#Not self insert ship but self insert friendship is what I want!!

[the--firevenus]

Atla OC mini ramble cuz I miss my gurl! (and I get to draw again YIPPE)

I decide to made Hikaru age being 14 when they finally found out they are an airbender, also in the time of PRE-100 WAR timeline cuz I like the idea she's aang old friend like bumi and kuzon (which I'd ramble that later))

Basically to say her discovery of her own bending is late, playing into the idea of late bloomer bender and since her childhood mainly took place in the fire nation with no connection to the spiritually like the air nomad normally would, she's not connecting to that side of her origin hence its manifest quite late than normal.

I'd imagine the time before the air nomad genocide, things already tense up between all the nations, especially fire nation and the air nomads, (because war propaganda, sozin planning, colonialism etc etc) so it'd be extra difficult for her to even began, yet she still tries anyways.

In my sketch sheet of her, I add that she has a hot temper (like her mother) thus makes her airbending learning even more difficult cuz she's always soo angry and easy to upset that it became uncontrolled at times 😭😭 (like a storm or tornado), playing into idea how the air nomad people always seem so free and happy (due to their upbringings, surrounding and teaching are not up tight) contrast to how Hikaru was brought up back in her homeland, will she grow out and let go of those emotions? Idk

[demigodpolls]

calling all PJO fanfic readers!

In the interest of acknowledging great works by fandom writers, DemigodPolls is going to share a big year-end collection of 2024 Percy Jackson fanfic recommendations! In the comment section below or on this AO3 post, leave recommendations for the best PJO fanfics you've read - but there is one major rule: they MUST have been published or last updated in 2024! No exceptions! Reblogs are turned on, but please do NOT leave your recommendations in the reblogs/tags! They will not be considered! Before commenting, make sure that you read the additional specifications below the cut first. If you have nothing to recommend, please do reblog to help support fandom writers and spread the word! Thank you!!!

What we want:

strong grammar

strong writing skills

accurate/interesting depictions of PJO characters

angst/romance/drama/adventure/friendship/character studies/etc

accurately tagged stories (i.e. stories that don't surprise you with untagged triggering content)

stories written with love for the percy jackson universe and its characters

What we DON'T want:

stories that were published/last updated before 2024

stories about ships that would be age-inappropriate in canon, unless the characters are CLEARLY aged up in the story (e.g. no olympians x teenage characters, unless the younger character is explicitly an ADULT when they first meet in the fanfic)

stories that contain non-c*n, inc*st, p*dophilia

stories under 1000 words

stories that fall under "character x everyone"

stories about original characters (stories that contain some OCs in non-protagonist roles are fine, character x reader/self-inserts are fine)

stories that bash other ships/characters (i.e., don't recommend percabeth fics that bash rachel/perachel)

stories that contain non-PJO crossovers (except for RRverse crossovers, i.e. pjo + tkc is fine, toa alone is fine, tkc alone is not, pjo + harry potter is not)

stories that contain gore/extreme violence/extreme bodily harm

stories that contain cheating/infidelity (I just don't want to read those, sorry)

dialogue-only fanfics/texting-only fanfics

stories that contain W*TTG sp0ilers

can I recommend multiple things?

yes! just make sure to categorize them correctly under the relevant prompts.

can I recommend my own story?

yes, but you are highly, highly encouraged to simultaneously recommend at least one other fanfic that you yourself did not write - let's spread the love! (not required)

is smut okay?

yes! but you must specify clearly that the story contains smut in your comment, and please don't use explicit/overly sexual language in your recommendation. I also reserve the right to refuse to consider stories that contain k*nks I don't want to engage with. (ab0, hardcore bd$m, parental name k*nk to name a few)

are non-english fanfics okay?

you are absolutely welcome to recommend non-english fanfics to others in the comments! but I will not be able to put them on the final recommendation list, because I only speak english and I cannot personally vet their contents, cannot observe their grammar, and could be terribly misled by a translator. I'm very sorry! however, if you would like to put together a similar recommendation collection of non-english stories, I'd be happy to promote it on this blog.

is percico okay?

someone asked about this specifically, so here's my stance: percico is a controversial pairing due to the debated inappropriateness of the canon age gap (approx. 3 years). I personally consider 3 years between minors to be juuust beyond my comfort zone (2 years), so please respect my decision to abide by my own comfortability and refuse to consider stories that feature age gaps of this size or larger involving minors. however, you can recommend percico fics where the age gap is explicitly made smaller, or fics where nico and percy are both explicitly adults! this same rule applies to any other ship in a similar circumstance - check the wiki for canon ages if you're unsure! (and to be clear, this is solely about ages, not about the individual merit of the pairing itself. respectfully - this is me drawing a boundary about what I am comfortable with, so do not argue with me on this topic).

is caleo okay?

this pair is even more controversial nowadays, so here's my stance when it comes to weird magical circumstances: within the logic of the pjo universe, some things that seem strange from a mortal perspective are standard within the books. i.e., it's not weird to date fellow demigods, even if the person you're dating is technically your aunt/uncle/cousin/etc. likewise, it's not "weird" for a teenager to date an immortalized or de-immortalized teenager, because... I genuinely don't know, that's just how the book logic works. for that reason, caleo works are accepted. we're going to apply this same logic to pairs like theyna, which could also potentially have murky circumstances (although I do consider thaluke to be especially iffy, because it heavily depends on the situation that people write them in - so if you're unsure, go ahead and submit it, and I'll use my best judgement from there). however, I cannot begin to express my extreme disinterest in discourse about immortal dating ethics - like, I would rather do anything else. not trying to be sassy here, but I'm going to ask you guys to not pick a fight about these topics, for the simple reason that I have zero interest in debating over situations that could never occur in real-life.

are incomplete/discontinued stories okay?

yes! I'd prefer stories that have at least three chapters, but this is not required. completed one-shots are also fine!

If someone already recommended a story that I like, should I vouch for it?

if you would like to, then absolutely!! you can respond to the appropriate prompt from this account in the comments, or you can reply to the person making the recommendation. just make sure to explicitly state which story you're advocating for.

Comments that do not follow these guidelines may be deleted!

How to make recommendations:

There are two places in which you can make your recs! You can click here to leave them on an AO3 mirror of this post, or do so in the comment section below. If the latter, continue reading. Please leave the story name, author username, story rating, main ship, and main characters in your comments - and if you'd like, definitely add some words about why you like it! AO3 direct links are not necessary, but super appreciated. But if it's not on AO3, please ensure that you make clear where exactly I can locate the story. In the comments below, you'll see comments that you can reply to, sorted by ships/lack thereof. Please sort your recommendations by replying to them accordingly (i.e. if you want to recommend 2 solangelo fics and 1 valgrace fic, leave the 2 solangelo recs under the solangelo prompt, then do the same in the valgrace prompt). You MUST explicitly state somewhere if the fanfic contains smut. If you're not sure where to put your recommendations, make your best guess - but absolutely do NOT intentionally mis-categorize your recommendations (i.e, if the pair is not canon, do not put it in the canon pairing section. Seriously. This makes things much more difficult for me while organizing fics, and I'll probably delete your comment anyway.) Lastly, please be mature about shipping. Nothing irritates me more than fighting about percy jackson ships in 2024. If you see fanfics recommended about pairings (or characters!) that you hate, do the mature thing and just scroll past it/do not engage. Character hate and ship hate is not tolerated on this blog. I am very serious about this - if you are starting a fuss about ships/characters, your comments will be deleted and your account will be permanently blocked. Respect your fellow fandom-mates! I will do my best to moderate this comment section, but before looking through them, please understand that I am not responsible for your individual well-being, and there may be fanfic recommendations that are not appropriate for minors/might contain triggering content/etc.

Here's a little form for those of you who find this easier to use, but you don't have to use it!! However, PLEASE do include the following information in your comment regardless:

story name: author: rating: ship: main characters: additional comments (what's it about? why do you like it? etc):

Don't forget, fanfics published/last updated in 2024 only!

Thank you so, so much for participating! The collection won't be published on this blog until late December, so until then, take your time, check those bookmarks, and read new PJO fanfics! Much love to all of you ♡

- demigodpolls

(art by @viria)

(dividers by @cafekitsune)

[narutouzumakiarchive]

This is why I hate "multishippers" that masquerade as sns fans clogging the tag with their stupidity. I almost prefer the outright homophobia to narusaku and sasukarin fans pretending to like the ship while saying things like "I totally love narusasu but them being reincarnations makes their friendship seem inauthentic."

Are you people referring to a reincarnation cycle that the text explicitly referred to an interminable conflict, born out of disagreement and a refusal to cooperate. Does that make sense to you people? That Naruto and Sasuke started having positive feelings towards eachother because of a curse that the text states arose from negative feelings. A reincarnation cycle that is described as calamitous and born from Indra's hatred is the reason why Naruto and Sasuke like eachother? You sat down and typed that out and it made seemed coherent to you?

Indra's reincarnation, Sasuke, likes Naruto because *checks notes* a curse that arose from Indra's hatred of Ashura and his father? Naruto and Sasuke's relationship is a one to one parallel with Indra and Ashura despite the fact that Naruto indicates he and Sasuke are respectively, not Ashura and Indra? Despite the fact that Hagaromo states that while there are similarities between Naruto and Ashura, he has a unique maverick nature unlike that of the previous incarnates?

There is nothing inauthentic about Naruto and Sasuke finding solace and common ground in the other on the basis of their proximity and shared feelings of ostracization and loneliness. It's one of the most authentic things in the world. Similarity is one of the most important factors when it comes to matters of relationship formation and attraction. Study after study shows that similarity, actual or perceived, facilitates liking, something Kishimoto took pains to highlight with Naruto and Sasuke. And it's particularly funny because Sasuke didn't even like Naruto at first because he thought he was a nuisance. He needed time to develop his opinion on Naruto after discerning Naruto's reasons for acting out. So what is the excuse for that? How come the special reincarnation that allegedly facilitates "authentic" friendship didn't activate immediately and cause Sasuke to like Naruto?

Like this is really what sns fans have to deal with. From people claiming that Naruto and Sasuke aren't really yin and yang and that Naruto is actually the moon because he's eViL. To people claiming that Sasuke was lying about Naruto being the only one that could prevent him from being alone (something he stated in his inner monologue with no hint of irony or sarcasm). People are so threatened by the fact that Naruto and Sasuke care more about eachother than whichever Naruto girls they choose to self insert into and want Naruto and Sasuke to sleep with that they have to come up with illogical garbage to explain the passion in the SNS dynamic. But sometimes the foolishness is beyond comprehension. Please use your thinking caps. There's a reason the reincarnation cycle was foreshadowed only in negative contexts.

I promise no amount of coping will change Naruto experiencing authentic butterflies because of Sasuke or Sasuke authentically leaning forward to stare at Naruto's face in the rain (leaning forward is a common method of signaling interest and attraction + and this scene taking place in the rain is classic dramatic romantic coding) for no utilitarian purpose — despite the fact that he had stared at him for multiple panels just prior. No one is buying that you actually care about Naruto and Sasuke's dynamic give it up and leave sns out of your mid offs.

[lovelyo]

Cressida Torture Porn

RANT INCOMING: What the absolute fuck is wrong with this show and their love for torturing Cressida? Do they get off in making this girl suffer? If I was in her position, I would go apeshit too.

All this girl wants is a genuine connection, to be valued and all people do is knock her down. She lashes out horribly on people just like Penelope, but she’s punished while Penelope is considered a girlboss even though Cressida’s home environment is shittier than Penelope’s. Her hope from her suffocating fate was Eloise only for Eloise to push her to the side for a friend who lied to her for years and screwed her over. Got called a viper (EVEN THOUGH ELOISE KNOWS WHO LW IS! 🤬🤡) by the person she always wanted to befriend even before Eloise fell out with Penelope.

Cressida saved Eloise from loneliness but Eloise didn’t reciprocate when Cressida was in need. Even then, she liked Eloise so much that before she left to get shipped away to even a more emotionally absent relative, she wanted to reconcile with Eloise, but Eloise closed the chapter. She tried to say goodbye to Eloise before she left. Eloise didn’t even bother to look Cressida’s way when she left.

All for Penelope who has done considerably more damage to her than anyone. 😐😑

It was the first time ever I was genuinely upset at Eloise. Eloise knew about Cressida’s ordeal but still vilified her and abandon her like she was a side piece(ain’t far from the truth really). Eloise unfortunately had to drink the OOC Koolaid for Penelope to get her HEA. This made me despise Penelope more btw. While everyone is in a damn romantic sitcom catering to Pen, Cressida is fighting for her life in this SAW trap where it’s do or get fucked.

Cressida was a bitch throughout the show until we came upon her reasonings in S3 which made her more of a sympathetic character than Penelope ever was. We should feel bad for this “woe is me” jackass who’s more privileged than anyone in this goddamn show but not the one who has parents that are emotional as a spiked bat?

The one who’s been indoctrinated heavily by her mother to treat other women like enemies?

The one where it’s her 3rd time on the marriage mart, got the guy she had her sights on get taken away just for Penelope to say sike and marry Colin and for Lord Debling to go MIA?(the same happened to her with the fucking prince in season 1!)

The one who’s being forced to marry an old man cause rarely anyone wants her?

The one who lost a friendship she thought was genuine while that friend is going around dunking on her name?

The one who is actually looked down by the ton because they can’t take her seriously?

Her life pretty much sucks but the show keeps trying to shove in our faces that Cressida is a bully so she got what she deserved. Fuck Cressida Cowper, amirite?

Oh Christ.

I’m not justifying her rude and sometimes cringe actions, but if people can “understand” why Penelope does what she does, why can’t people extend the same courtesy to Cressida? Oh yes, she was mean to the show’s golden child so she gets the hammer.

Cressida didn’t expose Penelope to the queen even though she could have. She wasn’t even the one who wrote the fake Bridgerton slander, it was her mom and she even confronted her mom and made her displeasure known about it!

All she wanted was money to be free from her fate. She was desperate but the Bridgertons are like “haha u stupid and u suck. Speaking of suck, time to go suck on Penelope’s toes.”

Yeah, Cressida isn’t clever, she’s stupid right? Stupid enough to quickly figure out who LW was before you Bitchgertons. You hacks didn’t even figure it out when Colin and Penelope’s engagement was printed THE NEXT DAY!

They did Cressida so dirty this season like it’s really heartbreaking, no joke. Cressida is the true victim, not the redhead who got an undeserved HEA cause self-inserters and favoritism.

P.S. Penelope keeping her persona but just using her real name is SO FUCKING STUPID

[letteredlettered]

Hi Im sure you answered this already but i sadly cant find it: how did end up shipping or rather writing drarry fics?

I've actually been asked quite a few times why I ship H/D. I never answer, because it's complicated and long and I have an essay on the subject, so I'll answer the 'how' question without addressing the 'why'.

Once upon a time, the internet was becoming a thing that people used regularly. The news kept talking about how the youths of the day were "surfing the 'net" and this was going to be the new normal. As usual, I could not identify with the 'youths of the day,' even though I was one. What could possibly be of interest to me on the internet? Reading books was far better than talking to other people. Then one day in my senior year of high school it dawned on me that you could possibly talk to other people about books, something I had never done before, as I didn't know anyone but my parents and brothers who ever read for fun, and my parents and brothers did not like to read things like Jane Austen. What if there were people on the 'net who liked Jane Austen??? Seemed fake, but I gave it a try.

The first Jane Austen website I found was Republic of Pemberley, which hosted something they called "Bits of Ivory." Through the "Ramble" board on Republic of Pemberley, I found out that there were "Bits of Ivory" elsewhere. It was called fanfic and hosted on fanfic.net.

Almost all of it that I was introduced to was Harry Potter fic, as HP was the megafandom of the time, and my Sense and Sensibility friend was obsessed with Snape, mainly because of Alan Rickman. I was also obsessed with Snape, though I must say that even though I had been obsessed with Alan Rickman since 1995, I never did like his casting as Snape and still don't. Anyway, I ended up getting interested in Snape/Hermione fic, and continued to be interested on and off for over the next five years.

I should pause at this moment to say that I had been writing fanfic since the fourth grade. I didn't know it was called fic. I didn't know other people did it. It never occurred to me to share it. When I found "Bits of Ivory" it actually took me a while to process that the stories there were in a similar vein to the stories I had been writing all my life, stories based on fiction by other people. It was just so wild to me that anyone would share that stuff, as though other people would want to read the different endings that they came up with, the self-inserts and the cross-overs they came up with.

I should also take this moment to say that I didn't really have slash ships. I was aware that slash existed, and I thought it was great. Sirius/Remus was a background ship everywhere at the time, and even though I didn't really see it in canon and wasn't terribly interested in it, I thought it was a nice thing. And when I started getting into X-Men through Wolverine/Rogue, it seemed obvious to me that Professor X and Magneto had a past sexual relationship. I, in fact, had an original story that I'd started writing in eleventh grade that had similar tension between two male characters, and the idea that they were in love and unable to have sex about it explained so much. And I wrote more original stories in college that were gay.

I think my problem was that the canons I was consuming were quite straight, and while I wasn't obsessed with writing canon-compliant fics, I was (and still am, to some extent) obsessed with writing characters who were true to canon. At the time sexuality seemed some kind of immutable thing to me that was deeply a part of who a character was. Also, sex to me was very Other; it meant something really deep and serious about you that obliterated other things you were. For instance, I was frustrated with all the Frodo/Sam porn, because I felt it obliterated their beautiful friendship and made their relationship about sex and being gay rather than the deep pure bond of friendship. So I was maybe kind of homophobic and confused.

Then I fell in love with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and while that canon has a lot of heteronormativity, it not only has a character who thought she was straight who realizes she's gay, it also has vampires who have lived for centuries and who have broken every kind of social norm that exists. It seemed silly to me to assume that Spike or Angel were straight, which is how I began shipping Spike/Angel, which is how I got absolutely obsessed with slash. It was so liberating to write porn where the power dynamic wasn't influenced by centuries of patriarchy! It was so liberating to write porn where I didn't have to think about my own anatomy or gender or position in a sexual dynamic! It was so liberating to write porn with a bunch of dicks!

Having discovered slash, I turned back to ye olde faithful fandom, which had ten billion fics about everything. I'm not sure I even tried Sirius/Remus, because I was still so uninterested in it, but now I read all the Snape slash, the majority of which seemed to be Harry/Snape. The thing is, I don't ship Harry/Snape. It can be very hot! But while the porn is fine and some of the stories are fun, these are not two people that I want to live happily ever after. I just think that the power dynamic between them, the history they have, and the personalities they are do not make me want to imagine them as a couple with a happy marriage who occasionally have the friends over for games of Quidditch and Exploding Snap. And while I like queer complicated, angsty stories, I also like a happy ending in a semi-heteronormative sense, especially for Harry Potter, who really seems to want one. So, I started looking for other Harry Potter slash.

I knew that Harry/Draco was a juggernaut pairing, but I just hated Draco Malfoy so much. I honestly could not stand him. I used to go about saying that I hated him not only as a person (like, I also hated Snape as a person; he's a dick, and he's cruel to children! But he's a great character) but as a character. I just didn't like the function he played in the narrative. I like big, dramatic rivalries and evil vs good; meanwhile, Draco Malfoy is a little worm. So I kept thinking about reading HP slash, but resisting.

Then, one day, I was sleeping on the couch, and woke up suddenly with the idea that Draco Malfoy could be reformed. He could be sorry for all the shitty things he's done! He could be really apologetic! He could be really trying to make up for his past, and Harry could find this truly beautiful, and they could have sex about it!

Surprisingly, it was hard to find fic about this. For some reason, in most of the fic, it was Harry having to earn Malfoy's approval, instead of the other way around, which I found absolutely bonkers. But I eventually found Eclipse, by Mijan, which was just what I wanted. Then I was obsessed and was reading every Harry/Draco fic I could find.

Eventually, I even read the ones in which Harry was a cad and Draco Malfoy was a perfect snowflake who never did anything wrong. And then I started finding fics that really emphasized that Draco had a very different point of view of what happened, which showed that he really had no way to understand who Harry was, or what Harry had been through. In these fics, Harry had to do some work to understand Draco, which is what really sold me on the pairing. I still want fics in which Draco has to do a lot of heavy lifting to address his past and deal with the hurt he has caused and the violence of his previously genocidal outlook, but I love it when Harry, too, has to adjust. After saving the world and losing most people he loves and protecting the innocent and doing his exhausted little best to be honest and righteous and true, Harry Potter still has to do work, again, to overcome his past and find a peaceful life. And that's what made me start writing Harry/Draco, the end.

[s-aint-elmo]

digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case 

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

[yandere--stuck]

Do YOU want a custom written work that you can pay for with money? I know I do, and I'm here to deliver!

Disclaimer: I can turn down commissions for any reason. It's nothing personal! It's likely for a variety of reasons.

There are currently THREE slots available!

What I can do:

Character x Reader, Character x Self Insert, Character x Character, Poly relationships, etc.

Character x OC, OCs in general (but explanations on the OC's personality and appearance is necessary)

Yandere, Platonic/Familial Yandere, General Romance, Angst, Horror, Hurt/Comfort or Hurt/No Comfort, Fluff, Comedy, etc.

NSFW

Gore/Eroguro

What I cannot do:

There are certain fetishes/kinks or ships I feel uncomfortable with writing, just ask me when you're interested and I'll let you know if I can do it👍

(Note: Please be specific with your scenario, if possible!)

Fandoms I've Written For Previously:

(Note: I'd recommend perusing the masterlist for examples! And you can ask for other media featured in the masterlist, these are just the ones I feel most confident with at this time)

Animal Crossing

Batman (Various Media - please be specific with which version you'd like!)

Bugsnax

Cookie Run

Devil May Cry

Five Nights at Freddy's

Fear & Hunger

Freakazoid!

Gravity Falls

Hazbin Hotel

Helluva Boss

Homestuck/Hiveswap

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Moral Orel

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Smiling Friends

Transformers: Prime

So, how are we doing this thing?:

I currently only take commissions through cashapp! Message me for my cash tag ^^

Half of the money will be sent prior to the commission being written, then you can send the other half once it's complete!

$5 dollar for every 500 words, so:

500 words - $5

1,000 words - $10

1,500 words - $15

2,000 words - $20

And so on!

Turnaround Time:

It may vary, but I try to get them done relatively quickly!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Personally, I think that the main characters don't "appreciate" Yuu comes from the "TWST is a dating sim" angle. Like, sure, there are some flirty voicelines, but I feel like the boys don't express any interest in Yuu as a person besides Ace and Deuce since they've been friends since day one? I'm not saying people can't ship Yuu with the main cast or anything, but I feel like there's a real misunderstanding from the fanbase (the western one in particular) about what TWST is to begin with. (Sorry for the random rant, it's been on my mind!)

[Referencing this post!]

I understand where this sentiment may be coming from, but I don’t think wanting Yuu (the audience’s proxy) to be appreciated by the NRC boys necessarily comes from a place of seeing TWST as a dating sim. (Though with the plethora of misinformation being spread by gaming news outlets in the West, I’m not shocked some people still think TWST is one 💀 I literally saw a 2023 Crunchyroll article still claiming TWST has “dateable” Disney villains…)

I think a lot of fans are just so emotionally attached and invested in these characters that they wish they could be friends with them or to be more intimate with them in some other manner. (I, for example, see Kalim and Ortho as my metaphorical little brothers.) The players projecting onto Yuu probably also see themselves in Yuu, so the players, of course, want to be loved and appreciated by the characters they like. It’s part of the reason why I believe the characters are not ever allowed to be “too” mean to Yuu and instead direct most of the vitriol to the other boys; it would potentially offend the players that insert as Yuu and make the characters TWST is trying to market to less appealing.

Because the game itself limits Yuu to predominantly hanging out with Ace, Deuce, and Grim, all those other relationships have to be expanded on in personal interpretations and fan works. The clashing expectations arise when the fans begin mixing their fanon with canon and expecting that the canon reflect their own interpretations. This same problem has occurred before, such as the outcry over Yuuken Enma as the Episode of Heartslabyul manga protagonist (as some interpreted this as “female Yuus aren’t valid”, until the release of Hirasaka Yuuka as the Episode of Savanaclaw protagonist). Another example is the friendship with Malleus; players get value out of the friendship depending on how much they enjoy Malleus, rather than Yuu actually being a super close friend with him in canon. (I could list off more examples, but I don’t want to bog this post down too much.)

As the asker has said, that’s not to say that I’m discouraging self-shipping or shipping OCs with canon characters! I only caution you to be aware of how to differentiate fanon from canon and how to delineate the expectations and the realities of both from one another.

[lintwriting]

Disney’s Comphet Episode

girl meets world's legacy will most likely be its total flop as a sequel to boy meets world, as well as the worst autism rep ever lol but I'll personally always remember it for how much it FUMBLED THE BAG because it introduced a stupid love triangle.

why were there so many shows in the late 'aughts dedicated to RUINING their shows with pointless ship wars? star vs the forces of evil, danny phantom, and girl meets world are just off the top of my head.

we have these two perfect best friend characters. surprisingly perfect friendship. okay, more like, veering on homoromantic.

(via @forbescaroline)

and then you know what they do with it? They insert the MOST WHITE BREAD ass love interest ever in the form of Lucas.

his defining characteristic is that he's a dreamy goodboy, and there's nothing wrong with that except that he's EXTREMELY boring compared to the oddballs of the rest of the cast, like Farkle or Maya or Riley.

The one thing that subsidizes his bore factor is that all his love triangle ship drama fuels conflict in the show.

he's the straight man--ha, get it? kys

he's dreamy enough to have these perfect friends in conflict over him.

and it kind of ruins the fun of the show.

like, i don't want to see Riley and Maya fight. and they don't even want to fight either. so they're just sighing sadly at each other, meanwhile im over here WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO DATE LUCAS??

it's giving "she was a girl, he was a boy, can I make it anymore obvious"

like i appreciate a show that demonstrates that girls in competition over a guy DO NOT need to be catty or mean (from what I can remember), but like, this should have been a 1 episode plot AT MOST GOD

they expand on the plot in the most bizarre ways possible too. like i havent watched this show in years, but i still remember this shit.

The premise of the show is that Riley falls into Lucas's lap on a bus in ep 1, so they're basically an end game couple from the beginning. But they have to introduce a shitty love triangle.

So they then have an episode where Maya "acts" as Riley for a day, and while she's acting as Riley, she realizes that Riley doesn't love Lucas and most likely sees him as a brother. which, first of all, is the craziest shit ive ever heard, and second of all

COULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL scene about comphet EVER in a disney kids show.

the DRAMA. the PROJECTION. "she's confused" "feelings you don't understand"

the contrast between what Riley THINKS she feels for Lucas and what Maya feels for Riley. Riley ASKING MAYA "how do I feel, then, maya?" and MAYA's "just tell me what to say" !!! It's the "Good Luck, Babe" of it all!!!!!!!!

it astounds me that this exists in the show! i remembered nothing else about the show EXCEPT for this scene and the terrible autism PSA farkle episode lol.

they use this to fan maya x lucas flames and some drama about maya becoming riley in the last season, which I have zero clue about because all that exists to me is that one crystal clear moment of comphet.

so yeah, while I don't care for sabrina carpenter's music, im extremely happy that she covered chappell roan's "Good Luck, Babe" because it led to this amazing edit that compiles all these moments lol

what a moment. everything, it all has led up to this 67 views edit.

last thing I gotta say, I feel like the drama of "are you becoming me" would've ATE as drama, especially in a sapphic context. like some jennifer's body type shit. instead, it's poorly executed, one-sided, and does harm to both of their characters, from what I've read. BUT LIKE, there's no way it was one-sided. The envy/self-projection thing nor the love!! THEY HAD TO HAVE BEEN RECIPROCAL oh my god i can't Disney was SO CLOSE to greatness WHYYYYYYYYYYY

[nicoliharu]

i was wondering if agatha was entirely an oc and less of a self-insert (i'm assuming she's a self-insert) would you still feel self-conscious about posting more aggie?

Hii sweetie! 💗💗💗

Actually, Agatha is not a self-insert. She actually represents who I would like to be, as a person, as a goal, you know? My problem with posting Aggie (ship) has to do with personal insecurity of not being, doing something well enough. It's almost like an addiction of insecurity, always looking for validation, and at the same time, even having that, I still remain anxious and nervous. Because I see other people shipping with Ruggie, and that's fine, but when I'm the one who's going to ship with Agatha, I get a little insecure...

I've had problems with some people cause of this ship that made me feel a bit afraid, this in 2021 and this year too, which has made me wanna change Ruggie several times and I've lost the spontaneity of posting any romantic content cause I end up putting it in my head that only "I" can't do it. I ask several questions to my friends and mutuals, I feel sorry for them, for I am always looking for validation of them too

Until today I'm very cautious, worried about if these two matching, colors, personalities and even strict about the quality of what I post. And I don't just want rendered drawings with lots of details, I wanna make comics, sketches of the two of them too, delve deeper into their friendship and something deeper. And for just saying this, that makes me feel embarrassed and I start to wonder if it's okay for me to do that.

Oh and of course without mentioning again that it's okay for people to take the canon and make him be in love with their OCs, now ME making Ruggie feel this genuinely something for my Agatha, nowadays it's an absurd difficulty, what again does it generate? Insecurity 🫲🤡‼️

The worst thing is that she could be anything, I don't know, inspired by some Disney character like the canons characters, an animal, a man, self-insert, literally anything, I would continue the same way 🤡🤡🤡‼️‼️‼️

I don't know how to change this? Just start developing and drawing? It seems easy but sometimes so difficult ✍️💀🧨

But thank you for your care 🥺😭💗

[burr-ell]

"the tendency of this fandom to only engage with what THEY want these characters to be#as opposed to what their creators are trying to do and the stories they want to tell" slap this on a bumper sticker, you just summed all cr discourse (about PCs at least) in 2 sentences

It truly is maddening (and it's not by any means exclusive to the CR fandom). The reason why the discourse always goes the way it does is that at the end of the day, the loud fanwanky people only see what they would do, if they were self-inserted into the story, as a valid choice; and they are, more broadly, fundamentally disinterested in what others think or feel. There are several examples of this, and the variety of spaces within the fandom that produce these ideas is an indicator that this isn't endemic to one specific group of people.

-Keyleth is an important character whose feelings and choices are validated by the other PCs and cast even if they still disagree with them, in spite of how she and her preachiness get in the way of the Murderhobo Jubilee? It's not because the cast are all friends and they genuinely believe Keyleth is valid and are interested in how these discussions and choices can guide the story. It's because Marisha is the DM's girlfriend, and also here's my totally unbiased theory that my pet favorite players Sam and Travis secretly hate Marisha and Keyleth.

-Vax's presence is still felt and nodded to in the post-canon VM oneshots? It's not because he was an important character who mattered. It's because Liam wants to make everyone talk about his tragedy because he has Main Character Syndrome. Scanlan Wishes for Vax to appear at the wedding? It's not because he cares about Vex or because Sam and Liam wanted a sweet tribute to Vex and Vax's relationship and by extension Liam and Laura's friendship. It's because Liam thinks Vex's life should always revolve around Vax, and Sam wants to enable him and jerk himself off as the one who facilitated it.

-Beauyasha and Fjorester become canon? It's not because the players wanted it and it happened naturally. It's because there was a secret behind-the-scenes push to "force" those ships to become canon instead, and like, Dani Carr is some sort of shipping puppetmaster who made the players do it, and "they" (whomever "they" is) decided to sink Beaujester or Widojest because it was "obviously" going to become canon before the pandemic hiatus gave them time to "make the corporate-approved ships happen".

-Beau and Caleb try to reform the Empire and dismantle the Cerberus Assembly from within? It's not because it makes sense for their stories or that people who would take this position regarding a corrupt government might have a valid perspective that differs from your own. It's because the people at Critical Role Productions LLC are all spineless neoliberal cowards who won't commit to real activism. The best activism, after all, is violent, and violent revolutions have always resulted in stable aftermaths, and the real world has never demonstrated that this mindset is foolish.

-Relatedly: Caleb doesn't kill Trent personally? It's not because the most poetic justice would be to deny Trent the thing he wants most from Caleb. It's because "Limo Brain" is too obsessed with tragedy to have the stones to do "what needs to be done".

-Asmodeus, DnD Satan, turns out to also be CR Satan? It's not because it fits with the cosmology and the lore; it's because Matt Mercer is too attached to the "establishment", and the Prime Deities should have actually turned out to be the bad guys because of my personal baggage about Western religion and Christianity they're a little mean to my blorbo sometimes.

There's a pattern here: fans had expectations that they'd built up for themselves after projecting and building up fanon and deciding what players meant before they explained themselves fully, and when the players strayed from that, they were derided for all manner of reasons. I think we're seeing that same pattern play out in C3 as the story progresses in a way that fans dislike, and in fact we have seen fanwank spread whenever someone does anything that interferes with personally catering to a) the favored ship and/or b) the favored philosophy. (Orym, Ashton, FCG, Percy, Pelor...all valid when they affirm the Fandom Opinions and all disdained when they don't.)

Don't get me wrong, I think there's a place for comfort stories that deliver a personal catharsis. And I'm not going to dismissively say "well if you want it so bad make your own" because, as an artist, I am very familiar with the fact that creating is hard and draining and sometimes you just need to consume instead. But when you become so wrapped up in yourself and your feelings to the point where your perspective is the only valid one, someone else's feels like a betrayal when it isn't. It's always "They aren't doing what we wanted and here's why they're terrible people because of it" and never "Hmm, why is this what the cast wants? Let's examine that."

This isn't a new phenomenon, but I think it ultimately stems from not assuming that other people can differ from you in major ways in good faith. There are a lot of reasons for that (some more understandable than others), but I think you rob yourself of the potential to enjoy something new when all you do is demand what you already want. No matter what you're doing or where you are in life, you tend to become a better and wiser person when you open your mind to what other people have to say, no matter how mundane the subject matter. Sometimes the stories people have to tell are challenging—and the only healthy way to deal with that is to engage with them on their own terms.

[jenyifer]

So bad news I may started writing a fic for SVSSS. Now will it be poly like my only friends fic? Ehhh??? Probably not *squints* maybe. 🤔 anyways thought I’d share incase there is already a fic like it or if people won’t enjoy it. Came up with the idea as I thought about how LBH is SQH’s self insert as an author it’s easier to put a lot of yourself into the main character. Yeah it’s an idealized sexy man meat mountain of a man but I think the chaotic clingy curly hair comes from Airplane. So I thought welll what if SQQ is an idealized version of an older student bully who was cold collected things Airplane had a big fat gay crush on which is why he wanted his self insert to be changed by SQQ and kill him.

So just a simple not so simple reversal. MBJ and LBH are friends irl. LBH unknowingly reads and simps for the universe MBJ writes in his free time. The plot of (yet to be named web novel) is more about demon emperor SQQ solving mystery’s and crisis by being intelligent and alluring he’s also overly powerful with his ally Northern King SQH who is chaotic and resourceful. Most people ship SQQ and SQH together even though the romance elements in the webnovel are few and far between and usually some unobtainable one night stands with the villain or tragic woman who will be killed the next day. LBH loves SQQ has all the merch. LBH finds out MBJ is the writer after he reads the latest chapter where SQH is cursed with demise under his skin making him weaken to be a shell of his demonic self. The dialogue between SQQ and SQH is creepily reminiscent of the conversation LBH had with MBJ when LBH had revealed he is dying because of late stage cancer. Of course SQQ is prepared to do anything to save his best friend sacrificing who he was because their friendship means more than the demon empire or SQQ’s morals. SQQ sacrifices his demonic energy to save his friend. Accompanying this chapter was an extra of a clumsy drawing saying this is what the ice king’s original drafts of the characters for the artists. LBH couldn’t help but notice how similar his characteristics are to SQH curly hair terribly thin and short while radiating power through his crazy expression and SQQ was tall and stoic and LBH is horrified to realize his best friend MBJ sees himself this way tall with straight hair with an aura of superiority. When LBH confronts MBJ about the webnovel MBJ who is normally silent and a shut in exclaims that of course it’s his novel. MBJ wanted to dream about a world where they could go out and have adventures together was that such an evil thing? LBH shouts that in this reality he’s going to die and what will MBJ do then. Everything shifts into a portal and they are brought into the webnovel. LBH a half Demon hiding his identity on one of the peaks a student under MBJ who is a peak lord. They decided if they are there they might as well find SQH and SQQ for plot reasons. Haha anyways idk if I can write something like that since… I have to work…. Also the cancer thing might be too real for me (I think it’s been 15 years since I lost a close friend to cancer) But I want to write it 😭

[canon-can-fight-me]

Self insert lore post (under cut) / sketch dump

So I am deep in the honeymoon phase right now and I’m doodling this ship like a middle schooler with a crush, so here’s a lore dump about my ultr.aman s/i 💖

Vera, otherwise known as SoVeryKitty (Kitty), is a streamer/ vtuber who has a large following and social media presence

She moved from her home country to Japan for college, got her degree in animation, and started working for an animation company. She started doing streaming on the side to make more money, and found great success.

Her face isn’t really a secret but she is more known for her vtuber identity, but feels a pressure to maintain a certain image that doesn’t fully align with who she really is.

The first time she meets Ken she has no idea who he is. Zero. (She’s seen him in ads and around town but she is a homebody and literally never paid him any mind 😭)

Which is very funny because he actually watches her streams and has even donated subs before 💀 but because of her disregard of who he is, he decides to play down his identity.

Honestly I think they count as the “I like you for you” trope because even when she does find out that he’s a baseball player she’s like oh. okay cool I guess

Meanwhile there’s this subplot where she forms a friendship/crush with Ultr.aman, all while having no idea of his true identity. It’s one of those tropes again but I love the secret identity trope, I absolutely eat it up.

💖 Post dating lore

Vera absolutely ADORES Emi (Ken’s adopted ka.iju daughter). The same way how Emi becomes interested in baseball after watching Ken play, she also finds Kitty to be so cool. She even wants to do her makeup like Kitty does and Ken has to explain that she can’t because 1) she’s literally 10 months old and 2) they don’t make block makeup for 20 feet tall people. Vera makes up for this by getting Emi and a custom made block makeup set complete with an appropriately sized mirror. Agh their relationship is the cutest I love Emi 🩷

Vera also gets along with other characters such as Mira, Ami, etc I just haven’t thought about their role in her life yet!

Vera’s relationship with Ken is kept secret, for the sake of both their careers (at least at first), but they’re also not super great at being sneaky. I mean, one of them literally goes to visit his crush as a 130 foot tall giant, if that clues you in…

I’d add more but this is already so long, but this is what I came up with so far.

[shiraishi--kanade]

Me: it's not that I dislike Akian I just dislike the usual fanon portrayal of them? Like I feel like people strip them of all nuance in the relationship when they would definitely have a lot, seeing as they had this quiet weird rivalry slash friendship going on for at least two years, and I don't want to talk smack about anyone but usually Akito gets to at least keep some of his personality while they turn An in this anime shy/anxious girl when she definitely would not be that unless under a set of very specific circumstances, so what's up with that

My wise friend, infinitely more aware of fandom bullshit at large than I ever was: it's because they only like Akito and treat An as a self-insert for a ship

Me: ah. Hm.

[echobx]

Jiara has done nothing for JJ or Kie's character development. It has actually caused character regression. JJ was a bad friend to Pope last season and he didn't even apologize for the way he handled the whole Kiara situation. Pope deserved better than that. Idc what anyone says their friendship is not the same due to this. It doesn't matter that Pope and Cleo are a couple now. If I was Pope, JJ would be kept at arms length.

As for Kiara, she has a different personality each season so that's why her development is all over the place. The only thing consistent is her loyalty to the Pogues. She deserves a better storyline than just trying to "fix" JJ while he pushes her away until she gets kidnapped. Free my girl from the fans who only see her as their self-insert to ship with the overrated white boys, especially Rafe the Rat!

yeah, JJ didn't feel like himself and more like a bad copy of who he was in the seasons before in like 90% of s3, the only time he was the same as always was ep7-8 when he was with JB.

I don't know if I would say he was a bad friend to Pope, but he was obviously less of a friend to him, and Pope decided to balance it out by spending time with Cleo (which tbh was the one good thing that season) and for selfish reasons I want JJ and Pope to reconcile and go back to being lovesick fools for each other (I'm never gonna let jjpope die. idc about the haters)

the only way I can think of s3 in terms of jiara, is by looking at all of it as sibling vibes (bc that's all they ever had, there was never any romance) and just ignore that kiss that both actors visibly didn't put any work in to make it look like they actually care about the ship.

honest to god, i feel like both Madison and Rudy are probably the biggest jiara haters out there.

concerning Kie, I will always defend her against the writers, bc s1 I actually thought she had such great potential, but then fans wanted her with Pope, so that happened, and then fans wanted her with JJ, and it happened again. wanting a poc woman to be with a white man so hard that you pressure the writers into doing it feels sinister to me. at least she and pope had a tiny bit of chemistry.

but then again, her whole arc is heavily queercoded. and Madison (an actual queer woman) knows this and wants to embrace it, but they won't let her. and I can't even imagine how it must feel to play a character and hope for them to get good character development just for them to fuck you over every new season. s1!Kie was very much a "pick me" girl already, and they could've easily gotten her a great arc and away from this pick me behavior, but instead they leaned into it even more, and then they made her into a bitch who plays with her best friends feelings. her development is literally nonexistent. she stays the same rather shallow girl all the way through.

I watched s1 and hoped to see Kie evolve into a real girls girl, someone who doesn't repeat her dumb hurtful mistakes. but they destroyed it all bc as we have also seen with Sarah, they don't know how to write women.

and I sometimes even question her loyalty to the pogues bc if she was really all in, why would she ask JB to pick her over Sarah. like, I know it makes sense for her as a pick me girl to do that, but i still hate it. and it also seems like most of the time she treats being a pogue like a hobby instead of actual reality and the lives of her best friends. (which is one of the main reasons why her and jj will never work even if they had chemistry)

on Rafe, i do hope they keep Sofia as his gf (even tho RafeBarry is just so much fun) but as much as I hope that they don't pull the "he fixed himself to be with her" I just know that they don't have enough brains to actually know not to do this.

[theheirofthesharingan]

why do fans keep saying that itachi loved izumi where do they get that from?? Did I miss something? Because I've read the entire itachi light novel and there was ZERO hint in it about itachi loving izumi back. The ship felt really one sided, I mean yeah sure they could've been cute together but the only thoughts that ever crossed itachi's mind in the novel were about war, the village, sasuke, shisui, his clan. He couldn't care less about romance. Like there was ZERO indication of him having feelings for her, I think him putting her in a genjutsu before she dies is because itachi is a kind person and wanted his freind's last moments to be happy, that was the least he could do for her then. I mean personally if someone who loved me like that was dying I'd want to make sure that their last moments with me are spent 100% however they please. So is it just me?? I see kindness cause I know itachi is not a jerk, and I see care because I know he cares about his loved ones, but where is the romantic love here??? Just because she's female and was in love with him we gotta assume he loved her back?? Some even claim she was his "his girlfreind" ...wtff ??? itachi never had the time.

Anyways, what do you think? And sorry i know this was too long I hope you don't mind.

It's just people whenever there is "love" involved, it has to be romantic/sexual. Every time I see someone making connotations of the romantic love between two individuals, I am reminded of this quote by C. S. Lewis.

Those who cannot conceive of friendship as a substantive love but only as a disguise or elaboration of Eros betray the fact that they have never had a friend.

Two people can "love" each other and still not be interested in each other romantically. It's just, platonic love exists.

In case of Izumi, I believe giving Itachi a "lover" makes his story more tragic to some people. Because, oh look, he killed the girl he loved, so tragic! But he didn't actually love her. Fugaku mistakes her for Itachi's girlfriend, but that doesn't mean he had one. They were friends. Itachi had too many things going on and love was not any of his priorities.

She was the first person he killed because she was someone he cared about and thought as a friend. Not because he thought she was the love of his life.

I also feel most of the shippers don't really care about Itachi as a person. He's only a fantasy they need to either fulfill for themselves or for their favorite characters. It holds true for Izumi, Sakura, and even Sasuke.

The two ladies have no personality, so their ship with Itachi works as a self-insert for a lot of fans. And most itasasu fans are also along the same lines. None of them cares about Itachi, but they still ship him with them because the ships centre around the characters he's shipped with instead of himself. That is, these shippers get the gratification on behalf of the characters he's shipped with instead of Itachi himself.

So, Izumi and her ship with Itachi isn't very different. To some people, it makes his story more tragic. There's also a part of the fandom that thinks "Obito destroyed the world for Rin" when he himself says Rin isn't the reason the war is happening. People kind of like to project what they consider more tragic and then twist it to distort canon.

I personally don't take shippers very seriously. It does irritate me, but it's better to not interact with that side for your own sanity.