batteredoptimist

[batteredoptimist]

[ooc]

[[ Well hello! Surgery went really well! I'm still in recovery, but I'm hopeful about a lot of things right now and itching to get back to my blog. Don't mind me while I get to dusting things off around here. :) Going to be updating my pages, theme, and just about everything else.

There's a high likelihood I'll take this as a completely fresh start and drop any ongoing threads I have. I truly hope this doesn't upset anyone. It's not because I don't enjoy our writing, but after the last few months I think I just need a hard reset. I still value and appreciate all of you for being for me here through the ups and downs of the last year. All of your support has been absolutely monumental. <3 Here's to 2024 being better for all of us. ]]

#tw: medical #[ooc]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ Two years and counting. :) You're getting all of my return-scmoop about this wonderful post on Discord right this second- but I'll say here that I genuinely adore the fact that one tiny thread 4 years ago started an avalanche that I hope never stops! ]]

𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 @batteredoptimist​ —

      Two years ago today, we started talking nonstop every day and it just... didn’t stop. It didn’t stop when Westley and Muriel decided that they needed a whole server for their lemons, and it didn’t change when the server grew to 300+ threads, over 100 new characters, and the greatest stories that I’ve ever told and been a part of in my life. We’ve been a part of each other’s life in a big way for two years now — not counting the three extra years of me being awkward. Sometimes, I sit here and think of how it’s strange how the world works, and when it chooses to bring people who will change your life forever into the picture. Oftentimes I wonder why I hadn’t met you sooner, or when things weren’t so hard — and then I think of how amazing it is that I met you at all.

       When you asked me about my sailor lad a couple years ago, I had no idea my life was about to change course. Having you in my life has been like — breathing magic. There are no words that I can give to you to tell you how much I cherish the existence of you and of James and Muriel and Rosie and Romana and all of the countless others. How many people can say that they get to live their childhood dream with their best friend and partner-in-crime/writing? Every day I wake up and get to write — I get to go on absolutely lovely, wild, magical adventures with this person who matters so dearly to me every time we start a story. I cherish every single moment we’ve been in each other’s lives, I adore our stories, and I am invested in your characters and their adventures just as much as I am my own.

       I know that I sap a lot — but I don’t know if you truly know how profoundly you matter to me. How much I appreciate you and your existence and your presence in my life. There simply is no other Nonny. You’re my Sam (and I would like to be your Sam, too!). I would journey from the Shire to Mordor with you — and you’ve already done so for me. I still feel as though I didn’t deserve you in my life for the longest — but I am trying every single day to learn and grow and bring you a bit of the magic that you’ve brought to my life. And maybe that’s the journey — but I’m so grateful for every moment I get to share with you — even if the distance is a bit unfortunate for IRL adventures. I am always, always on your side for every single adventure, and I will always be cheering you on even in those adventures that I’m not as much a part of.

       You are a wonderful, kind, compassionate human being and you are an old soul just like our dear James. I still see him in you every day, he’s never gone and never far because he lives in your great big soft and caring heart. You also have so much creative talent and passion that it absolutely blows me away — from your love of animation, to your gorgeous art, your world-building, your characters, the whole of it. It means so, so much to me that I’ve gotten to be a part of your creative adventures. And on that note — can you believe it? We’ve written 40 novels worth of words? Over three million now? Seven thousand pages? I love our stories. I adore that it’s you that I get to share them with.

       Thank you so much for being here. For being you. For sharing your magic and kindness and care. For your patience with me. For our stories. For your consistency. For being able to translate me. For giving me the benefit of the doubt. For the flowerpots and adventures. I hope with all of my heart to keep growing into flowerpots with you until we’re old and have been friends forever and have three hundred Discord servers worth of writing, and many adventures (both with the characters and with us, too!) It’s so amazing to me that our creativity together seems so limitless — and despite life throwing a million curve-balls at both of us on the regular, we’re still here because it matters. I’m over here tearing up like a goof. You deserve all of the good things, okay? And I want to be around to see them all. 

      I adore you. I adore James, and Muriel, and Rosie, and Romana. I adore our time. I adore that you're in my life. Happy second year of adventures — I can’t wait to see what the third brings. Hopefully all of the good things, as are much deserved. Either which way — I’m happy to be on this journey with you. Hold that boat, I'm coming with you! ♡

#[save tag]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ So I think it's become pretty apparent that I've been slowing down here. Unfortunately it's not for lack of enjoyment, but this year in particular has been pretty wild. I've had to pivot more times than I can count and and haven't had a whole lot of spare time.

If you've stuck around with me this long, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you. :) I've been writing James since 2017- and I don't quite plan on stopping just yet. After the holidays, I'm going to go ahead and do a full blog refresh with new threads, new info, and even a couple of new characters! My hope is to bring in the new year with the spirit of creativity in mind.

Until then I'll hunker down for now on hiatus. You all take care of yourselves, and seriously- THANK YOU to everyone who has written with me over the past six years. I deeply appreciate you all and I hope to keep doing so with you soon! <3 ]]

#[ooc] #[ psa ]

[batteredoptimist]

plops herself on Muriel's lap

There is not a creature alive that could possibly blame him when Muriel's hands find their way up to grasp Niamh's lovely backside. Not a single goddamn one.

"Well hello there, pretty."

#c.muriel #intothewildsea #m.asks

[batteredoptimist]

#[murielaesthetic]

[batteredoptimist]

November Morning by fathero9 on Flickr.

#[jamesaesthetic]

[batteredoptimist]

A memory, imperfectly framed, 12.12.2022

#[jamesaesthetic]

[batteredoptimist]

"Good boy." ⛓️❤️⛓️

Happy Birthday, Mariano! @lovepurposed

#lovepurposed #c.mariano #c.romana #[[ she's just uh ]] #[[ helping him tie his tie ]] #[[ yuuuuup ]] #nsfw-ish #[art]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ Final reblog :) ]]

[[ Hello hello! Anyone interested is invited to like this starter call. :) Please specify which of my characters you'd like in the comments- otherwise I'll pick who I think would interact best with your character. People I already have threads with are also welcome to interact. ]]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ Hello hello! Anyone interested is invited to like this starter call. :) Please specify which of my characters you'd like in the comments- otherwise I'll pick who I think would interact best with your character. People I already have threads with are also welcome to interact. ]]

#[starter call] #[[ posting again for more exposure :) ]]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ Hello hello! Anyone interested is invited to like this starter call. :) Please specify which of my characters you'd like in the comments- otherwise I'll pick who I think would interact best with your character. People I already have threads with are also welcome to interact. ]]

#[starter call]

[batteredoptimist]

[[ Hello hello! So I've noticed some new followers. Hi to all of you! I'm excited to get some interactions going. Probably tomorrow I'll be posting a starter call. :) It's been a weird year so thank you so much to everyone for sticking through it with me! ]]

#[ooc]

[batteredoptimist]

Fantasia (1940) “The Nutcracker Suite” dir. Samuel Armstrong

#[jamesaesthetic]

[batteredoptimist]

Early on this day 3 years ago out near the lake.

Edit: I may be wrong about the year on this.

#[jamesaesthetic]

[batteredoptimist]

@collidingxworlds from [x]

James’ answer seems to be enough to soothe Crowley’s mounting paranoia and demon nods along with the words, showing his approval. After the accidental encounter with a blessed object he has just had, he is ready to not have to deal with anything of the sort at least for the rest of the year.

“Better that way. Far from me to generalise, but most of those so called men of faith? They are definitely not the saints they want people to believe they are,” he claims, not without a hint of distaste. He doesn’t care that James might deduce that he has a dislike for the clergy and for religion in general. Atheist are a thing, after all. “You should consider yourself lucky, being allowed to live your life without ever being bothered by them.”

Someone could argue that he, as a demon, is biased, and for obvious reasons. Crowley himself knows that it’s true and he won’t waste time denying it, but his antipathy is born more out of his personal experience with said men of faith than from his personal prejudices.

His companion chooses that moment to speak up once again, preventing him from starting to rant on the subject. As frustrating as it feels, it’s probably for the best. The Serpent is aware of his tendency to slip in a little too much information when he runs his mouth, and he has already made too many missteps that morning.

“Yeah, well…Of course. I might come off as a bloody jerk at times, but I am one only with the people who ask for it,” he replies in a more casual tone, following the words with a shrug. He distractedly realises that the road they are on is familiar. They must be close to the shoppe. And that’s good news, because the longer they wait, the more his burns will heal and he wouldn’t know how to explain that to James.

His expression, however, quickly becomes darker and distant, as his mind travels back in time, towards events that have taken place centuries before.

“I can respect a curious mind, even if…At times asking questions can lead you to your death sentence. Literally or metaphorically. It makes you wonder if they are worth the trouble or not, don’t you think?”

His voice is so quiet towards the end that his companion is probably forced to strain his ears to be able to hear his words. The gloomy shadow that has fallen on the demon, however, is gone as quickly as it has appeared as the building where James’ shop is comes into view.

“Home, sweet home!” Crowley exclaims, with renewed energy, as he speeds up his steps, forcing the other to do the same. “Finally! Let’s make this quick, I have unfinished business to take care of.”

Catching the tone in Crowley's voice, James looks up with a concerned furrow in his brow. Even only just getting to know the fellow, James had assumed that the fellow's proclivity towards independence would naturally include flagrantly questioning authority. However there is something in the way he talks about it that suggests there is a painful past there. Perhaps some consequence to his own curiosity.

Of course this is all only speculation. At the end of the day James hardly knows Crowley at all- which is strange because he feels quite comfortable around him. Though he likes people, James often feels like he has to think awfully hard about what he's saying around them. There are so many things he still doesn't understand in his limited time of being an official part of society, and people are far less inclined to be understanding with someone of his age about it. James isn't bitter about it- but he wonders now if he and Crowley might have more in common than he'd thought.

That notion might have evolved even further if it were not for Crowley suddenly propelling them forward. With a soft yelp James finds himself running to keep up, and he's out of breath from keeping up with Crowley's long legs by the time they make it to the door. He takes a moment to fumble for his key- shocked out of daydreams and back into the present- and chuckles dazedly as he gets the old heavy door open.

"Goodness, it sounds like that wound might be more painful than you've let on, Mr. Crowley! But not to worry, I've got all sorts of good poultices for burns..."

James doesn't pause to take off his coat. Rather, he gestures his new friend towards a chair and goes straight for one of the cabinets, where he pulls out a blood red pot. His next stop is to fill a metal basin of wire and grab some gauze.

"Make yourself at home, please- I wont' be but a moment!" There might be more cheer than usual in his voice. Not because he wants to see Crowley hurt, but because this is his one opportunity to pay the fellow back.

#[[ starting fresh posts since legacy died]] #[[ last post is in there for context! ]] #[[ I just realized weve had this thread for like 2 years!! ]] #collidingxworlds #v.fantasy #c.james

[batteredoptimist]

@imprvdente from [x]

Her eyes couldn’t help but follow the motion of his arms as he reached for her basket, grabbing a few berries and popping them in his mouth. At his question, she jolted, realizing he’d gotten even closer to her.

A trade. With a faye? 

Giving him something had been bad enough. But an exchange? That sounded worse, right? She blinked too quickly, eyes quickly darting to the basket of fruits to avoid his glance. What sort of things did she desire? 

No. No, she couldn’t reply to that. She couldn’t trust him! Her father had warned her, and yet she had not listened to his words! Now, she was certainly in trouble. 

Just watching her, James can tell that this lass is wise. The others of his kind have spoken extensively of humans and their greed- how easy they are to manipulate. Some do it for a laugh and some do it to teach a cruel lesson. James isn't so certain yet what he wants, but what he does know is he doesn't have the heart to bring harm to this lass. If anything, this interaction alone is entertainment enough.

Sneakily James plucks up another berry as the girl thinks, and she does look a mite concerned now. Maybe she's heard stories of the not so friendly Fey. Truthfully, it would be unwise of her to trust him. Though he may not be the bloodthirsty sort, it's never a good idea to start thinking you can just walk up to a Fey and start haggling with them.

"I must admit-" James says with his smile turning warmer, "That I'm not exactly the most powerful creature here. My magic tends to extend towards flora, more than anything. But if I were to make a suggestion? I could create a rose bush for you that never wilts in winter. Or-! You could tell me your favorite mushroom and I could ensure there would always be a patch of it that grows for you."

#[[ once again let me apologize for falling off the face of the planet LOL ]] #[[ new post with old reply for context :) ]] #imprvdente #c.james #v.stolen child

[batteredoptimist]

@toodamnloyal from [x]

“At least you’ve got the sense to join up with the professionals instead of running off into the wild all on your own.” Theo said, thinking about the number of excursions he’d personally seen go wrong – even the professional ones. Personally, he still wasn’t certain what was so enthralling about plants. Then again, a lot of people would wonder what was so attractive about the ocean too, especially to a guy who couldn’t swim and even if he was a fey creature – was a distinctly land non-aquatic bird.

Theo stood and balanced easily as the train began to slow during its approach to the station. He rested a hand on an overhead railing and tilted his head to the side. “That…doesn’t really sound all that appealing.” He ventured. The short question brought to mind an image of someone having pieces missing, or aging and crumbling apart, then regrowing from slimy seaweed muck. Theo shivered. “No, bizarre doesn’t do that credit.” The fey was still shaking the horrifying pictures out of his head when the train shuddered to a stop so he stepped back to give James room to stand up as well.

“You’ve got some bags up here, right?” He asked and reached for the racks over their heads to look for something that might belong to the botanist. “Are we going to need to find you any kind of special equipment to being with?” Theo wondered, and worried, about how much space might be taken up on the already cramped quarters of a Coast Guard cutter by special botany supplies.

Suffice to say, James is quite content with his decision to travel with professionals as well. While he wouldn't consider himself a coward, he isn't the sort of person to over estimate his abilities. Over the years of dealing with his Wanders and absent mindedness he's been forced to learn the importance of adaptation, and sometimes that means relying on people who know better than him. Pride has nothing to do with it, luckily.

Unable to help himself, James laughs apologetically as Theo succumbs to his macabre mental offering. He stands as well, albeit with a fair bit less grace than his companion, and looks up towards the luggage racks. A porter had helped him load his things in, as they'd just been a mite too tall for James to reach.

"Yes, I've just got a couple of bags." A duffel with his private effects and, of course, the padded case containing his microscope and it's supplies. That one is unfortunately quite heavy, and James drifts closer in his eagerness to help- though he's jostled easily about by the train as it slowly lumbers to a halt.

"Luckily botany is quite the old fashioned profession." As each bag comes down James is quick to help ease their descent- though he huffs a bit under the weight of hoisting the microscope, "Most of what I do is record measurements and environmental information. There are likely more sketching supplies than actual clothes in this bag- but that makes it convenient for travel."

#[[ since legacy is dead I'm doing all of my threads fresh because I can't remember which were legacy and which werent ]] #[[ added your last reply for context :) ]] #toodamnloyal #c.james #v.main