I just learned about Amaralia hypsiura an amazon catfish that curls up in such a way that through the water it looks like one of these big bean seeds and that’s not the weirdest camouflage you’ve ever heard of I’m sure but in addition to evading predators it espcially does this to ambush other catfish in the process of mating and eat all their eggs
get beanboozled
Probably a stupid question but how many different ways are there to say "fuck" in Chinese?
There's really just one main way to say "fuck" as both the verb and the exclamation : cào. There a multiple characters, though, because it's more polite to use homophones.
肏 —the original cào, the verb. It composed of the components 入 ("to enter") and 肉 ("flesh"/"meat"). "入肉" also means "to fuck". I guess you could say this is the vulgar form of the word.
操/槽/草/曹 — popular stand-in homophones, basically used for the exclamation and more polite to use.
我操/我曹/卧槽/我艹/喔草/etc - wǒ cào — "fuck!"/"fuck me!"/"what the fuck!"; this is another way to say "fuck" (exclamation only, not the verb) in different scenarios. Although it's written with homophones, I wouldn't say that it's equivalent to "frick" or "fudge" or a similar polite form because there's an even tamer version of it, "我去"/wǒ qù, which is basically like "shoot!" and "dang!".
靠/我靠/靠北 - kào/wǒ kào/kào běi — same as above basically. This is more popular in Taiwan. 我靠 is also a bit more tame, like "shoot!", I think.
Other ways to say fuck mostly have to do with the verb which I feel like is not what you're asking so I won't go into it.
I'll just give a special mention to:
干 — gàn — "to do". This is just funny to me personally because depending on the context it also means "to kill". It amuses me whenever I'm watching a show or movie where someone goes "I'm gonna kill you" and they use 干/干死 (or 弄 / 整, other ways to say "to do" which also mean "to fuck" and "to kill" depending on context).
I guess there are also other curse words that have approximately the same meaning as "fuck!"— 他妈的 ("motherfucker!"), for example—but you didn't ask about those :P
I actually unironically love Goncharov for the content the meme has created. I love the motifs of contrast, art nouveau, simple, stark images often intentionally lacking in background like a half remembered dream- only the most important and necessary parts remain. No one knows what happened, but the idea of the cyclical nature of violence played out through the story of the fictionalized russian mafias holdout in naples creates such interesting vibes. Everyone can see their favorite classics in Goncharov, I like to view it almost as following the rough beats of the story of Macbeth, but my reading is also colored by things like Fight Club and House of Leaves. Idk the whole thing just bleeds this love of film, of aesthetics, we took this movie noone saw and said "this is the movie we would like to see, here is how it looks, isn't it beautiful? isnt it tragic?"
I hope everyone who makes Goncharov posters, "screenshot redraws", edits, music, fanfiction(original fiction?) and fanart finds good work in this industry one day because all of you deserve it. You all are casting shadows of a thousand beautiful films, comics, novels, and television shows against the wall and I want so desperately to see the real thing
To spice up my return to tumblr after so long - and since im hosting one on twit - i decided to have a little ✨✨ GIVEAWAY ✨✨
🌱 Winner will receive (2) button downs of their choosing, as long as i have them in stock. Button downs are 100% cotton, and available in a unisex sizing in XS-4XL. Check out my shop to see all current designs!
🌱 To enter, Reblog this post and follow me! Must be 18 y/o to enter, and located in the US. Sorry, international pals!!
🌱 Giveaway ends on Nov 18th, and ill select a winner with random draw shortly after.
Good luck <3 I have size charts on my shop site if anyone wants to check those out!
Lmao yes i meant reblog, you dont have to RT on twit to enter this one!!
it took 150+ Google page (esque) pages and a little over 4K words, but me and beloved friend @lemonzone teamed up and wrote a story inspired heavily by (and following the canon(??)) of Jon Bois's 17776: What Football will Look Like in the Future and 20020, the sequel. I'll have to see how to translate this over to AO3, but for now I hope this will do!
I had to play around with the format, so this isn't a typical Google document. It's a little story featuring JWST, Hubble, and a French wall. I hope you all like it.
Even a successor isn't always the replacement.
UPDATE: since it's a google doc you should be able to read it on mobile? but due to the specific formatting reading it on desktop is preferred!!
someone recommend me some good fantasy books that aren’t centred on a war, please, my crops are dying
The Greta Helsing novels by Vivian Shaw - practical doctor to the undead defeats mildly ominous interdimensional threats with the aid of domestic vampires and a demon accountant.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley - practical baker is captured by vampires, escapes, reluctantly teams up with better vampire to kill the bad one.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - young hat maker ages 60 years overnight, proceeds to upend the life of a disaster wizard while learning self-confidence.
the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett - hard to encapsulate, but equally funny and hard-hitting, tackling race and gender and corruption and other forms of inequality while also, like, making fun of post offices and Hollywood and Shakespeare. Three or four tackle war, true, but there’s something like 35 others to choose from.
the Accidental Turn series by J.M. Frey - recent Ph.D of colour lands in the Fantasyland™ she did her thesis on, goes off about agency and diversity while recovering from the Dark Lord’s attentions and learning the truth about her fictional crush.
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - evil alchemist creates superpowered children to assist world takeover; children just want to be a family; family is complicated.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - young woman takes over family business, must outwit fairies with a love of gold.
the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede - princess runs away to become a dragon’s housekeeper, fights off rescuers, solves problems large and small, melts wizards.
the October Daye novels by Seanan Mcguire - Half-fae detective solves murders, finds missing persons, develops found family, can’t stop self from upending the social order.
The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker - A quiet golem, a tempestuous djinn, Gilded Age New York. Immigrants, identity, friendship, hope, and self-discovery.
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard - A witch from an outsider House enters New York’s magical Hunger Games, to prove a point. The problems of magic were not intended.
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - Part-time con artist gets hired to find two missing pop stars, with the help of the magical sloth on her back. Noir ensues.
Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica - Nature photographer lands on water-world, discovers lost family, tries to convince self magic is impossible.
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips - Greek gods, washed up in North London, curse Apollo to fall for the cleaner. Existential crisis, meet rom-com.
Among Others by Jo Walton - Loner teen sent to boarding school, discovers science fiction, might know fairies and do magic.
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton - Austenesque story except all the characters are dragons.
Every Heart a Doorway (and sequels) by Seanan McGuire - the children of portal fantasy end up in boarding school coping with being kicked out of their various worlds, then some of them start getting murdered.
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan - the world is flooded, there’s a lady who works with a bear at a circus that sails to different places to perform, and a lady who is sort of an undertaker, and they fall in love
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees - there are fairies but no one talks about them anymore because That’s Just Not How We Are except this state of affairs cannot possibly last and people start getting lured to fairyland
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - fifth son of emperor who’s lived his whole life away from court abruptly becomes emperor when his father and older brothers are killed in an accident, spends entire book trying to make friends and figure how the fuck to do a) confidence and b) ruling ethically
The Various by Steven Augarde - girl spends summer at uncle’s farm, finds the group of “various” (no direct parallel, but think somewhere between gnomes and pixies) that live in the woods, mysterious history, flying horse, The Cat Is Evil (this is technically middle grade but it’s so good I can’t even)
Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan - working on the translation of an ancient text is complicated when it might have a huge impact on the public perception of a highly stigmatised group; subterfuge, found family, mythology, and the rejection of men who steal other people’s work.
“What is it that the child has to teach?
The child naively believes that everything should be fair and everyone should be honest, that only good should prevail, that everybody should have what they want and there should be no pain or sadness. The child believes the world should be perfect and is outraged to discover it is not.
And the child is right.”
— Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
“Westerners are fond of the saying ‘Life isn’t fair.’ Then, they end in snide triumphant: ‘So get used to it!’ What a cruel, sadistic notion to revel in! What a terrible, patriarchal response to a child’s budding sense of ethics. Announce to an Iroquois, ‘Life isn’t fair,’ and her response will be: ‘Then make it fair!’” –Barbara Alice Mann
Another Fic Idea I May or May Not Write
What Wei Wuxian was supposed to do: Sneak down from Baoshan Sanren’s mountain to deliver a letter to Lan Yi and take hers back to his teacher, like he did every month and has done every month since he was thirteen. He tells himself being the messenger for their eternal, tragic love is romantic rather than heartbreaking.
What actually happens: Some irritating, beautiful Lan catches him sneaking into Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian can’t tell him what he’s actually doing or admit to being Baoshan Sanren’s disciple, since no one is supposed to know he leaves the mountain (Xingchen-ge would be pissed), he lies about being a visiting disciple who’d arrived late and hopes whoever the Jiang have sent here is going to be really cool about this and also down for a bit of lying on his behalf with no context.
putting these here for my sanity
They’ve been in Cloud Recesses less than a day when she’s summoned to Lan Qiren’s quarters on her way to dinner. Jiang Yanli smiles at her sect sisters, grateful for the first time that her brother is on the other side of the grounds, and clasps her hands together inside her sleeves so no one can them shaking.
She enters, bows, and Lan Qiren says, “This boy claims he’s part of your clan. Wangji found him breaking in and he had alcohol on him.”
She blinks slowly, glad her face is turned towards the ground, then looks up. There’s not only Lan Qiren, but Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji.
Between them is a boy who can’t be much older than A-Cheng, wearing scruffy dark clothes and his hair in a disgrace of a ponytail. He looks at her, wide eyed and pleading, and she doesn’t know him but she feels her heart soften. He’s too skinny. She wishes she had something to feed him.
“Lady Jiang?” Lan Xichen prompts her.
She bows again and is speaking before she can think better of it. “I apologize for his disruption. Please forgive him, he is unaware of the rules of Cloud Recesses.”
“So he is part of your clan?” Lan Qiren demands incredulously. “Why didn’t he arrive with the rest of you then?”
That’s a good question. She should answer it. It better be a good answer. “He’s our new first disciple and there were several things he needed to arrange back home before leaving.”
They don’t currently have a first disciple. Mother wants A-Cheng to be given the position, but both Father and A-Cheng know he’s not ready for that yet, so instead they haven’t appointed one at all.
“I didn’t hear about this,” Lan Qiren says, glaring.
The boy steps forward, winking at her before all the Lans turn to face him. “Apologies, let me introduce myself properly. I used to be a rogue cultivator, so I doubt you’ve heard of me, but I’m Wei Wuxian, the first disciple of Lotus Pier.”
“Wei Wuxian,” Lan Qiren repeats, pale and eyes wide. “Not – not Cangse Sanren’s son?”
No way. No way.
“Uh,” he blinks. “Yeah, that’s me. Did you know my mom?”
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Lan Qiren says, staring at him like he really is looking at a ghost.
Wei Wuxian glances at her, like he’s looking for help or maybe just for someone else to be in on the joke. “Well. I’m not.”
There’s some more awkward silence, and Jiang Yanli wants them out of there. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is they’re going to get caught. “If we may go to dinner, Master Lan? I’m sure A-Xian has had a long journey.”
She hopes he doesn’t mind the familiarity when they’ve just met, but it makes the whole story a little bit more believable, she thinks.
He doesn’t seem to mind, instead lighting up and saying, “Shijie needs to keep her strength up, Master Lan, please excuse us. I really am very sorry about breaking the rules.”
He doesn’t sound very sorry, but Lan Qiren still seems to be in too much shock to call him on it. Instead they’re dismissed, no punishment doled out even as Lan Wangji scowls and Lan Xichen only looks slightly less surprised than his uncle.
Wei Wuxian waits until they’re in the hallway to turn and grin at her. “You are literally the coolest person I’ve ever met.”
She flushes, tucking some of his hair that has gotten loose form its tie behind his ear. “Don’t get caught sneaking out this time.”
“Sneaking out?” he repeats, then shakes his head. “No way, they’ll totally figure it all out and then you’ll get in so much trouble. I’ll stay. Maybe I can get them to kick me out or something instead.”
She pauses, because she likes him already, obviously, otherwise she wouldn’t have lied for him, but. “I told them you were our first disciple.”
“Yeah, I know.”
When nothing else is forthcoming, she asks, “Can you … pass as a first disciple?”
He looks at her and laughs, holding out his wrist to her. She hesitates, but he is offering, so she pressing her fingers against his pulse and then he has to wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from staggering. His golden core thrums under his skin like a tidal wave, the bright, powerful rush of energy feeling like an endless well, like the deepest of their lakes back home. “I might need a refresher on some of the Jiang forms, but I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“Refresher,” she repeats, looking at this boy that is supposed to be dead, who is the son of the famed Cangse Sanren and has a golden core stronger than any she’s ever felt and who absolutely no one has heard of before now. “You know them already?”
“I know all the major clans’ forms,” he says carelessly and offers her his arm as they walk towards the dining hall.
She takes it, head spinning. It’s the only thing that makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t make any sense at all. She thinks she’s right anyway.
Wei Wuxian is a disciple of Baoshan Sanren.
She doesn’t have time to overthink it, because then they’re entering the dining hall, the meal just about to start. They walk over to where all the other Jiang disciples are clustered and all their eyes are on them, outrage hovering around the edges of A-Cheng’s mouth when he sees her hand on Wei Wuxian’s elbow.
“Our first disciple got in a bit of trouble,” she says, smiling, aware of all the eyes and ears on them that don’t belong to her clan. “A-Xian, you should really apologize to all your sect brothers and sisters.”
Wei Wuxian goes into an elaborate bow. “This Wei Wuxian begs forgiveness and promises to do a better job of upholding the honor of the Jiang Clan.”
There’s a beat of silence where everyone looks at her, then to him, and she loves her clan because as one big smiles come over their faces and they groan, acting like this is another one of Wei Wuxian’s antics, like he’s familiar and one of them and this is just to be expected, really. She sits down next to A-Cheng, dragging Wei Wuxian with her.
“A-jie,” he hisses, “what’s going on?”
“Ah, my dear sweet brother,” Wei Wuxian says, sitting on the opposite side of A-Cheng and draping his arm around her shoulders. A-Cheng scowls but doesn’t push him away or start screaming, so clearly she’s not the only one who likes him. “We’ll fill you in later, yeah? It’s been a really interesting night.”
A-Cheng ignores him to look at her, raising an eyebrow. “Really, A-jie?”
“Be nice to A-Xian,” she says. “Our brother has had a long night.”
He looks between them, then clearly gives up, slouching into his seat. “Fine, okay, whatever.”
The gong rings and there’s no more talking no, as the food is brought out, and she serves both A-Cheng and A-Xian and they both turn to stop her, meet each other’s gazes, and grin, united in maneuvering her back into her seat and putting food onto her plate.
She allows it, because she’s had a long night too, but they better not get used to getting away with this.
Lan Wangji can’t decide what to make of Wei Wuxian.
A rogue cultivator being named first disciple is a ridiculous idea, but he is the son of Cangse Sanren, and her certainly acts Jiang, to say nothing of the close relationship he seems to have with Sect Leader Jiang’s children. Jiang Cheng is notoriously difficult to get along with, with his only friend outside of his clan being Nie Huaisang, who’s brother is known for having an even greater temper. Yet Wei Wuxian seems to get along with him easily, hanging off his shoulders and teasing him, never taking his anger to heart. It does not seem to be an affection easily faked.
He should be focusing on demonstrating sword forms with the rest of his clansmen, but he’s run these drills a thousand times and to Wei Wuxian is where his mind wanders these days.
“Wei Wuxian!” Uncle snaps and Lan Wangji nearly drops his sword. “Something more interesting going on than learning Lan forms?”
Wei Wuxian looks up from where he’d been whispering with Nie Huaisang and rolls his eyes. “You only teach the basics.”
Of course they do. As if they’re going to go around teaching advanced clan forms to guest disciples even if they were capable of it.
“And you think you’re above the basics?” Uncle demands.
“I think I already know them,” he answers. “Go on, continue teaching, I won’t distract everyone else.”
But Uncle is staring at him now. “You already know them?”
Wei Wuxian nods. He’s barely been in Cloud Recesses a week and this is the first time they’re going over forms. That’s not possible.
Uncle makes a sharp gesture towards the Lan who are demonstrating for the guest disciples. “Go on then.”
He doesn’t back down, instead rolling his eyes and unsheathing his sword. He goes into place next to Lan Wangji, grinning at him as the drill starts up again.
Wei Wuxian does it perfectly.
His Jiang forms have been flawless, the smooth movements as he spared against his clansmen leading more to his claim of being first disciple than anything else. Yet as he moves through one Lan move then another, there’s no hint of that. There is only sharp, perfect Lan precision.
“Enough!” Uncle barks. He’s staring at Wei Wuxian, and he’s not the only one. “Explain yourself.”
He pulls a face. “I was a rogue cultivator, I picked some stuff up. Don’t be weird about it.”
Uncle’s face goes a worrying shade of red, but before he can say anything, one of Wei Wuxian’s sect sisters asks, “How did you do that? Even when I get the move right, you can still tell I’m Jiang, but you looked like one of them.”
Wei Wuxian frowns, tapping his chin, before spinning away to stand at the front of the clearing. “It’s actually more about understanding the styles than something physical. Once you can do that, it becomes easier.”
He gestures Jiang Cheng forward, who sighs but comes willingly enough, unsheathing his sword and settling into an opening Jiang stance.
Wei Wuxian meets him, the two of them falling into a demonstration not unlike the one the Lan had just been giving. “The Jiang style is a conversation,” Wei Wuxian says easily. The fluid movements between him and Jiang Cheng seem to match that, their moves constantly adjusting for each action the other person makes. “It’s give and take and influenced by both the running river and the ocean waves. If a Jiang fighter retreats, don’t follow. Like the ocean pulling back, it’s only to prepare for a more devastating blow.” He does the opposite of what he says, following as Jiang Cheng steps back, and ends with a sword at his throat.
Jiang Cheng grins then pulls his blade back, sheathing it and stepping back into the disciples.
“The Jin style,” Wei Wuxian continues and Mianmian steps forward without even having to be asked, “is a dance.” Lan Wangji glances at his uncle to see if he’s going to do anything about Wei Wuxian taking control of his lesson, but he seems just as curious as the disciples. “It’s all about who leads and who follows.” Impossibly, Wei Wuxian slides into the Jin style. Lan Wangji isn’t an expert, but it seems just as good as his Lan forms. The whispering happening among the Jin disciples supports that. He can almost see what Wei Wuxian means with the way he and Mianmian break apart and come together. He controls her movements with his own, then he goes from leading into following, forced into a more and more predictable pattern of moves as Mianmain presses her advantage until his sword falls to the ground.
She picks it up for him, handing it back with a warm smile that makes his stomach turn.
“The Nie style is a meal.” A Nie disciple stumbles forward after Nie Huaisang jabs her in the back with his fan. “It’s about consumption, about overwhelming your opponent until they break apart and there’s nothing left.” Wei Wuxian’s blows don’t have the same impact since he wields a blade rather than a saber, but it’s impossible to know that looking at his form. There’s no trading off of power, no adjustments made in deference of an opponent’s skills. There’s just a relentless, furious barrage of attacks. The Nie disciple knocks Wei Wuxian to the ground who grins and then says, “Defeat in the Nie style is not about subjugation, but subsumption.”
She offers him a hand up, bows, then goes back over to Nie Huaisang.
“The Wen style is smoke on the wind,” he says, and Wen Ning steps forward, giving him a smile that’s not nearly as nervous as the one he gives everyone else. “It’s about broadcasting one move to hide another. It’s quick and tricky and when a Wen wins you’re not going to notice until your insides are spilling onto the ground in front of you. Just as surprising and deadly as smoke in your lungs.” Wen Ning’s doesn’t cut Wei Wuxian open, but he does execute several seemingly clumsy moves that reveal themselves to be hiding clever ones, and it ends with his sword pressed to Wei Wuxian’s ribs.
Wei Wuxian claps him on the shoulder and Wen Ning ducks his head before returning to his sister’s side.
“The Lan style,” Wei Wuxian says and Lan Wangji is stepping forward, sword unsheathed, “is a war.” The description surprises him, but he doesn’t let it distract him. Wei Wuxian’s blows land perfectly and Lan Wangji should stay with the basic moves, but he has a suspicion, and he presses forward. Wei Wuxian meets him, counteracting him with moves far past basic and still perfectly executed. “Every Lan move is a finishing one. The don’t waste anything. Their beauty hides their brutality.” They’re going further now, Lan Wangji not holding back, and still Wei Wuxian meets him, still his blows don’t falter. “Lan only need one opening to end a fight. Permanently.”
Lan Wangji freezes, his sword pressed against Wei Wuxian’s chest. His blade would have slid between his ribs and pierced his heart if he hasn’t pulled the move.
Wei Wuxian is very close, his skin shining with sweat and his crooked grin doing something to the space underneath his own ribs.
This is all impossible. No one should be this good at all the clans’ forms, should know them this well, and yet Wei Wuxian stands here, an impossible boy.
Maybe he really is Jiang.
Im in love with your genderbent Harry Potter but I’m curious about two things. One how do you think snape would be around her. I mean Harry’s a girl so do you think she reminds of lily or do you think he still hates her. Also number two who would be her romantic interest? Still Ginny or Draco ? Anyway love all of you’re writing!!
thank you! i talk about her romantic entanglements here
oh god, canon snape is …. just …. so gross. the grossest. canon snape would project all his emotions about lily onto harry in the grossest way possible.
but, let’s pretend for a moment that snape is less awful. how about he grows up, and gets over his weird crush on lily. let’s say snape finds out lily is pregnant, and he goes to see her. and he’s got so many emotions tangled up about lily, but now - he’s just afraid. “now?” he asks, uncertain, and lily is looking at him warily, but she came, she’s here alone to see him.
“it wasn’t planned,” she presses her hand against her stomach, “it’s - we’re too young, i think. it’s the middle of a war, and we’re on the run, but - well, it’s a baby,” a grin comes out, and her eyes sparkle in a way that he’s always loved, “i’m having a baby.”
“yeah,” he says, and there’s fear clogging his throat. he doesn’t want this baby to grow up the way he did, and he hates james, he will always hate james for what he did, and he’ll always resent him for taking lily away. but this baby isn’t james. it’s his childhood best friend’s baby, its the baby of a mudblood, and he can’t imagine having a child in this world. maybe that means it’s not a very good world. “lily, i - i need your help. i made some mistakes.”
that is such a large understatement, but she’s really grinning now, and she takes his hands in hers. “okay. then i’ll help you.”
and snape changes side for lily, with lily, and they slowly build their friendship back up from him burning it down. he becomes a spy and even goes to the potter’s house. james keeps out of sight when he’s over, which he hadn’t expected, which is so oddly considerate that he thinks maybe one day he won’t hate james so much.
he never gets a chance to find out if that’s true. the horrible events of halloween happen, and snape walks in and runs to the crib. he snatches harriet into his arms, and harriet knows him. he comes over and makes lights for her to play with, and sometimes when voldemort’s tortured him he’ll show up looking haggerd and lily will place a sleeping harriet in his arms, and holding her remind him of why he’s doing this. so harriet stop crying for him, and snape sees lily, dead on the ground, and he wants to go to her and hold her and break down completely. but he can’t. harriet is in his arms, and she needs him to keep it together, so that’s what he does.
then hagrid shows up, and snape is reluctant to hand her over. but voldemort might be dead and there’s so much to do, and he knows hagrid will protect her, so he hands her over. and then he aparates away to do what needs to be done, and wonders if he’ll ever get the image of lily’s slack, dead face from his mind.
so then harriet is adopted by hagrid, and he’s just - there, still. he takes the teaching position just to keep an eye on her, because he doesn’t like the way dumbledore looks at her. the salvation lily offered and the one dumbledore offered were very different, and he doesn’t trust the old man at all. and he’s her uncle, really, and is silent and dour and dry, but he’s there for her when she needs him.
and snape doesn’t look at harriet’s hair and think james, he doesn’t look at her eyes and think lily.
he looks at her and thinks harriet, because seeing this girl as anything but her own person would be the highest of insults to the memory of his best friend.
oh that last paragraph
OKAY so on one hand i very desperately want to write this out properly, but on the other i already have an akayona series that i’m writing, and multiple wips, so we’re going to do this instead:
yu-hon is not content to give up his seat to his younger brother. he loves him, but he believes that he will lead kouka to ruin. so, when yona is seven years old, yu-hon leads a coup and kills his younger brother to take the throne.
yona sees this, and escapes, runs away crying. she runs into hak, he sees people are chasing her and throws them both into the nearest room – soo-won’s.
soo-won is woken from his sleep by his two best friends barging into his room, and then hak puts his hand over soo-won’s mouth. he looks into his eyes, but only sees confusion, and hak relaxes. hak is only nine, still a kid, but he’s smart. he knows what’s happening. he tells soo-won to say nothing, that yona;’s life depends on it, and says nothing else. soo-won agrees, wants to help, but hak says the most important thing is for soo-won to pretend that nothing has happened, that everything is fine, nothing is wrong. hak manages to smuggle yona out of the palace, and he means to follow her, but the guards see him, and instead he slams the door shut behind her. he says he was going for a walk, he couldn’t sleep, asks if something is wrong? the guards trade glances, but escort hak back to his room and tell him to stay there, and hak wants to scream and cry and go running after yona – but he can’t. so he goes back to his room, buries his face in his pillow, and hopes yona is okay, hopes she manages to get away.
she does. they don’t even think to search the forests until the next morning, and by then she’s already gone. maybe a kindly merchant offers her a ride to wherever he’s going, maybe she hides in the back of noble’s carriage, who knows, it’s not important. what is important is where she ends up – awa.
she makes her way to awa, somehow, and her father is dead and she’s a princess no longer, but even at seven she’s tougher than she looks. and she happens upon gi-gan, the captain of a pirate ship, and maybe she wanders onto her boat, maybe she’s kidnapped by some less nice pirates, but either way g-gan finds her.
gi-gan finds this girl who’s managed to survive this far, who is pampered and weak, but stubborn too, and she loves her. she knows who yona must be, knows what must have happened, but she doesn’t care about that. she cares about yona. so she offers yona a place on her ship, in her family, and lonely yona with nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to accepts.
yona grows up. she grow’s up a pirate captain’s daughter, and it’s hard work, there’s no room for laziness on gi-gan’s ship. especially from yona. she leads by example, just like gi-gan, and she does lead. as the captain’s daughter she becomes second in command, becomes just as firm and moral and grey as her mother.
when yona is twelve, when she’s finally getting into the swing of this whole pirate thing, jae-ha appears. he’s smiling, but it looks fake, and gi-gan is unimpressed. but yona feels drawn to him, for some reason, so she pushes herself forward, looks at this sixteen year old boy with strange hair and strange clothes, and offers him her hand.
he takes it.
god I haven’t thought about this series in so long and this is just so perfect so fucking GOOD and now I’m just mourning the loss of the 50k fic
For your convenience, a masterpost of all (or most) of my original posts so far. It will obviously be updated as I create and add more!
Enjoy, and thank you for reading! <3
Gentlefolk - A timid woman faces her deepest fears in order to try and reclaim her stolen child from local Fair Folk. Only to discover that everything she’s been taught about them might be wrong.
The New Gods - Society is populated by gods, new and old. Some are more frightening than others.
Gunpowder Sigil - In a windblown Western town, a young girl conducts a summoning ritual for a spectral gunslinger. Magical realism meets the Western.
The Undertaker’s Apprentice - A lovesick undertaker in training goes on a disastrous first date, with a corpse as a third wheel.
The Young Immortal - A relatively youthful member of the immortal community reflects on his first century of life and his relationship with his oft-reincarnated soulmate.
The Bear - An anxiety-ridden young man with a talent for avoiding his problems decides not to acknowledge the grizzly bear trapped in his bedroom during a busy a day.
Strange New Worlds Anthology - A compilation of my short fiction, including previously published and previously unseen works. Set to release in 2021.
1. A scene where the character’s biggest weakness becomes their saving grace.
A paranoid character brings the thing that protects them, a gossip shares information about someone which allows someone else to save their life, an impatient person forces someone to leave before tragedy hits. This can be used for as many characters as you have.
2. A scene where their greatest asset becomes detrimental to them.
A loyal person ends up following someone who’s toxic, a brave person ends up getting into an accident, a neat person ends up throwing out trash which was incredibly important. Again, can be used many times.
3. A scene where a character receives a gift.
This is good for any number of things–characterization, plot movement, showing relationships in motion. It can be directly relevant to the plot or symbolic of something else. Make it a genuine but bad gift, make it an amazing but insincere gift–the possibilities are endless.
4. A scene where they give a gift.
Same as before. Good gift or bad gift, it can reveal intentions, move the plot forward, create symbols–this is such a versatile scene type.
5. A scene where a child needs help.
Lost in the store, stuck in a trap, fell while playing–it shows something very simple about your character that you can’t show in any other way. There’s a simple grace to helping a child that you don’t know, and how you handle it is more telling than how you’d help a child that you do know.
6. A scene where they wake up from a nightmare.
Now, I love dream symbolism as much as anyone else, but the conscious actions they take after having a nightmare (and the physical actions they take while they’re still asleep) are just as interesting, if not more. Do they fall back asleep? Eat? Call a friend? Draft a letter? Do they remember the dream at all, or just the fear that went along with it?
7. A scene where worlds collide.
Maybe a character’s friends come into where they work, or they run into people who they’re no longer friends with. A family member brings home their S/O to reveal it’s someone that the character dislikes. Two different parts of their life now meet. How does the character react? How do they consolidate the different versions of themselves?
8. A beach scene
Any TV show that has a beach episode is an anime, right? Well, regardless, swimming is pretty much universally beloved–which means your characters would probably love it too. (And if you don’t believe that this can work in your story, then get creative! It doesn’t have to literally be at a beach, but humanity loves swimming.)
9. A scene where a character gets new clothing.
They have to go shopping, sit through a fitting while their parents makes them a new shirt, rummage through the remains of society in a post-apocalyptic world. Unless you’re writing about nudists (and who knows, you might be), they need to get their clothes somewhere, and seeing how they respond to that, what clothes they pick out, and what the process looks like in this world can be incredibly telling.
10. A scene where plans fall through.
Spice up conflict in your story or just show how characters react when things don’t go their way. Chances are, your characters will make plans at some point in the story, and making them go wrong is a great chance to thicken the plot and make your character more relatable or dislikable. (Or both. Both is good.)
grabs ur face
stop disconnecting from the thing ur making just because ur afraid it’s not good. I know you don’t wanna get ur feelings hurt caring for a project that other people might not like but dammit that’s better than deciding not to give a shit and hiding behind self-deprecating humor and dispassionately trudging ahead! fuck!
MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT MADAM VI
someone post the eric andre set
i got it guys
Yeah this is important
What I think a lot of people don’t realize is that conservatives, plenty of them, are FULLY aware of what non conservatives support and are callous and cynical enough to use what they understand their despicable beliefs are as a weapon
Plenty of conservatives KNOW that drug law in this country hurts racial minorities more
And they are NOT ABOVE turning it around and saying “this candidate is a racist because she supports this stuff I’m actively fighting to uphold”
I think people assume that conservatives wouldn’t lie in this specific way because to most decent people it would be essentially admitting the stuff they want is harmful and racist but they ABSOLUTELY do this
They ABSOLUTELY use leftist rhetoric and ideas to smear leftists
This is a totally different perspective that I have never heard. I’m still concerned about the stuff I’ve heard about sex workers/trans rights - and I certainly will have to look into it more..
A Twitter Thread re: Kamala Harris and trans rights.
The misinformation needs to fucking stop.
Thank you! Sifting through stuff is a pain especially because it’s hard to know exactly what you’re looking for.
The thread on Kamala Harris and trans rights:
Good stuff.
Guys, I edit professionally. This list is legit. Incorporating these suggestions before you hire an editor will save you A LOT of money. Even if you did these and nothing else, you’d see significant overall improvement in your work.
That said, you don’t have to overthink these things when you’re writing a first draft. If you write, “she said angrily” in a first draft, you can always revisit the phrasing in a second draft. I mention this because overthinking style can lead to a loss of momentum, and losing momentum is why so many people never finish a draft. Give yourself permission to write fast, write messy or ugly, and edit your draft into beauty later.
What happened to you? I got into a fight.
And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (2019) dir. Levan Akin
Sometimes you read a line from a book and it’s like something from your own head or something from your journal. And that part of you is a bit more defined, a bit sharper, and a bit easier to understand and explain to others.
hey peach I have a feeling ur answer will be "idk it just comes OUT i dont control the write" but I still gotta ask. how the FUCK do you write plot? bcs I've been trying to write this fic for a while and all I get out is Emotion this and Sappy that and it never seems to progress the plot :'(
Lmao no it usually doesn’t just come out. I have this idea and I try to think about like the best part of the idea like the BIG thing (sometimes it’s not even big, it’s small things I definitely want happening) I want happening, write that out first, no details or anything just skeletal as hell, then I rewrite REPEATEDLY like I’m so serious when I say I have five different versions of probably everything I write. The more I rewrite the scene, the more things I add and the more I go “ooh wait maybe this can happen” or “okay I have this but how did we get here?” When I have something I’m pleased with, I kinda spit ball ideas with a friend (or boyfriend)x
I generally don’t write in order. Even if I’m focused on a chapter, I write the biggest thing about that chapter first and kinda expand on that and try to connect it. If you have sappy and emotional, write it all out! Then write why you got there or what happens after, or hell don’t ? I know I love me a good in-the-middle-of-something-probably-bigger little Drabble. Seriously just write what’s on your mind in that moment then keep rewriting, you’re bound to change sentences and paragraphs, add more details, take some stuff out and save it for later (I have a doc filled with sentences I took out but really liked so I hoard them for other things).
It’s also good just to talk out loud with someone, act like it isn’t your writing and view it as an outsider. If you want to private message me, I can probably help you more there?
Advice for writers out there. It’s been a rough two weeks for me personally so this really was helpful.
❤️❤️
Also, chapters don’t have to be long! They don’t even have to be cohesive. You have creative liberty to do whatever you want! If you want to write five fade to blacks in one go that’s only consisting of fluff then do it! You don’t need massive details! You can skip in time too! “Weeks later Blah blah blah” or short cut like scenes of just comfort for whatever then “it’s not until days later that we finally talk about it and blah blah blah plot.”
