I know I probably only have thirty or so active followers, but posting this here anyway because my friends need some help
My friend’s sister and her boyfriend are caring for the boyfriend’s five-year-old daughter after her mother died unexpectedly and they need a bit of help to get them through the next month or so. Any help or sharing is appreciated!
i’m kind of against kings in fantasy because i feel like most people don’t really think about them: either it’s a Tolkien-esque “the King has returned again!” or they’re just sort of…there b/c this is Fantasy, we do Kings, but have they considered
dying kings, king-of-the-year, the king who has to fight every year to reclaim his throne, the king who knows that he’s only king for as long as he keeps his strength
the king and the land are one, but not, like, in a triumphant way, in a way where the land claims the king for its own
a king who must be physically perfect (the king is not physically perfect and has to hide it)
the divine king and what it would mean to actually be ruled by a god
elected kings, like in the roman kingdom and the polish-lithuanian commonwealth
charismatic societies like in most of the pre-columbian americas north of the rio grande, where social power is based on your ability to talk and bribe people into going along with what you say
republics that aren’t based on the merchant-prince model or circle-of-mages model. guild-based republics, peasant republics, aristocratic republics, theocratic republics.
i would love for someone to use tiwanaku, an empire from the andes whose capital city was essentially a religious theme park where most of the buildings were facades and they had a guy in an echoey room with a horn playing the voice of god, and they kept tearing down buildings to put up new ones. especially if you added magic thrill rides or 18th-century roller coasters to it
as a mental health self-intervention, i recommend framing all your other mental health self-interventions in the most self-aggrandizing and mythopoetic manner you possibly can. inside my own internal monologue i just unironically referred to putting away a few articles of clean laundry i’d left on my bed, an utterly unremarkable act which took me less than ten minutes, as “practicing the Light Arts”
this is the advanced mode of “magic is anything that makes you feel like you’re doing magic”: rather than drawing from existing magical traditions to create rituals that improve your life, just aggressively reframe basic life stuff in esoteric terms inside your head until you start to buy it
you can do this in reverse too. sometimes when I’m feeling really bad I “go on a massive self-destructive bender” where I have one drink and make embarrassing posts while listening to tallahassee, and it does a pretty good job of satisfying the cathartic itch
Hey, so I’m super excited that Dracula Daily is a thing, but I feel like I should warn people that one of the main characters in the novel is a guy that runs a lunatic asylum, and his scenes might be kinda hard to read for anyone who’s been through psychiatric abuse.
I would appreciate it if people reblogged this post and didn’t tag it with spoilers or put trigger warnings on it, since it’s important that this warning is seen by the people who need to see it. Thanks!
Want Frankenstein bit by bit in your email twice a week starting in February of 2023? We’re doing this Dracula Daily style! Twice a week (Wednesday and Sunday) I’ll drop a section of the book, in written order, in your email and we’ll meme poor Victor and cheer on Adam together! If you want to join in this, this is your chance to sign up!
I think substack will have an archive for anyone late to the party, but hopefully by spreading the word now (May 2022), we can all start together on February 1 2023. February 1 was chosen because it’s after Dracula Daily ends, and also Mary Shelley’s death anniversary. I think she’d like this shenanigans. She’d have a blast with tumblr!
Anyway, please join us in the fun and feel free to reblog this so word gets out with the sign up link!
i’m in the middle of finals, my internet is down, i haven’t been able to work… and all my brain can think about is ed and izzy getting into a fist fight and ed splitting open izzy’s lip and then kissing the blood off his mouth
This idea come fully formed this morning and I had to write it all down.
Note: If you want to run with it and make it a fic/art/whatever please do because I doubt I will write it unless I can think of a good story beyond blending the two worlds.
Basic Plot:
During the height of the Jaeger programme, a rich benefactor called Stede Bonnet builds his own Jaeger called the Revenge and want to pilot it himself. Unfortunately, he’s not found anyone who is Drift-compatible amongst his crew. (He originally thought his wife would join him, but he knew deep down it wouldn’t work even if she wanted to).
He gets injured in a kaiju attack and finds himself taken care of by Edward Teach, one of the greatest Jaeger pilots in the programme’s history.
Edward asks Stede to try Drifting together and they work incredibly well, coming up with a plan to save a city under attack within a day of knowing one-another. They begin to pilot the Revenge together, whilst Izzy is furious they can Drift so easily. He hates Stede with a passion and tries to sabotage their every mission.
Edward is desperately trying not to give away that he likes Stede while Stede feels really strongly about Edward but he doesn’t really know that what he is feeling is love.
During a bad training session, they both end up chasing the RABIT and delving into their worst fears. Edward remembers how he killed his dad after years of domestic and child abuse. Stede remembers how he was bullied and how his dad hated him.
Together they fight kaijus and work through their problems and make out.
Main Characters:
Stede Bonnet: Rich benefactor stuck in an arranged marriage who wants to be a Jaeger pilot more than anything. Commissions his own Jaeger and runs away to the LA Shatterdome to start his career.
Edward Teach: The best Jaeger pilot in the entire programme, having had 12 kills with multiple co-pilots. Edward is currently piloting with Izzy Hands on the Jaeger called Blackbeard but they are not compatible (Edward is just good at blending in and adapting to his partners). Edward is bored with the rock star lifestyle and would love to give it all up, but Jaeger pilots pretty much don’t get to retire, only die in battle.
Izzy Hands: Current co-pilot with Edward on Blackbeard but brings out the worst in Edward. (When Edward and Izzy Drift together they become ruthless and less concerned about civilian casualties/collateral damage.) Wants to be immortalised amongst the greatest pilots but can only achieve that with Edward, and so he is dismayed when Edward finds the perfect co-pilot in Stede Bonnet of all people.
Stede’s crew:
Oluwade: LOCCENT Mission Control Technician. Voice of reason and brilliant leader.
Jim: They first work as a mechanic for the Revenge, keeping their head down until they are discovered and become Assault Specialist. They worked with their family in the Lima shatterdome until their family was killed by a kaiju attack (Jim knows they were put in the line of attack by a corrupt politician and seeks revenge).
Olu and Jim are Drift Compatible but haven’t been given the chance to test (yet).
Lucius: Journalist following Stede’s story. Stede acts like he’s his personal biographer, which Lucius goes along with so long as his expenses keep getting paid.
Black Pete: J-Tech Engineer. Claims he worked on Blackbeard, but nobody believes him.
Lucius and Black Pete get together and have the suspicion they might be Drift Compatible but they are in no way interested in piloting a Jaeger.
Frenchie: Neural Bridge Operator. Scams other Jaeger crews for laughs.
Wee John: Weapons Specialist. Has a crush on Frenchie but hasn’t acted on it yet.
Roach: J-Tech Engineer and team cook.
Swede: J-Tech Engineer and general disaster.
Buttons: Battle Programmer. Claims he can talk to the kaiju but nobody wants to take him up on proving it.
Other notable characters:
Mary Bonnet: Finds herself alone after Stede runs away to become a Jaeger pilot. Uses her wealth to help people on the Pacific coastlines and raise awareness of the corrupt Anti-Kaiju Wall programme.
Calico Jack: Edward’s old Jaeger partner before Jack was injured in battle. Comes back after Izzy contacts him to break up Edward and Stede. Tells Stede they used to be an item to throw him off on their next mission.
Nigel Badminton: Stede’s childhood bully and now in charge of the Anti-Kaiju Wall programme. Thinks Jaegers are a waste of money and resources.
(I’m uncertain if Stede kills him by accident or if he’s just a pain in the arse foil.)
Spanish Jackie: Kaiju Organ Harvester and mob leader.
Not sure who the Marshall/Officer of the LA Shatterdome would be, if it matters?
I, father strange, will be hosting a tumblr show and tell. Please comment or reblog with a picture + explanation of your prized possessions that you would like to share with the class today. I expect to receive so many goblin jars, cursed pieces of Garfield merch, and questionably sourced bones.
Make sure you’re very comfortable with sharing because my favourites will be selected for a video!
my beloved shrek 4-D sports sippy cup thing. I don’t know it’s where it came from or why it was made. one day after a wind storm it had rolled into my lawn like a cursed doll from a horror movie. I absolutely adore it.
