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theredrenard · 2 months

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Fic Title Ideas

I spent a good chunk of time sorting through my Spotify for fic title inspiration, and compiled a list of lyrics + their sources/links under the cut.

Fair warning, I did come up with these with a certain ship in mind so they’re specifically tailored to what was going through my mind at the time.

Enjoy, and keep being creative! 💛

Format: Lyric/Title "Song Title" Artist (Spotify link to song)

This list will be periodically updated as I find new lyrics

🌟.•*💫*•⭐️*~•.🌙.•~*⭐️•*💫*•.🌟

Can an angel fall past Hell? (Lived a life meant for someone else)

“Man Eater” Rivals (x)

No way out (You gave me light)

“On Accident” Nico Collins (x)

I swear (I only fell for you on accident)

“On Accident” Nico Collins (x)

Days like these, you wanna get away (Close our eyes, pretend we’re miles away)

“Thelma + Louise” Bastille (x)

They say that love is forever (Your forever is all that I need)

“Scene One - James Dean & Aubrey Hepburn” Sleeping With Sirens (x)

All my life I’ve been on my own (I used the light to guide me home)

“Stockholm Syndrome” One Direction (x)

You know what I’m thinking (See it in your eyes)

“Die for you” The Weeknd (x)

Open your eyes and see (The way our horizons meet)

“All of the stars” Ed Sheeran (x)

How do you fall in love? (Harder than a bullet could hit you)

“River” BRKN LOVE (x)

I know we only just met (So why do I feel invested?)

“Telephone” Waterparks (x)

I can be your best bet (Future favorite regret)

“Telephone” Waterparks (x)

I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day (You got me in a spin but everything is a-okay)

“I Believe in a Thing Called Love” The Darkness (x)

My heart's in overdrive (You're behind the steering wheel)

“I Believe in a Thing Called Love” The Darkness (x)

A piece of you between my teeth (Keep me as a memory)

“Your Name” Artio (x)

So why do I still wake up, two in the morning (Cold sweat, screamin' your name)

“Why do I” Set It Off (x)

Screamin' my lungs out for you, not afraid to face it (I need you more than I want to)

“Shameless” Camila Cabello (x)

So many mornings I woke up confused (In my dreams, I do anything I want to you)

“Shameless” Camila Cabello (x)

There’s no hurry (Don’t you worry)

“Your man” Josh Turner (x)

I think I like you (Maybe more than I should)

“I think I like you” The Band CAMINO (x)

All my nights taste like gold (When I'm with you it's like everything glows)

“Waking up slow” Gabrielle Aplin (x)

I could rearrange (Would you do the same?)

“Waking up slow” Gabrielle Aplin (x)

It's like I never had a doubt (I love you like the sun came out)

“Waking up slow” Gabrielle Aplin (x)

I never thought I needed saving (I was right where I should be)

“What have I done” Dermot Kennedy (x)

Ever since the other night I've been thinking (About the way you smile golden)

“What have I done” Dermot Kennedy (x)

We were running in the dark (We were following our hearts)

“Falling Apart” Michael Schulte (x)

No grave can hold my body down (I’ll crawl home to [him]) *

“Work Song” Hozier (x)

*this lyric was changed from ‘her’ to ‘him’ to suit the ship I had in mind

If the Lord don't forgive me, I'd still have my baby (And my babe would have me)

“Work Song” Hozier (x)

I'm lost without you (A broken clock without you)

“Soft” Babygirl (x)

The world is ugly (But you're beautiful to me)

“The world is ugly” My Chemical Romance (x)

Blood on my shirt (Heart in my hand)

“Teeth” 5 Seconds of Summer (x)

I wish you were here (Won't you fall for me?)

“Fall for Me” Sleep Token (x)

I am yours to the end (Won't you fall for me?)

“Fall for Me” Sleep Token (x)

I don't wanna look at anything else (Now that I saw you)

“Daylight” Taylor Swift (x)

I don't wanna think of anything else (Now that I thought of you)

“Daylight” Taylor Swift (x)

Now that I saw you (I can never look away)

“Daylight” Taylor Swift (x)

I know l'm not the perfect lover (I can tell you love her)

“Lover” Plot Twist ft. Rose & Kennedy (x)

There's a space inside my mind (Where I keep on missing you)

“Missing You” The Vamps (x)

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gemtopia · 1 year

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Avatar: The Way of Water Review

This is my opinionated movie review of Avatar 2 and will contain many spoilers… So, here’s what I got.

For starters, I have been a hardcore Avatar fan from the beginning. The first movie came out when I was in 5th grade! I am now 24 years old and have literally been waiting for this movie for 13 years! And just like the first one, I give this movie a full 5 star rating.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this movie and felt that this one was way better than the first one. The acting was great, the story was great, and as always the world of Pandora was breathtaking. However, with this being said, there were a few things about the movie that frustrated me and left me over all confused. So here some things that I loved and hated about the movie.

Spider/Miles Quaritch - HATED

For me, Spider wasn’t a terrible character. He had the potential to be an amazing character but I almost felt like the writers just didn’t really know what to do with him. In a lot of ways you can’t help but feel bad for him because really doesn’t have anyone and feels connected to the Sullys and is very close to Jake and especially Kiri. He seems to be very kind and understanding and only wishes to be apart of a family but part of me also kinda wished he wasn’t a character. Spider is a little too much for my taste and has too much of a Tarzan vibe. I was rooting for him at first, that is, till he started to “bond” with his father and the other soldiers. Then, when it came to the scene where Spider saves his father from drowning my husband and I just looked at each other and agreed we were done with him. Overall I personally wish they had killed Spider off instead of Neteyam but I guess he’s here for a reason or at least I hope he is.

Kiri - LOVED

There’s so much to be said about Kiri. She is kindhearted, loving, beautiful, strong, and is most definitely my favorite character. Not only do I relate to her on a spiritual level for being strange and different than most Na’vi but I also love what she represents. A lot of reviewers have been referring to Kiri as a “Jesus-like” character which isn’t entirely wrong. While everyone else is confused on who Kiri’s father is and how her mother Grace even got pregnant, I think it’s pretty obvious where Kiri came from- Aywa. Kiri is not only Grace’s daughter she is also the embodiment of Aywa herself just in Na’vi form. I find this to be very beautiful and can’t wait to see what James Cameron has in store for her.

Omatikaya/Metkayina Clan - LOVED

One of my husband’s favorite things about the movie was the beautiful representation of Pacific Islanders. My husband is half Comanche and has always loved the idea of all the different Native cultures put together in the Na’vi tribes and we were both fascinated with how they represented the Islanders. I’m very curious to see what the other clans of Pandora are like and what cultures they will represent.

Neteyam’s Death - HATED

All I have to say is this… Neteyam was a precious boy who deserved better and was taken far too soon and far too easily. His death was a travesty that brought out a barbaric side of Neytiri and I would have done the same.

The Tulkun - LOVED

Despite it being hard to watch at times, I absolutely loved the Tulkun. They were such beautiful and majestic creatures and I hate the way they were so brutally hunted in the movie but at the same time I loved that James Cameron shed a light on the exploitation and near extinction of animals. I’m a huge animal lover and animal right activist and some scenes with the Tulkun were very hard to watch. It’s nothing new to see James Cameron drawing attention to protecting the earth and preserving wildlife but he always seems to do it in a way that really breaks your heart as makes you think about things. This is an important part of Avatar that I hope he continues in the future.

If I had to sum this movie up in one word it would be

Spectacular

So if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly suggest you go see it for yourself. Yes, it’s a three hour movie but if your a true Avatar fan you won’t be disappointed. Also, keep in mind that there are always going to be critics who say the movie is “racist” and should be “boycott” but just ignore all that shit. Avatar was never about “who plays who” or any specific culture, it has always been about how we as humans need to start treating each other as brothers and sisters and start taking care of our planet. James Cameron just wanted to show us this in a really epic way and I think he’s achieved that goal.

#avatar #the way of water #neytiri #jake sully #avatar 2 #sully family #tuktirey #neteyam #avatar loak #avatar kiri #Aywa #metkayina #tulkun #omatikaya #avatar the way of water #movie review

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starryeyedfroggy · 2 years

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⭐️To See the Stars in Your Eyes ⭐️

Disclaimer: I don’t own Twisted Wonderland, Disney, or any references that are from Disney films.

(A/N Hoping to manifest my baby’s birthday card with this 🥺)

Scenario: Reader takes Jamil somewhere special for his birthday

You were determined to make Jamil’s birthday special. You wanted to make him light up the same he did when he danced. You wanted to see that genuine smile on his face. That soft breathtaking smile—Okay, okay you had to focus if you wanted to get anything done for Jamil.

Once you had forced yourself out of your daydreams of Jamil, you put together a plan. It took days of research and field work, but it was worth it. Your plan was finally coming to fruition today.

As a lover of celebrations, it was no surprise that Kalim threw a party in Jamil’s name for his special day. While Jamil did enjoy the attention he received (even if he didn’t want to admit it), parties weren’t really his thing. Having to micromanage huge scale parties all his life made him lose a bit of his excitement for parties. The novelty of it had waned off. What he had really wanted was a moment of peace. But, the day was practically over, so what else was he to do? His birthday celebration had come to an end and it was time to go back to the humdrum of life…or so he thought.

One moment Jamil was walking back to his room to rest for tomorrow and the next, he was being dragged by the Ramshackle perfect through the mirror portal, claiming that they had a surprise for him.

The two of you ran through the hallways of Night Raven College. You passed through the lecture hall, the cafeteria, and the classrooms. You had zipped through the courtyards and soon, were out the main gates of the school.

Having enough of this confusion, Jamil demands, “Where exactly are you taking me?!”

Instead of a proper response, Jamil hears a “Do you trust me?” Those were words he had often heard from Kalim. Words that had always promised crazy shenanigans from the wealthy heir. But, he had no reference point of what those words meant coming from you. You were good to him, but he hadn’t known you for that long.

“Do you trust me?” you ask again. Jamil had always wondered if such words should really be directed at him. Somehow it had always felt like those words were for someone else, someone not like him. Perhaps, a princess or some sort of noble. But, both you and Kalim had never cared for such things. In fact, if he were so bold to claim, he would say that you always treated him like royalty. You were always complimenting him, giving him small random gifts, and offering help him whenever you could. Maybe, it was a ploy, but he couldn’t help wanting to believe it was real. To trust you was something he wanted to do.

So, softly and shyly, he finally says, “Yes.”

You beam at his words and now, Jamil finds himself in the wildest taxi ride he’s ever been on. No wonder, you only paid this “Mr.Tod” 2 madols for the ride! The toad-man could not drive to save his life.

There were crazy turns and he almost hit a house! When the taxi went downhill, the three of you were flying up in the air for a good minute or so. Somehow he had felt more safe being a thousand of miles up in the air on the magic carpet than with Mr. Tod driving this vehicle.

By the time you two had arrived at your “destination”, Jamil suddenly found himself empathizing with Azul's fear of flying in their PE lessons. But, you had simply smiled and thanked Mr.Tod for the ride. “You can always count me, kiddos!” the toad-man cheerily said before driving off to who knows where.

One thing Jamil could credit Mr. Tod for was his speed in driving. He hadn’t realized it then, but Mr.Tod had managed to get you two down the mountains and into the center of the town in less than 5 minutes. (Though, Jamil had an inkling that man had had to have broken a couple of driving rules with his speed.)

There before you two was the lighthouse of the town. Jamil had only passed by it in his 2 years on this island, but looking at it now, Jamil could see why the lighthouse was the town’s pride and joy. It was a beautiful tall pillar of light that looked over the town and its river systems.

“Want to look inside? The town chief lent me the keys,” you asked him, jingling the keys in front of him. Jamil had always known that the townspeople were generous, but he didn’t realize that they were THAT generous. Perhaps, a certain crow fae could take a page from their book.

But, he was curious about what was inside, so he allowed you to lead him in.

The end of the spiral stairway brought you two to a single wooden floor room. In its center was the light of the town. A large window at the end of the room gave a bird’s eye view of the whole town. It was late when Jamil’s party had ended, so by now warm rays of the sunset were pouring in from the window. It was a sight to see. Jamil could see the small houses from below, its people getting ready for the night, and the vast blue of sea that surrounded the island. But ahead, Jamil could see the towers of RSA. He hated that school, but its buildings were nice enough to not be an eyesore.

He had a view of something like this back in the Asim Mansion, but this was different here. This wasn’t his home. He wasn’t known as a servant here, but as a student of NRC. It was different. It was good.

He heard some light shuffling behind him and turned to find you sat on top of some blankets surrounded by numerous paper cranes.

“Ah, is that the legend about the 1,000 paper cranes?” he asks.

Awkwardly laughing, you answer, “Yeah, I want your wish to be granted. I’m like 20 cranes off, so please bear with me.”

Jamil had thought of sentiment as rather sweet. They were like the wishing stars in the starsending event, but with more effort. Personally, he wasn’t sure if these things really worked. But in the off chance that they did, Jamil was willing to take all wishes available to him. After all, the genie granted wishes. Jamil sits down on the floor with you and grabs a few of the colored pieces of paper that you had. “Let me help, my little genie.”

“Ehh, but that ruins the purpose!!!” you whine, a bit flustered from the pet name.

“The legend never said that only one person had to make all 1,000 cranes.” You relent and the two of you start making the last of the paper cranes.

The room is silent except for the soft sounds of paper being folded. It is peaceful. Jamil finds your presence quite comforting. You pass him pieces of paper from time to time and for brief moments your fingers meet. The touch is warm and ecstatic.

Soon, the two of you were done and the room was filled with more various types of paper cranes. There were red ones, yellow ones, blues ones, green ones, black ones, pink ones—all sorts of colors. There were also ones with patterns. Paper cranes with balloon designs, snake designs, geometric designs, heart designs, you name it.

“How long have you been making these?” he asks. There was no way you folded 980 cranes that quickly.

“For a while now. I’ve just been making them whatever chance I got. I’ve been working on them way before I found out I wanted to bring you here.”

“You wanted my wish to come true that badly…”

“Yeah…”

You both had to look away from each other. Both, too flustered to face each other.

You awkwardly cough and pull out this small box from a corner in the room. “I brought some snacks in case we got hungry. There was a festival going on in town a few days ago, so there were some sales going on.”

You open it to reveal a couple of mooncakes and some almond cookies. “I figured with all the food at the party, we wouldn’t be too hungry, so I didn’t really get too much.”

Food was a good distraction for the tenseness between you two. There were always these strange moments between the two of you. Jamil really couldn't put a finger on what it meant, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

After eating for awhile, you speak again. “So, are you enjoying yourself so far? The main event was the stars, but they’re not really here yet. I hope I’m not boring you.”

With some thought, Jamil says, “…I like being here with you. It's a nice change of pace from the school. It’s calming to say the least.”

“I’m glad. I didn’t really get to talk to you a lot today because of the party. I was hoping to make it up here,” you say as you lie down on the blankets.

Jamil follows suit and the two of you look up at the ceiling. “I like talking with you too,” he admits. The two of you spent the rest of time talking about sorts of things. Schoolwork, classmates, upcoming events, random shows, and any funny stories.

Finally, it is dark and stars have come out. The light of the lighthouse is a bit blinding, but it makes it easier to see the sight around you two. Everything is so vast. The dark ocean and dark skies blend together as one. The stars and the lights from the homes still up, sparkle in between that darkness. It was beautiful.

Today was Jamil’s birthday, but that didn’t mean that days after wouldn’t be special. There would always be pretty sights to see every other day. There would always be someone special to share these days with. Jamil smiled. He had gotten what he wanted for his birthday.

As you drank in the sight of Jamil being basked in light of the town and his eyes filled with awe in wonder at the night sky before him, you whispered,

“Happy birthday, Jamil.”

———————————————————————

(A/N I hope you guys liked this. And to answer any lingering questions, yes, Mr. Tod is based off Disney’s Mr. Toad.)

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #jamil viper #x reader #jamil viper x reader

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rinflyyy · 10 days

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Intro Post! 𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪‧₊🪼˚‧ ✧𓍢ִִ໋˚.

☆ Rin! she/her, minor, black, bi, and armin arlert's one true love ♡

☆ This is a selfship sideblog for my f/os! I'm not comfortable sharing any of them.

☆ If you ever want to talk to me, please don't be afraid to! I promise I'm friendly

☆ I have a couple of f/os but my main one is armin from attack on titan! He's the love of my life and I am obssesed with him

My f/o list and tags!

☆ Armin Arlert (Attack on Titan) (Romantic)

#2013 sunshine 🌊

☆ Miles Morales (Into/Across the Spiderverse) (Romantic)

#sunflower 🌻

☆ Kirishima Eijirou (My Hero Academia) (Platonic)

#candy apple 🍬🍎

☆ Shinsou Hitoshi (My Hero Academia) (Romantic)

#star city cafe ☕

☆ Nobara Kugisaki (Jujutsu Kaisen) (Romantic)

#lovebug 💗🪞

☆ 4*Town (Turning Red) (Platonic)

#nobody like u ⭐️🎤

☆ dni if: you're a pro/comshipper, racist, homophobic, don't like any of my f/os' media, etc.

☆ I follow from my main blog, @jabberwockynonsense

#did someone say new intro post??#selfship community #selfship #f/o community #selfshipping #selfshipping community #selfship promo #my posts

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dimensionsfae · 8 months

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Magical girl time fuckers

Her name is Miles and she’s the protag of my magical girl project Star⭐️Lilly! This is her current design but the project is still a wip!! I’ll add more characters as I create more designs for them!

#magical girls #magical girl #my art #oc artwork #characters #character design #oc #ocs #oc character design #artists on tumblr #Star⭐️Lilly #original character #original story #Hell on earth saga #leviathan #cephid candle #standard candel

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sea-moon-star · 9 months

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Tu Me Manques || KTH

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x f.reader

Genre: Fluff, Boyfriend!Tae, Penpal!Tae

WC: 1.8k

Summary: Inspired by Layover's aesthetic, just Tae being a long distance boyfriend with 90's heartthrob vibes.

A/N- As a Tae bias, Paris screams Tae & the Pop/W/Arena photoshoot deserved a fic! 🌊🌙⭐️

---------------------------------------------

I've never been to France, I've only ever lived in the little seaport of Pohang in Gyeongsang, South Korea. Yet, I'd grown up watching all those movies depicting the beauty of Paris, listening to Lolo Zoui, Carla Bruni, Angèle, Pomme, Louane, Stromae and more. I'd begun to learn French from apps on my tiny phone screen and baked Ratatouille, all in bids to make my Parisian dream come true. But I knew given my financial situation, I'd never be able to make it true. The closest I'd ever come to it was the descriptions sent by my pen pal writing to me from Versailles. When I'd signed up for the pen pal program back in school, I'd never imagined my luck that I'd be patched with someone in my dream country. Kim Taehyung and I had been writing to each other since a decade now, from the early 2000's till now. He was a Korean descent boy who's family had moved to France while he was still a kid. He wanted to stay in touch with his Korean roots and I wanted to vicariously live in France. It worked out just perfectly, especially as we grew up and switched between both languages, our letters getting longer, photos getting added to our notes, hand pressed flowers being sent inside envelopes, souveniers being exchanged across the miles. But nothing prepared us 90's babies for the technological revolution and what that would bring. I wasn't prepared to hear his deep and dusky voice especially in contrast to his boyish charm and soft demeanor on paper. It caught me off guard as did his photo, him sending me a cheeky picture where he's trying to eat a chocolate minitature Eiffel tour. Even though he knows I love chocolate and that was what should've caught my attention, I was far too distracted by him in his leather jacket and jet black tresses.

I told myself it couldn't be true, it just couldn't be possible. I mean we'd never met!! How could I be attracted to someone that I didn't even know irl, who knew what kind of a man he really was? There was only so much letters, photos & calls could reveal. Besides we were continents away with neither planning to cross the sea between us. I just told myself that I was projecting my love for France onto him, it was just me romantizing everything to make it fit like a neatly tied gift. But this want a fairytale, it was reality and Tae and I were simply not happening.

But fate had other plans, I saw all of France through his eyes. Starting with the Palace of Versailles, which was the first place he'd video called me from- he'd made up his mind to travel the country while letting me experience it through his footsteps. He'd keep his camera on, give his commentary and share every moment of his adventures with me. And so one day, when we'd run out of new places to visit, I asked him to take me to a place that reminded him most of me. Something that he thought would resonate with me, somewhere he'd take me first if I was actually able to visit there. And I wasn't ready for what he had in mind. I imagined he'd pick one of the more obvious spots like the Louvre where we'd bonded over Monet's art work all day or the vineyards of Champagne where we'd been on call all through the night. But instead he went to the Place du Trocadéro, as the sun set behind him and the stars sprinkled across the sky. This elevated and open green space nestled behind the Eiffel tower was a less visited but still tourist friendly location. With its dancers and musicians, street food carts and fountains- it's alive and the magic of Paris is visible at its best. "I chose this place because it's so alive, you can feel the excitement and passion in the air. It reminds me of you- with your bubbly energy and buzzing enthusiasm. It's filled with songs by favorite artists, the chocolate crêpes here have your name written all over them and everytime I watch couples on a date here, families taking pictures in the light of the tower, tourists videocalling their loved ones. I just knew, I had to show this place to you, not just on camera but in reality. I promise you, someday I'll find a way to get you here. I've never seen anyone treasure this place the way you do, the locals here think it's a tourist trap and sometimes I do too. But everytime I show you around, the stars in your eyes and the small O's of your mouth remind me of the beauty that surrounds me. You're beautiful... I mean it's beautiful. Isn't it?"

And in that moment as he bit his lip realizing his mistake, that he accidentally called me pretty instead of the scenery. I couldn't help but come to a huge realisation myself. I wasn't looking at the scenery any longer, I was looking at him. Him in his cozy and furry sweater that I wanted to cling onto, him with his shoes half worn knowing that he hated wearing footwear even when he knew he'd be walking all day, him with his large fingers easily gripping the phone even as he was being pushed through the crowd, him with his nervous laughter as his tipsy self slipped secrets he otherwise wouldn't share. What mattered to me wasn't the shine that shone behind him but the sparkle in his eyes. Even though France was and would always be my first love, I had fallen in love once again. And this time, I could tell it was stronger than before because even though I was visiting the most gorgeous place in sight, as he'd rightly described- I was consumed by him. I was in love not with the city of romance but with the man who'd introduced me to it.

"Tu me manques." I told him, knowing that he'd know what I meant. French was known as Aphrodite's chosen language for a reason. It was so much more than just me saying, I miss you like what the words translated to English or Korean meant. It was me telling him that "he was missing from me, that he was a part of my body, something that was integral to my existence, like the only way I'd be whole was if he was here next to me." And that's why this one phrase was more powerful than any amount of I love yous said in any other tongue and I knew he understood that. Because in that moment, I could see his eyes tear up as his boxy smile graced his face and he leaned forward to press his lips against the phone screen. Sending me a kiss, across the world as the winds in the sky and the glowing moon above us, passed on his love to me.

THE END. 🌊🌙⭐️

#layover #pop #90s aesthetic #long distance relationship #boyfriend taehyung #yeontan #penpal #thv #taehyung #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #bts v #slow dancing #rainy day #blue #love me again #for us

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wnterslder · 5 months

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⭐️ - Put this star in the inbox of your favorite blogs. It’s time to spread positivity! / please don’t feel pressured to do so!

❤️ you , my friend , are a wonderful writer and i v much enjoy seeing you on my dash always !! 🥹✨ i am honored and sending love and miles and miles of adoration to you and wanda bc ... ahhhh !!

#hexsreality #❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙳. ⠀﹕ ⠀ ooc. ⠀ ❫#yells !! how nice :')#❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃'𝚂 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙽? ⠀﹕ ⠀ saved. ⠀ ❫

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a-soft-hornytiny · 1 year

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I just finished a Mingi smut request with a polyam ending 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

ohhhhhOOHHHH I am very much looking forward to it👀👀

#miles my star ⭐️#lux small talk

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lookninjas · 6 months

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's a lot of stars.

So I gave it a little bit of thought, and I think what I'm going to do is a breakdown of the edited version of Humdrum and Humble, since it's the most recent fic I've actually completed and posted that wasn't a very short one shot that can be boiled down to "I want to see everyone be nice to Rose Walker" or its natural converse "I want to see Roderick Burgess get kicked repeatedly in the dick." And as much as I'd like to get into something more recent, all I have that's recent is a couple of WIPs and any scenes I detail from those will almost certainly wind up missing from the deleted fic just because that's how it goes.

Also, I've already done a commentary on the original (mostly) unedited version of it, so it kind of feels nicely bookendish.

So let's dive in.

It starts in a theater lobby, while he’s paying for paper bags of rice and newspaper, playing cards and toast. He is out of his depth and trying to pretend he isn’t, in his old boots and a black button-down shirt, surrounded by sequins and pancake makeup and garishly bright wigs and fishnet stockings -- literally, everyone here seems to be in fishnets except for him and Poe. Even the silver-haired gentleman taking tickets has fishnet gloves on, and Ben feels like such a hick. And not, of course, that he feels like he belongs most places. That’s something that’s followed him his whole life. But this moment in particular, in this theater lobby, might be the worst so far. It certainly feels like it.

The first draft of this story was written during Rocky Horror season, specifically the week between our movie theater performance and our casino performance. At that point in the year, I'm understandably fucking breathing Rocky Horror. So that's a large part of where this scene comes from. I'd also referenced Toby playing Columbia once already, in Dead Souls, and sometimes when I was driving to or from work I'd mentally turn the idea of him and Poe interacting as part of a shadowcast around in my head for a few miles at a time. Rocky is kind of a liminal space where anything goes, and also the kind of place where Ben is going to feel decidedly off-kilter at first, even if he gets more comfortable as he goes along. So it just felt like a good place to start. Ben knew he was going to have a weird night. It just got weirder than he thought. But he also has Poe with him to guide him, and Poe has had experience in both these worlds -- Rocky Horror, and then also Torchwood, through that friendship with Toby that I dreamed up in my car driving through the middle of nowhere.

Sidenote: It's such a weird thing to try to write these situations where the main character has no idea what's going on, because you want to put some exposition in, but that's not how people have conversations. This scene was the worst for that, because of how minimal Ben's involvement is. As he gets more enmeshed in the plot, people take time to explain things to him. Right now, he just knows something weird went down at a synagogue once, and also sometimes people buy drugs from people with blowfish heads. But he's midwestern, you know, so he's just running with it. As you do.

And then some smaller notes: There's a bit about Aly getting hurt when he touches the person who took the drugs, which is notable because the skin on his left side is synthetic -- thicker and less sensitive than his real skin. It's also why his hand is cool in the second scene, at Pride. Poe saying "Stay safe out there," is a callback to Dead Souls, although I don't think the final draft used that saying as much as earlier versions did. Lastly, while I didn't edit much on this scene, I did add Jonah to it -- the silver-haired ticket taker in the fishnet gloves. Hilariously, Ben doesn't remember him being there, even though he'll later recognize the kid who took the drugs. Chalk it up to the kid being as conspicuous as possible, while Jonah's trying to blend in.

SECOND SCENE:

It’s Motor City Pride, which means it’s hot and it’s sticky and he’s got a ton of shit on his plate.

Fun fact: I have no idea what that conversation between Ben and Lando is supposed to be about, apart from people are trying to get Ben to do something and he really doesn't have time but is too polite to say no.

So this one is interesting, because it's our proper introduction to Jonah. In the last scene, we had Torchwood jumping in to a dangerous situation. This scene, we have Jonah in that position. His little conversation with Lando is one of my favorites, because it reveals so much about the two of them in a few lines:

Lando has worked with Torchwood enough that Jonah recognizes him on sight as someone who'd have their contact numbers.

Jonah knows Torchwood, but either doesn't have those numbers or is unwilling to call them.

Lando has encountered enough Time Agents to clock Jonah on sight.

The "Not Captain Jonah Hawthorne?" "Just Jonah" is our first clue that Jonah is trying to move on from his past.

And, of course, there's that echoing moment where Jonah puts his hand on Ben's shoulder, then Lando puts his hand on Ben's shoulder, and then Aly puts his hand on Ben's shoulder. Same basic playbook. Ben is more involved in this particular scene than he was the last, but he's still a civilian being treated as a civilian. He's helping with one person. They're handling the whole situation.

At the same time, his decision to help that one person winds up being crucial to how the story ends, which is the fun thing about it.

THIRD SCENE:

“-- scale of it,” Kai is saying, when Ben comes out of it. It’s dark, and there’s something cool and damp on his forehead. He feels okay with his eyes closed. He’s not sure how he’s going to feel when he finally makes his mind up to open them.

Ben, you're eavesdropping. Admit that you're eavesdropping.

Jonah mentions that John Hart had been in town -- this is a Torchwood Four story that I've toyed with for ages and never actually written out. Although one of my WIPs gets into it a little more. Whether John is cleaned up in canon is I think still fairly ambiguous, although I haven't really gotten much into the Big Finish audios. I do feel like Jonah, having known him from his worst days, would have his doubts. And Kai isn't that much more certain.

This also gets a little into what Jonah did with the Time Agency, at least for the latter part of his career -- he was the one to go after the rogue Time Agents when they went too rogue. Which is why, if a Time Agent were to be involved in this, things might get too personal too quickly.

One note: Poe's last full appearance in the fic here, and he has one of my favorite lines of the whole thing, even though it's sort of an odd choice -- “Toby always tells me it’s a very human response. I don’t even think he realizes how many times he’s told me that.” There's something unsettling to me about how the Torchwood Amnesia effect even affects Torchwood.

FOURTH SCENE:

Less than a month later, he finds himself sprinting down a crowded sidewalk, chasing a man who appears to have a bright red fish’s head where his human face should be.

This is the scene that made me want to write the fic -- Ben chasing an alien through the streets of Detroit. I just loved the image. I still love the image. No Torchwood, no Time Agent, just Ben being an incredibly brave moron.

I mean, he never does anything half-assed, so.

And judging by the blowfish's response, he's not even the first Detroit resident to pull something like this.

One of my favorite conversations in the whole fic is this one. I think it's easy to forget, reading through some of the other stories in the Children's Work universe, that Ben is tremendously unafraid of physical harm. He's been very traumatized, and he's very wary of certain emotional situations due to that trauma, but physically he'll absolutely throw himself into dangerous shit and not care at all. He's very secure here, even when he's alone and cornered and has a gun pointed at him. It doesn't bother him at all. He gets annoyed. He even challenges the blowfish at the end. “Just what kind of business is your boss involved in, exactly?”

And then Torchwood shows up to take over, and for the first time we get to see them dangerous, which is fun. I like how Kai basically unintentionally sums up the purpose of her Torchwood -- not arming against the future, or finding the Doctor, or weapons for the empire, but -- "You don’t kill kids in my town."

This is another part where the exposition gets interesting. First, we get the blowfish babbling about how Universe went down and there's no Torchwood in London anymore and there's a bitch in Wales (Hi Gwen!) Then Kai goes technobabble about vortex energy, and finally Toby steps in to explain things in English. Ben even gets a chance to ask some questions and receives a few answers, although they're brief and they lead to even more questions that he doesn't want answered.

And Mr. Universe/Ben Eugenides makes his return. I've kind of given up on doing a Torchwood Four story with this team that doesn't reference him -- I suppose as long as Aly's part of the team, that does go with the territory. Also, somewhere in writing this (and then continuing to work with the Jonah character), the idea of the death of Mr. Universe causing this hole in the extraterrestrial artifact black market became kind of an appealing hook for stories. If he was purchasing and selling (and releasing into the streets of Detroit) a lot of very dangerous alien artifacts, that creates a power vacuum that enterprising criminals would want to get into, as well as those who would be lured to the city by the promise of finding all of Mr. Universe's artifacts that Torchwood couldn't get to first.

Also, unstated in the story -- I have no doubt at all that Poe took Ben to Mr. Universe's shop at least once when they were kids, for incense or oils or tarot cards or something of that nature.

There's a brief nod to the fact that, since Dead Souls takes place in 2010, and Ben doesn't move to Detroit until 2016, Torchwood Four has outlived their standard expectancy by a little bit. (For the record, I imagine this story taking place around 2018.) But they're my characters, I love them, and they're not dying. Also, Aly doesn't count because he was born around 1916, but also went missing for about seventy years, and most likely spent that time in some kind of stasis. So he's not that much older than everyone else. He's pretty sure.

FIFTH SCENE

This time, there’s no room for forgetting.

Another good characterization moment for Ben right off the bat in this one: He keeps moving, and if the fear moves with him -- well. He’s used to that, isn’t he? Like an old familiar friend. I think part of what was interesting to me about this was this kind of moment for Ben, where he's in a very frightening situation and just kind of handles it. He keeps going, keeps living. Pays very close attention to what's around him and is aware of the ways in which he's in danger and is aware of the people trying to protect him and then also kind of... lets it go. And when the crisis can, he does what he can to call attention to the danger and then just walks right into it, knowing.

And trash-talks the woman who's threatening to kill him because he figures he's already pissed her off enough, so whatever.

Not like Jonah's better, calling his nemesis a cliche in the middle of their fight.

I had originally wanted Ben to take a more physically active role in the fight, but it didn't work out that way, and that's probably for the best. This is really more about the mental resilience of him and that particular fight -- having him throw punches would be a cop-out. He stays ready to get involved if he needs to, all the way up to holding a loaded gun at the ready in case he needs to shoot someone, but he's waiting until the need arises and trusting Jonah otherwise. There's even the very deliberate call-out to the fact that he could just eject the magazine, empty the last round out of the chamber, and throw the gun away, but he doesn't. He's fearless, but he's not dumb, and he'll do what he has to to save someone else.

That it doesn't come out that way is largely because of what he did to help the kid with the tie-dye in the second scene. He's not a good person -- he tazes Jonah for literally no reason -- but he bonded with Ben just enough in that hour at Pride that he changes the whole course of the story for it. It'd be sweet, if it weren't a fucked-up murder suicide pact in the end.

It's very interesting how much the kid does want to die. He takes the Sontaran Sunlight, he tazes Jonah, he claims to have set up a real bomb this time even though, at the end, it's another glitter bomb. He pretends he's disabled the panic buttons and then Torchwood shows up. He playacts the part of a villain, or attempts to, but in the end he makes a better victim.

And even with patchy exposition, Ben has still picked up enough info about Vortex Manipulators to realize that the Vortex Manipulator is the trigger to the bomb and that both the boy and the Time Agent have the ability to set it off. He might be an idiot when it comes to self-preservation, but he's sharp as a tack otherwise.

SIXTH SCENE

The butterfly bandages aren’t enough to patch Jonah’s face together where it’s split apart over his left eyebrow, and the glue is running low.

Ben finally in his element here. No chasing anything, no guns, no fighting. Just patching someone together so he can feed them.

This is the scene where I have to confront the O.C. in the room. What is the point of Jonah in specific? What is his arc, where is he going, and what does that say about Ben and his story? The entire time, Ben has been dipping his toe back into familiar uncomfortable waters. There is a crisis. The whole city, maybe even the whole world, could be in danger. Everything is lining up to make it look like it's his responsibility to stop the catastrophe. But in the end, it isn't a gunshot that makes the difference. It's the decision to sit with one person who really needed him, to take that time and take that care, that fixes things. That's where Jonah wants to be. He has been in the background of the story the entire time, wrestling with his decision to leave the Time Agency and just tidy up his corner of the universe for the time he has left. He just doesn't fully know how.

And Ben realizes that, and very directly offers to help him figure it out.

So we start with Ben fully out of his depth at Rocky Horror, and now he's back where he belongs at his own restaurant, doing what only he can with the experience that only he has. And it's that fearless side but also the compassionate side that has brought him where he is. And now Jonah's the one out of his depth and Ben will help him figure things out. Which is why it ends specifically with:

And it isn’t where the story ends, of course. But it isn’t a terrible place to start.

Which is also largely why I've been picking at various stories involving Jonah since then, because now I want to know how this works for him, because for all the similarities between himself and Ben, we're still talking about a sixty year-old Time Agent leaving the game as opposed to a teenager stealing a five year-old and moving to rural Northern Michigan, so there's going to be some changes.

One day. One day I'll finish a new fic.

I feel like I had more to say about some things; it's always different when you're thinking about it in the car than it is when you're actually sitting down to type shit out. But it's still fun to do this. I hadn't realized how tidy that arc was until just now, so that's fun. Sometimes I'm a better writer than I realize while I'm writing. I think that's true of most of us.

#my fic #on writing #author commentary

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novelbeetle · 2 years

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Books I‘ve read in June 2022

I know it‘s late for a June reading roundup but I felt like doing it so here we are…

The shadows between us: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- It‘s a good book with two very morally gray main characters. It is a great enemies to lovers book.

- i needed a bit to fully appreciate the book but the further i got in the story the more i liked it.

- if you like enemies ti lovers check this book out. The twists were nice and i did not see them coming. I love that. I don‘t really like it when I can see the twists coming a mile away.

Nick and Charlie: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- it‘s a cute and short novella about Nick and Charlie from the Heartstopper series.

- i‘ve read it in one sitting. It deals with Nick going off to uni and how Charlie copes with it.

- it touches some nice topics and I did enjoy seeing another side of their relationship.

Collided: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- this is the second book of thw Dirty Air Series from Lauren Asher.

- Sophie and Liam have great chemistry but some parts i didn‘t enjoy it. Liam was way too entitled from time to time for my taste. And Sophie came across quite naive and i don‘t really vibe with that sometimes.

- maybe i shouldn‘t have started witht he second book but I just was done with waiting for the first one to arrive so i just dove into this one.

- it is a fun read. I‘ve never read a F1 romance before and i didn‘t know if i liked it but turns out fast cars and men with dirty mouths are enjoyable to read about.

Delilah Green doesn‘t care: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- so this was my first saphic romance book I have ever read and it was amazing.

- I‘ve bought this book on a whim because I haven‘t reached the cost free shipping yet and it was a fantastic decision.

- The book amazing from the start to the end. It does deal with a lot of anxiety on Delilah‘s side and with guilt on Claire‘s side.

- I loved how they started to work through their issues together and tried to resolve them.

- there are two more books coming out and I do plan on getting them. The book was easy to read and i devoured it in one night.

Kingdom of flesh and fire: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- the second book of the From blood and ash series.

- the first book was great but i did enjoy this one a tad more. I found out i enjoy the marriage of convenience trope. Poppy and Casteel agree to get married as protection for her. But you know both of them want this.

- the pay off in the end when both of them finally accept that they love each other is absolutely worth the hubdreds of pages you had to read to get there.

- the end left me baffeled. I had no clue what happened and it suprised me so much.

A crown of gilded bones: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- I loved the first two books and flew through them. But this one really tested my will to finish it. It only has 3 stars because of Poppy and Casteels chemistry and the beginning of the book.

- it starts were the second one ended and it goes right into an action pact start. I mean sooo much happens. But after they got Poppy back the whole story gets confusing and polluted.

- I bought the fourth book of this series but it just sits in my bookshelf. On one side i hate quitting a series and i want to know what is gonna happen but on the other side the third one really tested me and I don‘t know if I can go through another confusing and polluted book.

This Winter: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- another Heartstopper Novella. This one takes place during the first christmas after Charlies ED.

- we see the whole thing through Charlies and Toris eyes which i really enjoyed.

- it‘s shirt and kind of complex. I did enjoy the different povs and read it in one sitting.

The Princess Trap: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- I love a good royal romance.

- this one was a bit kinky just a little bit but i didn‘t expect it.

- it is a short book which deals with abuse and politics. I liked it because it was way more complex than just the pretend to be engaged and fall in love. They do have to deal with all their issues.

#romance spicy books #romcom books #fantasy books #romance books #books and reading #june reads #the shadows between us #collided #dirty air series #nick and charlie #delilah green doesn't care #the princess trap #kingdom of flesh and fire #a crown of gilded bones #the winter

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anitabyars · 1 year

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#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Selection series Kiera Cass is back with her most epic novel yet—a sweeping enemies-to-lovers standalone romance.

“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”

Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.

Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.

But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.

Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.

My Review

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass is a beautiful, sparkling, star-crossed lovers, enemies-to-lovers, epic romance that I couldn’t put down! Swept away into this spellbinding world, full of action-packed adventure, deep revelations, and sparkling, swoon-worthy romance that had me sighing, crying, gasping, giddy, and giggling like a young girl. The descriptives and world building had me captivated as everything else melted away and all that mattered was this beautifully written story and what came next.

“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”

This is Annika and Lennox story and what a wonderful journey it was! Their chemistry was incredible, their banter off-the-charts and swoon-worthy. A love that was written in the stars. And a story that exceeded all my expectations.

It was everything Annika read about and wanted in her life.

“I wanted to swoon, to pine. I wanted passion and tenderness and…a love that might not make sense on paper but was undeniable in person.”

This story stayed with me long after I finished reading it. My new favorite romance of the year!! Loved It!

Received an early copy and this is my honest review.

#newrelease #kiera cass #a thousand heartbeats #royalromance #netgalley

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dark-ink-drinker · 1 year

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I'm just staring this book, less than 100 pages in and I'm already wanting to start the review... and not in a good way.

I feel like all my reviews this year (all two prior to this one) are a collage of passive aggressive and back handed compliments... like here are all the reasons I hate this book, but no really it's great go read it. This might be something else like that...

I've read Sally Rooney's 'Conversations With Friends' and 'Normal People.' I am used to her slow and subtle style. There's no drama, or rather dramatic description. There can be plenty of twists and dramatic moments... but they're not treated as such. Whatever climax or rise in the stories, you might miss if you blink. Everyone seems calm even when they're having a nervous breakdown and their lives are falling apart. In the other two books, they started drab and a little boring to me but as it moved through I ended up enjoying it. Rooney is great at immersing the reader in the scenes and even when you feel the characters are a little dull, you get wrapped up in them and what will happen to them in the end.

Did she skip using quotes in in the first two books? I looked it up and apparently she didn't... so how come I only realized it now? Fifty pages in and my mind is skipping words and sentences... I'm wanting to skip pages. I can't immerse myself in the scene or the characters this time. The lack of quotes is suddenly driving me crazy...

Rooney writes characters that are beautifully flawed. Annoying, yes, but relatable in many ways. It's part of why I ended up liking the first two books. People aren't all good or all bad. Good people do bad things sometimes and bad people do good things sometimes. We all do things we're not necessarily proud of but it doesn't make us throw away people. I'm hoping these characters will find their way to that as well.

I'll check back in a little further in...

Ok, hours later here I am, book completed.

'Beautiful World, Where Are You' was about best friends, which seems to be a common theme for Sally Rooney. Eileen and Alice both seem to have some mental health issues though Alice is the one who was hospitalized. They struggle with self worth and self identity and love which is all very relatable though these two seem to take it to the extreme. They each have their Beau, Simon and Felix who have their own struggles.

At times, each relationship comes across a little toxic or at the very least unhealthy for all parties involved. Sometimes they're hurtful to each other on purpose, pulling closer and pushing away right up until the last 50 pages or so.

The story seemed to drag a little, leaving me not sure where it was supposed to end up. The last 150 pages or so was where it felt like it was moving, where my interest in the characters peeked... which I was expecting as the previous 2 books had similar forms.

The sudden mention of lockdown at the very end was a bit jarring and out of nowhere... but then again so was the lockdown.

I enjoyed the letters back and forth between Alice and Eileen. As someone whose best friend is often 100s of miles away and on a different schedule, I related to the way they kept up with one another through email. It gave a different aspect of their relationship and a little more insight into how they saw themselves as well. I might have liked a little more of that.

Going back to the quotes thing. I genuinely don't remember that from the other two books but it really bothered me in this one. It made it hard to follow coupled with the fact that not only are you missing what makes the dialog clear... but she often put whole conversations between two people in one paragraph which made distinguishing more difficult. Sometimes she broke it up so I'm not sure why she didn't do that all the time.

Anyway, I'll give it a solid 3 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#book review #fiction #angst #book recs 2023 #sally rooney #beautiful world where are you #books about friendships #books about love

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