ

What is this?

It’s a SamBucky event.

Is there any pressure?

No pressure at all. Fill one prompt. Fill all the prompts in a week. Do however many you please.

Can I fill more than one prompt with one piece of art/one fic?

Yes! You can fill one prompt with one piece of art or fic. You can try to fill all five prompts that week at once with one piece of art or fic. You can do any number in between.

Are there any prizes for making anything for this event?

Just the satisfaction that you made something cool.

Is it just SamBucky?

Yes please, just SamBucky. There can be side ships, but the main ship should be SamBucky.

How long will this event run?

It will run from March 19th and run until April 23th.

I heard there are badges I can use for each fill?

There are! They will be revealed on the Sunday of each week.

Rules and Guidelines

What are the guidelines for the bingo?

I will be borrowing some of this from the MYSU Valentine’s Day Bingo 2022 Guidelines, since they were fantastic.

For Everyone:

1. Remember to @sambuckylibrary in the post as well as #tfatwsanniversaryevent2023.

2. Please also tag the square you’re filling (for instance, if the square is “Sports AU”, use “#sports au” as one of your tags when posting about it on Tumblr).

3. If you’re uploading to AO3, please:

a ) Say somewhere which prompt you’re filling.

b ) Add it to TFATWS Anniversary Event 2023 Collection (TFATWS_Anniversary_Event_2023).

For Artists:

1. Create at least one piece of new art that can’t have been posted anywhere else before this.

2. All visual art forms are welcome:

a ) Gifsets, at least 3 gifs.

b ) Aesthetic boards or moodboards, at least 4 images each.

c ) Drawing/painting, that is not a sketch.

For Authors:

1. At least 500 words.

2. Posted on Tumblr or AO3.

3. Can be part of a series, but should work as a standalone.

For Podficcers:

1. The podfic should at least be 10 minutes long.

2. It should be posted on either Tumblr or AO3.

3. The podfic can be of a fic made for the event, a fic not made for the event while still adhering to the prompt, or a notfic.

Things to be mindful of when creating:

For Sam

Avoid framing Sam only as a caretaker or emotional support for Bucky. Be mindful of Sam acting angry or aggressive in an out-of-character way and falling into the angry/sassy Black man trope (check out the MCU source material to help with character traits).

Avoid decentering Sam as a main character and refrain from focusing entirely on Bucky.

In art: avoid whitewashing Sam’s skin and research drawing Black characters.

General disclaimer: Race affects every aspect of his life, including interacting with police/government and the white structures of the world when it comes to performing his duties as Cap and simply being a Black man that lives in the U.S.

For Bucky

Avoid phrasing “flesh/normal/human hand” to refer to the contrast between his prosthetic arm and his right arm. The phrasing is ableist. You can simply refer to his prosthesis when relevant, otherwise use “right/left arm/hand”.

Specific Tags:

Avoid tags in AO3 like “Sam Wilson is a Gift”, “Sam Wilson is a Saint”, and "Bucky Needs a Hug".

Have fun and we look forward to your TFATWS Anniversary fics!

- The Mods

[twistedlovelines]

I'm here to feed the brainrot.

what about getting matching sets/themes with boys that already paint their nails?

In my head Lilia, Cater, Vil, Neige, Chenya and kalim already paint their nails (kalim wanted to match with his band mates)

Leona, Riddle, Azul, Silver and Rook paint theirs if there's a special occasion (Leona hates it but he's royalty so he has to keep up looks)

Ruggie, Idia, Trey, Deuce, Floyd, Jade and Jamil have experimented in the past with plain looks but ended up not liking nail polish because of how easy it chips ( Ruggie, Jamil, Jade and Trey due to work, Idia is a nail biter and Deuce and Floyd fight with their hands hands)

Ace and Epel are victims of toxic masculinity™️ 😔

Sebek get his nails to match Malmal

Malleus has black nails naturally so colouring them can be difficult

Jack doesn't like painting his nails because the way it reacts with his unique magic causes the paint to retract into his paw. Someone introduce him to coloured french tips asap.

(can I be 🔱 anon?)

YESSSSS U SEE THE VISION , , ,

tbh getting matching sets with the boys/getting their card suits on an accent nail (for the heartslabyul boys) would be so CUTE , , , there was a trend ab getting ur bf's tip as ur nail color and lowk. i think itd be so fun to do with them (french tip style, with their signature color as the accents) <333

yeah no i dont think rook/leona would paint their nails unless necessary LOL. rook bc the scent of nail polish is so strong and lingers even once a day has passed, and leona bc the scent makes him want to gag. i feel like silver would gladly has his done more often if ur offering to do them, though. he's just too sleepy to do them himself most of the time sdjk.

hm...jade does work but he's wearing gloves most of the time so i dont think he'd mind if you brought it up tbh? jamil might do them more often if you promise to do them on a weekly basis (since as long as u have a good base/topcoat, nails shouldn't chip too soon). i'm sure there's a magical topcoat/basecoat that prevents chipping, too!

ace and epel....unfortunate. however u can bait ace into doing it if u do deuce's (which would result in him bragging and egging on ace to do the same). he cannot stand deuce having so much of your time and attention in comparison to him its so stupid sdhbfj

malleus , ,, tbh you could do pretty iridescent colors, and so long as you have good quality nail polish, other solid colors should be able to show up fine on his nails!! i think he doesn't care as much about the color but seeing you put in so much focus and effort into his nails makes him feel a certain way , , ur putting ur claim on him, how could he say no?

OUGHHHHH ur right , , , gels would be a good solution for boys like jack/deuce who put their hands through more wear and tear, , , it would prevent chipping as well , ,, (however i do think doing deuce's nails on a daily basis is so cute and i think having a dremel near his hands would scare him a bit oIHSDOFHSD). plus gels/acrylics aren't super great for ur nails but we'll ignore it and assume a magical alternative doesn't cause damage LOL.

and yes you can be 🔱 anon <3

[findroleplay]

20+, looking for 20+ partners | hey all! i’m looking for some fandomless oc x oc plots. i’m open to all gender pairings and trans/nb-inclusive.

i would love to find someone interested in writing against my pirate captain (best for low fantasy, think a touch of magic and the supernatural) orrr my prince charming (i can squeeze him into just about any setting as long as there’s royalty involved.) both are men, and i’m happy to write them against any gender -- but if those two aren’t really calling to you, i have a ton of ocs that are begging to be fleshed out, so just ask and i’ll provide! i use art and descriptions for all of my characters btw, so keep that in mind before interacting.

if you couldn’t already tell, i love anything supernatural or fantasy-flavored. worldbuilding is my bread and butter, and i’m an absolute SUCKER for omegaverse, arranged marriage, and soulmates / fated pairs. the more drama, the more angst, the more self-indulgence, the better. i adore partners who are just as over the top as me, so don’t hold back! hit me with your best shot because i definitely want to hear it.

i’d prefer to take things at a medium pace with no pressure to reply asap. my muse is spontaneous, and i have a pretty busy schedule, so please don’t expect rapid-fire replies from me. i’m usually around to chat and plot and gush about brainrot, but sometimes my ic replies can take awhile. weekly replies are my goal, and you’re always welcome to nudge me! my usual replies are anywhere from 200-1k+ words, depending on my partner, the scene, etc.

open to nsfw and dark / mature themes. just know my heart is set on story with the potential for some spice. i write all roles, but i’m not into letting that dictate dynamics between characters and their personalities.

if you’re interested, just shoot me a dm and i’ll get back to you! 💜

_

[themerlinlibrary]

Favourites Friday (Jun 2024) – Secret Relationship

TML Favourites Friday round-up! June 2024 round 1

What is Favourites Friday? – The Basics

a different theme is announced on Friday each week; FF recs must match the theme of the week

only one FF rec per person per week/theme

FF recs must be unique within that week/theme; no double-posting the same fic for one theme!

no self-recs during regular rounds

only self-recs during self-rec rounds (last Friday of each month)

Theme for week 1: Secret Relationship!

We Might As Well Jump by Caledonia M, 27k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Gwen/Arthur Pendragon College/University AU

How (Not) to be a YouTuber: A Comprehensive Guide by Idiots by Imagined, Scarlet_Ribbons T, 7.9k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Youtuber AU

In for keeps by fifty_fifty E, 21k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Modern Royalty AU

Backdrifts by Lisztful E, 9.9k, Arthur/Merlin Canon Era

my daddy's got a gun (you better run) by orphan_account E, 1.6k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Historic American AU; Young Love

The Difference Between Night and Day by fifty_fifty E, 2.3k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Canon Divergence AU, Getting Together

All Bets On The Table by AnonDude Not Rated, 2.6k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Canon era

Touch In The Dark by TheCourtSorcerer T, 3.0k, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Canon Divergence AU, Established Relationship

A masterlist of all round-ups can be found here.

If you want to make sure you never miss a FF rec, or would like to participate and share your own favourites; join us on the Discord TheMerlinLibrary! Happy reading!

About the FF round-up lists:

Recs are listed in the order they were posted on the Discord; the order does not imply any sort of ranking.

The pairing given in this list is the main pairing of each respective fic – please read the tags for any possible minor or side-pairings, as well as any potential warnings or triggers.

Pairings and Eras are given as tagged in each respective fic. (?) signifies that the tags were unclear and I do not know enough about the fic to fill the gaps.

Round-ups are compiled on the weekend of the week after the respective theme of the post (when the new theme has already been anounced), to avoid omitting potentially belated FF recs.

The weekly round-up is not a guarantee! I'm running this alone, so it can only be posted for weeks when I have enough time on my hands to compile a list. If you'd like to help out, feel free to contact me on Tumblr ( @zaharya ) or Discord. Thanks to @ravenwilds for helping me out with these round-ups, and to Chel for making a whole-ass bot to ma

[the-resurrection-3d]

Decided to post the essay I wrote a few days ago. Of course, this isn't meant to shit on anyone, but to work through my feelings on TOH's themes and how I see the fandom working through them.

TOH has a very – let’s say uneasy relationship with its fantasy elements—or at least, that’s how the fandom has received them. I just saw someone talking about how Luz shouldn’t have gotten a Palisman of her own because she “doesn’t need to look any more like Azura,” considering that Luz’s whole thing at the beginning of the series was needing to better “tell fantasy from reality.” But I feel like that’s only getting half the point—the issue with not being able to tell fantasy from reality rests, as the series argues, with expecting the world to cater to you and then lashing out when it doesn’t.

The series makes this most clear with Belos, who rejects the traditional high fantasy genre signifiers as spiritual pollutants and yet is living in as much of a fantasy world as Luz was. “[He needs] to be the hero of his own delusion” locates Belos’s major flaw—in a character way and in a thematic way—in his refusal to see himself as just another part of the world, rather than its center. All of this is spoken to us directly by the embodiment of the Boiling Isles and its magic. This character flaw is then reinforced by how Belos gets defeated and starts rambling on about how humans are innately “better than this” Because Reasons.

I think part of this disconnect might be happening because we’re used to anti-escapist stories rejecting the fantasy world in its entirety. For example, Ready Player One ends with the reveal that the creator of the VR world—it was called the OASIS, wasn’t it?—regretted not spending enough time in the “real world,” and the main character rectifies this by enforcing a weekly one-day service outage. Even though the book explores reasons why people would want to escape into the VR fantasy, including escaping the confines of marginalized identity categories like gender and race, it still asserts that you’re missing out by leaving the “real world” behind. I think also of modern fantasy stories with creatures like vampires and werewolves that bend over backwards to justify why being a human is still totally the best option— “Be glad of your human heart, Feyre,” and so on. Even in series where the human main character becomes inhuman, it’s often through force—characters like Feyre and Elena Gilbert are killed and then revived as monsters, but only Bella Swan actively wants to become one. (It really is the equal-but-opposite response to the question Robert McRuer says is asked of disabled people IRL in his article about compulsory able-bodiedness: “Yeah, but in the end, wouldn’t you rather be like me?” In both cases—whether disabled or super-abled—the normate, abled, “regular” human position has to be reinforced as the ideal.)

And let’s be real, it’s all cope. We can agree it’s just cope, right? But even besides that, I think we also need to keep in mind that, contrary to what internet discourse would have you believe, subverting tropes is not good writing in and of itself — subversion and deconstruction need to be ways of creating meaning within the work, rather than the meaning itself.

I think, then, we can see TOH’s conversation with escapism from s1 to s3 as a way of asking, “What parts of our childhood should we keep?” In Luz’s case, like in many of our own childhoods, the fantasy elements are from the actual fantasy genre because Luz wants to imagine a bigger life for herself than Earth allows, one that is scary and dangerous but in the end still caters to her/us. (See also Freud’s concept of the family romance, wherein a child dreams that their parents aren’t their “real” parents and that their “real” parents are magic space fairy royalty who will one day reclaim their child and everything will be awesome forever.)

In episodes like “Witches Before Wizards,” these genre signifiers provide Luz with a set kind of “script” for how she believes interactions should go—the disappointment and restlessness she feels in the episode is from the fact that it’s not catered to her just because she’s there, in a similar way that Belos believes humans are better just Because They Are. Worth noting that even in that episode, the “reality” Luz needs to learn to accept is still based in a fantasy setting—signaling that the word “fantasy” in “differentiate fantasy from reality” should not be about the genre or the act of consuming fantasy in and of itself. Season three then literalizes this with The Collector turning people into puppets and acting out “The Owl House” as a game with suffering participants.

Conversely, season three adds more nuance by revealing that Luz’s hyperfixation stems from her relationship with her father. The season does a lot to explore the relationship-building potential of fiction, from Amity suggesting her and Luz dress as Hecate and Azura to the reveal that Camila is a secret Trekkie.

A fellow autistic person once described their special interest not just as something they’re obsessed with, but as part of how they processed the world. We can see this kinda play out in Camila’s conversation with Luz right before Stringbean hatches: she says she has forgotten the “Astral Oath” and responds to Luz’s question of her being a “secret nerd” with the admission that she shouldn’t have let her own fears of and experiences with being non-conforming compel her to try and change Luz. The Astral Oath and how it played out within Cosmic Frontier provided a framework for Camila that she admits she should have followed: “My biggest mistake was trying to protect you by changing this beautiful, good witch into something she wasn’t.” The best things about Luz are also the things that make her more drawn to the fantasy genre.

The rampant egoism of the genre should be left behind, the show says, but not the good lessons and the relationships you’ve built from it.

This anti-egoism does, of course, run up against the fact that Luz is still the main character. If Luz getting a Palisman makes her too much like Azura and therefore undermines the message, then honestly I don’t see how the final battle itself isn’t just a colossal fuck-up. Not even in the sense that Luz got Titan magic, which I have seen people say is now suddenly Luz being A Chosen One all along, but in the sense that Luz straight up shouldn’t have been in the final battle at all. (Honestly, if you want YA with a good anti-egoism message imparted through its structure, you’re looking for Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War—book, not movie.)

I said on Twitter while I was reading Charlie Ledbetter’s “The Dysphoric Body Politic” that TOH has an interesting relationship with its escapism messaging because Luz DOES leave the human world. Even though she had to finish high school in the human world, the finale makes it clear that she’s been putting all of her spare energy and labor into the literal rebuild of the Boiling Isles. She entirely gives up on making a life for herself on Earth.

This isn’t super surprising, (I was always sure it would happen) but I do think it’s where the uneasiness—the messiness—between TOH and its genre comes into play. Yes, Luz needed to dial back her daydreaming and yes, her being in the demon realm ultimately led to it almost being destroyed, but it still is the worst possible ending if she doesn’t get to stay there.

In the article, Ledbetter, a transmasc who discovered themselves through fandom, writes that “Escapism is not a departure from reality. Rather, escape decenters the hegemony of oppressive systems that announce themselves as real and creates space to imagine alternatives.” And yet within the show, it’s a closed circuit—the threat to diversity and self-expression comes from the human realm, and yet there is no attempt to save it. Ledbetter, writing of fandom’s political potential, suggests using fanfic to imagine alternatives specifically so we can give ourselves the drive to try and enact them in the real world.

TOH’s sister show, Amphibia, gives us a taste of this in its finale: in the ten years since the Calamity Trio has left, the once-evil king lives out his final days planting seeds, and the girls themselves are dedicated to either educating others or creating art. They honor the memories of their childhood fantasy—Sasha with two crossing swords as a patch on her jacket and a charm dangling from her rearview mirror, Anne with her entire career—but the portal is closed. It’s not coming back.

Given everything TOH does in season three to reaffirm the value of fantasy as a lifelong interest, though, I think what it wanted to avoid suggesting, like a lot of traditional portal stories do, that the fantasy world is the world of childhood and needs to be escaped. Aslan tells Peter and Susan, after all, that they’re getting too old for Narnia. Peter and his siblings return there only in death; Susan isn’t so lucky. If Luz shouldn’t have gotten a Palisman, something which symbolizes she’s discovered a fundamental truth about herself and has “earned” her place as a Witch, then honestly she shouldn’t have been able to come back to the Boiling Isles, either. How many of us would've been happy with that?

If we want to square this with the show’s politics, I think we can read this as the show saying that, yes, there are some things you have to do as a child, but once you’re free, you aren’t obligated to stay with the society and people who won’t ever see you for who you are. In a way, Luz going back and forth between the human and demon realms parallels the teenage fantasy fan, making space in their lives for fandom as a place of joy and connection after all the boring hard “adult” work is done for the day. You don’t have to leave it behind; building outside of the system and making your life centered around your joy is hard work, yes, but worth doing.

[thepupperino]

Weekly Tag Wednesday

Hi last week @creepkinginc and @deedala tagged me in this fun music-themed tag game. And yeah maybe I’m a week late, but I was on a plane and then in a foreign country and now I’m sitting in an airport.

Name: Keely

What is the most listened to artist in your music app of choice this month? How do you people know this?? I don’t know but last.fm says my top track is “Like a Villain” by Bad Omens.

What song do you know all of the lyrics to? “Oops I Did It Again” was the first song I consciously learned the lyrics to.

What song do you pretend to know all the lyrics to and sing along to even though you don't? Honestly most of them because I can’t understand a darn thing people say.

If you were to be crowned Queen/King/Royalty of listening to a band or artist, who would that be? I’ll take the Motionless in White crown.

What band/artist surprises you the most on your frequently listened to artists? I don’t know that I am surprised by any of them.

Favorite line from a song (or one you have been thinking about lately)? AH this is so much pressure. “Espresso” has been stuck in my head, especially “I’m working late, ‘cause I’m a singerrrr.”

Guilty pleasure band or song? I’m not even guilty about it, play this song at my funeral.

Okay let's talk fandom music:

Fave band or song you've discovered from a Fan Fic? I did not discover “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” from CG, but now I associate those two things together.

Fave Fanfic Playlist? I can’t just answer everything with CG.

Fave Gallavich song? Stop I have a playlist.

Do you listen to music recommended by the writer or an included playlist? Yes usually.

What song do you think is Gallavich coded? Half of Taylor Swift’s discography and “Treacherous” is stuck in my head.

What’s a bop you want to share with your mutuals today? I already shared the greatest of all bops above, you’re welcome ☺️

[mckinleyhq]

another week has come and gone !! thank you to everyone for your participation this week, i am so excited about how many of you posted as part of the weekly theme task fill and i love, love, love to see the dash moving every day !!

new members.

during our fourth week open, we welcomed one new member pari who brought us keke akana - we're so excited to have you in our group and we are having so much fun getting to know your muse and you !!

weekly tasks & events.

this week was homecoming week and our first ever spirit week at the school, which means we had daily tasks and mini-events to celebrate !!

our fourth weekly task & glee club assignment was posted, and homecoming was a huge success !! as always you can find all of the task fills for this week on the inspiration blog & on the discord server in the appropriate channels !!

we hosted another successful ask wednesday this week, thank you to everyone who participated !!

we saw spirit week on the dash this week, with daily events and tasks including pajama day, meme day, wayback day, jersey day & squad day !!

we also saw the school split into teams, and hosted several mini pop up tasks & challenges, resulting in the red team's victory - congratulations to the red team who will attend a private party hosted at breadstix in the upcoming week !!

on saturday, the homecoming dance took place, and we hosted an weekend-long official event on our discord server, with huge member participation !!

we nominated homecoming royals, and the top nominees campaigned for homecoming king and queen. in a tight race & tighter vote, sam evans beat out sebastian smythe, alongside his date ali vogel who beat out her best friend kitty wilde, becoming our homecoming king & queen !!

we had two birthdays this week - hunter clarington & tina cohen-chang - best wishes to both of them !!

important links.

mhqinspo › homecoming task round up & tag

mhqinspo › glee assignment tag & tag

mhqinspo › social media round ups

mhqinspo › week three edits tag

mckinleyhq › homecoming royalty

roleplay notices.

we have a new theme posted, thanks to everyone who helped with feedback on the main !!

check out the wordles created for our mini-tasks this week › one / two

open starter round up

here are all the open starters that were posted during this week, feel free to check it out again and reply to any open starters with less notes - this will be a weekly practice !!

ali vogel › is not happy about her homecoming nomination !!

catrina clark › is really into the homecoming spirit !!

hunter clarington › is not a fan of pajama day !!

keke akana › got a little too into meme day !!

kyle christopherson › thinks football is homoerotic !!

rachel berry › posted a lot and didn't even give us a tl;dr !!

sebastian smythe › is running for homecoming court !!

[ngkiscool]

Happy end of the year, and welcome to the new one, with an even longer list than usual!

This time is also the last weekly edition, as I'm running out of ideas for themes. Thanks a million for the people who helped along the way, this could have not have happen without their support.

Appropriately, the theme this week all about soft and happy endings. SFW, the description includes rating, word count and main characters.

Tracy's Thursdays by @edosianorchids901 - rated G, 2.5K - focusing on Sergeant Shadwell and Madame Tracy. Summary: Tracy enjoys having a break from seances every Thursday, but that’s not why it’s her favorite day. The real reason involves her sworn enemy and a little weekly meet up. And maybe in the future, every day will feel like Thursday.

He's Not What He Says He Is by 221b_ee - rated G, 1K - focusing on Anathema Device and Newton Pulsifer. Summary: they're royalty from opposite warring kingdoms who are doing the whole treaty signed with marriage thing. also they're lesbians and newt is trans. nuff said.

Wants by @fenrislorsrai - rated G, 495 words - focusing on Anathema Device and Newton Pulsifer. Summary: Staying up late and calling her mother instead of sleeping is a good way for Anathema to give herself an existential crises. Can tea possibly fix this?

Zen and the art of making pasta by ngk_is_cool - rated G, 2.8K - focusing on Anathema Device and Newton Pulsifer. Summary: With the first anniversary of the almost apocalypse fast approaching, Newt is trying to impress Anathema. Will making a homemade meal, using the machine her ancestor Pasta invented, be as successful as he hopes?

Don't Eat the Kids by dreamsofspike - rated G, 1.7K - focusing on Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifer and Gabriel. Summary: Descent Into Perdition universe. Anathema and Newt take Gabriel on an outing. Nothing to see here but sweetness and fluff <3 ;) For Ace who wanted Newt/Gabe friendship and ... goats <3 :)

Pillows by @brokencasbutt67-writer​ - rated G, 500 words - focusing on Gabriel and Beelzebub. Summary: number 32 of the fluff dialogue prompts: i got us new pillows.

Small by Phoenix_of_Athena - rated G, 496 words - focusing on Adam Young, Sarah Young and Deirdre Young. Summary: There's a nest of baby birds in Adam Young's back garden.

Swap by ChokolatteJedi - rated G, 446 words - focusing on Adam Young, Pepper and Dog. Summary Pepper is upset about her bike. Adam thinks he has an obvious solution.

Theological Botany: A Study of a Fallen Houseplant by chlodobird - rated G, 1.4K - focusing on Crowley and Crowley’s plants. Summary: We've all seen the headcanon that Crowley simply makes Scary Noises to assert dominance and them takes his spotted, imperfect plants to another room where they're his "Fallen". Anyway, I noodled on that concept a bit. It's pretty much what it says on the tin. What would one of Crowley's houseplants think of him?

The Creation of the Earth… (and balloons) by Zab43 - rated G, 2.5K - focusing on Gabriel, Uriel, Michael, Sandalphon, Ligur, Hastur, Beelzebub, Crowley and Aziraphale. Summary: In the beginning God started the creation… Six days is a pretty tight work-schedule for creating the whole earth…How did they manage it?

Hell's Kitchen by Shae_C - rated T, 347 words - focusing on Hastur and Ligur (plus art!) Summary: When your husband makes a new poison for humanity Just Right!!

Strange and Perfect by Vecieminde - N/R, 12K - focsuing on Beelzebub,  Gabriel, Aziraphale, Crowley, Adam Young, Pepper, Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifer, Madame Tracy, Sergeant Shadwell, Wensleydale and Brian. Summary: Love always has had a place in Tadfield. 15 years after the apocalypse, Adam and Pepper are getting married. Heaven and Hell meet up once again, but perhaps this time Tadfield can work its magic and things don’t go pear shaped. It is mid-July and the moon will shine brightly on those in love.

So Damn Beautiful by crystallØnyx (dremma) - N/R, 554 words - focusing on Pollution and War. Summary: Some romantic hand-holding by the river. :)

Too Sad for Pants by Libbyfay - rated T, 4.2K - focusing on Warlock Dowling, Thaddeus J. Dowling, Aziraphale and Crowley. Summary:  “Hey, you wanna go out in the garden and see Brother Francis?” Warlock peeked above his arms, and Crowley held up the trousers, temptingly. On sudden impulse, Warlock kicked at his Nanny, catching the offending clothing around one leg and flailing till the trousers were whipped from her hands. “Impressive,” Crowley admitted. “Too sad!”  The boy said, despairingly. “You’re too sad? Too sad for what, Hellspawn?”

Bonus - master list with all past recommendations!    

Ideas, suggestions, requests and feedback on how to proceed next year are more than welcome, feel free to DM me here or on discord (ngk#1140).

Thanks for reading, and remember - sharing is caring!

[hmshermitcraft]

(chipper inspired me so youre getting more royal skizzlepulse)

Diplomacy sucked.

Prince Skizz was practically slumped over his leg of lamb at dinner, bored out of his mind already (and the company hadn’t even gotten here yet). His mother had already corrected his posture twice and it hadn’t even been ten minutes. Still, if this went on any longer, Skizz was really considering dimming his halo and faking food poisoning. He didn’t really care about the rival kingdom finally agreeing to meet with his. He wanted to go see what other castle walls he could scale without getting caught.

And then the dining hall doors swung open.

And good God, that’s a really gorgeous demon prince.

-🦔

Skizz doesn't take in a single word said the whole evening, and his mother has to correct his posture another three times. This time because he keeps unconsciously leaning towards the prince. He might as well be magnetic with how Skizz is attracted to him.

And then, whilst they all mingle afterwards, the prince introduces himself. And he has a nervous giggle, and rubs the back of his neck, and oh no he's so cute. How is Skizz supposed to negotiate this?!

These talks have to succeed. He won't survive being so far apart from Impulse for the rest of his life.

[fell-court]

Yesterday and possibly the day before’s gameplay progress because I forgot to make a post yesterday and I’m not sure if I made one the day before:

I made it to level 90 as a summoner!!! And also scholar, technically, but it’s not as if I’ve ever actually played as that. Due to having gotten so many pieces of level 90 gear from my retainers going on quick explorations, I’m already at an average item level of 560 as both classes, which is second only to the 565 I have as a dancer (and the 620 as a weaver, technically, but that one isn’t a combat class)! Not bad considering I don’t have access to any level 90 content yet, haha =P

I now only have black mage and reaper left to level out of the main classes I’ve been focusing on (I think they’re both level 88, perhaps even approaching 89), and I can still use the main story to level both of them quite effectively, which is both exciting and somewhat unfortunate in terms of feeling like I’m wasting that story quest experience once I do get to the level cap.

Now that I’ve reached level 90 as a caster class, though, I can finally wear my ornate rinascita jacket of casting that I’ve had for literal months thanks to Wondrous Tails certificates! This inspired me to make a fancier summoner glamour - but I’m still very attached to the demon skirt + caller’s sandals combination that I’ve been wearing as a summoner for so long now, so I ended up spending a long time in glamour hell trying things out to reach a happy medium.

This is what i eventually ended up going with - I like to think it still works as a top half that can be worn with the bottom half! I think I’ll save the rinascita coat for when I reach level 90 as a black mage, since it fits Lorenza’s princess/royalty theme very well, but I am at least still wearing it right now as far as others see in the game, which is neat.

Anyway, where were we?

Regarding the story, I’m currently at the first level 86 quest, and part of me is tempted to try and make a lot of progress over this weekend, so I can get through it in bigger chunks. I think I might be able to do it all in one weekend if my Shadowbringers progression was anything to go by, but it would be very dependent on cutscene length - I’m just quite aware of how the story will start to pick up the pace, and so I don’t want to have to stop playing due to time constraints at a point where it doesn’t feel right to pause the plot, if that makes sense.

I really need to start bringing red mage up through the levels as well, I’ve realised. And maybe machinist, but I don’t really remember how to play as that at this point, even if it is level 70. In theory it might make sense to try and push to level 86 as a red mage and then let the story bring it the rest of the way, but that would mean both a lot of level grinding and also having to delay story progression. If nothing else, at least I can use it for levelling up the Trust avatars, since I haven’t really touched that system yet!

In terms of weekly things.. I’m still working on my Wondrous Tails for this week, and I went to the Doman enclave to hand in donations only to get completely distracted by glamour stuff (as you can see by where I’m standing in that screenshot from before), so.. I need to actually sort that next time I log on, haha.

[airctrl]

Been reading webcomics on Webtoon and tapas! Here are some thoughts :

- Tripp by KotaBlickie

I found this comic through the Parasomnia OCT! When I figured out that one of the judges has an original comic of their own I had to check it out.. and it does not disappoint HOHOO I love me some space adventures. The characters are so fresh and lively! With a non-binary mc!!! :D

- The Weekly Roll by CME-T

I’m trying to get into DND at some point and this comic really brings into perspective how being in a campaign is! Its humor is so snarky and the helmet Beckett guy is hilarious. the comments had people referencing Monty Python. It feels at home…

- Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell by unfins

I remember reading this years ago and I just finished it… the serious plot that’s right there with the overpowering comedy is something I fall for because the expressions/jokes in it made me audibly laugh so many times. Plus I love demons and the designs are sick.

- Don’t Worry Teri Blokhin by Bioatomic

I gotta say this is that one webcomic that made me motivated to create my own. I’ve been following this comic for a long time and seeing new updates come in makes my day! The object heads are S-tier. I love EVERYONE in this comic wtf, especially Sputnik. Also Gram. he’s a scummy asshole but I can’t not love a believable character. The depth put in the characters is so cool to see because learning how things are connected is the most satisfying part of stories for me. I can tell there’s so much in store for this world and it’s inspiring.

- Sparks by Revel

This is such a cute comic I just started to read! (despite its mature themes lol) the banquet scene near the beginning is so warm and the dynamic between the humans and satyrs is so interesting. The world-building is so easy to follow and the little chibi pages explaining how magic worked are so cute and informative!! Plus the royalty and fruitiness going on is 10/10. When I realized that the comic was only starting after reading deep into it made me so excited!

- TRINITY by stillindigo

Characters are SOO cool…. dystopian class conflict stories are the best because you can have that Sleek and seemingly Perfect but controlling government setting and that more chaotic and rough underground setting that creates that SCRUMPTIOUS contrast between characters. So awesome…. & I love Frannie and her dad they are so adorable!

~~~~~~

I think from all the inspiration here I’ve gathered I’m going to finally write out a structure of what my webcomic is going to be like since I recently changed up a plot point. It's called plantverse!

I’ll probably never find a stable upload schedule in the next few years but the leisure in it is the best part :) doing something of my own will… crazy.. My art below!

I might follow up on this with other webcomics I've read!

[tivis014]

It’s #MunsterMonday and that means Myke and myself are diving into another Munsters Today episode! Today we talk about A Little Russian Dressing! Grandpa wins 3 wishes and immediately wasted two of them nearly ruining a woman’s life in the process. So just another Saturday night for him.

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[netherworldwritersguild]

Weekly Roundup April 28 2024

I've decided I don't want to spend $300 per year on a website builder, so I'll do a weekly roundup here for free on Tumblr.

Check out all the new books from indie and small press authors on Readers Roost.

If you're looking for a line/copy editor and proofreader for a project, click the cost-effective editing and book reviews link at the top of the blog. I currently have openings for new projects in May, but these close quickly. My contact information is in the post if you're interested in booking me for a future project.

The April PAD Challenge/NaPoWriMo are coming to an end for this year. I have poetry prompt posts to inspire you. I need to get my submissions ready for Soul Ink 2. The deadline is April 30. If you have poems you'd like to submit, head to the Dragon Soul Press website to learn more.

They are also accepting submissions for this year's horror drabble anthology with a deadline of May 31, and you can learn more about their forthcoming short story anthologies for this year and next year.

I've been working on a Lovecraftian fantasy fairy story starring my OG OC Yadira Root (Nyarlathotep's daughter with Queen Nathicana) and had been hoping to submit it to the Trickster anthology. However, if I don't think it's up to scratch, I'll submit it to next year's fairy-themed anthology.

You can check out my story (written as C. L. Hart) Of Outer Gods and Fallen Angels in the brand-new Fallen anthology. This is primarily a tale of platonic friendship, but there is also a star-crossed lovers arc.

Of course, there are many other wonderful stories in the anthology as well.

I almost forgot to mention that I've finished the A to Z Challenge for this year. Now I need to stop being a socially awkward little fucker and pay some of the other participants a visit. I also need to revive my promotional efforts. This year started off a bit shaky as far as my mental well-being was concerned.

Follow me here for updates and other good/weird stuff.

Ornery Owl Has Spoken

Free use image by Tamgra on Pixabay