#THANK YOU ................................ SORRY IF THIS IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE

[mysteriousbeetle]

For the unpopular opinion meme: My enjoyment of ace!Cass headcanons depend on the user, because Cass being ace is a headcanon that makes sense given what we see in the text, but some parts of fandom make me uncomfortable with how quick they are to label every asian/autistic character ace and with Cass especially how it plays into her fanon version of sweet and kind and naive.

(No pressure to answer this if you don't want to I just saw the meme and thought of the first unpopular opinion in my head lmao)

i haven't really thought about it before but i don't really think of cass as ace. maybe i need to reread some of batgirl (2000) but it felt to me that cass took issue with being objectified but wasn't opposed to exploring her sexuality. and i find the angle of her taking issue with being objectified in that context more interesting because she's also dealt with being objectified in a different sense with how she was raised to be a human weapon. also maybe the reason she hasn't had much chemistry with guys is because she's a lesbian.

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

Do you know how to fix the "Shloomp. There It Is" episode? This can be done MIS style by putting Chase Young in Nomicon's place. After all, Chase Young was able to obtain the evil essence Omi of the Yin-Yang World. Why doesn't he do the same to Randy for a chance to get to the First Ninja? This idea addresses many important issues. Firstly, a dubious lesson from Nomicon (he put the guys in danger in the original plot development), and secondly, the very existence of NomiRandy. Where did he come from? Thirdly, this will limit Randy’s activities, which means he will not be able to get out of the Yin-Yang world on his own and get into someone else’s body. Poof! I forbid rc9gn characters from moving into other people’s bodies so easily!Randy's fall to the side of darkness will infuriate the First Ninja, which fits perfectly with the concept of his relationship with Chase Young. In addition, it will be a kind of bitter reminder: “Look, I took from you the one who at one time took from me the best chance to win you over to my side.” The First Ninja was at his most vulnerable mentally when he was going through a crisis, and only the appearance of Randy made him perk up. The First Ninja will not be able to come to terms with the fact that Randy has become evil (and even more arrogant).NomiRandy may be more than just arrogant. He may represent the vengeful part of Randy. He will probably say something that will plunge the First Ninja into long thoughts, because he will not be able to deny what he said, since it is a part of Randy, and not just his opposite. NomiRandy is everything that the First Ninja never wanted to accept in Randy himself, so this will be some kind of test for him? Very high quality test. Another plus in the karma of this idea.NomiRandy is not stupid, but he is a brutal teenager who doesn't need anyone. Because of this value system, he will not be able to become a part of society, because when he grows up with his peers, his brutality will lose its meaning. Deep down, Randy wants to show others his rebellious nature, what he can really be, but he will have to understand that being NomiRandy all the time is depriving himself of a future. Then this thirst will stop snowballing. A good lesson for any teenager, including Ninjas.So this idea is great, it has conflict, meaning and a "little" Chase Young/First Ninja feud of course. Chase Young is going to give morals for once (especially for the First Ninja), even if that wasn't his intention in the first place, because damn it, Chase Young was never JUST evil. He is many hundreds of years old, he is wise enough so that he does not have to prove it to others. That's why in this scenario I put him in the place of Nomicon, who was supposed to teach the Ninja. He could have locked Randy's moral self in the Yin-Yang world, not just to annoy the First Ninja and force him to accept his terms, but because "I may take YOUR place in the eyes of YOUR students, but the outcome will be the same as the outcome of the one that NomiRandy has taken Randy's place" (that is, a crossed out future for the whole world), or "we can feud not only physically" (Chase Young is a manipulator; he can not only give dubious advice to Randy, but also really important lessons for both him, same for the First Ninja; a kind of care, similar to medicine: whether you like it or not, sooner or later you will need it, but by taking it, you are slowly destroying yourself, because it contains a small dose of poison, and Chase Young will give for his own purposes you just enough to destroy you). What happened will also hit the value system of the First Ninja, which he chose in the afterlife. Chase Young has never been susceptible to petty mischief. In a ship with someone like the First Ninja, this should be emphasized more often.

What other episodes would you like to fix in this way?

Oh, wow, this is a very intriguing and very detailed idea that is certainly worth exploring!

There is a lot to process, and I've been thinking about it for...like a week, and I'm not sure if I got everything, so if I misunderstood anything I apologize (my brain no work so good sometimes lol sorry), but I wanted to offer you my opinion if you want it!

In general I prefer to leave canon alone and just loosely refer to events that happen in cartoon, especially RC9GN, so I never thought of rewriting/fixing an episode (I mean they are sort of 'rewritten' in my head with better lore and just cooler but like nothing definite). With MIS I tend to concentrate primarly on Finja and Chase first, and the kids are sort of in the background for me. I only had like two? three? ideas that are episode & Randy/Monks related and those are mostly in Xiaolin Showdown, and one of them is in Favorite Warrior AU, lol. And even those are not rewrites/fixers but crossover fusion - the events happen almost exactly the same but just with more characters involved. So I can't say I have many idea for rewrites/fixers in RC9GN that would involve MIS.

But what I do like, is using canon to suppliment idea for 'after' cartoon canon, so after reading your idea, I wanted to offer you a slightly different take: let the canon episode happen, but then use it to build an even more serious situation with Chase, like you described and it would hit everyone involved even harder.

Let me explain my reasoning more (this might get a bit long, be warned!):

Let's start with canon first - In my opinion 'Shloomp There it is' episode is fine by itself, however dumb it might seem at first.

I kind of agree with you on the first point, about it being a dubious way to teach a lesson, but to be absolutely fair - it was a very dubious and silly problem originally, that Randy created by being a little bit of an idiot himself. So as in theme with the show, the problem and solution kind of fit each other.

Secondly, NomiRandy. I also agree about your point of Where did he come from and where the heck did he go? Well I have (most likely unpopular) opinions about that.

Personally I believe that NomiRandy is not an actual evil representation Ninjanomicon somehow created from Randy himself, but rather it is a caricature of him that Nomicon created by itself. It's an absolutely fake doppleganger that only looks like Randy on the surface - with many of his negative and opposite traits amplified to a comical degree, but not really an evil entity made of Randy's deepest dark desires. It's nothing more but a papermache puppet Ninjanomicon used to teach a lesson and later discarded, and thats why we never see him again, because he wasn't real in any shape or form so after returning to Nomicon he doesn't exist anymore.

(I am very much aware that my headcanons about NomiRandy are probably in minority, because this fandom absolutely adores NomiRandy, lol)

So, NomiRandy was a relatively mild threat used as a mild solution to fix a problem created by Randy being a bit of an idiot.

Your third point, about Randy being limited in his activities, is where I have to disagree with you a bit more. Because what's the point of teaching the lesson if a big part of Randy is not there to learn it? I mean, in canon version Randy actually witnessed NomiRandy act as an asshole which helped him realize that he himself was acting foolishly. And him having to fight himself but in Howard's body was actually pretty interesting concept of Randy having to actually physically confront his failings and bad traits head on.

There is also something to say about the fact that the only ones involved into body swap were people who were in the Nomicon at first , so one could argue that the body/mind swap was controlled by Ninjanomicon, that it used to make a point for Randy. (But that would be a thought for another time, lol.)

So, as you can see, in my opinion the episode is relatively fine by itself, and if we replace Ninjanomicon with Chase - the total tone shift will change all of it drastically. Not to mention the lesson itself will change, becoming more serious and with actual consequences - all of it would be something completely different.

And while it absolutely could work and the idea of this rewrite by itself is incredibly intriguing, I think it would work better as a continuation, as more dire development for after the end of the series.

You might ask why the end of the series? Well primarily because of my own headcanon that Chase in general tends to stay out of Norrisville Ninja business out of respect to First and also because they change so fast, (I mean what are 4 years to immortal??) he rarely gets to pay attention to them, let alone get interested in them and their usefullness to his agenda with First. But if something big happens, like I dunno, Randy defeating Ghoulian and unmaking the Sorcerer himself it would make Chase pay attention to Randy and realize how useful he can be.

The other important reason, is because of episode 'Winner Takes Ball' where we catch the tiniest glimpse of the actual evil side of Randy that appeared thanks to influence of Chaos Ball. He is power hungry, he is so sure of himself, he is cocky, he is merciless and ruthless and most importantly he still loves being THE Ninja. There is no annoyed apathy and uncaringness that NomiRandy displayed, this Evil Randy would have been just as hyper as normal Randy, enjoying his newfound powers just as much, but also would be unburdened with morals of using those powers.

Because, you see, I think Actual Evil version of Randy is in many ways would be a lot like an Evil version of Omi. Evil Omi was hyper pumped, thriving on newfound power, in this new freedom from morals, ruthless and doing what he wanted, rather than what is right. And what he wanted is to fight, to show everyone how talented he was, that he was the best warrior there ever was.

And what does Randy want? Constantly throughout the show Randy expresses his delight at being the Ninja (unlike some protagonists that find themselves suddenly thrust into a hero role, Randy takes to it instantly, there is literally ZERO hesitation from this boy), he loves it and most importantly he wants to be this strong, powerful, capable and amazing.

But that is also one of the most important Ninjanomicon continues to impart on the Ninjas - not to be this prideful and arrogant, and chase after power with such disregard to everything else.

So, now picture it like this:

Chase learns about Randy and what he has done, and how talented and powerful this new ninja is. At some point he discovers about NomiRandy and what happened, and it gives him an idea.

Chase Reverse Chi-s Randy, and this Evil Randy is still Randy in many ways, and it would absolutely devastate First to see him like this - power-hungry and ruthless, disregarding everything that Ninjanomicon taught him to prevent exactly this fall to Darkness and Evil, and the worst part is he has been taken under Chase's wing not only to nurture and encourage this new evil seedling - but to taunt First and Ninjanomicon, because - isn't it what you once wanted to teach him by creating NomiRandy? About his dark self that should be kept in check and balanced in a good warrior, good ninja? But your lesson was deeply flawed and now look at me, I will do a so much better job than you ever attempted, and I will show this young Ninja, that it's not only the bad side that needs to be balanced but the good side as well.

Which would play into what you said earlier - NomiRandy, or in this case just Evil Randy - will be so power-hungry and thirsty for fighting, he will disregard many things, like the fact that existing like that is impossible - even such urges must be tampered in order to actually live a fullfilling (if evil) life. And who is better to show and teach it to him than Chase Young, who (most likely) spent centuries in the beginning of his immortal life so hungry for battle, he served as an attack dog for Hannibal Roy Bean. But with time Chase has found balance in his new evil existence, and that helped him to overcome Roy Bean and rise to new heights.

That comparison about how Roy Bean controlled Chase, can also can influence how Randy views Ninjanomicon (and by extension First), and how tightly it tries to hold reigns of Ninjas it teaches. I mean, Randy sometimes resented the lessons and rules Ninjanomicon gives, we've seen it a few times, but Evil Randy will feel all of that frustration and annoyance even more, like a rebelious teenager that saw how controlling the authoriive figure in their life is and it will poison his relationship with Ninjanomicon.

And First? Well, Evil Randy could also bring up how Randy, a supposedly not-good enough for your high-and-mighty Ninja Rules and Forbidden Powers managed to do what the original oh-so-powerful Ninja could not - finally defeat the Sorcerer. About how a teenager that you dumped your mask on, your responsibility, and kept holding back with all your stupid rules and limitations - did what you couldn't in 800 years. And what can First even answer to that? Because its all true, no matter how poisoned Evil Randy's view may be, the bare facts are all true.

So, First can only watch, helpless and angry and so so sad, how Chase takes under his wing the one who saved the world from Sorcerer (not even once, but twice) and twists that raw power and energy that served for good into something that will serve evil. ( And the worst part, is that it all happened because of First - because of Chase's initial interest in First. All in an attempt to get to him.)

And well, like you said, there could be two endings - where Evil Randy is here to stay (aka Very Bad Ending lol), or where Good Randy makes it out of Ying-Yang world and reunites with his Evil self again.

But even then, the damage will be done. Because Chase's lessons could still continue. I mentioned earlier about lessons in balance, and how in good warrior, not only his dark side should be kept in check, but his good side also. In a way, I think Good Randy will lack a very important part to being a Ninja - and its the ruthlessness that Evil Randy brandishes like a blunt weapon, but with Chase it could be sharpened into a precise tool, and if Good and Evil reunite, the lesson will be still carried over.

And not only that will be carried over, but all the words and feelings that Evil Randy experienced -Randy will remember, and that can forever change and/or damage his relationship with Ninjanomicon and First. And Chase? Well, Randy will also remember that Chase was not just an Evil Jerk that split him in half - he actually tried to help and teach his Evil self to control himself better, so the seedling of mentor&mentee relationship will still be there.

After all of this, I have to admit, unlike you, I have a harder time imagining how exactly the situtation will help Chase sway/manipulate First to his side. I mean, this way Chase might probably sway Randy to his side, especially if he somehow orchestrates the return of Good Randy and says that all of this was just a lesson to help Randy be a better warrior, because he just couldn't watch all this talent wither away under Ninjanomicon's dubious tutelage.

But when it comes to First, If anything, I think it will actually backfire horribly. First is already constantly unstable in his regards to Chase, but something like this will only solidify his belief in Chase being a manipulator that could never be trusted, because its one thing to try and manipulate First to his side, but its another to involve his kid successor. First might even lose whatever respect he had for the immortal, because he would view manipulation of children as beneath him (of course I think Chase will argue, that those young warriors are hardly children).

I think I mentioned it before in some ask, but I personally believe that if Chase will try to get to Randy it will just send First into apocleptic levels of anger, and destroy any slim chances Chase had, and will literally set him back to zero in his progress with First, lol.

But that's just my personal view, you probably have some really good ideas about that! ;D

On another note, a tiny thing I got to disagree with a little - is about Chase being above 'petty mischief'. I can agree about Chase not being particularly petty, but mischief? In my opinion, this immortal lizard is very much into mischief, albeit a more strategic type of mischief. xD This is the man who continuously taunted pre-teens while trying to manipulate one of them to his side, and also continuously made poor Jack's life hell.

Though admittiedly, I like to think that being around First Ninja brings out more of Chase's mischevious side (opposite to his cruel and uncaring sides) - partially because First Ninja doesn't always reacts the way Chase expects him to. And sometimes Ninja catches Chase before he gets into a scheme and that sometimes leaves Chase himself wrong-footed. And partially because, Chase grew to enjoy testing Ninja's patience a little too much, after the got to know each other better.

But you are right about the fact that in this ship it should empathized more how much of a threat and manipulator Chase could be, the problem is i can't write this type of characters like at all, lol, to my great dissapointment i just don't know how to do it well. xD So that version of Chase just kind of exists half-baked in my mind, and meanwhile in my art and fics he just turns into a mischevious asshole with all his schemes in background, haha.

Anyway, I tried really hard to adress everything you mentioned and offer some insights and ideas, but i still feel like i might have missed something, so - sorry about that! I know its probably not the answer you quite expected, but I do hope it was sufficient, and if not - that at least it was entertainin to read! ;3

[desertduality]

Hello Raven Desertduality I’m currently sitting in my car waiting for my friend to get back. In the meantime I must ask: how you feeling?

I’m feeling alright <3 I’m on vacation and haven’t been online a lot, which is nice but I’m missing my freedom to watch a ton of wild life episodes, I’ve only seen Scar’s so far but I want to sit down and watch Grian’s in a minute :3

As far as the stuff going on with the hermitcraft community, I’m doing okay there, too. I don’t want to talk about it too much bc I don’t have anything new or important to say, but I think it’s being handled in the best way it can be; it’s one of the more dignified and professional responses I’ve seen. Things like this usually set off my anxiety but I’m actually pretty calm right now. That being said I am sending hugs and comfort to everyone who needs it <3

[infinitegeli]

oh hey im also gonna steal this from my tacomic rant…do u think taco considered what mic wanted in episode 14? she didnt make the promise bc she KNEW she couldnt keep it if something went wrong. and when microphone is getting all the love and praise, taco is cocky bc her FORST MEETING WAS READING MIC’s diary abt her insecurities on never being listened to or appreciated, OFC TACO WOULD THINK THIS IS WHAT MIC WANTED!! AGHHH

Ok hold onlet me.

THIS IS A REALLY REALLY INTERESITN PERSPECITVE THIS IS REALLY FUNJY TO ME TOO Taco being like fully sincere when she was bragging to mic after she straight murdered test tube LIKE YESSS SHE GETS IT NOW. LIKE OK TO BEHONEST I think taco probably knew. (in and out no violence (mic line) )that she was breakinf mics trust with it but it’s really funny to think she thought mic got over it cuz she was getting attention. Liek seeee a little murder never hurt no one ;D this is great right?? LIKE GOD THATS REALLY REALLY FUNNY…

I guess when the question is did she consider what mic would want it gets really interesting wth this perspective .. like she thinks she knows something mic wouldn’t like she thinks she knows a way to microphones affinity through her methods (violence) in a way microphone wouldn’t dare to consider . like a ‘let me do this and you’ll see how great it is afterwards’ thing. That’s great. but I think I look at it thorug a lens of disconnect from the writing cuz whenever I get too analytical I always think No AE definitely did not think this far. BUR ITS REALLY FHN.. IM HAPOY YOU SHAREDTHIS WITH ME.. I like taco when she’s being sincere in her own weird little ways. It’s the best kind of taco…

[tricos-here]

For the mount asks: Asterales, Jessamy, and Alexandrine 💖

@mystery-salad

thank you for the ask <33

1. Does your character canonically have specific mounts?

Astêrales technically has a jackal but it is. largely redundant because she moves around via portals all the time anyway, and the jackal itself comes and goes as it pleases, but they do occasionally travel together and keep each other company 

Jessamy canonically has a griffon named Doirean, it was given to her temporarily during her company’s contract in Thunderhead Keep, but they instantly took a liking to each other and upon her return to Tyria she decided to purchase and keep her 

Alexandrine has a warclaw named Aife, though it’s not so much a warclaw in the sense of “spiritual animal bound to armor” as just a creature bound to the Mists

2. Do you have any canon mount skins / coloration for them?

Astêrales’ jackal is just Shadow Abyss and Tar on the Ceylon Cut Skin, which kinda of creates this starry look in its faceplate (?), if I were to draw might might've also thrown in some aspects of Lucent Sands too

Jessamy canonically is supposed to be using the Point-Tipped Corvus skin but I only have the Northern Feather Wing skin whose only real difference is it has a more angular beak, but either way it’s all black like well, a corvid 

Alexandrine’s warclaw is the Vigilant Saberclaw in all white, may or may not have a longer tail like the Tundra Grimalkin but I’m undecided about that still 🏃‍♀️ 

3. How likely are they to rent one versus own one?

Astêrales would do neither because she can spawn in portals at will babeey. But if she were to lose that ability for some reason cough she’d likely talk her way through borrowing one, ain’t got no money to rent anyway 

Jessamy technically owns hundreds of mounts under her company’s name so, if we want to get into schematics she she's more likely own one, besides her personal griffon anyway, but if she were in a position where she didn't have access to them then she has plenty of money to throw at some renting agency

Alexandrine definitely more likely to own one, partially because where would she rent a mount in the Mists anyway, but also she does enjoy the companionship as well

4. Are there any mounts they prefer using (or others they can't stand)?

Astêrales has only ever used a jackal and a skyscale, and if she were to choose between the two it would definitely be the jackal, she has no issue with heights or anything but skyscales to her feel comparatively sluggish and unresponsive 

Jessamy can appreciate that each mount has its own uses and pros and cons but she’d generally go for a griffon or if the area asks for it, a raptor, but generally she thinks a skilled rider can get just about anywhere with a griffon anyway. Also finds springers ridiculous and you’ll never catch her on one amen 

Alexandrine’s only experience with mounts is a warclaw so, N/A

5. Do they keep their mounts stabled, take them with them, or some secret 3rd thing?

Astêrales’ secret 3rd thing is that her jackal as mentioned just comes and goes as it pleases, using portals and traversing through the Mists as much as her 

Jessamy will take her griffon with her on travels and the like but keep her stabled at stops, there’s been few occasions where she might bring her inside as some kinda power move but generally yeah, keeps her stabled 

Alexandrine takes her warclaw everywhere, rarely ever leaves her side and yes that included the bed too, something her partner might not approve but it's her castle and she makes the rules (is what she thinks)

[sunset-bridge]

real conversation

[someguyinc]

hello i saw you in the notes talking about arthur and morgana's relationship and i would love to hear you talk more please. i am unhinged about them.

(no pressure tho if you don't feel like it)

this is literally the best thing someone could say to me after a 16 hr flight 😭 bless u anon

also me too. so i'm just gonna ramble ab my headcannons and then also their canon relationship below the cut bc it is so interesting to me and i really have a lot to say and i really mean. A LOT.

so let's start off with season 1/pre-canon and the source of all their problems: uther pendragon. uther pendragon is fucking insane and possibly one of the worst parents ever,,, like def top 10 worst fathers i think

pre-season 1 time line as I see it:

- he marries ygraine from the house of du bois after becoming king,, probably like 3-7 years after,, he claimed he loved her (heavily debatable!!) and she seemed to as well so they assumedly married for love

- now uther has a best friend at the time: Gorlois (now if this is his name-name or surname i'm not sure so i'm just going to go say surname since they're nobility) This man is known by Uther had the bravest man he's ever met,, and his wife the Lady Vivienne probably lost him in battle bc later in season 3,, Uther says a much and says Lady Vivienne was: "lonely so he consoled her"...

- now, this is where my headcannon comes in,, I'm pretty damn sure morgana is older than arthur,, meaning that I'm pretty sure that Uther cheated on ygraine out of that shared grief and around this time ygraine probably was showing growing signs of being barren/unable to become pregnant which probably worried the court ngl

- so morgana conception happens,, vivienne goes away,, gorlois thinks she's his,, during this time uther finally gives in and sacrifices ygraine's life for arthur's and ultimately blames it on arthur/all of magic (remember the talk w uther and nimueh when he says: i wish he'd [arthur] never been born bc it meant losing ygraine essentially like,,,. ok. wow.)

- now season 1: there is so much evidence uther is an abusive shit:

- he throws both of his children in jail whenever they toe the line in a way he doesn't find amusing (ie: s1e4 and s1e12)

- arthur straight up says (he's about 20/21 atp): i never knew you were proud of me,, in fact i always thought i was a disapointment (meaning: uther never went out of his way to show him otherwise for a solid 20-21 years.)

and uther doesn't actually say he's proud of him he just goes: i wouldn't wish for another son (after drugging him so he wouldn't duel being a hypocritical king)

so all of this: leads back to morgana and arthur's relationship

morgana and arthur in season 1 have a somewhat tentative relationship,, we can see that most of the kingdom thinks the two of them are going to marry one another (including themselves at times) ie: gwen saying morgana would make a great queen one day,, but they also bicker all the damn time

snipes here and there,, but ultimately it usually comes down to their differences in how they reacted to their upbringing from uther:

arthur became the dutiful/exceptional son: he became a knight at 20 (usually took knights till mid twenties-early thirties), later we learn he led druid raids pre-canon (this traumatized him also again fuck uther) this would also be exceptional seeing as he probably wasn't a fully fledged knight even then, and is known throughout Camelot (and most of Albion tbh) as a master swordsman,, and while he did have his own thoughts on magic he often bit his tounge in front of his father in order to prove himself,, we also know that unlike morgana: he learned exactly how to navigate around uther so he could do what he wanted against uther's will while not embarrassing in front of the court (ie: when he went to go save gwen after saying to his father and the court that it was probably a lost cause)

morgana was the people's princess,, but she def got the "i am my father's daughter" syndrome BADDDDD: we see in s1 she's often stood up to Uther in front of the court numerous times, so much so that when she gets thrown into prison (s1e12) it's not the first time,, arthur tells her: "i promised him that this would be the last time you acted out against him like this" (paraphrasing) and morgana replies "you're a good man, unlike your father" (line that makes me insane)

they are parallel from the start within these two episodes specifically!!! many may argue morgana was good and kind from the beginning,, but she often did things FOR HER OWN MOTIVES!!! when she helped gwen's father to escape without consulting gwen,, it confirmed it for me. she may have convinced herself it was for gwen,, but she never even asked,, she did it to piss of uther not thinking it all the way through,, opening his cell and leaving him to fend for himself against a bataillon of knights. now i'm not saying morgana has never done anything out of pure kindness,,

but whereas arthur is constantly set up as a righteous and noble man in his heart but his actions can appear to be... for lack of a better word, extremely dickish

morgana's actions appear to be kind and generous, but can often endanger those around her in her conquest for the things she wants, sometimes ending in death. (AGAIN NOT ALWAYS!!!)

NOW this leads me to the fact that once again they were the only two who grew up under Uther really and are the only ones who know what that's like,, they probably already felt more like brother and sister by the time s1 hit just bc of that but endured it bc they weren't blood and swallows the fact they were probably gonna be married but you can see it in the scenes alone,,

morgana does push arthur to be better and to challenge the things uther taught them bc that is what she instinctively does!! morgana questions uther and in return teacher arthur to question uther (ie: pushing arthur to save merlin in s1e4, helps him to strike down valiant s1e2, makes him argue back when gwen was wrongfully imprisoned s1e3) and we see that morgana does care for arthur!! she threatens sophia when she noticed something is off and often rushes to the defense of her friends,, her tactics can be destructive though just in a parallel way to arthur's

arthur's destructiveness comes from his inability to choose a side, or based his assumptions on prejudices something that becomes even more apparent when morgana turns away from Camelot and it's people

morgana was probably rooting for arthur as a king for a certain point,, but even though the grew up together and she should know arthur's MO is usually 'just say yes in front of dad and do whatever the fuck is just later' morgana doesn't trust him. and as her powers grow this also becomes more apparent and her support wanes until she believes someone else should be on the throne,,,

and when she learns that uther is her father??? that's when she flies off the deep end.

now for me morgana being older than arthur is one of the only reasons why she would have a valid claim to the throne!! we see that mithian as the only girl succeeded her father as QUEEN not just princess meaning the laws of succession COULD include women it just depended on the region,,

now imagine being morgana:

you grow up at home with your father, he is kind, brave, and gentle, and a fearsome warrior, he is the kings best friend. he dies and you move in probably around the age of 8 and you see this 6 year old boy. you later learn the kingdom expects the two of you to marry. you're still grieving but you know what this means. you take the etiquette lessons, you learn to wield the sword, you become proficient in horseback riding, you gain the education fitting of a queen. you are 15, the prince is 13, he is already one of the most promising squires. it's alright though you're learning to love him, not as a romance though (not anymore at least, he tried to flick his booger at you once at the age of 8, the flame was staunchly out out.) you two appreciate one another, you get older, it is improper for the two of you to be alone together, you witness your first execution. he's being killed for the crime of sorcery (he saved a little girl from a burning building), you don't understand. you meet your maidservant, she is one of the most lovely people to grace the earth. you love her, as a friend. you grow older, you're still expected to marry the prince (he is 18), he has killed many. he has watched even more die. he is different, you are different. you watch another man die for the crime of sorcery, you don't understand. two years pass, you're tormented by dreams you cannot comprehend but always seem to come true, a serving boy arrives, he changes the prince again. you watch another man die. you don't understand, but you hold your tounge now until later. the king's temper is short. years past and the sleeping draughts aren't working, your dreams are getting worse. your maidservant is in love with the prince. you're jealous, you don't understand. you think you have magic, you see the prince become his father. you don't understand, you just want someone to tell you it'll be alright. after years of anger and bitterness you finally understand, you hate the king and all he's done, the world would be better if he were gone, arthur would be better if he were gone. arthur loves him anyways and it kills you. you meet a woman who claims to be your sister, both of blood and in magic. you take her hand, she promises to teach you all there is to be taught. your anger for the king festers. the prince you once loved turns out to be your brother. the king you hate turns out to be your father. you beg him to recognize you, and give you the family name you were stripped of. he doesn't. you kill him. you kill s lot of people. you don't care if they're innocent or not anymore. you connive, and you plot, and you scheme. you try to kill the prince, who is now king. your sister dies. you miss your best friend, the handmaiden who is now queen. she says she hates you. you hate arthur. you die trying to make him as miserable as you.

now arthur:

one day your father brings a girl home, everyone is telling you that they you expect to marry. father doesnt say anything. you think she's pretty, you accidentally flick your booger at her and she looks at you like you've wiped horseshit on her dress. you watch a man die for the crime of magic. you don't understand, you will soon. your father looks at you like there is someone he can't stand to see. he cherishes this girl he's brought home. you work harder than any squire seen before. you get promoted early, everyone says it is just because of the king, you beat them in everything so they can't secondaries you ever again. you watch more sorcerers die, your father says it is because they killed your mother, you secretly feel like a bad person because you don't understand why all sorcerers deserve to die for the crime of one death. even if it is your mother. you twist her ring. your father's ward is beautiful, you try to impress her, she's too busy hanging out with her maidservant. you get older and complete your first druid camp raid, you don't understand, so many of them are women and children, so many of them die anyways. you change. you grow older, you become the youngest knight in camelot, you think it will turn your father's ward's attention to you, she's infatuated with owain, the oaf. you get older, and you meet the most insufferable boy with the most outrageous ears and the most obvious lies. he changes you. morgana becomes more distant. you learn that your mother's life was given for yours, you try to kill your father. the manservant you trust most in the world says that sorcerers lie, you finally understand. you hate sorcery and despise any practitioners of magic from now on. you grow older, you begin to fall in love with your sister's manservant, you understand her infatuation. you grow as a prince, and person, you gain alliances in unlikely places, you don't think you'll marry morgana anymore. you learn your father's ward is your sister, you watch as she usurps the throne. you don't understand. you fight back. you become king. you marry the love of your life. she betrays you with a close friend. you become lost. you forgive her, you trust again. you are fighting your sister. always. you don't even recognize her anymore, you wonder if you ever did. you later learn that magic was never evil, on your deathbed, and that your soulmate had it the whole time. you wonder about your sister. she tries to kill you again. she dies in your best friend's arms and all you can think is how she finally looks peaceful for the first time in forever. you die the same way not too long after.

anyways: morgana and arthur parallel each other so hard it's crazy,,, and the pendragons are a family of self-fulfilling prophecies

like that is your sister/brother and you love them and you hate them and nobody else couldn't possibly get it and they hate you but you will always love them and you are home but you can never go home and -!

[thatlittledandere]

PLEASE talk about xoxo droplets omg. im no thoughts head empty rn but tbh just i wanna hear every opinion you have about it,, i love when people share my Extremely Unknown Special Interest

Every time I think about how to explain the main characters to someone unfamiliar with them I can get through Everett and Shiloh just fine, normal short synopses, but THEN. NATE LAWSON. TRAPS ME FOR HOURS. Nate isn't even my favorite but I'm obsessed with him oh my god. This is gonna have spoilers for his route btw hold on

Like. I met him, and thought, in a true JB fashion, hot damn. He, he's easily the most attractive of the bunch to me shrsvhddh (Everett has so many qualities I love on paper but in practice. It's Nate he's the most handsome) Then I started to observe why he's in the Unfriendable Group and deducted that he's got a stick the size of a log up his ass. Simple enough. But WAIT THERE'S MORE

I started his route PURELY because he was hot shhddvhgd even though I disliked him hard after my first playthrough. (Shiloh. I didn't believe the warnings. F in the chat bois.) He's not JUST a stickler to the rules nooooooo he's a PERFECTIONIST. And a SUPERHUMAN. But HE doesn't see it like that nooooo he thinks he's just the only one who puts in any effort at all. People keep telling him his standards are unreachable but ~obviously~ they're not. If he can do it, so can everyone else! They're just not trying hard enough! And he doesn't try to be perfect, no, that's impossible. He just wants to be the best he can!

But it's never enough. There's always room for improvement, after all. Nate could get a perfect score on a test and still be dissatisfied, because he could have elaborated on that point in his essay more, or his handwriting got too close to the marginalia on one line and that is unprofessional, or he thought on that one multi-choice question longer than he should have if he studied adequately, etc, etc.

And because of this he's constantly stressed the FUCK out. He volunteers when something needs to be done, he helps out teachers, he takes it upon himself to make sure everyone else is ALSO acting properly, he puts at LEAST 100% into EVERYTHING he does, and there's always more to do. He has a part-time job at a warehouse as well and while the physical labor can offer a bit of a break for his brain, you can bet your ASS he doesn't stop for ONE second or stay on his break a MINUTE too long. How the hell does he live like this?

Well. What other choice is there? Things need to be done. They need to be done well. And obviously Nate knows the importance of rest to your health and performance, so he certainly eats and sleeps properly, but see these things are also scheduled and measured and optimized for maximum efficiency. But does he get REST, for REAL? Does he RELAX?

Yes, because he's best friends and roomies (the room is spotless At All Times) with Everett "2kool4skool" Gray (who would shoot me point blank for saying something so uncool about him). I Could write another essay on their dynamic but let's just say they balance each other out. Nate gives Everett direction, Everett gives Nate respite. Phew.

But I'm not done. MORE MORE MORE. Because I started talking about my personal relationship to Nate but got sidetracked by character analysis dghfsfh THE THING IS I disliked him heavily even some time after starting his route, and all the characters absolutely SHINE on their dates. But then. The unthinkable happened.

The class trip.

Now of course I already knew Nate was extremely high strung all of the time, but until that point I'd seen it either as an annoyance or a joke. But the class trip was, like, a disaster to Nate. He's spending more time with the group outside strictly defined areas and activities and therefore feels responsibility over their behavior. Obviously a new environment with new activities gives everyone more opportunities to act up. They have a schedule, but it's not in Nate's control, and he can't help seeing himself as like a vice advisor, and nothing goes exactly as planned or at ALL as planned, and everyone's doing it on PURPOSE his life is already hell and they're doing it to SPITE him or maybe they're just completely unfit to the title of human being that's been forced on these demons, and this is STILL SCHOOL they're still bound by school rules and they should LEARN things here and GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT for HEAVENS sake,

So it's no wonder he breaks down. And it was, it was fucking terrible. Nate's stress and anxiety present as anger most of the time, I didn't... I didn't see him as the type who would cry. Kind of figured Nate was one of those boys who didn't remember the last time they cried but guessed it was somewhere around fourth grade? Heartless of me. I really thought he was like. Pardon the expression. Above such vulnerability.

Of course he's not. He's a person, and a highly sensitive one at that. I guess I hadn't noticed it over what a hardass he is;;; And y'all I felt SO bad. And so awkward. Like. What the fuck do you do in that situation? This wasn't supposed to happen. It felt like we were breaking the script somehow. Like. "I'm not supposed to see this. Why am I seeing this? Do I need to? Fucking christ. Is this allowed? When can I leave. Uh. There there? Can't even pat him on the shoulder. Jesus just kill me"

And that scene changed everything. Nate cried in front of the MC and I could never see him in the same light again. I used to think he was kinda just a tough yet guarded guy and a demanding ass but oh wow he's actually just like. This dude has anxiety. This dude has problems. He's burning out at light speed and has been for the past what? Eight years?? Get him HELP.

And I HAVEN'T EVEN TOUCHED ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PARENTS YET. So they're the type who saw having children as just a step that responsible adults take at some point in their lives, and they were not prepared. And Nate was a difficult child too. Not on purpose, obviously, babies don't do anything on purpose, but he was particularity emotional even as a baby. He's just Like That. So his parents ehm eeeurgh tolerated him for a few years. Just kind of. Pushed through it. And then decided to give up and send him to a boarding school. Like they basically abandoned him there because they couldn't handle him.

And Nate is on hard denial about this. He tells himself it was the reasonable choice and the best for everyone, and he's not wrong, but he's also not ready to face the fact that uh. His parents very much just are not good at parenting and they don't actually know each other at all. "I respect them and they respect me" is how he puts it, and again it's not wrong but also christ he was not truly loved as a child and still isn't. Mommy and daddy hear that his grades are top of the class and he's very mature and responsible and respected by staff and students alike, and they're proud of him, but they do NOT know who he is as a person or how fucking terrible he's actually doing.

Not that Nate admits any of that himself. I can see how it would be difficult to face when you're already juggling fifty glass balls on a glass platter while riding a unicycle on hard stone floor.

Why is NATE is the one I give a private Ted Talk on regularly when none of the jerks are doing much better. He's just for fucks sake he, he's doing so bad. So bad. Maybe it's the incredibly harsh wakeup call I got? I cannot overstate how impactful that one scene was. HE CRIED. HE CRIED IN FRONT OF ANOTHER PERSON? HE BROKE DOWN?? NATE LAWSON HAS WEAKNESSES??? LIKE HE WASN'T JUST DOING ALL THAT FOR THE SAKE OF OBLIGATION OR TO LOOK GOOD ON A RESUME? HE'S REALLY THAT CRUSHED? I wasn't supposed to be there. I know it's a scripted event but I wasn't supposed to see that it feels not allowed. Are you still there? Thank you for reading go to sleep

[countingnothings]

elsevier ending support for mendeley desktop is the final straw that drags me kicking and screaming to zotero, where things are just different enough that i hate them intuitively!! like yes zotero is objectively better for, like, ethical reasons, but i have been using mendeley for over fifteen years. i do not want to change, and, moreover, while i believe in their beliefs i have never met an open-source bro who was anything less than completely insufferable - and the open-source bros on zotero's help forums are somehow even worse.

[captainschaos]

CAPTAIN IT'S ROBIN PLEEEEASE TELL ME ABOUT THE DEATH GAME RPG YOU PUT YOUR FRIENDS THROUGH I LOVE THOSE

ROBIN ROBIN MY DEAR DEAR MUTUAL ROBIN YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF PANDORAN BOX YOU'VE JUST OPENED. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE EXECUTION GAMES

The Execution Games (otherwise known as the exgames, or usually teg) is a series of death games run by yours truly, but more Specifically, is run by the hosts: Killer, Hunter, and Ripper. I'll talk more about them later because I can't ever shut up about them, but the players then include, surprise! me again, but also my dear friends :) who enjoy violence like me :) Teg was truly inspired by my obsession with last life and how badly I wanted to play with my friends, plus my inability to play minecraft at the time and my game design and digital storytelling muses, so you can see those influences. A good handful of us play characters that share names with us (helps that many of us have large hoards of names lol) and so p! is used for players, c! for contestants, the characters actually fighting in the games, and then there are also spectators (s!) who mainly watch, but also Can interact with the playing field in limited ways

As far as what the games actually look like, they go on a weekly basis, with wednesday being Execution Day (or exday), where every contestant must draw a card. The contestant who draws the ace is that week's Executioner, though there can be multiple as people lose lives and also become executioner if they draw the 2 or 3. If you're executioner, you need to kill someone by the end of next exday. Simple as that. If you don't, you become the target of the next week's executioner, and you take double damage from their attacks! :)

Now. the hosts. ohhhhhh the hosts. So the thing about teg is that it's a bit of a meta game. There's an item called your talisman that players have to carry around in real life, and if caught without it they're are consequences for their contestant, and all resources for crafting and whatnot come from photos of real life. So in this nature, the hosts are.. weird. They can talk to the players, for one thing. If we consider Killer (any prns), who was originally the sole host of the games and is their creator, well. a lot of players have talked to Killer directly, and more than once. It's a common occurrence. Killer knows the players, and knows the contestants, and knows the difference between them, because a crucial aspect of teg is this: the contestants are the manifestation of the player's desire to play. The games are violent, and deadly, and lead to heartbreak and destruction and anguish. So of course not every contestant might be happy about playing. But if the player is having a good time? sucks to suck <3 that's what it's all about

As far as the other hosts, they're all siblings, but the other two emerged after Killer. Despite this contradiction, Hunter (she/he/they/it/none) is actually the eldest, and while it doesn't do the hands-on hosting that Killer does, she is responsible for the story and lore of teg, as well as the world itself, the playing field, the arena the contestants find themselves in every games. They actually work with Killer in a sandbox to construct the new playing field between games <3 very sweet. What Isn't so sweet is the youngest bitch Ripper (he/she/they/any). This thing is a bastard. and rude. and generally awful. But Ripper's entire purpose is to be on standby in case of Killer's death, which spawned from a point in time where. uhm. some players were considering trying to kill Killer LMAO so yknow. Ripper can Only host if Killer is dead. which makes him a bit salty LOL

But all of that aside ! The point I touched on about contestants being forced to play even if they don't want to (which a lot don't LOL) is the part I think you'd enjoy as far as "forcing my friends to play death games with me ^_^" since as far as the actual players my dear wondrous friends, they ofc aren't forced to play if they don't want lol, but their contestants are held to their whims <3 and it is the job of me and Killer to keep that locked down YIPPEEEEEEEE!!! ^_^!!!

I'm now going to stop talking before this becomes four billion words LOL. but I love teg. There's actually a secret hidden tegblr that is extremely unfinished and hasn't been touched since the first exgames (we're currently on the fourth) but I've been wanting to revamp, and likely will once I'm back at college ! :D and if you want to hear more, there will certainly be more about it there <3 and also if anyone wants to talk more about teg more it is not hard to get me to talk about it. clearly ASDFLJSABDF. it's been my passion project for a couple years now and I love it dearly <3 so yeah. I love putting my friends through my deathgame rpg ^_^

[compacflt]

hey! seeing your post about iceman and hamilton reminded me of the 1812 au that you had posted about previously - do you mind sharing any of your thoughts on that, specifically Ice & Mav's reactions to the politics of war back then, before the US military and Navy were such huge institutions (in today's standards)? EDTS Ice & Mav are decidedly anti-war (more Ice than Mav I think), but would that same sentiment be true for them back then & how would Ice feel about war hawks like Calhoun & Clay? there's obviously a pretty big role that war plays in forming national identity, especially in early US history, and with external forces like impressment & embargoes & all of the international relations nightmares that came w/ early state building, I'm really interested in how that may have an impact on how Ice and Mav view military service and duty. I would love to read this fic if you're still planning on writing it (really I love to read everything that you write tbh) - also hope you are doing well!! 😊😊

hiya!! i hope you are also doing well!! I am not sure if im ever going to post the 1812 au to be honest—i would really love to but i think it would be so long it would have to be my first priority for a few months, and I’m not sure when I’d have time to do that. but i have it all planned out at least, so maybe we can compare notes.

So here are my notes.

IF i were to complete my 1812 AU… It would not be about Ice at all. Which is how I’d be able to stomach writing about Ice’s death. AND the characters would be very very different from the characters i wrote about in EDTS (i.e. confessed their love for each other way back in the 1770s). And what I want to tackle in this AU is exactly what your ask is about—duty to your fledgling country! Im interested in a version of TGM maverick who had to be away from the love of his life, on his deathbed, to serve the national interests of his country. *questionable* national interests, in TGM’s case, or *forgettable* national interests in the War of 1812’s case. The War of 1812 is sort of America’s forgotten war—its causes were nebulous & hard to rally around/understand today, and there were no real heroes until the end, unless if you count Andrew Jackson as a hero (i really try not to). So this would be a direct attack on the heroism we are presented with in TGM: what is mavericks mission really accomplishing in the grand scheme of things? Using the 1812 war, itself forgotten and largely irrelevant, as a meta backdrop for that question of heroism.

So—this version of Ice & Mav are: actual factual war heroes. Revolutionary war heroes who were genuinely educated & truly believed in the American experiment of representation & freedom from tyranny. Fighting the British 36 years apart. (Something i really really like & will take advantage of… the 36 years between 1776 and 1812 exactly equaling the 36 years between 1986 and 2022… it was meant to be.) They’ve spent their whole lives together in the romantic sense, in a world where they couldn’t live openly together but at a time when sexuality was also understood completely differently. But they have to be apart when Ice is dying because Maverick has been handed a mission, a duty, by the USG that he has to take care of. (Part of the reason I’m stalling on this project is because I don’t really know what that mission would be… something something naval warfare, something something Captain of the “USS Dagger…” but im a better romance writer than an action writer… idk how to come up with those plots at all. And I’m not super well-versed in EARLY naval warfare [I prefer wwii navy stuff] so idk how ships like sailed clippers & schooners etc actually work. That’s a completely different wheelhouse for me & is integral to a story like this, and fundamentally im kind of a lazy person who doesn’t put a lot of effort into research if I don’t have to)

the AU would be written in two parts—the warm summer of youth vs cold winter of old age. Confronting my own fear as an author of getting old & dying, tbh. What does it mean to be a hero and die of old age? Shouldn’t you want to die WHILE being a hero? Part one: 1776-1782 is… ice & maverick falling in love and dealing with goose’s death together and cementing their hero status in American naval history (like they do in the original top gun). Then part 2; 1812/1813… ice is retired from being the first USN commodore/secretary, but he’s dying and maverick has to choose between being with his de facto husband in his last days VERSUS being out at sea, serving his country, but for a war that he (a bit metaphysically, to serve my metaphorical aims) knows will be forgotten. He can be a hero or he can be there for the love of his life but he can’t do both. Duty & sacrifice. Ice persuades him it’s time to let go, maverick goes out to sea, and then ice dies while he’s at sea. & the 1812 war was kind of forgotten, and their love will never be known by history because they were two men, so what was that sacrifice really for? Shouldn’t he have been home with ice?

Which leads me to: I am also slightly interested in an interpretation of the TGM mission as a possible su*cide attempt on mav’s part, post-ice’s death. Trying to die a hero. So, there’s that. That would be in it as well.

Some issues: that’s pretty simple & i submitted a 4k short story with this exact premise (1776 war hero has to choose between one last shot at heroism in 1812 vs staying with his male lover at the end of his life) to one of my writing workshops last semester and they loved it. But, by god, does it get 10x more complicated once you add Bradley to the mix. It’s ALWAYS made it more complicated & it’s why I’ve had so much pain trying to edit EDTS over the last 8 months (as you know). Because LETS PLEASE BE REAL TGM did NOT give me much to go on there. Like the emotional turn that is I think SUPPOSED to happen in the scene where ice and mav talk in TGM—I don’t understand it & I think that scene was only written for fanservice because it serves no purpose in the story and I’m not sure what emotion we’re supposed to take away from it. Maverick says “please send me ice, don’t ask me to send someone else to die,” (is he asking ice’s permission??) and ice DOESNT actually answer that request, doesn’t even acknowledge it; he says, in a COMPLETE AND UTTER NON SEQUITUR, “It’s time to let go.” Maverick says, “yeah I know,” so what does that actually mean? Who is he letting go??? Bradley??? Goose??? ice himself??? Is ice giving mav permission to go or not???? It’s so vague it means absolutely nothing, and i have no idea what ice’s emotional/story purpose in TGM is except to bail mav out of sticky situations and nostalgia purposes, and don’t even get me STARTED on how out-of-character it was for MAVERICK (guy who hates having his papers pulled from the Academy) to pull Bradley’s papers from the Academy in TGM, both of which are why ive struggled so much trying to fit Ice into the mav/Bradley narrative of betrayal & loss etc. And in a two-shot piece where all those years in between are kind of skipped over… idk. I feel like I would sort of have to sacrifice the Bradley storyline for the overarching icemav duty-sacrifice-heroism theme. With WWGATTAI, i was KIND of able to do both, but only after MULTIPLE rounds of very very intense editing & like 50k words of rewrites and even then it’s kind of awkward so… idk. For a quick two-shot like this I’d have to pick. I don’t have the energy to write another 50-100k reinterpreting that story all over again lol

So to answer your question it would be way less about the actual weird politics of the 1812 war and more about providing a place for me to get into mav’s emotions dealing with ice’s death and the historical implications of a mission like that, kind of glossed over in the movie … though this ice & mav are veterans of the XYZ affair / battles with the Tripoli pirates, so that probably affects how they see things… but mostly, duty is still duty & orders are still orders, but sometimes following orders means sacrificing what little time left you have with your family… following the TGM timeline where ice only has about 2 weeks left to live from Mach 9.

So, pros of the 1812 au: lots of the purple prose poetic writing i shamefully really like. Icemav open and honest with each other from the very start ❤️. Dealing with the themes and emotional consequences of ice’s death finally. Focusing only on mav instead of only on ice. Penny & sarah in a lesbian relationship. Some discussion of the cyclical nature of queer history (i.e. we’ve always been here making history and we always will be). Mav finding reasons to live after ice is gone.

Cons of the 1812 au and why I’m hesitant to really get invested in writing it: don’t know much about pre-diesel naval warfare so can’t come up with the technical action elements of the plot & too lazy to do that much research. I have a sailing license, so I know like… knots and rigging and mainsail vs jib/genoa/spinnaker and sloop vs schooner etc, but i do NOT know anything about THAT kind of sailing. Warship sailing, tactics, “dogfighting” equivalents, etc. Also: would probably have to sacrifice the whole “getting Bradley kicked out of the academy-equivalent” storyline, just to make the story less complicated. Not sure how much of the original ice and maverick the story would retain as a result. Also: i know wayyy more about the early national period (1776-1800) than anything after about 1808, but even then the last time i was really into this period of history was my freshman year of high school, so i can’t necessarily claim to know what im talking about when it comes to the intricacies of the early American state (as i think is pretty obvious here). Also too lazy to do that much research.

But, here are some notes/snippets etc if you would like. they’re solidly 6 months old now & unedited & largely unresearched, just throwing words on the wall in writing phase one, but whatever

[pushing500]

Sorry if this has been asked before, or if you've already shown it, but could you share your mod list?

I sure can! However, due to my technological ineptness and inability to figure out how to export a proper fancy crisp mod list, this list has been hand-typed with my own brief and probably unhelpful descriptions of what each mod does (if I can remember or comprehend it, that is).

There are about 180 mods, give or take, so it's a long list. I'll pop it under here for anybody who wants to check them out:

This is in the current load order

Harmony (a framework one I think)

Vanilla Backgrounds Expanded (this is just cool for loading screens etc.)

HugsLib (I think this is also framework one)

JecsTools (I think this is also framework one)

Vanilla Expanded Framework (I'm near-certain this is a framework one, based on the name)

A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics (animal bionics wooo)

LBE’s A Dog Said Easy Patcher (to add bionic compatibility with all the modded animals woooo)

Better ModMismatch Window (for if I do ever feel the need to mess with the modlist)

RT Fuse (I don’t like the zzzzt events)

[GMT] Trading Spot (to stop stupid traders walking in my house)

[NL] Facial Animation - WIP (they make funny faces :3) 

Let’s Have a Cat! (I like cats)

Humanoid Alien Races (Aliens are cool)

Tree People (Continued) (because non-human colonists are awesome)

[ATW] House Decor (for aesthetic purposes)

Little Green Men - Legacy (Aliens are cool)

Vanilla Backstories Expanded (adds new and fun backstories for colonists)

Vanilla Animals Expanded (I insist on having a huge selection of pets)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Royal Animals (more pets heehee)

More Persona Traits (this is why Xanxalbur the persona zeushammer is so cool)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Dryads (more gauranlen tree stuff)

Vanilla Base Generation Expanded (makes enemy bases on caravan trips more fun)

Vanilla Achievements Expanded (sometimes it gives me a serotonin)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Custom Icons (good for xenotypes and biotech stuff)

Dubs Bad Hygiene (bathrooms cool)

Hospitality (easy to make friends with other factions if you run a hotel)

Android Tiers Reforged (heehoo robots cool)

[AP] Lovin’ Reworked (Irwin and Connie are both AWFUL in bed, if you were curious 😳)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Phytokin (magic tree people very fun)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Saurid (dinosaur people wooooo!)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded (a good way to keep Wookshys distracted)

ReGrowth: Core (I don’t remember what this does but the thumbnail is cool and I assume it’s a framework mod)

Vanilla Plants Expanded (more farm stuff hooray!)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - [NL] Facial Animation (why my colonists have such cute lil’ faces)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - More Plants (even MORE farm stuff!!)

Vanilla Persona Weapons Expanded (more skins for persona weapons- another reason Xanxalbur the persona zeushammer is so awesome)

Vanilla Nutrient Paste Expanded (mmmmm yummy goo)

More Descriptive Words and Names (adds more descriptive words and names)

Ebbbs (horrible eldritch goo creatures my beloved)

Floordrawings (adds more floordrawings for kids to draw)

Horse Breeds - Skin Variations (horses very fun!!)

Vanilla Hair Retextured (helps vanilla hair look a bit nicer)

Trait and Backstory Icons (gives traits and backstories cute lil’ icons next to ‘em)

Geological Landforms (cool new map gens)

Biome Transitions (if your map tile is next to a different biome they can mix together at the edges)

Cactacae (Continued) (because non-human colonists are awesome)

NamesGalore (adds new names for people and stuff)

NamesGaloreLatin (adds new names for people and stuff but in Latin this time) 

Character Editor (I wanted to start with at least one animakin colonist)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Caves (I have a pet cave bear now called Witch)

Strong Bridge (makes bridges strong)

Roo’s Dreadlock Hairstyles (Irwin’s hair is from this one)

[SBV] Recreational Drum Use (I like drums and so would my colonists if they had them)

River’s Tribal Shoes (don’t want to get prickles in your feet)

Romance on The Rim (they have to get their daily smooches or they’ll be sad)

Pawn Name Variety (I like them to have lots of different name options)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Architect (adds new building stuff)

Camera+ (for taking better screenshots)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded (expands the cooking)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded (expands the psycasts)

Biomes! Core (the framework for more biomes mods)

Biomes! Islands (in case I wanted to reenact the movie Castaway)

Alpha Animals (even more pets!)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Memes and Structures (lots of cool ideology stuff)

Simple Sidearms (every colonist needs MANY WEAPONS)

Doors Expanded (adds new doors)

A Rimworld of Magic (I don’t use this heaps in the current game but it is very cool)

Anima Gear (I could make stuff out of anima grass if I felt like doing the research for it)

Sexuality Traits (every pawn has a specific sexuality, instead of defaulting to 'straight' unless explicitly stated otherwise)

Vanilla Outposts Expanded (I could go make outpost camps if I wanted)

CM Color Coded Mood Bar (helpful for spotting incoming mental breaks)

Avoid Friendly Fire (you think they would be smart enough to know not to walk in front of the guns but noooo)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded (alcohol woo)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded - Coffees and Teas (coffee and tea woo)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Power (adds new power sources)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids (scary robots)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded (can never have too many weapons)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Medieval (more factions to make friends with)

Giddy Up! Core (framework for riding animals)

Giddy Up! Battle Mounts (ride animals into battle)

Giddy Up! Ride and Roll (ride animals around doing daily tasks)

Giddy Up! Caravans (ride animals on caravan trips)

Megafauna (biiiiiig pets!!)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Succulents (for making the colony look pretty)

Biomes! Prehistoric (dinosaurs :3)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded (I don’t use this a lot but re-reading the description makes me think I should because it looks like a lot of fun)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded - More Lab Stuff (presumably adds “more lab stuff” to the aforementioned mod)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security (more defense stuff)

[FSF] Complex Jobs (Legacy Version) (splits jobs into smaller subsections)

Snap Out! (slap pawns out of their mental breaks)

Wall Light (wall light my beloved)

Standalone Hot Spring (geothermal power boring and ugly, hot spring FAR better use of steam geysers)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Splits and Schisms (the one that meant Wookshys could start his stupid sub-cult)

Allow Tool (easier to forbid and unforbid items)

Minify Everything (sometimes picking up whole sections of brick wall is okay)

Replace Stuff (so I can build stone walls on top of wood walls without un-freezing the freezer, etc.)

Mod Manager (I have lots of mods to manage)

Interaction Bubbles (to see what mean stuff Irwin is saying to his friends each day)

Polyamory Beds (Vanilla Edition) (tempted to use this in all my guest rooms)

Haul to Stack (so they don’t clutter the freezer with individual piles of food instead of one big pile)

Pick Up and Haul (pawns can carry more than one thing at a time)

While You’re Up / PUAH+ (pawns will carry stuff while they’re on their way to and fro)

Giddy Up! Add On: Saddles (saddles don’t do anything they just look nice)

Roo’s Royalty Hairstyles (fancy hair)

Roo’s Accessory Hairstyles (Wendy’s hair was from this mod R.I.P.)

Rainbow’s Hair Mod (I like lots of options)

ResearchPal - Forked (I’ve always played with this mod and it’s hard to adjust without it)

Tilled Soil (it’s not cheating it’s just farming)

VGP Garden Resources (it’s a lovely day on the Rimworld and you are growing uranium in your garden)

More Faction Interaction (Continued) (I wanna be friends with EVERYONE!!)

Rim of Madness - Bones (skulls for the skull throne and all that jazz)

Anthro Race (because non-human colonists are awesome)

Alpha Mythology (adds mythological creatures to the Rimworld)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Laser (adds laser weapons)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Pirates (love me some pirates)

Alpha Biomes (can never have enough biomes)

All The “Vanilla Storytellers Expanded” mods, but I have literally never used them due to my firm standing as a Randy Random purist

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Relics and Artifacts (adds new relics and artifacts for your ideology)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Icons and Symbols (easier to customise your ideology)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Heavy (adds heavy weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Non-Lethal (for when you REALLY wanna recruit someone)

Erin’s Cottage Collection (everything looks so cozy ❤️)

Euglena Framework (idk mate)

Euglena Expanded - Implant (idk mate)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Empire (adds more Empire stuff)

ReGrowth: Tropical (adds new tropical plants and stuff I think)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded (the core bit)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - Variations (I don’t want everything looking so uniform! There’s like twelve different people building the chairs; they’re gonna look different)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded - Xtra Fish (more fish to distract Wookshys)

Vanilla Textures Expanded (makes stuff look sharper and crisper)

Euglena Expanded - Euglena Xenotype (tree people go brrrr)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Props and Decor (more props and decor)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Quickdraw (adds quickdraw weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Coilguns (adds coilguns)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Settlers (like cowboys and stuff I think)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Frontier (weapons for cowboys and stuff)

Vanilla Expanded - Ideology Patches (for patching things up to Ideology I guess)

Vanilla Expanded - Royalty Patches (for patching things up to Royalty I guess)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Spacer (cool spaceship style furniture)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Medical (my hospital is VERY cool)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Tribal (adds more tribal weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Makeshift (adds makeshift weapons)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Sushi (if my colonists weren’t mostly vegetarian we could make sushi with all the fish Wookshys catches)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Endangered (gonna start a conservation project)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Stews (I don’t know I had this one installed. Are vegetarian stews a thing? Probably not)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Art (I’m something of an artist myself)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Farming (for farm furniture I guess)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Production (makes for very nice workshops)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded - Accessories (adds fun utility items)

Vanilla Social Interactions Expanded (new social interactions for fun and interesting storytelling)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Insectoids (bugs. ew.)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Vikings (adds vikings)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Grenades (adds more grenades)

Vanilla Traits Expanded (I love hoarding traits)

Vanilla Events Expanded (more events)

Vanilla Apparell Expanded (more clothes)

Erin’s Cat Overhaul (I like cats)

Vanilla Armour Expanded (adds more armour)

Erin’s Hairstyles - Redux (There’s never enough hairstyle variety)

Rimsenal - Hair Pack (more hairstyles lmao)

Vanilla Hair Expanded (more hair)

Gradient Hair (so your colonists can have frosted tips I guess)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Hats and Rags (adds new ideology clothes)

Tabula Rasa (idk mate)

What’s That Mod? (tells you what mod stuff is from. VERY USEFUL)

LightsOut (pawns turn lights off when not using them)

RPG Style Inventory Revamped (better inventory layout)

RPG Traits+ (more traits haha)

Sand Castles (colonists can build sandcastles for recreation if there happens to be sand around)

Bundle of Traits (give me ALL THE TRAITS)

More Religious Origins (more ideology stuff)

Optimisation: Meats C# Edition (all meat is just “raw meat” unless it’s specifically “human meat” or “insect meat”, so it can all be stacked together easily)

Prisoners Don’t Have Keys (they gotta bash their way out if they want to escape)

Rational Romance 2 (Continued) (more romance-y stuff)

More Ideological Words (just makes random generation a bit easier and more interesting)

Roo’s Glasses Hairstyles (Debby’s hair is from this one)

Tau Armory (my favourite WH40k faction)

Somewhere in here is also the "Toddlers" mod for when Baby Kaznove comes along, but I added it after I'd typed up the whole list, and now I don't know where it fits in. Sorry about that!)

[bookinit02]

…graft?

[nohara-rin-dot-mp3]

the fact that there's barely anyone who's hopped onto the "I'm nothing but an empty shell of a person who desperately needs everyone to perceive me as a kind and thoughtful/perfect girl" Rin bandwagon is ATROCIOUS

THATS SO REAL ANON. ohhh not a single day goes by when i dont think of my girl. like. idk man i think that if fanon can make obito and kks neurotic freaks than we can afford to let rin be a neurotic freak as well <3 there is of course the misogyny. but also like... take my hand... i know a beautiful girl her name is rin she WILL die if anyone ever finds out that she's not a Girl who is Kind but also she hates everyone who dares to fall for her facades. there is SO MUCH WRONG WITH HER!!!! anyways if anyone out there feels like integrating her into stuff... let me know please i love her so bad. and i can only write so much myself.

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

hello i would like to tell you that since i saw your post mentioning the concept of a baf legacy + wayward guide crossover i haven't been able to stop thinking about it could you say more

HI ANON OMG IM THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO YELL ABOUT THIS

okay so i will admit that this isn’t a fully fleshed out idea yet (at the moment it’s mostly ✨vibes✨) but here’s what i’m thinking alright. so artemis and paul get brought back to do wayward guide season 3. they hear about this house on the hill that’s had a long history with weird going ons, and now, 17 or 18 years since the last recorded disturbances, there have been reports of unusual activity once again (since twg is in 2020, id imagine this would be 2021 or 2022, and the final baf legacy ep is set in 2004). ik obviously everything is supposedly set right in the baf legacy finale, but given the type of story it is, i don’t think it’s a stretch to have things start back up again. artemis and paul learn about everything that’s happened, talk to any surviving members of the families, and eventually, after plot reasons i do not know yet, they start to interact with the ghosts of all of those who died in the house. and you kinda get the gist! basically i just really want the schue-horyn twins to have to go and investigate and interact with all of the baf legacy characters because i think it would be fun and i think there’s some sort of story there. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[syn4k]

Hello! You said in your pinned post that we can ask about your inner world. I don't know a whole lot about how that works, but I know inner worlds can be very different, and I was wondering what yours is like.

you can indeed! i was wondering when someone was gonna take us up on that offer. not gonna go into too much detail here for privacy reasons but ok you know how in a lot of mcyt fics the setting is still minecraft but it's this weird half-realism version of minecraft with a lot of the same mechanics and dimensions and monsters and magic systems and stuff? it's like that, but there's also an entire expanded multiverse and a few pantheons floating around

currently, there are several dozen people living in the village immediately surrounding front (where people can come up and talk to people outside the system and even control the body for a bit if they want. we call this "piloting" because it is incredibly similar to having a robot mech like in evangelion i've never seen evangelion), although most of them keep to themselves and come up here quite rarely. i say "people" quite lightly here- there's a lot of nonhumans, including the two permafronters (me [Ray] and Lance)!

it's pretty chill actually. we get a lot of people who wander in and out looking for a place to stay the night or who are escaping rough places. not all of them have clearly defined sources, but those who do 99% of the time come from within headspace itself, because for some reason our brain saw every mcyt we've ever been fixated on and went "what if i ran that through the autism filter and then made it an actual place that you can visit up here" and then did that. this applies to the multiverses as well which means that at any given time there are at least two Pixlriffses and three Xisumas living in the same general area, to name a few (they all find the situation hilarious and get along great).

there's never really a dull moment because after two years of "hey wait a minute there's more people in my me", a lot of inside jokes and silly rivalries have formed. there's also a fully recognized pantheon of deities for the main universe (the one where front is physically located) alone, but that's a whole nother bag of rats

but yeah. headspace my beloved <3