@XxFaylinexX
Hey there! How are you ♡´･ᴗ･`♡
@Krystal_ima Eh, it is what it is. Fortunately, my internship is mostly over, so I can get proper nights of sleep again, but my dad has started treatment, and he's not doing great. So I'm glad it's finally summer
Sometimes, I think I made Phoinix 'too evil' to be realistic. I mean, I researched totalitarism when I created them, and so they have become a militaristic, harsh society that values honour, extreme loyalty and physical strength above all else. They are the Roman Republic × fascism × generational trauma × achievement-oriented society × phoenix lore. They are, like, really bad: slavery, war crimes, racism, genocide, attacks directed civilians and humanitarian groups - I don't think there is a single act from the Geneva conventions they didn't violate (or wouldn't if they could). The Phoinixian people are stuck in a cycle of doing horrible things and patting themselves on the back for them because they think they not only have the right to do those things, they also believe that they should.
But then I read the news and think: "no wait actually these guys aren't anywhere near bad enough to be realistic". Because at least my genocidal maniacs feel crippling guilt about the blood on their hands. They back down in tiny ways. Roy goes into a deep depression after setting the ocean on fire, and after it, he does everything in his power to end the war. Ashe frees her enslaved people, even though she risks her position in society by doing so. Turns out I could've made them a whole lot less complicated, I guess; they could’ve just been That Bad™️ and it still would've made sense :(
(Not Enya though, there's genuinely something wrong with her. She's up there with the real world bad guys)
Anyway long story short: be nice to each other y'all. If you take any lesson away from my stories, let it be: "kindness and compassion are always worth it". Even if it's not the easy way out. Even if it screws you over sometimes. Even if other people really make you mad, even if others do horrible things. Never let anything stop you from being kind.
@ceaseless-watchr Exactly!! And even though she feels alone in what she does, people take note. Even if they don't fully agree or don’t dare to, her choices impact the people and world around her
@XxFaylinexX YES EXACTLY!! She really helps to humanize phoinix in a way that help people understand what it is to be brought up with incorrect beliefs and to work for redemption and change!
@blythering Lol valid - Ilse and I did the math on his politics and what his rule would be like, and turns out he would be some weird combination of cetrum-right (to Dutch standards; I think it would be considered left-wing in the US) yet progressive: making some nationalistic and capitalistic choice, but never compromising human rights. Like, the man is actually doing the bare minimum, unlike some. And he feels bad enough that he would donate to all kinds of charities from his own fortune. He's far from a perfect ruler, but he could've easily been so, so much worse For real! And even then (doesn't show as clearly in Ballad of Falling Light) there's still a little bit of nuance to Enya. Yes, she is rational to the point of cruelty, and she genuinely doesn't feel any empathy or compassion, but she's still also just a young woman trying to live up to the extreme expectations on her shoulders
Check out this promotion book by @-Chrysalis_Realm ! It's always nice to see initiatives dedicated to promoting the works of others https://www.wattpad.com/story/374147271
Happy Day the Ocean Burned- Eh, I mean, happy summer solstice!
I would've loved to post the second to last chapter of A Ballad of Falling Light today, but that isn't anywhere near finished, unfortunately. The past 3 months I had an internship, and I just finished yesterday, so I haven't had the time to write anything. With that done, however, I can finally properly start on that chapter, and it should be a relatively short one, so I hope that I can dedicate some time to it and finish it within a few weeks.
I do still have a little something though! Last year, I had the idea to translate my short story dedicated to this event to celebrate this day - but I had that idea on the day after, so just a little late. But I still translated it back then to post it today, knowing I'd be busy around this time (look at me thinking ahead), so there's still something to read.
A small disclaimer: this story was written approximately four years ago. Though that definitely isn’t as bad as the stuff from a decade ago, it's definitely not of the same quality as A Ballad of Falling Light. I decided to just translate it, rather than to spend ages editing the entire thing, but that means it's far from perfect. It's meant to be a fun (as far a story about genocide can be 'fun') little thing that I wanted to share because it exists anyway.
(Continued)
https://www.wattpad.com/story/396481731
It probably makes the most sense if you're somewhat familiar with the world (so for the non-Dutch speaking people, that probably means you read (a part of) A Ballad of Falling Light) but hey, give it a go! It's a short read, only a little over 10K total (that's shorter than some A Ballad of Falling Light chapters whoops), so you could probably read the entire thing in under an hour.
Have fun watching Brand have his doubts about war crimes, Enya being her usual sassy, mean, stoic self, Cinaéd being not as big of a jerk as he sometimes is (but still bad) and Roy being crushed under the weight of his anxiety and guilt :)
GUYS LOOK it's a dnd inspired fantasy applyfic come hype with me
https://www.wattpad.com/story/392685830
@Krystal_ima It's only once a year and it was literally last week anyway lol but it is livestreamed to the entire world so if political tensions don’t cause it to crumple before half may next year, you could watch it then XD But to give you an impression of just how wild it is, it goes from tearjerking ballads about grief https://youtu.be/jhqJY0ll1Wo?si=fJ_dd9OCTxuGOsst to three guys singing about going to the sauna https://youtu.be/WSh7U3m9KgA?si=ILl1aor4Mx3V9dHe to opera https://youtu.be/coGaxAWtp58?si=mxQ8q7iCJTI_ZU1v and to some Estonian guy messing with Italian stereotypes https://youtu.be/9b9Z5HSCXOI?si=ARnC1eaSu8cRY6N- all in the span of like, 15 minutes And somehow the French ballad was the only one out of these songs that didn't end in the top 5 Also Iceland my beloved mess https://youtu.be/c73Lx1QUZZA?si=ZEOyBiGCpQm8Ha4d They made song about boat <3
Thank you so much for the motivating message you left for me ❤
And are you okay though? I thought you were just busy with something and hence I wasn't asking about why you're not reading further, I hope everything is fine? Your message felt concerning so I'm asking TT
If you ever feel like you need to vent out and speak to anyone and don't have anyone, you can always reach out to me on pin if you want, I'll be there to listen to ya <333
@XxFaylinexX oh no :( sorry to hear that, I hope everything gets fine for you soon... It's okay to step back for a while and get a break from this app... Take care bae <3
@Krystal_ima Thanks for reaching out <3 It's not something to discuss on a message board, and tbh a part of it is just being busy, but yeah their have been some personal things happening lately that make it so that I'm not sure how much I'll be online the upcoming months unfortunately
Happy International Asexuality Day everyone!
I'd like to take this opportunity to share some resources on this sexuality, for those who want to read/listen/watch to learn more about it:
- David Jay - Asexuality (video) https://youtu.be/VLI09O8bMkU?si=uVf622AoX2HUYS8V
- Sounds Fake But Okay - What is Asexuality https://soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com/218346/episodes/1284502-ep-87-what-is-asexuality
- AVEN https://www.asexuality.org/
And some stuff for funsies:
- Romance/sex free music playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6wdkxJGXc1xUrtlJi0GPke?si=AINZRwTaTKqUHuSDtA6_OA
- Podcast on Ace Day: https://soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com/218346/episodes/8266308-ep-177-international-asexuality-day
- Overly Sarcastic Productions https://youtube.com/@overlysarcasticproductions?si=XZxygbDQHXJSowXU
Book recommendations:
- Loveless, Alice Oseman
- Gloei, Edward van de Vendel (Dutch only :( )
- A Ballad of Falling Light ;)
Please add more guys I'm also desperate to find more representation and resources :)
Happy spring equinox everyone! Finally, the days will be longer than the nights again.
To celebrate, and also because I just finished it, there's a new chapter of A Ballad of Falling Light! This time, Mele is having an absolutely awful day. Of course, there will be consequences to some actions. Question off the day: will she learn from it this time? Why not?
Also this is that chapter with Stella being the most iconic of all icons, and it's very cool of them. It's not my fault/achievement that they are like this, it's @ceaseless-watchr 's tbh. I'm not sorry
Anyway enjoy this chapter's dose of snarky comments, savage one-liners, divine intervention and feminine rage. There's nothing spring related to this chapter tbh but it's here anyway
https://www.wattpad.com/story/317530424
Check out this high fantasy applyfic by @bubblew1tch ! I probably won't have time to join myself but the worldbuilding seems very cool and it looks like a lot of effort went into this entire setup, so definitely a good start! https://www.wattpad.com/story/391282690
Check out this review shop by @qwertyliciousdef , specifically made for queer stories that are barred from a lot of other review shops! https://www.wattpad.com/story/391210570