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saint--claire · 3 months

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When I was a little child, there was a particular library book I checked out week after week, endlessly renewing it as much as I was able. The book, How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by John Topsell was a quasi-nonfiction guide to, as you guessed, rearing different species of dragons. I loved it. Tiny-me had plans.

As an adult, I tried to buy it a few times. No dice. The book was so old that no mainstream bookseller stocked it. Even when I tried niche websites recommended by various booksellers and librarians, I still couldn't find it. It was sadly lost to time, apparently not popular enough to make it into the archives.

But.

My best friend had a copy of that book. We're going to call her G, for several reasons not relevant at the moment. I was discussing my search with G one day, for some reason I can't remember now. She got a funny look on her face, asked me a few questions about the cover, listened to me do a very poor job of explaining with my hands how the hardcover copy had included a real gemstone in the dragon's forehead, and then went off to fish it out of her bookcase.

I was Gobsmacked.

I should not have been, given that the history of shared childhood books between us both would have made a circle with ragged edges, more so than a venn diagram, but I digress. The book came home to live in my house for a few months, and I was delighted by the chance to read it again.

Do people remember those type of books? Dragonology, Egyptology, The Stone Age - a way of introducing children to non fiction. They very earnestly spoke about the responsibilities needed to raise dragons, the practicalities involved. There was a record of registration you could fill out, if you had carefully considered the information to your self and felt you were responsible enough to to go through with adopting a dragon.

I vaguely remember filling out some of the riddle and puzzle questions in the Dragonology books. I would never have written in John Topsell's book, it was a library book.

But.

When I re-read G's copy at home, smiling over the familiar artwork, I was surprised to turn the page and find the painstaking, somewhat-wonky handwriting staring back at at me. Baby G, with her name spelled out in freshly-joined but still-not-quite-got-the-hang-of-this-yet cursive lettering. Baby G had filled the registration out in her best handwriting, in glittery green gel pen to denote the importance of the document. This was compared to the earlier, less important checklists done in plain black ink.

I read the registration certificate. Smiled. Smiled some more at the names listed for G's dragon, her dam, and her sire - Eragon was also a great book. Go off, Christopher Paolini.

Breed; standard Western Dragon. The box 'miniture' was ticked, to show that G's dragon was of the minature specic variety, rather than a full size dragon. This was, as she would later explain to me, chosen on the basis that baby-G felt it was the more financially responsible choice. Also so she could keep her dragon in her house with her, but we're not there yet.

I looked at that certificate. Looked at it again. Looked at the calendar, and then looked at the sewing machine I had just been given for Christmas.

G celebrates her birthday in January.

The template came first. I studied the different images of the standard western dragon through the book, picked my favourite, and re-drew it to a significantly larger scale.

Inking the design to the fabric, four times over probably took the longest.

I very subtly asked G the next time she was over (after hurling all dragon-related materials in a panic into the depths of my wardrobe) what type of colour dragon she would have, should it come up. As G later said, that type of question from me truly did not register as anything other than a question asked from theoretical interest. I transitioned the topic as discreetly as I could after she answered, and delightfully, my sneakiness went in one ear, out the other, and she forgot I had ever asked until several weeks later.

I enjoyed painting them.

Don't ask me how many mistakes I made through this process. So many. I do already know how to sew, but it's been a long time. I'd been meaning to get back into it for a while.

Given that various aunts and grandmothers and my mother had a knack for calling when I was up to my elbows in either paint or pins, it became a family affair. Each of them peered at the project through face time and offered their advice.

Some of the advice I took, some I didn't. No regrets about sewing it in pink thread. Considerable regrets about accidentally slicing one of the feet in half and having to fix that.

In the end though, she was finished.

I carefully pinned on her name tag, with the name baby-G had chosen with a little blue ribbon. A collar was unacceptable, this is a dragon, people, come on. Dragon's don't wear collars.

I put the book in the box, open to the registration certificate, and put the dragon on top. Wrapped the whole thing up with a bow and then refused to touch it before I sent myself mad trying to fix details that didn't really need to be fixed.

A bit late for her birthday, sure, but there we are. We'd gone for a trip off to nowhere for a weekend, to go try wine made out of blueberries and hike up a waterfall. (And climb on it. And swim in it. It was a very good waterfall).

I gave her the box, informed her she wasn't allowed to keep the box, just the contents (it was the only thing I had that was big enough for me to keep all of my A3 portfolios in, it had only been temporarily-repurposed as dragon housing), and then left the next bit up to the gods.

A surprise, sitting un-awaited for some 15 years in amber, to catch up to baby G and adult G together.

Happy Birthday, baby and adult G.

#StClaire speaks #How to Raise & Keep A Dragon #John Topsell #Joe Nigg #the thing about problems hammers and nails #except in this case it was childhood wishes and sewing machines #and as someone said #you were relearning to sew and you started with THAT?#well no #I started with a scrub hat #which kept the hair out of my face while I painted this #and then also that apron my aunt gave me the pieces to years ago that I refused point blank to do by hand #but yeah #101 mistakes later #and one re-attached foot #pretty happy with her #dragons

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beomgyw · 1 month

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BLUE CRUSH

PAIRINGS: guitarist!beomgyu x afab!reader, surfer!yeonjun x afab!reader

GENRE: fluff, romance, love triangle, multichoice, smut, nsfw. (all depending on the paths you choose) somewhat plot heavy.

WARNINGS: your choices matter for the outcome!! you can choose not to engage in nsfw. IMPORTANT!! DON’T CLICK ON RECOMMENDED POSTS!! follow the links carefully and if you get lost, click back to the beginning to retrace your choices. (praying you won’t get lost.)

FEAT: le sserafim yunjin, le sserafim chaewon

SUMMARY: after a college-induced mental breakdown, you convince your parents to let you go back to your hometown and stay at your grandma's beach house for the summer. you used to be the ugly girl growing up, but not anymore. it´s your choice to opt for flirty and charismatic surf coach yeonjun (your childhood crush who had never noticed you until now) or gentle and romantic beomgyu (the boy who's always had a secret crush on you)

poor naive you had always wanted to be a writer, and poor naive you thought that a literature degree would help you become one.

you worked your whole life to get into a good university, thinking that it would be different from high school. that you would learn critical thinking instead of soulless arbitrary facts and trivia, that classes would be passionate and that exams wouldn't consist of just throwing up memorised material to be forgotten the next day.

poor you. after a year of linguistics and syntax courses you realised you hadn't been able to read a single book or write a single paragraph. was that really it? was college also gonna be a competitive hell of always studying but never really learning?

sick and tired of uni, you tell your parents that you need to get out of the city. you need time to think and make decisions about your future. however, and rather strategically, you don't specify which decisions. you don't mention that you´re thinking about quitting school, or that you'd like to become a full-time writer. you don't want to worry your parents as much as you don't want them to kill you.

after some hard negotiations, you succeed in getting them to let you spend the summer at your grandmother's beach house, back in the town where you grew up.

after a few phone calls and arrangements, your grandmother is not only delighted with your visit but has even offered to find you a part-time job. she says she knows of a small book shop in town where they could use some help. that's perfect! a bookshop sounds like a dream job! now all you have to do is pack your bags!

after you're done packing your essentials, you still have space to pack one more thing. choose one! (note, some are more important than others. also, remember your choice!):

books. are they really that necessary though? i mean, you got a job at a book shop. what could go wrong?

an extra swimsuit. trust me, you don’t wanna borrow a bikini from chaewon.

camera. remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

besides your bag, you're allowed to carry one more piece of luggage on the train ride. which are you choosing?

yoga mat. after all, the concept of this retreat is to ponder, decide on your future and better your mental health. yoga and meditation are definitely the way to go. many people think that the beach is the perfect place to meditate.

guitar. that poor guitar that has been sitting in a corner of your room untouched for the past three years. now that you’re gonna have free time for the first time in your life, why not give it a try? you're probably gonna need someone to teach you tho.

please !! as you go on, don't be shy to comment the choices you make so i get to know your tastes better!! pretty please :)

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georgevilliers · 2 months

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Mary & George thots

I watched all 7 episodes this morning starting at 4:30am on about 4 hours of sleep so here are all of my very sleep deprived but professional opinions. Also, I read the book The King's Assassin by Benjamin Woolley so i have Extra Opinions

(spoilers and lengthy thots beneath the cut)

These are not going to be in any specific order because I can not be bothered (see: me being up since 4am on 4 hours of sleep) and as a blanket statement I loved the show!!!!! Most of the things I will say are going to be neutral statements relating to differences I saw between what I read in the book and what was in the show. These are not good or bad things, just observations! I think it's fun and interesting to look at the things they changed to make it more interesting and palatable for a tv viewing audience, and I don't think it changes the quality of the product at all! With that out of the way, let's get on to the content:

we'll start with the things I loved

NICHOLAS GALITZINE. Like. HELLO??? I am very familiar with his work (watched everything he's been in and recorded a podcast about it) and I know he's been criminally undervalued in almost every project he's ever done but this really, really tested his limits and I mean that in a very good way. You can tell this whole project was a test of his abilities as an actor both physically and mentally and he really rose to the challenge in such an impressive way. I'm not really sure if this is ever going to be Emmy/awards fodder (if they meant it to be they released it at a very poor time but thats a different discussion for another time) but I do think this is going to lead to some very interesting places for him. People (important decision making ones) are going to see this and realise what his abilities are and this is a very good thing.

The costumes are so incredible. The details, the colours, the cuts, the CAMP. I'm not a costuming expert so I have no way of knowing how accurate any of the costuming was but damn did it look good.

On that note the CAMP. Oh my god. This really had that je ne sais quoi that makes something camp in the way only queer people can make something camp, so really hats off to everyone involved in the production value.

I should mention all of the actors here, including Julianne Moore and Tony Curran. I am biased, being that I now seem to only exist to consume Nicky G media, but everyone did such a great job.

The script is so complex and rich, I really don't envy the actors having to memorize some of the tongue twisters that were part of the dialogue.

I think they did a really good job of crafting George as a character. As someone who is predisposed to love Nick's face (lol) I really did feel a bit of hatred towards him sometimes. I found him embarrassing, hot headed, full of himself, and pitiable, sometimes all within a few scenes!

Let's talk about some of the big changes I noticed

they really REALLY made up about 95% of Mary's storyline, I would say. This is just going off the King's Assassin, mind you, but from what I learned about Mary from that book is that essentially her only role in the course George's life took was the initial bit: sending him to France to become a learned gentleman, and sending him to London to try to catch the king's attention. If anyone has any recommendations for sources about Mary's life I could read about I would be very interested in it in order to piece together more fact and fiction! In general, I would just assume the vast majority of Mary's storyline did not happen, but it was fun though! One thing that is mentioned in the book is that her and the king did become good friends.

I really missed the use of nicknames from James. I guess it was hard to show most of them on screen as a lot of them appeared in letters they wrote to each other when they were apart, but James often referred to him as "Steenie" referring to St Stephen who apparently "had the face of an angel", amongst numerous other nicknames such as wife, dog, and child etc.

I also really wish they had included this famous speech of King James' to his privy council, because it is burned into my brain I can literally recite it word for word now: "You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George."

I think they sort of removed some of George's abilities in order to make him rely on Mary more to involve her character in the storylines. In reality he made all of his own political decisions, knew how to play the king without help if he needed, and was a competent (if not terrible and easily swayed by bribery and trying to level up his own interests) member of the government

One of my favourite things to learn from the book is that when George took a wife (which, I believe in reality he was all too happy to marry in order to secure his possessions with an heir) she was welcomed by the king with open arms. King James became besties with Katie and he considered her as sort of part of their "family". In general I think they played up the "jealousies" from King James.

While it is alleged that George did kill James, it was not by asphyxiation. According to the book, he was suffering what is now known as malaria and had a violent fit, thought to be brought on by a "medication" George gave him which was provided by a doctor but actually administered by George, which is what ended up finally killing him

In general I wish the end hadn't felt so...rushed? Maybe it only felt that way because I know how it actually plays out and maybe if I rewatch while not trying to think about real life events so much, it might feel less so. But the whole issue with Spain took up such a small amount of time in the show when in real life it was like...a problem spanning multiple years. And I know they obviously can not show all of that within a 7 episode television show, it does seem like maybe they should have left it out altogether if they weren't really going to see it to its full justice?

My other small complaint is that it felt to me in some parts that the love between King James and George wasn't there. Certainly it feels to me like perhaps George did not feel the same level of love towards King James as the king felt for him, but the king certainly felt so much love for George. There were multiple instances outlined in the book in which they were "on the outs" because George started ignoring him in favour of Charles, or for other reasons, and it seemed to really tear at the king and he seemed to often be the one reaching out to George trying to keep his love close, rather than George trying to rein the king back in under his power. At that point, George had all of the power he needed and the king was so passive and loved him so much, he stayed the king's favourite until death, and George had very little to worry about in that regard.

There! That's all I can think of for now, and I think this has gone on quite long enough. I feel I need to rewatch the show and try harder to not think about real life situations and just enjoy the story. The fiction in the series is greater than the fact but I still think it's fun! And I recognise that there is a need to dramatize things greatly because the way things really played out in reality would not make good television at all. I hope no real history scholars find this post, and if you do please be gentle with me! I am not really an expert, just a history fan (even though I do find myself wanting to quit my job and become a George Villiers scholar).

If you read all of this you really deserve a medal, and you have all my thanks!

#text post #my posts #mary and george #mary & george #nicholas galitzine

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olderthannetfic · 4 months

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People going on about how they're representing this whole Greek thing are missing that that one anon had a pretty good point about how "cultural appropriation" rhetoric gets misused. People do really need to be more specific about what the issue is, or it very easily turns into basically just arguing for cultural segregation. I've seen that happen numerous times on this website over the years. I've seen people argue that it's appropriative to do something like *learn about* another culture or learn its language. I think it's really important for people to keep an eye on what are the actual issues with cultural appropriation (mostly about exploitation and colonialism) and not just the idea that cultural mixing is bad, or that being interested in a culture that isn't your own is bad. Because the truth is, whether you intend this or not, if you're just arguing that everyone should only keep to the culture of their ethnicity or their place of origin or both, then you're basically in agreement with white supremacists. It's not that cultures mixing is bad; most culture is a result of some mixture. It's when it's done in a way that's exploitative and/or disrespectful: like reducing sacred symbols like indigenous war bonnets to a fashion accessory, or incorporating the art of another culture into your own art without giving credit and without paying anyone from that culture who taught you or added to your work.

FTR, I don't think you can "appropriate" ancient mythologies. I think people are getting twisted around though because there is a genuine history of colonial exploitation of Greek artifacts by colonial powers to fill their museums, as with the Elgin marbles. I do think it's still a good idea to be properly informed about them, regardless, at the very least because those make for the more interesting retellings. For all that people (who IME, largely haven't read it, I'd love to hear if people who have read it disagree though) rag on Song of Achilles, I actually thought it was a pretty good example of a retelling because the author, who has an educational background in mythology, takes great pains to try to recreate the society and cultural norms of Greece at that time rather than sugarcoat it. Achilles may be even more of a jerk than he was in the original Iliad, tbh. It's telling to me that the author's other books that are less "shippy" don't have as negative of a reputation on here in that regard as Song of Achilles, despite being fairly similar, and it makes me wonder how much of that is because it's popular among "fujoshi fandom" so people just assume it MUST be shallow and fandomified, and I was super shocked at how much it really wasn't that at all. As well as I saw that a lot of people expecting something more like that were disappointed by all the period-accurate misogyny and so on.

Which brings me to another point: another reason I'm skeptical of a lot of this discourse is that it seems like often it's more of a high-culture, low-culture thing. A thing that is popular with M/M fanfic writers can't POSSIBLY be doing it right. A thing that is a popular video game or Tony-winning Broadway musical that is popular with the fandoms for those things, can't possibly be accurate. And I get that a lot of that is because a lot of populist things that took from Greek mythology have been inaccurate (Disney's Hercules, for instance) but if you're going to criticize the accuracy of something, I think it is worth engaging with the original work and what it actually does rather than just assuming It's Popular It Must Suck. It feels like a lot of this turns into lording that you were into it before X over others. And being aware that Tumblr Recommendations often do a poor job of actually giving you a good idea of what the work is really like.

As well as, of course, asking yourself - as we should with any sort of historical inaccuracy etc. - if the inaccuracy was deliberate or not. Sometimes people are not really telling that story in order to tell the most accurate version of something but to make a different kind of point, and so the changes might be deliberate. I would argue this is true with something like Hadestown.

That doesn't mean you can't still dislike it for that reason, of course. I know a lot of classical musicians who dislike the movie Amadeus for being so inaccurate about Mozart's and Salieri's lives. I like it despite that because I think the point it is trying to make is stronger for not sticking to the historical fact. I just wish more people did know the historical fact, though.

One would think the "Is it bad if I learn to cook Thai food?" thing was a strawman... but I've seen it in the wild far too many times.

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maniculum · 5 months

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Bestiaryposting Results: Kraegrat

Allow me to start with a disclaimer: I woke up sick this morning, so if it seems like I'm doing a worse job than usual stringing words together, let's all agree to blame fatigue & cold medicine.

Now, on to our beast for the week. The entry people are working from can be found here:

This is kind of an interesting one: not only is there no physical description, but the entry consists entirely of describing a single behavior that has at best a tenuous connection to reality. Nevertheless, a number of people indicated that they recognized it, because this is one of those "bestiary fun facts" that tends to stick in folks' heads.

As usual, we're going to go through the depictions in roughly chronological order -- let me know if I missed yours. This week, for some reason, my original post doesn't appear under the #Kraegrat tag, so who even knows what's going on there and I'm fully willing to believe yours is hidden for some kind of absurd Tumblr reason. (Maybe it got flagged under the "don't go nuts don't show nuts" policy -- I kind of suspect that's what happened with the entry post.)

Images below the cut, because (1) aforementioned nuts, though i'm pretty sure this is within Tumblr guidelines, and (2) i really should be doing a cut for all of these but i keep forgetting.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) has gone all in on the pathos, making the Kraegrat small, fuzzy, and sad. They describe it as "beleaguered and persecuted" and "a poor guy" which honestly I think is pretty fair for anyone in a situation where you're constantly being hunted for your testicles. They also cite "tanuki inspo" for obvious testicle-related reasons, and yeah, I see it. Very good Sad Gentle Beast here.

@embervoices (link to post here) has done a few different species of Kraegrat, all of which have kind of a lemur look. (They also provided their own alt text, which I really appreciate, thank you.) The linked post has an explanation of design decisions, and also references that Anansi story about tiger balls. (I googled it just now, and all the results reference American Gods -- did Neil Gaiman make that one up?) Anyway, excellent whimsical lemur thing, love the depiction of it throwing the testicles.

@mayhaps-magical (link to post here) notes their "appropriate medieval disregard for standardized spelling" and explains that they reinterpreted it as "Kragen-rat". My German is almost nonexistent, so I had to do a quick check...

... okay, yeah, I see how that comes into play. I also like the idea of playing around a bit with the spelling and etymology, because gods know the medieval authors did the same with no regard for accuracy. (The vastly-encyclopedic, frequently-inaccurate work that has led Isidore of Seville to be put forth as a potential Patron Saint of the Internet is ostensibly a book of etymologies.) Anyway, I like this guy here. It kind of looks like one of those big dogs that are always kind of shy and nervous around new people, which I think fits with the description as "gentle". Also like that it apparently has both claws and I think thumbs for the throwing of testicles.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) acknowledges that they're pretty sure they know what this animal is supposed to be, but they're trying to put it out of their heads. I think they've done a very good job of that: this is a pretty naturalistic drawing of a ground-dwelling mammal that doesn't quite look like any real animals, including the one that this entry was based on. The post linked above contains a description of the design decisions behind this critter, which I of course recommend checking out.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has, as usual, done a beautifully stylized rendition of this one. She cites the famous unicorn tapestries as inspiration, and I can absolutely see it. I think it's an interesting artistic choice to focus on the hunter rather than the beast in this drawing, but one that absolutely makes sense: the entry doesn't tell us anything about the Kraegrat except how it interacts with hunters. Enjoy your bounty of severed testicles, Sir Hunter... and, um, keep an eye on your dog if you want to make sure you still have all of them when you get home. I think it's contemplating something there. The linked post contains a brief description of design decisions, and also this line, which I enjoyed:

I'd also like to state for the record that when I started this challenge, I was not expecting to draw a field of severed testicles, but here we are. It was more fun than I expected.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has again taken an unusual direction with this one. They describe their interpretation as:

Medicinal plant-like lizard that loses its tail when scared off.

Considering this and the drawing, I think I can see the path of creative interpretation. The animal as presented in the bestiary entry is obviously ridiculous: a mammal that self-castrates to save its life is not an evolutionary success. So what could it be other than that? Well, lizards detach their tails to escape predators; what if there was a lizard with nodules on its tail that medieval people interpreted as testicles?

I can't swear that that is rautavaara's thought process, of course, but it makes sense to me as an interpretation of the material provided, and if that is what they're going for, I think it's quite clever. Also, as usual, the art style here is excellent.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) explains that her design process consisted of blending together various animal features and then giving it sparkly magic balls, because that's all the entry really provides. Which, fair. Also I appreciate the taste in choosing what I think is "tapir + deer" as the animals to blend here. Those tusks kind of remind me of musk deer, which is actually pretty appropriate, as we'll see later. The facial expression plus the sparkly balls strike me as very funny, I have to say. Good beast.

@karthara (link to post here) was apparently also skeptical about the idea of a self-castrating animal, and if you check out the linked post, you'll see a brief explanation of how they resolved that as well as some other thoughts on design decisions. The gist is that the Kraegrat has decoy testicles, which I love as an interpretation. Fantastic. No further notes.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done another ink drawing that is, frankly, delightful. Love the Kraegrat escaping into the Nonspecific Medieval Trees. Love, love, love the hunter getting smacked in the face with a set of thrown testicles while his dog watches. The above linked post also provides an explanation of design decisions which I think is worth reading, go check that out.

@treesurface (link to post here) has drawn us a rat-kangaroo thing (not to be confused with a kangaroo rat) calmly displaying its lack of testicles. Looks fairly good-natured about the situation, really. They provide a brief discussion of their design decisions in the linked post, and also express a desire for more "weird scary beasts" in the future -- so I checked, and while I can't really define what is or isn't a weird scary beast, I think we should get at least one qualifying entry in January.

@pomrania (link to post here) has made the understandable decision that they aren't going to draw animal genitalia today. Fair enough. I also think this is a pretty good depiction of a Mammal that is clearly not any animal we're familiar with -- I'm impressed by how many of the drawings we're getting for this are Plausible Yet Unfamiliar Beasts. Anyway, pomrania provides early sketches and an explanation of design decisions in the linked post. They also express relief that this is not "Yet Another Bird", and I regret to inform you all that there is a small cluster of Bird entries coming our way.

Anyhow, let's take a look at the Aberdeen Bestiary depiction for this one.

I have to say I find this illustration very funny. That bizarre pose where it's wrapped around a tree is good, but what really makes it is the hunters. Look at those two. Spear Guy looks like his eyes are about to bug out of his head, while Axe Guy seems like he's going "hey, is that normal? should we be doing something about that?"

Anyway, as some of you guessed (and as I'm sure more of you picked up from that very accurate Aberdeen illustration above), this is a Beaver.

Yeah, the whole testicle thing is probably a misunderstanding of the castor sacs that beavers use to scent-mark their territory. Castoreum is still used today, mostly in the perfume industry I think, but apparently the medievals had some kind of medicinal use in mind. So the people who surmised that this isn't actually talking about testicles but rather some other anatomical feature that looks like testicles were correct. I have no idea where the idea came from that the beaver would rip them off voluntarily, though.

So! There's this week's bestiaryposting. I will now Retreat to My Chamber and Lay As One Dead (scroll Tumblr in bed until I fall asleep).

#maniculum bestiaryposting #kraegrat

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triviareads · 8 months

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ARC Review of A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

Summary:

Rufus, Earl of Oxney, has dealt with multiple attempts by his uncle to take his title away from him. Now, his uncle is claiming that not only is Rufus illegitimate, but he has proof by way of Lucas Doomsday, a secretary who hails from a notorious family of local smugglers. Rufus hires Lucas to help him search through family archives for proof of his legitimacy, and Lucas agrees, in part because he has his own reasons for being at the estate...

My review:

This is the first book I've read by KJ Charles and I only wish I'd read her works sooner because this was a fabulous read. I adored both of the main characters: Rufus is an ex-soldier, honorable with a bit of a temper. But you can't blame the poor guy; he's trying his best to improve the estate after years of neglect while being constantly challenged by his terrible family. Luke is a secretary who comes from a smuggler clan, so he has a raffish edge to an otherwise (mostly) proper façade. He's a schemer who uses his powers for good when it comes to helping Rufus... and other times not so much.

I loved Rufus and Luke's relationship: it's one that comes from a place of mutual understanding and respect which initially makes them friends and allies, and that actually seems to fuel their emotional and sexual attraction. Rufus did read as demisexual to me just based on what he says (thinks) about not seeing the point of having sex with someone you don't care for. And he finds that with Luke fairly early on, even if Luke has to make the first move ("either fuck me or fire me"... he's a brat can you tell).

Both men have a good deal of familial demons, past and present, and the narrative does a great job of having the characters examine them, reconcile where they can, but otherwise creating their own found family they can be happy around. In a way, it's in direct contract to the villains of the story, mostly Rufus's own family, who are miserable with one another, and yet prize their (Norman... you'll see the word "Norman" many times) blood above all.

The mystery aspect (two mysteries, really, and then another mystery no one expected to find the answer to but stumbled across anyway) was mostly tight and well done. I do think the second half became a little too mystery-heavy at the cost of the romance, but it all tied up neatly at the end. At times I wish I'd read The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen just so I knew Luke's background, especially relating to Sir Gareth and Joss Doomsday, but KJ did a pretty good job of filling in those blanks for the reader.

The sex:

Raw. Intimate. Sexy. I can't write this review without including the droit du seigneur aspect, which starts as a joke between Rufus and Luke, but very much ends up as a kink of sort for them in that Luke wants to be taken in the manner of a feudal lord in the olden days sleeping with a vessel's wife first on their wedding night (possessive, a bit rough), which I thought was very hot, and very well done. Luke is a bit of a brat and wants to make Rufus work for it, but Rufus is absolutely willing to rise to the challenge (both Luke and Rufus seem to have a competence kink too). A relentless man, if you will.

Because of how the plot progresses, there's actually a lot more sex scenes in the first half of the book than in the second, but honestly the wait pays off because by the time they're reunited, the emotions are just that much heightened by the fact that they love one another now. I was actually near tears when Luke admits that when he first asked Rufus to "fuck him like he owns him", he really wished that he was his. It was so so romantic.

Overall:

I'd recommend this book to anyone, but specifically readers looking for a romance intertwined with a mystery or adventure, and anyone looking for a queer historical romance. I loved this book so much, and I'm looking forward to reading more KJ Charles.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

#arc #arc review #netgalley #KJ Charles #SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca #sourcebooks #historical romance #queer romance

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savage-rhi · 11 months

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Summer Reading/Writing/Arting Tag!

I was tagged by @blossom-adventures and a few others. I apologize it took so damn long, and thank you for inviting me to play 💙

Not gonna tag anyone, but if you want to hop on board and have me read what you write, feel free to tag me back! (mentally I’m here ⬇️)

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer. Just one!

Yeah, that’s a hard pass. I’m going to share more than one! Gonna preface by saying my summer writing schedule is riding on what my new job entails. I won’t have 3 day weekends anymore, but I’ll be working less hours during the day. It’s with hope that I’ll have a better work/life balance going forward.

I’m working on a Reader x Ardyn fic, and plotting a new Death Stranding fic. I’m hoping this summer too I’ll be able to complete The Sacrifice (Karl Heisenberg x OC/Sonja Ainsley). I have gotten so much done on all of these, but I’m not confident right now sharing them because I’m healing from work burn out and a whole host of other shit.

2) Recommend a book.

Yeah, again I’m going to have be a rebel and give you a couple because that’s how I roll ;D

Heir & Vampire Magic by P.K. Reeves (also a lovely tumblr friend)

Reincarnation Blues: A Novel by Michael Poore

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Also throwing my own poetry book in here for giggles

3) Recommend a fic!

No one can stop the rebellion...

@seradyn has some lovely Ardyn/FFXV work that I recommend even if you’re not into bastard men. She has a wonderful way of writing characters. Same goes for @hauntedadagium

@pandora-writes-stuff & @astrandofgold have some great Death Stranding material (especially if you like Higgs)

@woundedheartwithin @blossom-adventures @vodkafolie also have some great work worth checking out.

4) Recommend music!

Tina Turner--RIP Queen. She was a beautiful soul and her music is powerful.

Raining in Kyoto (Lofi Hip-Hop)--Comes with a cute froggo

The XX--I’ve loved these guys since my early days of college. Good beats and some powerful lyrics.

5) Share one piece of advice!

Rest. Rest. REST.

If you’re dealing with burnout, don’t find joy in your creative endeavors, don’t feel like people appreciate you, have a creator block, that’s a sign you need to dial it back and take a break. If you can have a few days to a week off not doing anything, do that. Seriously. Don’t. Do. Anything.

It’s okay to not be productive all the time. We are not machines, not everyone wants to be a content creator or be categorized as such, and you don’t owe anyone jack shit (ngl it’s nice to create things for people and have feedback as being your motivator but don’t make this your only source of joy when you make something. If you absolutely need an audience, get 1-3 friends who are consistently supportive of you to be beta readers, give critique, or be hype men).

I’m guilty of not following my own advice here, but seriously, go the fuck to sleep my beautiful deprived lovely darlings.

#summer reading writing and art tag game #tag game #thank you for reading #i hope you find a new author or artist you love from my sharing

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whenthechickencry · 1 month

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Cornelia, The New Priest

Released between EP5 and EP6.

The episode starts with listing how Cornelia's job betrayed her expectations, starting with her having more free time than she thought she would and having a "looser" atmosphere than she thought.

She then complains about her lunch break being 15 minutes more than in the books and how she is allowed to speak in normal language in the office, I am sorry Cornelia but oh my god would I hate having you as a coworker.

We dog et some background into why Cornelia is like this, though, apparently she used up any allowance money she received in order to attend weekly court language class, and her parents were poor. Certainly feels like they aren't taking seriously something she used a lot of effort to learn

Some foreshadowing for Will here, neat.

Cornelia isn't in the department she wanted, she is in General Affairs, despite top students usually getting their choice and Cornelia being top of the class. They mention it probably has to do with the interviews, which I assume they noticed she's kind of naive and probably too by the book for field stuff.

Cornelia's issue is not that she won't speak in normal language but she can't, despite very obviously speaking the same language others struggle to understand her. I can relate a little bit as someone that's bilingual but has an accent that I can't rid of, lol. Anyways, everyone kind of hates her after failing to order and considers her incompetent...

Cornelia and Gertrude meet, which fills Cornelia with newfound confidence as they both struggle to communicate, so if she can be promoted so can she. She admonishes Gertrude in her head about not speaking in court language, and Gertrude corrects her way of thinking.

Gertrude then recommends for Cornelia to submit to some projects, and that she has high hopes for her.

Cornelia I think some offices would kill you on the spot if you suggested this as a newbie.

Cornelia is struggling a lot between ideal and reality, how to make her dreams come true while still operating within what is possible. It's hard to not feel very bad for her as she goes on with this even if you don't agree with her at all.

Cornelia is pretty sharp about her flaws and about what must be done, all things considered... it's just a lot harder to apply what you know abstractly to be true when it's not what you are used to at all.

After talking with Gertrude about changing the world vs changing yourself, Gertrude resolves to first focus on becoming an adult, someone who can face the hardships of day-to-day life, before trying to change the world.

This episode is speaking surprisingly close to my heart right now. I used to feel really bad about how useless I thought I was, how little skills I had, how there was no point in even trying because I am incompetent. But internalizing that I have a lot of time to learn things, and that even if I might be a little behind compared to others that is perfectly ok, I will keep trying and I will learn the skills I want to learn, has helped me a lot.

Meanwhile, with Dlanor and Gertrude...

Dlanor's eternal youthfulness gets a bit of a recontextualization here, with the whole being naive and childish but keeping your ideals vs becoming an adult, you can see Dlanor as someone who managed to achieve both. This one was really neat, actually, I like characterization for the side characters and this story hit a lot of notes that felt were very needed to me at this moment.

#umineko #umitsubasa

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library-goblin · 1 year

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The very first time I sent an email to someone other than a friend or family member was when I was 12. I had just finished primary school and about a week into secondary school, I realised that my primary school had done a really bad job at teaching the grammar of my native language. Because of how the system works where I live, I realised that this would be a problem for all my courses and that if I did not do something about it, I would never be able to attend a university, despite the fact that I excelled at all my other courses. I put on my big girl shoes (I’ve always been a somewhat nervous person), and decided to write an email to my teacher, explaining the situation and asking if maybe she knew someone who could tutor me or if she maybe had some exercises that I could do on top of the homework. It was the very first email I sent to someone who had “authority” in my eyes.

The answer I got was revolting. Instead of answering my email, she had copied mine, coloured all the grammar mistakes red (the entire email was red), and told me she was not going to answer an email that was written that poorly. Clearly, she agreed with me that I had a problem, I knew nothing about grammar, but instead of encouraging me to learn by helping me, she had embarrassed me.

It got worse.. At the start of the next class, my email was up on the screen (she removed my name, but she might as well not have) and she told everyone that sending these kinds of emails was inappropriate. It became an exercise, everyone had to correct the grammar mistakes in the email, I still couldn’t. The problem is that I agreed with her: sending poor quality emails is inappropriate. That was the whole point, I wanted and needed to learn.

I taught myself the grammar. I bought some books, my parents helped me, and I am now able to write “appropriate” emails. The problem is that, even now, I proofread all of them hundreds of times before I send them. I make my parents read them. Whether it is an email enquiring when something will be, or a really formal email asking someone to write me a letter of recommendation, or even something stupid like “here is the form you asked me to fill out”, every email I send has been proofread at least 50 times. And if I find a mistake after sending it? I want to die. I tell myself I’ll look stupid, that it is inappropriate, and that it will be the end of my career. All because of that teacher.

There have been so many points during my secondary school period that still haunt me, that absolutely broke me. The teacher who told me I was “too dumb for maths” even though I used to score straight A’s until I got him. The history teacher who said I would never score a sufficient grade because “I didn’t try,” whilst I studied so hard; I loved history! The economics teacher who marked my answer wrong whilst my classmate wrote the same thing and it was marked right, because “mine sounded a little too blonde” (I am blonde, she was not. Why this matters? You tell me). The teacher who refused to give me the booklet at the universities’ fair because “I would fail if I went, so I shouldn’t try”. I have now got a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree, both cum laude.

The only class where I was never hurt, was in English. It seemed to be the one place where I could turn all my anxiety into something that worked. During the oral exam for my native language class, I got a panic attack because, quite frankly, I was attacked. All of the questions she asked where irrelevant, from things that weren’t on the syllabus, or from novels we hadn’t even read. I spoke to my classmates, their orals were not like that. They all passed. I failed. One day after, I had my English oral, and I was shitting my pants. But I didn’t stifle in English. When things were said I disagreed with, I spoke up. I gave opinions. We had to prepare an article, I told them that the article that I was assigned was incorrect, and listed all the reasons why. He showed me pictures that I had to describe, and I believe I steered the conversation to politics and the climate crisis, telling them the world was dying. The teachers in all my other courses would’ve said I was out of line, but I got a 10/10, the highest grade possible. When something had to be read aloud in class, I was always picked by the teacher, hell, I volunteered. I LOVED it. It was the one place in school, where I felt like I could speak.

People always ask me why I am becoming an English teacher, even though I did fantastic in university and could become anything in the field I’d want to. This is the answer. Schools are not doing what they should be doing. The extroverts, the ones who already dare to speak up, are being encouraged, their bold ideas applauded, even when they are straight up wrong. The quiet kids suffer; after six years, whilst having learnt so much, they feel less confident speaking up than before. The quiet kids matter too. We are raising the next generation, don’t let the quiet kids slip through the system. They got big words, once they dare to say them; I want to teach them how to say them. I am becoming an English teacher because if the past years have taught us anything, it is that people without voices stay forever silent, even when they are the ones that should be shouting. I will be to them, what my English teachers were to me; a safe haven; a place to learn how to shout.

#english litblr #school #academia #litblr #uniblr #studyblr #university #teacher #teacher training #english #english literature #God I wanna go back to that school and repeat the things they told me #just to see if they are aware that they said them #Honestly tho #if that school has a vacancy after I finish next year #the position is mine

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maeve-is-annoying-about-books · 9 months

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House of Leaves, Miscellany

Who made the dark?

This book is consistently the dark, and it constantly teases you as to who is its maker. Navidson, Zampanò, Johnny... There are endless scraps of poetry, quotes, and pictures here, and all are quite interesting. I'm sure they hold tons of clues about who the author is, promising answers if only you'd dive a little deeper into it.

I choose, however, to exit the maze. I have zero doubt that the inclusion of all these fragments at the end, over 100 pages worth, is really good food for the people who want more. But ultimately my feeling of House of Leaves is that you must, eventually, draw your own conclusion on what reality is. Bearing your light in the darkness of infinite possibility.

So all of these pages. Fragments, poems, letters, pictures, quotes... All of the get folded into this one review at the end. Am I a poor reader if I said I get the same feeling out of them all? It's...

Have you ever seen a leveled house? There are floorboards and shards of a door and a fragment of what might be the sink all around you. Nails poke out everywhere and you could never hope to tell what its little job was in the structure that was. That's the feeling I get reading through these passages and bits. It's all fragments and leftovers of a whole that'll never really be that. It's that big sadness when you find a scrap of cloth, and you wonder if it were the child's dress, the kitchen curtain, or a doll's Sunday best. Or maybe it was just a bit of a lost handkerchief covered in sneezes. Bereft of their context, the only meaning we have is the one we can pull out of the aether and attach it to.

Karen was right, the house really did dissolve. And became this.

At least we know where Johnny gets his purple prose, and maybe his madness, from. It's... heartbreaking to see someone lose touch with reality. I say that from experience but won't relate that experience here. Pelafina, Johnny's mother, clearly adores her son. Vastly so. Almost scarily so, he can do no wrong but the crime of not coming to see her. There is more... I feel something potentially terrible being insinuated here behind it all. But I have to admit to skipping through these a bit.

I'd rather not revisit this difficulty, just yet, please excuse me.

What I will say, though, concerns that fairness I talked about last time. The Navidson Record is alluring because it is fair, it has cadence. Then this is the opposite. This bill for cremation, but with very special offers for just 3000 or 1000 dollars more. Way to go, capitalism, you've done it again. You've cheapened death down to what you can sell to the aggrieved in need. It is an abrupt, pale end. It's not a grand sendoff in a mahogany room with fine carpet and beautiful music playing. It's the county morgue with its buzzing florescent lights that reeks of industrial cleaner.

And with that, as I close the last cover, I find I have to do it with some mindfulness. that I have to choose to let go of the scraps and mysteries. That I have my conclusions and have to hold to them. The house will always be here for me to revisit, after all. It really was the incredible experience my dear friends recommended to me. I'd love to see more like it, this amount of passion and deliberate choice, all to say something you can just barely get a grasp on.

I'm glad I read this book. What more could I say about it? What did I take away from it?

I think my answer is creativity. I think it's a story about facing infinite choice and carrying on. Putting faith in what you mean to do rather than get lost wandering.

But, as Zampanò said, this story has a way of slipping the bounds of any label or answer you put to it. Rather than say that I have the ultimate solution to it, I think instead I'll say...

I got the photos I want, finally.

#live reading #house of leaves #maeve's house of leaves readalong

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cacodemonmania · 10 months

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Review - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Major Spoiler Warning!

Note: I’m writing this on mobile rather than desktop as I usually do, so I apologize for any formatting or grammar issues.

I’ve previously read one of Rebecca Ross’ books (Dreams Lie Beneath) and it was one of my favorites. When I got Divine Rivals I was excited to see a familiar author’s name! Fortunately, unlike Dreams Lie Beneath, Divine Royals is a series (I await the next book with anticipation).

I’d like to begin with the ending. Unfortunately, I saw tragedy coming. It was one of those moments where the happy ending has happened, you feel good, and you realize there’s too many pages left. The gas scene took me by surprise however, and it tore at my heart. Forest telling her not to look back, Roman *crawling* to her.

Roman’s POV in the entire story is both satisfying and aggravating. His pining over Iris and his innate need to protect her are definitely satisfying and fun to read. However the jarring change from Iris being whole heartedly convinced that he’s trying to upstage her to him just trying to protect his crush could be just a little frustrating. Iris, darling, I realize you’ve been through a lot but the poor man is just in love with you.

When Iris’ mom died, my heart nearly broke. The fact that she found out through an ad she had to write in the paper asking if anyone could identify a body and she *knew* breaks my heart. Then, of course, Roman delivering Iris’ jacket to her was also very sweet.

The war was a huge element of this story. This may sound like an obvious and silly thing to say, but I am very against war. I think in reviewing history and looking at numbers and dates, we forget the impact war has on actual people and families and countries. People tend to forget that armies and soldiers aren’t robots or just another factor in a battle. Reading this book, that was all described first hand and it made me very sad. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though something you should keep in mind if you read it. I think many people are surprised by how horrific war is, and the book does a good job (from my knowledge) of showing some of that. The Lieutenant who looked out for them dying as the last of his battalion (that may be the wrong phrase but I don’t have the book with me to reference, apologies) and telling Iris the story of their tree. All of the people in the infirmary. Keegan. Forest. Oh, Forest. The greatest example within the book of how experiences and trauma can change a person. I thought the description of the front lines, but especially the people affected by it (Attie, the injured soldiers, etc.) was well done. I was worried for the characters. Their pain, panic, fear, and sympathy felt real.

All in all, though this book was sad and had a hint of miscommunication, I still really like it. Though the main character could seem stubborn or hard headed at times, in my opinion it makes her more real. She is going through griefs of all kinds and protecting herself in the ways she knows how. The world building and writing itself were some of my favorite parts of the book. Rebecca Ross never ceases to enchant me with her words. The dynamic of the gods with the mortals was interesting and relatively unlike other similar interactions.

I would recommend this book highly, though with a few warnings. Rebecca Ross, you’ve won me over again and I’m super excited for the next book.

#divine rivals #rebecca ross #book review #booklr #iris winnow #roman kitt

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damnea · 2 years

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Seymour Smoke gets a job at knapford station.

The Fat Controller wasn't happy.

These last couple of weeks had been fraught with difficulty and now he had to contend with the local safety inspector intruding into his office.

With his book in hand and a click of his pen, the inspector set about making notes.

"The stations fire exits aren't marked clearly, the fire drills are in shambles, and the fire extinguishers are upside down and expired."

He then stepped up onto an office chair and pulled down a shoddily taped up smoke sniffer.

"This device doesn't even have any bloody batteries in it!"

The Fat Controller went red in the face, he was sure they were there this morning...

"This doesn't happen often, I can assure you. The safety inspector wasn't so convinced.

"It's not like the thing works anyway, even with batteries-"

The inspector sharply raised an eyebrow at this.

"I beg your pardon?"

He clicked his pen and wrote "regular safety flouter" down in his book.

"And where are the batteries...?" He asked in a stern tone.

With a little "peep-peep" the answer soon presented itself.

A tiny toy train appeared from behind the office desk. The tiny Thomas chuffed happily passed their feet, letting of a cheeky whoosh of steam as it went.

It was full of life and running cheerfully along it's little plastic track, no doubt thanks to it's new batteries

"Peep peep, thanks for all the juice!"

A note was quickly made, and with that the little engine puffed away on another jaunty adventure around it's benefactor's desk.

"I highly recommend you get your act together here, and you can start by dealing with that little trip hazard."

And without another word, the inspector left in a huff.

The warning was clear as day and so the Fat Controller quickly set about righting all the issues.

And he started with the smoke detector.

After all, he did like new gadgets.

--- One Amazon delivery later ---

The next day, the Fat Controller was busy filling in some neglected forms when a grumbly voice came croaking from the ceiling.

"Excuseeee me." Mumbled a sickly voice.

The Fat Controller sighed "What is it now Seymour?"

"Would you be so kind as to close that door? Those old fire hazards on wheels are taking years off my warranty..." His coughing grew louder upon Gordon's arrival.

"I have a better suggestion," came a familiar grumpy tone.

"Why don't we get rid of that whiny little wheeze box and get a proper smoke detector. You know, one that doesn't come with complaining?" The irony was lost on the big engine, he started poop-pooping crossly at the little device.

Poor Seymour was trying his best.

He'd only been up about three hours, but it felt longer.

In his first twenty minutes out of the packaging, he must have screamed at least a half a dozen times.

---

"EEEEEEEEEEEE, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!" Screamed poor Seymour.

"Thomas! Move away from the office door for Pete's sake, your fire is upsetting him!" The Fat Controller scolded.

"But sir I need it to live!"

"I'm trying to get my work done and I can't with him screaming!"

---

Most of the complaints were false alarms of course.

One was for the toaster, two for the smoke breaks, and the rest for every moment the little toy train passed by blowing steam.

It wasn't real smoke, but Seymour didn't care. He was just doing his job.

Gordon was fed up, "Just get rid of him already!"

"I can't... we need to have a smoke detector..." The Fat Controller had long given up working and now just sat angrily at his desk, watching Gordon and Seymour argue.

"Bloody nuisance." The big engine snapped.

"Big windbag." Snarked the sniffer.

And with that last offending remark, the Fat Controller quickly whipped the window blinds down.

Gordon wasn't having that though, and purposefully directed a violent sneeze through the office doorway.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FIRE!" Seymour screamed.

He took his job very seriously and would occasionally have his own daring feats of heroism, but those were few and far between.

He did save a dozing Fat Controller from his own Easy-press waffle maker once, but that was about it.

With a wave of his blackened waffles, the Fat Controller lamented his poor purchases this year.

"Should have sprang for the air frier."

One too many vengeful engine sneezes eventually had Seymour forcefully relocated to a locker room.

#incorrect ttte #my british butt has missed out on quality ads #thankyou for introducing me to seymour smokes #he can hold his own on the NWR

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the-storyteller-and-her-soldiers · 2 years

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GIRLFRIEND GUESSES MY F/OS!

Final Fantasy 15 Prompto: She thought was the prince, scrappy, lil brother energy of the group, really passionate about something like bikes, picks fights only he can win 'cause he also a bit of a coward! 2000s pop type

Ignis: She knew his name, and got him pretty spot on! Dad friend, book-smart, good at cooking, resourceful in the sense that he's got the mechanic number on hand, handles situations well but gets stressed beneath it all.

Gladio: Too tired to remember his name, knew it once I told her, mechanic type, big tiddie energy man, knew him as the guy I like, short-tempered in the sense he'll tell the others to STFU, protecc mode, big dog energy, handles situations but not always with tact!

Final Fantasy: Stranger of Paradise Jack: Thought he was Gladdy until closer inspection, thinks he's the 2nd in command, got a bit of an ego, talks big and could back it up but the superiors tell him to STFU... can have a bit of softness underneath but very underneath... Judgement

Masaharu Kaito: YAKUZA MAN, fun shirt, tuff and gruff type, responsible in the sense he's lived through and learned from his mistakes, energy of a Rick, definitely my type, big brother energy and responsible for others, drinks respect woman juice, kinda??? a himbo

Sugiuara: A PRETTY OLDER LADY! Totally the foil who scolds the protag-- wait, that's a dude? Oh! (shame ensues), Younger, 18, skater boi, doesn't connect with his dad fully, a bit cool

Higashi: His suit top says 'cool' his shirt says 'disco', casual-friend type, he fucks in general, suave type, he does good with kids but doesn't have his own, respects women

Mafuyu: Office worker, put-together or at least appears to be, friendly enough to do snack and drink runs if you pay your own way, sweet but doesn't have a good connection with others in the sense that she could use someone to vent her woes too and be the listener for once...

Takayuki Yagami: Tired, he needs sleep, yakuza life isn't for him, probably friends with someone in the yakuza, worried and is also Done(tm) with their yakuza friend doing dumb shit, likes gardening and small plants, owns either small dog or cat, get this man sleeeeeeep, didn't realize he was a crush of mine!

Ayabe: Poor dude, lost his job, get him a hairbrush, a better mattress, and a club soda, let him pet some puppies in the adoption center, wants to be a good friend but doesn't have the energy to handle your needs. (Me: He's a corrupt cop--) any weight I feel has been lifted and I no longer care!

Kuroiwa: He gets paid good but doesn't get much pussy, who ties their tie that tight, don't like him, looks like he's turning to say "Do you know who I am?"

Devil May Cry 4 Nero: Big sword, possibly compensating, edgy, shadow the hedgehog type, has a good soft heart, trying his best, will talk at you rather than with, he has no social skill, (old comment): "You're angst compatible!!"

Metal Gear Rising Raiden: SHE KNEW HIM, Couldn't remember his name, new name is Clasp, not comfy enough in his skin really, covers up insecurities by protecting and snarkiness, eyeshadow on fleek, tries to seem cool, is but also isn't

Sunny: Spunky, the kid with too much energy, no set schedule but works best that way, she came into her own as she grew up, quirky, but willing to work hard, also tries to help others when she can

Cobra Kai Robby: this is Robby right, bad boy, does crime, heart of gold underneath it all, would be happy to get a scar to show it off, sets off fireworks display without reading directions, parental issues

And I believe that's all I showed her for now! All of it is in good humor and only off what little she's seen and what I've told her... I love her and if you have any recommendations for her to 'judge' than please send em my way! Imma tag: @floweringforgetfulness @jellyfish-ships @ignited-lovers @disneymarina @promptoargentumsgirlfriend just because I mentioned their boys! Hope you don't mind!!

#selfship #selfshipdom #selfship community #self insert community #self shipping #fo community #f/o community #f/o content #f/o suggestions

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grellestie · 1 year

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ive been playing a shit ton of darkest dungeon lately and here's my opinion on which black butler characters would be which class!!

darkest dungeon is really cool btw!! it kind of has the same elements of black butler (fucked up protag, supernatural creatures, mental health being explored in a neat way, and the running theme of everyone being the absolute worst besides like two or three people!). i really recommend it if you love sadistic video games with eldritch horrors!!

under da tag bc i dont shut up

ciel: ngl. he's the one that gets fucked over by the ancestor and has to build teams to kill eldritch horrors. which is what i thought at first

but...

after thinking, he should be houndmaster and instead of a dog, it's just sebastian, pouting. /j

sebastian: BUT SERIOUSLY- for sebby, i'd like to think maaaybe occultist? there really isn't any classes close to a demon so someone who can summon eldritch horrors to fight other eldritch horrors seems like it'd make sense.

mey rin: musketeer. obvi. she go pew pew!! and also has the WORST ACCURACY IN THE WORLD- (this is personal salt, let me live. been so close to having party wipes)

bard: honestly. highwayman. he has one(1) attack that could count as an explosive. also they kinda have the same haircut!! i think it fits also theres no real explosives in the base game sadly. UNLESS you wanna talk enemies- then there's brigand vvulf who blows things the fuck up because he can! i think that fits him too! kind of!! since brigand is kind of a massive asshole.

finny: OH GOD,,, i had a toughie with this one buuuut- im probably going to go with bounty hunter or leper because of finny's SHEER strength. he's just busted man and you can beat the entire game with leper sooooo yeah! the mean part of me wanted to say abomination but again, thats mean but it's extremely wild to me that they pretty much have the same Tragic Backstory of experimented on for the lols and now just have to deal with it. at least finny got the better end of the stick! poor abomination...

now the reapers! (in order of appearance)

grelle: hellion! she is the biggest girlboss in the game so ofc she'd fit grelle, come on now. the hellion class is extremely broken powerful and puts out an insane amount of damage! a part of me wants to argue grave robber but it doesn't have a lot of flashy and powerful moves- this is mainly considering grelle is the 3rd strongest character in the series iirc.

william: OH ANOTHER HARD ONE- but i think he'd fit being a shieldbreaker! it's a bit of a stretch but hear me out- it's mainly the weapon and it's capabilities that would make william fit the class the most!! also her defensive end seeing as william being pretty good at Not Getting His Shit Wrecked or at least as badly (book of circus is def something i needa rewatch)

undertaker: oh this bitch. i'm probably going to go with the prophet boss! the prophet defied the ancestor by speaking facts and wouldn't die no matter what the ancestor did, kind of like how taker is with the dispatch. also the fact they're both blind but hit like a fucking truck fits!!

ronald: my BOY! now HE'D be grave robber!! he's not really too strong and kinda squishy but can still be formidable if not taken seriously. also the mental image of him hitting an undead with a pickaxe to the face is funny to me-

eric: either highwayman or man-at-arms! both classes are good at taking out a lot of enemies at once and eric is pretty good at killing people <3

alan: OUGH another hard one- i think character wise (more than attack wise), he'd def fit the leper. the leper goes through it and so does alan yet they still kick ass and get the job done!

othello: this dummy! i think antiquarian would fit! antiquarians are support heroes 100% and then they hit like a truck...! a toy truck...! a toy truck that's a stuffie...! unless you get a hit off with "nervous stab" but it's not really all that worth it. OH and the move "protect me" that's pretty much the same as othello using grelle as a meat shield fits.

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casspurrjoybellbittner · 3 months

Text

Wreckless - The Beach House

*Warning Adult Content*

Emmett

Yesterday I got a text from Finnegan telling me that Megan had found us a place and with almost no begging and Peter gave me the go ahead.

He complained that he'd actually have to work for a week but was happy for me, for us.

This morning I worked, then came home and tried to get ready to leave the house for a week.

Andy said he'd come by and feed and play with Marten which was the biggest thing to take care of.

I did laundry, cleaned out the fridge and took out the trash.

I pulled the cooler out of the basement and filled it.

I've learned that Finnegan likes to snack at all hours and most of the hotel rooms near the beach have those little refrigerator/micro combos so I brought some fruit, string cheese, drinks and microwave popcorn too.

At the last second I remembered to grab one of his cups.

Finnegan is supposed to be back by now so I text him.

Emmett Locke: Hey darling. Is everything going okay over there?

Finnegan Walker: Stupid stupid-heads aren't even HERE YET. I have to see them before we leave so I have to wait.

Emmett Locke: Did you call and confirm?

Obviously big Finn would have but the whole 'stupid-heads' is making me think he may not be quite his normal work self.

Finnegan Walker: Of course. They're at another job and on their way. They have been on the way for the last two hours. I need a vacation.

Emmett Locke: You're getting one tomorrow. Anything I can do to help?

Finnegan Walker: Any chance you want to pack for me? I don't have much, we can buy stuff there right? I'll do my toiletries in the morning but my shorts and sleepies and a few t-shirts?

He's right, he doesn't even have a weeks worth of casual clothes because his dress clothes took up so much room.

I'm going to handle that for him since he handed me another huge check this morning.

Emmett Locke: I've got you, darling, no worries. I recommend going to the bathroom. People always show up as soon as you gotta piss.

Finnegan Walker: I'm desperate enough to try anything. TY :)

He's not the only desperate one, I can not wait to have some more time with him next week.

I try 'Old Navy' because they make slims, which will look amazing on Finn and they have some fun stuff that I think he'll like.

I end up scoring big and get him an extra pair of trunks with sharks all over them and a matching blue rash-guard shirt to protect his poor shoulders, two pairs of shorts, three t-shirts and a really cute short sleeve button-down.

I get him two fun graphic tees, a funny pair of socks and a pair of flip flops for the beach and pool because all he has are fancy leather sandals.

That will do him but still give him room in the suitcase to shop if he wants to.

I stop by the dollar store on the way home grab a few ridiculous things that we probably won't ever use.

I get two bubble wands, two squirt guns, a beach ball and a raft that probably won't hold either of us.

I pack his jeans because damn he looks good in them and if it rains the evenings may be cool, a pair of long pajama pants and pretty much everything else he has at my place that doesn't involve wool or need to be starched except for one outfit that I leave folded on my dresser for tomorrow and of course his night undies.

Then I let Marten out and play with him for hours before cleaning his cage.

Finally, hours after he should be, Finnegan is back home.

"Hi darling," I holler from upstairs when I hear the door.

"I'm done," he says gleefully.

He comes careening up the stairs and leaps into my arms.

"Can we go now?"

It's not THAT late but...

"I thought the booking started tomorrow."

"Nope. I had to do weekly Saturday to Saturday. I know it wasn't the plan, I just want out of here. I want to be with you and forget about work. I just need to change and pack some stupid work stuff but I can be ready in like ten minutes because you're amazing and packed for me."

He's not usually so impulsive but how can I say no to wanting more time together?

"I'll get the toiletries and put the suitcase in the car. I assume we're taking yours?"

I'm looking forward to driving it, actually.

"Yeah, of course. I can't believe we're really going."

His excitement is contagious and I'm grinning like an idiot.

"Okay, in the car by six p.m. Darling. We'll stop and get something to eat on the way."

He kisses my cheek before dashing towards his office.

"Thanks, Emmett."

********

Finn has the address in his cell-phone's GPS so I pay no attention.

We're going east so I assume it knows what it's doing.

When we get close I ask...

"Which hotel is it?"

"She got us a house... a block away from the water. Sorry she couldn't find anything closer... we'll plan better next time."

He's kidding, right? I've never stayed within walking distance of the actual ocean and a house?

There are some adorable beach cottages all clustered together not far from the beach, maybe it's one of those.

That would be sweet.

I follow along as the phone chirps directions at me and when Finnegan points and says...

"That looks like it."

I slow down.

"Yeah, 303. That's us Emmett... the blue one, right here."

He's shitting me.

It's the cutest house I've ever seen and it's huge.

Well, probably not huge by his standards but it's a lot bigger than my rowhouse.

"This is crazy, Finnegan. Seriously?"

He doesn't answer, he jumps out of the car as soon as I put it in park and runs to the door.

He punches in a code and disappears inside as I grab my bag and his suitcase.

The porch light was left on for us but he's running around flipping on more.

"It's so CUTE," he squeals.

"Emmett... Emmett... look at the pool."

There's a pool? Of course, just what you need next to the beach.

My jaw drops open when I look through the huge window and there are fountains shooting water across the pool.

Finnegan is turning them on and off but soon tires of that game and runs upstairs.

"Our bedroom."

He meets me halfway up the stairs, grabs his suitcase and lugs it the rest of the way.

"There are three... well two and an office with a sleeper couch but this is ours."

It's beautiful.

I was in a torn up old palace once but this is definitely the nicest room I've ever been in.

It looks like the 'after' on one of those remodeling shows.

The whole house does, actually.

It even has a door to a little balcony and I'm pretty sure that in the morning we're going to be able to see the ocean because it's way too dark over there to be anything else.

"Can you start unpacking while I get the cooler?"

I guess I shouldn't have worried about having a fridge.

"Okay but then I wanna go to the beach."

"Tonight? It's late."

"Please? I just wanna see it and smell it and hear it. Please? Ten minutes... that's all," he promises.

"Sure Finnegan, I could use a walk to stretch my legs."

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