#‘​‘blorbo. that one��’ ‘‘that one?? you have like fifteen others just like it—’’ ‘‘THAT. ONE.’’

[ghost-oftheriver]

so about that neurodivergent clown show

still frame

[fuckyeahisawthat]

I’ve seen a few metas now that describe Crowley as self-loathing and…that’s not quite it to me.

Crowley for sure has Issues. He has a lot of anger and doesn’t always deal with it in constructive ways. He is hypervigilant as all fuck, and the fact that he is almost always correct about the amount of danger he and Aziraphale are in at a given moment just reinforces that hypervigilance feedback loop.

He has the hair-trigger flight response of someone who has spent millennia dodging oppressive forces that are more powerful than him, and this makes him default to RUN even when on some level he knows that is not the right response to a situation. He’s very aware that there are a lot of people out there who can hurt him, and there is no one coming to protect him. The only option is to try to avoid the blow.

And he is absolutely terrified of rejection, for very understandable reasons. This also encourages him to have one foot out the door of a situation, to pretend he doesn’t care, because if you leave first and actually never cared at all then you can’t be hurt. He is painfully aware that good things can be taken away from him without warning, that love that looks absolute can turn out to be conditional, because that already happened to him.

But. As much as I love a self-loathing blorbo, I don’t think Crowley hates himself.

Sure he talks a good game about how he’s not nice. But I don’t think, for example, that he thinks he is unworthy of Aziraphale’s love, that he is not good enough for Aziraphale because he is a demon or for any other reason. Because as far as Crowley is concerned, angels and demons are the same! All that good and evil stuff is just names for sides. I think he is afraid, because he’s still not sure, after all this time, if Aziraphale feels the same way he does, and broaching that topic is an enormous risk compared to just staying in the ambiguously-defined status quo they have now. (And then he works up the courage to do it anyway, and seems to have his worst fears confirmed.)

FWIW, I don’t think Aziraphale thinks that Crowley is not good enough for him either. Not at all. But I think Crowley might think that Aziraphale thinks that after the end of s2. And that really stings, because as much as they both gave lip service to the idea of “I’m good, you’re evil,” I think Crowley always assumed that Aziraphale saw through that when it came to him as a person, that it was just something Azirphale said and not something he really believed about Crowley, and now he’s not so sure.

I also think Crowley believes he did not deserve his fall (hot take: none of them did) not because he is extra-special Good, but because that’s a fucked-up thing for someone who said they loved you to do. While he is clearly still dealing with the trauma of it, I think he knows by now: I shouldn’t have been hurt like that. I didn’t deserve it, and it wasn’t my fault.

And so the horror of Aziraphale accepting the offer of going back to Heaven is partially I thought we both understood how this system works; I thought we were on our own side together and partially I can’t believe you’re going back to the people who hurt you and at least a little bit I can’t believe you’re going back to the people who hurt me. Do you think they were right?

(And Aziraphale doesn’t! He doesn’t think that! He thinks they were wrong, but he thinks they were wrong about Crowley, that it was an individual mistake and not a feature of a system that squashes questioning and nonconformity of any kind.)

I wrote a whole meta about “I won’t be forgiven, not ever” and “unforgivable, that’s what I am” in 2019 that I won’t rehash here, but tl;dr, I don’t think Crowley is saying that as a statement of his self-worth. I think he is saying, Heaven would never let me back in, and if they did, I wouldn’t go. Because I don’t want or trust the “acceptance” of people who don’t value me as I am.

And it’s part of the cruel dramatic irony of the Final Fifteen that one of the things that breaks them apart is that Crowley values himself enough not to go back to Heaven. Crowley, who we’ve seen will do almost anything for Aziraphale, says, No. I am not putting myself back in that abusive situation. You shouldn’t either; I really wish you wouldn’t; but if you do, I am still not going back there. Not even for you.

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

Celebration: 88,978 Words in One Day!

Just yesterday, a few other LU writers and I, Hot Cheeto Hatred, hosted our first ever monthly (hopefully) Write-a-thon! This event ran on June 4 from 12 am EST to 12 am EST, with one goal in mind---write as many productive words within that day as humanly possible. Words included in the final marathon count ranged from storyboarding, fic writing, editing, answering comments, journalling and homework---basically, any words that furthered yourself, the writing community at large, or your stories. We utilized either the Discord Sprint bot or self-reporting to collect the numbers at the end. Everyone involved gave it their all, with most of them being present for most if not all of the run time as they were able, and I'm so proud of their dedication towards their craft. Anyways, here's the final breakdown of the numbers below, as well as the awards and titles earned by each participant, as decided by the discord server (and myself at random).

Now onto the awards:

I am pleased to report that @not-freyja (Freyja above) won the "Writer of All Time" Award, pulling ahead with 20,565 of our total words. What an accomplishment! Freyja participated from dawn to well, dawn, and they absolutely deserve all praise and awe.

I'm giving myself, @hotcheetohatred (Cheeto), the award "Writer of Some Time," as I fell behind our lovely Freyja by a mere few hundred words fifteen minutes before the clock struck midnight. Next time, Freyja, next time...

The "Actually A Writer" award goes to @marcusdoodlesalot (Marcus), who, despite the name, DOES actually write, not just draw! Who would have thought. Not Freyja, that's for sure.

The "Early Bird" award goes to @lerikwrites (Lerik), who solely sprinted in the wee hours of the morning (my time, at least). Terrible. Good job.

"Star Commentor" goes to @elle-rosewater (Eliot), because I stole most of her words for the count from my own comment section in the BDOR Prologues. We love you, Eliot :3 Can't wait to see you next month.

"Cheerleader" goes to @la-sera, who gave us much encouragement throughout the day. I stole your 19 words from you saying you were excited to read Estelian's work. Hope that's okay, because I really wanted to include you---you provided a lot, even if you didn't write with us this time <3.

@whumpitywhumpitywhumpity (Dowsemaxxer) earns "Spirit-ed Storyboarder" for all of his lovely, informative talk on Spirit and just what makes him so great as a rather underappreciated LU boy.

Two awards next! "Chief Editor" and "Most Student" both go to @unexpectedstormy (Stormy) for faer work on getting. stuff. done. Fae did a steady amount of work, so proud.

"Editor (of Word Count) in Chief" goes to @tashacee (Tash), who, at reporting time, was scrounging up 100 and 200 word bits like spare change while I desperately tried to do math. I love you, never change.

The title of "Specter" goes to @somer-writes (Somer), who logged in very few sprints, but participated with the rest of us and pulled up at the end with a whole 7.5K words and a bunch of fics to post at the end, with a lot of it being Ghost AU! He's amazing.

The award "Better Late than Never" goes to our resident artist and recently turned fic-writer @estelian-01 (Este), who joined only in the last half of the marathon but managed to pull a whole 4K! Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but Este wrote a couple more anyway.

@across-violet-skies (Riv) gets the title "Mover and Shaker (of Blorbos)" for managing to participate and get quite the hefty wordcount only a DAY after moving. They're a trooper, that's for sure.

@anime-obsessed (Vio/Nene) earns the award "Most Old School" for writing with pen and paper for most of the day. Please go rest your wrist after all of that.

The award "Head in the Clouds" goes to my bestie and beloved beta reader @needfantasticstories (Skip), who spent the day listening to music and writing Skyloft drabbles. I am nervous/excited to see if those drabbles turned out fluffy as a Loftwing, or perhaps into something more angsty.

@noorahqar (Qar), my lovely fragile Victorian wife, earns the title "Chatty." You know why. But you were there nearly all of the run time, and so engaging and encouraging throughout---a blessing to us all. And even then, you managed to pull so many words. I'm impressed.

And finally, @rosehipandroots / @rosetintedtears (Rose) receives the titles "ndskanefnre" (self chosen) and "Birthday Santa." The first was borne of panic of being asked to choose a title---the second of her relentless effort to get her birthday fics done. Great job.

I'd like to thank everyone that I tagged for participating in the write-a-thon, and thank all of you for helping me draft this post as well. If I messed up any word counts or details or pronouns, you want to request a title/award change, or I missed someone, please DM and let me know! The next Write-a-thon will be held on July 1 from 12am to 12am GMT, and we'll be trying to beat our record. Can't wait to see all of you then!

[sillygoofyqueer]

pls four i am trembling shaking sobbing at your wei qingwei thoughts??? my beloved darling big uncle i love him!!!

he seems like the type to call all his disciples by first name and like, have meals with them every so often. it seems like the master-disciple divide is pretty significant on other peaks (or maybe that’s just bc sqq is so reclusive?) but your wqw gives me ‘gathering around a real hearty stew and sharing stories from his own time as a disciple’ vibes.

like i can so easily picture him seeing a new disciple frustrated or scared or homesick, dropping a big, warm hand on their head, and going ‘hey kiddo, how about you help shifu in the forge for a while?’

(sometimes helping in the forge means pounding the shit outta some metal until you’ve worked some shit out of your system; sometimes it means passing wqw tools and listening to him explain what he’s doing in detail; sometimes it means sitting on a stool while shifu works and telling him about your parents and your big sister and the forest where you used to play together. in my heart, he’d make time for every disciple to help in the forge at least once)

also he’s got a stash of first aid supplies to rival qian cao, provided and maintained by mqf personally.

i love wqw now,,, please give me more of your thoughts when you have them,,, i am nourished i am fed i am grateful amen 🙏

HAAHAHHAHAA PROPAGANDA TO MAKE EVERYONE LOVE MY BELOVED BRAINWORMS FORMED MAN. He's so...he's SO....AGH. He's my blorbo now - MXTX didn't characterise him, so I DID IT MYSELF. AND YES YES YES, Wei Qingwei would definitely be emotionally intelligent enough to register when the disciples just need a bit of one-on-one time and definitely give it to them - if YQY is like the big brother of the sect, then WQW slides in as the father/cool uncle of the sect. If one of his disciples isn't feeling alright or just overly wants to curl up in a ball and cry, they can wander into WQW's personal forge/office and he'll greet them with a warm smile and a soft question of how they're feeling. He knows JUST what to say and how to react (Shen Qingqiu has found him in QJP library looking at parenting books. He doesn't say anything about it) to make them feel better. I like to think about the first time Yue Qingyuan met the head disciples - *pulls out the timeline* it says that YQY became head disciple of QDP at nineteen, and, assuming that Liu Qingge and WQW are the same age (we can see that disciples can become head disciples at young ages, with Ming Fan being head disciple of QJP (around 15/16) by the time the novel begins), they could well be head disciples. Or, we could have WQW as WJP head disciple and LQG hanging around with the guy (definitely a candidate for head disciple at this point). This is going off on a tangent, let me pull this back onto my original point instead of thinking about the logistics. YQY meeting one of the other head disciples for the first time (WQW), being really nervous and not really knowing what peak the head disciple is from (thanks for nothing, Shizun!!), gripping some important documents in regard of a mission they've got. He sees a fifteen year old who is far taller than him and definitely muscular under those (WAN JIAN???) robes, grinning at him with a sword (should he have that??) at his side and a thrashing fourteen year old in his grasp. "You must be Yue-shixiong! Liu-shixiong, greet Yue-shixiong!" He shakes the fourteen year old around by the scruff of his robes, and YQY is close to passing out - what do you mean this WJP disciple is teasing a BZP disciple with NO consequences?! Then he gets hit with the...what kind of beam does WQW have...a jiujiu beam??? Because that man definitely has siblings that he cares about a lot (ALL sisters, I'm telling you right now. That's to be described in a later yappering though) and cultivated the perfect jiujiu persona from a young age, just so he was ready for nieces and nephews that his sisters would have. There's no way someone can have a conversation with WQW without getting hit with the beam if he's all relaxed n normal personality. Imagine thinking you're going to be hanging out with younger shidi for a mission and finding a boy who is taller and more muscular than you awaiting your arrival with snacks and travel games planned.

[imshymorph]

Gather around everyone, here’s some soft!Gaz headcanons. Idk if it's a blorbo or me ranting and fangirling but i need to share the brain rot. another post today cause fuck it, i’ve been thinking about it for a while. also this was like a constant stream of thought and not proof read.

I truly don’t understand why this man gets ignored so much and I never will. He literally has everything you could ever want, saying he’s a ten doesn’t cut it. And yet I barely see people talking about him. (Except the gaz nation pookies, I see you).

This man absolutely bags the hottest significant other, doesn’t even know how. Don’t get me wrong, he 100% has rizz but he’s also just naturally attractive and inviting so i feel like by the time he starts to flirt on purpose it’s been two hours of pure smoothness. He’s also absolutely whipped but plays it off really smoothly.

- - - - -

Not only does he bag the hottest and meanest pookie aka you, but he also absolutely knows he did. And he’ll let right about everyone else know. I do think he’s more private about his life than say Soap, so it’s not like he’ll stop a random recruit and tell him about you (which i truly believe Johnny would do). But he has absolutely followed Price around base while he tells him about the two weeks leave he took to be with you.

Poor Price on his desk, dealing with the paperwork that comes as a necessity after Ghost and Soap blew something up during a drill that didn’t involve explosives at all. Not only is he having to fill out like fifteen different forms and reports, but he has Gaz sitting across from him, scrolling through his gallery and showing pictures of the place he took you out to on your Friday dinner date. Not only that but if Price just pretends to look but doesn’t actually pay attention Kyle will know and insist until the captain actually looks at the slideshow.

He doesn’t hammer your dates' knowledge onto Soap and Ghost as much, but he’ll definitely do subtle flexes. He chest the time on his phone instead of his watch so they’ll see the picture of you he has as a background. If someone brings up a weekend plan he’ll say how he can’t because he’s already going out with his darling. Subtly will tell anyone that will listen how you got him his new shirt, pants, cap, whatever it is tbh.

He also knows every single product that you prefer, doesn’t matter what kind it is. Makeup, skincare, cologne, fabric softener, snacks, beverages, food places, clothing brands. He doesn’t care, he knows all of them by heart. It’s like he has a six sense too, every time you’re close to running out of them he’ll randomly stop in the store on his way back to you from base and get them.

While i headcanon that Johnny gets into skin care after his darling introduces him to it (which you can read here, if you want). I believe Kyle absolutely has his own routine and that he is the one who first brings up the idea of having a spa night once a week. He’s the one to get the products, he even goes all out and does them themed, like by scent or colour or something.

Has a bunch of hoodies in rotation (or any other clothing piece you might steal from him) always making sure to wear at least one of them for a few days before “forgetting” it at yours or “forgetting” to take it to base once you’ve moved in together. He knows how much you love wearing them and how important it is that it smells like him. So he dutifully makes sure you always have a fresh Kyle™ piece of clothing available. Also it absolutely works for him too because he takes back the one you’ve had with you meanwhile. The mix of your cologne, body wash and fabric softener his favourite scent for sure.

And last but not least of my Gaz is the perfect boyfriend agenda (for today) is the fact that i know he just gives the best back massages. You don’t even have to ask for it, he’ll just come to the living room, lightly pat your shoulder so you move forward. He fits himself between the couch and your back and just gives you the massage of your life. He just laughs it off when you tell him he could be a masseuse if he ever retires from the military.

It takes less than 5 minutes to have you absolutely melting, and when he’s pleased with how comfortable and relaxed you look he just pulls you back against his chest. His arms wrap around your waist and his chin rests on your shoulder as you sit between his legs, the both of you watching a random show he saw good ratings of.

[broadwaybalogna]

send prompts it is!!

because I just finished a math test and need my blorbos to suffer with me, let's have zutara in a modern au where they take a math test together! 😊

one of them would have a pretty low score and fluff and comfort ensues

(i hope I pass)

I’ve literally been waiting all night for another prompt to pop into my inbox and this is so cute omg!!!

Have I ever said how much I love modern Zutara? Because I LOVE modern Zutara.

Also- I hope you pass your test! Sending all luck your way~

Oh yeah, before I start this. I would like to reiterate that I am an American. Apparently different counties have different ways of grading but for me an A is a 90-100, a B is an 80-90 and a C is around a 70-80. D is 64 up and F is anything below. Just thought I should point that out before I begin.

Zuko moved out of his dad’s house when he was fifteen. Well, more like he was kicked out and he displayed little to no reluctance to leave. After his mother had left, he had little hope of seeing his father redeem himself.

But Zuko found that old habits died hard. Because even though his uncle was one of the most caring people he had ever met, there was still this overwhelming anxiety Zuko felt when he did something wrong. Especially in school.

In Zuko’s experience, school was the easiest way for Ozai to control Zuko. He spent most of his nights either studying or hiding, only ever leaving his room for dinner. His father checked his grades twice a day (he had figured out Zuko’s school username and password) to make sure Zuko was on top of everything. So when Zuko moved, his mentality regarding school didn’t change, even if his environment had.

He found himself still cooped up in his room reading through books, skipping meals, and solving equations well into the night.

That changed when he met Katara.

Katara was what many people called a “nerd”. But she still looked pretty so she didn’t get teased nearly as much as she would’ve had she not been. Katara, like Zuko, aced tests and projects. However, Katara, unlike Zuko, was an enthusiastic learner. She would raise her hand every chance she got in class to answer a question or ask for clarification. She even sometimes corrected their teachers on their mistakes. Needless to say, Zuko gave her a lot of side eyes.

They didn’t have very many classes together, especially since she was a grade below his, but she had been moved up to Zuko’s Math, English, and Physics classes. She apparently also took on level Biology which made Zuko’s head spiral.

At first, they barely spoke a word to one another. But once acknowledging each others academic achievements, they began so talk every so often during free time in classes. Katara would often be working on something for another class while they talked, though. Zuko still found it relaxing. Although she enjoyed it more, she still understood the pressures of school and the mental spirals it would put people through.

One thing led to another and they began studying together as well. Zuko couldn’t really help her with Biology (it was an elective. Seriously, who takes a core class as an elective??) but they exchanged notes and shortcuts for other classes. Zuko was able to give her a lot of tips on writing papers for English since he had a politician for a father (finally, Ozai was good for something).

Katara was a beast at math, though. She tackled each problem like it was common sense. Since it was a higher level, she was still challenged, but not nearly as much as other kids in their class were. It was no wonder Katara also took physics, the science that revolves around math.

The one thing she struggled with was history. Zuko learned very early into their friendship that Katara was absolute ass at memorizing anything. The only way she was able to memorize formula’s was because she would repeat them over and over throughout study sessions until it drove them both insane. So Zuko found himself helping her most with that subject.

One night, when a study session ran much longer than it should’ve, Iroh suggested she stay with the two of them for the night. That was her first and most notably, not last, sleepover at Zuko’s. Actually, it was the furthest thing from her last. It became part of their routine for her to stay over once or twice a week to keep studying. Iroh tried to get them to relax and take breaks every so often, which they did, but most of their time was spent either studying or talking.

Then even more of their time was spent talking.

Then a really good portion of their time was spent going on walks midday and talking.

And Zuko enjoyed it so much. He seriously enjoyed just being able to breathe. He felt genuenly free when he was with Katara, studying or not.

But both Zuko and Katara soon realized that prioritizing their mental health over school had consequences.

It had been time for their unit test in math, a test both of them had forgotten to study for the night before. Zuko mentally beat himself up over and he could see Katara out of the corner of his eye drop her head onto her desk.

They were so screwed.

Or, well, just Zuko was screwed. Turned out that Katara’s ‘mathematical Common sense formulas’ came in handy and get her an 79% on the test. Although she had never gotten a grade below an 85 in the class, she still let out a sigh when she checked her grade in her phone.

“Are they out?” Zuko asked, already pulling out his phone to check his own grade.

“Yeah. Ugh, I’m so screwed. Sit brought down my semester grade to a 89.”

“That big of a jump? I thought you had a 96 earlier?”

“This was worth a lot of points. I feel so stupid.”

Katara continued to ramble but Zuko tuned her out as he looked at his grade from the light below him.

61.

He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, convinced that it was all a hallucination.

“Nine was a hellscape and- hey, are you okay?” He heard Katara say as he looked back down to his phone.

61.

It was still there, staring at him, no, laughing at him from the grade-book. Zuko felt like he could hear his father’s voice yelling at him, lecturing him over the horrifying careers that lie ahead of him based on this one mistake.

“Zuko? Can you hear me?”

Could he hear her? For some reason, he didn’t know how to answer.

“Iroh! Something’s going on with Zuko!” That was the last thing Zuko registered before he felt his chest heave and his mind race.

When Zuko could finally register the things around him again, he was in his bed laying down. He turned to his side and saw Katara pacing in his bedroom.

“Kat?”

“Zuko! Oh my god, toh scared the bejesus out of me! Are you okay? Do you need me to get you a water?”

“That would be nice.”

“Good, because I already got you one.” Katara tached over to Zuko’s bedside table and passed him a cup of water. Classic Katara, always being one step ahead. “Iroh said you had a panic attack. I assume it was over- um…” Zuko thought back to what had happened. Right.

“Yeah, my bad.”

“Oh no! Not your bad! In no way is this your bad, Zuko! This is your shitty father’s bad- no- your shitty father’s worst,” she corrected herself.

“Hmm,” he hummed.

“Zuko,” Katara finally said, lowering her voice and finally becoming more calm, “I don’t really know much about your relationship with your dad- or school. But it was so nice seeing you actually happy and talking these past few days. It really put things into perspective for me. I realize that I’ve been studying so much all the time, that I never thought about how it affected you. I’m sorry.”

“What? No, don’t be sorry. My relationship with school is.. complicated at best, but in no way is any of it your fault,” he sat up to face Katara, “but I have realized how much more I like being free. I just need to find a balance.”

“Could I- could I help you find it?” Katara asked after a short moment has passed.

“I’d love that.”

They both smiled and Katara engulfed Zuko in a soul-crushing hug. Zuko’s heart did a little flip and he let out a sigh.

He liked this.

He also might like Katara.

He was happy with those conclusions.

It’s 1am and I have state testing tomorrow (today??) so GOODNIGHT!

[ravenpureforever]

random question time! which wwx's relationship do you like the most and why? It could be platonic or romantic, all canons allowed

Thank you for the ask! Oh boy this question is hard, because I like I appreciate so many of his relationships for different reasons that picking just one feels kinda cruel 

I think the biggest tie for me is between JC and LWJ for WWX. 

Wangxian is the rare ship where I genuinely can only see them romantically with each other, like I’m multishipper, I’ll ship literally anything if you have an interesting concept, pretty words or beautiful art, like grab my attention I am yours, except these two, they live in my head rent free and they can only be together because like maybe you lost everything, maybe you can never go back to that blissful youth you once had, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a new life for yourself and find happiness and all the grief and tragedy does not define you but you still want to help people and you will help people and maybe it isn’t the life you thought you wanted when you were fifteen but it is a wonderful one and you love and you are loved and you are happy and that is enough. Maybe you suffered, maybe you were cruel, maybe the world misread who you are and assigned you a role you did not ask for, but maybe that doesn’t matter because you know who you are, you are still kind, and you have someone who knows and understands you and trusts who you are. You are both also kind of insufferable in your love and get to be annoying too. 

But JC & WWX are my ultimate tragic doomed platonic relationship, my neurotic little freaks who can’t be normal about each other and have zero boundaries, bickering idiots, wanting to go back to your youth except you’ll never be 15 again and you the person who knew the most intimate parts of yourself is now a stranger except you still see the glimmers of the person they used to be, the most brutal variation of you’ll never recover from that kind of devotion, the ultimate capturing  lost youth and having to go down different paths and really depicting what growing up is like sometimes, the viciousness where I am able to hurt you unlike anyone else (regardless if I want to or not), the abusive household codependency of survival, literally carrying a piece of your soul in my chest and making the ultimate sacrifice you never asked for because I couldn’t bare to risk losing you, the hollowness is a symbol of my devotion and the fullness is an omen of our splintering, there is one brain cell being shared like a game of tennis, my pathetic meow meow and beloved blorbo, I genuinely can’t be normal about them. 

I think if I really have to pick between them though, I’ll have to say JC & WWX just by virtue of I don’t like Wangxian fics that mischaracterize or villainize JC, like if he’s featured and isn’t a well-written character (Shanastorytellers' and loosingletters’ fics my absolute beloveds), it really takes me out of the narrative. His depiction and relationship with WWX has a lot of impact on my Wangxian enjoyment, and even in canon my beloved Wangxian gets to develop because of all the Ls this poor guy takes, so congrats JC, you win here! It’s by a literal hair, but JC & WWX platonic relationship, get these boys a reconciliation so they can drink in Lotus Pier and gossip about their kids and people they think are stupid, WWX it will enrich your marriage so much I promise. It’s what *I* deserve.

[gorbalsvampire]

11, 19, 21, 24

11. How many characters do you have?

Errrrrrrrrr...

Not counting pure SPCs for chronicles I've run, just "OCs" in the general sense... about fifteen? Riccardo, Luciana, Santino, Alistair, Sorcha (Hecata squad); Lamorne (forbidden blorbo); Penny, Riley (PCs in other people's chronicles); Yaritsa and Myriam (Tzimisce PC and her sire whomst I have queued up); Zhao Wen-Jun and all her associated names (VTMB); and Laetitia, Dorian, Sylvester and Dominique, the core cast of Bloodspell, a game I made and a novella I have as of yet no idea how to plot.

19. Which character is least spoken about? Speak about them now!

I want to talk about my Tzimisce! I've not really had an angle on playing one before, but Blood Sigils dropped and gave me the Koldunic Sorcery angle around the time I actually started paying attention to Animalism and watched The Suicide Squad, wanting to adopt Ratcatcher II.

Put all that together and Yaritsa fell out of the air, fully formed; horrid, sassy little street witch who's bonded with the water and knows exactly what's going on thanks to her army of rats. She doesn't like shoes and she comes with an entourage (armed ghoul squad and her ailing, befuddled mortal dad).

Her sire, Myriam, is a concept I've had kicking around for ages but not found the oomph to use, probably because I was being smooth brained and thinking she had to be a Harbinger. The concept, in two words: Saint Death. Ancilla koldun occupies local Santa Muerte cult: they're her Herd, but they're her Herd and she looks out for them, and she's functionally adopted Yaritsa along with Embracing her. Sometimes a character isn't complete by themselves; they need to be part of someone else's deal.

21. Tremere or Salubri?

God, what a choice. I can only hope this question explodes and kills me.

This is tricky because I don't like either of them strictly according to their presentation. I've used both as SPCs and they've been fairly impactful, but... eh.

I've discoursed at great length about the Tremere thing in the past, bottom line is I like them as medieval alchemists who backdoored their way into vampirism and decided to take over, but I can take or leave their Ars Magicka baggage and Thaumaturgy and all the high level "lore" cruft.

Salubri are similarly eaten by their role in the metaplot and so overdesigned that I have trouble with them existing in any other capacity for several thousand years before the Tremere came along. The original "there are only seven and they all diablerise their sire on Embrace and they're all eighth generation" was the start of all that "vampions" bullshit that I don't really vibe with. The super sekrit Sabbat Salubri popping up in Hong Kong all way of the warrior stylee is more of that Nineties wuxiaboo crap that brought us Kindred of the East. I also don't give a fuck about the Baali and the "revelation" that those are Saulot's fault has no impact for me - OK, whatever, I didn't buy the idea of the vampire messiah anyway, who cares about Antediluvians, we have real problems!

You know what, I've decided. It's Tremere. They're on thin ice - every time a Tremere player whines about losing Thaumaturgy in V5 I reach for my revolver, you still have Rituals, you have to play by the same Discipline rules as everyone else, die mad about it - but I can make them into something I vibe with a lot easier than I can the snowflake sparkledog special clan.

24. Caine or Lilith?

Ahi hai, ahi hai, ahi hai Lilitu...

No contest. The recurring subtext of all my games since 2005 has been "the Bahari are right about everything, and they 'won' Gehenna while the rest of you weren't even sure what's going on." The Mother of Monsters is absolutely the most important figure in the World of Darkness (if she literally exists) and she has the coolest cult by a country mile (even if she doesn't). Lilith, and the Bahari, fuck, and they fuck nasty, up against a tree, rubbed red and raw and bleeding. Don't you wish your spiritual icon was hot like mine?

... that went to a place, didn't it?

[rpfofficial]

the problem with doctor who is that i think very early on the writers began to take way too many liberties with quality and consistency because they could hide behind a) popularity of the show, b) star power + popularity of the actors, and c) nostalgia. and i think that really came through with the most recent specials because on the one hand yes it was fan service and im the fan and i do feel served, but on the other hand there's a level of quality you expect from these people especially for a 60th anniversary special that just wasn't there. and before you think "oh that's just the doctor who charm its always a bit badly written", that's my point exactly thats the excuse they hide behind, because people say that but they also always come back (im one of these people. that always comes back) when actually theres proof that the show CAN be really good. Not just silly and campy and nostalgic but actually good and interesting and intelligent.

and my issue with the specials is that they introduce all these new ideas like bigeneration or solving the metacrisis but in what feels like such a rushed and underhanded way, in favour of nostalgia-inducing lines and callbacks to older lore and cameos. and thats not to say that the specials were devoid of any meaning or emotion, and the nostalgia worked for me and overall my reaction to all 3 episodes was positive. but these themes and plot points that get revisited and quote unquote "resolved" are not given the gravitas that they SHOULD have been given, or hypothetically WOULD have been given by a writer who actually cares and can be bothered enough to get into the details and the grit. bigeneration was a total curveball that simply MUST be explored in depth in fifteen's series cos otherwise what was the point? and the metacrisis solution was very clearly shoehorned in and also a little bit cringe and not in the classic doctor who acceptable cringe way. all 3 episodes felt like they'd dug this great wide hole called "plot" and this hole is grand and impressive and draws people into it with the promise of being filled with something interesting.. and then u get to the hole and its just filled with a scattering of pebbles and a few nice shiny rocks. the good bits were the shiny rocks. i could list every good thing about the specials but it would just be a list of aspects or individual moments or lines. when in combination the whole thing is underwhelming and underdeveloped. and to be honest it felt like russell t davies got sidetracked writing fanfiction for his favourite blorbo and forgot to focus on writing the Actual TV Show he's Actually writing.

all that being said: Ncuti Gatwa stole the show and i am really excited and the specials were good enough that i have hopes for his series and i DID have fun and i believe i will CONTINUE to have fun. but i have to say that overall I was disappointed. these episodes definitely planted the seeds for some wonderful storytelling. but. it was the 60th anniversary, the return of DT and Catherine Tate, and the transition into the next series that is on so many levels radical and exciting. it should have been more than just seeds. it should have been the whole tree. also Martha should have been there. thank you for listening

[redr0sewrites]

2024 writing wrapped !

just a silly little thing i wanted to do !!! just some stats for my fics + some of my fav writers at the end <3 im so excited for the new year !!!

Fav Fic: I love you most - Jason Todd x reader - very much a self indulgent fic, and i go back to read it when im anxious. as someone w an anxiety disorder and other mental health issues i don't talk about much on here, a lot of the time i cope using fictional scenarios and other means, so this fic just means a lot to me

Least Fav Fic: Sub!Eris Vanserra Hcs - this could have been SO. much better, and each time i see it i cringe. i remember really wanting to write this but i just,,,, couldnt, so i settled for really half assed hcs. eris vanserra is also one of my absolute favorite characters of all tiem as well, but i never write for him bc A) the acotar fandom scares me B) i can never do him justice and these hc show that

Fic w Most Notes: NNN Hcs w The Hashiras - oughh this was a pain in the ass to write but. it was worth it. nearly 8.5k notes is CRAZY to me when i thought it sucked ass when i posted it... thanks yall

Longest Fic: Decent? - not including fics w multiple parts,,, probably this

Character I Wrote Most For: easily aaravos. he was my claim to fame and still one of my biggest blorbos. i love him so much

Most Requested Character: either Vox/Lute from Hazbin Hotel, Caitlyn from Arcane, or Jason Todd. they're probably my most asked for characters even to this day

Fav Fandom to Write For: i really LOVE to write for Bnha or DC because there is SOO much interaction and reblogs WITH SPECIFIC COMMENTS TOOOO its so nice in those fandoms specifically. and the writers from those fandoms r very kind as well

Least Fav Fandom to Write For: easily a tie between acotar and tdp. for acotar its because the fandom is incredibly heteronormative to the point where people would be annoyed when i used gender inclusive pronouns in my fics, and there was just a lot of arguing over headcanons that made me super uncomfy 😭 and then for tdp people kept asking me for dragon smut over fifteen times even when i said i wouldn't write beastiality so. yk. it was Weird. i do miss it tho.

Fav Character to Write For: Aaravos because i could characterize him in my own way and basically ignore canon bc he was just. My Guy. there was a point in time where i was THE ONLY active aaravos fic writer in the aaravos x reader tag and he was literally up to my interpretation. i also ADORE writing for Alastor because as someone who might be somewhere on the ace spectrum it is WONDERFUL to experiment with the idea of a character who isn't really a fan of sex, and he's so unique and interesting to write for. i also really like writing for Sevika (even tho i have NAWT written enough for her) because she's very much my type irl, and i just. love butches so much.

Fav Unfinished WIP: probably If Only, which was an adam x reader fic that only has two parts and i never really got around to finishing it- BUT I WANTT TOOO

Fav Fic Writer(s): i could never choose just one, but here r some writers whom ive been absolutely hooked on this year !! most of these r my mutuals or just lovely people with just as lovely writing :)

@peachdues , @mostly-imagines, @flametrashira , @luca-star1ight , @rueclfer , @graveyardcannibal , @bigfatbimbo , @sniigura , @hanasnx @archangeldyke-all

obviously this is not every writer i follow as i follow so many AND I LOVE THEM ALL but these r just my top ten whom ive gone back to reread their stuff again and again !!! i adore yall and i recommend everyone check them out!!!

[sunreisets]

tell us more about sarzhou please 🥹🥹

HELLO DEAR ANON I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED

Half of what consists of sarzhou is fanon FOR NOW… I don’t know much about their lore yet and I haven’t been digging into sarzhou lore hehe but there is my first very short thesis link here

I did save a few images and I know that the two of them were in this one image and they were both VERY YOUNG like probably in their fourteens-fifteens because Logan does look really young for his age back then and Guanyu looks 15-16 ish IM SO SORRY I COULDNT FIND THE IMAGE I will link it when I find it :D

Here r some images I think can contribute to the sarzhou thesis

Firstly, may be a personally bias but I love both their smiles, very sweet and unique grins and LOOOKKKKKK pre race interaction. I love pre race interactions I love when the drivers come together to gossip. I love friendships I love them!

Thinking about how Guanyu compared to Logan is the more fashionable one while Logan is just. Polo tee cargo shorts. Maybe Guanyu can do something to help with his fashion sense. Nevertheless both of them are perfect either way

(Also Logan playing with the buckle on his cap is so real I do that all the time with my caps too)

THAT NIGHT WHEN THEY WENT TO A PARTY TOGETHER. And many other nights, I think they went to post race parties together a couple of times and believe me or not when I didn’t know Guanyu might have a girlfriend I would have thought they were dating.

Fanon wise Thinking of how maybe they might have asked oscar to come along. And oscar couldn’t (noooooooo 😭) so they went themselves. Silly

(That height difference though)

Was this F3 days? I think f3 or Prema. Yes they’ve come from the childhood friends trope as well love love love that trope so much (Hi Sean)

Currently I like thinking about how they bonded because both of them were so called “outcasts” as well, Guanyu being an Asian karter in Europe and Logan an American, they aren’t from Europe/England and I love thinking about how Oscar and Guanyu introduced Logan around when he first moved to England on his own (before meeting benny). AM I MENTIONING OSCAR TOO MUCH IM SO SORRY I just love the guy

(Also Logan I’m sorry that cut. I’m so sorry who did this to you)

CIRCA 2023 I don’t know which race this was. But we have a couple moments of Alfa Romeo x Williams boyband this year and aufufufifucifufu my favourite blorbos. Valterri looks like a dad

OSCAR HEYYYY OSCAR. I associate Guanyu a lot with being Loscar’s third wheel but BUT. what if the turntables. What if Oscar’s the one having to third wheel them

I always remember how Oscar is literally a common figure in both of their social circles, like omg remember the time he said he would go out with Logan and Guanyu to a party after Vegas. That’s one of my Roman empires thank you very much

I DONT HAVE MUCH TO SHARE OF THEM I TRULY APOLOGISE I think I need another season to see how this goes HAHAHA

thanks anon for sending this in it is ssoooo fun to do a much needed hunt for their content!! I love it when you guys send in asks :)

[darkurgetrash]

15 Lines Tag 💬

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture their character/personality/vibe. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well. I feel like making a little ask game out of this SO: if you wanna you can send me one of these and i will give you context/ a snipped of what it is from! (you could also guess the context if you like!)

Thank you for the tag @dutifullylazybread! It was really interesting to look back through LMTTD and see how much Tavlyn has come out of her shell! My poor depressed blorbo. 🥺💔

Without further ado, here are fifteen lines from Tavlyn Fairchild: queen of insecurities, saying ‘sorry’ too much, ellipses, and not passing the Bechdel test.

“Really, it was my fault for misunderstanding. I have a tendency to read too much into things.”

“Well, I was trying to think how we could avoid conflict, but apparently saying ‘it sounded like you two were having fun’ wasn’t the way to go about it.” 

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t snooping, I was just… Well… I guess I was trying to.” 

“I can’t read people, never could. I’m not… insightful.”

“Gods, sorry. I have no right to be so moody!”

“I wasn’t trying to drown, but maybe it would have been better if I had.”

“Knowledge is a given right, and if you dare refer to Master Rolan or any tiefling as an ‘imp’ again, I’ll do far worse than shout at a shelf of books!”

“I feel more fragile now than I did the whole time we were fighting the Netherbrain. Everything seems to set me off into a panic, and then I become embarrassed, and then that sets me off and — Gods, it’s a… spiral.” 

“Lia, I’m really sorry if this comes off as ignorant, but I’m really having a hard time understanding this — what exactly is so gross about sleeping with your brother?”

“I meant slept together, like slept, caught the z’s, hit the hay, took a trip to the astral plane, mingled with the mind flayer, rubbed elbows with the emperor—”

“I’m not some kind-hearted hero worthy of any admiration. I was just… surviving.”

“I’m the one who isn’t worthy of you! I’m selfish, stubborn, and spoiled – I’ve always been too rash in my decisions and my actions, always given in to my emotions no matter how irrational they are, and I’m clingy, and foolhardy, and so desperately lonely that I unfairly demand attention—”

"Wouldn't I? I mean, I wasn't planning to... but now that you've told me not to, it makes me want to!"

“Is this ‘bully Tavlyn’ day or something?”

“But I’m alright, Rolan, we all died at some point, it’s fine!”

No pressure tags to @savriea @lisa-and-shadow @little-paperboat 🩷

[strawberry-selfships]

🍋🍋🍋 can i see three of them?

-bleedingheart-s

send me a 🍋 and I'll tell you a character I crushed on that never became an f/o

oh my GOSHHH OF COURSE U CAN @bleedingheart-s AAUJGKGHKSGU

ok one of them is this fella named lester parnell from a film called saltwater moose . i havent started shipping with him yet because i only saw the movie once and the plot was like.. baffling (in a silly way like a What Is Happening Hello) so nothing ended up happening because i was like.. so goofily dumbfounded by the movie itself . HES SOOOOOOOO CUTE THOUGH.

and yes i did make that gif of him. (and yes hes played by dalton who is.. rassilon . among other blorbos of mine)

OK the other two will be from DW because youre you and you get it

my most recent DW crush is kazran...... thats the latest DW ep/special ive seen (besides fifteen's new eps and besides the later ones my friends have showed me individually like the mr clever ep) and i just..... its so unfair bc i already crush on a version of scrooge so u give me a scrooge-inspired guy AND make him from DW its just . not faiiiiiirrrr thats oscar baiiiiit !!! idk what the likelihood of me coming back to him and selfshipping with him is tho . bc i have sooo much DW to still watch.

and one more ahhhhhh THE NEXT DOCTOR AHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!! (idk what else to call him...) i can hardly even think about him without nerding out . HES SO WONDERFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!! i actually wish i did properly start selfshipping with him after i saw his episode but ah well . maybe ill make that day our anniversary when i do start selfshipping with him . AND ALSO HIS ACTOR PLAYS ANOTEHR ONE OF MY ROMANTIC F/OS SO THATS MORE OSCAR BAIT AAAHHH

HES SOOOO CUUUUTE RAAAHHHHHHHHH runs circles around him really fast

[dark-elf-writes]

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @starlightbelle and this looked like fun so let's do this

-- How many works do you have on AO3?

36 and counting

-- What's your total AO3 word count?

613,653 which tbh I thought it would be more I tend to yap in my fics

-- What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Fifteen Rules for Babysitting 1-A

Kidnappings are Not an Excused Absence

Class 1-Ayeee Is Typing

UA Isn't Haunted (And Other Reasons 1-A Have Gotten Detention)

Two Heroes A Kid And Seven Dead Martyrs

-- Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to more than I do now. I've just not had the spoons for it recently but I would like to get back into responding more.

-- What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Angstiest ending would probably either Jericho or one of the Veritas fics.

-- What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Happiest ending would probably be Kiss and Tell? I don't often get to the ending part so it's a relatively small pool to pick from.

-- Do you write crossovers?

I would go as far as to say I'm known for it.

-- Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Oh yeah. Oooh yeah. People do not like the enby energy I bring to the scene... or the fact that I question some of the blorbos.

-- Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah. The ones posted have been all m/m but not posted there has been just about all the kinds you can imagine.

-- Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Oh yeah multiple times.

-- Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yep and I have mad respect for the people who do translations

-- Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wouldn't say co-written but the collaborative "Yes And"ing on the blog has definitely helped and I appreciate all of you.

-- What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't know if I have an all time favorite. We all know that I can and will ship anything.

-- What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Probably the In His Care series. My style has just changed at lot over the years and I would have to start it all over again to not have a glaring gap between chapters. But who knows. I might end up going back to it.

-- What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I write emotion well.

-- What are your writing weaknesses?

Sticking to an idea to the end. The ADHD is too strong I gotta bounce around.

-- What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It depends. Have I done it? Yeah. Do I know translators are often wrong? Also yeah. Would I do it again? Probably not more than like a pet name.

-- What was the first fandom you wrote for?

First on Ao3? ACOTAR. First ever? Probably Storm Hawks or Vampire Knight. I can't remember which came first.

-- What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Does having an old RP blog count as writing for a fandom because if not I would say lotr. Ship wise there's too many to name. If I think about anything long enough I want to write it

-- What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

You ask me to pick a favorite child? ... Who Saves The Savior. Harry being an entire disaster is so wonderful to write.

--

Tagging anyone who wants to do this it was a lot of fun.

[sage-nebula]

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, tag 10 People! Tagged by @comphetkoncass. Thank you for the tag!! It was difficult choosing one character from ten different fandoms because there are some that I really wanted to double-up on, but I managed to succeed in the end.

1.) Pokémon: Alan

Quite possibly the Blorbo-of-all-Time for me, because he's always the first character I think of whenever I see one of those "would your blorbo [x]" posts. Beautiful, determined, smart as hell, deeply traumatized, deeply protective and loyal, courageous boy. Loves his platonic soulmate and his family more than anything. Accidentally assisted in an attempted genocide because he was told what he was doing was for "peaceful purposes" and would protect his family. Risked his life multiple times in this endeavor. Prevented the genocide, risking his life again, and then still blames himself for it more than anyone else. He is fifteen years old. I love him to pieces.

2.) Arcane: Jinx

Another contender for Blorbo-of-all-Time tbh. She makes me so incredibly sad, but she also makes me laugh. She's a mentally ill terrorist who just wants to love and be loved in return. She's an engineering prodigy. She decorated the scene of her intended death with drawings depicting every major event in her life, and set it there so that she could blow toxic gas back into the city of the oppressors. She also put her favorite song and slots into someone's prosthetic arm. I stand by her, my canceled daughter. She has done a lot of things wrong, but I don't care. I love her to pieces.

3.) Yu-Gi-Oh: Jounouchi Katsuya

I wrote a 100k+ novel starring him, along with dozens of other fics about him as well. If I didn't list him, I would be lying. I've loved him since I was like 12, and I don't think that will change any time soon, even if I haven't done anything with him lately. Hair of gold, heart of gold, smart-ass punk that he is, he will always be my golden boy.

4.) Legend of Zelda (Breath of the Wild): Princess Zelda

Let's hear it for our princess in STEM!! Passionate about science, plagued with doubt and depression about her destiny, ends up falling in love with her appointed knight after she realizes he isn't judging her for not being able to unlock her powers and is actually dying under the weight of his destiny just as much as she is hers. She unlocked her magic with the power of love and then held Ganon prisoner in Hyrule Castle for one hundred years through sheer force of will. She's incredible. I would do anything for her.

5.) Dragon Age: Neve Gallus

Neve Gallus, the woman that you are. Noir detective who doesn't sleep because her cases keep her awake. Boils water to make the shittiest coffee known to man. Constantly harassed by wisps that have insatiable curiosity about her. Primary diet consists of the aforementioned shitty coffee and fried fish from a local fish stand. Loves to tease and rile people up. Gives a nickname to a skeleton butler and sneaks treats to a baby griffon. Admitting that she loves someone puts her under so much duress it's like she has a gun to her head. Incredibly powerful mage / brilliant detective undone by being put into a position of emotional vulnerability. Neve Gallus, the woman that you are.

6.) Fire Emblem: Edelgard von Hresvelg

I STAND BY MY CANCELED WIFE. Yes, she started a war. And?? It was to bring down an oppressive church and end a caste system created by the crests. She abdicates the throne after transforming Adrestia into a meritocracy. But nooo, that's not good enough because she was willing to have Dimitri and Claude killed at the start of the game (in an effort to avoid the war she later ended up starting), and the students of the other Houses get killed during the war if you don't recruit them. Whatever, I don't care, she's my traumatized war-starting wife and I'll love her enough for everyone, thank you.

7.) The Dragon Prince: Claudia

I also stand by my other canceled daughter. Girl who only ever wanted to keep her family together ends up losing everyone despite her increasingly desperate and drastic measures not to. Does she have problems? Absolutely!! And she's had them since the start of the series!! But does she deserve to be vilified to the extent certain people in the fandom have done? Nope!! Not at all!! Especially when those same people excuse any action ever taken by a male character in this damn show!! "Claudia's too far gone but the father who made her that way wasn't" lol be fucking fr. In the upcoming trailer Claudia seems to use a spell that lets her become part fire-dragon or something similar. And you know what? Good. I hope she maims. I hope she kills. I hope she barbecues someone, and I hope that someone is Callum. And then I hope she gets to saunter off into the sunset with her boyfriend Terry and have a happy ending. It's what my beautiful princess with a disorder deserves.

8.) Sonic: Whisper the Wolf

I realized while making this list that Whisper is actually a lot like Alan, if Alan was an anthropomorphic female wolf who wasn't made to do awful things as part of his trauma. They have a lot in common in terms of how quiet and reserved they are, their determination, their fierce protectiveness and loyalty for their loved ones. I loved seeing who Whisper was before the trauma, but who she is in the present is my favorite. She's the best Sonic character easily, to me.

9.) Spy x Family: Anya Forger

Probably the best child character in any media. She's a telepath. She's four-years-old. She picked out her mama because her mind reading told her that her mama was an assassin and she thought that was awesome. She punched a bully in the face on her first day of school. She picked her papa because her mind reading told her that he was a spy and she thought that was awesome. She watched a shitty romance movie and her takeaway from it was to say, "Keep your hands offa my woman" as she tried to punch would-be enemies in the face. She's a character of all time. No one is doing it like Anya.

10.) Animorphs: Rachel Berenson

Alas, the best picture I could find . . . but I would be remiss if I did not include Rachel, who was very formative to me in elementary school, I think. Rachel "Xena" Berenson. Rachel "take no shit" Berenson. Rachel morphed a bear, had her arm chopped off, and then used it to bash the enemy aliens that chopped it off senseless. Rachel was claustrophobic, but volunteered to be the first and longest in tunnel digging duty as a mole because she didn't want to let the team down by letting them see her scared. Rachel partially morphed elephant to terrify a man who was planning to abduct her. Rachel was allergic to her crocodile morph and accidentally morphed elephant in her room, falling through her floor and destroying the house. Rachel was terrified of her own violence. Rachel was an adrenaline junky. Rachel shoved a plastic fork into a guy's ear and threatened him with death if he hurt her friends. Rachel willingly went on a suicide mission to kill her cousin, and her last words were "I love you" to her boyfriend. Rachel was able to die in peace after an omniscient being reassured her post-mortem that she was brave, she was good, she mattered. She was thirteen when the war started, and sixteen when it ended, and she was an inspiration. I love you, Rachel.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to!

[quinloki]

I am here to rescue you from whatever it is that has you down! As always, this runs long and the damn ask function will not allow me to do a keep reading cut so everyone else is just going to have to suffer.

Did I see something really cute today? Yes! Our local box turtle, a juvenile house wren, but most importantly the juvenile tufted titmouse. Why is this the important one? Well, the window bird feeder we have was running low on food and it was also raining today. Every time he landed, he'd hop into the feeder to eat the food.

Well, it's a wee bit slippery and he hasn't figured a lot of stuff out yet. Every time he landed int he feeder his legs splayed out in opposite directions. He kept hopping them back together only to end in the splits again. It was utterly hilarious. All those cartoons of characters having their legs go in different directions on ice were not inaccurate.

Is your pet adorable? Yes? I don't really have pets, I have plants. They are named: Lacey, Touchy McFeely, Jewels, Polydora, and Mapleine. Four out of five are succulents. Lacey has a crimped edge to her leaves. Touchy McFeely is a panda plant and all the leaves are fuzzy. Jewels is a jade tree. Polydora is a community of succulents in a single pot, and the name comes from Greek mythology. Polydora was an Amazon and as a tall lady myself, that was the Polydora I went with (there have been several people with the name in Greek myth).

And then we have Mapleine (pronounced maple-een, like Maybelline but with maple). Mom has informed me that mapleine is the chemical compound responsible for all artificial maple flavors. Why did I name the one plant I have that isn't a succulent this? I'm glad you asked. For some inexplicable reason, her leaves smell like maple syrup.

First time I smelled it I thought I was having a synesthetic moment. I was sitting at my desk (I keep her with me at my desk) and all of a sudden I was overwhelmed with maple syrup scents. I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out what my trigger sense was. I gave up. I then sniffed my plant. It was her. MY PLANT SMELLS LIKE MAPLE SYRUP. No clue what kind of plant she is but damn is that fun. So Mom named her Mapleine. Whenever we smell maple now we say, "maybe it's mapleine."

If your blorbo was real, and appeared right besides you right now, how would you react? Well, I have more than one blorbo so let's tackle 'em one at a time, yeah?

Arlong—I'd probably scream and hit him with my baseball bat. In my defense, that would be terrifying but I'm in my PJs in bed and I have my dignity to preserve as a woman.

Benn "Fine Motherfucking Vintage" Beckman—drool.

Shanks—I'd probably just start poking him to see if he was really real and actually here.

Aramaki—I'd probably stare like a goof as I tried to figure out how he fit in the room.

Now for the non-One Piece blorbos:

Gildarts—I'd probably attack him first out of fright and then feel bad because the dude is missing half his limbs.

Laxus—same as Beckman's.

Skinny Might—probably introduce him to Tiny Might and inform him quite proudly that my Tiny Might can do something he can't: glow in the dark. I'd probably then explain why I have Tiny Might in the first place, tell him what he means to me, and offer him a place to sleep. I love Skinny Might. About as much as I love Beckman.

Aizawa—take pity on him and scooch over in bed so the man can finally sleep.

Hawks—probably going to touch the wings automatically and if he tries to leave tackle his ass to the ground. I guarantee I outweigh him and mark my words, I will be dragging him to bed one way or another.

Nanami—same as Beckman's.

Sorin Markov—I'd be deeply concerned honestly. The sudden appearance of a Planeswalker is not a good sign and he's the vampire planeswalker to boot. I also love him more than any other character in existence (besides Boromir but that's more of a platonic love), but I know he isn't fond of humans and he has a bad track record with women in particular. Knowing as much about him as I do, I'd probably inquire if he was okay and offer my assistance short of letting him feed on me (my period just ended but if it hadn't, I could technically feed him).

Tell me your three favorite things: These change because I don't know what favorite things is, it's too broad of a question. So, I'm giving you my three obsessions right now:

My professor and lest that sounds creepy, I greatly admire him as an academic and a person. I have a lot of respect for the guy and I enjoy looking into any of my professors' research because I like knowing what to expect and being able to learn from experts is awesome. I just bought two of his books too. I love my professor to pieces (platonically) but I disagree with him nearly across the board and I find it challenging to dissect things because we're in opposite camps (while in the same field), but at the same time I learn a lot even through disagreement and I get to learn how to disagree respectfully. Plus, Mom & I have decided that he isn't just one of the good professors, he's a fucking genius and I gotta make hay while the sun shines. I only have 13 or so weeks left to learn as much as I can because once this class concludes I will have taken all the classes he teaches at the Extension School. =( My time is extremely limited now.

Dystopian literature & films. This has been ongoing for awhile now but it has gone beyond just reading/watching for fun. I'm trying to construct my own online class for the genre, as if I were going to teach it at the Extension School. I've been trying to create the reading/watch list, craft a syllabus, and of course come up with the lectures. It's a ton of work but I actually want to teach a course on this (I'm not qualified, I'm just an undergrad). Since I cannot teach it at my school, I could just create it online outside of school and that is always a possibility but for now I am very much in the crafting stage.

Stand-up comedy. I have been reliably informed that I am the funniest member of my family. I also greatly enjoy doing impressions and have mastered a few...odd ones. And I do them better than anybody alive. It's a weird flex but it's what I've got (the other flex is coming in 8th place at a 6 person tournament). Alas, I cannot tell you what these impressions are, I'm building up a repertoire and will eventually debut them at open mic nights. I have to work on myself internally and get nerves/anxiety/panic attacks under control first, but I already have about a 2.5 minute routine ready to go. So when I get stuck in school or work I just start practicing my impressions. However, once I do debut them live (and Mom records the performance), I will happily share them.

There, do you feel a little bit better now? Have I made you smile or laugh at all? I'm sending you a hug as well and if you need more just let me know.

Oh that poor bird 😅Well, providing some entertainment to the people helping him get a meal probably isn't a bad trade off ^_^

Okay, I love the plants and their names \o/ Polydora is a great name for a collection of succulents - and I really love that it's a name that shows up more than once in mythology.

And Mapleine... ah, I'd love a plant that smells like maple. I have a set of runes made from Maple Wood and the scent is so calming sometimes I just put my nose in the bag and breathe when I need to relax a little.

I love that Arlong gets the bat, and Beckman gets drool XD The Skinny Might interaction is just adorable, and man hard same with Aizawa and Hawks, frankly.

I hope you get everything out of your esteemed professor in the time you have. May you, by happenstance or will, find yourself befriending him and having an opportunity to speak beyond class.

I would love to see your syllabus on Dystopian literature and films when you get it sorted out - if you're comfortable sharing it. Fates willing I would happily be a test subject for you ^_^

I look forward to the video as well, and I'm already very curious about who you're good at impersonating, but I will wait patiently 🥰

You managed to distract me, delight me, and help me relax all in one go ❤️ Thank you, my friend. Ah - who are other Polydoras in mythology? Are they all humans? Do they do amazing feats, or are they supportive pillars for those we deem heroes?