#real fun period of tome

[caffeiiine]

god sometimes i rememebr i had this weird crush on my friend and k could not act normally next to her for a good month because i was having lovely internal monologues

#i was such a mess it wasn’t even funny #because i was so conflicted #every two seconds id start panicking when i was next to her like #OH FUCK does she hate me?? am i gay? ahhhhh fuck fuck fuck #the amount of times i questioned whether or not i was a lesbian during that time was insane #to this day im still conflicted over whether or not i really wanted to be closer to her or i am in fact a lesbian #i mean i haven’t had a real crush since then and that was my first real crush #aaand that was about 2 years ago? #so i’m still considering myself aroace for the meantime 🎉🎉 #i also had insane internalized homophobia about then sooooooo #real fun period of tome #sodaramblestoomuch #oh extra info #i followed her into 2 hyper fixations

[skaikruswan]

That meowpheus fic was amazing. Could you do one where he's sulking and everyone in the dreaming is trying to figure out why. Turns out that reader has gone on an excursion to map out fiddlers green. So once returned morpheus(or meowpheus your choice) is suddenly very clingy and wants so much PDA. Thanks love, keep up the great stories!

One should never ignore a cat or an Endless, or both  

WC: 1,6 k Ao3

Relationship: Morpheus x reader

Notes: sulking Morpheus, fluff, PDA

Thanks, this was a great prompt! Dear readers, while you can read this as stand-alone, it is more of a soft sequel to this Meowpheus prompt. Enjoy! If you liked this, check out my other stories.

I chose this gif because that's how I imagine Dream to look like while sulking.

You’re standing inside Fiddler’s green, breathing in the crisp air, and can’t help but jump in excitement. This place is a marvel. You’ve always loved nature, but as life has it, you don’t always find the time to walk through forests, climb on mountains, or swim through the sea. 

Fortunately for you, Fiddler’s green is the answer to all your dreams. The endless green glades and lush forests are practically begging you to explore them. 

You’re ready, your backpack filled with everything you need. You know that you could dream yourself right into the heart of this wondrous place, find the best sites in the blink of an eye, but where would be the fun in that? 

You’re going to map out this place, old-school. If one dream is not enough, you’ll simply continue in the next. Nothing and nobody is going to stop you. 

Setting one foot in front of the other, you begin your adventure. The birdsong sounds like the finest music to you, and as you wander through into a beautiful meadow, you let out a squeal. You are living the dream. 

Lord Morpheus controls the Dreaming, but what cannot be forgotten is that it is also a part of him. Lucienne remembers how the proud palace grew to become a desolate ruin, reflecting the damage their Lord’s absence had caused. 

The library is brimming with life, and each tome and volume makes her heart soar. As its librarian, she feels a deep calm and serenity settle within her. 

Even now as the palace shines anew and dreams and nightmares populate the realm again, Lucienne will always remember the horrible period during which she was the only who, despite being lonely and concerned, kept faith with their Lord. She will never take his presence for granted again. Even if his mood leaves to be desired. 

The sky above them, usually a lovely blue, is now a myriad of grey shades, the color of an oncoming storm. But as she watches Lord Morpheus rebuke a nightmare for leaving their designated place, his expression thunderous, Lucienne wonders if the storm might be already here. 

Lucienne hopes that you will return swiftly.

_______________________________

Matthew is circling above the throne room, looking for a comfortable spot to land. He is definitely getting the hang of this raven-thing. What else can you do when you wake up with feathers and claws, and tasked to help and watch over the world’s moodiest immortal? 

Matthew would rather glue his beak shut than tell him that in person. The boss has a lot of responsibilities and duties, so he can have a cranky moment or two. Now that the boss has reclaimed his power and things have settled down, Matthew actually enjoys his job; then again, anything beats going to literal hell. 

Besides, the boss is not so bad. He tries to listen, to take other people into consideration. Meeting you has helped, and right now he and every soul – real or dreamy – wishes for your return. Matthew is glad that he can just take a break and fly into the waking world to escape the gloom that follows the King of dreams. More like king of sulking.

Just in that moment, the boss looks up, and his dark glare is enough to send Matthew soaring towards the sky. It’s settled: Matthew won’t come back until you have returned. 

                     _________________________________

The roaring of water is getting is getting louder, and you can’t wait. You’ve been following this small stream for what feels to be ages, and you feel it in your bones that it will pay off. The water is so refreshingly cool, it is a pleasure to drink, but you want to finally swim in it. 

Your effort and perseverance are rewarded as the forest thins out, with only a few trees framing the wonderful waterfall and azure lake. The view is breathtaking, with birds flying over the thundering masses of water. 

“This is the best!” you scream as you race towards the azure water, and for a moment you hear an old man’s chuckle inside your mind. As you come closer, you think you see a blur of black and gold at the edge of your vision. 

“I am so happy that I got to do this alone.” Was that mean? Maybe just a little. Will you regret this? Hopefully not. But you had told Morpheus that you wanted, no, that you needed this to be a solo adventure. 

You feel your clothes turn into a swimsuit as you run towards the lake, giggling all the way. 

                        ______________________________

Merv knows the palace in and out. As a janitor, he could walk through this place blindly, which is why it doesn’t bother him that the light seems to dim inside the palace. 

What worries him is how dutiful dreams and nightmares he has known for ages suddenly start to quiver like mortal children. 

The boss has returned, pacing around in front of his throne like a caged tiger, and boy, he looks like a nightmare himself, all dark and broody. 

Merv hopes that your trip will be over soon. 

                             ___________________________

“I am back,” you call out, more softly than you initially wanted to. You still feel a little bad for dismissing Morpheus like that, especially since your trip was longer than anticipated. 

“Hello?” The throne room is eerily quiet, and you scurry past some dreams. One of them almost looks like they wanted to give you a hug, but then opted for a bow. Odd. 

It took some time, but you’ve become better at controlling yourself inside the Dreaming. Right now, you feel just the right mix between spent and serene, right when you stand on top of a mountain after a long hike. 

You walk towards your room, not even bothering to close the door, and drop down on your bed. You’re going to stay here or a while. This bed is your favorite place right now. 

“My love.” Despite your exhaustion, you roll around in your bed to see Morpheus leaning against the door frame. He’s giving you one of his precious, soft smiles, and you feel your heart flutter. 

“I have missed you,” you admit quietly and watch as he advances towards your bed, the mattress dipping as he’s lying down next to you. 

“I have missed you too.” He gently cards his hand through your hair, and you close your eyes, savoring the heavenly moment. This here feels like a dream within a dream, and you hope he continues forever. Way too soon he stops, and you look at him with an expectant pout. 

“Your turn.” You start moving your fingers through his silky hair in return, a proud grin on your face as he starts to hum. Carefully, your movements become slower until they stop. 

“We are not finished.” He turns his back to you, rolling his shoulders once, and you roll your eyes dramatically at him in fond chagrin. You glide your fingers down the shell of his ears, before applying the right amount of pressure to massage his neck. Your hands roam over his shoulders, idly drawing patterns. You press one quick kiss at the top of his spine, signaling him that you’ve finished. 

Apparently, you’re not done, because Morpheus captures your hands with his, his eyes half-lidded as he blinks at you. A heartbeat later, a black cat with golden eyes has taken his place, rubbing its head against your palm. 

“Well, you’re awfully needy today, Lord Meowpheus,” you tease, only for him to playfully nibble at your fingers. You giggle as you sit up, waiting for Morpheus to find a comfortable position on your lap. As you let your fingers glide through his soft fur, you listen to his low purr while telling him about all the be wonders you have seen on your journey. A flower crown is still adorning your head, a souvenir from an extraordinary adventure. 

“I would like to accompany you on your next journey, if I may,” Morpheus asks, his voice deep and comforting like dark chocolate, and you scratch his favorite spot underneath his chin. 

“Hmm, let me think about it.” You try to keep your face impassive, one hand holding your chin in thought. A minute passes as you hum contemplatively, then another. You feel sharp claws pinch your thighs, neither painful nor drawing blood, but enough to let you know about the cat’s displeasure. You let out a soft scoff and lean down to press a kiss between his ears, and Morpheus starts purring again.

“I would love it.” Now that you’ve explored Fiddler’s green, you can’t wait to experience it with Morpheus by your side. 

“I am looking forward to it.” Morpheus moves, exposing his belly, and you continue your ministration in comfortable silence.

“Of course, you would have to keep up. I am a good, fast wanderer.” You can’t help but tease him again, feeling your lips quirk into a smirk. Meowpheus stands up suddenly, arching his back, an in a blink of an eye, Morpheus is lying next to you, rolled to one side, his head propped on his hand. 

“I shall hurry then. If necessary, I will chase you.” His voice is deliciously low, and you see a flash of hunger in his fathomless eyes. You bite your lip, feeling a flush of heat at the memory of Meowpheus chasing mouse-you. That certainly had been an experience, to say the least. 

“Challenge accepted.” What mouse can claim that she tamed a cat? As Morpheus leans down to press his lips and his body against yours, making every inch of you tingle with molten satisfaction, you realize that you might want to revise that statement. 

#the sandman #morpheus x reader #dream of the endless #dream x reader #sandman x reader #my writing #my sandman fics #lord meowpheus

[mackmp3]

hi mack i have not seen or read good omens but here’s 002 for aziraphale so you can be matchy matchy :))

hehe thanks murph <33 appreciate it

how i feel about this character -

HOO BOY do i have feelings about this character. ofc Aziraphale is so loveable and wonderful & i do love him so much BUT he's complex in a way Crowley isn't. there's this bit of fic that sums it up really really well uhh here's the fic if anyone is wondering

he is so full of contradictions and thinking multiple things at once and mentally tying himself in knots to get himself to do things he Knows are the right thing to do (or even just. something he likes doing) which is such a fascinating thing to watch but also really heartbreaking if i think about it too much. like i love aziraphale and want to give him a big hug but also i want to argue with him sometimes. like in the 1827 minisode he is kinda a dick and absolutely zero-nuances the whole situation, but it's even worse because you can see exactly how he thinks what he's doing is right. i will defend his decision (key word decision!!) to go back to heaven forever because He Is Doing What He Thinks Is Right. he's also such a sweetheart, i too would like to live in a bookstore full of dusty old tomes & wear the same waistcoat for ~200 years.

all the people i ship romantically with this character -

can only be Crowley. there's a fun theory Aziraphale had an affair with Oscar Wilde while Crowley was sleeping through the 1800s but lets be real here he's saving himself for marriage (/JOKING OKAY) it was flirting for fun at most

non-romantic otp for this character -

i really had to think about this one but i think Madame Tracy. i mean there's a reason that of all the psychics in london he ended up in Madame Tracy's head, i just think they'd get along fairly well. they'd have high tea together. scones. but in reality i think he'd mostly rather be reading than making friends. ooh and he'd get along with Newt too i think.

[while typing this i realised that in the Crowley one i missed that Crowley & Anathema would get along Excellently hehe]

unpopular opinion about this character -

people like to paint him as being completely brainwashed by heaven HE'S NOT STUPID. HE KNOWS WHEN HE'S REPEATING A PARTY LINE WHEN HE DOESN'T MEAN IT. CROWLEY KNOWS THIS TOO. HE SAYS SHIT HE DOESN'T AGREE WITH ALL THE TIME. JUST COS HE FEELS LIKE HE HAS TO SAY IT DOESn'T MEAN HE'S BRAINWASHEDDDDDDD AHHHHHHHHHH sorry i just really hate that one. re: contradicting ideas in his head!! working himself into loopholes for right and wrong!! people like 'ohhh he's so distant in *whatever time period* it's cos heaven brainwashed him after they found out he was seeing Crowley!!!1! HE'S BEING NORMAL HE'S JUST EXTRA TOUCHY FEELY IN 1941 & S2 THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE'S BEING AWFUL EVERY OTHER TIMEEEEEEEEE augh. sorry. anyways. moving on

one thing i wish would happen / had happened in canon -

ough it would have been fun to see him fem presenting. i think he would have a really fun time gossiping with rich noblewomen & getting into court drama heheee

otp -

literally can only be Crowley <33

crossover ship (platonically) -

i think he'd be good friends with Zachary from the Starless Sea - for one they'd hide at opposite ends of the bookshop and read in silence and just peacefully coexist. but they woudl not so much get into situations as try very hard to avoid every situation ever cos they're in the middle of a chapter and don't want to talk to anyone other than like. three specific people. & they both know what it's like to just be someone else's part in the plan/story & have to find your own role in it.

Aziraphale & the Eleventh Doctor was the first thing i thought of but honestly they're too similar they'd drive each other up the wall half the time. the other half they'd be good but the slightest annoyance & they'd be at eachother

headcanon for them -

we already know he can draw really well FROM MEMORY so i reckon he has pages and pages of drawings of Crowley in every ridiculous outfit he's ever worn, smiling and sulking & sleeping & drinking & sprawled over on the couch & he hides them away in a drawer so no one ever finds them but he has them.

baby angel :D

#hehe thank you murph <3 #also you should totally watch it hehe not that i'm biased in any way at all nooooo #even more good omens on the main #you cannot escape

[hogwartstoalexandria]

Tony being afraid of magic and opening up to it for Stephen, and then later on not feeling quite so squeamish around it because of that trust he has in Stephen.

Tony being an overworked mess, meeting his other half Stephen who is also an overworked mess.

The both of them having less than stellar eating habits that include not eating at all for a period of time because they are too focused on random but very consuming work, and pretending that coffee or tea are foods because that's all they've consumed in 3 days.

Kissing for the first time in the middle of an argument because they've run out of sarcastic quips that will make the other shut up and THAT at least works and then oh, the quiet is not the only great thing about kissing actually.

Being anxious about showing their feelings and pining even though they are technically together, just because talking is hard for real.

Stephen feeling guilty in a post-EG world where Tony survived because he knew all along and now Tony's body will never be the same because of the gauntlet and he knows all too well how it feels to lose sensation in one's hand/arm and how painful the aftermath is. Avoiding Tony because he thinks he wouldn't want him around. Tony spending a good bit of his revovery time Stephen-less and missing him and thinking Stephen lost interest or something. The both of them being utter idiots until for some reason or other they ARE in the same room and one of them blurts out that they missed them and AH ME TOO WHY ARE ME SO STUPID COME HERE.

Bickering like an old married couple from minute numero uno and until the end of time. They don't argue about dirty socks everywhere but about "why is your 'magical relics tome 2' under my pillow I didn't see it and it hurt the back of my neck" and "why are your dirty oily wrenches in the middle of the clean spoons I wanted to use to stir my tea".

They get married and Pepper officiates and Morgan is a flower girl and Rhodey makes fun of how much they've fussed over each other before they stopped playing games.

When they fuck for the first time they're torn between being sappy as fuck and hiding that they're feeling sappy as fuck and trying to be sarcastic as always but when you're moaning to the high heavens it makes no sense and retorts don't land pal.

I just love them, I could go on for so long ahhh.

#ironstrange #shippy thoughts and headcanons #marie rambles #what's new

[charliemotha]

behold! i didn't see any otgw icebergs, so i made my own :)

if you think i should add something, lmk!!

Explanations under cut :)

First layer:

▪︎Beast!Wirt au - very popular au in which Wirt stays in the Unknown, possessed by the Beast to some extent.

▪︎Bad End Friends - Crossover AU of Beast!Wirt teaming up with Ice Finn from Adventure Time and Bipper from Gravity Falls; sometimes other 'bad end' au characters are thrown in such as a glitched Gumball from TAWOG

▪︎Irl Copies of the For Sara tape - Limited copies of the For Sara tape were sold at two points. They have yet to sell for a third time. (🤞🤞🤞)

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (pilot) - The Pilot of the series. Can be watched on YouTube.

▪︎Wirt Staying in the Unknown - In a scrapped ending, Wirt was to stay in the Unknown, saying that facing your real problems was scarier than staying there.

▪︎Mystery Kids - Crossover AU with other child-late teens aged characters from sources based on mysterious and supernatural themes such as Gravity Falls and Psychonauts.

▪︎Quincy Endicott's grave - Quincy's grave can be seen in the graveyard that Sara and the others are hanging out in.

▪︎Original Beatrice Voice Actress - Beatrice had a different VA in the pilot, Natasha Leggero. Melanie Lynskey voices her in the actual series.

▪︎The Woodsman's Daughter is Named Anna - The comics have several issues focused on his daughter, in which her name is revealed to be Anna.

▪︎Jason Funderburker's Ax Murderer Story - At the gathering in the graveyard, Funderburker is telling a story about a man with an ax; this story is believed to have influenced the existence of the Woodsman.

▪︎Full Versions of Songs in the OST - A handful of the songs are cut down for their appearances in the series and can only be heard in full on the OST. The most notable example is Old Black Train , which is actually 2 minutes and 15 seconds long, but is only in the series for about 15-20 seconds.

Second Layer:

▪︎Sara is named after the Fleetwood Mac song - Listen to it here :) it is notable that it includes lyrics about "drowning in a sea of love" and that Sara is "the poet of [the singer's] heart."

▪︎OTGW Reanimated - a reanimated project for the first episode. Got taken off of YouTube, but can be viewed on Dailymotion.

▪︎Baby Wirt Audio - In the For Sara cassette, there is a small section of audio that can be heard in about the middle of the recording of Wirt's father talking to him as a baby.

▪︎Funderburker/Funderberker - The two Jasons's surnames are spelled slightly differently to avoid confusion.

▪︎The Brothers Never Ate or Needed to Rest - Although Greg expressed being hungry, neither of the boys actually ate anything (outside of one spoonful of bland potatoes and inedible items such as dirt and leaves) and never laid down to rest, only sleeping when night came.

▪︎Book on Interior Design in Wirt's Room - In Wirt's from, a book on interior design can be seen laying on the floor, backing up the knowledge he displayed when analyzing the interconnected mansions.

▪︎Mad Love was Based on a Dream - The plot of Mad Love came from a dream that Pat McHale had about house hunting. In the dream, while exploring one of the houses being shown, he ended up wandering into someone else's home.

▪︎Beatriceoftheday - A blog dedicated to our lord and savior Beatrice, known for its strange shitposts and intense praise of the titular bird girl.

▪︎Wirt is Jealous of Greg's Popularity - Shown in the Circus Friends issue of the comics, Wirt is jealous of Greg's ability to make everyone laugh and have fun. This may factor into his dislike of his brother.

▪︎Greg was Feeding Fred at the Tavern - At first watching, one may be confused as to where all the food Greg was gathering went, why Fred was wearing lipstick and why he was refusing to talk to Beatrice. Shown in a deleted scene, this all explained, as Fred tells Beatrice that he didn't talk to her because Greg was feeding him.

▪︎Elijah Wood Voiced the Crazy Driver - Exactly what is says on the tin, the nutty driver was voiced by Wood.

▪︎Cloud City is Heaven - A popular theory that Cloud City actually represents Heaven.

▪︎Greg is Greg Universe - A headcanon/theory that has mostly died out that Greg is the same Greg in Steven Universe.

▪︎Bee Beatrice - Beatrice was originally cursed to become a bee, but was changed into a bluebird to match better with the seasonal autumn theme.

▪︎Pat McHale Voiced Wirt's Voice Crack - Wirt's voice crack when asking the Beast Are You? was actually done by McHale, not Wood.

▪︎The Other Actors Harassing Elijah Wood When Singing Wirt's Song - In order to make the performance as awkward as possible, the other actors were asked to yell and demand Wirt to sing. This can be heard in the episode.

▪︎Come Wayward Souls Has the Same Melody as O Holy Night - The song shares a cadence with "O Holy Night", and can be sung to its tune.

▪︎Black Turtles Origin/Purpose - No one knows why the black turtles exist, and McHale has said that they're just one of the unexplainable things of the Unknown.

▪︎Anna Never Left the House - In the aforementioned comics, it is shown that Anna had never left the house, living on her own until the Woodsman's return.

▪︎Sailor Suit Greg - Greg originally wore a sailor suit, but was changed later on to his current, Johnny Appleseed inspired outfit .

▪︎Beatrice Missing Being Able to Flip People Off - In the Art Book, Beatrice's introduction states that one of the reasons she hates being a bird is because she no longer has hands to flip people off with.

Third Layer

▪︎Jason Funderberker is Visually Based on a Teen Pat McHale - As seen here, Funderberker was designed after McHale.

▪︎Babes in the Wood is Based on an Old Alice in Wonderland Cartoon - You can view the original 1923 cartoon here! Starts at 4:25.

▪︎Wirt and Sara are Dipper and Mabel's Parents - A popular AU/hc where Dipper and Mabel of Gravity Falls are the future kids of Wirt and Sara.

▪︎The Tune of Wirt's Song is Improvised - In addition to the aforementioned harassment, in a further attempt to make the performance as awkward as possible, Elijah Wood was not given a tune to sing, only the lyrics.

▪︎Wirt's Costume Origin - As said in the art book and on his tumblr, Wirt's cone and cape come from an attempted rock and roll persona from McHale's teen years.

▪︎Greg is Based on Pat McHale's Son - It has been claimed that Greg is based on McHale's son, but Greg existed before him. The similarities are simply coincidental.

▪︎Old Scratch - The original name of the Beast.

▪︎The Beast Killed the Woodsman's Wife - Shown in the comics, The Woodsman's wife was mortally injured, with her attacker implied to be the Beast.

▪︎Wirt and Greg Staying in the Unknown Until Christmas - Another scrapped ending, in which the brothers stay in The Unknown until Christmas, with their absence unexplained.

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (original plot) - Early concepts had the Beast ( then known as Old Scratch as mentioned earlier ) scattering the pages of the titular book for the brothers to collect. Each page would come to life and the brothers would explore each story.

▪︎Dante's Inferno Comparisons - Check out these videos for full analysis!

▪︎Wirt Panty Shots - In the aforementioned Circus Friend comics, Wirt dons a dress as part of a disguise. Later on, he rips off the bottom half off, revealing that he is wearing bloomers.

▪︎The Beast's True Form was Inspired by Trypophobia - As stated in the art book, The Beast's hole-filled appearance was inspired by Trypophobia, the fear of many small holes.

▪︎The Fight is Over is About Drowning - Give the lyrics another read.

▪︎The Beast Last Minute Design Change - The Beast had a very different design, and it was changed into the current one at the last minute.

▪︎Gnome in Cloud City Representing Wirt - Many people believed that the Gnome with the lantern in cloud city was a parallel to Wirt, or a glimpse into his future. However, this was debunked.

▪︎Send Me a Peach - This song is included in the ost, but isn't in the actual series.

▪︎Fred and the Highwayman's Backstory - The comics expand upon the story of Fred the Horse and his involvement with the Highwayman.

Fourth Layer

▪︎Babes in the Wood Title Origin - The name of this episode comes from an old story of a pair of children getting lost in the woods, dying, and being buried in leaves by robins.

▪︎poorlydrawnotgw - This was a blog created during the poorly drawn series meme period. It consisted of poorly drawn and very strange shitposts and has since been deactivated. I was a part of it as mod Goopy Wirt and only have a handful of images saved from it.

▪︎Read and Listen Book Lost Audio - A read and listen book was created, with the book being read by Greg's Frog, who would stop every now and again to talk about being a frog. The pages can be found online, but the audio is currently lost.

▪︎Skinless Witch - A scrapped episode concept involved a skinless witch that kidnapped Greg and rode him like a horse.

▪︎Gentleman Burglar Wirt - A scrapped concept in which Wirt breaks into a woman's home, who is charmed by this young man who has come to visit her.

▪︎Animal Transformation - It was originally planned for Wirt and Greg to be turned into a bear/dog and a duck and remain that way for several episodes. This was later used in the comics.

▪︎The Unknown is influenced by Wirt's mind/interests - The Unknown is influenced by those who walk in it, in this case, Wirt. This includes the old timey mystical nature of it, as Wirt has been stated to have an interest in old folk tales.

▪︎Good Guy Beast/Black Train Scrapped Concept - In an earlier draft, the brothers were on a train, heading to what they assumed was death. They jump off, ending up in the Unknown. The Beast tries to get them back on the train, which turns out to be heading back to life.

▪︎Evil Woodsman - At one point, the Woodsman was intended to be under the influence of the Beast and tried to sabotage the brothers's attempts to return home.

▪︎Lorna Reading the Tome of the Unknown in the Epilogue - In the epilogue, Lorna can be seen reading the titular book from the aforementioned scrapped plot.

▪︎The Beast was Originally the Devil Himself - The Beast was first designed as a devil-like character, the aforementioned Old Scratch.

▪︎The Brothers Never Went Home/The Hospital is Part of The Unknown - a theory based on the fact that the edges of the screen are still blurred at the end of chapter 10, the rushed narration, and the lack of consequences of nearly drowning.

▪︎Beatrice Seeing Wirt Nude - In one of the comics, Beatrice accidentally sees Wirt while he is washing his clothes in the river.

▪︎Sara is a Descendant of Lorna - A theory that Sara is a distant relative of Lorna.

▪︎Exists in the Same Universe as Clarence and Home Movies - The most well known piece of evidence is the overhead shot of the town matching the town that Clarence is set in. Wirt and Greg also have a cameo in another episode, and one of the final episodes shows Brendon Small of Home Movies runs a movie rental store in the town, connecting all three series together.

Final Layer

▪︎Beast x Wirt - Also known as Poetree.

▪︎Candycone - Greg x Wirt.

#otgw #over the garden wall #iceberg #iceberg meme #iceberg image #otgw iceberg

[ebficnotes]

Black soul lore is a f*cking mess.

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/

One thing I never see get mentioned is that the Mannimarco in ESO cannot be the same person as the Mannimarco in Oblivion or the King of Worms in Daggerfall.This is simply because ESO's guild memo on soul trapping mentions that Mannimarco's minions had knowledge of a soul trap spell that could trap black souls in white gems, and details Vanus Galerion's dumb plan to make the world forget that spell by creating a new soul trap spell that could only trap white souls in white gems.And the whole plot of the Mage's Guild in Oblivion is about how Mannimarco and the Worm Moon are working together to bypass Arkay's divine intervention in order to create Black Soul Gems, which can catch black souls even using Galerion's version of the soul trap spell.But, like, if either Daggerfall Manni or Oblivion Manni were the same person as ESO Manni, why would they bother to invent black soul gems at all?? Why wouldn't they just teach their followers the Soul Trap spell that works on black souls, a spell that the ESO Mannimarco canonically knows? Then your followers could just use white soul gems to trap and manipulate black souls. Isn't that easier than ascending to godhood to eclipse Arkay so your followers can do a spoopy ritual to convert regular soul gems into black ones?Ergo the only rational explanation: ESO Manni is not the same as the other two. Further complicating the "Who is Mannimarco?" question. (I mean I guess there's one other rational explanation: that this is a colossal plot hole and fuck-up on behalf of the lore-writers, but that explanation isn't really as fun as tinfoil theories about multiple Mannimarcos)I guess the answer to the "Who is Mannimarco?" question is that he isn't a person, he's an identity, periodically adopted by different necromancers all throughout history. And I suppose the concept of Mantling plugs into this idea somehow, since it's TES lore and all.

The assertion that all souls and gems are the same and that it is solely the power of the soul itself, the size of the gem, and the type of spell that matters, really does completely overwrite the purpose of black gems even existing, even with Vastarie's note on the matter.

If a human can be trapped in a grand gem with the right spell, then black gems serve exactly no purpose. And the soul gems in ESO that we trap everyone with are technically grand gems, despite them not being the big spiky types you see in Skyrim (but are interestingly enough, similar to Oblivion's grand gems.)

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Soul_Gem_(Oblivion)

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Soul_Gem_(Skyrim)

And yet in both skyrim and oblivion you must use a black soul gem to capture npcs. This might make sense for oblivion, where the mages guild's strictures reign supreme, but not in skyirm, where it's stated by Phinis Gestor that those policies were never a thing to begin with, and so no neutered soul trap spell would have been taught period. And even in oblivion, you use the same damn spell to do both. How hard would it have been to put a "forbidden soul trap" tome in Mannimarco's lair to complement his shiny new black gems?

And what's worse is gameplay-wise, black gems are not even recognizably better than grand ones. Black gems are actually heavier in Skyrim even, so technically they are worse. It would have been nothing for the devs to give black gems a few extra points of oomph just to demonstrate their raw soul superiority without breaking game balance, but they don’t. Literally the only thing they have going for them is their ability to capture npcs that can talk, which even if you have zero moral qualms about it, isn't even a real benefit without cheats, given how rare the black gems are.

I repeat: the designation of NPC vs Creature is the only demonstratable difference between souls that work with grand gems and black gem-only ones.

Yeah yeah game mechanics, but even without the in-game experience, why the fuck would our supposedly devious and calculating worm guy go through all that trouble for nothing, given that in (new) lore he could just use his own ungimped soul trap and a regular old grand gem to torture the normies all he wants, as stated above?

Some Ideas:

1. Black gems are only special because they are god-keyed. The use of one is meant as an offering to your daedra/deity of choice, and are not generally seen outside of cults for this very reason. Oblivion Mannimarco's altar is meant to make offering-stones for his own faithful, not to replace grand gems as a wholesale thing. The fact that you can enchant with them also is either because the mechanics of offering are similar and we are just stealing it, or because he allows it, similar to how real life religions who use animal sacrifice still eat the animal they dedicate. This doesn’t actually explain anything, but it sounds cool.

2. Vanus in his guild note has no idea what the fuck he is talking about regarding who fits into what gem, and his getting laughed out of his own guild for positing such nonsense is one of the low points of his career. Which is especially sad because in another life he was a pioneer in the field of enchantment and thus presumably soul-study.**

3. The gems we use in eso are not normal grand gems like everyone thinks, but are actually a new black-like gem that is both popular and common due to Mannimarco's doings, but because of later Mages guild shenanigans, is eventually lost to everyone but the worm cult, which is why they can trap anything, up to and including Arkay's favorite races, as what seemed to be implied as their true purpose in Oblivion (via reddit anyway). This doesn’t explain why they look different in oblivion and skyrim, but whatever.***

4. Vanus's insistence on classifying souls into who is and is not acceptable to kill/soul trap is the catalyst for future powerful guild mages to literally god-bend the world to it's own take on morality, which by the time of Daggerfall, makes even certain clearly people-races/beings like orcs not actually count as people anymore. Ie, it's not Arkay's fault orcs in Daggerfall are considered white souls and thus can be trapped with a non-special gem/neutered soul trap spell, it's the mages guild's.

5. There *is* something about the "black-souled" races/peoples that doesn’t make black gems completely stupid and redundant, its just soul research is so damn stigmatized that no one knows what that something really is. So every inconsistency we see is actually part of some greater whole that we just can't see through to yet because of all the bullshit. aka idfk.

**Something even sillier about Vanus's note: the old soul system in ESO apparently was based on player level, with petty gems only being able to revive low level players and the like, which makes good sense with the idea of soul size being the only real thing, like they corrected earlier game inconsistency or something. But then Vanus goes and says that smaller souls are not sapient/sentient and larger ones are, which is just not true even in ESO's world. Does this mean he wouldn’t consider low-level us as a real person? O.O

I however have never played eso pre-tamriel unlimited and hardly play even now, so if there are any nuances of soul collection in that game that I missed here, please let me know, yeah?

***I forgot, dremora in both Skyrim and Oblivion are black soul gem only too, so if it is Arkay's fault, why does he care about dremora?

My head...

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2cowhz/eso_guild_memo_on_soul_trapping_describes_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/lfih39/written_in_uncertainty_asks_who_is_mannimarco/gmr3c28/

#eso #skyrim #soul trap #vanus galerion #mannimarco #black soul gems #reddit lore #theories #crack #multi-kalpic theory #is getting a real workout #eboriginal

[maxwell-grant]

I wanted to start reading The Spider. Any recommendations? (I usually prefer comics, but I am open to other media as well).

For comics, I'd only really recommend the Eclipse and Moonstone books. Tim Truman's Eclipse mini is easily the best one, it's an adaptation of Corpse Cargo that does an incredible job of being faithful to the original novels while also updating certain aspects for the 90s, it's a shame it was cut short. It's also easily the best take on Ram Singh there ever was. Truman also did an adaptation of Death Reign of the Vampire King that I really want to get my hands on someday.

The Moonstone books aren't as great but they do a good enough job at showing you the ropes of how the character works and they have great art and violence, and one could hardly ask for much more. I don't particularly care or remember much of what Dynamite's done with the character.

I don't usually recommend serials in particular but The Spider's Web is a barrel of fun. It's a lot more faithful than you'd expect it to be, with nonstop violence and action but in a much less grisly manner than the pulp stories, pending more to swashbuckling action. I'd definitely recommend it if those comics and the character's novels are not to your speed. Don't bother with The Spider Returns unless you are really into serials.

Additionally, while I haven't read Will Murray's new books with the character yet, he has a solid grasp on The Spider and is quite popular as a pulp hero writer so I'd be comfortable recommending him for now.

For the pulps, which are of course the ones you really wanna go to if you want to experience the character's batshit glory in full, you primarily want to stick to the thirty five novels between 1933 and 1936, starting with Wings of the Black Death and ending with The Devil's Death Dwarfs (not actually little people, they are just regular themed henchmen). That's the period when the absolute madman Norvell Page took over the character and single-handedly made him a pulp superstar big enough to compete directly with The Shadow, the absolute peak of The Spider. 

Page took an eight month break in 1936 and other writers took over the Grant Stockbridge pseudonym sporadically from that point onwards, and the character never really returned to that glory. There's good, even great, Spider stories written from that point onwards and I'll be recommending a couple of those, and Page eventually returned to write the character until 1943, but that spark was lost and, frankly, never could have lasted.

For a general introduction to the character on the pulps I recommend you seek out these two collections for a start. The Spider vs The Empire State has a lot of problems and an unsatisfying wrap-up but the premise is kickass, it's got a lot of charm and it's a story that's desperately begging to be retold in modern times. Robot Titans of Gotham was my introduction to the character, it collects Satan's Murder Machines which I briefly mentioned here and is definitely one of the better post-1936 Page novels, Death Reign of the Vampire King which is quintessential reading, and Norvell Page's The Octopus, a separate story about a different character that is the most Spider story to ever exist not attached to the Spider. It's maybe the closest real life pulp equivalent to one of those eldritch tomes of fiction that breaks your brain from looking at it too hard. In terms of sheer lunacy, horror and mayhem, Page's The Octopus is to The Spider what The Spider is to other pulp heroes. Make of that what you will.

Some additional more specific recommendations more outside of those thirty five novels would include

The Spider Strikes, Wings of the Black Death, City of Flaming Shadows and Empire of Doom in sucession. Those are among the first five novels, and while The Spider Strikes is boring, it's got some redeeming qualities and you get a much better appreciation for how Norvell Page utterly transforms the character in the following stories after reading it. Don't bother with Wheel of Death.

Pirates from Hell

The Spider and the Faceless One

Council of Evil, which is more like the serials if those are more your thing

Judgment of the Damned

King of the Fleshless Legion

Machine Guns over the White House

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #the spider #norvell page #moonstone books

[rosaliepostsstuff]

Chapter 4 - Of the D.A. and the good ol’ fashioned muggle beating

series masterlist

tags:  @weasleysbees ; @gloryekaterina​ ; @thatguppienamedbae​ ; @sagittarius-flowerchild​​; @hufflepuff5972​ ; @pandaxnienke​ ;  @izzyyy-1 and also @valwritesx​ because you mentioned wanting to give it a read

if you’d like to be added/removed, send a DM or an ask

warnings: swearing, sexual references, mentions of food, violence, a tiny bit of angst word count: 2895 a/n: I had so much fun getting back to this, but simultaneously, at the moment of checking and editing it I’m on my period and super irritable, so I’m not confident about how it came out, didn’t wan’t to hold it up any longer, though, so I hope you like it.

If you have any feedback, please let me know!

—————④—————

 “Are you sure this is going to work?” Alicia Spinnet asked in a tiny whisper. “It has to, I mean, why wouldn’t it? It’s really simple, nothing complicated,” you answered while scoping an intersection before taking a turn. “Why didn’t we take Angie..?” Alicia fretted. “Oh, you know what she’d say. Besides, she’s got important things on her mind now, the quidditch team and all…” “Right, right…” Alicia nodded, “but we could’ve asked Fred and George..?” she complained, looking around the dark corridors. “We don’t need them,” you whispered back, “we can do this on our own, now pull yourself together, girl..!” you said, trying to hide just how nervous you were yourself. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” she started walking a little closer to you, as you lit the way with your wand, holding it low enough not to wake the portraits. “We’ve got this.”

 “How much do we need?” Alicia questioned, scraping some moss off of an old castle wall. “I dunno… a lot?” you shrugged your shoulders and she glared at you, “keep going, definitely more than that.”

“Did you hear that?” she froze, terrified. You looked around the two of you, scanning your surroundings as your heart rate spiked up, “I didn’t hear anything. Let’s switch, you keep a lookout,” you instructed.

 “Here goes nothing,” you pointed your wand at the bucket, standing in an abandoned storage room, in an empty part of the castle, “geminio.”

The bucket multiplied.

“Awesome…” said Alicia, before a long yawn escaped her lips. “Minnie would be proud of me,” you noted, then performed the same spell a few more times.

 —————④—————

 You were quite weary the next morning, having breakfast with Angelina and Alicia, who was having trouble staying awake over her bowl of cereal.

“Morning,” greeted Fred and George, sliding into empty seats, even though they had free period first, and were lazily greeted back.

Hermione was reading The Daily Prophet a few seats further, and after a few seconds Fred asked, “Inspections..?” “Yeah, she’s gonna be sitting in on our lessons now, apparently. To make reports,” Angelina answered flatly, with a bit of irritation in her voice. “Oh, that should be fun,” George commented, to which Fred added, “I bet, a real shit-show” with a smirk.

Only then George glanced at the still not quite healed sentence on your hand and his face fell a bit, as your friends continued the conversation. Instead of going over the same thoughts once again, he took notice of your posture, facial expression and tired eyes.

“What’s up?” he nudged you with his elbow lightly. “Huh..?” you mumbled. “You look like death,” he stated. “Oh, thanks, charmer,” you replied sarcastically, pouring yourself a bit more coffee. “Everything alright?” George asked. “Yeah, stayed up late, is all,” you answered, avoiding further explanation and George nodded in response.

“What do you have first period?” he asked after a bit of silence, even though he knew the answer. “Ancient runes.”

 Later that day, before lunch, you had charms with Flitwick. It was one of few classes George, Fred and you had together.

As soon as the three of you walked into the classroom you noticed the pink toad standing at the front, talking to Flitwick, and you groaned involuntarily.

You walked over to one of the long benches to take your usual seat. George, instead of going to the next one and take his usual seat with Fred behind you, kept walking with you.

“Ehm, excuse me? That’s- that’s my seat,” Clint Nicholson, the Ravenclaw boy who usually sat next to you, pointed out. George gave him a single glance, “find a new one, mate,” he told him and you watched, a bit puzzled. “Will do.” Clint nodded right away and walked away, sitting next to some housemate of his.

“What was that for?” you asked, puzzled, once Clint set his books down. George looked at you with his eyebrows slightly raised. “For your information, I’m here to make sure you don’t end up boiling up again, with her around,” he said, pointing quickly at Umbridge, then ruffled your hair.

You had no energy to argue, so you looked at him dazed for a couple seconds more. “Sorry,” he added quietly, fixing a few strands of hair he messed up on top of your head.

 —————④—————

 “Wait, is it the musty old shack at the end of one of the side roads?” Lee asked, shoving a bag full of Zonko’s merch in his backpack.

You had just finished shopping with the boys and the four of you were headed to the Hog’s Head Inn. Fred and George had a rough idea of where the pub could be but you were the only one who knew the location.

“I think, isn’t it?” said Fred, before you could answer. “Oooh I know now, the place where the owner has the goat..!” Lee exclaimed like it was the most exciting piece of information in the world, but that was just his talent. “The goat?” George questioned, puzzled, walking with his hands in his pockets. “I mean, a goat. But I heard the guy l e g i t  has a goat in there. Like, as a pet,” Lee went on, “or maybe..? Do you think he..?” he trailed off with a suggestive facial expression, making the twins laugh.

“Ugh, stop right there,” you halted their train of thought with disgust written on your face, trying not to picture it. “But yes, that is the place. Reckon we’re gonna need something less crowded... Dodgier.”

 You were the last people to join in. After everyone had a butterbeer in hand, they gathered round in front of Harry and you settled in a chair next to Fred and George. The crowd was versatile, mostly 5th years, with a few younger and older people.

Hermione was the one that started talking and then the conversation rolled around the topic of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Although you were quite skilled in that department, wanting to be an Auror, there were always things you could learn or practice, or maybe even help some others.

They started arguing about Harry’s accomplishments. He spoke about how difficult it was, you hadn’t expected to be so moved but when he spoke about being near losing a friend or really losing one, the reality hit you properly. It got you thinking about what if, as you looked at a pair of hands scrunching up a beanie to your right. What if you lost George?

 Coming to Hogwarts, you weren’t one of the most confident kids. You got sorted into Gryffindor and naturally got somewhat close to other Gryffindors in your year. George and Fred were wild from day one. They were easy-going and somehow always managed to make you feel comfortable. By the end of your first year, you’d already considered them your proper friends.

It was always easier with George. Although you’d also trust Fred with everything and in return, you could kill for him, you’d always go to George first. So it became not only Fred, George and Y/N but also George and Y/N.

George was always there and understood. With George, you could communicate without words. He always had the right thing to say when you needed him most, and where words were unnecessary or ineffective, he knew the right thing to do. All that on top of being an all-around great guy.

You were always each other’s biggest support, and over the years developed some shared interests. You could still remember the time you discovered your shared love for one particular book series and how it became so special.

It was in your second year that you mentioned reading it. You had just been rereading the second tome right before the third was about to come out. George shared that he loved the books too, but Fred found the plot boring and overcomplicated. When the third tome came out, you both rushed with your pocket money to buy it and raced each other who could read it faster. You had so much fun with it and sharing your thoughts, you couldn’t wait until the continuation would come out. Next year, however, when the book was about to be released, George was really sheepish about it. After many attempts, you managed to learn that with George’s younger brother starting school, his parents didn’t have enough money for him to buy the book. So you did, and you read it together – that’s how the tradition started. As the series was continued, no matter which one of you paid for the book, you’d always read it together. Over the years you forgot about the money aspect of it – you just loved spending hours upon hours with your best friend, engrossed in your favourite story. Sharing the experience with George made it that much more amusing, memorable and so, so special.

So after all that, what would happen if he was gone one day?

“That’s not what he said,” you were pulled out of your thoughts by Fred’s voice when he snarled at Zacharias Smith. George pulled some long, metal object out of his Zonko’s bag, “Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?” he inquired. “Or any part of your body, really, we’re not fussy where we stick this,” added Fred.

A wide grin appeared on your face and you started blinking away some tears you hadn’t even noticed were about to appear a moment before. You looked down at your feet, not wanting George to notice that, but you still smiled to yourself.

You were proud to call those two your friends.

 —————④—————

 The following Monday, walking to breakfast with your roommates you noticed a giant notice on the board in the common room. The sign declared all student organizations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs disbanded. This new information took a turn on everyone, you spent a long time trying to help Angelina calm down as it meant their quidditch team as well. The great hall was filled with buzz that morning and the Dumbledore’s Army stood in question. Everyone decided to stick to the plan, though, so you did.

Over the next few days Fred and George some massive boils as a result of their unfinished formula for Fever Fudge. It proved a great joking material for you, up until Fred threatened to show them to you if you didn’t stop. Angelina also managed to get permission to reform their quidditch team, meaning your friends would spend a lot of time on the pitch now, with 3 weeks until the first match of the season.

 —————④—————

 “Well,” said Harry, slightly nervously. “This is the place we’ve found for practices, and you’ve — er — obviously found it okay —” “It’s fantastic!” said Cho, and several people murmured their agreement. “It’s bizarre,” said Fred, frowning around at it. “We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then…”

“A room that gives you whatever you need, whenever you need it? That would’ve come in handy,” you exclaimed, looking around once again. “Yeah, for you, I bet. More spacious than a broom cupboard, isn’t it?” Fred teased you with a shit-eating grin. You immediately reached your foot, over a puzzled looking George, to kick him. Fred wasn’t talking about anything that actually happened but you felt a bit embarrassed nonetheless.

Your first practice session felt very odd, but also fun. You practised the disarming charm, and you partnered up with Neville. He even managed to disarm you a couple of times.

 —————④—————

 The morning of the match, Gryffindor vs Slytherin, you separated from Fred and George with a kick in the butt for good luck and headed to find the best seat.

The game was dynamic and it turned really aggressive – as most games against Slytherin did. This time, however, they developed a song ‘Weasley is our King’ to get into the team’s, and especially Ron’s, minds. It drove everyone even more.

You were at the edge of your seat and didn’t know where to look. You clutched the ends of your Gryffindor scarf tightly, biting your lip constantly and your gaze alternated between keeping track of the quaffle and following George around. He was doing brilliantly, as always.

The game ended suddenly, Harry caught the snitch and Gryffindor won. Your happiness was mixed with concern as you saw him get hit square in the back by a bludger the moment he caught the snitch. You made your way down to see if he was alright and congratulate your friends.

When you finally reached the pitch your stomach immediately sank and you knew something was wrong. The air felt thick. It was just the two teams on the grass and everyone looked on edge, Fred and George stood stiff.

You heard Malfoy say something indistinctly to you and the twins were about to jump on him, being held down by the rest of the team.

You continued walking towards them but George didn’t see you, he was too focused on Malfoy talking about his family. His jaw was clenched and his whole body tense, shoulders straight – he seemed even taller and bigger than usual.

But the moment Malfoy mentioned Harry’s parents, he let go of George and the both of them tackled Draco. You froze in spot, not knowing what to do. You were scared for George, not wanting him to get hurt or get in trouble, but you couldn’t deny Malfoy deserved it and seeing George land punch after a punch on the prat was scary but satisfying. Seeing him stand up for his family and a friend was also something completely else, which you wouldn’t admit to yourself.

 —————④—————

 You closed the door to George’s dorm. Fred was out somewhere, blowing some steam off and none of the team members was in the mood to celebrate tonight after three great players got a lifetime ban.

George had showered and changed, he lay sprawled out across the bed, covering his eyes with his forearm.

You put down the few things you brought, that could help with the cut and swelling on his lip, on the bedside table and sat down next to him.

“Can you sit up?” you instructed quietly, with a soft voice. You felt so bad for him and couldn’t imagine how bad he must’ve felt. And you knew he was angry, still.

He took a deep breath after a few seconds, then sat up. Both his hands were now clutching the bed tightly and he stared straight ahead, he avoided looking you in the eye.

You soaked a cotton swab and squeezed the excess, then turned back to him and moved a bit closer, so that your work was easier, and your thighs were touching now. You placed one of your hands on his jaw to hold his head in place. You made a mental note to yourself now was not the time to point out it was time to shave. You started dabbing silently and George winced quietly at the first touch.

“Did he mean that..?” you asked after a minute or so, barely audible. “What?” George mumbled and you put the swab away. “Is it true..? That quidditch was the only thing keeping you here?” you paused to take a deeper breath, “are you going to just leave now?”

George shifted on the bed and looked away, showing signs of irritation, then looked down at his hands, fiddling in his lap. His features softened, he rested elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands, sighing deeply.

His silence disturbed you, and you also shifted, turning to face him.

“Maybe for Fred. We talked about this for a bit, but… Yes, you do make this shit-hole bearable.” “…but?” “But if we’re talking school-specific? Nothing. You know we don’t need to sit here. We have the money, we could start up the shop and start doing real things,” he looked at you, “Y/N, we’re friends outside of school, if I left, I wouldn’t just vanish out of your life. And you’d do fine without me here.” “Yeah, just peachy, George!” You huffed, “it’s 8 months! Eight whole-fucking-months, the year has barely started.” “Relax, I didn’t say we’re leaving.” You relaxed a bit, slouching. “There’s still a bit more testing we could do here, and also the D.A. stuff...” He added.

You were quiet for a bit, both avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Are you upset I beat Malfoy up?” George asked, slightly subdued This surprised you slightly. “No, I’m not. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, considering the consequences,” you waved your hands around and shrugged your shoulders, “but also, the prat deserved it. Annd it was nice to see you in action,” you said with a chuckle and a faint smile appeared on his face with a raised brow, “good to know what you’re capable of, if needed.”

He tried his best to hold back the grin, but couldn’t, “capable, huh?” he questioned. You blushed, because you didn’t mean to make it sound suggestive, and you were about to start explaining yourself when he tackled you, tickling your sides.

All your attempts to defend yourself, attack him back or get out of his grasp were pointless.

You had to just let go and surrender.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley series

[zenosanalytic]

Hello! You seem to have interesting taste in books, esteemed viper. Would you have any recommendations for someone who enjoyed both Murderbot, Imperial Radch and The Locked Tomb (although the last one with a thesaurus, because not a native English speaker)? Thanks!

(Foreword: the links are to the first place that pops up on searches for me; not advocating you buy from these particular places, especially Amazon; if you want to buy rather than borrow from a library, Please do not buy from Amazon if you can at all help it. Like: There is no Ethical Consumption Under Capitalism, obviously, but even Barnes&Nobles is better than Bezos’s human-misery factory)

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin is REALLY good Axiom’s End, by Lindsay Ellis, starts rough, but improves ALLOT after the first act and finishes wonderfully. Also, The Subtext: The rich, Rich Subtext :3 :3 :3 The Teixcalaan Series by (Ascended Homestuck)Arkady Martine, two books out currently, is a Very Fun and Rare example of what you could call Hard-Political Sci Fi? VERY Much about Diplomacy, Bureaucracy, History, Culture and the, shall we say, “complications” of Empire for everyone involved(but mostly the ppl being Empired at). The first book, A Memory Called Empire, is VERY Good, though it’s got a weird flow where I felt it started strong, ended strong, but wobbled a bit in the middle. The 2nd book, A Desolation Called Peace is... It’s good in different ways, flawed in that the plotting generally feels more Convenient and less deeply Developed than in Memory, but I found I didn’t really care about the problems weighed against what I liked in it. The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik(remember that name: anybook wearing it is likely to be Good) is a WONDERFUL Historical-Fantasy series, set in a time period(The Napoleonic Era) woefully underserved in the Fantasy genre which asks the Very Important Question “What if Dragons Were Real?”, and then deconstructs European Empire and Imperial Imagination with the answers. It’s Great. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is another wonderfully Political Fantasy book set in the Age of Sail/Steam, but with Airships. The Airships aren’t important though; the Clothes are. And the Politicking(which means Dinner Planning). And the Lifetime of Familial Truama. And the Engineering. And the Buff SwordFighting Girlfriends who will skewer anyone who so much as ruffles your Bueautiously Bedazzled Brow, even if they don’t particularly understand or care that much for your ideals. There’s apparently a 2nd book in the series, that I JUST found out about looking up this one, so I’m going to be getting on getting that >:| Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, is not a book, but rather a Positive TOME. It’s big is what I’m saying. Magisterial would be an apt description, and you’ll need the thesaurus for this one too I assure you. It is ALSO set in the Napoleonic Era, which is kind of becoming a theme with this list isnt it, and it’s about Two Gentlemen(actually Four, and one Lady) of markedly different Romantic Literary Tropes bringing Magic back to the world(they used to have Magic, but then a Giant Crow ate it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). It is VERY Good but, like I said, HUGE, and it takes, like, a month to read(unless you’re insane like me, and dedicate every waking moment of, like, a week to reading it, which invariably happens when I open the dang thing). The author also has a new book out, Piranesi, which has won ALL The Praise, but I haven’t read it yet so’s I can nary say good nor bad about it, sadly :T She also wrote a book of short-stories, which I ALSO have not read, and ALSO Have Been Meaning To Read for, like, a decade now X| The Greta Helsing Novels by (Ascended Homestuck)Vivian Shaw, currently a Trilogy but I’m hoping maybe someday publishers will Wisen and we’ll get more it’d be a Wonderful counterpoint to the Dresden Files approach to pulp, is pretty much The Opposite of Strange and Norrell. They’re nice, Light, quick, fun reads, Competent and Workerly; the sort of thing ppl tend to call “summer” or “vacation” books. It’s about a human doctor who takes care of the undead, and the Shenanigans this gets her into. Shaw has a FANTASTIC brain, and she uses the series as an excuse to share&explore her knowledge on various esoteric subjects like Sewer Architecture, Nuclear Reactors, and Historical Divine Bureaucracy Headcanons :3 :3 Also, like, 80% of the characters in the series are taken from 1800s pulp horror fiction; It’s Gr8. IF you can find a collection of either of their works, which isn’t terribly likely, sadly, because Capitalism is Awful, Jack Vance and Fritz Leiber were probably the BEST writers of the Pulp Fantasy Era/Genre(think Conan or Lovecraft). Tales of the Dying Earth is basically the soil Adventure Time(and He Man, coincidentally, and basically the Whole subgenre of “Wait: This isn’t THE PAST!!!” scifi-fantasy) grew out of, and it’s also a pretty excellent transposition of The Odyssey into SciFi Fantasy. Of Leiber I have read only a comic rendition of SOME of his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, and a SINGLE TEASER PASSAGE from his actual writing, and both totally blew me away with their artistry, pathos, and naturalistic flow and dialogue. I dont know his works directly, though, so maybe the rest isn’t so great, or dabbles in the execrable gender- racial- and imperial-politics so common to white male sci-fi writers of that era.

Ok IM STOPPING THERE. Because I’m not Heartless and I think that’s Enough for now. If you like the taste exhibited by my posting, well, these are also parts of that taste so maybe you’ll like them too. I certainly hope so :>

#Anons #ask replies #zA Opinions #Book Recs #Our Staff #zA Reads #zA Reviews #Anonymous

[radramblog]

“magic is hearthstone now lol”

I’m taking a second shot at talking about Magic this week, because things happened and everyone is required to have an opinion on it.

In the hallowed words of a meme from a discord I’m in, “COME ON, 5 second without drama”.

Or without yet another spoiler season this year. Even if there’s a huge number of players this doesn’t actually affect, this still makes a total of 9 releases (10 if you count Mystical Archive, more if you count other little things) for the year so far, and we’re only just getting to August. That’s kind of insane.

So what the fuck did WoTC do this time?

Oh.

Huh.

While I’m sure someone stumbling across this post on Tumblr is going to know already, I also know that some of my mates read this and haven’t played Magic since, like, 2016, so I’ll give a brief explanation of Historic.

Historic is a Magic: Arena only competitive format that encompasses every card available on the program; this includes every Standard set from Ixalan onward, as well as “special” sets such as Jumpstart, Mystical Archive, and the Kaladesh and Amonkhet block Remastered sets. Some of these special sets, as well as the occasional “Historic Anthology” drops, have served to inject specific cards into the format- as an example, May’s Anthology 5 included several Artifact-themed cards, some Flashback spells like Ancient Grudge, the Phyrexian Praetors, and the Dragons of Tarkir Commands. In essence, Historic is like the Modern of Arena.

This format is pretty cool, though due to the huge number of releases it can be relatively volatile. This new news comes hot on the heels of the suspension of Brainstorm- a temporary period before it’s decided whether the card should get banned or not.

And what is that news? Well, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, apparently. An injection of 782 new cards to this format, which will likely completely and utterly change how it looks and plays. Many of the new cards are highlights from Modern Horizons 1 and 2, which will likely lead the format to play much like the paper format that was those sets’ namesake.

However, not every card in the set is a reprint, and that’s where the controversy comes into it. 31 cards are new, digital-only cards with effects that by-and-large would be difficult to impossible to replicate in paper. Comparisons to digital-only card games like Hearthstone and Eternal were inevitable, as was the bitching from players that the game is Ruined Forever. Alarmism and fatalism and all that fun stuff I got sick of approximately 10 fuckbusted mythics ago.

For reference, these are not the first and only MTG: Arena, digital only cards. The program has a small handful of cards intended only for the New Player Experience- a tutorial, really, but you can keep them. Most of these cards are about as terrible as that comment suggests, but there are some exceptions that people are upset about- Goblin Gang Leader basically being a possible second copy of Beetleback Chief for singleton formats, and I’m sure the 15 people playing Ogre tribal would love Ogre Painbringer, but it isn’t good. The only real standout is Inspiring Commander, a card that would legitimately be good in a lot of white EDH decks, but without a paper printing, isn’t likely to make it into them anytime soon.

The key difference between these and the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cards are that these could be printed in paper, whereas those ones absolutely could not (Well, mostly). They feel a lot like the Playtest cards from Mystery Booster, which were frankly a lot of fun. Davriel’s effect reminds me of many a Hearthstone card- particularly Kazakus, what with basically not explaining any part of what the card does and involving much RNG. Pool of Vigorous Growth is literally just Momir Basic on an Artifact, and Shoreline Scout just puts fucking Tropical Island into your hand. I’m not saying you couldn’t try some of these effects in paper, but I am saying you probably shouldn’t bother.

And that is, in part, why I am actually not worried, like, at all for the state of Historic, or Magic in general, with the release of these cards. For one thing, we’ve seen 22 of the 31 new cards at time of writing, and pretty much none of them are likely to break into the Historic format in any significant level. They just aren’t powerful enough, especially considering the other cards added simultaneously- fucking Yawgmoth and Ponder are here, not that many people are going to play Baffling Defenses. I’m sure one or two will pop up in Historic Brawl, but that format is inherently sillier anyway.

I’m of the opinion (and to be fair I’m ready to be wrong about this) that the digital-only cards in JHH are mostly just going to be a fun quirk for the limited format. Honestly, some of these look interesting enough for me to consider playing the game for the first time in months. But the majority power level on them is just that, Limited fodder, and I’d be surprised if many of the rares/mythics really took over like certain ones from the first Jumpstart did. Looking at you, Muxus.

And WoTC isn’t stupid. What this set, Jumpstart Historic Horizons, is intended to do is three pretty clear things.

Firstly, it’s to push the Historic format closer to what paper formats like Modern and Pioneer look like in power, while also potentially spicing it up with cards from other formats (I don’t know, we might see a Commander card or something). This is good, actually, because it gets us closer to actually having those competitive formats playable online without resorting to the distressingly old MTGO client.

Second, it’s to experiment with digital-only design. I’m kind of surprised Historic is the testing grounds for this, but for now, it’s ultimately probably fine. If the format was so utterly ruined by these cards that people really start rocking the boat, I’m sure they’ll make a separate format for these. Whether or not we se more in future depends a lot on the response to this set.

Thirdly, it’s just another Jumpstart set. I understand the first one was very popular on Arena, though I never played it, but it means that people are going to be buying in to events, and buying gems for Wildcards for all the new stuff. It’s going to make money. But hopefully it’ll be fun doing it.

I really do wish people weren’t so doomsday about these things, because I want to be able to express a positive opinion on things without getting my head cut off. Tome of the Infinite looks fun! Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv is cool, and I like the recontextualization of Shivan Dragon as a card- same with Kiora and Kraken Hatchling. And I want more cool, powerful cards on Arena, so that funky formats like Gladiator and Historic Brawl have more to play with.

So I guess what I’m saying is, I’m cautiously optimistic about Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. God knows someone has to be.

#ramble #mtg #jumpstart historic horizons #hot takes #that set symbol kinda does look like ass though

[inky-duchess]

I guess this isn’t really a writing question per-say, but you’re so knowledgeable on so much which I think is amazing. My question is, how did you even start? Like, was there a specific Avenue you jumped into? There’s just so much out there ya know? Also...love your blog to bits! 😱😱

I just really loved stories growing up and that went on to learning about history. I loved watching Horrible Histories (and yes I can rap /sing most of those songs) as a child and history was my favourite subject at school. I began reading short historical fiction books in school for fun called My Story which were a collection of fictional diaries written by young girls in different time periods.

I don't think i got really into history until my third year in Secondary (High School) where I decided in pure ME-fashion to take on a new extra subject in the middle of the exam year. The Principal & History teacher basically said to me "if you want to do it fine, we'll give you the book but you're wasting your time because there is no possible way for you to study 3 years of history in six months so... Go off i guess". First things first, I can be an incredibly lazy person but this time spite motivated me. And secondly, there was this girl who copied my idea to take up another subject & she got comperive with me real fast. I mean we've left school over 4 years ago and she still brings up the 1 time she got 5% more on an English Essay. Spite drove me to study history like my life depended on it. Cue me drilling myself in history every night for 2 hours (which by the way included the American Revolution, the Reformation, the Renaissance, the Viking era, the Industrial Revolution, the Vietnam & Korean Wars, both World Wars, Medieval Ireland, Ancient Rome, the Megalithic era, the Celtic era, the Troubles, the Irish Civil War & not to mention every fucking revolution, rebellion and rising in Irish history of which there are a lot because the English couldn't stop invading us for like 5 mins). Three months into this, the history teacher who has not offered me one ounce of help at this time turned around to be and was like, "you have to take the winter exam before we add you to the official list". And you bet your sweet ass that I fucking nailed that test. Her own class was averaging a solid C - D. I pull out an A. You cannot imagine the satisfaction I felt when this bitch came up to me and offered me her help after telling me I could not do it. I turned her help down and I did very well in the State Exam, very smugly if I say so myself.

But history has always been my jam. From being obessesed with Ancient Egypt as a kid to spending lockdown reading tomes of biographies and anthologies, I am never happier when learning about the world we have left behind.

#sorry for the rant #writing #Ask answered

[dearaliceliddel]

CHARACTER STUDY

— basics.

▸ is your muse tall / short / average ?

Alice is short average, standing at 5′5″

▸ are they okay with their height ?

Considering Wonderland, the height of things always so skewed, Alice doesn’t think much of her height often. But being short has proven to be quite useful at surviving and fighting. But trying to not be looked down upon or people assuming she’s too weak? Hm. Irritating.

▸ what’s their hair like ?

Long and soft, smooth to the touch. Alice has thick hair but where it was once wavy, it’s now straight for her own peace of mind, its own weight pulling it straighter. Dark brown, very nearly black in the right light.

▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair / grooming ?

Not often, as Alice doesn’t really style her hair unless she is left with no choice. Cleaning and bathing of course takes time, but otherwise it’s merely brushed out and handled to not be a wreck. If she has to, pulling it back into a pony tail or braid can happen on the rare occasion. Otherwise it is flowing free.

▸ does your muse care about their appearance / what others think ?

Considering Alice’s state in her appearances, she is more for comfort and self identity over being fancy. Her bigger worry is surviving and her personal feeling. Yet she is still a proper young lady, and knows how to look nice when she needs to. Alice’s sense of style has always been there, it is merely on a more comfortable level. Her dresses are a combination of utility and appearance.

— preferences.

▸ indoors or outdoors ?

Both. Being outdoors has always held a source of adventure for Alice alongside her imagination. But as the years went on and the trauma, torment, madness, and suffering sank in, she figured out how to enjoy being indoors just as much. She can acclimate to whatever may need.

▸ rain or sunshine ? 

Sunshine is much preferred, as the rain can bring such sad feelings. The sun brings warmth and hope, memories of better years. But one can not deny sitting inside, with a nice warm cup of tea while hearing the rain falling on a roof or against windows.

▸ forest or beach ?

The Forest hands down. Reminds Alice of her home in Oxford, and the estate that had the forest around it, where she would run around so easily. And first found the rabbit hole. While a beach can be fun, there is something about sprawling forests that has her at ease. 

▸ precious metals or gems ? 

Metal’s has many more uses than gems can have, as gorgeous as gems can be. Yet at the same time one can’t deny the chances of a rare stone of some sort being useful in a certain moment. So, I’m going to say both but metal leaning.

▸ flowers or perfumes ?

Flowers. Such things remind Alice of her younger days and gardens. Perfumes can sometimes smell like the same flowers she remembers as a child, and she does enjoy them if needed, but there’s always more enjoyment of the real thing.

▸ personality or appearance ?

Personality. While an appearance can be a bonus, Alice much prefers someone personality and who they truly are deep down and under whatever facade or surface level showing that is given for general public. The personality and personal quirks or ticks are more revealing of ones true self.

▸ being alone or being in a crowd ? 

Alone. Sometimes being in a crowd can be stressful, and bring a headache, especially if she is forced to be touching people as her trigger. Being alone has been forcefully ingrained into her by the torments of her life. But if she is comfortable with some friends, enough so to be considered a group, she does not mind being in the proverbial crowd with someone she knows has her back.

▸ order or anarchy ? 

Order and Anarchy mean nothing if the world is careening wildly on the jagged edge of reality. Alice has seen the best and worst of everything in equal measure, and knows the disgusting truths she wishes she could forget. But if she had to choose, a mix of both. Anarchy is merely chaos with a direction, and order is organized madness.

▸ painful truths or white lies ?

This is another Both situation. Alice is very much driven to discover the truth of situations if she has to do so, find facts, considering how many were hid from her and used against her in lies. But she also understands the need for lies to protect others or herself.

▸ science or magic ?

Magic is merely Science others don’t understand, as Alice has been told before. But she accepts both in equal measure, and loves to learn more.

▸ peace or conflict ?

Alice craves peace for once, even for a short time. Able to sit, rest, be at ease for once, with no fear or sadness. Able to sleep for once without fear, or feel like nothing is wrong. But that is a fleeting notion as she understands conflict shall always come in any form, and sometimes she will cause it if she has to.

▸ night or day ?

Night or Day can bring good and bad moments. Hiding in the dark can only protect you so much, while the daylight does not chase away cruelty. Alice accepts both with how little she sleeps and refuses to do so actively. But she enjoys the warmth of daylight.

▸ dusk or dawn ?

Dawn brings a new day. Watching a sunrise can be quite enjoyable. But she will always ever enjoy the beauty of a sunset and how it paints the skies and horizon like a work of art.

▸ warmth or cold ?

Considering how sensitive Alice is to temperature and the shifts in the air of such things, she prefers warmth. Easily cold thanks to the damage of her body from severe burns and fire. Yet the cold does not stop her and she can force herself through as unpleasant as it is.

▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends ?

Alice prefers to have just a few close friends, and yet she has acquired many acquaintances. A bit of both ever present in her life. She’s worried of opening up to people and accepting them closer as Alice has a habit of loosing those she cares about. But if you earn her friendship and to be close enough for her to be comfortable with you? Then you earned a fiercely loyal friend that will kill for you.

▸ reading or playing a game ?

Books have ALWAYS been a treasure for Alice, even more so being alone. It allows her to feel free and in another world for a while, imagination running wild without worry. And on top of that, she can learn so much from new studies or thick tomes. Her brain craves learning and teasers, alongside fantasy. Reality has so much of her attention already, she sometimes needs an escape. But a game? Now those will still have her highly interested. But its harder to play games alone.

— questionnaire.

▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits ?

Refusing to sleep, unable to do so and staying up for extended periods. Eating exceedingly rarely and only enough to be functional and not starve, but still has water and drinks tea commonly. Taking on danger without any fear for herself, and not thinking twice of injuries she may take. Self destruction and self harm. Blaming herself for much at times. Withdrawal and refusing to open up to others without being convinced to do so. Sometimes spiking her tea with a strong alcohol. Using hookah at times, a habit picked up from Caterpillar. Having wonderful advice to give others but often not taking it herself. And as always, Alice’s impossible curiosity.

▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them ? how has it affected them ?

Almost everyone. Alice lost her family in a fire that was started to cover up the murder and r*p* of her sister. Lost her Wonderland into Madness and even herself. Tormented and tortured in an Asylum for ten years of her life, with almost no real help. Lost her rabbit, her cat, her life, home, everything. Then was nearly broken by the very man that took it all away. So she killed that man in poetic justice so he could never harm anyone else. These moments have changed and hardened Alice through most of her life. Having made it hard to accept others into her life closely, always keeping people at arms length, but also willing to put in her all to help others get a better life than she had, or to try and help them have some sense of sanity. She fears physical contact due too the abuse she had and torments, scared of anything doing that again, even more so after what happened with her sister.

▸ what are some fond memories your muse has ?

There is so very few after the age of 8. But before that? Alice remembers fondly how her Father would help so many less fortunate kids or families, to give them a chance to learn, help them with food or clothes. And how Father would take her and her sister out for adventures in the city. Mother being a doctor and taking time at home to teach her daughters at home anything she could. The family dinners, the way they were always such a giving family, despite being so rich and well off. Alice’s older sister Lizzie always encouraging her to be herself, so open and loving. Then there was Wonderland before she fell apart. How she misses her friends even now. Nothing left but pain and heartache, as Alice strives to make better memories in her life.

▸ is it easy for your muse to kill ?

That depends on the person and situation. Alice has stepped across the threshold for murder and killing a long time ago, both in Wonderland and in Reality. Blood and gore are no problem. But if it is someone innocent, or a friend, anything like that? She won’t be able to kill. Injure and disable for their own safety yes, or just defend herself, but not kill. If it was someone that truly deserved it? Absolutely. 

▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down ?

An emotional roller coaster. Alice tries to keep her emotions kept under control, to think as logically as she can after all her experiences. But she has always felt so very deeply, more than many people, and it does not always work. She gets so angry when she gets sad, frustrated at herself for breaking down and upset she’s broken so. But her tears are always so heavy because she tries to keep it all contained. She would only cry harder if she had someone there to let her cry on and have support of. 

▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life ?

It is so very rare. But yes, Alice is capable of this. Although she is usually in the position of front liner and protector, as she has been forced to become with no choice. 

▸ what’s your muse like when they’re in love ?

Considering how rare it is for Alice, she would be unaware of it at first. Just simply instinct driving her to be closer to the individual that has won her trust and affection. But after she starts to understand it, she will try her best to deny and bury those feelings down. Refusing to ruin a friendship or endanger anyone else. But once she loves someone, Alice loves with all her heart and can be quite a warm person and passionate.

*

Tagged by: @fatherdamned (thank you so much)

Tagging: @nerv0usm3chanic (lucan), @punsandfuturekingsmen @bluescarfvivi @heartsdefine , @trollamulet​, @maiolica-admirer​, @reanimatedmuses​ (Jack)

#alice headcanon #about Alice #(( this was wild to fill out ho boy. )) #(( tried to keep it all fitting for all verses. ))

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

I saw your post on how Animorphs is written from a childist perspective where you very neatly outlined the boundary between a cast for children and one for YA. But what delineates the boundaries between YA and Adult fiction?

[OP refers to this post.]

What’s the difference between YA and Adult fiction?  In a word: Marketing.  Young Adult novels are Young Adult novels if they’re classified that way by bookstores, critics, publishing houses, and/or researchers.

People have pointed out that libraries had YA sections decades before I put the “official” inception with Twilight and Crank.  While that’s true, my local library also has sections on “Queer Paranormal Romance” and “Memoirs by Muslim Authors” (reason 491.2 that my local library is the best) but I doubt either of those genres is going to become mainstream anytime soon.  It wasn’t until Barnes & Noble (and other major gatekeepers) started incorporating YA sections that critics and scholars and publishers started considering it a “real” category worthy of study and discussion, and that didn’t happen until ~2005.

That’s also why the core of my argument about Animorphs is that it’s published by Scholastic, and Scholastic only publishes children’s books, and therefore Animorphs is a children’s series.  Genres are fairly-arbitrary marketing categories, and so are target ages of novels.

So what’s the difference between YA and Adult fiction?

Literal answer: If it’s in the YA section of a bookstore or has a “YA” sticker on the cover, it’s YA.  If it’s not, it isn’t.

Actual answer: Generally, novels that are about adolescents, focus on adolescent conflicts, written for adolescent readers, and/or concerned with the problems of adolescence are Young Adult.

There are some genres that are far more common within YA than others.  Paranormal romance is a big one.  So is “problem lit” that focuses on angst and characters’ first struggles with sex/drugs/death/finance.  (Like I said, Twilight and Crank were trend-setters.)  Period dramas are common, as are Chosen One stories, as are urban fantasies, and those three genres often overlap.  Bildungsroman, or the coming-of-age school story, is the O.G. YA genre.

There’s also a big convention around length.  YA novels tend to be physically quite large, even if publishers have to force the issue through screwing around with spacing and margins like a bunch of high schoolers whose essay has a five-page minimum.

[Image description: Side-by-side comparison of p. 112 of young adult novel Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and p. 112 of adult novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  The pages are the same size, but the Gone Girl page has approximately twice as much text on it.]

The end result is this.

[Image description: Children of Blood and Bone’s spine lined up next to Gone Girl’s spine.  Gone Girl is noticeably thinner, even though it has a higher word count.]

This shit drives me BANANAS, but it speaks to the importance of this convention, and the extent to which arbitrary trends drive contents of books instead of the other way around.

Anyway, a few marginal cases that I think speak well to the YA/Adult divide:

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.  I used to play a game where, every time I entered a new bookstore or library, I’d guess in advance where The Golden Compass was located and then check to see if I was right.  Partially because I’m a dork with really boring ideas of fun, partially because there was no knowing in advance where it’d be classified.  I’ve seen HDM classified as children’s literature (because the main character is 10), as adult adventure (because it deals with religion and death and sex), as religious fiction (because it’s about kids who kill God), as Litératuré (because it attracted Critical Acclaim™), as adult sci-fi (because it’s in a steampunk world), as romance (because ???), as fantasy (because there are talking bears), and finally as YA.  It seems to have settled in YA, I think it belongs there, but YA didn’t really exist at the time when it was published.  It’s got adult and child themes, adult and child characters, and very adolescent character arcs about coming into one’s sexuality and becoming an independent individual... so no one knew what to do with it in 1995.

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce.  Pierce herself has talked about the fact that the books were first marketed as romance (because they’re by a woman and about a woman, and publishing is full of sexist BS), they later got moved to children’s lit, then to “genre fiction.”  Now they’re YA, and they belong in YA.  Again: they’re books about adolescence, where most of the characters are adolescents, and they focus on adolescent concerns.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins.  First of all, I want to make clear that I love that book, and that I learned more about how to write poetry from Hopkins than any English teacher.  However, Crank was also the inspiration for some of my least-favorite trends in YA.  It’s a verse novel, so it has as few as 5 words per page but is also a fucking tome.  Publishers took the message that they could charge $29.99 for a novel with the same number of words but three times the pages as one going for $7.99, and acted accordingly.  It also featured Baby’s First Discussion of Serious Topics like addiction, homelessness, assault, and prejudice.  That helped launch a lot of genuinely brilliant novels whose authors took the time to do it right and/or wrote what they knew (The Hate U Give, Wintergirls, Miseducation of Cameron Post)... aaaand it helped launch a lot of condescending, ablest/sexist/problematic, “those Other People are just like us” type novels (13 Reasons Why, The Fault in Our Stars).

Anyway, people have been writing novels about adolescence for adolescents for as long as there have been novels.  Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders, The Chocolate War, A Wrinkle in Time, Speak, Silent to the Bone, and Killing Mr. Griffin all make that patently obvious.  However, those novels all kind of wandered around homeless inside a lot of bookstores until mega-sales of books like Twilight, Harry Potter, The Book Thief, Just Listen, Crank, So Yesterday, How I Live Now, The Hunger Games, and (sigh) Looking for Alaska forced Barnes & Noble to build a home for them.

It’s interesting to look at lit crit from right around 2005, because a lot of scholars are saying “there’s this... new category? about teenagers? it’s becoming a thing?”  But in 2020 scholars can just write “YA” and not even spell it out because yeah, yeah, everybody knows.  So the category is useful if it helps people find books, obnoxious to the extent that it controls what books get published or marketed and what they look like on the shelf, and probably going to split even further into “YA - Teens” and “YA - Emerging Adulthood” if trends continue as they have been.

#literature #young adult literature #ya #lit crit #children's lit #publishing #marketing #(almost) nothing to do with Animorphs #young adult novels #john green negativity #long post #fury-brand #asks

[mirainawen]

Some headcanons for The Long Road that absolutely nobody asked for

Who’s the messiest one:

Everyone has their places that they are the messiest one in.

dean: when he cooks, he does not clean up the kitchen afterward. he reasons that cleanup is sam's detail, because that splits the work 50-50. most of the time, sam is okay with this because he doesn't particularly enjoy cooking and is tired of takeout. he'll bitch dean out in three circumstances: 1, he hasn't been there (fair), 2, he wanted to eat out (less fair), 3, DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO WRECK THE WHOLE KITCHEN TO BAKE A FRICKIN PIE (least fair).

when it comes to the state of his room, though, dean falls right between sam and adam. it's his space, so he reasons everyone can mind their own business. sometimes he is really on top of it; other stretches of time, he'll let things pile up / get out of place before he'll do something about it.

you so much as leave a to-go cup in Baby, though, and God help you.

sam: between the three of them, sam tends to be the most orderly and tidy. BUT, leave that man alone to his own devices in the library? he's probably fallen asleep atop an entire table of "organized chaos" of open books, pages of notes, a new (unimplemented) filing system, a dozen bookmarked tomes, and a couple dozen pens lost amid the chaos. sam in research mode + cross-referencing & digitizing & organizing the men of letters' archives into a streamlined and interconnected, coherent system is...a lot. just like A Lot. and it Shows. (and sam's loving every minute of it. utterly geeking out in his own head.)

adam: is a disaster child. he'll let shit pile up until he has to deal with it, or is otherwise bitched at enough by (usually) sam. he doesn't have a lot of stuff, so it can't reach actual problem levels in the bunker. but he's totally the kind to be like, "what the hell? how long has this been here? hey, guys, when did we eat at burger king? oh god, we should definitely toss that at the next gas station. what? no i'm not going searching for a trash can right now" about his car.

Who feels the most uncomfortable about PDA:

it is, get this, sam. i know, i know. hear me out. when given the option, adam can and will be affectionate within reason. he's the most uptight and gunshy about it at first, when he just gets out of the cage; tends to withdraw from people getting too close, always on edge; as a survivor of the most Traumatic Thing in the Universe, that is more than fair and expected.

once he's had time to find his footing with sam & dean, however, he'll greet them with a bro-hug, when appropriate, a slap on the back, a nudge of the elbow, lowkey affection like that.

dean came back from purgatory more affectionate than he'd ever been before. much more readily will not only greet with a hug, but say goodbye (even in 'casual' partings) with a hug.

that leaves sam, who used to be considered more mushy than dean by these terms. dean's lowkey affection he's used to. adam's? nah. no. especially in the first 5 years, for the amount of time that adam does it (before shit gets Real Bad). after adam gets out of the institution, he gravitates more towards sam naturally, even when pissed, and sam's kinda lowkey why is he in my personal space??? weird. because it doesn't innately fit the same kind of way it does with dean. post-reintegration, he's more affectionate after they've found their footing again. he tries to make up for the Bad Years with more slaps on the shoulder kind of affection. boy's trying.

Who’s the funniest drunk:

sam is a disaster drunk. he's the biggest lightweight of the three of them, which is funny because he's also the biggest, just like the biggest in general. dean becomes so much fun in unexpectedly different kinds of ways. like, he can be talked into karaoke. or doing some stupid shit he's gonna regret in the morning because odds are it's not gonna end well.

but adam is straight up hilarious. that sharp wit comes out, and all his inhibitions (and image) are gone so he just straight up cracks the worst jokes ever and gets away with it. they land. somehow they land. maybe because sam & dean are also drunk. maybe because he is just that funny. maybe it's that he has a tendency to get blackout-wasted and do stupid shit that makes no sense whatsoever, like shower with his f*ckin socks on and dean is never gonna let that shit die.

Who texts the most:

adam or dean. during large periods of time in the first 5 years, adam will leave dean on read and dean texts because read receipts means he knows when adam is checking his messages and therefore he knows adam is at least alive, if not entirely alright. by that view, dean texts the most.

but for random shit, that would be adam. he'll text dean something like

with either no caption, or something like: this reminds me you need to hit the gym, or looks like you have competition and doesn't give further context. dean doesn't mind because at least it means the kid's not dying in a basement somewhere.

he'll kick his ass for the fat comment later

Who reads the most:

it goes in this order:

sam "i read this entire book in one sitting cause i had the time, and now i am awake at 1am because i can't decide if i want to start another one since i have down time" winchester

adam "does it have cool illustrations? no? fine, at least tell me the lore on boobries is correct" milligan

dean "what job has the least amount of reading?" winchester

Who has the most embarrassing taste in music:

eff. ing. adam. even in his own car (where, hey, the rules are driver picks the music dean!) he's only allowed a certain amount of time for his "whiny teenage garbage music" (thanks dean) before he has to change it to something a little more tolerable (rock, at the very least). heaven help him if he hints at something country with dean around. dean will be like, sit your ass down it's time for REAL music 101 and put on Metallica for the 8th time.

Who’s better with kids:

adam, with dean a very, very close second! so close, they probably tie. adam, early on, isn't good with anyone because fresh-out-of-the-cage (even post-institution for a bit) makes him kind of a hairs-breadth triggered bomb when it comes to people of all ages. but adam a bit more balanced? a natural. he grew up around extended family, friends, wanted kids of his own someday.

sam, however, is the absolute worst. a pure disaster moron in this arena. when adam is de-aged? dean didn't think it was possible for sam to suck so much at something. (don't worry, the boy found his bearings. but oh man...the road to get there, paved with more potholes than road.) BUT when sam really tries? like if he lets himself relax and lowers his inhibitions, he can do pretty well. but he's mostly just Highly Uncomfortable around kids, and like, it Shows.

Who’s the one that fixes things around the house:

dean. put that boy in the garage, under the hood of a car, great. can do it all. put that boy in front of a little home repair? renovation? by god he'll figure it out. and he won't put a hole in the wall shut up sammy. he takes pride in the upkeep of the bunker.

sam, however, is much more content to just be like ah man i wish we had a shelf here. or, oh right we need to remember to do xyz and then sit back and wait for it to Magically Take Care of Itself.

Who’s got the weirdest hobby:

hobby? what the hell is that? a homeless person?

Who cooks and who cleans up:

dean cooks, sam cleans. adam cooks, sam and dean will rock-paper-scissors for cleanup. or leave adam to do it. sam is never allowed to cook. he's a horrible cook. they'd literally rather eat out than let sam cook. sam, of course, is highly insulted, but also like...he knows dean & adam are better cooks. they just are. yes, fine, he'll wash the dishes again.

every now and then he gives it a shot. surprisingly he makes really good pancakes. he'll cook just to force one of the others to have to cleanup when he's tired of being on dish duty. dean & adam are not impressed when he tries to leverage sandwiches for dish duty.

sam, somewhat sloshed on a saturday night will be like, guys! guys! hey why don't i make us food and dean and adam are like, duuuuuude. ...wait, no. sam- and he's like, no, guys, i got this, and brings them microwave burritos. and THEN they're like hey! no! this does NOT mean we're doing dishes!

#the long road #supernatural #tlr headcanons #dean winchester #sam winchester #adam milligan #ioannemos #i'm tagging you in this even though you did not ask for it

[grimmiemores]

The Witch’s Ghost - Dahlia Gallows

There was a Feburary OC thing going around so I figure I have enough OC art floating around in my files. It’s a day late to start but I’m not one to do these usually anyway. It’s also supposed to be in Alphabetical but I don’t follow rules.

---

Dahlia was a fun concept I wanted to consider while I was on a short Danny Phantom nostalgia trip. General idea was ‘A Half Ghost before technology.’ And thus here’s Dahlia. She’s from generally the period of the 1690′s and her condition stems from exposure to the tome (which would be known simply as the Book of the Dead) she carries which basically acts as a leather bound portal that she could use to expel ghosts from her town and even control and summon minor specters as an extension of her powers. It was a pretty fun little job she picked up.

That being until someone turned it on her. Leaving her trapped within the Ghost Zone until she can find some other portal to escape through and find her book again. Shame how one could miss out on the real world for nearly 300 years.

#danny phantom #danny phantom oc #dp oc #just my art #OC // Dahlia Gallows #This one is just a fun one to draw cause her floaty hair.

[marinsawakening]

My Magic Camera and Me

Fandom: Mob Psycho 100

Wordcount: 1308

Warnings: None

Genre: Humor

Summary: Mezato finds a possessed camera that allows her to see spirits. Predictably, our intrepid reporter uses it to endanger herself and others.

///

“So,” Mezato said, “this is what Tuesday’s like for you guys, huh?”

Behind her, a wall crashed onto the ground, broken by something she couldn’t see. It pushed through the bricks, cracking some clean in half, and to her left, Serizawa winced.

“We really should get out of here,” he insisted.

Mezato snapped a picture. What appeared on the screen was indescribably ugly, with pulsating green warts all over its slimy body, teeth taking up an approximate 90% of what may or may not be its head, claws the size of a cow responsible for cracking concrete.

“Fascinating,” she whispered, taking another photo as something wet landed on her cheek. Probably the creature’s slime. A real shame she didn’t have anything to preserve it with. If she could get her hands on a microscope, it would be incredibly interesting to see what tests she could do on it.

Something sent her flinging back, her spine bruising against the concrete. She barely managed to keep her head from cracking open on the street, and but more importantly, she managed to preserve her camera.

“Run!” Serizawa shouted, his hands raised. Another photo told her that, yup, he was holding a barrier while the creature clawed against it, desperate to get to her.

“You kidding?” she yelled back, dropping to her knees to get a perfect worm’s eye view shot. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years!”

“It’s going to kill you!”

Snap. Oh yes, that looked great. Serizawa really looked properly heroic, framed larger than he actually was, sweat dripping from his forehead like the spit from the spirit dripped on his shield, his vibrant pink aura clashing with the creature’s toxic green.

Mezato smiled. “But what a way to go.”

This camera was officially the best thing that ever happened to her. Second-hand stores were always the good place to find interesting and sometimes even newsworthy items, so Mezato made it a habit to check on them periodically. Usually, she went looking for proper antiques, things with a real history to them, things that would be fun to investigate - but it wasn’t like she was going to pass up a nearly new, professional grade Canon for a mere 6000 yen.

The fact that it turned out to be haunted was really only a bonus.

Another photo revealed that the spirit had managed to get a claw through Serizawa’s barrier. Its nail cracking the ground next to him made for a fantastic composition.

And then, suddenly, Serizawa dropped to his knees, clenching his arms to his side while he heaved heavy gasps.

Mezato almost lowered her camera, a twinge of worry burying in her chest, before taking another picture. This time, she didn’t care for the composition or the framing or the blurriness; she just wanted to see what was going on.

Serizawa was alone in the frame, no monster or barrier to be seen.

“Thanks, Mob,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” a monotone voice said behind her, and ah, that explained it.

“Mob! You’re here!” she yelled, waving her camera at him. “About time, I texted you an hour ago. I can see spirits now!”

Mob tilted his head just the tiniest bit. “What?”

“Her camera is possessed,” Serizawa explained, his voice pained.

“Oh.” He reached out a hand towards her. “I’ll exorcise it, then.”

“No!” She held the camera out of his reach. “Absolutely not. Think of the discoveries I could make with this, Mob, the research I could do!”

Serizawa held his arms out in a ‘see what I have to deal with’ kind of motion, but Mezato couldn’t care less. Her talent for annoying people had only helped her as a reporter, after all.

“If you’re going to call me every time you put yourself in danger, it would be better for me to exorcise the camera right now,” Mob reasoned, and... yeah, okay, that was fair enough.

“I won’t call you again! Promise!” She touched her chin. “But I still need to get close to spirits for proper pictures, and without you, I don’t have a way to defend myself. Maybe I can find a haunted weapon to go along with my camera...”

“Please don’t,” Serizawa begged, but it was too late, she was on a roll now.

“You can help me find one, Mob.”

“No thanks,” he said. “I need to study.”

She waved her hand. “Boring, but fine. Serizawa can help, then.”

“No, I can’t,” he deadpanned. “I have a job to do, Mezato.”

“You took time off from your job to help me this time, too.”

“No, I didn’t. I let you come with me on an exorcism because you pleaded and promised to behave.” He grimaced. “Tome is much easier to handle.”

“Tome is easy to handle?” Mob questioned, going so far as to raise an eyebrow.

“Well, easy is a bit of a big word -”

“That’s it!” Mezato snapped her fingers. “Tome can help me!”

“The only spirit Tome can see is Dimple,” Mob said.

“So? That’s what I’ve got this for,” she tapped her camera. “Tome has more knowledge of the paranormal than me, and she’s actually been possessed before; she’d could help me.”

“Why not ask Master Reigen, then?” Mob asked. “He’s been possessed, too.”

“I hate to break this to you, Mob, but your master is a fucking ass-”

“Language,” Serizawa said sternly.

Mezato rolled her eyes. “Reigen is clearly a fraud; I did follow the whole media circus a while back, you know?”

Serizawa’s face was carefully blank. “He did make the cameras float.”

“That was Mob and we both know it,” Mezato deadpanned.

“Master Reigen is a good teacher and has lots of experience with spirits,” Mob insisted, notably failing to deny Reigen was a fraud. “But if you don’t like him, you can obviously go with Tome as well.”

“Shigeo, please tell me you don’t agree with her plan,” Serizawa said, eyes practically pleading with Mob, who just looked back with his usual blank expression.

“Mezato used to run a cult,” he simply stated. “You really can’t stop her from doing anything.”

Serizawa blinked. “I’m sorry, she did what now?”

“The Psycho Helmet Cult,” Mezato confirmed. “Maybe not the best life choice I’ve ever made.”

Serizawa opened his mouth, raised a finger, then lowered it again. “Alright, sure. I can’t judge.”

Mezato raised an eyebrow. “You can’t judge me for starting a cult?”

He shrugged. “Not really.”

Interesting. Seems like Serizawa had some skeletons in the closet.

“So, that’s decided then,” she announced out loud. “Me and Tome will go hunting for haunted weapons, and I’ll drop by your office if I need more help.”

“Hold on, I never said -”

“See you, Mob!” She called over her shoulder. She had research to do.

Two weeks and several hundred trips to the stores later, she hit jackpot. Serizawa, blackmailed into tagging along since last week, had his head in his hands, looking about two seconds away from a mental breakdown. Tome, by contrast, was almost as gleeful as Mezato, jumping up and down.

“This is amazing,” she gushed. “I can’t believe we found this, holy shit. It’s perfect.”

“This isn’t legal,” Serizawa muttered, despair leaking from his whole form. “This can’t be legal, I’m sure of it.”

“It’s absolutely not,” Mezato replied cheerfully. “But I’m still buying it.”

“Do you even know how to use it?”

“Nope!” She twirled the weapon in her hands. “But I heard Reigen took a shot at your former boss. Maybe he can teach me something after all.”

“Wait, Reigen can shoot?” Tome asked, her eyes gaining a wild glint. “This is fantastic. Count me in for those lessons, as well.”

Mezato gave her a thumbs up, and with that, the three marched to the cash register, displaying varying levels of excitement, to buy Mezato her very first gun.

#ichi mezato #mezato ichi #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #my writing #serizawa #kurata tome #mob #mezato