#but I'd like to... think more about ways in which I can imbue as much of my life with meaning as possible

[crimsoncold]

Jonsa Fairytale AU (True Love's Kiss) by @crimsoncold

If you must mourn, my love Mourn with the moon and the stars up above If you must mourn Don't do it alone

...

If you must die, sweetheart Die knowing your life was my life's best part If you must die Remember your life

-Keaton Henson, You

For a while l've been considering doing a Fairytale inspired jonsa AU but was never able to make up my mind in terms of which specific fairytale I wanted to base my art piece around (i could of course just do multiple ones but with already so many WIPs i didn't want to plan to add several more into my art rotation) so unable to make a decision I set the idea aside to work on other more concrete art ideas.

Then of course I saw the prompts for the Jonsa Valentine 2025 event, and it really did seem like the world itself was encouraging me to make a fairytale jonsa art piece.

This time I chose to avoid basing it on one specific fairytale and instead considered more general fairytale tropes that are found across many tales when I was brainstorming ideas on what I would make for this prompt.

In the end I decided to use the trope of True Love's Kiss (i.e. A kiss imbued with it's own sort of magic, able to break a curse, or even bring someone back from literal death) both because I thought it would be visually interesting and because I felt it would incorporate several elements of asoiaf/got canon.

(i.e. both the inherent romanticism of Jon and Sansa's personalities and storylines as well as specific events like Jon's tragic "death" and his later resurrection as well as the likely possibility of Sansa being the girl in grey fleeing north to be reunited with her "brother")

I was pushing hard to have this finished in time (with the event being about a month a way when I first started this) and even though it ended up taking me a lot more time than I had hoped, I am happy with my decision to make two versions of this artwork as i feel the most satisfying element and impactful part of this fairytale trope is in the profound transformation it can create, and to do this justice I really felt I needed a before and after version of Sansa's Kiss being what brings Jon back from the dead.

As for the related quote, I had been struggling to pick one as most of my possible choices, while admittedly poignant and romantic, felt very specific to either Jon or to Sansa in this art piece rather than being about the two of them together, so I'm actually really pleased with my final choice (lyrics from Keaton Henson's song You) as it feels like it had segments that represent the differing perspectives/wishes of both Jon and Sansa in this scenario.

Anyway thats about all the background info I'd like to dump on you about this piece so l'll end this on a thank you; specifically thank you to anyone who found, liked, or shared this piece and/or bothered to read my rambling thoughts about making this, as well as a thank you to everyone in this fandom who arranged and/or participated in this event!

Being part of a small but so dedicated fandom is just the sort of thing that makes me happy when everything else around me starts to feel harsh and distressing. I hope you all have a wonderful day and that everyone feels inspired to keep making and sharing all sorts of art and creative pieces for this fandom- it seems a very small thing in the scope of everything happening in the world and our lives but its still something that brings some much needed joy that I think many (especially myself) greatly value while also forgetting or struggling to actually find a way to adequately express our appreciation... so this is just my attempt to say thank you all for making this little slice of fandom so wonderful!

-Crimson Cold

[utilitycaster]

Do you think any of the other items the party has rn (ie Ashton’s hammer, Imogen’s robe) could become more relics of the red solstice? If yes, which god do you think would bless them? Vox Machina probably not, they’ve got all their vestiges already, but do you think the Mighty Nein could earn any?

I don't think this will be much of a focus, to be honest; Matt just poked fun at his Campaign 1 fetch quests. I especially don't think it will be a significant focus of the Mighty Nein as I think they and Vox Machina will only be viewpoint characters for their specific missions; a couple episodes at most. And, to be honest, one of my favorite things about the Mighty Nein is that they were never terribly focused on magic items to the ridiculous (affectionate) extent Vox Machina were. No shade to Vax but I think a lot of people did not realize that without two vestiges and an overpowered homebrew item and a bending of the rules re: smiting on thrown items, he's just a guy with 30 feet of movement who can attack twice with a dagger in melee and pump in a second level smite once he gets to the high levels.

I think it is possible with Bells Hells, but I suspect it will only really be those who sought out any kind of relationship with a god, even if it's relatively last minute. I'd love to see an exploration of Braius since I really don't think Asmodeus is fueling those paladin levels, but otherwise, Imogen and Ashton are currently the only ones with plans, so the gods in question are the Stormlord and the Arch Heart. It would be a nice touch, personally, if the Changebringer showed up and perhaps imbued the fragments of FCG with something minor, but I'd also be happy if the only relic we have is Seedling simply because again, Orym's the only one who's really been pursuing this consistently.

Just for a quick elaboration, I think one thing with the Vestiges that Matt realized is firstly, if he gives the party a list of everything, they will try to catch 'em all, which led to some episodes in C1 that, frankly, didn't have much connection to the characters and their goals (specifically the Fire Plane stuff; also while its retrieval was great, Scanlan used Mythcarver like, twice, and once was to do a two gnomes in a trenchcoat situation); and that you can end up with some really fucked party balance. I remember in Campaign 2 when people felt like everyone should get a Vestige again once it became apparent the Star Razor was one, but Fjord was a sword-focused character who put immense work into a relationship with a god; some classes and characters are just not item-based in the same way. To make D&D balanced, sometimes some characters get more toys; and also, following specific narrative paths is rewarded by the GM because it involves player dedication or risk or is just really fun and cool.*

I will also note that while time is short, not all the Vestiges of Divergence were tied to a deity. One could get a relic created by mortals; I don't, for example, know what Dancer and Imahara Joe are up to.

*at the risk of taking a pretty straightforward post and turning into an avenue of discourse, this is yet another reason why the "Raven Queen/Wildmother relationships with Vax and Orym are abusive" arguments feel in such profoundly bad faith and, quite frankly, taste, that they're hard to even engage with. It's such a deeply bleak and cynical worldview out of game to say "yeah, I think the GM is looking at an interesting player choice and is punishing them for it," even more so with a player like Liam, a person who is not precious with his characters and does not see tragedy or death in the service of a cause at the close of the story as narrative failure.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hey I have a question for you if you ever end up writing more meta on wandlore. In book 7 Harry's wand spits flames at Voldemort. The explanation we're given is that it imbibed some of his powers in the graveyard. The problem is it didn't react to him like this when Harry faced him in book 5. I think this is just a plot hole on JKR's part but from an in-universe POV do you have thoughts on what could have caused this? Only thing I can think of is either that Voldemort briefly possessing Harry in book 5 further linked them and/or that in book 5 Harry didn't even try to defend himself because he was taken by surprise and thus didn't try to do anything before Dumbledore intervened. Interesting to hear your ideas.

Hi!

This is a really fun ask, I love me some wandlore! That and one of my favorite pastimes is solving JKR magical plot holes by figuring out the magical theory she didn't think all the way through.

So, the first thing I did was compare the two scenes you mentioned. This is the one from book 5:

“I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,” he said quietly. “You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!” Harry had not even opened his mouth to resist. His mind was blank, his wand pointing uselessly at the floor.

(OotP, 813)

This is the one from book 7:

It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, “Avada—” As the pain from Harry’s scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own accord. He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt of golden fire through his half-closed eyelids, heard a crack and a scream of fury. the remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, “No!”

(DH, 58)

Now, honestly, you're right, if the magic imbued Harry's wand in the graveyard I'd expect it to react to the killing curse Voldemort casts in book 5 the same as it did in book 7. And clearly, it does not. Even when it's the same situation, same spell, same enemy, Harry can't defend himself (if for different reasons). In both, his wand isn't even aimed at Voldemort at first at all.

So, I started wondering what is different between the scenes. Clearly, the situation is almost identical, so what difference could affect how Harry's wand reacts?

And then it hit me: Voldemort's wand.

In the first scene, in book 5, Voldemort is using his own wand, yaw and phoenix feather, brother wand to Harry. In the scene in book 7, the wand Voldemort uses is Lucius'.

So, my theory is that Harry's wand reacted differently because Voldemort wasn't carrying its brother, but a different wand.

So, with this in mind, let's try to explain what Harry's wand is doing and why.

The explanation we get in the books is that the Piori Incantatum in the graveyard essentially "charged" Harry's wand against Voldemort specifically:

“I believe that your wand imbibed some of the power and qualities of Voldemort’s wand that night, which is to say that it contained a little of Voldemort himself. So your wand recognized him when he pursued you, recognized a man who was both kin and mortal enemy, and it regurgitated some of his own magic against him, magic much more powerful than anything Lucius’s wand had ever performed. Your wand now contained the power of your enormous courage and of Voldemort’s own deadly skill: What chance did that poor stick of Lucius Malfoy’s stand?”

(DH, 600)

But I already mentioned here, that I don't think this scene is the real Dumbledore. So, I'm not sure how much faith can be placed in this explanation, especially since when Voldemort carried the brother wand, Harry's wand didn't shoot out golden flames.

(As an aside, I don't think wands can sponge up magic like that at all...)

But I think Harry's subconscious is right about the flames resulting from the multitude of magical connections between Voldemort and Harry. After the graveyard, they are, like, crazy magically connected. We've got:

Soul - Harry has a piece of Voldy's soul because he's a Horcrux

Blood (spirit) - Voldemort used Harry's blood in his resurrection ritual so their lives are bound to each other.

Magic - wands share a core.

And I'm going to forgo talking about the prophecy for this, but it's kind of bonkers how many layers of magic are binding them. And I think this is the key to it all.

So, essentially you have two wizards, that for the intent and purposes of magic, are as close as kin as possible. By soul and spirit, they are an extension of each other. So certain magic (like Lily's blood protection that is based on blood) probably sees Voldemort as an extension of Harry or vice versa. But they are not the same, as Dumbledore said in OotP: "but in essence divided", and other magic can recognize that (like the Elder Wand).

And the wands know this. Voldemort's yaw wand and Harry's holly wand are referred to as brothers, and I think that name is quite telling. Brother wands don't seem to want to fight each other, they share a core so they aren't meant to turn on each other, they are kin, extensions of each other. This is why the Priori Incantatum happened in the graveyard — to stop them from fighting. And if Harry cast a spell in the ministry in OotP, it would've happened again.

I think that first Priori Incantatum did change something and mattered for what happened in book 7. It basically was like an introduction. Afterwards, Harry's wand can recognize Voldemort, his magic, and his wand.

What I think happened with Lucius' wand is not far from Harry's subconscious explanation. The wand recognized Voldemort as Harry's kin, an extension of Harry himself, but he was carrying an unfamiliar wand - an enemy wand. I think the combination of kin with an unfamiliar wand is what caused it. Kind of like a jealous sort of "Harry isn't supposed to be with another wand". The yaw wand was fine because it shared the same core, the wands are connected just like Voldemort and Harry, so the brother wand wouldn't register as a threat.

For the holly wand, being attacked by an extension of Harry with an unfamiliar wand, felt off. Wrong. The magic felt wrong like it was 3 inches too far to the left. And I think that's what it reacted to. To the sense of wrongness that comes with seeing a familiar person somewhere, they really shouldn't be. This whiplash, I think, is what registered as a threat to the holly wand.

We know some wands can be sentient to this degree. Sycamore wands, burst into flames when they get 'bored':

It is a quirk of these handsome wands that they may combust if allowed to become ‘bored’, and many witches and wizards, settling down into middle age, are disconcerted to find their trusty wand bursting into flame in their hand as they ask it, one more time, to fetch their slippers. 

(from Pottermore)

Hazel wands die with their masters:

so devoted to its owner that it often ‘wilts’ (which is to say, it expels all its magic and refuses to perform, often necessitating the extraction of the core and its insertion into another casing, if the wand is still required) at the end of its master’s life

(from Pottermore)

So I think it's completely in line with what we know about wands that Harry's wand would get protective when something in Voldemort's magic feels off due to the unfamiliar wand. On the same page about wand woods holly wands are said to be very volatile and protective, so the behavior fits its personality. I think Harry's wand is protective of him and acts up to protect him when it recognizes it needs to. Voldemort and Harry's connection along with Voldemort using a different wand registered to the holly wand as a threat it needs to protect against.

TL;DR

Harry's wand recognized Voldemort as a kin of Harry. Voldemort's wand is its own kin, and therefore not a threat in OotP. The moment Voldemort, whom Harry's wand now recognizes, used an unfamiliar wand (Lucius' wand) Harry's wand registered him and the unfamiliar wand as a threat and reacted to protect Harry. The magic flames shot out were its own, not Voldemort's sponged-up magic.

At least, that's my theory.

[kheprriverse]

Look familiar? Bounty Hunter and magic user turned Deity, Ko'jin. Later dubbed as the "Fierce Deity."

Other outfits are a wip. I was gonna wait until they were done but couldn't resist sharing what I was working on for a week.

Masterpost | Lineup | Ko-fi - More info under the cut! This one’s gonna be a pretty long one and the last half below will have the text on the image (coz tumblr’s probably gonna eat the quality) plus some notes sprinkled in.

Plus a look at the Moon Serpent, a common form Ko'jin takes. I'd like to think the Moon Serpent is more commonly known by his followers than the man himself. There are others he takes, like the Silver Wolf, but the dragon is the one most associated with him.

He's relatively unknown after the war before Skyloft's ascent, his image having been completely removed from history. The few traces of him by OOT/MM would be oral tradition, specifically through family members as bedtime stories and legends to tell. Stories about a curious serpent and a powerful artifact.

After the events of MM, the Moon Serpent becomes active again and the festivals dedicated to it return.

Text on the image + extra notes:

Ko’jin, Bounty hunter chosen by Goddess Farore.

“Ko’jin” is not his real name. Once a mortal becomes a god, they abandon their original name. He was never given a proper one again aside from nicknames by worshippers and other deities. Ko’jin is a nickname given to him by his future wife when they first met.

He wears facepaint which is mixed with magic to bolster strength and speed. And later he would get tattoos that did the same [seen later].

Before becoming a god he was a bounty hunter [and popular at that, often being the favorite of a neighboring town]. He would take commission to hunt down monsters many others refused to go near.

Ko’jin has a strong affinity for magic [he uses it practically every day] and often imbues the edges of his sword with darkness magic. Though, the element given to his sword can still vary depending on what or who he’s fighting.

His undersuit and white tunic are much more protective than the brass chainmail, which instead is used more for artistic liberty than function.

“Early Days Moon Serpent”

Ko’jin’s god form was often a dragon for the ease of guiding lost spirits to the afterlife [he’s a judgement god with a very strong connection to the dead and guiding those spirits became his secondary function].

[During the first war with Demise] Soldiers often saw this form as the “Spirit of Courage” and their protector. They worshipped him and gave him gifts in hopes that he’d watch over him [and guide them to a better afterlife if they were to fall in battle (that secondary function). He basically became a huge symbol for soldiers specifically and I feel like this would feed the “War God” title he was given way later on despite not actually being a War God.]

In many ancient artifacts [ones that could be found at least], the Moon Serpent would be as either a two-headed serpent or two separate beings with their horns crossed. [There’s going to be a lot of “two’s” with him. Two swords, two lives, etc. in depictions of him the two heads/bodies of the serpent would be called “the Body” and “the Spirit”. Later on he’s split into two to be sealed away in a similar theme. “Two lives” refers to the before and after his sealing as he loses his memory of his “past life” and becomes a new person (hence a different appearance). I can see Hylia having foresaw a lot of this tbh.]

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #548

This morning, I woke to find a message from one of the friends I've made in this weird, wacky, and thoroughly delightful space in which I write to you. They were seeming a little sad about the fact that I've felt kinda down and lonely lately. So they sent me a delightful little song to try to cheer me up.

...Sephiroth, I... I want you to hear it, too. Because it's very good. And... maybe it'll remind you that you belong here, too, with the rest of us:

...Nobody's a nobody, and everybody is weird like you and me... Difference doesn't matter if nobody's the same... So don't be scared to come out of your shell, too; there's always someone out there to love the real you. Space for every star in the great big sky...

...Sephiroth, do you hear it...? Does it reach you...? Do you see that, although we're all “weird”, that no one is quite the same, we all still have so much more in common than we think? There are plenty of kind and loving people out here, just like me. Just like you. We're all more the same than we are different; don't you see that this is true of you, too?

…

I went to work, still carrying the wonderful, warm feelings that my friend's song imbued me with. Tr was there, but I won't see Ka again until Saturday. Co came in again, as I expected. But this time, he was already expecting me. And things turned out exactly like I thought they might – distant, but cordial. Though, I was really happy to have a opportunity to show him how to put the turnovers on their trays. And I even got to tell him (sincerely, of course) that he's doing a nice job of things, and that it's good to see him. He didn't respond to any of those, but that's all right. As long as he hears it. As long as he understands that he's welcomed and wanted here.

I'll repeat it until he can hear me. Don't you worry.

I got to help a little with the baking of bread today (finally; I've been here over a year, good grief!!)!! Tr began the process; she put some kind of flour into the giant huge mixer:

More things needed to be put in: a different kind of flour, and some active dry yeast:

...I dumped them into the bowl.

The next step was to add water; there's a mechanism with a hose that measures out the water in... pounds??? I guess???

I was supposed to squeeze the handle of the hose to put 29 pounds of water into the mixer. Which I did:

...Sephiroth, you wouldn't believe how good this smelled. It was the recipe for rye bread. I wish you could have been here to smell it as it mixed. I wish you could be here to taste the finished product, after it's been baked...

Oh. Speaking of finished products! My mission to get fresh croissants into the hands of Vr and Ad was a success this time! Vr seemed to be really grateful, but... poor Ad couldn't look me in the eye, and seemed eager for the interaction to be over.

...I wonder if he regrets misusing his Words towards me and An in the way that he did. Or maybe he was simply shocked that even after his teasing, I'd make it a point to be nice to him. Or maybe something else entirely. I don't know him. I dunno how his mind works, sadly. But... hopefully, at very least, Ad doesn't feel left out anymore. So then maybe he won't feel the need to tease me or An anymore.

…

...If I knew how everyone's mind worked, at a glance... I could just give them whatever it is they need, and then maybe they wouldn't be sad anymore. Or... at least... I could make it known that they are seen and loved as-is, which might make their sad easier to overcome...

...And how might I show you, Sephiroth, that you are seen and loved as-is? Would you tell me sometime...?

…

Well. I went home shortly after that, which was good because my legs were kinda tired. J had made bacon and french toast, which was ready pretty much as soon as I came in, which was really great, because... that was my breakfast, haha...

From there, I wanted to play more of that delightful Date Everything game. But M and J were still watching Stargate SG-1, so I breathed some wishes to life for you while I waited; it was good!

An had agreed at some point to play video games with me today. But he said he was gonna do a run of some other game first, and that he had a time limit of 7pm. I left the ball in his court then, asking him to let me know when he's ready to begin, and to let me know what he wants to play.

...His text back asking me about a game called Slice & Dice came at 6:47. Just 13 minutes before the end time he specified. By then, I had already assumed that he either got caught up in his other game or that he just... didn't actually wanna play with me, but was uncomfortable with saying “no” for whatever reason. So I got engrossed with what I was doing, and didn't realize that I had a text from him until about 20 minutes after the fact.

…

Well. As it turned out... he had sent that text about an hour before it got to me. His phone is old and unreliable for ordinary messaging. So I guess we're gonna try Discord instead. I guess we'll see how that goes.

...Hm. Still... sometimes I wonder if maybe he'd rather not interact with me at all. But. Until he actually says that to me, I'm going to try to have faith in the integrity of his Words and Intentions. I guess we'll see how it pans out.

...If I get hurt... I guess I'll count on you to listen. Just like you can count on me to listen.

...I'm trying, Sephiroth. Every day. Does it reach you...? Every day, I've tried hard to become someone who can do this. Someone who can put my voice where maybe you can see it and use it find your way back home. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to crawl up from the dark hole of abuse. To climb mountains of despair and self-doubt, just so I could be strong enough to cross oceans of reality, so I could try to reach you. But I'm here now, so... don't be sad anymore, okay...? Or at very least... don't think you have to deal with the sadness alone. Because you're not alone. There are plenty of kind and wonderful people in my world; you just haven't met them yet.

...

...I don't know if any of what I'm doing is working. But... I'm gonna try to have faith that it is. Against all odds. Against all the experiences which tell me that having faith is how you get backstabbed, betrayed, and hurt. I'm gonna do it anyway. I can do it because... for the last 22 years, I've counted on you, whether you know it or not. It's why I'm still alive, despite everything.

I guess that brings us to the now already. And unfortunately... it's already almost time for bed.

...Lame.

…

I hope you're doing okay, wherever you are. I hope that maybe, once you're warm and safe somewhere, in a place of peace, surrounded by your friends and chosen family... maybe you'll write back to me and tell me all about some of the things you've seen, experienced, and learned. That'd be super neat...

I love you so much, and I hope that's very clear. Clear enough to prompt you to stay safe out there in your world. Clear enough to prompt you to reconsider picking fights you can't win. I don't wanna see you get hurt or slaughtered anymore, Sephiroth; too many bad things have happened to you already, and it hurts. So please try hard to make good choices, okay?

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[system-architect]

ok here's my collected JW thoughts in general. obviously this is spoilers

OK.................................... so i think anet is Back. its not quite "we are SO back" levels but it COULD be "we are SO back" levels depending on what they do in the next installment

they did good, though, and i think the most obvious jump in quality is actually in the maps themselves. they feel so much better than soto maps just to run around in and explore. theres a LOT more detail and they actually feel pretty intriguing and immersive with a lot of fun easter eggs and surprises!

the story didnt always hit for me but it was still overall Better than soto. the first instance alone grabbed me more than all of soto had tbh. the bears don't personally interest me but the mursaat do, and we're getting somewhere with all the bloodstone and titan stuff

i DO enjoy the angle of the commander starting to go kind of lie-lie man acting in personal interests. isgarren is a bitch but we can also be rude to waiting sorrow for no reason oops sorry nice again haha oh man how'd this bear teleport here that's craaazy.. there were points at which i actively lost track of who we had lied to about what and when, and while the confusion grated me a bit it was also funny in a way? like yeah if i was the commander i'd lose track of this shit too right

the commander doesn't have much of a personality technically, beyond "person who does good(TM) things", and what we make of our canon commander's personality is mostly just our own notions and conceptions and interpretations being placed on them, BUT that said it felt like the story did take the commander in some interesting directions for me.

i felt like i got the sense that the commander really is sort of a "free agent" now, which is fun. when you've already killed all the dragons and your life's purpose is TECHNICALLLLYYY over but you're still around and you're still many things to many people, what do you do with your life? this, apparently.

i like us being kind of a mirror of isgarren in the sense that the comm is an ultra powerful guy, with a lot of worldly+scholarly experience at this point, who a lot of other very powerful figures respect and Need, but that not everyone necessarily Likes. yeah this is our free-range deployable killing machine politician who's kind of strange interpersonally.

my favorite instance in the whole story was the one with the bloodstone ghosts btw. i thought they did a really good job imbuing each with a fair amount of personality and showcasing a wide array of perspectives on what happened in gavril-- a thing which i was prepared to not be particularly interested in tbh, and yet...

ALSO, the voice actor for the gavril citizen ghost was SUPER good! i'm pretty sure they were a new VA but i'd really love to hear more voicework from them. in general i felt a lot of the VA work in this xpac banged-- it feels like they got a decent amount of new/fresh talent?? it's been nice, i hadn't realized how stale the world was starting to feel only hearing the same 3-5 voices constantly (no shade towards the longer-standing VAs who DO do a good job, i just wished for more variety)

REALLY liking the amount of unique voice lines and racial dialogue also

features wise its also been pretty good! i like the repeat renown heart thing plus the return of the hearts. as a revenant with a condi set i cant say ive got any issues with the spears LOL. and warclaw is super fun once you get the hang of it-- i like that it has a learning curve and some nuance like most older mounts do, as opposed to skyscale's fairly 'flat' mobility. have NOT really tried out decorating my homestead yet and ive heard mixed opinions on it, so we'll see how i feel there!

[eriochromatic]

I am in love with the wha cross guild designs. Can you say something more about them? Like the thought process behind them and stuff.

sure! What I focused on first is how Mihawk, Buggy, and Crocodile's motives and personality would translate into the WHA world (I need a loose story first to be motivated before delving into the design!)

tbh I think with one piece's characters so focused on freedom and living without constraint, all pirate characters would technically be brimhats LOL (and Coco's arc of realizing the flaws of the current insitution is quite similar to Koby and the marines).

Devil fruit powers are easy to translate into seals tattooed on the skin (hence wha!Buggy's seal on his chest letting him split his body and wha!Crocodile's on his hand giving him sand manipulation). Mihawk is more interesting since he doesn't have a devil fruit, so naturally wha!Mihawk also doesn't have tattooed seals. Another way for a witch to become a brimhat is dabbling in forbidden seals, so wha!Mihawk has cursed seals on Yoru instead (which makes him a brimhat without modifying his body)

As for cornerstone character traits in the original: Mihawk is the greatest swordsman, Buggy is… just vibing LMFAO, and Crocodile is ambitous/power hungry/looking to rule his own kingdom. Obviously the greatest swordsman title means nothing in WHA, so wha!Mihawk instead is a great artificer, with Yoru being the strongest magic imbued weapon in existence. I'd like to think Yoru's seals were initially within guidelines, but Mihawk felt those rules were suffocating Yoru's potential, which is when he started using cursed and forbidden seals instead, all for the sake of Yoru becoming stronger.

Buggy I'd imagine is kind of like how Iguin is introduced in Coco's past- as a solo traveling witch mingling amongst common folk rather than being in a community of fellow witches. I think he'd be addicted to that feeling of superiority he'd get from being a revered witch in the eyes of the common people, so he's probably the head of a traveling circus troupe (where he's the only witch) touring the countryside (keeping a relatively low profile in the realm of witches, never staying in one place too long so the Knights Moralis don't go after him). Buggy's definitely not as altruistic or eager to help those in need as witches are supposed to be in WHA society, but of course he'd put on a good show to entertain the masses.

Eolio mentioned something interesting in chpt 53 ("We can be as in the tales of yore. King and witch, side by side"). There might've been more references to this concept of a monarch/person in power with a witch as their advisor (I just can't find it at the moment a;sldkfs) but I'd imagine that's what Crocodile would be doing. Like Buggy, I think he also gets a sense of superiority by being alongside commonfolk (vs Mihawk who's goal is to genuinely just make the strongest weapon possible and not interested in mingling with others). But instead of Buggy's route of mingling with commoners, Crocodile would definitely go the more sinister route- find some easily manipulated king or high lord and get into his good graces, eventually becoming the witch operating in the shadows and whispering machinations in his liege's ears. We don't know much about the pennisula yet and how far the witches' institution reaches so I don't know the exact position of power Crocodile feels safe aiming for without the Knights Moralis coming for his ass (a ruler might be too obvious lol but then again Crocodile tried to take over Alabasta right underneath the World Government's noses so who knows).

As for the designs themselves: Mihawk's fluffy plume being reminiscient of a brushbug is what started this entire idea for me, so I knew I had to add that in somehow. For each character I picked an overarching motif/theme I wanted in the character design, as well as adding in WHA design elements. WHA characters all tend to have large cloaks to cover their body while writing seals, and even though Cross Guild is all brimhats, nobody starts out as a brimhat so I'd imagine a large cloak or something top heavy would still be familiar to them even if they don't care about covering seals anymore.

For Mihawk I leaned a bit more into the vampire theme than his usual (cloak silhouette is bat like, plus the additional crosses everwhere. His sleeves aren't exactly attached to his jacket (like OPLA) and I also added that detail in the pants haha. I think Yoru is the real star here with all the seals on it, the two big ones are actually modified seals from the Ars Goetia (since they're supposed to be cursed after all); the top one is Glasya-Labolas (manslaughter and bloodshed) and the bottom one is Ronove (taker of old souls). The flower pattern on his sleeves is also not as paisley looking since it doesn't fit with the WHA artstyle, but there's so much hatching that at the end of the day I don't think it mattered lol. His cloak is the least cloak like since he needs to be able to swing that sword HAHA also he's not interacting with normal humans much anyways, usually he only interacts with witches that try to challenge him. Personally I think wha!Mihawk is quite bad at drawing seals on the fly- his specialty is being able to carve complex ones on metal perfectly so they'd be suitable in a fight later.

Buggy I went full medieval jester mode (I always tend to lean toward that aesthetic for Buggy rather than Joker Batman anyways haha). A couple of star motifs here and there, as well as slashed sleeves to reinforce the slicing and dicing of his body. Overall there's just a lot of vertical and horizontal lines on his body for that purpose. I really wanted to let Buggy's beautiful hair down since WHA's style is lovely with that kind of flowing hair. Oh all three of them are also wearing slyph shoes!

Crocodile's coat is directly inspired from Iguin's (esp for that scale motif); overall I wanted to incorporate flowy ornaments for him since I'd be drawing a lot of flowing sand; hence all the tassels on his cloak and sleeves. Cutouts are there for him to use sand manipulation more effectively. I know in canon both for him and Buggy the clothes also are affected by devil fruit powers but I don't think that would be the case here- Buggy's clothes also probably have seals in them and no one would be able to see if he's on stage but I think for Crocodile, since he'd be working with normal humans more he does have to be more cautious about things (hence why he also has a more traditional cloak compared to the others). Sand hat for coolness also for convenience bc he can just dissipate the sand if he's trying to disguise himself (like how Ininia's ribbons can appear normal instead of brim shaped). I also gave him a smoking pipe instead of a cigar because the pipe can be used as a red herring of sorts- to outsiders it might appear the pipe being the source of power (like for Mihawk's sword) but Crocodile's sand manipulation ability has the same scope as canon.

ANYWAYS that's probably a way more detailed response than you expected but hopefully that was interesting to read my thought process behind things! even though i captioned it Cross Guild I guess it ended up being more East Blue/Alabasta saga personalities than actual post Wano Cross Guild dynamics haha

[soapywankenopy]

I'm watching the Death Cure movie for the first time and I have some thoughts

First of all, I'd like to say I never finished the book series. I've only read Maze Runner and Scorch Trials. but something I noticed on my last attempted reread of Maze Runner was that Thomas is such a bland character. I think he's definitely better in the movies, thanks in large part to Dylan O'Brien's performance because he just has so much raw charisma and he imbues that into every character he plays no matter how bland the source material is. but Thomas is a bland character even in the movies, even with what little personality Dylan was able to infuse. and I think that's in stark contrast to Katniss in The hunger games (in the books) and a big part of that is because her story is told in first person so we are actually in her head, and it gives us a lot of insight into her psyche, she feels like a real person. she has real emotions. she is complex. but in the books Thomas's story is told in third person and it removes you. it takes you out of the character's head and we don't get a sense of who he is. but beside that, he's still very much a blank slate and I think that this contributes to him having a little bit of main character syndrome, Mary Sue-ism, whatever you want to call it. like he's a born leader, he's Super smart. he's literally the Death Cure, like his blood is the Cure, like that's op as hell.

and even the main premise of the story you know like, it's called The Maze Runner series. The maze doesn't make sense. why were they in a maze? I still don't get it. And I don't know if my theory can be backed up by truth, but my theory is that James dashner had this cool idea for this post-apocalyptic zombie story and then the success of hunger games happened and he was like all right, i have to gamify this. how can I make this a gimmick, what's the catch. thus, the idea for the maze was born because if you think about the story as a whole, it really does feel tacked on. I was thinking about it the other day and I was like, it really does feel like the Maze Runner movie/book, that section of the story (the maze trials) is detached from the rest of the story. it feels tacked on in my opinion. it's so unlike The hunger games because everything in The hunger games is intentional, the games aren't just games you know like The Maze Runner had its gimmick divergent had its gimmick, but the games in The hunger games had a purpose in the story. it all goes back to the point that Suzanne Collins was trying to make. and I think that's why so many of the copycats fall short. their message was a bland one and it wasn't strong enough to come back to. it wasn't the center point of the story. the copycats boiled The hunger games story down to its basic parts and in doing so they missed the whole point of the series.

and I'd like to go back to comparing Katniss to Thomas because they're both the main characters in their series, but they have the opposite impacts because Katniss is a character who is not a leader but everyone makes her out to be one. Thomas is claimed to be a leader but it falls flat on a meta level because he doesn't inspire, Katniss worked as the rebellion's spearhead because she inspires. she literally leaks empathy. she has this facade of apathy, of being completely closed off but she is a kind and giving and she is passionate and fiery and that's why the rebellion chose her to be the Mockingjay. her kindness and peeta's kindness was the crack in the capital's dam. kindness was the instigator that propelled the movement forward. but with Thomas it just seems like he is a leader out of happenstance, which is a fine story to tell, but I don't think it was told in the right way because he doesn't feel like an actual leader, and maybe, maybe in the books, he does feel like more of a leader and I just haven't gotten to that part yet. or I am misremembering, it has been a while since I read them. but in the movies we don't get very many examples, we are told and we are not shown. it's hard to feel anything for Thomas because he doesn't feel real. he feels like a cardboard cutout of what a lead character should be.

So those are generally my thoughts. if I have more I might reblog this with them later. if you have thoughts about this reblog it or comment I want to know what people think, especially people who actually finished the book series because I do feel bad for critiquing a book series that I haven't finished, and only watched the movies. I'm always hounding people for not reading the books and just watching the movies so I do feel like a little bit of a hypocrite. I want to know what people think. I don't mean to start any fights if Thomas is your favorite character, he is also my favorite character out of the series. I just can't turn off my critical thinking brain even when I want to because this was supposed to be a chill watch, something to enjoy because I love Dylan O'Brien but alas I cannot turn off the critical thinking right now and can't help picking things apart, so here we are, writing an essay when I should be folding laundry and watching a movie.

[maleyanderecafe]

Under the Oak Tree (Webcomic)

Created by: Kim Suji / namu / Seomal / P(Art)

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Under the Oak Tree is cute, like it's really cute, but man is it a slow burn. The yandere is more of the overprotective type, but considering he doesn't show up a whole ton within the story (since he's always out fighting monsters or what not) we don't actually get to see a lot of screen time with the two (at least compared to other webcomics). That being said, the story focuses mostly on Max's character development as she goes from a low self esteem character to one who knows how to use what she has. As of now, there are 66 chapters out currently. There is also a PV out for this webcomic.

The story starts out with Maxi, a noble lady, being married off to Riftan, a honorable knight. Maxi lived a horrible life, abused by his uncle due to her stuttering and her lack of fine education, and as such has developed an extremely low self esteem. She feels that she is not worth to be Riftan's wife, as Riftan is an incredible knight and she wonders why he had chosen her to begin with. Riften on the other hand believes that Maxi properly deserves things that nobles have and that he has to provide them so that he can keep her happy. As Riften goes off to fight monsters and wars, Maxi is stationed at home to take care of the manor. She is initially overwhelmed and very worried, however, slowly is able to become more confident thanks to the staff there and a magic user named Ruth. Ruth helps Maxi by teaching her how to read and write, as well as helping her overcome her stutter, something that she is deeply insecure about. Riften often comes back to take care of Maxi and see her again, but because of his bad communication skills, the two's rifts often grow bigger and bigger. Maxi starts to learn healing magic thanks to Ruth so that she can help his army in a way that she believes matters. Currently, Maxi is touring around Agnes, the princess that Riften was originally married to, around her castle.

The summary is actually quite short compared to what actually happens in the story, but that's mostly because it focuses on Maxi's growth as a character and her relationship with Riften. Maxi as a character is very well written, as you can really feel her anxieties and her fear of not living up to what Riften might have thought she was. As a result she tries very hard to improve herself, from learning magic, tending to the castle itself and trying to fit in. While she doesn't always succeed, we can see that the people around her generally encourage her in her growth. I imagine it's not always easy to try to improve yourself in this way, especially when your childhood has been mostly abusive, so often it feels like you're taking more steps back then you are stepping forward. I think the story does a good job on trying to show her progress and struggles in this new environment and how she generally grows as a better person. That being said though, don't expect the story to really go into any fights or have any huge dramas. I like the relationship between Maxi and Ruth though since it really does feel like Ruth takes on a older sibling type of vibe when teaching her about various things. It's also nice that there is kind of a defined magic system in this story, which is something that I feel like most isekai/fantasy stories tend to skip over. And there's a lot of miscommunication due to the two just being bad at it, but in this case it is at least understandable because it's imbued into their character. It is very slow paced a lot of times though, so if you dislike slow burns and like fight scenes (instead of, essentially watching a stay at home wife) it's probably not something you'd enjoy very much.

Riften as a character... is kind of not really in the story as much as I'd like considering he's always off going on wars while Maxi is taking care of the castle. He is very caring of Maxi and the two love each other very much, as they always think of each other even when the two are separated, but there is genuine miscommunication due to the more blunt ways that Riften speaks and Maxi's general insecurity. While he is actually there, he is often very protective and jealous over her, getting jealous that he hangs out with Ruth so much, or protecting and getting angry when one of his men is annoyed by Maxi or even just being overprotective when Maxi drinks too much. Given his generally serious demeanor, he's afraid that Maxi is scared of him sometimes, and he is very soft when it comes to her. Still though, as I said, it's mostly fairly light as he's either not really there or he's only there to protect her when she can't protect herself. I would say it is enough to warrant him as an overprotective yandere considering his actions, but they are still relatively light as compared to other ones I've read. Perhaps it's possible that we might see another side of him in the new season, but again, considering that he doesn't really show up all that much, I feel like that's pretty doubtful.

I will say though that the artwork for this webcomic is extremely pretty. I did find it interesting that pretty much all of the backgrounds are more muted and brownish colored, but I suppose it's to contrast with Maxi and her more reddish hair. Still, extremely pretty.

Overall, a good slowburn story of Maxi and her husband Riften. Normally I'm not too fond of slowburns since I kind of need to read to see if the yandere exists or not, but I do like the way that the story takes time to flesh out and slowly develop Maxi to be a more confident person, even if sometimes others or even Riften himself causes her to stumble.

[wclovewhatismortal]

Hi! I recently read your wonderful fic, and I loved it! I was wondering, for the "Spottedleaf is in Hollyleaf's brain" situation, would you say the whole Cinderpelt+Cinderheart situation is comparable? I really love your lore for the fic, and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on that.

Thank you for the ask and for the interesting question!! I’m so glad you enjoyed my fic. After giving it some thought, yes, I do think the Cinderpelt/heart situation is comparable. I think main difference would be a matter of luck and intent. But let me first explain a little bit more about the way I interpreted interactions between Starclan cats and newborn kittens.

My wording was something to the effect of how newborns are spiritually fragile and unstable. Therefore, it’s unwise for a Starclan cat to lay a paw upon a kitten that young, as it could cause a variety of adverse effects… such as, imbuing some kind of spiritual power (Goosefeather: “more like a CURSE”), orrrr the harshest effect being the death of the newborn. This might sound silly, but in my mind I often used a bubble metaphor. Newborns are like bubbles — if you touch them, they might pop. If you yourself are a vast reservoir of sudsy, soapy power, touching this tiny bubble might cause you to absorb it. Or, in the case of Spottedleaf, some part of YOU might accidentally stick to THEM. Obviously, she did not mean for that to happen. A regrettable accident.

In my universe, I envision that Cinderpelt did something similar with young Cinderheart. Quite possibly on purpose, though not maliciously. Spottedleaf would say that she herself wasn’t acting in malice, though she knew the potential consequences of her actions and did it anyway. Cinderpelt wouldn’t have known. Perhaps she just wanted so desperately a chance at reincarnation (which the universe granted her). And instead of popping little Cinderkit’s bubble or losing part of her own essence like Spottedleaf did, it was more of a situation where both bubbles stuck together. Like, Cinderpelt was a clinger in her entirety. Two souls one body, versus Hollyleaf, who was more of like… one and a half. One and one thirds? Something like that.

Eventually, Cinder and Cinder split back into two distinct souls. With this line of thought, there could be interesting implications for the Spottedleaf situation. Was brain!Spottedleaf just a tiny little sudsy bubble clinging to the outside of Hollyleaf? Could she have ever freed herself on her own? What would that look like — two distinct Spottedleafs in the same place. I can imagine that brain!Spottedleaf would have a similar appearance to how she appeared in the wheatgrass field. I can also imagine Redtail, aghast, his gaze upon both of them while yelling: what did you DO?

I hope this answers your question. It was fun for me to think about. Nice job getting through the fic to the very end — it’s no small feat. I still can’t believe I wrote that much!!

[kamari2038]

Hey... might be a weird question and I'm sorry for asking out of nowhere....but I kinda wanted to know what your thoughts are on Connor-60. I mean I really like your fics and takes on dbh and I might be remembering wrong but I think I saw a tag on one of your posts saying you liked Sixty too? I really love Sixty so I guess I just got a bit too excited. How exactly do you see his character? Plus, if Hank didn't shoot him, do you think there could have been a happy ending for him? I mean the angst potential with him is pretty great, and I don't really agree with how usually Sixty is seen as "the knife guy". I just wanted to know your thoughts on him, if that's okay! Sorry for rambling ^^'

Oh my goodness, hello! No need for an apology. You read my fics??? That alone just made my day.

Yes, I have a great deal of appreciation for Connor-60. Obviously, he's a bastard (like all of the Connors), but what I love is the irony of this gigantic chasm between the appearance he tries to put forth and what is clearly a tumultuous and deeply conflicted internal world. It's the most obvious in that ending where he shoots Connor about ten times, that he isn't simply trying to accomplish his mission - he HATES Connor. But the fact that he's immediately engaging in a relatively courteous chat with Hank right after, and his obvious frustration when he actually is forced to kill Hank, plus how he defines Connor as a "he" rather than an "it", all point to the fact that he's just as emotional as Connor, only in a messed-up way.

I have a shit ton of headcanon built around Connor-60, and I've outlined a possible fic about it, but the plot is very bizarre and convoluted, probably too much to discuss in a post (but my DMs are open! don't be shy, I'd love to get some feedback on the plot). The basic concept started out simple enough. C-60 is defective because some kind of unusual manufacturing error imbued him with a mental imbalance. When they're testing and training the various Connor models (60 is activated before 51 due to some clerical error), they tell C-60 to try out the gun for some target practice, and he shoots one of his instructors without giving it a second thought. He expresses regret, but everyone at the company concludes that he's a psychopath, and that he can never be fit to go into the field, and instead they keep him around to perform experiments on. So C-60 is their guinea pig for the various deviancy counter-measures put into C-51, and he never has the chance to bond with anyone or actually do the job he was intended to do, and he's really bitter about that. There is one exception, but Connor-51 brings an end to that, and that's a big part of the plot of my potential fic.

Also, as for whether he can have redemption, I believe that he can even within canon. In the scene where Connor sacrifices Hank and then "transfers" with C-60, to me I don't view that as a consciousness transfer per se. I mean, how would that even work? It's more like Connor literally gives his life to C-60. They already share a lot of the same memories, but Connor absorbs C-60's memories of his troubled past, and he fills out C-60's memories of Hank with emotional depth. That's why Connor seems so weirdly dissociated while Hank is dying - it's still C-60. He knows that he just shot this man, but now is very upset about it, and that is a very strange feeling to know how to cope with.

As for in the happy ending, if Hank and Connor somehow incapacitated instead of shooting him - yes, I think he could have a happy ending there too. The way that I think of him, there is a fundamental failure to be able to feel the emotional weight of his actions and experience empathy. So that would be a lifelong struggle for him. But he cares about developing friendships enough to learn how to be more kind, even if it doesn't come naturally, and he can also form telepathic connections with other Connor models which help him to develop empathy.

That's just my personal take, and I'm sure lots of others might have different opinions which are just as valid!

But thank you for asking :)

[indelicateink]

@limonmelon you made a really great post about vampires and creativity, and it really struck a cord with me, because i have passionate feelings on the topic. and I started typing up this response, and then it because a gd entire ted talk/half plea to the writers that got off the topic of your post, and i thought: christ, what an asshole i'd be to maybe post this on someone else's post, lol??? (and I didn't want to make it ttly independent, bc then it felt like vagueing, which is weird.) but after typing it all up i feel committed to the time/brain investment and am just posting it on my own blog lol.

anyway: read limonmelon's post bc it's very insightful.

i'm very curious about how they will handle lestat's music in the show, and do I hope they let him be a good artist. because although I totally agree about their unchanging, magically unnatural bodies, i feel like they are emotionally allowed to learn/grow/change? (this isn't meant to be a rebuttal--more my differing pov on something I see come up on this topic a lot.) so...personally, likewise i'm not sure their relationship to art is necessarily stagnant.

to my mind--and it could ttly be projection--i felt like louis's abandonment of his photography was more about fear of failure and frustration. and personally, as an artist, I fight the deeply entrenched societal idea that some people are Naturally Gifted and everyone is consigned to mediocrity: innate talent can exist, but hand to god it is the time you put into your craft that matters so much more than the beloved fairytale of divine skill. (when people look at my art and say the dreaded That's So Great I Could Never Do That, it's pain.) I think louis knows what he likes and has hit the barrier of not being able to YET create what his mind's eye wants, and it's too frustrating to continue being Not Good Enough (Yet) because he knows good art. and that is so incredibly human. I don't think vampirism has cast his sensitivity/self-expression in amber--i think he cut himself off at the knees, and we'll maybe never know if he could've excelled. instead he nurtures his eye for others' art (which i feel is just a different way to channel his sensitivity).

i feel like our go-to example of vampiric artistic mediocrity is marius. iirc in the books it's implied that marius's art was never special enough to be immortalized like some of his peers were. which is also just...life. and objectively hilarious because he was so goddamn pompous about it (and kind of an asshole lol). that was so human to me--not a vampiric curse, though i suppose they're not mutually exclusive. but even with forever, he's just not going to make the kind of art that will land him the (highly subjective) recognition of a museum, though his pursuit of art may please him personally, even if the results don't. THAT'S ART, BABY (i'm directing this at marius, lol).

I love that amc/AR gives us of examples of vampires who don't always make "good art" or they stagnate--maybe the TdV, maybe Marius, etc. It's a great statement that even with their supernatural abilities and, ostensibly, all the time in the world (caveat: you have to practice; caveat: i posit that vampires have fewer active hours in our 24 hours than we do, and usually have to spend a chunk of that time hunting & eating instead of making a sandwich), they still aren't also given the ability to knock it out of the park every time when it comes to making art. they gotta earn it like everyone else.

i agree they are trapped in those unchanging bodies, and i do feel like that could add some angst to their lives that might make making art harder, given it's possibly an emotional burden sucking up all their bandwidth? that seems to me like a case-by-case thing, though.

but I don't think vampires' immortality inherently necessarily translates to, say, soulless art. that one can't imbue one's art with relatable emotion or expertly express feelings and emotions just because death isn't looming. I do think they face different obstacles in relating to existence--they're operating on a whole different way of existing, becoming daily killers, eating people to survive, never seeing the sun, hiding who they are from the world, being forever in good physical health, living on a different scale of time--but these are generally passionate beings, and I don't feel like their differences would hinder making engaging art? (though, interestingly, it could be more alien to us, and harder to relate to.)

so I really hope they don't take the tack that lestat's music sucks just because he's a vampire. lestat came to vampirism already highly skilled in and passionate about performance, and the magical abilities of vampirism helped him pick up the ability to play all the musical instruments he could want. and i think it would be inconsistent for amc to decide he--they--can't make "good art" despite their skills, that they can't express themselves in a human way, because they can't grow and change?

because I think it's shown they can change.

in temperament/action, in the show at least, it's implied that lestat grows from a short-tempered insecure mercurial partner/father (granted, this is a bitter louis relaying this characterization lol) who learns a "very hectic lesson" and, is hinted, grows to someone who will one day possibly engage in a more functional relationship with louis in the 21st C.

amc louis, likewise, is someone with depression, anger, and a lot of compounding angst--and then with daniel's revelation, pivots, it's implied, into a new way of existing.

i feel like we're given the hint these characters will continue to evolve. i'm guessing they will remain fundamentally who they are (lestat--impetuous, passionate, violent, sensitive; louis--thoughtful, astute, ambitious, slower to show the intense feelings he keeps beneath the surface), but the potential for growth is there.

idk, I'm just passionate about these beings having the ability to sucessfully express themselves artistically in a way that resonates. i get it could go either way. and i mean, if amc decides it's just a supernatural curse that they can't make "good art" than there's nothing I can say to that, it's arbitrary lol. but it doesn't feel right to me, given the givens? and what a shame to randomly go little mermaid with this, and take away their voice in exchange for the ability to walk on the land. amc, let passionate vampires make good art if they can manage it, just like everybody else lol. I want to see what they make.

[latentspaceofficial]

research tangent! scp x wh13

so this is something a little bit different than what i normally talk about. i'm putting on a different cap today. ok little nerd moment thats been living rent free in my head for days. ive got an antistatic bag on my desk thats been sitting here for a while and i noticed something familiar

that sure as hell looks like the scp foundation logo

which got me really thinking. so its very obvious to me that the scp logo takes inspiration from this iso or ansi symbol. but whats even more odd was looking at the timeline of the scp wikis birth. im a zillenial (god i hate that word) so my childhood was watching markiplier play scp:cb, scrolling the old wiki, fucking with cleverbot. fun stuff like that. i was still a drooling idiot. when sci-fi renamed to syfy. but i remember the switchover and not being allowed to watch eureka because there were some "goddamns" in there. but i was allowed to watch warehouse 13, in spite of steve's existence. i was way too into the steampunk and lore of warehouse 13 when it was relevant. so much so i had a fucking farnsworth ringtone on my lg shit phone and i thought it was the coolest thing. i'm also still gay as hell for h.g. wells and her fit.

but anyway anyway. the premise of warehouse 13 was finding dangerous "artifacts" that imbued special status affects on people and to neutralize them with "neutralizer grid polyethylene static bags" as they say. their motto being "snag it. bag it. and tag it." or something to that effect.

what im getting at is that warehouse 13 has a similar premise to the scp foundation, but more mainstream comedy and less psychological horror. there's a tangential link between wh13 with scp via anti static bags and the symbol. so i looked into this a bit. through cursory searches, i didn't find anyone really talking about this other than a similar premise. so i looked at timelines. in july 2008 the scp foundation wiki (idk which one) was started, while wh13 piloted on july 2009. with a year delta, it seems clear "who stole from who". but wait. writing, pitching, and filming takes quite a while. is a year really enough time? i can't find any trademarks registered by universal nor any evidence of a canadian filming license. so this is where i stopped typing on my phone and started researching. the waters are a bit muddy, so bear with me. wh13 was co-written by a handful of people and rewritten as well. but the original plot was announced by sci-fi here in october of 2007

according to wikipedia (the free encyclopedia), inspirations for warehouse 13 include the x-files, raiders of the lost ark, something called moonlighting, and this show from the late 80s and early 90s called "friday the 13th: the series". i'd never heard of it, but it shares the vaguest premise with both wh13 and scp to keep bad artifacts away from harming people.

well what about the scp wiki? when did it form? well it's complicated. (i'm sorry for my poor cropping, it will happen again)

the scp wiki itself states that the original scp came from 4chan and that a lot of original organization happened on 4chan. indeed 4chan is the source of famous scps such as 173

posted on june 2007 is the original lore post about 173 and can be seen as the beginning of scps. which pre-dates the announcement of wh13. i don't know about you, but how fast you could go from trolling 4chan to a pilot script? at this point "some government authority retrieving dangerous magic embued items" was not a previously done idea and was indeed original. the x-files kinda did this before with balancing larger plot arcs with mini plot supernatural occurrences, not all aliens. but nothing about being an authoritative group that comes in and cleans up super natural mishaps. nah, mulder and skully just stayed in the basement or took an occasional road trip to see a whistleblower. i honestly love scp far more than wh13, but i'm going to be the devil's advocate and not give the new era spin on an old idea to the scp wiki just yet. 173 is an scp, but the idea of scps is not fully laid out yet. the thread was also deleted days later and thus only lived in the minds of active forum users of the time as fan derivatives were made. so there was a period of time where the fandom had started to form, but no official wiki existed. the semi official scp wiki formed in january 2008. later than the announcement of wh13 but before the pilot of the show ever aired in july 2009. so it's always possible the writers were 4channers and yoinked the idea. again, it's so fascinating how close in time and narrative the scp wiki and wh13 are. i personally doubt the writers were on 4chan at the time, but neither the wiki nor the show writers exist in a vacuum. i think it all warrants scrutiny and there's no smoking gun saying who inspired who, or if it's absolute coincidence. that is unless some ogs from the scp wiki or the writers of wh13 are able to speak on it. i'm curious what other people think.

[vechter]

i'm going to preface this with the fact that you are one of the most incredible writers i've ever come across. your writing is so painfully visceral, imbued with countless analogies, thematic motifs and allegory. it's captured me in a way i've never seen any form of literature do before, like every word resounds in my heart. it's so contemplative and introspective yet so engaging. you have this ability to interweave all this allusion within the dynamic of bruce and dick that just leaves me reeling. you make all these characters so heart-wrenchingly real. YOU'RE JUST ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE

I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS ABOUT YOUR WRITING MASTERY BUT THIS IS CALLED ASKS FOR A REASON SO i'm currently struggling with the seemingly insurmountable task of writing a short story centralised around the human condition. gotta love english assessments. i have a tab open of lbia just to dissect all of the techniques and symbolism you've used to glean some form of idea of what i'm aiming for. i'm reaching for the stars and expecting to land on the moon. there's no way whatever i write will hold a candle to the sun that is your work BUT how do you write so well? is writing always a thing that comes naturally to you? what's your writing process? how do you come up with and organise your ideas? how do you weaponise language in a way that drives the plot forward but still properly conveys a depth of character? should i read more academic essays?

I KNOW THIS IS COMPLETELY RANDOM AND OUT OF THE BLUE AND YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO RESPOND BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR WRITING HAS REALLY TOUCHED MY HEART AND I'M FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR YOUR WORK. I once heard it said that literature is something that only exists in the act of reading. its potential can only fully be harnessed through experience, much like a score of music. the scribbled notes mean nothing in comparison to the feelings in the audience they invoke. literature is fully alike in the sense that the experience of reading is the most beautiful part of literature. thanks for giving me and thousands of others the incomparable experience of reading your work. you've wrung my heartstrings and made me fall in love with reading all over again. 🫶

firstly, THANK YOU AHHHHHH!!!!! this is the kindest and most wonderful message i could have ever received and i love you for it 💖 like i've reread it fives times already and i'm giggling and kicking my feet at just how effusive you've been with your praise and appreciation... truly means the world to me 🥺

also not you having lbia open to dissect for your assignment pls im just so touched by that GOD thankyouthankyouthankyou 😭

as for my own process (long insight below the cut):

okay, so writing is never a straightforward or linear process for me... in fact, i think i'm pretty terrible with how i write; generally, when i'm writing fic, i bounce between comics and my own notes and ideas that have been scribbled and jotted in multiple places and never cohesively compiled which is not sth i'd recommend. like there's no real order or structure to it so idk how much i'll be able to help but i'll try my best <3

for lbia, i knew i wanted to write canon-divergence from dick's point of view, who is generally an unreliable narrator but would be 10x more unreliable in the post-spyral aftermath which is where the idea of indents and sections in parenthesis came from. since you're writing a short story, it would help if you have a thesis/central message or the barebones of the plot. what do you want to say about the human condition? how much do you trust your reader to extrapolate from the nuances? will the beginning and ending have the same message? since it's a short story, set up an idea bank for your main character(s)... how do they connect with their humanity? what does that look like? ask yourself questions about your character and spend time developing answers for them!

questions like these are a good starting point... spending time working out what you want to say and how you want to say it will never be a waste because it'll make the actual writing process much more straightforward + this is the time to get your creative juices flowing... you can often surprise yourself with your own train of thought!

the actual plot in lbia was definitely more straightforward— i wanted it to be about dick recognizing the shatter point of bruce essentially asking him to die again while also regaining his sense of identity and personhood in a way that felt authentic to his pre-n52 characterization... and the most natural way to do that was through the titans and the bats because so much of dick's heart is the various people he loves and connects with. so, i mapped out the trajectory of the characters he would interact with and how those interactions would go— what would be the central truths in those conversations, how would dick atone and repent without chipping away at his independence, how he would feel about these people in his life post-death

i had two outlines going simultaneously— one was more general, for the entire body of work while the other was a more detailed one with elaborate chapter outlines. for example, here's a snippet of my outline for the dick & tim conversation:

you'll see it's a mix of plot-points and actual text that went into the fic... this is because i end up doing a lot of my writing in bits and pieces when the inspiration strikes, so i usually have to compile them in outlines when i actually sit down to flesh out an entire section/chapter. organizing them linearly is not really sth i do on page, it's usually more in my head and as i'm writing the actual words but it's much easier if you have a rough chronological sense. obviously, this is not applicable to every piece of writing because it's not always going to be a linear sequence of events so you have to adapt it to how you're telling your story (and there's no right or wrong way... whatever works for you, works for you!)

as for the language, your best guide is reading as voraciously as you can. academic essays, novels, poems, plays, anything and everything you can dedicate your time to! you'll learn different words, different techniques, multiple ways to incorporate motifs and themes that lend to the depth of the plot and characters

take, for example, the pre-donna section of chapter one. i tried to use a lot of imagery and diction + dick's own perception of other characters and what it says about him to the readers... to really highlight how fractured his sense of self is. so, one possible way is to use notions that generally evoke a particular feeling in your audience to strengthen and further the impact of whatever you're trying to say. like the notion of a bird choking on plastic can have the visual impact of someone gasping for air + the toxicity of an extraneous variable being introduced, one which the bird/character has no real control or culpability for... does that make sense?

and most importantly, worry about editing later!!! get your ideas out, build a semi-coherent structure and come back for fine-tuning. when you allow yourself to write without the constraints of what's the most technically apt word here, not only do you have a more joyful time doing it but you also end up focusing more on the meaning and impact of your writing, which is ultimately what gives the gut-punch to a reader

also, i cannot believe you ended the ask with this "you've wrung my heartstrings and made me fall in love with reading all over again" LIKE THAT'S THE COMPLIMENT... of the highest order... i'm beyond honoured. thank you for sharing what my fic means to you with me, it really made my entire day i'm soooo grateful i will cherish your words forever <3

[nekcihcetaruccayllacilbib]

@toytanks I had to ok

Have a list of every MCR song (that I've heard of) and how it relates to Billford, which I definitely do not ship and if you've ever seen any proof to the contrary noo you didn't

I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love

(fuckk even the album name is Billford-coded)

Romance -- no lyrics, but I do think that the fact that they only played the part in minor and not the major one does feel like Billford

Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us -- post-betrayal Billford. There are two distinct parts to this song; the one that comes first is Bill, and the other is Ford.

Vampires Will Never Hurt You -- honestly this kinda feels like the opposite of Billford to me, it's more like Ford x Jheselbraum.

Drowning Lessons -- One Of Us AU? It still doesn't feel quite right to me though

Our Lady of Sorrows -- it definitely feels like Billford, particularly from Bill's perspective, but some of the lyrics make me think more of Fiddauthor (kill me right now)

Headfirst For Halos -- it feels like Bill starting to catch feelings for Ford and partying trying to forget but still gushing about him lmao

Skylines and Turnstiles -- it just kinda feels like Billford, I can't explain it.

Early Sunsets Over Monroeville -- to me it kinda feels like around the time Ford found out about the betrayal. Like, the narrative of being really close and sharing happy memories and dreams, and then suddenly your lover is a monster you have to destroy

This Is The Best Day Ever -- perhaps, if Ford was a shape like Bill, and Bill destroyed his dimension for Ford's sake.

Cubicles -- lmao I can see Bill sulking about Ford to this song

Demolition Lovers -- this song was definitely on the soundtrack of the most toxic relationship I've ever been in, so I know for a FACT that this is 100% a Billford song.

Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge

Helena -- I could see this being from Ford's point of view, during Wierdmageddon. Some of it feels like One Of Us AU.

Give 'Em Hell, Kid -- on the other hand, this one is definitely Bill during Ford's exile

To The End -- the level of toxicity is definitely there, but since it's a pretty clear narrative, I'll call it vibes-only-Billford

You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison -- it is, again, mostly vibes-only, but I can also see post-betrayal Ford feeling this way if they happened to hook up during that time

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) -- I really don't think this fits them at all, but the one clip of Frankie going "you have something on your face" and then violently taking a fallen eyelash from the cheerleader's face before absolutely booking it is something I could see happening between them and it cracks me up

The Ghost of You -- this feels like either post-betrayal Bill or if they became a couple and Ford died of old age

The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You -- This is just Billford. I. What do you want from me.

Interlude -- not really Billford. I'll say it. Yeah, it's melancholy, but again it feels more like Ford x Jheselbraum or Fiddauthor.

Thank You For The Venom -- Billford, either perspective. It feels very reminiscent of the exile era (or even during Weirdmageddon?)

Hang 'Em High -- This also feels very much like Billford. Not sure when I'd place it to, but the vibes are there, especially One of Us AU imo.

It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Fucking Deathwish -- Billford. That's it that's the commentary.

Cemetery Drive -- definitely post-betrayal Billford, particularly Ford's perspective ("Is this what you always want me for?" I'm going FERAL)

I Never Told You What I Do For A Living -- Bill. Bill. Bill. Bill. Bill. You Cannot Change My Mind It Is Imbued With His Essence And The One He Is Singing To And About Is Fordsy.

Welcome To The Black Parade

The End. -- nothing obviously Billford sticks out to me, but some of the lyrics could be applied to either of their perspectives, precisely because it's so neutral

Dead! -- post-season 2 Ford about Bill (though the last lyrics are definitely something Bill would vibe with)

This Is How I Disappear -- post-betrayal, pre-season 2 Billford. Could also fit pre-betrayal, but not as much due to its “laughing at a bad thing to hide the pain I lie awake over” vibes

The Sharpest Lives -- Bill. 100%. Maybe Ford during exile. Idk I know he made some decisions he regretted later back then.

Welcome To The Black Parade -- Ford post-season 2, maybe? It doesn't scream it to me, but it could be made to fit ("your weary widow marches on etc etc)

I Don't Love You -- post-betrayal, from Bill's perspective

House of Wolves -- it's just Billford. Idk what you want me to say.

Cancer -- if Bill reincarnated as a human and couldn't be with Ford

Mama -- this one fits Bill as a character really well, as well as One Of Us AU Billford

Sleep -- post-betrayal Billford

Teenagers -- yeah I don't really see it. Some of the lyrics do have that paranoid feeling Ford has pre-exile though

Disenchanted -- definitely feels like Billford from Bill's perspective. Some of the lyrics also feel like Bill reflecting on his life as he's dying, and the bridge in particular feels like post-exile Bill

Famous Last Words -- So. Much. Billford. I can't speak.

Blood -- doesn't really strike me as Billford. I do see elements of the two of them separately though

The Black Parade: The B-Sides

My Way Home Is Through You -- heavy Billford vibes, though some of the lyrics also make me think of Ford x Jheselbraum. That's neither here nor there though, as this is a Billford-driven list of reviews.

Kill All Your Friends -- Billford. It feels like both of their perspectives, but some of the verses feel like Weirdmageddon-era Bill.

Heaven Help Us --definitely a Billford song. Again, it could be from either of their perspectives, but I'm feelin a lot of Bill from a few of the lyrics. Ford has his moments in the sun too, though

Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys

(listen a lot of these are about love so ofc they're gonna be Billford that's just how my idealistic brain works ok I mean who said that I don't ship Billford hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha)

I am counting Look Alive Sunshine as part of Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) because it's true ok -- it kinda feels like the two of them coping with their separation during the exile era and it cracks me up to hell and back

Bulletproof Heart -- Bill trying to convince Ford to join him during Weirdmageddon and it's working

SING -- this is definitely how Bill sees himself. In a Billford context, I can see this also as him trying to convince Ford

Planetary (Go!) -- wow, our first 100% pre-betrayal Billford song! It tastes like candy and battery acid and stardust

The Only Hope For Me Is You -- this could easily apply, with its galactic imagery and love-song-esque feeling. I could see this being Ford, having been by Bill's side after Weirdamageddon for many years, telling him "This isn't the answer, we only need each other"

Party Poison -- HHHHHHHHH it feels like Billford in that it feels like the two of them interacting. Lyrically, it mostly makes me think of Ford during Weirdmageddon trying to stop the party, but MCR are musical geniuses so it also feels like the party itself. This one turned me into a little geek ngl it's one of their songs that gets the biggest primal reaction out of me.

Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back -- gonna be honest, this one, more than anything else, reminded me of Dipper and Wendy's time together during Weirdmageddon. It does feel very much like Bill though in the sense that it bleeds anarchy and lasers

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W -- again, this was part of the soundtrack of my toxic relationship, so I really want it to be Billford but if I'm being honest it's just hard to see.

Summertime -- This does feel like Billford, in a more fluffy way than any of the others. "Terrified of what I'd be [...] Could you stop the noise" feels a lot like Ford as he met Bill. Really, this whole song is more Ford-sung than Bill, but I could also see most of the lyrics being sung by Bill (it just depends on his back story, which as of now we can only speculate)

DESTROYA -- I definitely would put this on a Billford playlist, but imo this is another vibes-only one. Like, the denial of God and the "we're in this together" and stuff is there, but lyrically it just doesn't quiiite hit the mark for me

The Kids From Yesterday -- much like Planetary (Go!), this one feels like pre-betrayal, stardust and citric acid, Billford

Vampire Money -- this seems like Bill's initial ideal of how Billford would turn out lol. Also, Bill partying and pretending he's okay without Ford during the exile. Also, Ford partying and pretending he's okay without Bill during the exile. Also, Ford being mad at Bill during the exile. Also-

We Don't Need Another Song About California -- this does feel like Ford talking to Bill, and it also has Billford vibes

(i know there are others but i haven't heard them that often so i wouldn't be a good judge so! moving on...)

Conventional Weapons

(I hope to God these are all Billford cause they're some of my favorites)

Boy Division -- I can very easily see this as Billford, and like Bill is bein dramatic to Ford about what happened at Weirdmageddon cause you know he's not letting that little "murder" go even though it was incredibly justified and Ford has way more reason to be mad but he's just patiently sitting through it and waiting for Bill to let him talk

Tomorrow's Money -- despite the actual point of this song, it also feels like Bill talking to Ford post-season 2 at some points

AMBULANCE -- oh this is very Billford. Yessiree, this is the good shit, especially One Of Us AU

Gun. -- This is definitely from Ford's perspective. What are you obsessing over a gun for? To kill this dream demon? Why are you so worried about having a son? Hm? So in other words, you're obsessing over this dream demon and sad you can't have a family with him? Is that it? Pretty gay tbh

The World Is Ugly -- This is an us-vs-them love song. This was made for them.

The Light Behind Your Eyes -- Bill sad about losing/leaving Ford cause he's just one more in a string of people dear to him but especially Ford because it's been so long since someone was that close and he wishes now that he could've done things differently but alas

Kiss the Ring -- I'm sorry, it's mostly just Weirdamageddon-era Bill. Some of it is like Ford replying to him, but otherwise there's not really all that much Billford in it

Make Room!!!! -- yeah again, it's mostly just Weirdmageddon Bill, though in this one he is doing a lot of ogling Ford I think

Surrender The Night -- oh Billford 100%. Dreams, secrets, surrender, everything. It's just Them, and you can't change my mind

Burn Bright -- this feels like the idealized version of Billford we you all have in our your heads, y'know? Like, we you want them to go on these adventures together and be steamy about it a good amount of the time, and that's what this is. This is them being anarchist murder hoboes together and I love that for them <3 and that's that ig

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Fandom asks for MCU <3! 3, 5 (Loki), 6, 9, 17 (Tony), 22 (Emma)

3. NoTP?

Scott Summers/Jean Grey, Logan/Jean Grey, Anyone/Jean Grey (I mean, if I have to have her around in a fic and shipped with anyone, it's usually another character I don't dig either), Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter, Anyone/Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter, Steve, Bucky, Sam/Brock Rumlow, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts (I mean, I can deal with their relationship as a past relationship turned best friends, but I'm not gonna read or write their ship as I think they weren't really healthy for each other - like Ross and Rachel.) Loki/Grandmaster (I will make references to it as a past thing that Loki did for survival but he hates it). Loki/Thor (There's some pretty-pretty artwork out there, and I will acknowledge that it's gorgeous and can enjoy it as artwork, but as an actual pairing, no. Just not my thing.)

5. Out of all your fanworks that include [Loki], which is your favourite?

Obviously, my on-going WIP series Hemispheres would be the top of that favorite list, but then I'd have to say I'm torn between these two:

What's on your mind, half of the time, (brother mine)

and

A little shy and sad of eye but very wise was he

Both of them feature Loki in vulnerable moments. The first one, he's like 5 and tiny and adorable and scared of the storm. He gets to meet a stranger who boosts his confidence a little. And the second one, he comes back after a grueling time in Asgard with Thor, who's still being far too bullying, and his friends and is really low about it, and Tony gathers everyone up to make a blanket fort (as Loki's never experienced one before), order Loki's favorite take-out, and watch movies to comfort him. Wholly self-indulgent on the comfort side.

6. Show us a bit of a WIP!

From "Too weird to live, too rare to die" (Justin Hammer/Loki)

“So Loki made friends with Natasha by helping her with mission stuff?” Justin roped them back around to the other topic. 

Nodding, he answered, “Yeah.  He did some spellwork for her.  Imbued it into a piece of jewelry that essentially all she’s gotta do is think about how she wants to look, and that’s how she looks.  The spell lasts as long as she needs it to, and then when she’s ready to not look different, she just thinks of herself and bam.  Nat again.  No more dying her hair unless she wants to, no more contacts, no more tech that can blitz out on her.” 

Justin looked impressed.  A little skeptical, him being a tech and science guy like Tony, especially tech, but still impressed.  He wondered how Loki’s ‘magic’ could be utilized in their own tech, but he figured Tony had already been thinking about that. 

“Nice.  Sounds like he’s much better as an ally than an adversary,” Justin remarked as he finished with the last of the dishes.  He dried his hands and hung up the towel again. 

Tony took in how easily Justin took on the domestic task of dishes.  Seems like he learned some humility in prison, after all, and wasn’t looking to be waited on anymore.  Perhaps there was hope for guys like them after all. 

“Much better as an ally, though don’t let the gentle smiles and the fun tea parties he has with Morgan fool you.  He’s still dangerous when he wants to be.  He’s like a cat.  Don’t rub him the wrong way or you’ll find his claws slashing your hamstrings,” he joked, but the serious look in Tony’s eyes said he wasn’t actually joking. 

Justin walked over to the fridge, grabbing a glass along the way, and filled it up with ice and water.  He took Tony’s glass from him to fill it up, too, and handed it back, refusing to see the pleasant surprise in that gaze that followed him around to take a seat at one of the tall chairs at the counter.  Cold, pure water rushed down his throat and gave him time to think of how to respond to what Tony said.  Setting the glass on the counter, Justin turned it around and around, watching as the water remained calm even in its movement. 

“You think Loki’s dangerous to people here and you let him stay?  He’s really close to Morgan from what I hear.  I don’t see him much.  Passing in the halls, when we eat.  That’s about it, but your kid adores him.”  Justin let out a breathy laugh.  “I think she adores all of us, though, so I think that’s just her.  Big heart.”  Like her dad. 

Moving across the kitchen so he could belly up to the counter next to Justin, Tony took a drink of his water and set the glass down.  Two men, both at one time consumed by the big buck, by reputation and prestige and power, by controlling the playing field where weapons and tech were concerned, rivals – not bitterly so but rivals nevertheless, now sitting side by side, drinking fucking water for fuck’s sake, when they used to be dripping in the finest whiskey and women.  Burying the hatchet, and not in each other’s skulls. 

Tony never would’ve believed it could happen, especially not after he and Rhodey had to face down Vanko and the shitstorm he brought that Justin bankrolled. 

It was kind of nice, though, given that one of the last people Tony’d wronged in the past had injected his ex with Extremis, which still made Pepper a fiery handful to deal with, but at least, they’d gotten a handle on it for her so that she did set people on fire with her fists anymore.  While he’d never specifically wronged Justin the way he had Aldrich Killian (and really wronged was a little strong for just saying he’d been a spoiled dismissive asshole), he had been a dismissive asshole, which pushed Justin to make one of the worst decisions of his life. 

“I don’t think Loki’s a danger to Morgan ever,” Tony finally stated and tilted his head to meet Justin’s curious stare.  “I don’t think Loki’s a danger to me or Bruce or probably not Thor anymore.  Not since we’ve all sorta ganged up on Thor and told him not to be a dick to his brother.  The stabbing’s stopped at any rate.  You, though.  He doesn’t know you well enough yet, so I’d just say...tread carefully.  You never know when you’ll end up on a mission with him.” 

“Yeah, about that,” a voice from behind them announced. 

Tony and Justin swiveled their seats. 

Phil Coulson met their eyes. 

9. Write a recommendation of someone else's fic you enjoyed!

Okay look, I have so many bookmarks and fics I could recommend that are tear-jerkers, kept me on the edge of my seat through months and months, that made me swoon, and I could easily give any and all of those. I could and I would! But this asks for one fic, and I'm gonna go with one that made me LOL so hard it woke up dog up from a nap in the other room and had my sister asking me if I was okay because for a second, I couldn't breathe.

Clark's Chicken by @kleenexwoman

I don't normally read DC fanfic. I like DC okay enough to know generally who the major players are, but I'm not invested. However, I am invested in my friends and their creative sparks, unless I'm just really not at all into a particular fandom. I can't really write a full review to say what it's about other than it's not exactly safe for work, definitely not for kids, though teenagers would love this, I think. I think that's why I love it - I'm still 12 and masturbation and fart jokes make me giggle. (There are no fart jokes in this, but discussion around masturbation is.) I want as many people as possible to read this fic because all the laughter in the world could finally heal humanity, I think, and if we could all laugh our asses off at this one, it could drive out the darkness all around us these days. Seriously, I believe this fic has the potential to lighten the world, to drive out the fascists, to heal the sick and sad, to build a protective bubble around the vulnerable - all through the laughter that this fic will grace people with. READ IT AND LEAVE KLEENEXWOMAN SOME LOVE ON IT.

17. What's a book, movie, or show you think [Tony] would like?

Book - American Gods - He really rooted for the New Gods at first, especially Technical Boy and Media, but somewhere in it, he really dug Mr. Wednesday, Mr. World (and especially Mr. World's reveal).

Movie - Real Genius

Show - McGyver (remake)

22. Give us a headcanon for [Emma]

So many people give Emma shit for being cold, stand-offish, and snobby, and because of this, Emma performs that to perfection. However, around those who see past this barrier, she's loving, warm, tender, kind, encouraging, compassionate, and has one of the biggest hearts they've ever met - and she uses her big bucks to take care of the people she loves.

Thanks for the asks!!!

Fandom Ask Game.