#i'm thinking of picking a scene from the books i read and drawing that
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2023 Draw My Reads
Here is a full list of all the books I read in 2023 and links to the art I’ve made for them.
Just a few quick notes. I didn’t make art for everything I read. I also fell off the wagon a bit toward the end and went through an art block. Not sure if I’ll continue this project into 2024 but I might do some variation. We’ll see.
Also, I read some absolutely filthy (and ridiculous) stuff sometimes. So be warned.
*Sequels will have an asterisk. First book in series will be in parenthesis.
January
1. Alpha Wolf* by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti (Caged Wolf)
2. Feral Wolf* by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti (Caged Wolf)
3. Constantine: Distorted Illusions by Kami Garcia and Isaac Goodhart
4. The Ballad of Never After* by Stephanie Garber (Once Upon a Broken Heart)
5. Wicked Beauty* by Katee Robert (Neon Gods)
6. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
7. Hell Bent* by Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House)
Total (so far): 7
February
1. How Y’all Doing by Leslie Jordan
2. Vengeful* by V.E. Schwab (Vicious)
3. A Court of Mist and Fury* by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses)
4. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Total (so far): 11
March
1. Kingdom of Flesh and Fire* by Jennifer L. Armentrout (From Blood and Ash)
2. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
4. Scarlet* by Marissa Meyer (Cinder)
5. Cress* by Marissa Meyer (Cinder)
Total (so far): 16
April
1. Winter* by Marissa Meyer (Cinder)
2. A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne
3. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
4. Lauren’s Barbarian* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians, spinoff series)
Total (so far): 20
May
1. Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith
2. The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither
3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
4. Fable by Adrienne Young
5. Bea Wolf by Weinersmith
6. Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Total (so far): 26
June
1. A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene
2. Veronica’s Dragon* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians, spinoff series)
3. Willa’s Beast* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians, spinoff series)
4. Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo
5. Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey
6. A Court of Silver Flames* by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses)
7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Total (so far): 33
July
1. Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil* by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti (Zodiac Academy: The Awakening)
2. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
3. The Traitor Queen* by Danielle L. Jensen (The Bridge Kingdom)
4. The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young
5. Sheets by Brenna Thummler
6. Cackle by Rachel Harrison
7. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. The Borderlands Princess by Ophelia Wells Langley
9. Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes
10. Vow of the Shadow King* by Sylvia Mercedes (Bride of the Shadow King)
11. Angie’s Gladiator* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
12. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
13. Gail’s Family* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
14. Hanna’s Hero* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
15. Devi’s Distraction* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
16. Destination Alien Bride by Dee J. Holmes
Total (so far): 49
August
1. Destination Alien Mate* by Dee J. Holmes (Destination Alien Bride)
2. Gilded by Marissa Meyer
3. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
4. Cursed* by Marissa Meyer (Gilded)
5. Nadine’s Champion* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
6. Callie’s Catastrophe* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
7. Ice Planet Honeymoon* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians)
8. Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
9. I’m in Love with Mothman by Paige Lavoie
Total (so far): 58
September
1. Cryptid Club by Sarah Andersen
2. Radiant Sin* by Katee Robert (Neon Gods)
3. Ice Planet Honeymoon: Raahosh and Liz* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians)
4. The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner
5. Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano
6. Ice Planet Honeymoon: Aehako and Kira* by Ruby Dixon (Ice Planet Barbarians)
7. A Soul to Heal by Opal Reyne* (A Soul to Keep)
8. Ice Planet Honeymoon: Rukh and Harlow by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians)
9. The Barbarian Before Christmas by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians)
10. Penny’s Protector by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
11. Mari’s Mistake by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
12. Raven’s Return by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
Total (so far): 70
October
1. Bridget’s Bane by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
2. Steph’s Outcast by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
3. Sam’s Secret by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
4. Daisy’s Decision by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
5. Flor’s Fiasco by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
6. R’jaal’s Resonance by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians spinoff series)
7. Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfheart
8. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
9. A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber* (Once Upon a Broken Heart)
Total (so far): 79
November
1. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
2. Namesake by Adrienne Young* (Fable)
3. Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
4. Surviving Skarr by Ruby Dixon* (Ice Planet Barbarians Spinoff series)
5. Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle
6. Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson* (Sorcery of Thorns)
7. Destination Alien Treasure by Dee J Holmes* (Destination Alien Bride)
8. Zodiac Academy: Origins of an Academy Bully by Susanne Valenti and Caroline Peckham* (Zodiac Academy: The Awakening)
9. When She’s Ready by Ruby Dixon
10. When She’s Married by Ruby Dixon* (When She’s Ready)
11. When She Purrs by Ruby Dixon* (When She’s Ready)
12. When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon* (When She’s Ready)
Total (so far): 91
December
1. The Dreaming Forest by LB Black
2. Gold by Raven Kennedy* (Gild)
3. Chained to Krampus by KL Wyatt
4. Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell* (Series of standalones)
Total Reads For 2023: 95
My goal was to read 90 books and I beat that by 5. I think I’m going to set my reading goal to just 80 this year. Just to give myself a little more freedom. I did read a lot of really short books just to get my number up and I’d rather just focus on reading whatever I want.
Shortest book read: Ice Planet Honeymoon: Raahosh and Liz by Ruby Dixon
Longest book read: Winter by Marissa Meyer
Current read started in 2023 but will finish in 2024: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
#drawing my reads#drawing my reads masterlist#drawing my reads 2023#giving this a full update at the start of a new year#i don't want to give up on this project completely in 2024#but i might change how i do things#i'm thinking of picking a scene from the books i read and drawing that#but i want to give myself a little more freedom#last year i drew book characters even when i wasn't super into the book#and i don't want people coming to my page expecting more fanart of that book#only to be disappointed when i choose not to continue the series#so that being said#i'm reading ten thousand doors of january right now#i haven't found a scene i particularly want to draw just yet#and i'm currently working on a non book related art piece#so hopefully i can get that one done today while i'm off work
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Trans Horror Authors
My January reading challenge is to read a book by a trans author. Luckily, there are many out there to choose from! Here are some who write in the horror genre, because that's my area of expertise. If you know of others, whether in horror or other genres, reply with your recommendations!
In no particular order...
Caitlin R. Kiernan
A genderfluid Irish-American paleontologist who also writes spectacular cosmic horror, what's not to love? They've been repping queerness since the 80s and have a robust library to choose from, so you're bound to find something you'll like!
Poppy Z. Brite
Billy Martin, whose work is published under the name Poppy Z. Brite, was a big name in the Gothic horror scene of the 1990s and continues to be a frequently-recommended author, although he doesn't publish as much horror these days.
Julya Oui
A Malaysian trans woman and prolific short story author. She has several collections out that you can browse, if short stories are your speed! Maybe start with Taiping Tales of Terror, which draws heavily on her native folklore and influences.
Rivers Solomon
A nonbinary, intersex Black author now living in the U.K., Solomon has three books out and they all look spectacular. Their books lean more toward sci-fi/fantasy, but their newest title Sorrowland looks to be pretty solidly Gothic as well.
Gretchen Felker-Martin
Trans woman, film critic, and unapologetically outspoken. Her best-known book is Manhunt, a post-apocalyptic horror tale that doesn't pull any punches. She's got another new release slated for 2024 to keep an eye on.
Hailey Piper
One of the most prolific authors I can name off the top of my head, Hailey also has several novellas out in the world + a few novels. If the intersection of queer fiction, body horror, and cosmic horror sounds like your thing, you can find something in her backlist. Also she's here on tumblr, go learn more at @haileypiperfights
Eve Harms
A bit of a new player on the field, but well worth checking out. Eve is a Jewish trans woman. Her debut novel, Transmuted, is a breathless body horror romp. She also makes a bunch of handmade zines, which I just think are neat :)
Natalie Ironside
One of Tumblr's very own better-known names, Natalie is queer, disabled, trans, hilarious, and author to at least three novels I can think of plus some other stuff too - go scope her out on @natalieironside for the details.
.....I know I'm missing a ton of people but these were the first ones that came to mind. I have to get back to writing, but I hope this inspires y'all to pick up a book you haven't read yet, and to add to my list down in the notes.
Happy reading, y'all :)
#book club#reading recs#bookblr#trans authors#lgbt horror#trans horror#book recommendations#reading#amreading#seriously y'all if you people read non-horror#please leave some trans author recs#there are people in my book club#who need non-horror ideas#for some reason#:P
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@riddlebirdweek day 2 - children
two separate images today (they looked awkward in one image so I just separated them LOL)
some headcanon-y thoughts under the cut
I was just thinking about how they would be as children - Oswald, I think, has a lot of hand-me-downs and very little of his clothing as a child is ever brand new. I imagined that Gertrud probably continued working as a housekeeper for as long as Oswald would physically allow her to until he could support both of them, so I think the clothes come from secondhand stores, charities, but also especially the children of households where Gertrud cleans, when their children outgrow their clothes she salvaged whatever she could to give to him. The hat and scarf in the picture I imagined to either be new (a special treat because they're a necessity in Gotham winters) or handmade by her.
The drawing to the left I imagined him to be a bit younger but it's sort of kind of half a panel redraw from the One Bad Day run because... he is small.
I wasn't originally thinking about drawing Ed at all and here, I think he's a little bit older than Oswald in both drawings (they're sort of ambiguously "over 10") but I started wondering what kind of child Ed would have been before I realized... I already know exactly. We don't really know much about his parents and I don't really feel comfortable speculating on his home life because I don't think I personally know enough to try and imagine it myself, but... I was thinking about what kinds of books he might read, in general?
What I came up with was mostly that I imagined he probably finds fiction to be distracting, if he can't get through a book without picking it apart applying real world logic to a fantasy setting, he wouldn't enjoy it, but I thought... maybe if he had read The Hobbit when he was really small, specifically the Hobbit, I think he would love it secretly. The only fantasy book he can tolerate, he's read other Tolkien works but I think that's the only one that would really resonate with him, he probably wouldn't have enjoyed it if he had been any older when he first read it.
To be honest, mainly I was thinking that the scene with Gollum would sort of just tickle him, you know? Not to say "he likes riddles because he read the hobbit when he was little :)" or anything so simple but I think that scene would just be incredible to his little mind as a child, that's more what I'm getting at.
Also Gotham Ed would have been like 12 in 2000 and I was thinking about those like spy gadget kits that used to be really popular and thought about like. He would probably have adored stuff like that.
I didn't draw that though, I was just thinking about it.
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I started watching a few extremely long reviews of garbage books (and some reviews of better books, but that's not what I'm focusing on here) because 1) I need stuff playing in the background while I work and there's a LOT of time to fill, and 2) I don't have to pay it my full attention (can't give it). I'm not going to be tested on this later. I don't even have to look at the screen.
While I understand "everyone stop talking about garbage books, you're just giving them free advertising, you're being PROVOKED into giving this terrible book free advertising", it is still... fun... to listen to someone pull apart the pieces of a badly written story just to dunk on them. And if the reviewer actually knows what they're talking about in regards to writing and better stories, then you can actually learn a lot. I think that when learning, it helps to study good art and how it works, but it can also help to look at "bad art" and study why it doesn't work. I think that the strings of what a creator is trying to accomplish are often more visible here.
I also picked up some specific tips to keep in mind when providing descriptions! Example: It generally pays to design your world (characters, locations) with more specifics to draw people in. What KIND of sword? What KIND of tree? Also, when people write descriptions, they leave often leave out the sense of smell, which is not always necessary to include, but can be a helpful tool when setting a scene. Like, I already knew this stuff, but it's good to keep specific thoughts / critiques freshly in mind if there's something specific that I want to work on in my own writing.
I'm also super nosy sometimes and I want to know what people are talking about without having to read it for myself. And I know some people find it depressing that writing THIS bad gets published at all and becomes super popular, and I feel that sometimes, but I also find it kind of heartening while reflecting on my own writing and knowing I'm definitely better than that. And I actually like being reminded that I'm not alone in my frustration at various creative industries, and being reminded how much of success comes down to connections and good luck.
Most of all, sometimes I just really need some random book nerd to take me gently by the hand and say, "You're not crazy. It's not just you. This New York Times bestseller, that went viral on TikTok, by a multi-millionaire author, is complete dogshit."
(I haven't read anything super bad recently, actually, but years ago, I read a single Danielle Steel book (from a library, can't remember the title) because I saw her name around a lot and I was vaguely curious if she was honestly any good. That book made me feel nuts with how bad it was. Airport bookshops lied to me about her skill as an author. :( )
#I was watching KrimsonRogue and as far as I know he hasn't read Steel; I hope he doesn't; he seems like he's been through enough#tossawary watching#tossawary reading
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Can I ask you about the scene with Priam?
Before this Achilles is not “sleeping,” bathing, eating, or drinking as part of his mourning process. We see him holding Patroclus’ body, a no-no as the body is “unclean.” (Also, he shaves his head, rolls in dirt, passes out in dirt, etc.) I have seen some takes about how this is part of Achilles’ mourning process for both Pat and himself and how this is him sort of losing the rest of his humanity. Then just-just prior to the Priam scene, Thetis goes to Achilles to tell him to give Priam Hector’s body. Achilles just gives in without any resistance. This is around line 130. She’s like, ‘baby you got to move on from this. Go have something to eat and fuck a woman’ (some of the phrasing here is curious, but it’s not exactly the focus of my question). I always thought this quick acceptance to see Priam was a sign of his deep depression and resignation to his fate.
But then in the scene with Priam he plays proper host. He’s eating and drinking. Then he (debatable imo) goes off to fuck Briseis. It’s like he is literally doing what his mother told him to do. So why the switch from rejecting human customs and needs to engaging in “normal” behavior? As you mentioned, these old stories function differently and don’t exactly have characters arcs with lessons learned. So like wtf is going on? What are we supposed to do with this information?
No disrespect here, but sometimes I think these reversal scenes (which happen multiple times) are just one of Homer’s co-authors/editors going off and doing their own thing and there’s really no hidden meaning at all.
Okay so first of all, I think the notion of Homer's "editors" tampering with the text is a fairly popular one in some circles, I have heard a few different versions of it and I'm not sure I agree or disagree. Most classicists whose work I've read so far, and who work predominantly with Homer, tend to take the Iliad and Odyssey at face value and to automatically assume that the works are the way Homer/whoever wrote them intended them to be. And this is the way I myself engage with the Homeric works, because I think once you go "oh that part here is nonsense, it has probably been changed by those nebulous editors" then you're so much more likely to pick and choose what you like and draw your own conclusions and I don’t think that's fair to the work and the extensive body of work dealing with that work. Ykwim? So let's just say that the Iliad as a whole, and the part you highlighted in particular, are in the fact the way the original epic is meant to be.
The last few books of the Iliad, in my opinion, are the breakdown of Achilles' character. In the beginning, despite his anger and resentment towards Agamemnon, we still see him put together and civil with everyone during the embassy scene, and then again when he speaks with Patroclus, arms him and sends him forth to fight. Then, after Patroclus dies, he loses the plot and goes on his rampage, where his grace, respect and courtesy even towards his enemies fly right out the window. Even after he kills Hector and drags him around, he finds no peace. He refuses to eat, drink or bathe and still yearns and cries for Patroclus. But then, after he sees Patroclus' shade at the beach, is where the second most important change comes about if you ask me; this is when Achilles seems to wholeheartedly accept his death. We have Patroclus' funeral, then the funeral games, where Achilles seems to once again find his nobility and grace, as well as showcase how adept he is at diplomacy and handling the other warchiefs' pettiness and arrogance. Even with Agamemnon he is generous and polite, not exhibiting any resentment towards him.
But there's something different about that scene compared to all the others imo: there is not much of the energy, fire and determination we would see earlier, even when he was grieving. He gives away so much of his treasure too; my friend Baejax and I have often talked about this scene and how it feels like Achilles is giving away his wealth because he has no need for it, since he'll be dying soon anyway. This is a man that has fully accepted that hard behind glory rides death, and that it will be coming swiftly for him.
And this is how I've always seen the meeting with Priam, tbh. For me personally, that scene has always been about grief, mortality and the cost of glory (which is the most important commodity in the Iliad universe) and a meditation on the suffering which unites mankind. Achilles talks about his homeland and the father he has left behind whom he will never again see, about the pain he has caused Priam and his people, about the gods and the ultimate lack of choice that humans have. Men must suffer, he says, and must make others suffer in a world without justice.
So for me it isn’t so much Achilles embracing again the human customs he had rejected, but instead fully acknowledging the reality of his position and resigning himself to it. I don't think that Achilles "plays" the host, so much as he extends his hospitality to Priam (which, again, very important ideal in the Iliad, it's where the Trojan war started in a way. With Paris violating the Achaean's hospitality and stealing Helen), acknowledges Priam's suffering, and acknowledges how instrumental he has been in said suffering. In that scene, killer and victim become one, and with the insight into each other’s condition comes compassion. And I think that's a powerful statement, and perhaps the most enduring in the Iliad. Soon after that, the Trojans bury Hector, which foreshadows and mirrors' Achilles' funeral as well. This "double funeral" completes the Iliad, and its overarching tragedy.
Now. The thing is that Achilles is a really divisive personality to begin with, and the scene with Priam even more so. He isn’t easy to categorise or analyse, and depending on the lens through which one sees his actions and behaviours, the interpretation could change greatly. Rachel Bespaloff in her commentary On the Iliad (which I absolutely loathe and want to tear in little pieces and burn LOL) says that "to rid himself of troublesome responsibility Achilles ducks behind fatality" during the Priam scene, and that his words to the old king are "scandalous behaviour". If you ask me, this take completely ignores Achilles' own suffering and rejects his role in the Iliad as the idealistic, honourable and rigid in his honour and beliefs young hero who almost completely loses his humanity BECAUSE of the ugliness and pettiness of war, because of that suffering, because of his own grief, because of injustice, because of bad leadership, because violence simply begets violence. And it also completely ignores the larger and overarching idea in the Iliad that death and glory, suffering and good fortune go hand in hand. And that this doesn't only apply to good and noble Priam and Hector, but also (you guessed it) to Achilles, in this final scene which is a moment of shared humanity between "enemies" and one of the most poignant in the epic.
Anyway. To conclude this tangent, no, I do not believe that Achilles simply does what his momma tells him to do, nor does he wine and dine Priam for the hell of it. I believe that this is the most depressed, resigned and desolate we see Achilles in the entire poem, a man simply awaiting his death with nothing really to look forward to in life, but who still retains his humanity and treats the people around him with the dignity and respect they deserve.
I hope this answered your question!
#achilles#the iliad#Homer's iliad#listen i just want to chase takes like bespaloff's with a baseball bat until they stop existing#no book has ever managed to raise my blood pressure but this managed it beautifully#thank god a lot of analyses I read these days seem to directly oppose it#anyway it's super fucking late and i'm barely coherent i should go to bed#patrochilles#Patroclus#priam
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TCG - Chase The Mirage
pairing -> Cyno x Adventurer!Reader x Tighnari; poly
word count -> 1.7k+ words
themes -> fluff, established relationship, scenarios and headcanons, lots of card game terminologies
(masterlist) (previous) The two Kings of Invokations, infatuated and hooked to a simple adventurer from the Adventurer’s Guild. Thankfully, in this universe, there is no need to duel each other for your heart.
"What a peculiar move, especially this far in the game already." Looking up from the light novel you picked up from Inazuma in your last trip, you shift your attention to the playing field before you.
"We're testing your new deck, I think it's only appropriate to see how well it works against slow build up players." Tighnari would notice your stare and send you a smile, before concentrating once again to observe Cyno's turn.
Shaking your head with a smile, you go back to reading as their chatters and occasional bickering turn to background noise.
It's one of those rare days where the three of you had the 'day-off' to enjoy time together. Emphasis on day-off seeing as your two lovers are still technically on the clock due to their positions, but here under the shade of a tree in the forest, only you three matter.
And for today's date, Cyno eagerly challenged Tighnari to a Genius Invokation TCG duel to try out his new deck. And the latter decided to humor him.
When it comes to his favorite card game, the General exudes the same seriousness when he deals with Matra work. This thought passes you as you sneak a glance at the way he strokes his chin with squinted eyes.
So focused in fact that he didn't see your hand approach his face until you're shoving the apple slice between his lips. He says a muffled thanks as he eats the slice whole, mirth in his eyes at your antics.
"Hey, why does he get hand-fed when I'm the one winning here?" Tighnari looks at the two of you with a mock glare and pout, prompting you to throw a grape at his face which he expertly evaded with a laugh.
"You're not a winner until you defeat all my charac- oh." Looking at the field, Cyno realized that all of his character cards are indeed defeated. "Must you really finish me with my own card?"
Unlike Cyno, however, Tighnari simply plays the game for fun (or when his lovers ask for a game) while being good at it still. The forest watcher only shrugs in response as he cradles the fruit bowl.
Thinking that would be the end of their game, you yelped when Cyno suddenly yanked you to his side to sit between his legs, book pried out of your hands and laid pages down to save your progress. "What the -"
"Since I lost, then it should be (Y/N)'s turn to duel you, right?" Cards upon cards fall into your grasp in your still confused state. Tighnari who now sits across you scowls at the man behind you. "Don't worry, I'll be assisting you the whole time since you're using my cards."
"And they say I'm the sly vixen here." Tighnari scoffs as he shuffles his deck, this time he seemed to be sitting up straight to show how he's taking this game more seriously now.
"I didn't even-" Your words were interrupted at Cyno's hands offering the 8-sided dice to you. You sigh. "I hate you two." And your hand throws the die to start your turn.
With your combined powers (aka Cyno's relentless backseating), you managed to defeat Tighnari with a score of 2/3. But when he then pulled you to his lap to assist YOU on defeating Cyno, you doubt that you actually won that last round.
"You two are such idiots." You grumbled as you draw the exile artifact card.
"You're also an idiot by association."
You throw the die to whoever said that.
About TCG: Introduction
It was inevitable that you got wrapped up on the TCG scene too when you have Tighnari and Cyno as lovers.
Like some kind of initiation, prerequisite to your relationship, the game was the first thing you were taught after you became official.
However, that doesn't mean you're good at it - then again, those two aren't really the best comparison to your beginner skills. There's just a lot of mental gymnastics involved that you can't keep up with.
So no, just because you're in a relationship with the kings of invokations doesn't guarantee that you're immediately a pro.
Your first deck was actually given to you by their combined cards. Extra cards they pulled or cards that don't fit their meta, it looked like an absolute mess when you knew better.
But it was endearing inheriting their cards, especially when you can see their genuine desire to share this hobby with you. Well, obsession for Cyno.
You realized this as the one who runs into Cyno a lot due to your wandering occupation, he would ALWAYS ask you if you want to play a round whenever you cross paths.
At first, you can't find it in your heart to decline since you're still learning. It wasn't until Tighnari caught wind of what Cyno was doing that he pulled you off to the side, lecturing you and reiterating that you CAN say no.
Turns out Tighnari also deals with Cyno's dueling addiction, and that if he doesn't decline, it would end up with him skipping important forest watcher duties.
To think you were lectured about the importance of consent over a trading card game.
The first time you opened a pack of cards was also a memory worth remembering.
While on a date in the city, Cyno pulled you and Tighnari to Dori after hearing that the merchant had a new batch in stock.
Paying for your respective packs, the three of you made a whole fuss to open up your cards at the same time. Somehow, while their packs were full of mediocre cards and duplicates, when they turned to you -
"What god did you sell your soul to?!" "What?" "This is the first time I've seen three meta cards in one pack!"
As a beginner, you only look at what design looks good or shiny, so you did not understand why they're breaking down on the floor then.
Dubbed as their archon of luck, it became tradition that if you were in the area, they would force you to open their pack for them.
You wish this luck of yours were for something else, honestly.
About TCG: Habits
Before you got into the game, they would always show you their new packs, showing off the beautiful designs and the rarities. At that time, you didn't know how expensive or 'meta' each card was. If it's shiny, it's probably good.
When Tighnari lets you peruse through his deck of unused cards, he would pay great attention to the cards that you took interest in even just by design.
And then he'll let you keep it! Doesn't matter if it's shiny or a really good card, you can have it, keep it in your home or in your wallet if you want.
Even if he only has one copy of a particular card, seeing you happy makes the sacrifice worth it.
It was also hilarious to see Cyno make a fuss about seeing said cards on your person when you catch up when crossing paths.
He'll look at your tiny but growing collection and throw in random facts here and there. "Ohh, you even have this card? What else do I expect from my lover, such good taste." He praises with a nod, exaggeratedly.
They both have their personal playing mats that matches their aesthetic greatly, and one that has the the limited edition Adventurer's Guild design because it reminds them of you! It's not the best looking one out there, but it's special to them.
Mats are pretty bulky so you don't really like bringing one around so when a game is expected, they bring their spare for you to use like the sweethearts that they are.
Cyno, still with his absurd spending habits when it comes to Genius Invokation, commissioned someone for custom deck boxes as a gift to you and Tighnari. It was definitely expensive seeing as he had to save up for it.
When Cyno is crafting a new deck, he urges you to do the same. Spice things up, you know? He likes to hear your opinion despite knowing more than you, to the point that he made a whole other desk made with your favorite cards and play style.
He uses that deck for casual games with the Matra, and they don't fail to notice how he seems to have a wisp of a smile on his face the whole time he plays.
Tighnari, on the other hand, is a meticulous player with a penchant for detail.
All of his cards have sleeves!!!! He likes taking care of his things and that includes his cards, some of them even have double sleeves! You can find him taking his sweet time putting each card in sleeves on a slow day.
Sometimes, you join him on putting sleeves if your hands aren't dirty, at least.
"Do you have a favorite color?" The next time you see him, he gives you a pack of sleeves in that color for your own deck. Do you want him to help you with that, actually? I think he finds it relaxing.
He also has fancy dice of his own which he changes around depending on his mood. Of course, you also get your own! There's a marbled set, a set that's galaxy-themed, oh oh this one refracts light to make a rainbow -
You don't participate in tournaments unlike your boyfriends, but they always encourage you to play with other players besides them for practice.
Tighnari doesn't give Cyno one tho, he's sure that he can buy it himself. Or lends him a set at least, one that's violet with gold accents, and had since 'forgotten' to take it back from him.
But if there's one habit that they share, it's that whenever you're around during a game, they are always guaranteed to win. It's because you're their lucky charm, they say, but it's as simple as wanting to show off when you're cheering for them so supportively.
"No, you shouldn't expend all your energy cards this turn." Your fingers twitched before moving to an artifact card instead.
"Are you sure you want to pull that out now? You're not really attacking this turn."
Your opponent, Amir, stares at you in sympathy as you pinch the bridge of your nose. Behind you, Cyno and Tighnari started a whole new conversation about strategies and what your next move should be.
"Um, do they even realize that they pretty much revealed your hand to me?"
"I think we should reschedule."
Amir let out a horrified gasp when you turned around and smacked your beloveds over the head with your deck box.
Maybe he should exercise how to say no to an invitation, too.
My TCG knowledge from my card game enthusiast seniors back in college has finally been put to use
@chuusposts @ireallylikehamsters @maehemthemisfit
#tighnari x reader#cyno x reader#genshin x reader#genshin impact x reader#exile.flower#gender neutral#chase the mirage#genshin impact fluff#sumeru arc#tighnari#cyno#poly cynonari
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Hi! For the WIP List Game: Dragon Jedi AU?? I am intrigued
Hehe, that one is inspired by @bubblew0lf1's Dragon!Jedi AU! I adore all of their dragon designs, especially Obi-Wan's, and it got me thinking about a sort of fantasy AU where the Jedi are shape-shifting dragons. I'm not sure it's something that'll ever become a finished thing, but it's been fun to think about.
Rambling and a snippet below the cut :P
This AU's setting would condense most of the notable SW planets into continents/countries/cities on one planet; there wouldn't be any space travel, though technology would probably be better than in a medieval fantasy setting. Dragons are rare and I'm thinking the knowledge of their intelligence and that they can also be people is not well-known (either a closely guarded secret or actively suppressed)--and they're also being actively hunted by the Republic/Empire under the justification that dragons are extremely dangerous (this is Palpatine's fault, and he has far more nefarious reasons for hunting them down). I haven't worked out all the worldbuilding details, but I think the Jedi are a subset of dragons who serve as guardians where they can; recently, though, they've been forced to hide due to being hunted.
In this world, Cody and Rex are wardens (possibly heading up a small group of rangers) of a large woody/mountainous area bordering a very rural town far from the center of the Republic; the land was claimed and the town founded by the Mereel-Fett family after unrest in Mandalore forced Jaster Mereel (Jango Fett's adoptive father, Cody and Rex's grandfather) and his clan to leave. Mandalorians have a complicated history with dragons, but Jaster liked to tell stories about Tarre Vizla, a Mandalorian leader long ago who either was close friends with a dragon or was a dragon himself; details passed down through the centuries seem unclear. Jango's never been that interested in the tales, but Rex and especially Cody enjoyed them growing up.
Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka moved to the town together pretty recently; I think Obi-Wan runs a bookshop (or maybe a small library? A fusion of the two?), while Anakin works as a mechanic who's teaching Ahsoka the trade as well. Cody likes to read and chats with Obi-Wan when he stops by for books, while Rex brings the rangers' equipment to Anakin and Ahsoka for professional servicing (Rex tinkers a bit himself, but Anakin's a wizard) and they become fast friends. Of course, the friendly neighborhood bookkeeper and mechanics don't tell anyone that they're also dragons, including the Fetts, but Cody and Rex find out the truth eventually.
The only thing I actually started writing for this beyond notes is a scene just after Obi-Wan (in dragon form) fights Grievous (also a dragon but not a Jedi) somewhere deep in the Fetts' protected area. Cody had been doing a sweep/patrol at the time and witnessed at least part of the fight, and he goes to investigate the aftermath.
Warning that it's more gruesome than I usually go, what with blood and a dead dragon. This is just also the most snippable portion of what little I have, I think.
There is a deafening thud, and then—
Silence.
Cody slowly approaches the edge of the ravine and looks down. A hulking white shape lies still at the base of the rocky slope, red pooling under its gash-ridden body. It’s hard to tell from a distance what precisely killed it, but the lack of motion and abundance of blood suggest that either it’s dead or will be soon. Partially obscured, a smaller brown shape lies behind the great white beast, closer to the river; it seems similarly bloodied and still. Cody feels a pang of sorrow—that one had saved his life, whether intentionally or not.
…Better make sure they’re dead, lest any survivors roam too close to town.
Cody picks his way carefully down the side of the ravine, shifting between stepping and climbing as needed. When he’s made it to the bottom, he draws his rifle and approaches the white dragon.
There is no movement between its sharply defined ribs, and up close Cody can see where the base of its throat has been torn open by—well, horns or claws, most likely. He follows the long neck up to the head, where dull yellow eyes stare sightlessly out from behind a gaping maw. Cody prods its nose lightly with the tip of his rifle. No response.
Tempting as it still is to put a bolt in its skull, he’s hunted enough himself to know what death looks like. There’s no need.
He steps around the body of the beast toward the visible back of the brown one. One of its wings lies bent at an unnatural angle behind it, and—
It’s breathing, quick and labored. Not moving otherwise, but still alive, at least for now.
(Once he works out he's not going to get mauled to death for trying to help, Cody puts his wilderness first-aid skills to use. He still doesn't learn that it's Obi-Wan for a while, though.)
#Patchy Babbles#Patchy Writes#Thanks for the ask! :P#All my fanfic is self-indulgent but this one especially so#I can make my blorbos watch over a pseudo-preserve and also have dragons and nobody can stop me#Tag Games#cw blood#cw death
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hiya! i was wondering if you have the time to, possibly writing something small about reader spouting out little random facts but spencer keeps accidentally one upping her facts but doesn’t realise what he’s doing and the team is like,,, spence seriously,,, love ur workkkkk sm <3
"This." You say, pointing to the symbols on the crime scene photos while you flip the page of a book with your other hand. "Comes from this Greek myth." You show the team your finding, proud of yourself about making the discovery.
You didn't join the BAU for your ego, but it felt good to prove yourself to the team since you're the newbie.
"Did you know myths are different than legends?" Spencer asks, drawing the attention away from your discovery. "Although the words are used synonymously, myths have a much deeper meaning and cultural significance that are usually specific to a region, rather than legends that are based on a part-truth."
You've heard his fact blurting before, and it feels good to have something you can talk about with him, and maybe if you're lucky, impress him. "The word myth came from the Greek word mythos which means story."
"Lots of our words do actually: chaos, atlas, charity, chronologically, hypnosis-"
JJ bumps him on the shoulder before he can keep going and one-up you, and you shrink into your seat while avoiding eye contact with him. You just wanted him to like you, but it's clear he thinks he's much smarter.
Hotch, thankfully, breaks the awkward silence. "Good job, L/n."
You avoid Spencer for the rest of the case, trying not to get in his way, as much as you wish he would like you.
He might not have picked up on it at the station, but he picks up on it when you chose to sit alone on the jet, rather than at the table with him, JJ, and Morgan.
He can't seem to figure out what's going on, so he gets out of his seat and comes to sit in front of you. "Hi." He says softly, dragging your attention away from the book you're fidgeting with.
"Hey." You reply, only braving a small look at him.
"Did I say something wrong?" He asks bluntly, not worried about beating around the bush. You shake your head at him. "I know I can talk a lot, and I'm sorry if I interrupted you or said something that made you uncomfortable."
He looks genuinely concerned about it, and it makes you feel bad. "I just- you're so smart and it's kind of intimidating."
His shock only continues, written all over his face. "Y/n, I think you're smart, too, and that stuff you knew about Greek mythology was seriously cool. I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise by taking away from your point."
You blush at hearing his compliments, more excited than you thought you would be at how he feels about you. It feels like an in with him, and you're so ready to have something to talk to him about. "Have you read Mythos by Stephen Fry?"
#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x y/n#spencer reid x you#spencer reid fandom#criminal minds#spencer reid blurb
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Considering what to do for the bestiaryposting creature of this week. It's almost certainly a bird of some sort, in that it flies and has a beak, but I don't know enough about medieval aviculture to even speculate on what kind of bird it might be, that it's domesticated and in those colours.
I don't want to draw a bird, so instead I'm going to make it some type of dragon. And also, the wild variety will have JUST as much petty drama as the tame variety, it's just that humans aren't around to see it for the wild ones.
Think I'll go for a bipedal dragon, those are fun; and also means I'm less likely to end up drawing a cat. Still not sure whether "ash" means LIGHT grey or DARK grey. Trying to figure out what "variegated" might imply for the colours; I guess here it's some combination of white and grey.
Hoping that I'll be able to get something out for this week that's more polished than the previous three weeks. I've finished the cats-in-wizard-hats art event, so that's no longer going to interfere; plus my arm is functionally healed by now (I still put gauze over the area, but that's mostly to keep anything from interfering with the scab until it's fully healed). The BIGGEST most likely problem I can trace is that today I picked up a book I'd ordered, and while I don't have to worry about getting sucked into a story (and thus unable to come out until I've finished it) because it's a sourcebook, it's still something I'm very interested to keep reading.
I've a mental image, of some medieval farmer lady picking up one of these creatures (pulling it away from a hissing match with another of its kind) and going "why can't you be sedate and dignified like those ones flying overhead". Potential problems with that idea are a) will I have the time and energy to draw something that's actually a scene, instead of just what the creature looks like, and b) FOLDS IN CLOTH, they're the best thing about drawing animals in that animals don't WEAR clothes thus I don't have to depict how fabric drapes. Guess I could always do it as like a stick figure, on the side.
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[part 3/4] DIR EN GREY WOWOW Interview & Document (2020)
"But looking at these, seeing Diru's behind-the-scenes production process, I still feel it's not easy, DIR EN GREY is really amazing." — Shinya
Notes before reading:
The whole interview is divided into 8 topics, and the translation is divided into 4 parts. This is the third part, including the 5th topic. The details of all topics and time markers are 👉 here.
I have added Chinese subtitles for this video in 2021. The whole interview was very meaningful, and I hope that with the English translation, more people can understand what they're talking about.
The five members were interviewed separately and then edited into a video, so the words spoken by each of them are not necessarily coherent.
Repost and share are welcome.🙌 I translated it all by my ears, so please feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts.☺️
— — —
05. Member Feature
[ 薫 Kaoru ]
►Memories of the Band Formation
Kaoru: Even ONE MAN LIVE, we still didn't have the budget to decorate the stage. But we still wanted it, so we went to TOKYU HANDS* and bought Styrofoam, flower decorations, and wire or something like that. It's fun that we all made stage decorations in the house together.
(*Note: "TOKYU HANDS" is a Japanese chain of home-based department stores specializing in selling DIY products.)
►Something of Recent Interest
Kaoru: I am often asked, but I can't think of anything. I don't want to do anything when I get home. This month, in June, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (the movie) will be released, and I really like it.
Kaoru: It's almost over, of course I also want to see it earlier, but after watching it is really over. I'm a little happy that it's going to be postponed, that it won't be released this year (2020), and that I won't be able to watch it.
(Staff: Emotionally, you still can't accept it.)
Kaoru: Yeah, yeah, it will feel like it's not the end yet.
►Opportunity for Solo Exhibition
(*Screen caption: Kaoru held a solo exhibition”ノウテイカラノ”in 2019.)
Kaoru: The reason for the exhibition is that a few years ago my hands started to become a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't hold the pick properly to play the guitar, so I had to put the pick on my fingers with tape*. As a kind of rehabilitation, I started to draw and try to show some random things, but the story is not yet that rich.
(*Note: Around 2014, Kaoru's hands began to show signs of abnormalities, which were diagnosed to be the occupational disease, caused by relaxation of the ligaments of the muscles or joints.)
►The Origin of「ノウテイカラノ」("nouteikarano”)
Kaoru: When I was a child, I often had a dream. I don't know if it was the sky or the ground, but there was a pure white place, and from far away, I could see a lot of dots, as if there was a large group of things coming closer and closer, and in an instant, they all swarmed towards me.
Kaoru: Every night I would dream about it, and then I woke up with a start. I wake up every time I dream about it, and what happens after that? I imagine what happens after that, try to draw a picture like this, go back to my mind at that time and imagine it.
(*Note: According to Kaoru’s scend book “Dokugen ni” (published in 2018) P.85, "ノウテイカラノ" means "脳底からの" (born from inside the head), just written in katakana.
►Influence on the Band
Kaoru: At first, I wanted to draw with a different feeling, and I felt that my creative power was stimulated, so I thought I could compose with a different feeling. But, rather, it seems to be more difficult to make a song. (laughs)
...
[ Shinya ]
►The Person You Admire
Shinya: I've been in a band since my first year of middle school. X was very popular in the class, and YOSHIKI-san's presence was very strong. At that time I decided to become a drummer like him, and I've always looked up to YOSHIKI-san since then.
►Memories of the Band Formation
Shinya: We used to compose in a studio in Osaka. There was a container-like studio, and I remember we stayed there for 3 or 4 days, composing the song together. The studio was rented, and we slept there under the blankets.
Shinya: I never understood why we had to share a room*. The studio was in Osaka and we could just go home, so why did we have to spend the night there? I guess other members might have felt the same way.
(*Shinya used the word "gashuku, 合宿")
►Reason for Not Changing the Style
Shinya: There are people who have liked me for a long time. Also, I can feel the beauty by keeping my old look, and that's why (I don't change my look).
►Opportunity to Start Solo Project
(*Screen caption: Shinya established the music group "SERAPH" in 2017.)
Shinya: The concept was already there many years ago, but I felt that it was a bit taboo to have other band activities, so I didn't do anything. But around 2012 or 2013, I started to think that it was okay, so I went into it with the intention of trying it out.
►The Concept of "SERAPH"
Shinya: The theme is the various things that I see from heaven, about human beings, and that's what I'm expressing.
►Influence on the Band
Shinya: The drum part is the same as DIR EN GREY. After all, it's an expression of my own creation. In this respect, when I think of the drums of DIR EN GREY, there may still be some influence.
►Things learned from "SERAPH"
Shinya: I have to do a lot of things by myself in SERAPH, booking all kinds of things and so on. I'm quite happy to do it myself, or maybe I'm doing it because I like it. But looking at these, seeing Diru's behind-the-scenes production process, I still feel it's not easy, DIR EN GREY is really amazing.
...
[ Die ]
►Opportunity to Go into the Band
Die: I wasn't that interested in music itself before. I like listening to music, but I don't know anything about the bands. After entering high school, I saw the performance of senpais' copy band at the cultural festival. I was dragged there by my friends, and it was a shock to me. The first time I saw a live performance, I realized that it's the band.
Die: Although I had no interest in it, I wanted to do something while watching it, and I formed a band with my friend immediately after the show was over. There was no one else (in the band). I was a drummer at first. (laughs) But it's boring to play rhythm all the time at home. After all, guitar is a melodic instrument, and there is an amplifier. I guess the guitar is more attractive to me.
►Memories of the Band Formation
Die: When we first debuted, we spent the whole day in the conference room of the record company, signing posters, changing signatures, and so on. Filming also started at 6 a.m., and it took about 3 hours for a person to put on makeup, it's usually over time at the end. I remember these things very well.
►Something of Recent Interest
Die: In my daily life, I naturally see and hear things like the Japanese music industry, and it feels really peaceful.
►Opportunity to Start Solo Project
(*Screen caption: Die founded the rock band "DECAYS" in 2015.)
Die: As far as music is concerned, it's something I can't do at DIR EN GREY. I wanted to try and see how far I could go without the DIR EN GREY label. There is a part of me that wants to do it myself, or to challenge it.
►Things learned from "DECAYS"
Die: At first I felt like I had to make some changes, but instead, I felt like I was losing myself. In the end, I found that it is best to be myself, in the next process.
...
[ Toshiya ]
►Opportunity to Start Playing Bass
Toshiya: Originally, I just wanted to be a guitarist, but I didn't think I could play very well. At that time, I was thinking about what to do, and then I was attracted to the bass. I felt like I could see my future.
Toshiya: There are many people who are called "Guitar Heroes", but few people remember "Bass Heroes". That means there is still room for me to develop, so I thought I would play bass.
►Memories of the Band Formation
Toshiya: When our band first formed, four members came to my hometown. It was winter and there was still snow on the ground. They all came from Kansai and rarely saw snow*. I was very impressed by how excited they were to see snow.
(*Toshiya's hometown is Nagano. It is said that Toshiya's mother took the picture at the time and still keeps it at home in Nagano :D → TOSHIYA AT JOE YOKOMIZO CHANNEL 4th FEB TRANSLATION/NOTES 2/4)
►Favorite Artists
Toshiya: I like painting. Vincent van Gogh and Francis Bacon, I like both of them very much. The world of painting is usually a mixture of truth and fiction.
►Opportunity to Start the Apparel Brand
(*Screen caption: Fashion brand with Toshiya as creative director - DIRT)
Toshiya: I think music and fashion are inseparable and both are very attractive. Music should be free to express itself, and in the same way, fashion should be free, too.
Toshiya: When it comes to expressing oneself, everyone chooses what is acceptable to most people*. I don't like that, I think we should listen to our own thoughts more.
(*Toshiya used the word "migimuke migi, 右向け右")
►Influence on the Band
Toshiya: Even if I'm designing clothes, I end up having something to do with music. Although this is a completely different field, it will eventually return to music and bands.
...
[ 京 Kyo ]
►The Person You Admire
Kyo: There are a lot of them. Now I'm not just targeting one person. When I was young, there were a lot of senpais that I wanted to become like them. But it's been more than 20 years, so now I don't take them as a target, just be myself.
►Interested Artists
Kyo: Haven't there "Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃)" recently? I haven't read it yet, it's super popular, isn't it? Generally speaking, if the sales are so good, it is difficult to end the series, right? There will be a variety of entanglements, such as the life afterwards, there are many to consider.
Kyo: I think it's great to end the series like this, to end it at this time, with a sense of strength and determination. So if there is a follow-up manga in the future, I would like to read it.
►Opportunity to Start Solo Project
(*Screen caption: Kyo founded the rock band "sukekiyo" in 2013.)
Kyo: The things I want to do often keep popping up. I think it's a shame not to do it, and I don't want to regret it.
►Influence on the Band
Kyo: I don't think so, but I feel less stressed (after the solo project). People who like DIR EN GREY say to me, "Don't bring sukekiyo to DIR EN GREY!" Sometimes people say that, and I'm not going to do that.
Kyo: I was asked why (I want to form a sukekiyo), "Diru can do it, right?" It's because I can't do it (in Diru) that I want to do it! I don't know what criteria they used to say that Diru can do it, but I didn't do what I could do (in Diru). If you finish what you want to do one by one, you will be less stressed out.
(To be continued…)
--- --- ---
part 1. & part 2. & part4.
topics & time marks
中文翻譯 (My Blogger) part 1. & part 2. & part 3.
#dir en grey#kaoru#薰#kyo#京#die#toshiya#shinya#interview#interview 2020#translations#video translation#diru translation#translation by yinfu#diru wowow 2020#WOWOW interview#long post
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“To Cybertron And Back.” — [TFP] Optimus Prime
Notes: Optimus x Human Reader. This has been sitting in my drafts for like a year now— so I decided it was about time I post it hehe. I used to write a lot of Transformers stuff, but it’s very old and very cringey so I probably wont post any of that. However, I am wanting to write and possibly draw some Transformers stuff so this certainly isn’t the last time you’ll be seeing of them. If you have any ideas for them, lemme know. I was also originally thinking of making this a book, but I probably wont do that now lol. Maybe one day if ppl want it? No promises. Also this is unedited because I'm lazy and tired so it might be crap. Thank you for reading! Take care! <;3
Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of death, mentions of injury, mature language,
(If you want to be tagged in my future Transformers related posts, feel free to let me know and I’ll happily tag you!)
—
Gunfire rained down, echoing across the battlefield and mixing with the sound of the pelting rain. Her hair clung to her face like glue, forcing her to push it away so it wouldn't compromise her sight. One of the mech's near her was shot to the ground, causing her to stumble from the impact. Her palms stung as she caught herself, rolling out of the way of another body. Her breathing was ragged as she quickly picked herself up and ran to the nearest bolder. Hoping to find some sort of cover. Y/n skidded to a stop, as one of the Decepticons nearly crushed her beneath their giant metal foot. Instead, having of crushed the bolder she was hoping would semi protect her. A small whine emitted from the mouth of the human, but she couldn't stop now, if she wanted to survive she had to keep moving. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as she picked herself up once more. Ignoring the aching of her limbs as she ran for cover. This patrol had turned into something far more dangerous. Y/n knew that the Autobots wouldn't have allowed her to come along if they thought for a moment that the Decepticons would make an appearance. She had asked to come, and it was just a simple patrol. Raf had homework to do, Jack was at work, and it was just her and Miko. The two females tended to get into a bit of trouble when together. When Bulkhead and Bumblebee claimed they were going on patrol, the humans jumped at the chance to join them.
They never expected it to turn out like this.
"Miko!" The h/c girl shouted, spotting the familiar pink and black haired girl. Despite being a few years older, both considered each other to be close friends. Miko whipped around at the sound of her name, eyes wide as she too was almost crushed by a Decepticon. "Y/n!"
With little to nothing surrounding them for miles, there weren't many options they could use for shelter. The vast expanse of desert they were in was just about it. Not to mention that their sight was compromised due to the pouring rain. Arcee and Optimus had joined the scene via groundbridge what felt like hours ago, but even then the Autobots were vastly outnumbered. Y/n ignored the risk of running straight through the battle to get to her friend, knowing they might have a better chance of getting out of here unscathed if they were together.
"Are you crazy!? Don't run straight through the fight!" Miko screamed, dodging another stomp. But her warnings had fallen upon deaf ears, for with all this commotion it'd be hard to hear her even if they were side by side.
Y/n ignored the risks. Miko was her top priority right now, nothing else mattered.
Her e/c eyes widened as she dodged a swipe made for her by none other than Starscream. Of course the Seeker attempted to grab for the squirmy human, most likely to use against the Autobots as an upper hand. The female let out a shreik as he tried again, only to be tackled by Arcee. Y/n ducked under the massive bodies above her, trying to increase her speed to get to Miko faster. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to dodge the next set of servos that made a move for her. This time, coming from the Deception she knew as Knockout. "Get your crusty hands off of me!" She screamed, struggling in his grasp.
"Believe me, I don't want to touch you either." Knockout hissed in disgust, tightening his grip on her. Turning towards the Autobots he waved her around as if dangling a piece of bait. "Stand down, or the little human gets it."
The once loud battlefield was suddenly struck with an even louder silence. No one dare move, no one dare breathe. Even Miko who had found her way to Bulkhead was eerily silent and still. "Looks like Starscream had the right idea." Knockout mused, glancing down at the still struggling maiden in his servo.
Optimus put his blasters away, and slowly the other's followed. "Let her go."
"And why would he do that?" It was Breakdown who spoke, stalking up to his friend.
"Because if he doesn't, I'll shove my blaster up his-"
"Arcee." Optimus cut her off, narrowing his optics down towards the femme in warning.
"Yes, Arcee. Care to finish that sentence?" Starscream beckoned, smirking widly on his side of the field.
Y/n winced at tight grasp Knockout held on her, the rain seemed to have only increased and thunder roared overhead as if angry at the current situation. There was no way that the Deceptions would just hand her over. She knew that much. And she was proven correct when she overheard one of them mention something along the lines of an exchange. The females eyes widened and she banged her fists down upon Knockouts servo angrily. "Too afraid I'll be too much trouble for you, cowards! The human alliance clearly works for the Autobots, maybe you could learn something from them!"
"Quiet you!" Knockout snapped, giving her a good squeeze in an attempt to shut her up.
Y/n bit back a cry of pain at the action, which only made her determination grow stronger. She knew Optimus would not hesitate to put himself on the line for her. And she'd be damned if she let him. "Or perhaps you're too dimsighted! What, the mighty Deceptions can't take care of a weak human? Pathetic! Grow some damn balls you ignorant bastards!" Maybe insulting them wasn't the best idea, but it was all she had.
"Y/n." Prime warned, taking a step forward but not daring to take another after Starscream pointed his blaster at the female.
"Pathetic! I'll show you pathetic! I say just be rid of her!" Said Seeker snarled, if he had a nose Y/n was sure it'd be wrinkled in disgust.
"Calm down, Starscream. Let's be smart about this."
"Can't exactly be smart when you're the opposite." Y/n jested, ignoring her pain.
"That mouth of yours will be your end, stupid girl." Knockout huffed, tempted to just chuck her and run.
"Go ahead. Kill me. I dare you."
"Enough from the human! Optimus, it's you or her!" Ignoring Starscreams words, the female managed to get the pepper spray she had tucked away. She was hoping that she could drag on the conversation long enough that she could make a move, and luckily for her the Deceptions had bought it.
"Do not harm her, I will go with you willingly."
"Wise choice," He didn't get to finish because Y/n lifed her arm, spray in hand, and shot it all over Knockouts face, being sure to aim for his optics. Out of surprise, the male loosened his grip on her enough that she managed to pry his fingers open. However, now she was plummeting to the ground. At least she wasn't being bartered anymore.
Breakdown's leg shot out in a poor attempt to catch her, or perhaps slow down her fall. And it had worked for a second, but it wasn't long till she rolled right off and thudded onto the ground at an awkward angle. A cry left the mouth of the human, but she didn't have time to dwell on her pain as the Deceptions made another attempt to grab at her. Forcing herself to move, Y/n rolled out of the way of Starscream's hand. Who had been shot at by Bumblebee, the Autobots didn't hesitate to shoot at the remaining Deceptions all the while rushing forward to try and save their human friend.
"Disgusting brat!" Knockout was furious, but instead of trying to get her back into his possession he began to shoot in her direction. The heat from his blasts burned at her skin, though they had yet to actually hit her. Though she knew it was only a matter of time. Y/n forced herself to sit up, and with every ounce of strength stood and began to rush towards the Autobots to the best of her abilities. Her right leg hurt like a bitch, and she was sure she had a concussion. Not to mention it was getting harder to breathe by the second and she guessed it might be because something was puncturing or pressing on her lungs.
Her sight was beginning to become fuzzy though she could still make out Optimus' figure as he tried to get to get to her. There were a few Deceptions in his path that he had to deal with first. But she wasn't too worried about him. With Knockout still hot on her trail, Y/n tried her hardest to keep from his reach. That was easier said than done. She managed to see the lights of a groundbridge swirl into view from the corners of her eyes. She knew it was the Autobots' when she saw Bulkhead usher Miko through. Her heart swelled at the knowledge that Miko was safe, but it seemed that this was enough to distract her and Knockout took it to his advantage. Because this time, one of his blasts had managed to hit her. Y/n was flung forwards from the hit, smashing into the ground. Dirt and debris flew in the air with her, and for once she was glad that it was raining so hard.
Y/n's ears rung so loudly, it was all she could hear. Darkness clouded her vision and after a few moments of simply lying there she realized it was because her eyes were closed. It took a lot of strength just to peel her eyes open, and when she did it wasn't long till the pain made itself aware. Succombing her and wrapping her up in it's embrace. The pain was so unbearable she began to slip in and out of contiousness. She didn't know how long she was laying there, curled in on herself in the rain. But before long Ratchet made an appearance and scooped her up in his arms. She cried out in pain from the contact, only hearing muffled voices in return. She was placed onto something hard and cool, and Y/n guessed it was one of the berths in the Autobots medbay.
She could see blurry images of faces, but she couldn't really make out who was who. There was shouting and other noises but most of it was slurred together. Y/n mumbled out something incoherent before fully drifting off into blackness.
____
"She's waking up!"
Y/n's eyes fluttered open, before being rudely blinded by a bright light. The female hissed in annoyance as she shut her eyes once more. She felt light headed and boy was she starving.
"Y/n."
The voice was familiar as it spoke to her, but she wasn't fully aware yet. The sound of whirring and beeping machines entered her mind and she blinked her eyes open in confusion. She was hooked up to multiple different machines, and her brow creased in confusion. Sitting up was a bad idea, the room spun and she was smacked with a strong wave of nausea. Instantly her hand went to her head to steady herself.
"Woah, Woah. Relax. Move slowly, you've been out of comossion for a while."
Y/n glanced up towards the source o the voice, squinting so she could get a better look at who it belonged to. "Ratchet?" Groaning the female bit back the urge to vomit.
"Careul, Y/n. You have a long recovery ahead of you." He warned, steadying her with his servos.
"Recovery? What.. What happened?" Forcing her eyes to open once more, she took metal note of where she was. The Autobot base, and by the looks of it, it seemed to be pretty late. The only other bot in the room was Optimus, who was also by her side, studying her silently. Intensely.
"You don't remember?" He asked, head tilting to the side ever so slightly.
Y/n shook her head.
"That's not uncommon in these kinds of situations." She made sure not to move as Ratchet scanned her to check her vitals more clearly. "You have been uncontious for three weeks, after all. Brain fog is one of the many symptoms."
Y/n's head snapped in his direction, and she cursed at her own movements. "Three weeks?! Tell me you're fucking with me."
Ratchet scoffed, "I am doing no such thing. You were pretty roughed up when we finally were able to get you back to base safely. I was unsure if you'd even make it. And you wouldn't have, if..." He trailed off, glancing over to the side to avoid eye contact.
Y/n scrunched her brows together, even more confused. "If?"
"If I hadn't given you a sliver of my spark." Optimus mumbled, eyeng the female closely.
Now she really was going to vomit- "Ack! Do not get your bodily fluids on this table! Please!"
"H-How? Is that even possible?" Y/n asked incredulously, managing to control her stomach.
"Well, clearly. Since the two of you are alive." Ratchet grumbled, walking over with a translucent bag of energon. Y/n watched with wide eyes as he hooked it up to the IV that was attached to her arm.
"I'm sorry- I thought energon was poisonous to humans?" She shrieked, tempted to yank the damn thing from her arm.
"Normally, it is. But with your current situation.. We've found that energon has been helping drastically with your recovery. Now that you have Optimus's spark inside of you-"
"Hold on! Where exactly?" Y/n looked between the two with a look of bewilderment. Optimus had always been good at hiding his emotions, and even now she had no idea what he was thinking.
"Your heart. Think of it as a transplant." Ratchet pointed to her chest with one of his digits. He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and she supposed it was. A spark was basically a heart, after all.
Y/n looked more confused than ever. "I'm getting a migraine... " She muttered, gripping onto her head with both hands.
"Y/n, your conditions when we brought you here were... severe. All of our courses of treatment weren't working. Your heart could not handle the effects of the energon blast Knockout had inflicted on you. It was eating you from the inside out, and because of your organic tissues, it was only spreading and putting all of your organs into failure. " She glanced towards Prime as he informed her of the situation, listening intently so she'd fully understand what had happened to her. Ah, yes.. Knockouts blast. Now she remembered.
"Your body was not made to handle the effects of energon. The only way we could think of possibly changing that was if energon became of value to your system. Hence the idea of a spark transplant. However, we figured we didn't need the whole spark, just a small portion of it. Optimus was the one who vulonteered to be the transplant doner. Despite all of us disagreeing."
After hearing this, Y/n glanced towards her guardian in. "But you didn't know if you'd survive. Why would you risk that?"
"It was a nesissary risk I was willing to take. I made a promise that there would be no human casualties. And as your guardian, it also falls upon me to protect you. You are my responsibility, Y/n. And I care for you, if you had passed - I do not know what I would have done." He caressed her face with one of his digits gently, the action only caused the female to smile. Tears leaked from her eyes at the new set of information, and she didn't hesitated to reach up and hold onto him lovingly.
"Thank you, Optimus. You are too kind for this world. I only wish that someday there will be something I can do to repay you."
"There will be no need for that. You being alive and well is all I could ask for." He smiled in return, and she nuzzled into his hand gently.
"How did you come up with giving me a part of a spark?" She asked, glancing between the two of them. She had always been quite curious, sometimes even too much for her own good. Y/n was constantly asking questions, especially when she first joined team Prime.
"Like I mentioned before, we needed energon to become of value to your body. Something that it would need to thrive on. To become a primary component, if you will. We thought of entering it into your blood stream, but we still needed a way for it to be important for your body to function. We eventually came up with a theory of a spark transplant. If we could get your heart to pump energon, then it would become vital for your survival. It took many hours and even still you hardly made it. Primus, even Optimus nearly passed on. But in the end, you both recovered slowly but surely." Ratchet hummed, continuing on with his examination.
"I must admit. I was highly skeptic that this would work. And the fact that it did is groundbreaking. A true miracle."
Y/n's head buzzed with all this new information, with all the new questions she had. "So- does that mean I have to ingest energon now? Can I eat human food?"
"You should be able to eat and drink just fine. But you will need energon injections every so often. If you want to stay alive."
Y/n hummed in acknowledgment, finally taking the sight of her own body. She was covered with multiple different bandages, and her right leg was wrapped in a brace. Most of the bandages were on one side. Optimus took notice of her starring and drew her attention by speaking. "You got lucky, Knockouts blast had more or less grazed you. If you had been hit head on, you would not be alive."
Y/n smiled, "But I am alive, thanks to you."
Optimus met her smile with one of his own. But before anything else could be said, sudden commotion brought the two's attention elsewhere.
"Y/n!" Bulkhead scrambled into the room, followed by both Arcee and Bumblebee. The latter chirping in what she could only guess was excitement.
"Hey guys," the famle waved meekly, her meds beginning to ware off and she started to feel her exhaustion creep up on her. One would think that because she's been asleep for three weeks, she wouldn't be as tired.
"Glad to see you're back. You gave us a real scare." Arcee said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Miko's gonna be so excited! She visits you daily, along with the other's of course." Bulkhead piped up.
Bumblebee added in his own chorus of whirs and beeps, and Y/n meerily pretended she knew what he was saying.
Optimus, sensing his beloved's exhaustion, managed to convince the other bots to leave the room and give her a bit of space. They could visit her once again in the morning.
"Wanted me all to yourself, huh?" Y/n yanwed, a small and sleep smirk crawling onto her face.
Optimus let out a soft chuckle, "Perhaps."
Y/n yawned once more, reaching up towards the Prime and giving him little grabby hands. Something she did anytime she wanted to cuddle with him. Optimus carefully scooped her up in his servos and climbed into the med bay berth. Once he laid down and got himself comfortable, he gently set Y/n down on his chassis. Cupping her gently with one of his hands, as if he was shielding her from many dangers. "I love you, Optimus."
He felt himself begin to heat up at the words, he had heard them before but only once or twice. And never often, they had just reached that place in their relationship after all. "I love you too, Y/n. More than you know."
Y/n smiled, enjoying the sound of his spark beating beneath his metal chest plates. And enjoying the idea that a piece of that spark was beating inside of her as well. "To Cybertron and back?" She whispered, nuzzling into his lightly.
Optimus hummed, closing his own optics. "To Cybertron and back." He confirmed, drifting off into recharge with the love if his life safely curled on his chest.
____
Extra:
"He never left your side, y'know." Y/n glanced towards Miko at the sound of her voice. She hummed at the set of information.
"I figured as much."
"He also totally wrecked Knockout. I was surprise he let the mech live."
Y/n's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "I'm sorry?"
"Oh yeah, once he saw you get hit Big Red practically went on a rampage. Most of the Decepitcons fled, and Knockout left crying about his precious finish. It was very cool. Despite you practically dying and all. I've never seen Prime show that much emotion before. Let alone get so angry. " Miko glanced at her friend to see her face a firey shade of red that put Ratchet to shame.
"Let me guess, hearing that totally turned you on?"
"Yup. Big time."
#transformers#transformers prime#transformers imagine#transformers x reader#tfp#TFP x reader#tfp optimus prime#tfp optimus x reader#tfp imagines#writer#imagine#fluffytriceratops#optimus prime#optimus x reader#tfp optimus#transformers prime imagines#transformers prime x reader#optimus prime x reader#transformers optimus x reader#transformers optimus#transformers optimus prime#transformers optimus prime x reader#fanfic#fanfiction
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Maybe most ineffective no-nuance writing advice is susceptible to the problem of trying to find one or a few "problem items" and thinking like eliminating them in all possible circumstances is the objective forever key to objectively good writing.
Like, for a few examples:
Epithet overuse
No-nuance advice: You're saying your character's name too much. Call them by their hair colour or height so your prose doesn't suck bad forever. Cut out names to be good.
What might help people understand their writing better and what they're trying to accomplish: epithets draw attention to the trait you're pointing out, so if you're going to use one, it might be helpful to pick a relevant trait your narrator or protagonist might notice that means something instead of defaulting to their hair colour every time. Also, most people don't think of their friends through epithets all the time once they know their names, so consider what doing this does to the perceived level of familiarity we have with the cast.
"Mary Sues"
No-nuance advice: if your character is powerful and has weird coloured eyes and hair and is good at things and people like them, that's a Mary Sue and bad forever so don't ever give a character colourful design traits or talents. Cut out 'weird' designs and any skills to be good.
What might help: the trouble with "Mary Sues" is often their tendency to bend an established story, or the story they're in, to serve them when it's not realistic (or endearing to the audience, who might have liked the established world, actually!). Consider the worldbuilding you're using and if your new character fits that without having to sacrifice the characterization of every other character or the physical limits of what are possible in the world for this one extra character. There are ways to make a character Cool without also throwing away the foundations of enjoyable storytelling everywhere else, and it probably has very little to do with their eye colour, really.
(obligatory disclaimer that the term as it is used out of its Star Trek fanfiction context is not particularly helpful at also being meaningful 21st century writing advice especially since people's definitions of it range from "a character whose existence in the narrative bends the story in ways that don't make sense" to "a woman in a story that had a role" depending on which end of the sliding scale of credibility or lack thereof you ask :( obligatory disclaimer that I am using the term because you know what I'm trying to get at in general when I put the name in the post, and it's an effective catch-all term for the type of writing advice I'm trying to make fun of here even if it's not effective as general writing advice itself).
Said is dead
No-nuance advice: said is a bad plain boring word for bad plain boring writers. Use fancy synonyms all the time instead to prove your big vocabulary. Cut out 'said' to be good.
What might help: Too much unintended and prolonged repetition can be unpleasant to read for many, and too much 'said' can contribute to this. Use synonyms sometimes to enhance the meaning you're already trying to convey, but also vary your sentence structure so not every sentence is repetitive enough in form to warrant a dialogue tag, said or otherwise. Varied sentences of different lengths and styles can provide different effects, so using the ones that will get the intended point or pacing across better will make for more effective prose. There is no one magical dialogue tag to use or avoid that will fix the actual stylings of the prose.
Kill Your Darlings
No-nuance: everything you think is good is bad and you should take out the scenes you like. Cut out the parts you love for the sake of it.
What might help: Sometimes a scene you wrote that you thought is cool unfortunately, in retrospect, does not fit the tone, theme, worldbuilding, story, or something else of the book you intended to write. Please do not hesitate to edit or remove a piece just because you love it if it harms your vision for the rest of the book. A little utilitarianism might help you put the good of the whole book over the good of the one scene if the two cannot coexist peacefully.
I think a lot of advice that tries to be a 'life hack' for Objectively Good writing is reductive and lacks substance. If a piece of advice is suggesting you to remove something no matter what, and that's all you have to do to write well, it's no better than clickbait to me. The goal should be to try to understand what effect certain elements have on a story, so you can proceed knowing if the way you would like to utilise it is effective for the story you're trying to tell. But this requires nuance on the part of the advice provider, and maybe for them to concede that sometimes things they hate reading can be used effectively, and it requires the author to know what they're trying to do with the story they're telling. So it's a lot easier, perhaps, for a lot of people, to cut all exclamation points forever, cut all adverbs forever, so on and so forth, without learning how to use them effectively.
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how do you write jahaera in the fathers clad in fire? Does it come natural? Or do you have certain idea of who she is and based on that you write her dialogue you write her response?
because i just innately feel characterization of her in the story is so authentic. This makes me wonder how the heck you guys achieved that with lack of material on jaehara?
how do you see her personality, her values, her interests? How do you think she would express affection and love?
I love this! Thanks so much for asking about Jae!
The kids are some of my favorite characters to write. Aside from being a high school history teacher, I'm a mom myself to two teenagers, a son and a daughter. I draw on my own experience with kids a lot when I write Jaehaera, and my personal and professional knowledge of children! Kids are hard to get right, especially traumatized kids. Children, I think, are one of George's weak spots and he writes without a clear idea of what is developmentally appropriate for kids at various ages (think about the scene in F&B when three year old Joffrey tries to stop Aemond from claiming Vhagar). That's something we wanted to avoid. We want our eight year old to feel eight, our fourteen year olds to feel fourteen. Most of all when I write the children I try to think about what would be an age appropriate responses in the situations they face, what sorts of things my own children were fascinated by when they were at these ages, the kinds of reactions they had to setbacks and successes, and the sorts of relationships they formed with adults and with other children. (more below the cut)
It was important for us that all of the kids have personalities of their own that, while informed by their trauma, are not entirely comprised of their trauma. While they're traumatized kids, they're still kids! Our Jae has a fascination with the spooky and the weird that we extrapolated from her dragon being named Morghul, which basically is "Death" in Valyrian. It's a lot of fun to imagine the various odd myths and creatures and odd stories that Jae would get fixated on. Experiencing the real life horrors didn't make Jae less fascinated by scary things, but she likes her horrors to remain otherworldly. Stories about Ice Spiders are fun and cool, stories about scary men with knives are not. We also picked up on Jae's likely neurodivergence from the books, which tell us she was quiet and didn't show emotion like other children. Of course, those are accounts of people who didn't know her or really care about her. Our Jae is a bit older, so she does speak, and we see her through the eyes of people who love her and know her (or Baela, who is interested in knowing her), so her quirks are just that, quirks. Aegon is very protective of her and hates when people insinuate that she's simple because she's actually quite smart, and when it comes to her hyperfixations, she reads a ton. Basically, for her characterization, we took what little crumbs were there, and ran with them, extrapolating from there to create our version of Jae who is serious, opinionated, protective, possessive, and fierce.
I love that you ask about how Jae shows affection because that's a big part of the next chapter. Jae is much more likely to show affection with actions rather than with words. As Jae is usually quite possessive (as you saw when Gaemon played with papa's lute), it's a big deal when she shares something that is special to her, especially the things that bring her comfort (a trait she shares with her dad, only Aegon is usually sharing food or drink rather than things!). And if you mess with someone she cares about, watch out! To illustrate, here's a small snip from the upcoming chapter, when Baela's sister Rhaena makes a surprise visit with her dragon, Morning:
“Why are there two of you?” Jaehaera asked. She was sat at a low table nearby, a large paper in front of her as well as several inkpots with various colored inks, drawing what looked to be a large spider. Aeg sat beside her with a paper of his own, although his drawing was of Dragonstone’s keep. At Jaehaera’s voice he looked up, his eyes darting from Baela to Rhaena.
“Princess Jaehaera, Gaemon, this is my sister, Rhaena. She and I look alike because she’s my twin," Baela said. Jaehaera narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical. Of course, Baela thought, her twin had been a brother, not her own mirror image.
“Aegon,” Rhaena said, a plaintive note to her voice. “It’s me. It’s Rhaena. Come here, sweet boy.”
Aeg stood from the table, his eyes fixed upon Rhaena. Baela knew the exact moment he noticed Morning upon her shoulder, for he shook his head. “Why is it here?” His voice trembled. “Baela you promised.”
“She’s just a hatchling, Aeg,” Rhaena said. “Her name is Morning. Don’t you want to meet her?”
Aeg backed up, tears filling his eyes. Before Baela could stop her, Rhaena took a step forward.
“No,” shrieked Aeg. “No! No! Rhaena, no!”
Jaehaera glanced at him, her eyes wide, then glared back at Rhaena. “He’s afraid of dragons, stupid.”
I'll tag in @aifsaath in case she has anything to add!
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Fav artist for Garth?
I have been thinking about this ask for multiple hours, and I am unsure if I can pick a true favorite because there are so many wonderful artists who have drawn Garth over the years! However, I think I built a pretty solid list of my top 5 artists for Garth (oops!), so here goes:
#1: Phil Jimenez
I have so much love for the way he draws (and writes) Garth! Of every artist out there, I feel he has the most love for drawing Garth and I can feel that care and attention to detail in all his work. I am absolutely in love with the way he draws Garth's expressions too! He allows him to have exaggerated expressions and really allow us to feel the emotions of the story through the art. He's not afraid of showing him in painful and less than idealistic moments, and allows his face to reflect that. I think it's something that a lot of current comic book artists shy away from for fear of making characters look "ugly." But Jimenez goes all in on it and still makes Garth look stunning 24/7!
#2: Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon was one of the co-creators of Garth, and was, in my opinion, one of the most incredible people in the comic's art industry. She sadly passed away last month at age 97, and she only just announced her retirement from art a month prior to her passing. Her influence on the industry, especially for female artists, was monumental, and her art style stood out so uniquely amongst others. I've always loved how fantastical her art is. She creates fascinating underwater creatures and has an absolutely precious way of drawing Garth. I appreciate that she made the decision to draw him looking as young as he was at the time, especially since a lot of other teen sidekicks were drawn to look older. I feel very lucky that I was able to get a piece of art from her (the first pic in this section!) around the time of her passing. I will treasure it forever!
#3: Nick Cardy
There is something so charming about the way that Nick Cardy draws Garth! There's a simplicity and retro feeling to it that comes off as so fun! I don't know exactly what it is about his art, but it always makes me smile!
4: Mark Buckingham
Buckingham's style is like if "stretch and squash animation" was a static art style, and I LOVE it. It looks so funky and bouncy and expressive! It's one of those styles that I don't think everyone loves, but it really works for me and makes the comics extremely enjoyable to read for the art alone! It's not super polished and has some rough edge qualities, but that's precisely why I like it!
5: Lucas Meyer
Meyer is a newcomer in the scene of comics, but WOW! I am not immune to how gorgeous his art style is. I'm so happy that he's been named the ongoing artist for the current series! (Even if I can't get good writing, I'll at least take the nice art!) I think his style is so clean and pretty. I do wish that he went more "all-in" on expressions sometimes, as I do feel that his characters all look slightly generically pretty and don't emote particularly much. That said, the art is undeniably gorgeous, and he's already skyrocketed himself up onto my personal favorites list despite only starting with DC in 2022.
I do have a few honorable mentions as well, which include: Ivan Reis and George Perez.
There have been plenty of artists who did a great job, but these are my personal favorites! Thank you so much for the ask!
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sonneve
How might you describe or define animism, or alternatively, do you have any recommendations for reading about it?
Graham Harvey defines it as understanding "that the world is full of persons, only some of whom are human, and that life is always lived in relationship to others." This is definitely a better definition than "the belief that everything has a soul" but you might also notice that it's vague to the point of including practically everything that doesn't include Aristotle's rational soul as a distinctive feature of humans. Harvey is aware of this (he even includes things like yelling at your computer as an animistic behavior). As soon as you start to narrow the definition more than that, it starts to exclude peoples and customs that it's trying to include.
Nordic Animism has a good short video that does like a drive-by description of animism and history of its study that comes from the same sorts of books that I'm going to mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_j9oPCE-Ns
Harvey edited a book called The Handbook of Contemporary Animism. If you were going to pick a single book to start with, you could do much worse than this. Very many of the authors are ones that you'd see recur frequently if you were to go deeper into studying recent anthropology related to animism. If chapters stand out, it would be a good idea to find that author's other works.
My personal favorite single book on the subject is How Forests Think by Eduardo Kohn. He has a lecture on YouTube that introduces some of the ideas in the book: https://youtu.be/mSdrdY6vmDo?t=102.
Kohn draws heavily on the works of Eduardo Viveiros de Castro. Viveiros de Castro is one of the most important recent anthropologists in terms of him being the guy that everyone writing after him has to have an opinion about, whether positive or negative. It's a good idea to read him because he's going to come up in others' works. I personally find his stuff on Amazonian "perspectivism" very good. There's a collection of his essays called The Relative Native.
The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram is a good book about animism and phenomenology, kind of using ideas from Western philosophers like Husserl and Merleau-Ponty to derive something compatible with non-western animistic ideas. He has another book called Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology that I wasn't into but might be a good intro for some people.
There's like this whole scene of books about "entanglements" and use words like "response-ability"; it's not a bad idea to read one of them but I don't think it's necessary to read all of them; my favorite was The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. Donna Haraway has some books in this category that I know some people love but didn't do as much for me, admittedly possibly because of stuff I'd already read that was influenced by them. Here is also a good critique of these authors that I think preserves the positive while pointing out limitations: https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10180270.
Though only tangentially related to animism, Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World by Zakiyyah Iman Jackson is not only good on its own but I think is important to read if you're also reading stuff that focuses on distinction or non-distinction of human from non-human.
Pantheologies by Mary-Jane Rubenstein isn't specifically about animism but intersects with and includes it. I think just reading through the first chapter is worthwhile (the rest might be better for others but it drew heavily on stuff I'd already read). She also has a bunch of stuff on Youtube.
I dunno if she uses the word, but some of Gloria Anzaldúa's work intersects with it, e.g. Light in the Dark/Luz en lo Oscuro.
I am a big fan of Katherine Swancutt, she has written a lot of articles and done a lot of book editing; her book Fortune and the Cursed: The Sliding Scale of Time in Mongolian Divination is not really about animism per se but is a very good read.
Also not about animism, but a good thing to read for anyone interested in it, is The Invention of World Religions or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism by Tomoko Masuzawa.
This is probably getting overwhelming so I'm cutting myself off even though there's other stuff that I would list otherwise. This stuff is currently very popular and well-funded in academia which means they are actually fairly widely available, including as audiobooks, for those who prefer those.
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Dracula Daily, Prof Thoughts: May 16
Since I'm a 19th Century prof in real life, I thought I'd make a few points based on some reactions I'm seeing to Dracula! Today's topics: 1) on breasts, and 2) on homoeroticism.
Firstly, in Victorian parlance, our friend Jonathan's use of 'breast' in today's update refers to one's heart, not actual body parts. It's common even in prior centuries to the Victorian era to use it as a euphemism for chest or heart (ie, Goethe's "Two souls alas! dwell in my breast" in Faust--ie, I've got two souls inside me) and it's not necessarily a gendered term. I realize it shouldn't be a gendered term now what with many trans men or nb folks also having breasts, but I digress.
More significant spoilers for today's update beneath the cut.
Yes, the *literary* vampire in English (aka, not the folkloric vampire) has always been sexy and often are associated with 'deviant' sexualities. Dracula is by far not our earliest vampire book, and Stoker in particular was inspired by le Fanu's Carmilla, an overtly lesbian vampire novella published in 1872. You can see echoes of Carmilla, who is beautiful and alluring but predatory, in the brides in today's update. Carmilla preys on female victims, and the book can be read either as a predatory lesbian trope or (more subversively) as a lesbian love story where vampirism = change and self-discovery and the men in the book turn her into a monster to avoid her drawing other girls into that state. (I think a lot of this subtext exists probably unintentionally on le Fanu's part, but to me it's a more fun way to read the text, and sometimes authors can create ideas and associations unintentionally). Both of these things can also be true at the same time. Carmilla's longing for Laura to join her in vampiredom is a potential mirror here to Dracula's lament that he has loved in the past (ie, the brides) and the implication, as he gazes at Jonathan, that he can love again.
Is he planning on making Jonathan a vampire so that they can all share kisses? Or is he implying that they can drink from him and kill him once he's done with him? Dracula's mention of 'love' here makes this ambiguous, as the predatory drinking of blood is paralleled with the act of love (kissing), making the two seem inextricable from one another in the first place.
See also Lord Ruthven in Polidori's The Vampyre, based on famously bisexual icon Lord Byron. Ruthven is usually considered our first literary vampire in the English canon--so from the beginning, there have been Queer roots to the vampire.
The homoeroticism you're picking up on in this scene is the result of vampires, over time, being associated with anxieties pertaining to sexualities outside social norms. Stoker's had about a century of vampire lit to soak in this association. Sometimes these 'deviant' sexualities are condemned for good reason (IE, Lord Ruthven is an aristocrat who drains his victims due to his class privilege) and sometimes they are condemned in more complex and prejudiced ways (Carmilla and Dracula can be read as expressing Queer or at least non-normative desire which is simultaneously exciting and revulsive to their victims, and to give in means abandoning the status quo of good English womanhood/manhood, which Victorian writers were afraid of and had to condemn, but were also clearly intrigued by).
But Dracula is also being written in a time of tremendous social upheaval with respect to sexuality and gender (suffrage is on the horizon* and Stoker began writing Dracula mere months after Oscar Wilde's trial put him in jail for sleeping with men). Victorians fought bitterly over shifts in gender and sexuality expression, but they were also engaged in conversations about them in unprecedented ways. Queer communities are finding new languages for themselves during this era; women are issuing more challenges to traditional and restrictive gender expectations than ever before. Stoker's own personal connections to Wilde, and his effusive letters to the very Queer Walt Whitman, and his subsequent condemnation of Wilde and all Queer writers, show that at the very least he was aware of these shifts as well and had Feelings about them. You can see, I think, a mirrored combination of that fascination and revulsion in his depiction of 'voluptuous' powerful women and the homoeroticism of Dracula's claim that he can love as he gazes woefully at Jonathan.
Basically: this is a really interesting period in time and those two modes--fascination and revulsion--sit together in many scenes throughout Dracula because change, and experience outside of the English status quo, often evoked those paradoxical feelings for many readers during this era. Often, this contrast shows up in ways that are troubling by today's standards, and should be rightfully critiqued; but, I think, it is worth engaging with them to find complex truths within that paradox. You can engage without endorsing here, as we must do with virtually any Victorian book.
*Unfortunately, racism abounds in this era as well, and these upheavals disproportionately focused on white womanhood, it must be said.
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