16: One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny. Historical romance, light on the historical, was the pitch I got. Raff Barden shows up to his sister’s wedding but the groom has vanished. Meanwhile, William ‘Penn’ de Foucart flees his betrothal. For gay reasons. They unknowingly run into each other and… :3

yoooooo that’s so dope! so happy to see my lil powerpoint out in the world 🥺

this kit was a huge amount of fun to do - lined sleeves, beaded belt pennant, a train with burnt pages about his life and downfall
genuinely one of the best kits i’ve ever made for a larp, and people were SO lovely about it, recognising him instantly
also, draughir makeup was very fun :3

it’s hopepunk. it’s“we have hurt each other and will again but that’s no excuse not to try”. it’s“if the world is not good then explain me, and my kindness, and my determination to carry it on”. it’s“there’s some good in this world, mr frodo, and it’s worth fightin’ for.”
messy, persistent and alive

and FUNDAMENTALLY:
the nature of there *being a future at all* is a legacy in and of itself - the legacy of the times you got it right, just enough. not perfect, but enough that there was a tomorrow. and then again. and then again. every mistake has been outweighed, just enough, by the making right

i think it’s part of why this sticks with me. the titan stays; the summary reminder of what people’s mistakes cost - the death of the whale shark, of kai, of the people who die in the cleaven attack, of the crew of the wayfarer - it’s all persistent. having a future means living with the past
aaaaaa

how much of our fervour for What Is Right gets driven by a sense of collective punishment, an inability to extricate policing from our psyche? if i die leftistly enough, if i kill enough of the 1%, if enough blood spills and my name is written in it enough times, was i ever wrong to begin with?

thank YOU for writing them, for believing enough that those of us who are out there listening would be there to read it ❤️
very rarely am i so bowled over by books but i can’t put into words the impact these have had on me. pride of place on my bookshelves and enthusiastically recommended to everyone

ALSO also thinking about the hand by anabelle dinda and how much it applies to mira, nami and cordelia
just. augh. i would edit them to this song if i could because HOLY SHIT

oh, the ENDING. sorry my found family is healing from what happened and what could have been. there’s a baby. no we’re not saddling it with the names of the past, but making it a promise to the future
there’s a FUTURE
in such a dire world today, a world where that’s POSSIBLE means everything to me

15: Tideborn by @elizachanwrites.bsky.social. Another year, another tsunami of emotion and profound transformative writing from Eliza Chan’s Drowned World duology. To help me I’ve put my summary for my friends’ Discord server here too, but GOD. You are capable of learning. You are capable of change.