Baz and The Prophecy
a monbons doll + felt tapestry
In collaboration with @iamamythologicalcreature as part of Carry On Through The Ages 2024 (@carryonthroughtheages)
I had a lot of fun reinterpreting Jo's stunning visual art in order to bring Egyptian Baz to life in way that was both beautiful and worthy of his noble roots. In the image above, Baz is admiring a prophecy about his curly-haired rival/doomed crush immortalized on the wall of his mother's tomb. Since Simon is meant to be art, he is done in the more traditional Egyptian style.
I created the Winged Simon tapestry using tan linen for the backdrop and white linen for his kilt, multi-color felt (including metallic felt!) for his body and wings. The bling is courtesy of individually hand-sewn sequins, as well as beads and a small chain for jewelry.
Egyptian Baz also boasts several beautiful details, including real jewelry (I pierced his ears!), gold cuffs on his arms and legs, and a pleated linen kilt with several belts made of both gold rope and beadwork.
It is hard to capture the sparkle of either piece in a picture, so enjoy a video below!
Happy birthday from @bookish-bogwitch and I to our beloved @ivelovedhimthroughworse ! You're just wonderful in every way and we're both so happy you were born. Please accept this story about strong women and breaking rules for the people you love (and young, canon divergent Fiona and Nico raising hell) as a token of our deepest affection.
This will be posted in three parts, with the next two coming over the next few days.
@cutestkilla and @bookish-bogwitch collaborated on a story! About Fiona and Nico raising hell! Iâm not worthy of such an amazing gesture, but it means the world to me. You two are truly the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and Iâm beyond lucky to have you in my life. I love you both so much and canât thank you enough for this incredible gift!
The duality of man is thinking âchildren cannot help themselves and we all need to be patient with them as they explore what it means to be human in publicâ and also âdamn, I wish this crying baby was not on the plane rn :/â
Just as courage is not the absence of fear but doing the brave thing in spite of it, patience is not the absence of irritation but doing the kind thing in spite of it.
There's a story unfolding in the kingdom by the forest, but it's not the one you think. There are knights, true, and a princess bored out of her skullâand like any good story, this one has its fair share of villains.
But it's also got pits, and pitfalls and prophecy. Problems popping out of the woodwork, and the threat of an unwanted ending looming large. Simon's going to have to keep his eyes and mind open to get out of this one, pride intact. And he'll really have to watch where he's swinging that legendary sword...
đRead the complete fic on Ao3.đĄ
Rating: T / Words: 26,039
âThe king will see you now,â the guard says.
Good, I think. Iâve got a living legend to live. Let's get this ball rolling.
It's Wednesday, I'm taking my kids to the fair today and also: I shockingly have something to share again even though it seems to be a quiet Tumblr day today. (Maybe you are all at the fair too?)
I posted Chapter 6 of Hiding Out in the Open on Monday (@artsyunderstudy's birthdayyyyy which I think everyone in this fandom can agree deserves so much celebrating - HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK ASHTON), and when I did I committed to posting Chapter 7 VERY SOON too. Mainly because as so often happens to me, things mushroomed and so the end of the forthcoming Ch 7 is really where I wanted to get to in the story. And the good news is: it's done! I've sent it to my tremendous beta readers and I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Anyway, have some of it:
âSnowâŠâ I say with trepidation.
Because thereâs a bloody dryad standing there.
Sheâs slight, with smooth green skin and spindly limbs emerging from a lacy, black puff sleeve dress. Her look, which I can only describe as lolita goth, includes a black corset and black granny boots, and her hair looks like what would happen if one styled a giant black clematis flower into a mod bob. She looks pointedly at the signââMEMBERS ONLY ÂŁ10ââthat sits on the little table sheâs set herself up behind.Â
âJust, wait here,â he replies. He slips his hand out of mine and walks up to the table. âUm, are youââhe pulls a slip of paper out of his pocket and reads from itââViticaulis?â
âPlease,â the dryad says, âcall me Vee.â (With the way Snow butchered her full name I can understand why.) She smiles up at him inscrutably. âWhat do you seek?â
âUm, I think Iâm on the list?â He shoves his hands in his pockets. âSimon Snow?â
âI know who you are,â she says placidly. Then she smirks in my direction. âFunaria wasnât kidding, your bloodeater is handsome.â She gestures toward a heavy set of velvet curtains. âYou are both welcome to enter.â
âUh, thanks,â Simon mumbles, grabbing me by the wrist.Â
âWhere are we, Snow?â I hiss. âWhy does she knowââ
âJustââ He yanks me past the dryad, who winks at me, and through the curtains. âSee for yourself.â
Thanks for the tags: @artsyunderstudy (happy birthday đ„ł) @best--dress @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @hushed-chorus @nausikaaa @rimeswithpurple and @whatevertheweather! Youâre all the best!
I didnât update this week, but I made this post for Chapter 7 of Snowzilla vs Baz Jaguar and never got it out of my drafts. So, better late than never:
Peni felt a sharp pain under her ribcage as she ran. She panted for air as her feet slid on loose gravel. The ground was covered in branches, rocks, metal banisters from stairways, pieces of balconies and so much broken glass. She should watch each step, but yet she couldnât tear her eyes away from the Majutsu-shi. Satisfied with the setting and aim of his device, he turned a dial on the side. A high-pitched whine emerged. A ray of red light, like forked lightning, leapt out and connected with Snowzillaâs abdomen.
The Majutsu-shi is the Japanese name that I picked for the Mage in this story.
@artsyunderstudy, @mooncello, @brilla-brilla-estrellita, @forabeatofadrum, and @aristocratic-otter for the tags over the past few weeks. I've had a crazy month (90% in crazy a good way) and too frazzled to come up with my own WIP posts, but have enjoyed reading yours and being included.
Here are six ten moody little sentence from Chapter 11 of Basil Pitch's Diary. (In case you missed it, I posted Ch. 10, September, a few weeks ago, then fled the country.) Baz is hanging in in Niall and Dev's room:
The last time I was here with Niall, heâd told me to hold out for more than ear scritches and the occasional carrot. Now we sat on his bed with a chessboard between us.
âBaz,â Niall said quietly. âWhat are you doing?âÂ
âBeating you.â I moved my queen to menace his remaining bishop.
âWith Snow, I mean.â Niall did that thing where the rook and king hop around, which shouldnât be allowed, and I realized heâd won. Again. Somewhere, in a parallel universe, there is a me who grew up with someone to play against, demolishing a Niall who never went to math camp.
Below the cut: musing, a posting plan, and more tags.
Musing: I've actually written a ton since the last chapter even though I've been AWOL, but for a while no matter what I wrote, Baz felt out of character. I'd write a scene, like it, and then think "but why is he doing this?" Then I'd rewrite with Baz behaving completely differently, and that also felt OOC.
I worried that I'd somehow doomed myself with inconsistent characterization, but then I figured it out: Baz at this point is deeply inconsistent. He presents himself to the world one way, he tells the reader / himself that he's something else, and deep down he's a secret third thing. And sometimes his masks slip.
To some extent this is every unreliable narrator. But boyo has REALLY tangled himself up at this point. Something's gotta give. Until it does--which it will, soon--I have to be very clear in my mind, even if Baz isn't, about which Baz is driving the Baz at any given moment.
A lot of you can do that sort of thing intuitively. I can't. So I've been building this out (showing you just the headers b/c spoilers):
This might stultify some (most?) of you. For me, though, it's freeing. When my brain isn't trying to keep track of everything, my imagination can unfurl.
"'Everything'?" you ask. "This isn't that plotty a fic." It's not, but it's already 2.5x longer than anything else I've written, which means developing skills I haven't needed before. Anyway, my BPD chart and I are having fun. We're very happy together.
Posting Plan
I pushed myself to get Ch. 10 up before leaving home for three weeks, because Ch. 9 had ended on such a wretched note. While I was happy to have gotten it up, I didn't love the self-imposed time crunch (though betas @cutestkilla, @facewithoutheart, and @thewholelemon were fuckin' heroes). Feeling rushed had me stressing and second-guessing choices that were probably fine.
My plan now is to pause updates until I have at least a very rough first draft of the final chapter, then post it all at regular intervals. I know a longish pause means some folks who'd been reading along will wait until it's complete, if they return at all. To those folks--sorry, and I get it, and thank you for reading in the first place, and I love you.
Tags and shy waves to @brendughh @beastmonstertitan @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @carryonmylovelies @creepyspice
Thank you @blackberrysummerblog for the tag! It's Sunday and oh boy do I have a lot to share! The kids are back in school and my hyperfixation has landed on drawing; I was up well past midnight every night this week.
CORB concept claiming has started and there are so many stellar concepts! I'm constantly blown away by the creativity in this fandom! While I wait to find out who my partner is, I'm plugging away at artwork for chapter 3 of Time Will Lie Down & Be Still. If you've read @blackberrysummerblog's post today, you'll have been introduced to Jeremy. I've become deeply invested in him and once I heard the idea, I knew I had to draw him.
My penchant for tiny details is alive and well. I sometimes think I enjoy making backgrounds more than drawing people. Bringing a space to life with little bits and Easter eggs here and there is something I find so deeply satisfying!
Side note: the dragon figurine is a nod to Paperback Writer, a big time comfort read of mine. In the fic, it's a figurine Baz keeps because he chucked at Simon's head
There's also a little project I'm working on for funsies. I really love Simon's expression in this and this is the nicest hair I've ever drawn!
Hi again all! I hope everyoneâs had a great few weeks, and thank you for continuing to tag me even though Iâve been terrible at responding lately. Itâs been taking me awhile to finish up the third chapter of @rimeswithpurple and my COBB, Time Will Lie Down and Be Still, which is a shame because she has really outdone herself with the art! Itâs ready to go and incredible; I canât wait for you all to see it!
Iâm not really stuck on anything myself, Iâm just having a hard time finding a minute to get the words down. Where I work has a high turnover so I tend to end up going in many, many days in a row, but Iâm getting there on this chapter with Ariannaâs helpâher endless inspiration and cheerleading are the main reason Iâve been able to write as much as I have! So hereâs a small share from Chapter 3, and one of my favourite things Iâve written recentlyâitâs a Simon POV from a little later in the chapter:
âItâs not you, itâs me!â croaks the jackdaw from his cushion on the bookshelf. Iâve named him Jeremy.
Penny sits up fully now and shakes her head. âSimon. Itâs not our place to get emotionally involved. Youâre in a vulnerable place, I get itââ
âWe can still be friends!â Jeremy wheezes.
âShut up, Jeremy!â
Folding her arms across her chest, Penny gives me the look. That one right there. âYou named the break-up bird after your ex,â she intones dryly.
âWho sends a break-up message by bird,â I grumble. Not Human Jeremy, anyway. (He wasâis, I assumeâNormal.)(He sent his break-up message by text.)
Another week down! I canât believe itâs almost September, but lately Iâve juuuust about been able to feel a little bit of of Autumn on the breeze. Have a good one, all!
