#i have no opinion on book influencers i love that people love reading i just think it’s incredible how time is a flat circle

[bless-my-demons]

I just wanted to let you know that I am WAY too hooked on Redamancy that I keep just being like I wanna read angst? Oh, it's time to read Chapters 14 and 15! Like, come on, how can you take these okay characters from a weird ass series and turn it into something like this? I honestly think you are doing better than smeyer did! I also hope that soon things get to chill out, and we can see some half fun times with Jas and Emmet! Stay hydrated and well fed!!!

Omg when I tell you this ask made my heart SOAR😭 I’ve loved this series since I first saw the movies in high school (I just aged myself, RIP), but I always imagined them… different than SMeyer did; I’m re-watching the movies this week and I keep noticing what I would’ve done differently. Also, sparkles? You’ll never catch me mentioning that lmao honestly I just take her baseline for the characters/story and make it make sense in my eyes. And honestly I think it’s just the difference in vibes from 10 years ago to now - what we want in romance, perception of paranormal (not that anything about this is realistic, but making it more believable), and having time to criticize the saga.

Jasper is my Roman Empire, he is such a complex character - they all are! They deserve better storylines and just more overall, I just love writing my thoughts with him. But it’s like a coin, the other side is the wolves - more specifically Paul👀 oh my god I don’t even know where to start with the wolves, there’s so much. And I do have a doc started for Paul for after Jasper (there might not be a true and final ‘after’, but like once I crank out BD part 2) for when I can focus my energy on that instead of trying to split it with Redamancy, it’s full of ideas, things I wished we had gotten - especially with imprint relationships. Ugh and then I have that pre-vampire Jasper WIP that’s unrelated to Redamancy🙈 how the fuck do people organize their thoughts to do multiple series at the same time lol

The last part of your ask I’ve been thinking about since I posted Ch29, do you guys like the in-between? Like, the stuff between the timeline events that’s not in the books/movies? I’m always so worried about those parts, because if improperly done, I’m worried you guys are waiting for me to get to the point-to the shit you know is going to happen. Like the grad party, the newborn army fight, big plot points like that; versus the little injects like spending time with Quil, or Emmett, or reader’s mom, those things? I promise those little things have meaning down the road (some for the plot, some to just add angst/fluff/or to just fix SM’s holes) but I’m curious about your guys’ opinions! I’ve definitely read some fics that have had plot fluff that I’ve skipped because I just wanted the meat and I don’t want to bore you guys with that shit if I’m not writing it correctly enough😅

I also just love asks like this that make me think deeper about the story, because it definitely influences and inspires my writing lol thanks love🫶

#ask me anything #ask me questions #i love asks #jasper hale x reader #jasper hale fanfiction #redamancy series #jasper hale x female!reader #twilight fanfiction #jasper whitlock hale #bless-my-demons #ask bless my demons #jasper hale #female reader insert #twilight

[et-in-arkadia]

reading a history of american writers and i can’t stop thinking about how william faulkner became commercially viable because his publishers paid the 1931 equivalent of nearly $10k to be featured on depression-era booktok

#i keep coming back to this #literature #william faulkner #booktok #books #i have no opinion on book influencers i love that people love reading i just think it’s incredible how time is a flat circle

[lily-orchard]

I remember you once saying 'your kinks don't exist in a vaccum.' What do you mean by that?

A more accurate statement would be "nothing about you exists in a vaccum."

The internet has bred this idea in people that your tastes, your opinions, your kinks, everything about you occurs completely randomly with a roll of the dice. As a result, a lot of people will just accept these things without questioning them.

Most of the time this is fine. I mean it's not like every single taste you have has some kind of deep psychological reason behind it.

It could be as simple as "my favourite colour is purple because my wife wears purple" or it could be as deep-seated as "my favourite romance trope is childhood friends to lovers because I wasn't cared for by anyone as a child and the idea of being cherished for as long as you've known someone appeals to me as escapism." But there is always a reason behind it.

The way the internet tries to minimize everything down to "flavours of ice cream" is, in my humble opinion, completely fucked up. What's worse is this goes hand in hand with the way the internet minimizes art down to just lists of tropes.

It denies the reality that art comes from a deeply personal place and resonates with people for the same reason.

This is real reason we all hate weebs/proshippers. Because they reduce art to disposable product for no other reason than because someone told them their weird fetish was cringe. They got pushback on Twitter for yelling about how much they love watching women get beaten, or watching ten year olds dance, or watching siblings make out, and because they've been malding about it forever they've tried to sincerely argue that art has no impact on the world and never has.

That's not just stupid, that's just insulting to the very concept of art. As someone who's read books that were so emotionally moving they've made me second-guess some deeply held beliefs for a few moments, the idea that art can't influence or shape you as a person is frankly insulting.

You do every artist a disservice by trying to claim that everything about you as a person was locked in at birth and completely immutable. You're also a filthy fucking liar.

I've said this before, your experiences stay with you. They influence you as a person. They influence your thoughts and beliefs, and they influence the art you create. Proshippers, on the other hand, want to equate their obsessive fixation on their own personal pleasure with the very concept of art itself, and that's why nobody likes them.

[gingiekittycat]

I miss the narrator

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I miss the narrator from Good Omens season 1.

I will admit, when I first watched the show it threw me a bit. Sure, the narrator's jokes were funny, but I thought that as a story-telling device it was distracting. There was just so much of it all the time, and it often felt out of place. And when I went to look up reviews online, it seemed a lot of people agreed: if there ever was a season 2, the narrator had to go.

But THEN.

THEN.

Then I read the book.

And I realized: the narrator is the footnotes. It's the little jokes in between the plot. In descriptions, in metaphors, in transitions. The narrator is what makes the magic of the novel.

The narrator is the authors.

More specifically, the narrator is Terry.

Terry's influence on the novel, on the story; Terry's influence in the way he and Neil wrote the book. Neil has said before somewhere (I will find the source eventually and add it) that he was writing in Terry's style when he co-wrote the novel. And it shows; to me, when I read Good Omens, I was reading a Terry Pratchett novel. At the time, I had no previous experience with reading Terry's work, and the only novel I'd read of Neil's was American Gods. And in my opinion, Good Omens reads nothing like American Gods.

In subsequently reading more of Terry's work, it became even clearer to me that the narrator in the show was Neil's way of keeping Terry in the story. And maybe it WAS clunky in a visual medium, maybe it WAS distracting, jarring. But it was also hilarious, and whimsical, and playful, and fun. And I don't see how Neil could have done without it and still stayed so true to the novel. The jokes, the metaphors, the descriptions, the footnotes; this is what makes Good Omens what it is.

There was no narrator in season 2.

I will say up front that, overall, I enjoyed season 2. It had so many funny moments, and so many thought-provoking, poignant moments too. It used some dialog from the first book (looking at you Resurrectionists minisode) to remind us why Good Omens is not just a romp between an angel and demon, but also a philosophical, thought-provoking piece of media. It had a lot of Pratchett-esque moments; the Job minisode stood out to me here. The end was, of course, emotional and gutting, but I like emotional and gutting (anyone who has read my fics knows this). But... I found myself missing the narrator. 

I missed Terry.

And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was even on purpose. Maybe the lack of narrator really is illustrating the fact that, when Terry died, he left a hole in the world that can never be filled. You can't make the same show you would have made had Terry been alive. You can't even try. You can make your own thing, you can make it amazing in its own right, but you can't make it the same. And, all said and done, I think that's a very important commentary on grief. When you lose something, or someone, you're not the same as you were before; and it hurts, but you change, you adapt, you grow. Eventually, you make something new.

So... do I want there to be a narrator in season 3?

That's a good question. I think I would accept both outcomes. However, knowing that season 3 is supposed to be the sequel Neil and Terry plotted, I think it would be appropriate to have a narrator this time around. True, we have no novel to base it off of; we don't have any of Terry's footnotes, his metaphors, his jokes. But we have Neil, whom Terry influenced while writing the original novel; we have Neil writing in Terry's style, putting himself in Terry's shoes for a moment (his hat, his scarf). We have Neil, who loved Terry, who has in part made this show as a labor of love, because he promised Terry he would, and he's going to keep that promise. We have Neil to remind us why we love Good Omens in the first place.

And I think having a narrator in season 3 would be a wonderful way to illustrate that. 

#By the way #If you are a fan of the show and haven't yet read the book #Please do yourself a favor and go read it immediately #Good omens #Good omens 2 #Good omens 3 #good omens 3 speculation #Neil gaiman #Terry Pratchett #Good omens narrator #My 2 cents #Good omens meta #My meta

[bloodweep]

Gods I fucking love Clay too, he’s so awkward, he made me cringe so hard, this motherfucker (extremely affectionate)

I headcanons the trolls to be actual human heights and everyone else giants respectively.

With that being said I headcanon Clay being the tallest and resting at 6’2

━━━━━━━ ✦❘༻༺❘✦ ━━━━━━━

⇢ ˗ˏˋ First time meeting ࿐ྂ

‗ ❍ Meeting Clay wouldn’t be any different than meeting someone else - he’s kind, respectful, introduces himself and is overall polite

‗ ❍ he doesn’t really open up all that much but he clearly approves of you right off the bat

‗ ❍ definitely a hugger, right after introducing himself he will drag you into a hug - this is mainly influenced by Poppy and her aggressive nature to hug someone when she’s overwhelmed, it kind of just stuck

‗ ❍ most definitely the best hugger too, fully into it, one hand cradling the back of your head, the other hand wrapped around your waist to hold you flush to him, his head resting on the top of yours, his cute ears wiggling softly; his tail wagging

‗ ❍ his tail rests at his heels, not exactly dragging on the floor like JD’s or Bruce, but it’s nearly there

‗ ❍ he’s very polite with it too, making sure it never brushes against you or getting in your way when it’s moving

‗ ❍ gosh he has this stupid biggest smile when he sees you again, but it’s closed lipped

‗ ❍ he’s self conscious about his fangs, particularly because the fellow trolls he was with were terrified of the sharp and jagged teeth of the Bergens and it stuck with him to keep them covered

‗ ❍ ugh he slouches to reach your height too, his ears perked forwards to catch all of yours no matter what they are

‗ ❍ enjoys the fact you listen to the books he is currently reading - totally is ecstatic to know you’ll join his sad book club and cry and hug with him

‗ ❍ he most certainly gives you the most awestruck look every time he sees you; he appreciates the fact you aren’t forcing him to be fun, or try to relive his past

‗ ❍ he may be closer to his brothers now, not fully at least, but he still struggles from the image of being “the fun one” and he doesn’t want people to still see him just as the fun one

‗ ❍ gets really excited to show you how to dance like him - this will be in private though, he wants to solely be focused on you and what he’s showing you without others watching - he’s sell struggling you know?

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Him Crushing on you ࿐ྂ

‗ ❍ definitely a meet cute situation from the start

‗ ❍ in my personal opinion he would recognize his feelings for you rather quickly, not being oblivious like the stereotypical smart kid not realizing his feelings

‗ ❍ he would be so soft to you, lifting his hand in a little wave each time his eyes landed on you, dragging you into a hug

‗ ❍ he would still cover his fangs though, his claws always filed down to appear the less threatening as he could, he understood his height alone can be a major contributor to the apex predator look he must give off - big dumbie

‗ ❍ his hugs would start to feel a bit more personal, both his arms wrapping around your waist, tugging you in as he buried his nose into you air

‗ ❍ he was such an incredible sense of smell, he would inhale your scent for however long you allowed the hug to last

‗ ❍ that damn tail wagging hard behind him

‗ ❍ he would be subtle about his feelings for you at first, allowing his tail to brush against you whenever you were close, your leg, thigh, hand

‗ ❍ gosh he would even allow you to brush the tuff of fur at the end, his eyes closing as he enjoyed your delicate fingers in his fur

‗ ❍ i dont think he could ever show his anger to you, not in any sense his brothers have seen, eventually he would get fed up and tell you about him liking you since his subtle advances didnt do it

‗ ❍ when you guys do get together, he would pull you into a tight hug, a big smile on his face before lifting your hand and pressing a kiss to the palm of your hand - here he would press his fangs into your skin there, letting you get a hint of them before respectfully covering them back up with another tender kiss

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Getting together with him ࿐ྂ

‗ ❍ the first date with him would be a quiet one, sharing a dinner at his personal Pod

‗ ❍ i know his food is so fucking good and presented so nicely

‗ ❍ after dinner he would just love to sit on the couch with you, talking about whatever and everything, each thing you mention he will remember

‗ ❍ he would walk you back to your pod, kissing your knuckles goodnight his hand holding yours the other gripping your wrist ever so softly, keeping you there for a bit- this is way to sniff your scent, grounding himself

‗ ❍ in an almost teasing way he would present his fangs to your knuckles gently, sighing in near peace to feel some pressure being relied as your skin pressed into his fangs

‗ ❍ he then would bid you a goodnight

‗ ❍ it would take him about 5 more dates before he gently cupped your cheeks and kissing you, mindful to never go beyond a peck, his fangs never ever present during this time

‗ ❍ UGH he would slow dance with you at any given time he could, singing softly to you while your head rested against his chest, he would be the fucking sweetest

‗ ❍ always bringing you sweets, flowers and little gifts when you meet up, he just loved watching you light up from the gifts

‗ ❍ gosh when you first sleep over together would be magical - singing, dancing, movies, food, everything - he wouldnt share his bed just yet, but he would make the biggest pillow fort in the living room and cuddle all night

‗ ❍ hes so attentive about you, making sure to know everything, making sure to never bring up the things you dislike, making sure any foods you dont like - even if he liked it- was out of his pantry

‗ ❍ he wouldnt try to kiss you during the sleep overs though, didnt want to ruin the fun you were having - these sleepovers usually tend to last longer than one night but never pass four.

‗ ❍ at the end of sleepover he would bring you to your pod, holding all your stuff and gently putting them down on the couch when instructed.

‗ ❍ when you would walk him out he would pause, unsure what to do before grabbing your face and dragging you in

‗ ❍ this kiss would be the most aggressive hes ever given you, having you pressed against your door, caging you in his fangs pressing into your lip, he need to feel it

‗ ❍ this would end up with both of you gripping each other, panting and kissing, his hands would be firm around your hips, making sure you couldnt pull away

‗ ❍ he only would stop once you touched his fangs with your tongue, pulling back and panting, pressing soft kissing into your cheeks and forehead, before bidding you a goodnight with one last soft kiss on the lips before walking off

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Random things ࿐ྂ

‗ ❍ will definitely read any book you bring up, always showing any interest he could about your interests - though he would definitely rather read sad books

‗ ❍ obsessed with kiwi

‗ ❍ his favorite book is I Deserve a Better Goodbye !! hes so into his feelings

‗ ❍ will probably never be comfortable with his claws and fangs due to the trauma he endured during the run and the put put trolls being terrified that it resembled the Bergens

‗ ❍ has so many plants in his home, even grows your favorite plants and flowers so he can gift them to you

━━━━━━━ ✦❘༻༺❘✦ ━━━━━━━

I’ll get to the nsfw headcanons soon! I haven’t thought about them so I’m kind of lost what to do

I JUST LOVE THIS LANKY MAN

#clay #trolls clay #trolls 3 #trolls band together #trolls Clay x reader #clay trolls x reader #headcanons #meet cute #brozone #trolls

[thegreymoon]

Mo Ran is so gay it isn't even funny.

Now, this is just my opinion and I realise other people have their own interpretations, but this whole episode is super telling to me of just how unreliable his narration is about having tons and tons of sex with people of both genders in his previous lifetime. He's just so... oblivious. None of this reads as a man with a lot of previous experience with many different people. He did not pick up on her flirting with him at all. Sure, he did have a lot of insane sex in his past life, but as the book unfolds, it becomes very clear that most of that sex was with Chu Wanning. At best, there were only a handful of other people he was involved with, and one was a prostitute he was paying, while the other was his wife whose relationship with him was also transactional.

I know people argue that he is bisexual because he married Song Qiutong, but when we actually get her POV on their marriage, it turns out that they had unenjoyable sex only a handful of times, at least one of which was him taking her from behind and very much imagining that it was Chu Wanning in her place. There are plenty of gay men who end up married to straight women (and vice versa) for whatever reasons and none of this makes them any less gay. He also identifies as a 'cut-sleeve' himself at one point, so he doesn't seem at all confused about his sexual attraction to men. Later on, when we finally get his unaltered POV on his life in the brothel, it comes out that he considered the girls there as sisters at best, never as sexual partners. The only other named sexual partner is Rong Jiu, who is male, and I can buy that there were possibly other people who looked like Shi Mei that he was with under the influence of the cursed love spell, but there was never any real attraction there, which is why some argue that he is attracted only to Chu Wanning and would still be attracted to him regardless of gender.

But I think that this is also not true. He definitely was obsessed with Chu Wanning from an early age, which makes it hard to see what his preferences would have been if Chu Wanning wasn't in the picture, but that chapter when he finally realises his feelings also reveals that he does have a type, which he never dared to think about before because he thought he was unworthy of having a choice. However, Chu Wanning fits this type to a tee, so it's easy to run away with the idea that he is shizunsexual and that Mo Ran's attraction begins and ends with him.

With that said, we do get confirmation later on that he does find other men attractive, in particular, Jiang Xi. It's just that he never has the space or the inclination to do anything about it because of his preoccupation with Chu Wanning. In the extras, when Mo Ran misunderstands Xue Men's relationship with Jiang Xi and thinks they are having a love affair, in his unfiltered Taxian-jun state, he is full of approval because he personally finds these powerful, beautiful, prickly, emotionally unavailable older men to be the height of attractiveness. If Chu Wanning hadn't been in the picture, Mo Ran would have definitely been attracted to Jiang Xi or someone similar. Even Ye Wangxi, whom he also fixates on, fits this type (except for the older man bit because I understood her to be only a few years older than Mo Ran). The fact that she turns out to be a woman also cannot be used as an argument for Mo Ran's bisexuality because she very much presents as a man throughout the book (but whether or not she actually identifies as one is debatable).

In short, Mo Ran does have a type of man he is attracted to and it is definitely men that he likes, regardless of his few dubious and very unsatisfying dalliances with women. While Chu Wanning definitely fits this type of ideal man, there are other men out there whom Mo Ran finds attractive too, it's just that he is too unhinged about Chu Wanning to actually do anything about it. Also, I very much doubt that Mo Ran was nearly as promiscuous as he makes himself out to be because he reads as very oblivious when it comes to sexual relationships in general. Even with Chu Wanning, who was right there and about to pass away from sheer horniness that he couldn't even begin to disguise, Mo Ran was still going, "Shizun is so pure and virtuous!" 🙄

(I'm not going to get into the whole Shi Mei situation and how badly he misread him every step of the way too, but that is because his brain was so badly mangled by him that he really stood no chance on that front until it was entirely too late.)

#2ha #2ha meta #mo ran #chu wanning #ranwan #jiang xi #song qiutong #rong jiu #shi mei

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

ultimate ship confession lets go (well not really but here's what i think):

cleril: isn't in a great place right now, but it has potential to be good. i like them a little more platonically. people need to stop ignoring peril's character development omg.

glorybringer: i'm too tired to care at this point. this has been debated to death. 

blacier: it's kind of cute (well, the fandom version is; canon is more toxic and that's less of my thing. good for you if you like that though). no strong opinions.

jamapple: POSSIBLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHIPS 💖💖💖💖 they got their spotlight in OND BOOK and that's all they needed to win me over. the flashback to them snuggling in the hammock????? MY HEARTTTTT 💕💕💕💕💞

mastermind x chameleon: i have seen this shipped maybe twice. and i can't get it out of my head. it's just so interesting to me.

winter x kinkajou: wait...... maybe? a part of me thinks they could be cute, but most of me says pass.

ripnami: somewhat has potential; is currently very boring and questionable. i'm not against tsunami having a love interest, but i'm loosing faith in riptide. riptide i KNOW you can become interesting please do literally anything before you bore me to death.

lunatail: they're adorable together!!! obsessed with them omg. people need to talk about them more (for my sake).

clearsight x sunstreak: no opinions; seems fine. i feel like most of the people who hate this ship hate it because they wanted clearsight and darkstalker to get together. which. 🤨

moonbli: it's just okay. a little cute, slightly bland. could get better as they develop their relationship.

quinter: i normally love these types of dynamics, but i'm not interested in quinter? no idea why. i guess like them more platonically.

sunnyflight: uhhh no. don't like this one. i think sunny kindly shutting starflight down and him being okay with that is very refreshing.

whiteout x thoughtful: i feel like people forget about them a lot..... and i can see why. i really think it's cute how they're both artists, but they just don't have much momentum.

glacier x boa: i find this one is more compelling than blacier. glacier crying when she heard boa's backstory... girl me too.

smolder x thorn: i started to appreciate this one so much more when i read smolder's section in the guidebook. that man was a sopping wet disaster. hope they're happy together. i really like them.

sunnyspeaker: seems very cute! no strong opinions. i'd feel a little bad for starflight lmao.

mangrove x orchid: 💖💖💖💖💖💖 I LOVE THEM AND I NEED TO KNOW HOW THEY'RE DOING.

anemone x tamarin: anemone SERIOUSLY needs a good influence, so i think tamarin would be good for her. i'm very curious and i want to see their relationship develop.

winterwatcher: ehhhhhh. i can see the vision, but the vision isn't for me.

scarlet x burn: no. love LOOSES 🔥🔥🔥 the only love for burn is BLOODSHED.

starspeaker: it's cute. that's it. idk. i used to not like them together, but now i think they're fine.

sunlow: 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 THEMMMM!!!! the flashback to their first meeting had me giggling and kicking my feet.

darksight: no. their relationship was very interesting and complex and well written, but from a shipping standpoint??? no way in HELL.

kinkajou x moon: it's cute! no strong opinions. stuck between whether i would like them more as friends or lovers.

clearsight x listener: fun to entertain, but i like them better as friends. if clearsight stayed on pyrrhia, listener would've turned her into a wine mom and they would gossip.

lynxfall: no strong opinions. they're both gay as hell and seem right for each other, but i'm just not really interested. again, no idea why.

anemone x pike: i DO like the bodyguard trope... but anemone x tamarin has more potential in my eyes.

blicket: kind of a guilty pleasure for me....... YES it was rushed but they're really cute this each other. luna imagining that wedding tapestry of them...... melting my heart.

umber x qibli: sounds cute. i like the idea of umber crushing on qibli and then finding someone else though.

turtlejou: meh. has a little potential, but is mostly boring to me. i appreciate how kinkajou was honest with turtle about her feelings at the end.

blister x morrowseer: idk. if they were married i think they would try to poison kill each other 24/7.

carnelian x moon: ehhhh, not for me. i don't like it that much. maybe because carnelian is kind of an eh character to me (SORRYYY i know a lot of you guys are carnelian girlies).

fathom x indigo: glad they got a happy ending. wish we got to see them interact a liiiiiiiiitle more, but i like them.

pertle: no. they're besties and you can't change my mind.

snowfall x sky: thought about this one for a while...... but..... ehhhhhhhhhhhhh...... no.

coral x blister: no.

jambringer: again, very fun to entertain; i can see the vision. but i can't abandon the jamapple ship 😤

arcticslayer: probably one of the most realistic relationships in the book. very conflicted about them. i think they were more attracted to the ideas of each other. maybe.

ok i KNOW there's more ships but i'm cutting it off here because this is getting long. also i haven't read the winglets so idk what's going on over there.

if you're hurt by my opinions and want to rage over them, you're a baby. ship whatever you want (so long as it's not really really weird); i do NOT care.

.

#wings of fire confessions #wof confessions #wof #wings of fire #shipping

[bewareofchris]

I've been on the writer's tag again.

Listen guys.

Nobody owes your fanfic anything. I know that you want validation and adoration and those are both completely normal things to want. But this obsessive demand for comments over kudos and reblogs over likes is A Problem.

I won't bore you with tales of yore where we literally punted our fiction into the world with no idea of how it was being perceived by others because the only way to know if anyone even glanced at it was by the incredibly inaccurate page counter on our shitty geocities page.

(But that was a thing and it's semi-relevant to my point.)

A lot of you are growing up in a era of social media and viral marketing. You are babies of the influencer age, raised on the myth that if you can just get enough attention you'll get famous for something. I don't mean 10 million followers on insta famous but famous in your specific sphere.

That will not happen for you.

Not because people aren't reblogging your shit or writing out loving comments but because it's a myth. The idea that if you shame, beg and cajole enough people into interacting with your creation you'll access some serotonin high and ascend to a greater state of being is also a myth.

Here's the truth:

Most writers do not know how the majority of their audience feels about their fics. Those very few novels that you see on booktok, X (former twitter) or wherever else you get your writing news represent an infinitesimal portion of stories written and books published.

Most writers do have writing buddies or trusted members of an inner circle that they share their writing with.

For most fandoms, fanfics are so plentiful it's like going into a mall sized grocery store that sells only apples and then demanding the customer review every apple they touch.

For those few fanfics that you see that have an outrageous number of comments there are three possible explanations: 1. that person is what we used to call a "Big Name Ficcer" and they have amassed a following through consistent production of whatever that fandom is into, 2. that is a fic so long you have to sign a waiver to start reading it and despite the fact it was started seven years ago its still getting updated, or 3. that person is writing a viral fic in a fandom that is presently on fire.

Your self worth and self esteem cannot be tied to writing and posting fanfiction. It might be a fun outlet or you might be looking for your viral moment, but either way the moment you start weighing your worth as an author or creator based on what a bunch of strangers on the internet think of you is the moment you give up on yourself.

Social media has brainwashed you into thinking that you must be recognized and rewarded for the things that you put onto the internet. Or maybe it hasn't brainwashed you, maybe you just want to get a comment because you worked super hard on something and you feel like if you can't even get one decent response then its all been wasted. (I.e. you've been brainwashed into the feeling that you need the validation of strangers for happiness purposes.)

So what are you going to do about this?

Get off the internet. I don't mean permanently. I don't even mean literally. I mean take yourself out of the spaces that reinforce the idea that you need validation from strangers to be happy. Stop going on the social media sites for a few days (or a few weeks). If you've got a friend in fandom that you share fics, headcanons, ideas or anything with start chatting with them about something you want to write. Invest in them, in what they're doing and their opinions and how they react to your creations.

Put your shit on the internet like you literally don't give a fuck about anyone's opinion. Explain nothing about your writing choices. Put warnings, no more than 5 tags and drop that shit into the world like a newborn giraffe. Then ignore it.

Teach yourself to seek validation from your accomplishments: write a slightly longer fic, write a fic in a different genre, write a fic in a different rating, write a fic in a different fandom.

Find an actual friend that you actually interact with whose opinion you know matters because you agree on the important stuff.

Stop begging strangers for compliments like a cartoon hobo shaking a cup for coins. You're better than that.

#writing is hard #fanfiction #on writing #i would love a rebuttal #but nobody fights me #i understand #i'm too scary

[itsastrobixch]

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PART 5 🌹Chiron in 1st house people can't seem to relax in pictures. They always either seem tensed, drawn like a bow string in photos.

🌹Lilith in 4th in my opinion isn't just not getting along with the women in their family, but being and growing up alienated from their relatives and family. They loose touch with their ancestral roots or there is some sort of shame associated with their identity in that regard. It's like they almost try to reject that part of themselves when presenting themselves to others. they are ashamed of, in this case, anything to do with certain facets of their family.

🌹Count yourself lucky if an air sign comes to you with their problems, and ask for ur opinion. They may seem confident, just like fire signs and like they can handle it all on their own, but while fire signs bulldoze through the issue without thinking twice, the air people have come up with 1000's of ways this scenario could play out and are internally freaking out lmao

🌹Mercury aspecting Neptune people are either excellent liars and manipulators ( in the sense they can manipulate any situation to their advantage) or they suck at lying and everyone knows when they're bluffing. It's usually indicated by the positive or negative aspects, both planets make.

🌹I don't know where the bad rep about having Natal mercury Rx and communication comes from. people say They turn the influence of mercury inwards, an in some ways, yeah true. They may make the individuals think things much more thoroughly before they talk, Make sure their point is clearly communicated etc etc. This actually makes them an excellent communicator. It doesn't interfere with the expression of mercury in my opinion. For that, we have to look at the sign mercury's present in and the aspects it makes.

🌹Sun conjunct Mercury people usually read a lot, and the sign it conjuncts in can show their favorite genre or the themes they may like in their books. For ex : I have it in Libra and of course I'm a sucker for those sweet sweet romance and Smutty novels.

🌹Libras are NOT pushovers. we need to emphasise this more lol. They will look like they're fluttering around here and there trying to decide on something. But in actuality they have already decided and they just weighing the pros and cons of that. Yeah they are an air sign but they're cardinal air. You can't convince cardinal people to move a fingernail if they don't wanna lmao

🌹Uranus and or Mercury in 3rd house, the house of mind, have a lot of ideas. But they're all either scattered or they come and go in a fleet, with the person not even conscious of it, much less process it and write it down. But sometimes their ideas are electric and revolutionary, especially Uranus, solving stuff in very unconventional ways and surprising everyone with their eccentric genius.

🌹If an air sign texts u DAILY, keeps in touch with you DAILY, then they love you lmao.. they take a minimum of 3 to 6 business days to text people back..so if they do it daily, consider yourself occupying a high position in an air signs life 😂

🌹Venus - Neptune pisces venus 🤝 Venus Pluto scorpio venus : Falling for unattainable and elusive people and giving them more chances than they deserve.

🌹The ascendant of your ascendant persona chart also determines some of your physical features, it's not just your asc that determines your physical structure, and your ascendant of your ascendant persona chart isn't just how people see you. The sign your ascendant persona is in will contribute some factors in your appearance too. Along with the planets in 1st house if u have any.

🌹For example a sag rising with a Taurus in their asc persona, will have good thighs and legs but will also be very curvy and soft, with full lips and some venusian features.

🌹 Venus Pluto and scorpio venus people, being in love is their addiction. Not the person they fall in love with like most people assume, but the feelings their lover evoke in them, the way they lose themselves in their partner, and become one with them, that is their addiction.

🌹word of the wise : don't argue with people who have personal planets in Virgo. You'll be humiliated and proved wrong. Straight up. They don't get into arguments which aren't logical or which they aren't sure they'll win. So they go in prepared and armed. They're masters of rubbing Salt in the wounds

🌹 this is just a theory, but hear me out. Our 1st house and the planets in them have a large influence on our appearance. But..i also think, our 6th house plays a part in it too. Our 6th house affects our appearance too but in am indirect way. Our 6th house rules our health right and under that comes our weight, likes and dislikes in terms of food, our BMI etc.

🌹 case on point, me. So I'm a Sagittarius ascendant, and I have good hips and thighs. But I'm not tall. And I'm very much curvy. Although sag rising tends to produce that too, I've a fuller venusian figure. And i have Taurus in 6th house.

#astrology #zodiac #astro notes #astrology observations #zodiac signs #astrology notes #astro signs #astrology signs #astrology community #astro community #asteroids #asteroids in astrology #astroblr #mine #astro posts #astro observations

[leonscape]

my honest thoughts/criticisms of chevalier

i’m gonna get canceled so hard for this. but it’s fandom and we are all allowed to share our opinions and discuss them

i know i am in the minority. of course we will always have a few people who like or dislike a certain thing so im not going to claim that im the only one that feels like this.

this is not to disrespect chevalier or his fans. i just wish to share my opinion and i know im subjecting myself to criticism as well. i’ll just cry about it later

you probably shouldn’t read if you don’t want to hear someone complain about chevalier 😅

but do read if you wish to see chevalier from the point of view from someone who isn’t a fan of his.

with his cold nature and emotions, as a reader, it is very difficult for me to develop a connection to him. he has nothing to latch onto.

i will go into detail on what i mean by something to latch onto so i will go off on a tangent here, feel free to skip this. for example on this idea of something to latch onto: with jin, the comedy is easy to connect to. his story is able to explain why he does the things he does and it does build up emotion between emma (or you the reader) and jin. with clavis, it is easy to admire his hard work. he also purposely pokes and prods to bother emma which brings out emotions. for leon, he brings comfort and warm emotions, it’s easy to get attached. yves is also quite comical as well, but he’s also very kind and it’s not hard to connect with him. licht, nokto, and luke’s stories are very heavy as it deals with abuse and negligence so it’s not hard to develop empathy for them.

for chevalier, he simply just is. no event has influence over chevalier. he is described as always being the way that he is. he was born a genius. he was reading books on complex topics, seemingly ever since he learned how to read. he always appeared emotionless; he sheds blood without batting an eye. it came to a point where it scared his own mother. he just has photographic memory. i know it’s possible for some to have such a thing, but it’s simply just given to him. i dare say he has never worked for anything in his life. everything has been given to him and he’s never struggled. if he’s so intelligent and everything is so easy for him, he doesn’t need to break a sweat in putting in effort. there is nothing to inspire a sort of connection. it’s hard to feel bad for someone who is quite apathetic and unbothered.

although, i do think it’s perfectly fine to have a character like this. there is a way to have chevalier be this inhumanly perfect person. for me, i actually really like the idea of him being into romance novels. it is very endearing and it does bring out a human side. but they don’t do anything with it! i say this because it feels like emma and chevalier’s relationship is one sided. all the effort is coming from emma. emma is the one that has to prove to chevalier the value of love. chevalier doesn’t do anything to contribute to developing the relationship. it’s only about emma proving its worth, thus it feels like the effort falls on emma alone. when he is shown to care about emma and have feelings for her, it feels unnatural to me. because how is he gonna develop an intimate relationship with some he’s known for one month, putting in little effort, when he barely has relationships with his brothers, where he puts no effort, and some of whom do care for him (i’m trying to get at jin who cares for him and leon who’s never expressed any fear when interacting with him.)

my overall point here is that it would be nice if we did have chevalier put in effort, or more effort if that tickles your fancy. have him imitate what he reads in books since he has no experience. this would make it feel like he is putting in effort and it would really highlight his charming clumsy affection. personally, i can really relate and connect to this; when i write romance, i mimic what i read and see in media because i have not experienced it for myself yet. it’s an easy fix but it means so much!

something i noticed is that many people say that, “chevalier never received love/affection from his parents, therefore he has a hard time expressing himself emotionally [we should praise him when he does so].” this is a sound argument, i agree with this, i do think he deserves praise. however, i cannot fully support this statement. he does the bare minimum and people applaud him for it because he has never known love and affection. take leon for example. now i am not comparing leon and chevalier because leon is my favorite, i am using leon’s story to draw this comparison. leon doesn’t know his parents, therefore he never received loved from them. his “adoptive” parents also never had a lot of love to give. it would be accurate to say that he never experienced love and affection. i bring these two points up to compare it to chevalier who also never received love from his parents. this shows that receiving love from one or both parents does not affect their characters here. you could even argue the same with sariel who has little to no memories of his own parents. although i guess you could also argue that the king became his father..

so to sum that all up, his cold nature and his inability to express emotions are not the result of the absence of parental love and affection. so for me, this argument feels like something that’s meant to make you pity chevalier, when the same could be said for leon which isn’t acknowledged at all.

another thing i find interesting is that we have interpreted chevalier’s memorization of the name’s of knights as an emotional thing. chevalier himself expresses it as an obligation as a royal and i just think it’s interesting how he looks at it from a duty standpoint versus our emotional standpoint. because it’s not explicitly stated, one could assume that he doesn’t do for an emotional reason, but rather it’s just his job to honor those that have died for the kingdom in service to the royal family.

something else that i think should be talked about is how chevalier is put on this weird pedestal. he’s always labeled as a genius while the other guys never get praised for their intelligence or accomplishments. it gets tiring to hear “chevalier is a genius” over and over in the game and it doesn’t hold any weight because every brother is quite intelligent. it’s also much more telling than showing.

chevalier and charisma: i have expressed this opinion before and i would like to take this opportunity to explain and defend myself. i think the word authoritative describes him rather than charismatic. authority still implies respect and loyalty. charisma on the other hand is closer to charm and likability. the reason why i disagree with the idea that intelligence equals charisma is because you can be dumb as a box of rocks and still have charisma. there is a reason why people love sweet himbo characters. intelligence isn’t the determining factor here, it’s about how likable you are. charismatic people (with good or bad intentions) make things sound good and inspire loyalty because they are charming, they are likable. not because they are smart. they are able to get people to follow them because they know how to use their charm to play their cards, they don’t need to be a genius to figure it out. if you have to change the definition of charismatic, then he’s most likely not charismatic. chevalier doesn’t try to be likable. he never explains himself and he just does what he deems as necessary, even if it’s not the kindest thing or if the majority doesn’t agree with him. therefore, charismatic is not an accurate description of his character.

this was actually just a long rant and not helpful at all. i don’t think anyone is gonna read all of it anyway. ok im done committing social sui/cide

[swabian-princess]

The Cheatcode

Hello Ladies,

I’ve found the cheat code when it comes to hypergamy! You’ll only need a little start capital…not that much, only around 1-2k.

You need to rebuild your entire wardrobe. Yes. Throw out your crop tops and your leggings. No high value man wants a woman that is dressed like a yoga teacher all day. I don’t care if you’re only 21. Buy all those long skirts and button up tops and don’t even think about purchasing a bag cheaper than 500 dollars.

Think about what you can do in terms of your appearance. Maybe a nose job or a skinny BBL? If you’re lucky you can get away with only lip fillers.

Only speak about feminine stuff. Home decor. How you’re planning to homeschool your children. Let the man talk about masculine things like politics or finances.

Are you still reading? Well…I have a surprise for you…

…there is no such thing as a cheatcode.

Sorry, but I need to rant a little bit.

I’m so fucking annoyed at posts like this. There is currently and likely never will be a cheatcode for hypergamy.

Don’t believe those feminity influencers – most of them aren’t even married or have bagged a billionaire. Don’t buy books from these people and don’t give them money for strange online classes, that claim you’ll meet a billionaire within a five step program.

The truth is, wether you like it or not, that only very few woman will marry into high society and even fewer will stay in those circles.

I don’t know if you get it but those men are only human and want a honest connection with their partner. (Well, I’m sure there are men that really only care about looks but is this really a man you would like to marry? Even if he’s the richest man on the planet?)

Hypergamy is work. Hard fucking work.

Many of you seem to think that those men only fuck you and look at you. What do you do if you can’t fuck because you’re on a gala or his mothers birthday dinner? You’ll have to open your mouth and start talking.

I’m like 98% sure that you could be a grenade in bed and the most beautiful woman that ever walked on earth, if you can’t hold a conversation for longer than a minute, you won’t be succesful.

I am not that beautiful myself, I’m average with a few nice features but I can entertain my boyfriend for hours just talking about my day. I can discuss current politics with him and talk about his business without googling every second phrase.

He loves to spend time with me because he likes how I make him feel. I make him feel welcomed in his home, I make sure to listen to his problems and about what brings him joy. I am the first person he wants to call when he has a hard or a very succesful day because he know that my reactions are always honest and genuine. I won’t just tell him what he wants to hear – I tell him my opinion.  

Another thing that bugs me, is that those feminity influencers make relationships seem like the only things to do are shopping, taking vacations and going out to eat.

Honestly it’s fucking hard to be with a high value man.

High value man = very full schedule.

My boyfriend works from 5:30am to 7pm and sometimes even longer. When he comes home he wants to shower, eat something and talk to me.

I prepare his meals and clean the house while he’s at work. I do grocerie shopping and laundry, I iron his clothes and order his skin and haircare products.

He doesn’t expect me in a full face of makeup and a bodycon dress with heels when he gets home but he wants me to be clean and freshly showered. He want’s no drama and he expects that I know my place – beside him.

A relationship is work, especially if you’re in one with a man that works 80+ hours a week. Don’t expect endless shopping trips with him or a nice dinner every day. There is a reason why he has money – he works for it and his working hours are usually very long.

Okay, thats all I have for now.

Bye Bye

Selene

#hypergamous mindset #baby heaux #heaux #heaux tips #high maintenance #high maintenance heaux #hypergamous woman #hypergamy #leveled up woman #leveled up mindset #my rants #life rant #hyper feminine #high class #spoiled heaux #spoiled baby #spoiled gf #trophy wives #leveling up #leveling up journey #leveling up tips #trophy wive in training #hypergamyblr #hypergamy advice #sugar heaux

[smute]

honestly the problem with booktok (and bookstagram) is not YA lit. it's not about people enjoying books that some might consider "low-brow" or whatever.

imo booktok is the culmination of several problems:

firstly, there's the homogeneity of algorithmic recommendations and the enormous influence those recommendations have on the publishing market. booktok recs tend to be of a very similar style and subject matter. they're easily digestible, easily bingeable titles that arent overly complex. booktok favors stories written by white women, often featuring characters with traumatic backstories and focusing on themes like overcoming adversity and the pursuit of romantic love. they are also usually very anglo-/americentric. none of this is necessarily bad, and none of it is by design, but it's not a coincidence either. it's the result of the constraints of short-form content on the one hand, and on the other, of an algorithm that amplifies, in broad strokes, the preferences of the core demographic of any given group of users.

secondly, it's about the commodification, not of reading, but of being Someone Who Reads Books (TM), which i think is just a particularly obvious symptom of online peer pressure and social-media-driven self-presentation. booktok doesn't encourage you to read, for example, sally rooney. it encourages the cultivation of one's own identity as someone who reads sally rooney. the problem here is not that sally rooney is a shit writer whose work has nothing of note to say. quite the opposite. sally rooney's work is relevant and interesting. in fact, it's being studied by scholars, and even if it wasn't, people can and should be allowed to enjoy some light reading, and yes, even Problematic (TM) fictional characters.

the real problem is the fact that the very nature of how booktok works actively discourages the critical discussion of the stories that it circulates. the problem is not millions of teenagers reading colleen hoover's slop (i love me some slop) – it's millions of teenagers encouraging each other to read and internalize – UNCRITICALLY – hoover's particularly romanticized depiction of abuse. tiktok's algorithm does not foster diversity of opinion. it doesn't foster diversity PERIOD. it doesn't foster slow, in-depth discussion. its only function is *make line go up* – line go up = clicks, views, engagement, money.

due to tiktok's popularity, booktok also has an enormous influence on marketing-related and (apparently, to some extent) editorial decision-making in the publishing industry. this is not just the fault of booktok, goodreads is part of the same problem. i mean, booktok has managed to turn colleen hoover's 'it ends with us' into a bestseller FIVE YEARS after it was originally published. it has also led to publishers dropping authors or DELAYING THE RELEASE of new titles after booktokers flooded the goodreads pages of unpublished books with one star reviews.

as i said, the underlying issue here is not unique to booktok. it's the same homogenization that plagues the movie industry, the tv industry, streaming services, etc. the publishing industry is just particularly vulnerable to such manipulations of public opinion. in the end, tiktok is not a social media app. it's an entertainment app and its content is focused on brevity. the biggest booktokers aren't simply avid readers. they don't post actual reviews of books they enjoyed. they're influencers who receive boxes of books from publishing houses to show off in haul videos like "have you guys heard of squarespace?" and that's it. the level of engagement with the texts themselves is like reading a blurb on the dustjacket, and unfortunately that is reflected in the selection of titles that become popular. if it can't be sold to you in 3 sentences, the algorithm will bury it.

#and that dear children is why we hate booktok #and before you respond: THINK! #is it TRUE? is it HELPFUL? is it INSPIRING? is it HELPFUL? is it KIND? #<- that spells thihk but you know what i mean lmfkxkdkg #again: NOT about young adult fiction #im a staunch defender of the YA genre #a lot of hate towards YA books is just thinly veiled misogyny #this is not about that #this is about tiktok in particular and how it encourages superficial engagement with simple stories #how it *prohibits* deeper engagement with more complex texts #and about the chokehold it has on the book industry #& #oh also #booktok single-handedly destroyed z-lib

[utilitycaster]

If you've read that recent article on polygon about Candela Obscura - "Critical Role’s Candela Obscura fails to differentiate itself enough from its inspiration" (6 November 2023) - I don't know much about the other systems and have trouble being objective about things I love, I was wondering what your opinion is

Hi anon!

I have! I will also admit I don't know Blades in the Dark terribly well, or rather, I have roughly the same BitD knowledge as I have Candela knowledge: I've watched (or in this case, listened) to a actual play show run in it (TAZ Steeplechase) and I've looked at the SRD. The Candela full rulebook doesn't come out for a week, so I really can't judge it for myself. So this isn't going to be objective either, but hopefully it will point out what I think the flaws in this article are regardless of the merits or failures of Candela Obscura as a game.

I think my overall issue is what I said about Polygon on the whole earlier this week: it really feels like their metric is first, is this innovative; and second, "does this reinforce my pre-existing political values in a way that allows me to feel warm and fuzzy and virtuous because I played a fun game/watched a fun show and lets me continue to ignore that I haven't actually engaged in any of that tiresome and inconvenient meaningful anticapitalist action."

I also, for what it's worth, think that this mentality very explicitly conflicts with what Critical Role is doing. I think a lot of people interpret the whole "a group of friends playing games" image as encouraging parasocial behavior (which, frankly, is weird in that while the CR fandom has had a parasociality problem, it's no different than any large fandom - Laurisha shippers or the Twinnies & Husbands crowd are literally just the Actual Play Fandom equivalent of Gaylors and Larries; also like, the pitch for WBN earlier this year was basically "hey, we're four friends playing games" and no one has blinked at that, nor should they have) when I think it's intended to mean "we are friends having fun making and playing the games we want to play; it's great if you'll join us but we're doing what we want." Given that Polygon has shown something of a bias towards those shows that give them early access, I do think it might be that they're just cranky they're not being given any special treatment or catering by an actual play show they've been shitting on for years, and this is simply a vicious cycle.

All that aside, more importantly in this case, I think the article shows a notable lack of Ebert's law: "A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it." Samantha Nelson, the author of this article, appears to be both incapable of evaluating Candela Obscura outside the context of Blades in the Dark - which is frankly, in my again admittedly limited opinion, vastly overstated as an influence (the Forged in the Dark engine is certainly a strong influence, but that's purely mechanical and also it's still only an influence - more on this later) - and also seems to want Candela Obscura's rulebook to flesh out Newfaire and Oldfaire in the same way that Blades in the Dark fleshes out Duskvol.

The thing is, those wide-open spaces and the vagueness of OldFaire? That's deliberate. The Looper interview with Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall as well as the Tabletop News interview both make this clear. The aim of Candela Obscura is to be very easy to pick up, to not have a bunch of intimidating lore that players and GMs need to know before they jump in (and I say this as someone who, when invited to her first D&D game, was the person who read the PHB and sent the other new players a brief summary of each race and class; I love intimidating lore), and to accommodate a wide range of styles. They considered making Oldfaire much more detailed in the book and then decided not to so that GMs felt more free with the world. Again, my knowledge of Blades in the Dark is heavily skewed by an actual play of it that's explicitly not in Duskvol (which I think is a very interesting commentary, namely, maybe Nelson just really fucking loves Duskvol but no one else gives a shit). I genuinely think they are, as more and more Polygon TTRPG/Actual Play coverage seems to be, barely paying attention to what's in front of them and just deciding based on who put it out.

As I said in my earlier posts I do think Candela distinguishes itself from BitD in a number of ways mechanically. The gilded dice mechanic is obviously one of the biggest ones. The lack of flashbacks - a pretty core element of Blades in the Dark - is another. The fact that scars change your stats rather than dealing a permanent penalty (as Trauma does in BitD) is seen as a flaw, as is the lack of lair-building, but I think these things work in tandem. Blades in the Dark is very much about growing territory and becoming a more and more powerful crime syndicate; while four traumas will take you out of the game the same way scars will, there's a lot more opportunities to heal and I believe you have much more room to take stress. Candela Obscura, as another interview I read states (ScreenRant), is a gothic/eldritch horror game about normal people in unfathomable circumstances. You don't really get much better! You adapt, but progress against these monsters is always a long shot. Candela as an organization has been operating for millennia, and the war seems to be one of attrition, and the mechanics, from what I know from the show, reflect that.

The bit about the criminal crew and the lair is honestly kind of funny to me, because in the TAZ Steeplechase wrap-up I listened to last week the McElroys noted that the lair element of BitD was actually really hard to incorporate and they largely ignored it. Obviously that's not true for everyone, but famously D&D in the earlier editions guided high level play towards running one's own dungeon, and there is a reason that hasn't survived to the newer editions, namely, that shift from being a crew out there doing wild and exciting heists and adventures to painting the walls of your clubhouse and hiring guards is not actually fun for a lot of people.

So in summary: I really don't think the author of this article paid a single scrap of attention to the motivations behind design choices, is mad the horror game doesn't give them a kiss on the cheek and tell them they're So Good at Leftism (the comment about not understanding that the restrictions on scarlet aren't tied to anti-immigrant sentiment is particularly egregious), and generally is like "why is this game that shares some similarities but ultimately rather different goals than Blades in the Dark not literally Blades in the Dark but with slightly more aggressive ghosts."

#answered #Anonymous #candela tag #m's ongoing one-sided vendetta against polygon's coverage #man i have another rant in me i was going to write before i got this very good question; i'm going to go to the gym and see that fixes it #long post

[lockandkeycake]

HoTD moots I'm sorry again. This isn't my last pjo rant.

I'm continuing the deep dive into the Did Leo Bully Frank allegations, moving into House of Hades, where things get a bit more murky.

I'm not going to fully recap MoA read my other insane nerdy rant, but basically. Last we left them, Frank had disliked Leo, been antagonistic towards Leo, Leo was nervous around him and teased him a few times, they finally talk and become friends. But, everything is kicking off on a sour note. No one is happy.

Right at the beginning of HoH, we don't actually get much interactions between Leo and Frank until these scenes.

I'd like to note here that Leo's birthday is July 7th. so that's fun. He's not feeling too great about all the ghost talk. I didn't include it, but there's a scene of Hazel talking about Leo being angrier and more serious early on as well. Leo is thinking about loss and death quite a lot in this novel.

Then we get to Frank's pov and Boy Is It Different.

First, I'll also point out Frank remembers the whole his clothes getting sent out and destroyed on Buford but very clearly doesn't characterize it as Leo 'throwing his clothes overboard'. Even in the state Frank is in, he knows Leo didn't purposely destroy his clothes.

But Frank still has issues.

You can note that Frank actually starts off this thought process by essentially complementing Leo, but then Mars and Ares pop in - suddenly, Frank is now saying how Leo constantly teased him.

This is one of those things I think people are going to interpret differently depending on your bias. I have a Leo bias, and having shown that Leo was NOT constantly teasing him in MoA, at least from what is written, I think this is mostly influence from Mars/Ares. Leo does tease, he teases Jason in this book I think more than he does Frank, so I wouldn't ever say Leo doesn't tease people, he absolutely can be a little shit; but the difference is that it's rarely maliciously done on Leo's part. When Leo noticed Frank was embarrassed at the end of the last book, he stopped himself from making comments. We've also seen that Leo is also not great at realizing if his comments are being taken negatively, even if he doesn't mean them in that manner.

However, like I said, Hazel noted Leo's been stressed, not sleeping, and angrier than usual at the beginning of HoH. Leo blames himself for what happened to Annabeth and Percy. Leo is starting to think he'll probably die, and he's horribly lonely. Maybe he has been razzing Frank more offpage, and we just don't see it written. But because we do not see Leo explicitly dig at Frank's weight or looks or intelligence, I am personally still more of the opinion that it's the product of Mars/Ares.

We then get this scene

Frank says Leo had stopped making jokes at his expense here, but again, not trying to beat a dead horse at this point, we've not really seen Leo do that at all this book. Frank now has more confidence and feels more worthwhile in his place on the Argo after his Venice battle- I think Frank is now less insecure and those voices are piping in less. Again, I could be wrong, but this seems very similar to last book. Frank spent the majority of the book being very antagonist, then wonders why on earth Leo would be nervous around him. There's things clouding Frank's judgement that clear up, and suddenly, he's getting on with Leo much better. Shocker.

(that being said Frank does suggest leaving Leo in Croatia just for making a pun not even at his expense, so make of that what you will lmao)

Reaching the Calypso chapters, there's a lot I could get into. I'll eventually do a break down on just them and why I don't love caleo, but I'll save that for another day. Still - Frank is someone Leo actually makes a point of trying to help once he finds out Calypso has fireproof fabric.

Frank is his friend in Leo's mind, someone he wants to save too. Leo is big on trying to save people. I wonder why, definitely didn't come from childhood trauma or watching his mom burn to death or anything. Moving on.

Finally, Leo returns from Ogygia, Frank is said to have patted him so hard on the back it made Leo wince. Clearly he hates him.

But in all seriousness I think the slow progression of Leo and Frank's relationship is one of the better done character developments in HoO. It's slow, it's subtle it culminates in Frank hugging him next book, and Frank using Leo and Jason as inspiration for using up his wood piece.

The big scene to finish off this book are these pages. If Frank hated Leo, if he felt like Leo was only ever mocking him, trying to hurt his feelings, this would not have happened.

Frank trusts Leo.

Leo trusts Frank.

They're not afraid of each other anymore, they're not scared. They mutually trust one another and know they'll have each other's backs.

That is why Leo trusts only Frank and Hazel with his plan in the next book.

#leo valdez #frank zhang #percy jackson #hazel levesque #valzhang #heroes of olympus #frazeleo #house of hades

[burningvelvet]

A secret letter written by 19-year-old Percy Shelley to his 12-year-old sister Hellen after he was expelled from Oxford and disowned by his family for his radical beliefs, including atheism. Shelley’s father found the letter before Hellen could ever receive it.

TO HELLEN SHELLEY

Field Place [Dec. 16, 1811.] Summer House—Evening.

MY DEAR HELLEN,

Shew this letter to no one. You remember that you once told me that you loved me.... If you really love me, shew this letter to no one, but answer it as you can. Remember this is the only proof I can now have that you do love me.

We are now at a great distance from each other, or at least we shall be: but that is no reason that I should forget that I am your brother, or you should forget that you are my sister. Everybody near you says that I have behaved very ill, and that I can love no one.

But how do you know that everything that is told you is true? A great many people tell a great many lies, and believe them, but that is no reason that you are to believe them. Because everybody else hates me, that is no reason that you should. Think for yourself, my dear girl, and write to me to tell me what you think.

Where you are now, you cannot do as you please—you are obliged to submit to other people. They will not let you walk and read and think (if they knew your thoughts) just as you like, though you have as good a right to do it as they. But if you were with me, you would be with someone who loved you; you might run and skip, read, write, think just as you liked. Then, though you cannot now be with me you can write, you can tell me what you think, and how you get on, on paper. Perhaps you cannot get a pen and ink, but you can get pencil, and this will do; and as nobody can suspect you, you may easily write, and put your letter into the Summer House, where I shall be sure to get it. I watch over you, though you do not think I am near.

I need not tell you how I love you. I know all that is said of me, but do not you believe it. You will perhaps think I'm the Devil, but, no, I am only your brother, who is obliged to be put to these shifts to get a letter from you.

How do you get on with your poetry, and what books do you read, for you know how anxious I am that you should improve in every way, though I don't think music or dancing of much consequence? Thinking, and thinking without letting anything but reason influence your mind, is the great thing. Some people would tell you that it would be wrong to write to me; but how do you know it is? They do not tell you why it is wrong. They would scold you for it, but this would not make it wrong. Let no one find out that I have written to you. Read this letter when no one sees you, and with attention. I have not written to Mary, because I know that she is not firm and determined like you; but if you think that she would not tell, give my love to her, and tell her to write to me.

I shall not say any more now. Write, and leave your letter in the Summer House. I shall be sure to get it if you go there alone and leave it. —Your very affectionate and true brother,

P. B. SHELLEY.

source: The Letters of Percy Shelley vol. VIII 1803-1812 ed. Roger Ingpen.

Notes: here he refers to his sister Mary, not Mary Shelley. He would later change his opinion on music, coming to admire it greatly and encouraging his roommates/companions Claire Clairmont and Jane Williams to pursue their musical talents, which inspired some of his best poetry.

#sobbing crying throwing up #literature #english literature #aesthetic #dark academia #poetry #history #romanticism #writing #percy shelley #percy bysshe shelley #letters #letter writing #secrecy #siblings #family #love #lit #english lit

[ryuichirou]

Replies

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Anonymous asked:

I’m sorry you went through all that crap. I hope things are better for you. ):

Oh, if you’re talking about the situation from my past, then yeah, it’s much better now! Thank you so much for your concern <3 It is very sweet of you.

However, we do have a more serious situation on our hands right now, but I won’t go into details. This blog is for discussing the colour of Idia’s nipples, not this.

Speaking of which…

Anonymous asked:

I want to lick Idia’s chest. Apologies.

Quickly, Anon, Ortho is holding him just for you to lick! Ahh shoot he ran way…

Anonymous asked:

a lot of people tend to forget we’re asking you about /your/ hcs. and it’s perfectly ok if we disagree! what fun would the internet be without different opinions (the only valid hc is rook’s love language is stalking lol).

anyways who out of the cast do you think would own yaoi manga/doujins? personally i think idia would. maybe. if it’s physical/paper he can hide his naughty stuff from ortho and his mom…

Exactly! A lot of things influence the way people come up with ideas, this is such a complex thing, of course not everything is going to cater to everyone – this is simply impossible. Picking and choosing and reading stuff that interests you while avoiding things that annoy or hurt you is always the way to go.

(Rook’s love language is stalking, fuck yeah lol)

Oh, that’s a fun question. I feel like Idia would be the only one, and he would also probably have this excuse/explanation, like he really isn’t into BL, but this particular work is just very good, it has great art style, good writing + Idia’s favourite artist was influenced by this manga/series of doujins, so of course he had to get it, this is an important otaku artifact! And OF COURSE it’s paper, that’s the whole point! Even if it’s smutty, it’s art!

Ortho could start getting into BL himself; he would start by reading this one manga that Idia owns lol Idia was sure he’d hidden it well.

The rest of the cast strike me as normies… but hey, Lilia could have some! If he has any manga at all, I can imagine him owning a BL book just ‘cause. But since he probably bought it years ago when he was traveling around the TWST equivalent of Japan, it might be a bit outdated lol And probably a little cursed, which is why Lilia got so into this book back then.

Anonymous asked:

I just think it’s cool how you’re so detailed with the characters and their personality/psychology etc. You could even explain how each of them would go skydiving and I’d think, “yeah, they would do that.” Toodles.

Thank you so much, Anon! It truly means a lot. This is one of the most fun parts of writing replies and drawings stuff, to be honest: the cast is so good that the jokes write themselves sometimes lol

If only I knew enough about skydiving to write or draw something about it…but thankfully, we have a lot of other things to do. 💪

Thank you for enjoying our stuff, I am very happy to hear that.

Anonymous asked:

That's just fucking wrong. Jade is EXTREMELY well behaved for a Leech. "ill behaved" my ASS!!!

+Anonymous asked:

TO BE CLEAR IM JOKING JADE IS A FUCKING FREAK MENACE

LOL YOU’RE GOOD ANON, no worries! <3

“For a Leech”!!! Exactly! Which means he isn’t well-behaved at all!

Anonymous asked:

my guy, my friend,, my buddy,,,,

a hetalia mention? in 2024? why would you do this to us? 😭

Anon dear… Hetalia is a party that is never over 🥳🥳🥳 It forced itself into our lives in 2009 and has been there ever since.

In all seriousness, we do come back to it from time to time; some of the drawings that we have for it are pretty recent!

#replies