#dreamcrow

[reedraws]

finally: how/would nan and ruby get along? :0

like fine oil and very, very chaotic water

[arcane-nari]

Split Ends

Bellroc is the only primordial wizard who has to bother with haircuts, but that doesn't mean they have to deal with it alone.

A quick little oneshot for my dear friend @dreamcrow whose birthday is coming up. This is not a birthday present, I just am excited about his birthday.

Read Here >>

[sidhewrites]

11, 12, 27, 39? :v

end of year book asks! || accepting

11. A book that was most out of your comfort zone

Real Men Knit, a delightful rom com by Kwana Jackson. I usually hate rom coms and unfortunately this book isn't something I plan to pick up any time soon, but it centers around fibercraft and a yarn store, so I was almost obligated to read it. I definitely recommend it to people who enjoy the genre. It was an objectively good book, just not my flavor tbh.

12. What was the most unexpected book you read this year?

I think the only one that really counts as "unexpected" was the Fall of the House of Usher, since I didn't realize one of the books I was reading was an adaptation of it at first (What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher) I had to put that book down to read the original story by Poe. I think I read it in secondary school, but certainly not since.

27. Did you discover any new genres?

I downloaded "This Quest Is Broken" since it was on sale at the time, and it introduced me to LitRPG books. I don't know if I'll be spending a huge amount of time in this genre, but it's definitely a fun thing to read, and JP Valentine was a great author. I've bought the rest of his books as well.

Also, like many people on tumblr, I'm following a ton of classic lit newsletters after being introduced to them via Dracula Daily :3

39. Five books you absolutely want to read next year?

Chuck Tingle's next horror novel, Camp Damascus, comes out this year, and I've been waiting for it since he first announced it ages ago. (Digression: I cannot recommend his first horror novel enough. Straight was a fun take on the zombie survival genre, and was so so cathartic to read.)

I'm also interested in The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, which was then adapted into the Hellraiser movie franchise, and Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica.

On the other end of the cozy vs horror spectrum, I'm also looking forward to picking back up The House in the Cerulean Sea (Got distracted by a new horror novel while reading it lol) and Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne.

Also an honorable mention, I have two children's' books in Spanish I want to work my way up to being able to read and understand. I'll get there eventually!!

[sunnymusingsao3]

director's commentary: haunt me, then? :3c

Behind the Scenes: Fanfic Edition

Edit Post-Writing: Buckle up, friends, this got LONG (so sorry slkdjf)

So you, Crow, were there when we discussed the idea to haunt me, then, so I'll try and keep this about stuff that you may not have seen! However, before I do that, a quick tl;dr for those who did not see us hollering about this idea lol:

It happened right after we got the Rise of the Titans teaser trailer, back when we still knew so little about the movie itself. In the teaser, we saw Bellroc and their cool fire titan, and that spawned a whole myriad of ideas-- some earnest speculation, others just forming from the metaphorical playground because they were fun. One such idea that, if I remember correctly, was somewhere in between "wouldn't this hurt?" and "oh god what if it actually did happen?" was born, in order to explain why Skrael wasn't present in the teaser. Crow suggested the truly heartbreaking (compliment) idea that someone had to be sacrificed in order to raise the volcanic titan, and oh boy did that one gain legs.

So, moving on, I got permission from Crow to write this fic because the idea was just so good, and also because I was really in the mood to write something in the vein of horror, with romantic themes undercutting it. I was very enticed by the idea of monstrous love, and the different forms it can take, as well as the idea of loving someone so much that when it comes time to sacrifice them, you do it, because you know that not doing it would feel too much like coddling them. You have a mission that you both would lay down your lives for; to not allow your lover the chance to do so, when it is necessary, would feel like dishonor-- it would be an insult.

So this was the thesis of the fic, as it were; the central idea behind all of the themes and imagery that I wanted to explore.

Now on to some things that, to my memory, were not told to anyone as I was writing!

I toyed a LOT with the idea of Skrael figuring them out before they actually sacrificed him; I ended up landing on "he's suspicious, but doesn't stop them"

The reasons he has for not stopping them are: 1. It's his job 2. He was always prepared for the possibility that only one of them would end up making it to the new world 3. He wants to see if they did their research; was this an impulse decision, or are they really sure about this?

By the time they stop him from grabbing his staff, he is sure that it's not an impulse decision; that was his last reservation-- because if he can get his staff, he can fight back. But if they ensured that he couldn't even fight back, then it meant that they'd prepared for even the least likely outcome. It's not that he doesn't believe they know what they're doing, but it reassures him to know that they are taking extra measures to stay safe, and to make sure their plans come to fruition

In the final act, where they lean him over the volcano's lip, it's a much calmer version of what I'd initially had in mind, but I liked it better because the slow inevitability was more compelling to me. It felt like a natural progression. And if I wanted drama, it could come after, when the grief actually hits Bellroc, so there was less harm in delaying some of that higher emotion for a little bit later in the fic

The more dramatic version, however, was Skrael beginning to fall, and him grabbing their arm on instinct. It was a good image, the idea of him dangling openly, held only by a hand that he knows now is going to let go, but it also felt too much like Skrael didn't know what was happening beforehand, which didn't feel like the right character choice for him. He admits to being unfamiliar with the ritual they're about to perform, but the pieces rather start to add up, and he's always been good at reading Bellroc.

Speaking of that ritual, I imagined that he is less familiar with this one because it's one born of fire magic, and he just simply does not possess the necessary understanding of that magic to make it-- in his mind-- worth his while to read the spellbook it's in. He's surely dabbled in reading about fire magic a little, because it's smart to at least have some level of understanding when you live with a fire mage, but it's more like he was reading the Fire Magic 101 textbooks, while Bellroc was about to submit their PhD dissertation.

However, though he is less familiar with the ritual in the fic, I also like to think that he has a similar one in his own practice. He hasn't needed to use it, but he knows it, however distantly. I think it would involve a much, much slower death for his sacrifice, leaving them exposed to the ice and the elements, to slowly wear the person away. This would be why, if the Order were given the choice between Bellroc's ritual and his, Skrael would always push to be the sacrifice in theirs, because he does not think he could be steadfast enough to last the length of their death. With his death in theirs, he knows it would be quick, and they'd have little chance of changing their mind, but with them in his, he'd have to wait hours to days, and he just doesn't think he could subject them to that.

It's linked in the fic itself, so this is known, but the song that inspired this was The Horror of Our Love by Ludo. However, the other songs I primarily listened to for this were Eternally Yours by Motionless in White, Brutus by The Buttress, and a slowed version of Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer (blood warning). These helped set the mood, and then in between them, I wrote to darker classical music playlists on Youtube!

The quote at the end was almost the one from Black Panther, between W'Kabi and Okoye: "Would you kill me, my love?" "For Wakanda? Without question."

I went with the Wuthering Heights one, however, because it felt more appropriate to Bellroc's grief, and since that grief was focused on less in the fic than the sacrifice parts, I wanted to highlight it a little more

This was also an idea I talked about with Crow, but I wanted to share it here, too, since idk if it'll ever gain proper legs, but I really like the idea of, after this, Bellroc becoming the new North Wind, as well as the Keeper of the Flame, because I don't think you can truly get rid of the North Wind. But, perhaps the "powers that be" (whether that's something sentient or not) see that they've only really got two options left for who they could make the new North Wind, and, well, Bellroc's got his staff already, and they're right there when he dies, so maybe they just kinda... pop that magic right in there

It's a very AU idea though lol, so I'm not sure if there's enough grounded basis for it

However, if I ever did write it, I also really like the alternate idea of... the best way I can describe it is Greeling in FMA:B? Body sharing, basically, and Skrael being a whisper in the back of their head. When they want the North Wind to "take over" as it were, they don't change their form or anything, but suddenly, they grow very, very cold, and they can no longer perform fire magic, but ice magic, instead

I just think it would be neat to see the North Wind and the Keeper of the Flame as one person, whether it's only one soul in the body, or two!

This is one of like, three fics I've considered making a podfic for!

I think that's about everything I can think of off the top of my head, but if there's anything else you or someone else would like to ask about, please feel free to come into the inbox again! <3

[phthalology]

⭐ for strange treasures? c:

Stricklake has a bit of everything, doesn’t it? It sits on the edge of my two types of ships, “endlessly loyal” or “trust issues shaped like that potc quote about how a dishonest person you can trust to be dishonest; it’s the honest ones who end up doing something unexpected.” 

There is a part toward the end, where both of them are startled, where their seeing each other scared is a gateway to greater trust. Recognizing that startle reflex in each other is the thing that allows them to open up about the biggest breach of trust in their relationship (Strickler drugging Jim). I am not saying this is healthy, and really if this story was a morality tale I wrote now there would need to be some recognition that they are not coming from a place of fear around each other specifically ... unpack whether that’s in there or not, I suppose. I am saying it satisfies my own quirks.  

The last expression of trust in the fic is extremely Millennial and extremely human -- the weird, awkward intimacy of handing someone else your phone. She is comfortable giving it to him (doesn’t even think about it, an intentional omission), and he is comfortable taking it. The majority of my fic is set in secondary worlds or the far future, so I’m always very aware of the permeable and transparent barrier between the fantasy elements of my stuff and when I’ve shifted over into just writing realistic fiction. Doing so is much harder.  (thank you!) 

[creativenicocorner]

🌹👀

Ta-da!! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)_

The following is from the upcoming ch4 of Alto Mare

Barbara, despite her chest burning with the fury of a thousand suns, jutted her hand out to stop James in his path. 

He turned to quickly pull on her wrist, his thoughts only on running, leaving, getting out of this damned. park- villa. whatever!! 

“I- I can’t keep-” Barbara panted, her held arm limp at the wrist while she doubled forward to lean on her thighs, “running like this Ja-aAAAHHH!!”

James quickly leaned forward to silence her, nearly knocking her glasses off her face in the process, and then nearly gave a high pitched squeal of his own when he too looked down to see what Barbara was stammering and pointing at. 

There was a body on the ground between two hydrangeas.

And with all of Barbara’s learning medical expertise, in the dead of night, with only the glow of the pale moon slanting through the tall cypresses and parasol pines (also known as pinea), Barbara could see as clear as night could allow a human: the body was breathing. 

[feather-dancer]

for ficwriter friday: favorite headcanon to write about? :3c

Since I’ve mentioned it twice in fics now I can probably get away with saying this one:

I’ve always been a firm believer than users/creations of magic tend to be a little more sensitive to it’s use, even if they’re not aware of what specifically it is or the cause, they can still pick up an off vibe it gives off beyond the visually flashy stuff. Whether they can do anything with that information is a whole nother kettle of fish.

How does this fit in with Trollhunters? Changelings. Magic makes up their ability to switch between forms and their very creation so it makes sense to me they’d be ones that pick up on these things even without the why. Strickler however, with his literal magical hoard he pulls out of thin air, clearly knows what he’s doing more than most of his kin in that regard and while still not able to pin point exactly what’s going on, would immediately notice a change from magic being used and be wary of what it might mean. In comparison Nomura would just think it’s an off feeling and have no context to know otherwise.

There’s two points this has come up so far in my fics, namely the Book of Ga-Huel in the Strickler fic (there is a bit of a tickle in the air about it but nothing too unusual for that particular item) and also in Ghost!AU (a flicker of a something rapidly seeps into the very air -- Strickler happened to notice the shift immediately, looking about in confusion for what exactly it was he felt for those fragile few seconds). The only other magic user in the house at the time clocked it as well but doesn’t have the knowledge yet to realise what it was (there was something odd that happened just before that, the really weird way his expression seemed to change and a feeling in the air) who is of course, Claire. I’m also gonna be using it as an excuse to get those two to talk to one another before the Eternal Night hits which will be valuable information for Claire in the future and the virtue of trusting her gut just like when it turned out Angor was spying on them.

It adds a neat bit of meta for me to play with and I was glad to find a way to throw it into here as well as it’s something I love to ramble about but don’t often get the opportunity for it. Plus magic can be more than slinging fireballs around! It can be subtle tells as well.

[reedraws]

A comission for the incredible @dreamcrow, featuring his characters Akko and Sitayqik enjoying fantasy boba! I love them so much, I can't wait to read more about them.

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