#does it mean the wilderness is a good character in this dream?..

[beastsovrevelation]

I've had a dream about Yellowjackets characters a couple of nights ago. I don't remember most of it, I just remember it was about Yellowjackets. I vaguely recall one part, the adult Yellowjackets were in a city, no idea where, and the Wilderness sent Jackie to them (she still looked teenaged, and I suppose could've been a demigod of sorts, like in my idea). They were in a building, they went downstairs, maybe to some sort of a lounge, I'm not sure... Jackie didn't like it in the city, because outside was too loud, and she couldn't hear sounds of nature, and inside, it was too quiet. She said the Wilderness isn't as powerful where they currently are, as she is around the crash site. For some reason, it was a bad thing... Very strange. 🙃

[nataliesscatorccio]

Dead cabin guy and his technicolor dreamcoat have haunted me since the wardrobe reveal in season two, and today im going to make it everyone's problem.

Travis wears the coat first. He and Natalie take the blessing and go out to look for Javi. Travis hallucinates (prophesies?) that Javi is dead and buried beneath the snow, but Natalie shows him it's only a fox. Travis finds the strange, mossy tree stump. The next day Travis has strong feelings about which direction is best to search for Javi in, and we don't see more of him until Nat reveals the bloody pants. Not that weird, all things considered. New season, new wardrobe additions. Hiking on a caloric deficit with PTSD, you'll probably hallucinate. Pretty standard stuff.

Then Nat wears the coat. She takes it to lay Jackie's bones to rest at the crash site, and while she wears it she sees (hallucinates? prophesies? I'm not sure!) the white moose that they'll later lose to the lake (ergo the hunt, ergo Javi dies for real but more on that later).

We get to Old Wounds, the hunting competition, and Lottie wears the coat now. You see where I'm going with this but just to be thorough: she enters the realm of death dreams, talks with Laura Lee, almost freezes to death.

Episode five. Melissa wears the coat. Maybe that's not important! Maybe it's just to show that they all share the wardrobe, and that the side characters are as equally All In This Together as the main characters are. Or it could mean something that a peripheral character, wearing important wardrobe, framed in antlers (not unlike Travis in 2.01), has the line "maybe he did die, and that's his ghost." It's a little suspicious, and at this point starts to feel like a pattern.

Who wears it next, who wore it best!? That's right baby, it's Paul! For his dreamworld drifter, hallucination hunk Coach Ben Scott. Nicholas Urfe himself. Ben spends almost all of his time in a dream, until *drumroll please* Paul, very pointedly, takes the coat and walks out the door. "Where do you think you are, Ben?" he puts the coat on. "You had to have known you couldn't stay here forever. [...] What matters now is that you aren't welcome here anymore." Following Paul means committing to death (to dream), and until interruption that's the choice Ben makes. Because letting Paul (and the coat) go would mean committing entirely to reality.

Of course, the pièce de résistance is something I didn't even notice until I went looking for it. The first dozen times I watched, I thought that after Lottie's beating Shauna brought her a blanket. "Lottie's cold." But she doesn't. She brings her the coat. Lottie is laying with it when, in a fever dream, she witnesses/hallucinates/prophesies parts of the hunt.

It's there again (on the back of the chair) when she sits by the fire and speaks for the wilderness, appointing Nat their queen. Ben watches, having woken from the dream himself, as they all bow to Natalie and leave reality behind for good.

Of course, there are a lot of times when characters hallucinate strange things in the cabin while not wearing the coat, because they're all starving to death and traumatized. Mari. Shauna. Akilah. But in addition to that, it seems like a pattern worth noting that in each instance where a character wears the technicolor coat, the line between the real and the imagined seems to blur with more ease. Does dead cabin guy's technicolor dreamcoat help the Yellowjackets connect to the dream realm?

I'll be brief here with the biblical parallel: blah blah Joseph is the favorite son (you were always its favorite), his father gives him a technicolor coat (they're nothing special, they don't change color in the cold or anything). blah blah Joseph starts having prophetic dreams etc etc his jealous brothers throw Joseph down a pit (the wilderness chose) and bring his bloodstained coat back as false proof of his death (hanging on a branch. a couple miles back). You get my drift.

Does it mean anything? Who knows. But in a series where wardrobe is such an integral part of the storytelling, it felt worth paying attention to.

[punkpandapatrixk]

🪷Sacred Lotus Within You ♦︎ Timeless Pick A Card

‘If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than what you are now.’

‘I don’t wanna be more! I like who I am.’

‘You don’t even know who you are.’

‘What do you— Of course I do; I’m the Dragon Warrior!’

‘And what exactly does that mean—Dragon Warrior?’

—  Po and Shifu’s conversation from Kung Fu Panda 3

SONG: Pure Imagination by Gene Wilder

MOVIE: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 1] [Part 2]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

A hard Life is not always a divine punishment of sort⛈More often than not, the Universe’s most advanced Souls choose to be born—as Humans—into much sorrow and a perceived sense of limitation just for the joy of experiencing a personal breakthrough out of a cycle of—both—good and bad Karma🍄

Seen from a Soul’s perspective, all events in this mortal world are just drama. drama. drama~🎭It’s so exciting to co-Create massive stories with other Souls in this theatre of the Universe🎪This Play in itself, a spiritual evolution of sort for all beings of Love and Light🩰

This world is at best the dream of a Butterfly🦋Have fun; and have faith that in time all things bloom magnificently like a Sacred Lotus emerging from the mud🪷Ultimately, all of us, we bring with us only memories of our lifetimes when we are done playing our roles in this Grand Experiment of a Cosmic Drama💫

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – Peace Maker

VIBE: Master Shifu asking Po to teach him inner peace

seeds of beauty in you – 10 of Pentacles Rx

Encoded in your DNA is the very gift of healing itself. You were born into this world of stupid carrying seeds of peace-making. Yup, you were the kid who was always able to tell when a grownup was lying. Like, OMG, so disrespectful…they think I can’t see through such obvious lies? In fact, too many things were obvious to you because you are gifted with a keen ability of observation. We’re talking superhuman-level observation, baby~

With that, the world around you was often terribly dull. You’re definitely the type that wants to travel and see the world for yourself. Wanting to see what other people of different nations and races, customs and cultures, even religions, have to share about what this Life is all about~ You had A LOT of questions!

Alas… You soon realised that most people’s perceptions, priorities, and overall ways of life are low-quality at best. Your interactions with people, your observations of them, gave you almost nothing but disdain. People…are not intelligent enough. But more disturbing still…people are not noble enough in their pursuits of a good Life.

In your eye, most of the time, people don’t have enough integrity, character, or personality🤷🏻‍♀️

blooming in spite of muddy water – 7 of Pentacles Rx

If you’re often distressed by the state of Humanity, it is because you possess this divine ability to pierce through bullshit and reveal the true essence of all things. You’re a deep diver. You truly are a scholar. You’re the type that seeks to bridge between differences and clashes, so that people find a common ground upon which they could build a harmonious society. You most likely have a significant placement in the 7th House or blessed with a strong Libra/Venus aenergy~⚖️

Essentially, you’ve come into this world with an almost specific purpose of bridging differences between generations. All because your Oversoul was sick of watching Humans being fools amongst themselves. So you plunged into this world of illusions in the hopes of elevating people’s spiritual intelligence. Your unique gift of observation is piercing and high-vibrational and the reason it can bridge generations is that the wisdom you will develop as a person is both universal and timeless💎

You are an Ascended Master, you know. Like Po returning to the mortal world after defeating Kai. Like Gandalf the Grey returning as Gandalf the White after defeating the Balrog. All because you’ve got shit to do in this world of stupid—your wisdom is gravely needed! I’m not teaching you to be conceited or anything, but by means of technicality, you’re not here to learn anymore; you’re here to…teach🤣

tulips of happiness – Knight of Cups

No matter your age or their age, you’re here to teach the infantile Humans about inner peace and true, everlasting, sustainable, manageable, actually reasonable sense of Harmony🌷You do that by setting an example; by first bridging confusions and calming down chaos within yourself; then you talk about the walk to anybody interested enough to listen to you🌾

In this lifetime, as an Ascended Master playing Human, there’s probably a lot of heartache you’ve needed to learn to forgive. If you’re in your early or mid-20s when reading this, you’re most likely just beginning to learn it. You don’t have to act perfectly though. Healing and forgiveness are not about being or doing perfect. It’s perfectly OK, too, not to forgive—certain cruelties in this world are simply beyond absolution, ya know?🤬

What does truly matter is that you forgive yourself. Just yourself. You can forgive the situation. You can forgive the fact you fucked your way into this or that mess. Where applicable, you can give thanks to the experience and then move on to the next thing. Be glad about the fact that you’re still alive after all of the fuckery, and that you’ve enough self-awareness, and how that self-awareness has grown you as a person. It is such a beautiful thing to have grown up in the mental and spiritual~🦉

ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN🔻💜

the script you chose – Silver Alchemist (Ramon Llull)

path of self-transcendence – Priestess of Healing

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 2 – Pink Radiance

VIBE: Master Oogway sending universe mail to Li Shan

seeds of beauty in you – III The Empress Rx

Oooh~ You’re pretty~ That much I can tell🙊You probably are blessed with some significant Aries, Aquarius, or any Cardinal aenergy in your birth chart; could also have Venus/Moon in the 1st or 11th House~ And do you know why you’re bestowed with an outer appearance that’s easily considered attractive in this realm? Because you’re meant to have an audience🎙

You’re meant to be heard; to have a platform and be some sort of a leader. And since being pretty in this world brings a lot of privileges, your Soul chose to be born with this specific setting in your birth chart wHoA~ A pretty face gets attention more effortlessly and that’s just how it is with this world~🙈

So, you see that there’s meaning in having some forms of privilege whether it’s your face or your family/economic background, or even heritage or some special lineage thing going on in your Life🎰And yet, it seems you could’ve been blind to all this ‘upper hand’ and not see much value in your existence.

None of this has felt all that special…well, because you were born with it. It’s not special; it’s normal to you; and you definitely want to feel special…not really grasping others would kill to have what you were born with…🐞

blooming in spite of muddy water – XVI The Tower

In spite of all of the privileges that seem obvious and enviable to others, you yourself have not felt all that blessed most of your Life. There is this thing that people don’t understand about you: EXPECTAFUCKINTION. Expectation could kill, depending on situation, and depending on where you are in Life. In many ways, you haven’t really ever felt FREE in your beingness. You don’t really know how FREE truly would feel like. You can imagine it, but you don’t really know if that’s even real🤷🏻‍♀️

Whether it’s status, prestige, or simply beauty, sometimes you’ve felt victimised by the very things other people wish they had. They literally don’t know how suffocating it is to be wearing your crown~ You often feel like you don’t have autonomy over your own Life. In some instances, you may even have experienced your autonomy getting violated. And it’s so heartbreaking.

At some point in Life, you will suddenly and gradually lose access to all of these beauties and privileges, maybe even some of your talents, babe. All these things that came ever so naturally to you, once you’ve lost ‘em, you will die in spirit, and be reborn with a renewed sense of appreciation for the fact you have always, ALWAYS, been extraordinary👿

tulips of happiness – King of Swords

Whether you are a girl or a boy or straight or gay or whatever, you are an ally of the world’s Divine Feminine aenergy. Do not worry about losing your glory; it will aaalll come back stronger and sparklier once you’ve graduated the University of Hell a.k.a Saturn Return🪐

It is part of your Soul’s Blueprint to experience losing privileges, perhaps money, talents, friends, freedom, hair, weight, and everything else, momentarily. This period of your Life—whether it’s your first or second Saturn Return—can be likened to a pregnant woman who’s now restricted from drinking, eating, doing, or even being near certain things. She’s not so free, but for all the right reasons; she’s protecting her foetus.

This Saturn Return period of your Life where you’re experiencing losing yourself is like a pregnancy where you’re gestating a newer, stronger, clearer, more confident version of yourself. The restrictions put around you are meant to suffocate you further, enough for you to want a breakthrough. All so you can become a pure Pink Radiance of a miracle this miserable world needs, for that is your purpose for being born🌷

Shine on, Pink Diamond~

ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN🔻💗

the script you chose – Green Historian (Herodotus)

path of self-transcendence – Priestess of Prosperity

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 3 – Magic Worker

VIBE: Po teaching the tribe to be THEMSELVES

seeds of beauty in you – 9 of Cups Rx

Within you are seeds of a luxurious lifestyle that you ought to nurture slowly throughout the course of your Life. You may have come from a background of lack just to make this whole scenario more exciting (to us as Souls contrasts are exceedingly attractive when thinking of a spiritual breakthrough). With that, you could’ve grown up with lots of daydreaming about feeling fulfilled—emotionally fulfilled.

Though you may have daydreamed about luxurious environments and things and situations, at the core of everything, all you yearn for is a feeling of safety; stability; of having just enough…of being enough, in fact…all because you weren’t emotionally nurtured as a child. You were the kid who were neglected by everybody, both the adults and your peers.

You felt unseen most of your Life. But even those who acted like they saw you, somehow the view was inaccurate. You felt this way because you didn’t understand yourself either. Children learn about themselves through the feedback of their environment; so the ones who were mostly neglected…how could such children even begin to learn to comprehend their identity?

Because you didn’t really understand yourself, it was difficult to manifest properly. In your psyche, there are way too many threads of wishes that are tangled up, causing you to manifest clashing Realities…and then disappoint you…

blooming in spite of muddy water – XXI The World

The reason for this difficulty is that you needed to learn and discover for yourself the true Essence of being alive. You are essentially God’s messenger to help Humans overcome their addiction to material possessions. Omaigosh if you know how TikTok shopping culture is making people poorer and more miserable in the emotional, I’m sure this will ring a bell in your Soul Memory.

People who grew up poor are the main target of evil marketing because they crave that feeling of ‘having’. Sometimes, it’s a feeling of having things—trendy things; some other times, it’s a feeling of having friends—cool friends; and some tragical times, of having someone to love—which usually only translates to ONS or casual hookups without any real emotional connection.

Anyway, back to talking about material possessions though, there’s this:

‘Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.’ – George Carlin

This, is a concept, a Reality, you’ve needed to learn and fully comprehend, and then unravel by means of your personal spiritual transformation. That way you can be an example and a guide to others. Reminiscent of Uncle George himself, you’re somebody who holds an Elder Archetype aenergy about you. You’re ‘worldly’ in the sense that you’re based, well-thinking, and most of all, you can embrace perspectives that are UNIQUE. You’re able to hold a knowledge that encompasses the whole of the Universe itself.

tulips of happiness – 4 of Pentacles

In a sense, know that you are a born leader. Though I sense, you may be more interested in being a thought leader🧠You don’t seem that interested in leading an envoy or a movement of any sort hahaha You’re a loner; you like being in your own company. After all, people are stupid and it’s exhausting to have to interact with them. And that’s all fine~

In the future, when everything’s said and done, you’ll meet your Soul Tribe—people who are just as weird, misunderstood, deep, sombre (probably), wholesome, complex, and loyal such as yourself🫀Your Spirit Guides are really saying: it’s perfectly fine for you not to extend too much compassion for those who aren’t worth your while; hoping you’d calm down some clashing ideas about your personality.

It sounds cruel? No, really; not everybody is worth paying attention to or share affection with. If you do that you’re only going to be sucked dry of Life Force. It’s a similar principal with money spending. Just because you see a lot of items being displayed with attractive, persuasive DISCOUNT signs, doesn’t mean you have to give your attention, or money least of all, to ALL of that. Got it?🤪

‘Even if something is on discount, if you don’t need it, it’s too expensive.’ – Love Marie Escudero’s husband, Govt. Chiz

ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN🔻🧡

the script you chose – Green Physician (Paracelsus)

path of self-transcendence – Priestess of Intuition

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 1] [Part 2]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

[dailyadventureprompts]

Hi there! I'm a huge fan of your work, and I was wondering if you could help flesh out a vilain idea I had? I have a basic setup, but no idea how to make him a rounder character.

The gist of it is a fey king whose queen died, so, driven mad with grief and incredibly deep in denial, he reaches out into the Material Plane and kidnaps women who resemble his queen, forcibly altering their minds and bodies through fell magic to transform them into reincarnations of his queen. He keeps failing as the magic instead transforms them into horribly broken and mutated horrors, driving him to more desperate measures.

Other than that, I have no idea how to develop him further or devise an end to his evil :(( so any tips on villain development would be greatly appreciated :))

Adventure: A Covetous Love

Friend, you don't need to make your villain a rounder character, you just need to refocus your narrative onto the genuinely horrific scenario you've created where a series of women have their identities torn away piece by piece. How does it feel to go through it? What must it be like for their friends and family to watch as the woman they knew is replaced by some cruel parody in line with a stranger’s lusts?  Refocusing the story on the current victim likewise gives the story human stakes, and allows the party a good entrypoint into this ongoing tragedy with the chance of possibly preventing it from repeating. 

Before we get into the story itself, here’s a few more ideas I’m going to suggest: 

Rather than kidnapping outright, the fey lord visits his victims in disguise courting them as if he were a wealthy, charming suitor. He offers jewelry and trinkets and other fine things, all infused with the essence of his beloved, and as each of them is accepted the victim becomes a little bit more and more like his queen. A silver comb that turns her hair into HER hair, a cup of wine that fills her dreams with memories of their pramanades through faerie together, makeup that not only wipes out any flaws but transforms the face into a mask of bloodless porcelain perfection. 

Likewise, the transformation process specifically fails because the fey’s expectations are too much. If he were willing to settle for someone who only reminded him of his bride, or gods help him strike out on some new course, he could theoretically be happy… but because he keeps trying to make his victims MORE he ends up with an idea that collapses in on itself, something too perfect to live or even maintain a coherent form. 

To really drive home the tragedy of the horror, I’m going to suggest that the current victim is a woman trapped in either a political marriage or one that’s long gone cold. The fey will exploit her genuine desire for romance and affection, as well as her longing to escape the cage of her life, making the offer of becoming someone else (even if it means dying in the process) all the more tempting. This makes it so that the hinge point of the adventure isn’t just a “rescue the princess” matter of getting her away from the fey, but confronting her as a person and trying to persuade her that there’s some other path to freedom than letting herself be eaten by some otherworldly waifu. 

This setup also gives the party a great secondary antagonist to clash against: the jealous mortal husband, someone who technically WANTS the same thing as the party and has the resources at his back, but will actively drive the victim into the fey’s arms every time he gets involved. He wants to save the victim, but doesn’t care about her happiness, in fact he may be intent on punishing her for her infidelity. He’s there to show why the victim wants to leave. 

Adventure Hooks: 

The party first encounter Lady Melanie Kerridell while out in the wilderness when a stag she’s hunting blunders into their path/camp, on horseback, weapon in hand and her fine clothes streaked with mud. She’ll berate them if they let the beast escape or steal the kill for themselves, but half way through will stagger and lose track of where she is. Just about then a group of her friends and servants will crash through the foliage in a desperate state, as Melanie was out with them having a country luncheon when she spotted the stag, grabbed a weapon from the guards, and took off after it.  This is not the first time this has happened, Lady Kerridell is about half way transformed into the Green-Eyed-Queen and she’s letting herself slip more and more. A concerned friend will invite the party back with them to the estate, and then politely broach the topic about how they might “look in” on Melanie and what might be causing her to act this way. 

The party receive a letter from Lady Kerridell, begging for their help ridding her manor of a haunting, of a monster that has been wandering her home at night wearing her face. When they seek her out however they find her beautiful and cruel and with no idea whatsoever who sent them the letter, despite it bearing her seal.

Lord Edrick Kerridell catches the party snooping around and offers to pay them if they can track down the young dandy he’s seen his wife sneaking off into the gardens to neck with. He wants to know just who the man is before he decides what to do with him, just incase these pricy gifts are from the vault of some other great family. When the party do find the dandy,  he’ll lead them on a merry chase through the town, dragging them all into the feywild if they manage to corner him. 

The local jeweler needs some help investigating a robbery, a few pieces were stolen, but the prize of the take was a staggeringly beautiful necklace of gold and jade, which he was in the middle of repairing. Strangeness surrounds the case: the dandy who delivered the necklace made no secret that it was for a married woman and as the jeweler worked on it he couldn’t shake the feeling of some kind of presence skirting around the edge of his workshop.  When the party find the thief they’ll find her in a bit of a state, having put on the necklace and been influenced by the fey-bride’s mind, she now finds herself driven to heist the home of Lady Berridale. Ostensibly this is for more riches, but the shard of the green eyed queen seeks to complete herself, which will likely result in one of the two womens’ deaths. 

Art

[fighting-these-demons]

Divorce Saga Domon - A Haunted Honk Prequel

Hello Internet Stranger looking up G Gundam on Tumblr dot com!

This is an idea for a fic set in an Alternate Universe involving Queer Non-Canon Relationships between the characters of the series.

If you are not looking for this content please scroll on.

If you ARE looking for this content - and you're ok with reading my and other's Headcanons for this Alternate Universe I've haphazardly spun up -

Then go ahead and feel free to:

Check The Tags Of This Post For The Pairings

and click the Read More below!

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Ended up outlining a completely different fic as a Segway for an explanation instead of making progress on the Royal Flush Haunted Honk AU's Clown Motel Fic like I wanted to but uh....

For y'all's review for the AU: A Prequel Outline - Divorce Saga Domon

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Hey real quick - I'm thinking of maybe changing the timeline to 2 years post canon as opposed to 3 years and change post canon.

The reason being: I had a thought that this scene could either be part if the fic or if it's getting to big then it could be a stand alone tie-in prequel fic as part of this AU but - like

Immediately Post Divorce Domon Needs Space and runs off. As one does. And he runs to Earth because he just wants to Get Lost for a while.

He has Argo smuggle him out to avoid detection.

Argo has Andrew help stow Domon in a storage hanger of a Neo Canadian supply ship that's returning to the US - they have trade often enough and share agricultural resources - which leads to Domon ending up in New York when he hits Earthside pavement.

He's privately worked on his English the last couple of months and after being dropped in New York with a different hairstyle, outfit, and accent he's unrecognizable. 

He considers making his way west to get some solitude in the wilderness, but something about that initial plan feels off now that he's on the ground.

Chibodee is also Earthside for a special series of prize fights aimed at raising charitable appeal for the US in the eyes of Neo Americans.

Domon decides to hit up Chibodee for a fight on a day between matches hoping it'll clear his head and give him the clarity to decide on a course of action. What ends up happening is an unexpected heart to heart via blows and a breakdown.

Domon is happy for Rain and Kyoji, and he knows it's not true; but he feels like he lost a piece of himself when his relationship with Rain fell apart.

Domon's instinct is to run after that but Chibodee knows this city and Domon doesn't hide out for long before Chibodee drags him back to his place to stay and just "Chill out and breathe. You don't have to be anyone but yourself here. You can take as long as you need to find out what everything changing means for you." Friends and teammates stick together.

So Domon spends a few weeks with Chibodee sparring and hanging out in New York. Chibodee does a frankly awesome job at containing his feelings because he's focusing on Domons feelings and being a good friend first and foremost. Whatever he's feeling can wait until after Domon is done going though it.

There's a bit of a twinge in Domon's heart as he leaves that he can't really place.

After he returns to Neo Japan and gets settled back into life with his family, The Dreams start.

They're mainly set in New York. Small things first like noticing Chibodee's smile and his eyes. Then sparring sessions that begin to turn lurid.

He thought these kinds of dreams would stop after he was married.... he doesn't know what to do about this.

I just figure it gives more clarity and sense of time for the journey from Comphet Marriage Dissolution to Feelings to Confession. Idk.

But I got stuck on a bit and then had this thought and needed to get it down before I lost it and it was so long it made sense to make it its own post as opposed to several replies.

The Maize and Clown Motel will probably still be 3 years and change post canon for clarification.

@thedragonchilde @amplexadversary @youreaclownnow

[dtriad]

《早安！三国打工人》 Good Morning! Workers of the Three Kingdoms, written by 蒿里茫茫

here to shout into the void with a cnovel rec!

The world is boiling, the people are suffering. In truth, Lu Xuanyu didn't quite understand the meaning of those eight words. Ever since she had landed face down in the dirt of the sixth year of the Zhongping era, the fleeting dream she'd once held had scattered like ashes and vanished into thin air. She had a plain face, low EQ, no family background, and a baffling debuff that made everyone mislike her—but it didn't matter that she wasn't treated as the white moonlight of whatever duke or prince. She could work hand and foot, balance the books, butcher hogs, and even had a sword that was enough for her to walk alone in a chaotic world. Her goal was also very simple: a small house, some close friends and neighbors, a room full of food, and a courtyard where she could enjoy the cool breeze at night. So—in the end, just what had gone so wrong for her path to turn entirely in another direction? "I am ready to die here." She held the Black Blade, fully focused as she stood amid the flames, and looked arrogantly at the tide of Danyang soldiers pouring in. "If you want to seize Xuzhou, be ready to do the same."

I have a weakness for the sub-genre of cnovels that's about the main character transmigrating into a historical setting, preferably stories set in an actual historical dynasty (tagged 古色古香) instead of an invented historical setup (tagged 架空历史) or in-universe fictional storyline. And even more specifically, the kind that deals in infrastructure building or military conflict. Conveniently, JJWXC has tags for specific periods, e.g. Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties—and of course the Three Kingdoms period, which is how I came across 早安！三国打工人 aka Good Morning! Workers of the Three Kingdoms while on a historical transmigration reading spree, and consequently fell down a very, very, very deep hole orz

Among the stories that I’ve read in this sub-genre, 3K Workers really stands out to me as one of the best (imo!). The MC Lu Xuanyu doesn’t transmigrate into someone native to the Three Kingdoms period, but as her own DnD character with high combat and terribly low charm per the debuff from the summary. 😂 There is no System, only her sentient sword—the Black Blade—that may be as much of a hidden existential poison to her as it is her one “friend” in the beginning. Slowly, she makes an ordinary life for herself in the capital city of Luoyang, with sufficient food and necessities, a decent-paying job, friendly and nosy neighbors, a small home of her own… But none of it can last, because these are the deathbed years of the Eastern Han dynasty according to history—and the people are suffering.

Over the course of more than a decade, from a lone hunter to a butcher, from a handyman to a refugee, from a night watchman to a general—who’s responsible for the lives of many thousands, both soldiers and civilians (the line blurring as ever between them)—Lu Xuanyu never forgets why she decided to step up and fight: to save people. And her struggles in the attempt, both internal and external, comprise the propelling force of the story, as we can see from the author's notes in which they say up front that Lu Xuanyu will join Liu Bei’s team, and then add:

The heroine is an idealist unto death; don’t think about using reality to change her.

(no way!!!! I love her as she is.)

Some things I really like in 3K Workers:

Lu Xuanyu starts out as a true no-name, rather than someone with an established and/or influential family background (b/c lbr that is quite common for this sub-genre). When she appears through an outsider's POV in Ch. 1, she’s been living alone in the wilderness for several months and is a little desperate for some kind of positive human interaction (the low charm debuff does her no favors, which makes the instances people overcome it more notable—it either says something about the impact her behavior has on them, or their ability to disregard inexplicable annoyance). She doesn’t have power or influence to leverage; she doesn’t have the ambition to do something great or world-changing. She simply wants to live a normal life. It’s just unfortunate that “normal” in the 3K period easily leads to death. Her abilities make her abnormal—she is, quite literally, something like an android according to Word of God, a superhuman who’s a wrinkle in the fabric of this timeline’s reality—but she feels and thinks as a 21st century human, with the assumption of a common humanity that makes her a fish out of water.

There's a strong focus on the consequences of war for the common people, and the PTSD that is a simple fact of existence for those exposed to the conflicts; it consistently turns its lens back to look at the farmers, the soldiers, the people who are treated like trampled grass, and shares their perspectives as well. I recall seeing this done in a few other novels, but iirc the framing in those cases was set up more as a way to show people reacting to the changes wrought by the MC, whereas here the framing allows the MC to better understand the attitudes & status quo of the period.

A lot of stories in the sub-genre have the MCs quickly adjusting to the past on the outside and leveraging the power of their position (again, typically based on preexisting family clout) to proactively push for changes, whether it’s to protect themselves or drive swift societal/technological change. In contrast, Lu Xuanyu doesn’t ever truly adapt to the values of the past, is clearly an oddball to others in her behavior and actions, and has enough on her hands with battles without any time or attention to initiate some golden-finger-boosted upheaval of norms. But the ripple effect of her existence is such that other characters, native to the period, are the ones who see clearly what changes they can make and want to make, and pursue those goals of their own accord: reducing the power of the aristocratic families, sharing knowledge more widely, establishing a strong foundation to support better opportunities for women… They come self-motivated to their own enlightenment, which I feel really enriches the story—Lu Xuanyu is the match that lit the fire, but they keep the fire burning. A special shout-out to Lu Bai, who proposes and leads the women-only Jianfu Battalion; her character has some fantastic development throughout the book ♥

I consider this novel very anti-war in attitude—even though we want Lu Xuanyu to win her battles, by the end there’s only bitter weariness rather than delight in victory.

It’s the Three Kingdoms period, so if you like loyalty kink then this naturally caters 300% to that!!!

Ft. great content about battle strategy, tactics, and logistics that makes my inner history geek super happy, and it's combined very effectively with character portrayal and development shown via battle; outside of battle, it gives attention to rebuilding during the rare periods of temporary peace in a historically grounded way.

Plus the tension in the (im)balance of power—there’s the imperial court, the various warlords, appointed officials, aristocratic families—and how the norms of society slowly, slowly start to change...

Despite the subject matter, it is also incredibly funny 😆 Lu Xuanyu's 21st-century-shaped outlook does not jive with period attitudes, and the resulting disconnects in communication are hilarious if you enjoy dry humor; the low EQ squad, ft. founding members Lu Xuanyu and Lü Bu lololol, are an absolute riot, whether they’re interacting with each other or anyone else, and outside their low EQ sphere of immediate influence the story doesn’t shortchange readers on everyday absurdities either, whether it’s the internal squabbling within Yuan Shao’s harem of strategists/advisors or the 3K period take on “lying flat” among certain scholars (paging Zhuge Liang’s uncle…)

The events and historical characters are based on actual historical records rather than fictionalized Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but you don’t have to be knowledgeable about 3K history at all! Lu Xuanyu certainly isn’t! (And if you are, you’ll enjoy all the references to 3K memes & whatnot… actual lol at the “burning of the thatched cottage” in 3K Workers @ 2010 Three Kingdoms drama do you see that!!! do you see what proper plot logic is!!!)

Technically it falls under JJWXC’s m/f category, but I consider this story essentially gen with background UST at most. Lu Xuanyu is very shippable, in the sense that she has lots of interesting relationships with characters in roles ranging from loyal subordinates to tsundere colleagues to ideologically opposed enemies. (And I was pretty satisfied with the endgame ship, though it really isn’t the focus at all during the main story.) She passes as a man for the first ~20% of the cnovel before revealing she’s a woman, and while the f/f potential is limited (alas!), I do love the supporting female characters.

The bad news: … it’s long… and untranslated… /cries/ I want to translate some excerpts as I reread it, but I gotta be realistic—despite my love for this cnovel I just can’t sign myself up rn to translate 2.7 million Chinese characters over 700+ chapters. If you can read Chinese or if you’re ok with reading via mtl, then you can find it at:

JJWXC [how-to guide]

or alternately here, Ch. 1-601 (Parts 1-5) and Ch. 602-757 (Part 6+extras)

Additional links (potential spoilers)—

Reviews on Weibo & Lofter (one) (two) (three)

Review - Peking University Online Literature 2022-23 Biennial List

Interview with the author 蒿里茫茫

Meta re: Lü Bu

Maps of Luoyang; army movements in the years 193, 195, & 199 CE (+zoom in on Puyang); Emperor Xian's journey 195-199 CE

Translated excerpts—

Ch. 13: LXY defending the neighborhood

Ch. 23: Mei-niang invites LXY over

Ch. 66/73: "you cannot retreat, you cannot lose, and you cannot die!"

Ch. 99: funerals for the dead

Ch. 210: Lü Bu's innate taunt skill

There is also an audiobook adaption in progress!!!

[delopsia]

Hello and welcome to "Del wants to ramble about the Outer Range season 2 trailer." I hope you're ready for a whole lot of nothing...

The CGI continues to remind us that it is, in fact, CGI. What the hell is this?

Flash scene of Wayne burning his damn house down. I'd know that bald spot anywhere.

Y'all already heard me ramble about this, but there's something wrong with this dinner scene. Aside from us knowing that the family is not together, there's one major oddity in the background.

Rhett's truck is an entirely different color.

That's his lightbar with the iconic four lights. Still a single-cab GMC Sierra. But Rhett's truck is blue. Not tan.

Wilder, we see Rhett's truck a few scenes later! You can even see how the hood is bent from hitting the billboard.

We finally confirm that Amy is 8. Even though the writer said she was 9...😑Brian Watkins, I had faith in you being correct. If you squint, you'll notice that Rhett's right hand is wounded. I doubt this stems from the rodeo because he always uses his left hand to hang on to the bull. The only injury we saw was to his left shoulder.

I'm taking the guess that up until now, Rhett likely didn't know that Amy went missing during the rodeo. Which may cause him to realize that Cecelia never abandoned him; she was just looking for Amy.

In the official Season 2 press notes, the following is mentioned: "After Amy's disappearance, Rhett is torn between his dreams of starting over somewhere new with Maria and being a dutiful son to Royal and Cecelia." So, I can assume that this might be what sets that into motion?

Offhanded, but this is SUCH a good look on her

MY TOUCH THEORY IS DOING THINGS. Look at Autumn's hand. Royal's touching the back of it, and as soon as he pulls away, the cute cosmic lights stop.

I'm so happy to see this random side character make a return. I was so nervous that she was one of those characters that appear for two minutes and that's it.

...this is a wild way for Joy to get in touch with her roots. But unfortunately for her, talking about it will more than likely get her a one-way trip to a psychiatrist.

Clyde is alive and well; bless him.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. How the hell did Billy survive being shot through the neck??

and also

WAYNE? All it took was Billy feeding him a little bit of time powder and he's back to his old menacing ways. Meanwhile Luke looks like he lost part of his soul when that herd of buffalo ran him over.

Luke, what does this gesture mean. Strangle? Punch? My jaw hurts? And I assume this is Autumn we're seeing on the corner? Patricia maybe? I dunno.

Edit: I'm 99% sure that's Patricia.

PERRY YOU DAMN IDIOT. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING FROM YOUR LAST BAR FIGHT?? I don't know who this other dude is but I hope he gets Perry square in the mouth <3 please I need to see Perry get his ass handed to him

This gives me so many thoughts. Rhett's shorter hair. He's a hand holder, your honor! Sentence him to a lifetime of snuggles and interlaced fingers!

So we know that for sure, Joy will somehow return to the present timeline. I don't know who could be driving this vehicle, but it looks a lot like the one that was sitting in the Tillerson's driveway in S1. We know Billy drives the older red vehicle, so this can either belong to Luke or Trevor.

Hear me out, hear me out. We can assume that the blonde woman is Autumn, considering the whole...cult thing. We've seen a handful of scenes of her with Luke in this trailer, so what if that's him holding her hand? That hat silhouette looks an awful lot like the one we saw in S1.

Alternatively, It can also be Rebecca and Perry, but I have no evidence to back this other than the blonde hair.

*in my best patrick star voice* WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

I cannot be convinced that this is a real scene. It's gotta be some kind of dream that Royal is having, especially when you take note of the little white things floating around. It gives a sort of dreamy effect.

THIS IS SHERRIF JOY! Not only is the outfit the same in the following scene (not the one of her running lmao, that's just to show you what the gun looks like), but you can see the gun on her hip.

The hand on Rhett's throat is smaller than his is. Look how thick his fingers are compared to the mystery ones. I'm betting my left foot that this is a female character doing this to him. Autumn and Rebecca are on my list of suspects.

But also, what the hell is he looking at? Never once is he looking at the person doing this to him; he's looking at something behind the camera. Baby, what did they do to you this season?? 😭

I hit my picture limit, but Wayne (I think) diving into the hole made me giggle. He picked such an iconic pose.

Someone says quote "Time reveals all." But I don't think we've heard this voice before?? Who the hell is speaking?

This final shot is insane. Don't know who is coming out, presumably Perry or Wayne, but you could ABSOLUTELY spin Outer Range as a horror if you really wanted to. The elements are all there; they just need a little reworking!

[astrronomemes]

PERCY JACKSON AND THE LAST OLYMPIAN: STARTERS

a collection of quotes, phrases, and sayings from the 2009 Rick Riordan novel, Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian. change & alter as needed.

"He's trying to be nice to me, which is almost worse."

"So, hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"

"So I guess you guys have to go save the world now."

"You can't count on friends. They will always let you down."

"They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid."

"He's a pretty nice guy, but you should always keep one hand on your wallet when he's around, and do not, under any circumstances, give him access to shaving cream unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of it."

"If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"

"Are you still having bad dreams? Headaches?"

"I should never have told you about that."

"You run away from things when you're scared."

"You could honor [name]'s memory by fighting with us."

"You can't prevent a prophecy."

"[Name], at least be safe. Promise me you'll be safe."

"If you ever need a warm place to sit and a home-cooked meal, you are welcome to visit."

"You are a good hero, [full name]. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn."

"They don't serve very good enchiladas in the wilderness."

"As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot."

"Excuse me, but if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"

"With great power comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."

"You'll do well, [name]. Just remember your strengths, and beware your weaknesses."

"My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."

"I tell you what, [name] — you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters. They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

"You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you."

"Can we go back to the battle now? I want to do laser mode again. That was fun."

"You should've saved him when you had the chance. You're the only one who could have."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

"[Name], this is serious! You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

"Just be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. ...I mean, because we need you for the battle."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed, kid? Or are you just extra stupid?"

"Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

"Didn't I kill you already?"

"You're cute when you're worried. Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor."

"You would have done the same for me."

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

"We'll have to work on your bunny phobia later."

"Oh, demons aren't so bad. You just have to keep them well-fed."

"Your courage does you credit, [full name]."

"The children of the gods must find their own way."

"So it was for my own good? Growing up on the streets, fending for myself, fighting monsters?"

"If I know anything, I know that you must walk your own path, even though it tears my heart."

"I'll bonk him on the head harder next time."

"I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

"And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

"I didn't know you could fly a helicopter."

"Everybody keeps telling me to sleep. I don't need sleep."

"You know what would help this boy? Farming. Six months behind a plow. Excellent character-building."

"On second thought, I'll be inside."

"That's what I do. I help my friends."

"He promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt."

"Well... sure good to be together again. Arguing. Almost dying. Abject terror."

"You and me, that wasn't part of it. Our fates aren't intertwined. I think you've always known that, deep down."

"Is it too late to join the party?"

"Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"

"I hope that was a monster I just killed."

"I survive all those battles, and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock?!"

"You were like a brother to me, [name]. But I didn't love you."

"I hope... I hope you know I'm really proud to  be your friend."

"No hero is above fear, [name]. And you have risen above every hero."

"Nobody's planning to kill us so far."

"Make us a city for the ages."

"It's just... I've got a lot of life left to live. I'd hate to peak in my sophomore year."

"[Full name], I have had my doubts about you, but perhaps... perhaps I was mistaken."

"[Full name], you might just teach us a thing or two."

[catabasis]

some of my thoughts and interpretations of the scene between Jones Hall and Schubert Green (the director of the play), and the scene between Jones and the actress playing Augie's wife:

assuming Conrad was already dead by the time these scenes take place, the moment between Jones and Schubert could be read as Jones processing his grief and going through the stages of grief. he shows some anger, or rather frustration, and he begins to question his own performance and interpretation of Augie (“am i doing him right?”). he's obviously affected by the story, he keeps getting his heart broken every night as he performs the play, and he searches for a meaning and a reason, bargaining with the play director (“do i just keep doing it? without knowing anything?” isn't there supposed to be some kind of an answer out there in the cosmic wilderness?”) Jones says he still doesn't understand the play, and Schubert reassures him, saying that it doesn't matter, that he should just keep telling the story. now this is the moment when i think the context shifts and the subject of the conversation turns to Conrad and Jones' grief. by telling the story/performing the play, Conrad's memory as well as Jones' grief are kept alive. Schubert's “you're doing him right” can be read as Jones doing a good job at performing Augie, but also as Jones doing right by Conrad, by what he wrote and his memory. there's no right way to mourn/grief, but Jones is mourning Conrad in his own way by playing the character that they both created and keeping Conrad's art and memory alive.

acceptance comes in the scene between Jones and the actress. Jones doesn't remember the dialogue, but the actress does, and by recollecting the deleted scene of the dream, Conrad speaks to Jones one last time through the wife/actress. “i think you'll need to replace me” “i think you'll need to try. i'm not coming back, Augie.” thanks to these words, Jones finds comfort and closure, as Conrad, across time and space, in a scene written even before his untimely death, urges him to move on. Jones remembers Augie's final line in the dream: “all my pictures come out”, which could also be read as Jones' performance, because even when he thought he didn't understand the play or what he was performing, he was doing it right, and with this understanding, he can now consciously use his own grief in his performance.

as Jones returns to the play, and the car with Augie and his family leaves Asteroid City, both Augie and Jones move on.

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 59 – Spear by Nicola Griffith

So after loudly complaining about this year’s Hugo nominations enough, it was recommended I try using the World Fantasy Awards shortlist as a reading list instead. Spear is the first result of that – I’d never heard of either it or Griffith as an author before, but the library helpfully had a copy with only a three-week hold. It was, well – unevenly paced and characterized, often beautifully written, a setting I’ve got an enduring fondness for, a bunch of things. But at the very least I’m not confused or annoyed that anyone would nominate this for a ‘best novel of the year’ award, so beating the Hugo’s!

The book’s Arthuriana, of a mythological and Early Medieval type. Specifically, it’s a queer retelling of the story of Sir Percival (Peretur here, the book makes an attempt to use Welsh names for most. Artos and Cei and so on) intermixed with celtic mythology (the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann are stolen to be the Grail, Excalibur, the Stone the sword was in, and Peretur’s Spear). Also Peretur is a) a demigod raised from birth on soup and water drunk out of the Grail/Cauldron and b) a lesbian. The book follows her childhood, raised in the wilderness with only her mother and wildlife for company, how she eventually leaves her behind to fufil a dream of becoming one of the king’s companions, and the trials she undergoes to become accepted by them. The second half of the book then follows her falling in love with Nimune, accidentally breaking the geas that was hiding her mother and the cauldron from her father (a wrathful Tuatha Dé) the organizing of the grail quest and her, Lancelot, and Nimune going to kill her dad and retrieve the grail/cauldron. And then bury it away after lying to everyone that the queen had had a sip from it and wouldn’t be infertile anymore. Having thus doomed the kingdom, they set about enjoying their lives together.

So, queer early medieval Arthuriana retelling. Which on reflection probably seems like less of a natural/obvious combination to people who spend less time on tumblr than I do. The ‘Early Medieval’ part of that seems pretty carefully researched, and the book takes great joy in describing everyone’s panoply, situating the politics in a very specific post-Roman collapse politics and geography, and so on. In that sense reminds of Bernard Cromwell’s take on a ‘historicall’ Arthur in the same era (which I read far too young because my father had just left them lying around the house and still inform my default view of the genre.) The queerness is just presented to be taken as a given more than part of the actual plot – being a crossdressing lesbian causes Peretur exactly zero problems at any point, and Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere are a loving polycule so actually it’s a net reduction in sexuality-related drama compared to the usual.

The basic conceit aside, the most striking thing about the book is easily the prose. It’s written in a kind of elevated, mythological or capital-R Romantic voice. There are passages that are legitimately quite beautiful, and just overall does a lot to sell the story as somewhere between chivalric romance and myth.

Otherwise – I pretty much adored the first half the book, covering our hero’s childhood and attempts to build a reputation that will earn her acceptance from the king’s court and a place at the round table. Peretur’s naivete and utter lack of understanding of politics form a nice contrast with her being, well, a superhuman demigod with magical wild empathy skills when it comes to everything else. The second half, on the other hand – I mean it just tries to pack in way too many plot points and too much lore in not nearly enough page count. The effect – one long procession of character revelations and things happening without preamble or fallout – fits the whole mythic style but, like, not in a good way.

Also since the whole happy ending is built around a central romance it’d help a lot if Nimune felt like more or a character and less of an exposition fairy. Peretur legitimately had more chemistry with Angharad-the-innkeepers-daughter from the second act. Also since it was how the book ended, the big choice to hide away the cauldron/grail and make sure neither king nor queen nor anyone else ever drinks from it is presented as this, like, considered and moral decision without ever touching on any of the massive hypocrisy inherent in it for ms. ‘grew up drinking from it every meal. But it’d corrupt and drive insane anyone else who did. For sure.’ was just deeply irksome to me.

Still, not at all a bad read. Maybe a bit style over substance, but it’s a good style and worn well.

[demenior]

In a niche that may only apply to me, I am thinking about transposing the Mighty Nein (Critical Role) into the Wheel of Time world.

Unsure the big picture stuff- like when is this au set (pre/during/post wot series), is it the same story (has the Dragon been reborn to fight the Dark One, etc). So we're not going to get into those details rn.

Really rough character concepts though:

Yasha: Far Dareis Mai like she's so Aiel it's almost impossible to put her anywhere else EXCEPT that her main weapon is a sword. Which is. A big issue. I suppose she could be from the Borderlands, but the Maidens are such a good fit for nomadic warriors with VERY specific marriage rites, benefiting Yasha's backstory.

Beau: she feels like the obvious pick to be Far Dareis Mai because of her hand to hand melee prowess, athleticism and overall attitude, except we all forget she's a noble lady from wealth so I posit that she's more akin to the Cha Faile, and probably came from somewhere like Tanchico, or, to be more tasty in her dynamic with (Aiel) Yasha, she's from somewhere in Cairhein. I think at some point she's sent to the White Tower for schooling (and discipline), which is where she stumbles into the warder training grounds. Or we wash this whole thing and she's the Aiel, and Yasha's from the Borderlands.

Caleb: definitely an Asha'man, if this story is set in a world where we have Asha'man. If we don't... well. Good luck buddy! OR he's an Ogier. We gotta have a book nerd somewhere.

Jester: absolutely Aes Sedai and I think she ends up in Yellow but she acts WAAAYYY more Green. She's from Ebou Dar solely bc I love their petticoat and marriage knife fashion statements. She's young (for an Aes Sedai) and recently snuck out of the Tower to go see the world. Or, perhaps, she's a runaway Accepted fleeing the Tower for the same reasons: she's bored, she's pissed off too many people there, and there's a whole world to see!

Fjord: he almost certainly grew up in Tear. The knee jerk reaction is to make him Seafolk but I don't think that works for his story. He's an orphan in Tear aka the lowest of the low bc if we know anything about Tear it's that they go "you're poor? Disgusting." and also they hate anyone using the power. Likely Fjord starts channeling so he gets ushered out of the country and ends up in Tar Valon OR he's in Tar Valon to become a Warder. Either he and Beau meet here as Warders in training, or he meets Jester by accident and she lies-by-omission promises to help him if he gets her out of Tar Valon. In any case, FJ end up on the road together. At some point, whether he trained for it or not, Fjord becomes Jester's Warder. I'm torn on whether Fjord becomes a channeler or not, but ultimately I think yes he does. Or maybe he's a wolfbrother... or all of the above...

Veth: she can be our sweet lil Emmonds Field lady who is also a wilder (wild out!) but has never seen the big world and also can only channel under very specific circumstances due to her block.

Caduceus: hear me out on this one. Bc the knee-jerk reaction is to make him the Ogier I think. But actually I think he's a wolfbrother. He can Foretell in dreams, is disconnected from society, and all about the power of nature.

Molly: from somewhere in the borderlands OR maybe from Shara. It kinda depends on where we set Yasha, as the two of them have to meet at some point. OBVIOUSLY a gleeman with the fancy gleeman cloak included.

Essek: the Dynasty is the Seanchan this is a pretty straight 1:1. The issue is, of course, that Essek is effectively a sul'dam if not outright marath'damane and at this time I have no idea what that means for the Seanchan in this version of the world. But he's gonna have some bitchin fits bc the Seanchan are the worst people you've ever met BUT they never miss on the fashion.

Lastly (for now) Camelyn = Rexxentrum is pretty obvious but I have such a heart for Cairhein solely bc I think the Cerberus Assembly would be playing 5D versions of daes dae'mar.

[lottieurl]

you can literally always hate jeff in the tags of my misty posts btw im reading those tags the way one reads a morning newspaper. the fanon version of jeff seems so different to canon jeff like he’s not really the dedicated malewife people make him out to be shsjsks. he didn’t want to even try strawberry lube like c’mon now. he freaked out when she saved their asses and grabbed the gun. perhaps this is an unfair assumption for me to have of the writers but ive seen it happen in other shows and i fear they might’ve seen how the general audience liked there’s no book club!jeff and added more of him and that general vibe bc of it. but to me s1 jeff worked bc you spend most of it distrusting or disliking him and then he has a shining moment at the taylors and thennn he goes back to being Like That when you find out he’s the blackmailer. and it’s like this really sad, terrible marriage two people are stuck in for various reason so idk where the couple goals even in a fun failmarriage way comes from. he’s not even the most interesting non shauna member of the sadecki family!!! callie is right there esp if they’re focusing on her motherhood!!! ANYWAYS. jeff & walter’s downfall 2k23 im with you

okay thank you for giving me the excuse to talk about it actually cause i was thinking this since the season started. people's ENTIRE interpretation of jeff as a character hinges and is almost exclusively based on THERE WAS NO BOOK CLUB? literally everything else he does gets twisted so he can stay this fanon dream himbo wifeguy. and that's the show's fault to an extent for sure cause there is a framing there due to how much they want jeff in the comic relief role. but the show does make a point of showing that jeff is deeply disturbed by shauna, that he's been a shit husband actually and he's kind of an awful person tbh. like! thats not a character flaw per se, we are all here for awful characters. but people don't want an interesting dynamic between those two or for jeff to be more than a one dimensional goofy idiot. and they also want shaunajeff to be like. santa clarita diet marriage or whatever which. loved santa clarita diet but that's AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THING. and an entirely different type of show and we do all get that this would strip shauna of all her amazing nuances right? right? anyways back to jeff. people will see how he reacts to shauna pulling that gun or how he's entirely against everything shauna does regarding callie and go omg wifeguy always supportive. he is not? and for good reasons lmao? people will see teen jeff cheating and be like ye shauna was awful for doing this to jackie but jeff is just a poor little idiot plus (did see a take like this which. hello) jackie wouldn't have sex with him so he's without fault. like. what. anyways he's a cheater who found out SOME of what his wife experiened in the wilderness (not everything for sure cause that man is way waaay WAY too freaked out by shauna's behaviors to know it all lets be real) and decided to profit off the victims he knew as a teen dgsbjfjdjdsb like he offered to go to jail for adam murder in part cause his own blackmailing scheme is what pushed shauna to kill adam? just cause he's kind of funny every once in a while doesn't mean he's A Loving Himbo Wifeguy. all jeff related posts are that and its why i started having an allergic reaction to jeff

[faux-fires]

tagged by @ranilla-bean for the 20 questions meme!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 35

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 466,309. Hey, that's not too shabby!

3. what fandoms do you write for? Currently NONE. previously: dragon age, tsubasa chronicle, supernatural, fullmetal alchemist, legend of zelda...

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Your Princess is in Another Castle ("Dragons kidnap princesses, everyone knows this… except sometimes, they get it wrong. Or do they? A story about mistakes, misunderstandings, and flower crowns. Also Kurogane's non-stop never-ending suck of a life, and the idiot that causes all that chaos to begin with.")

For Better or for Worse ("A 'five things' fic, featuring five different times Hawke proposed to Anders.")

The Centre of All Things ("Hawke gave Anders a ring, after their first night together, and never quite told him what it meant. As Kirkwall begins to crumble around them, Anders struggles to strike a balance between love and the needs of the mages.")

Adjustment ("A year after the end of Act 2, Anders comes home late, and Hawke missed him.")

Bound ("Anders receives many gifts from Aggressive!Hawke across the years. He's charmed by most of them, surprised by others.")

most of my fics predate ao3 and while i backloaded the TRC ones on, I can't be bothered doing the same for the FMA fic i wrote 20 years ago. and the SPN stuff, uh, well, AO3 kind of did it for me! i woke up one day and an old archive i forgot my fic was on had been ported to the archive, all my spn fics helpfully attached to my account in the process. when i tell you i orphaned them at something like the speed of light -

5. do you respond to comments? Um.... I MEAN to, but.... i'm not great at remembering...? i really cherish every one i receive and i KNOW it's bad of me, i can only offer apologies.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i literally just write happy endings i can't answer this

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? how are defining happy??? look mikke takes the piss out of me ALL THE TIME for my definition of fluff, ever since i entered a fluff vs angst competition on the side of team fluff with a story in which one half of the otp was tortured and murdered (he got better)! *i* define a happy ending as one in which, during the course of the story, a character grows and develops. by that metric, an ending where the character loses everything and everyone they love but gains a mindset enabling them to find peace with the loss is a happy ending, TO ME. a sad ending, by contrast, is one in the character does not grow or change, and stays in the same state (or worse!) than they started the story.

so with that in mind, probably through a forest wilderness. people die! anders and hawke are rejected as monstrous by the people they tried to save! but they gained one (1) feral orphan and solved their relationship issues, d'awwww. <3

8. do you get hate on fics? nope

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? yes, but not in EVERY story. i find smut to require a lot of effort to write! there's complex choreography and emotions to handle... the only thing harder (HEHEHE) is fight scenes for the exact same reason

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written? i'm not interested in crossovers (blorbos from series a meet blorbos from series b) but i love a good fusion fic, where blorbos from series a have always lived in the world of series b. craziest... probs the trc/wow fusion fic i wrote for an audience of three people? idk i've written a lot! i dreamed of a zukka howl's moving castle fusion a few days ago (probably inspired by chiptrillino's gorgeous illustrations she's been sharing recently) so that was pretty fun, as someone who very, very rarely remembers my dreams.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? nope!

12. have you ever had a fic translated? yeah, to russian!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? yeah, @mikkeneko and i wrote a whole SPACE OPERA. well. half of one, i guess (oops).

14. what’s your all-time favourite ship? whatever i'm shipping at the moment

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i plead the fifth

16. what are your writing strengths? EMOTIONS. also i think i write humour well?

17. what are your writing weaknesses? starting, continuing and finishing. /sob

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? even if you're fluent in that language, it alienates more people than it impresses, i think. i love using other languages as an easter egg (like rana has a character named with a cantonese pun in the iconoclast) but whole dialogue is like... very hard to pull off, and outright mortifying if you don't actually speak the language and just google translate it.

19. first fandom you wrote for? the legend of zelda! my irl friends and i (aged 13) had a massive shared self-insert 'verse going on. my first steps into fandom PROPER tho was with fullmetal alchemist.

20. favourite fic you’ve written? this is a complex question because how do you define favourite? swift illuminations was probably the most fun to write (anders vs hawke arm wrestling) and i always enjoy getting to write comedy - your princess is in another castle has my favourite lines i've ever written, for example:

"Can I go?" Yuui asked Ashura. Despairing it was, then. At least he wasn't naked. It was a low bar to meet in terms of presentation, but so far two of the six people in this room weren't making it.

these skies are breaking i've always been fond of because it's 35k and i wrote it in two days but the plot is uhhhhhh. missing. ash on the windowsill same sitch, 50k in 36 hours and my first completed multi-chapter fic but i wince at how clumsy it is when i reread it. i'm proud of a lot of my later dragon age fics because they contain better exploration of ideas and characterisation, so... idk. toss up!

but in terms of stuff i'm most satisfied with, probs 'how to love a god' this short character exploration piece i wrote for the anderszine. first time writing second person and because of the zine space limit i had a hard maximum word count too so i agonized over every word choice. i don't really edit my own stuff - i post it pretty much hot off the hoop - but i did actually enjoy doing it that time.

uhhhh so that's me. but i'm tagging.... anyone who wants to do this!

[marley-manson]

other Hawk’s Nightmare thoughts, because it’s one of my favourite episodes and I still have more to say:

- The fact that Sidney eased Hawkeye’s fears not by reassuring him that he could cure the sleepwalking or nightmares but by telling him the nightmares mean he’s sane says it all. But also the implication that Hawkeye’s just gonna keep sleepwalking and having night terrors without seeing it happen again in the show is kind of funny lol, and why I headcanon that Sidney prescribes him sleeping pills after this. Like, you still don’t want to wander into the minefield at midnight, whether you’re sane or not.

- Hawkeye’s dad won’t let him have a bb gun <3

- I love Hawkeye calling himself a card-carrying skeptic and calling Toby Wilder just in case anyway, that feels very Hawkeye - skeptical but more emotion driven despite that

- “I don't believe in that stuff.” “Some people have extrasensory perception.” “I knew you were gonna say that.” One of my favourite recurring Hawkeye gags in which he denies/derides something and immediately/simultaneously jokingly plays into it. Same kinda joke as Margaret calling him childish and Hawkeye putting on an 8 year old voice to respond with “Are not!” or BJ saying he always has to have the last word and Hawkeye proceeding to deliberately needle him with it.

- The way this episode fits so well in the thematic thread of specifically Hawkeye and children is so good. Opening with Hawkeye upset about how young the soldiers they’re operating on are, comparing them to babies, which leads into nightmares of death invading his own childhood. The way it begins with Sometimes You Hear the Bullet with the twin plots of Hawkeye’s old childhood friend dying on his table and the underaged kid Hawkeye angrily sends home afterwards, then continues with Dreams and Letters and GFA... fantastic writing.

- Hawkeye deducing himself that the sleepwalking means he’s trying to escape <3

- “Actually Hawkeye, you’re probably the sanest person I’ve ever known. Fact is if you were crazy you’d sleep like a baby,” is one of my favourite lines, as a character summation for Hawkeye and as a thematic statement for Mash. It’s also a good centre for Hawkeye and Frank to revolve around as foils. Hawkeye is a stable guy in a situation that utterly fucks him up because that’s what war does, it’s not something that humans were meant to be able to take in stride. Frank is an unstable guy who loves the army and loves the war. They both end their time on the show with mental breakdowns, but Frank’s breakdown has nothing to do with the war, it’s solely about his own dysfunctional personal life, while Hawkeye’s breakdown is nothing but the war.

- Frank: There’s nothing in the dark that’s not in the light.

Hawkeye, in the middle of a war zone: Why do I find no comfort in that thought?

[pbear]

Ranking the Magic Knight Captains

I had fun doing my rankings for the Black Bulls and Black Clover OPs and wanted to another one. I haven’t talked much about the captains so I figured this would be a good way to do that. Obviously, these are all personal opinions. Also, there are spoilers for the manga.

11. Gueldre Poizot

Someone’s got to be at the bottom and it’s obviously this guy.

Betrays the kingdom and all the Captains already didn’t like him and make fun of him so yeah. He deserves it.

Him running around with Revchi during the Elven Invasion was kind of funny though.

10. Kaiser Granvorka

Not bad but the least interesting of the captains.

He doesn’t get a lot to do but I respect him and his mustache.

Purple Orcas have nothing going for them tbh.

9. Nozel Silva

His abilities are very impressive. Mercury Magic is a cool idea.

He was the least mean of his siblings to Noelle but that’s not saying much. I get you can’t talk about the devil that killed your mother but, like, don’t let your sister believe she was the one who killed her.

It is a little sad because it seemed like he was the closest to their mom and he’s the oldest so he probably remembers her the most.

He does grow and I respect that.

8. Fuegoleon Vermillion

I like his relationship with his siblings, but he’s also the least interesting of the three to me.

I think if he hadn’t gotten Salamander, then he would have been even less interesting.

His rationality is appreciated in contrast to a lot of other characters.

I also like when he motivates Asta and Noelle when the Eye of the Midnight Sun invades the capital.

7. William Vangeance

Okay, I was pretty mad at him for a long time after the Elven Invasion. I suspected him from the beginning and was right.

He doesn’t really take action like when he just lets Patry and Julius fight it out instead of choosing one of them and I was very pissed.

Afterwards, he does try to amend his actions and when he healed his squad after the Spade Kingdom attack on the Golden Dawn base, I forgave him.

After all that, it puts him a little above neutral though.

His magic’s pretty cool too. I like the big scale of it.

6. Jack the Ripper

Why do people rag on the Black Bulls so much when the Green Praying Mantises exist? Jack is just as irresponsible as Yami and definitely weirder.

Have you seen the way this man dresses? In general, have you seen this man?

Also, his squad is one of the least developed. We have Sekke and En and that’s it. Sekke is mostly a joke and En is only relevant for a teeny bit (I respect him though).

Back to Jack, I find him very entertaining and his magic is very interesting. He’s absolutely crazy but I get a kick out of it.

Sad when he died. He did not deserve that but went out in style

5. Charlotte Roselei

At first she doesn’t do much but then she’s mainly reduced to her crush on Yami. I think it’s funny and ship them but I feel like she doesn’t get a lot else.

I do like that part of her character is that she needs to learn to ask for help sometimes and rely on others.

Her curse and magic are very cool though. Her pulling out the red and blue roses during the Spade Kingdom Invasion is glorious.

She’s one of the only captains who interacts a lot with her squad too.

4. Mereoleona Vermillion

What a badass.

She has powerful magic but a lot of her fighting style is physical. You have to be bold to fight against magic users and choose to just punch things that come your way.

She was supposed to be the Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings and instead dipped to go live in the wilderness.

3. Dorothy Unsworth

For how little screen time she gets, I love her so much.

All the other Captains are so serious and she’s so bubbly.

Her magic is super cool and fits her very well. Pretty overpowered too.

I like that when she manifests people in her dream world, it's a version based on how she views them (Yami and Nozel).

I actually thought we weren’t going to see her in action because she was always asleep. I guess that was the result of having an elf inside you because after that she’s awake most of the time.

2. Yami Sukehiro

He’s the Captain that gets the best connection to his squad so I like that.

Members of the Black Bulls keep coming out of the woodlocks because this man keeps inviting random people to join.

Despite seeming irresponsible, he genuinely cares about his squad and pushes them to do their best. He also pushes himself to do his best.

The fact that he was a foreigner so his squad is made up of people who are outcasts like him and together they’re all not alone anymore :’)

1. Rill Boismortier

I love him very much.

I don’t know why his hair glows but I’m here for it.

His magic is very unique and it’s so fun to watch.

Youngest magic captain (before Yuno). I honestly don't know how.

I didn’t think we’d get backstory for him but we did and his relationship with Walter is amazing.

He’s doing his best and I love him for that.

Also, HIS LAUGH.

[aptronyms]

hiiii i have a question about object shows. i saw that clip u posted a bit ago where the muffin's voice was taken from bbh clips. are all the characters voiced that way where its audio pulled from elsewhere? also can you tell me about the leaf

OKAY so I don't think there are any other object show characters that I can think of who are voiced by clips besides like. TV from BFDI who will either speak in TTS or in cut-up clips from other BFDI episodes. there are several characters I know of who speak in TTS voices tho which is close. but yeah muffin from THANOS is the only character I know of who's actually like that. every object show pretty much has actual voice actors voice the characters?

ANYWAY MY LEAF IS LEAFY FROM BFDI WHO IS THE BEST OBJECT SHOW CHARACTER. ohhh my god I could talk about her forever and ever she thinks she is the nicest person in the world and generally does good deeds like she does try to help people and can be generous! but like. she's got a tier list of niceness with herself at the top. it can feel like she only does nice stuff to LOOK nice. like the second anyone questions her niceness she will instantly get so so so mad because of course she's the nicest, she's at the top of her own niceness chart! she's NICE. ignore all the people she has killed before and all the mean things she's done before because they don't matter because she's nice. she's nice. also. she stole the prize of season one (dream island) from the season one winner (firey) because firey (WHO WAS HER FRIENDDD THEY WERE FRIENDSSS) refused to let her stay on the island with everyone else. because she didn't like the ferris wheel that firey built for her (the ferris wheel killed her) and so she's "a mean person" (WHICH GOES AGAINST HER WHOLE "THE NICE ONE" PERSONA). so she gets pissed and steals dream island and this was the catalyst for SO MUCH like the entire cast tries to publicly execute her for it and like firey saves her at first but then she has to run away from a mob trying to chase her down and kill her so she lives isolated in the wilderness eating nothing but wild berries for like. ages. and whenever she interacts with firey he pretends not to even know her. AND LIKE SHE'S EVENTUALLY ALLOWED BACK INTO NORMAL SOCIETY BY SEASON 4 BUT LIKE SHE'S GOT NO FRIENDS AND NO ONE LIKES HER AND SHE KIND OF JUST MAKES EVERYTHING AWKWARD. like in the beginning of season 4 she makes a team all out of weaker contestants who she thinks need her "help" and then is so awful to them that they all end up rightfully hating her. at one point firey says to her face that he doesn't talk to her anymore because no one likes her anymore. like it would basically be social suicide to be her friend. EVENTUALLY tho her and firey make up eventually and apologize for screwing each other over and it's super sweet and they leave together on a boat to find a new dream island for them to share but she doesn't stop being her awesome toxic self with her insane niceness chart