#esp depending on how certain things go for me this year

[noblesvacation]

I'm gonna do it.

I'm going to reread I'll Think of This as a Vacation and Enjoy It, aka the original Gentle Noble webnovel.

There are currently 206 chapters on Syosetu (192 chapters of the main story plus side stories), which means if I read 17 chapters a month, or 4~5 a week, I can do it.

I'm going to do this and take NOTES so that I can write up summaries of each chapter and record such things as characters, labyrinths and labyrinth goods, and information about the magic systems.

Obviously, this will eventually get into spoiler territory for those reading the translated manga. They're gonna be long posts anyway, so they'll be under readmores, and I'll note where chapters line up with the manga and when we pass what's been released. (Reminder that manga vol 10 is coming January 28th, 2025!)

Happy 2025, Gentle Noble fandom! Let's enjoy even more adventures with Lizel, Gil, Eleven, and the rest this year!

[my-castles-crumbling]

hey cas...........so this is super duper personal so you 1000% do not have to respond to this but um here you go:

i am 18, afab, transmasc transnonbinary and i have to go see a gynecologist bc my body isn't functioning correctly (i get my period for too long too frequently and lose a lot of blood). now i don't typically experience dysphoria about things like my period bc it's just something that happens and wtv, but lately idk if it's dysphoria or just general icky frustration bc my body is not regulating itself and i can't control it. anyway, the whole point of the ask was to ask you if you've been to a gyn and what are some things that helped you feel more comfortable about your body and things you can't control. (and if you don't want to answer any of it or some of it or wtv, i totally understand. this is a super invasive and personal ask and i just thank you for even reading it.

all that aside: i love all of your works, esp trans!regulus! thank you so much for being the aunt of the marauders fandom and just being an amazing person in general!!! sending you so much love to you and your family through the holidays!!!!

Hi!

I have been to a gynecologist, I go every year. I've actually been going since I was 13 because I have PCOS so I've had a lot of issues with my cycle (such fun).

I'm going to put a 'read more' here because I'm sure many people don't want to hear me go on about the OBGYN for ages lol

I think the first thing I'd suggest is to be picky, if you can. I know that's not always possible, depending on your country, insurance, etc, but if it's possible to look into the gyn's policies when it comes to LGBTQIA+ patients, first-time patients, etc and pick a doctor that is accepting in that way, it makes a huge difference.

Along with that, before you go to the appointment, research what to expect. Before my first appointment, I read about exactly what would happen. I wasn't thrilled about everything I read, but I wasn't surprised at all, which was very comforting. Knowing what is coming can also prepare you to know what to ask for. For example, if you don't like hearing certain words for certain body parts, you can ask the doctor to avoid using those words and instead use others.

At the appointment, it's very important to be honest about how you're feeling. The nice thing is, gynecologists have better bedside manner than the average doctor, because they work with pregnant people, so if you're honest about feeling uncomfortable, they'll be more likely to listen. Say how you're feeling, ask questions about what is happening, and as weird as it feels, be very honest. I have had some VERY weird conversations with my gynecologist and there has been no judgement. Trust me when I say they have seen and heard EVERYTHNG, so it is much better to be honest. Along with this, if the doctor is NOT helpful or kind at any point, remember that you STILL have the power to remove consent. You have control over your body. You can tell them to stop, ask for a different doctor, or decide to go to a completely different office. You can ask why something is necessary, or refuse a treatment even if the doctor tells you that you should not. You have control over your body.

After any sort of check-up, make sure to ask questions about the suggested treatment. Ask questions about things that matter to you. For me, I always ask about how new medications might affect my weight, my estrogen and testosterone levels (because I am nonbinary and I don't want my estrogen too high), my mood, and my blood sugar (I am diabetic).

Most importantly, remember that you are NOT a bother. Whatever questions you ask, whatever hesitations you voice, however many times you need to correct people on pronouns or anything like that, you are NOT a bother. This is your health and it is extremely important.

Two more things: if you feel like a doctor isn't listening to you, at any office, ask for the doctor to note their decision in your chart. A written note of their decision can often cause them to suddenly be willing to do more for you. And...how do I say this without saying it. If you need to get a physical exam from a gynecologist and you are worried about...sizes of devices used for the exam? Some gynecologists have a smaller version of the device that you can request. I hope that makes sense...

Good luck! And if you have specific questions about what an appointment is like, you're welcome to DM me! I'll let you know if the questions are too invasive.

[variousqueerthings]

something i havent seen (im sure it's out there i just havent seen it) is that while a part of louis and claudia's relationship is of course very much framed by how claudia is constantly made to be in second place to louis' romantic partners (who are also not good to her or to louis) is the way that they're family, and it's complicated, but ultimately - i think - a positive family for one another, rather than the kind of family you leave and never speak to again if you can help it (that would be lestat...)

whether louis is father/mother/uncle/brother, he's not really "friend," (and vice versa, claudia as child/niece/sister) and so there's always going to be a specific dynamic that is complicated in the way the family you grow up with is complicated, and is even more complicated because using any of those words is technically incorrect and they fully had lives before they met, but for the sake of this particular read i think this fits closest. caretaker, perhaps

the point is - and it's not something i can make particularly coherently at the moment - related to how i feel about my siblings (esp my younger siblings) vs how i feel about other people in my life. my siblings simply are, whether or not we get on all the time, whether i feel sad or not that our lives have grown apart since adulthood, whether or not other people in their and my life take precedence during particular times (which can take many different forms -- for them more romantic, for me more community related, the language for where we're going in life just looks different than it did when we were kids)

when louis lets claudia down, but at the same time promises "you and me/me and you" those two things aren't paradoxical to one another, because there is a certain "taking for granted" that can happen -- claudia is always going to be there, just like louis assumes he will also simply be there, while at the same time having that jealousy and expectation that comes with his being older than her that she'll always depend on him to an extent (and she does, but he maybe doesn't take into account how much he depends on her, because being older/feeling like he has "the responsibility" while also suffering serious mental health issues... lotta mess he puts on her shoulders, as we can see)

when claudia joins the coven that takes away louis' feeling of being of use anymore, he doesn't define himself outside of claudia ("if there was no me...") -- and also outside of lestat/his romantic relationships but that's a different post -- and claudia is moving on, but look, armand is there, claudia's got what she wants, louis got something, and they're both still there (am also reminded of how when claudia comes back in s1, it's explicitly once she sees louis sobbing over his grave when his sister declares him dead)

the idea of claudia not being there terrifies louis, he experienced that loss twice in new orleans, once when she left and didn't come back for years, and once when lestat forced her back immediately, and then again the idea of it when she joins the coven (but then he pulls himself back from the edge of letting armand kill him when he fears for her life) and then in a big way when she goes with madeleine, and he knows they're better together than he could ever be for her, but she's still his in that sibling/parent/caretaker feeling kind of way, and this is a loss even though it's important, and also, with being a vampire, she possibly could have still eventually circled back every 100 years or so -- such is the nature of family. they're still there, even if you don't see them for a very long time

and now, finally, forever. claudia is no longer there

im just. yes, louis let her down. but he let her down like you let your family down, by assuming that no matter what, they were a given. claudia can't simply... not be there anymore... she's his family. you argue and you make up and you fuck up and you forgive and you're still there, no matter how messed up you feel or how much you grow apart

she's so right in asking that question: who is louis outside of her? but not just because louis has had the worst luck in life (human and vampire) and been unable to form himself specifically because of *waves hands at everything,* but also because when you see yourself as a caretaker (whether or not you're doing a good job of it), who are you when that person wants to move on from you, doesn't need you in the way you want to be needed, when that person perhaps leaves your life for good?

[leoruby-draws]

On and on I go posting, well today I'm gonna post about John Moore aka Rankorr, called Jack sometimes as well. This is a long post btw, just warning you! I haven't posted much of him really but I wanted to figure out how best define his personality in my au and how to approach his and Jason's working relationship.

Jack is a Red Lantern, you can read about him in the new52 Red Lantern book. His powers come from a red ring, which is powered by the emotion of rage and wrath. Seeing as Jason also has anger issues, this was one major reason why I decided to put him in the TrWh Outlaws. I did consider other options for the Lantern expy (mostly Kyle) but Jack felt more interesting and unique to me.

But in the comics he never came off as too angry, like he's angry sometimes but never to the extent needed to justify why he's the only human chosen for the red ring. He's shown to be able to create light constructs, most other red lanterns can't really do that, so that might be one reason. I wonder if the way he deals with his anger is why he can do that?

His character never got too in depth, honestly I felt like the writers didn't have much interest in him, esp once Guy Gardner got in the book. But I liked him, and thought he had potential. I was intrigued on how he handled his anger issues, which is not at all. He tried really hard to repress his anger,not the best way to deal with that. Btw, his origin story is kinda similar to canon, seeing his grandfather killed. He grew so angry and spiraled until one day a certain red ring appeared...

Also I noticed he was in Oxford university for a literature degree, he seemed to like books. I like the thought of him and Jason bonding over that.

Speaking of Jason, Jack tends to take an almost 'advisory' role to him, he has no interest in leadership. He keeps trying reel Jason in and force him to plan things out or make his plans less insane. But I imagine in the heat of battle Jack gets just as crazy due to the effects of the ring, perhaps thats why he harps on caution. He thinks Jason could be a good leader but he takes issue with his 'selfishness' and recklessness. You can see in the pic above Jack gets pretty caustic with his words, one way his anger manifests. But Jack and Jason really do see elements of themselves in the other, whether that helps them bond or agitates them depends.

Jack is, btw, older than Jason by about 2 years or so and is among the oldest of the team, another reason why he might try to act more responsible.

Here's a small plot point I thought up for Jack, when I was wondering for reasons for why he in particular got the ring. One reason is perhaps Atrocitus wanted a spy but also had the idea to make that spy a child. The idea is that a child would be less suspecting and also less likely for the adult heroes to attack as well. There's been quite an uptick in child heroes in this universe, and it seems some villains are taking advantage of it.

The idea for someone trying really hard to reign in his anger and be a hero is also struggling to deal with being a spy sounded very interesting. I imagine he would struggle with being pulled in two directions, can his fellow teammates help him out of this situation?

Another doodle going a bit more into depth for Jack, namely his relations with others. I really like the thought of Guy Gardner being a sort of mentor figure for Jack, you know Guy used to work with kids, tho that changed in new52 I believe (ignoring that for my au ofc). You can see his stress concerning Atrocitus, being forced to be a spy. But in a lot of ways Atrocitus did try help John (in his own weird way), so Jack has added guilt in not being loyal to him either. Poor kid.

Looks like Jason grows aware of Jack's duplicity, Jack can't stand Jason's hypocrisy (Jason's a bat through and through), but Jason's gonna end up helping him anyways. Bleez, another red lantern, isn't much help tho. Jack and her do end up friends, but she keeps trying to lure him to the dark(red) side.

Here's Jack with his friend Kimberly, just like in the Red Lantern comic he saves her from a creepy stalker. Jack has a hell of a time trying to keep his Red Lantern secret from her, but she can tell he's hiding something tho she's letting him tell her in his own time. Should be noted that Bleez is aware of Kim and dislikes their friendship, she doesn't like that Jack's loyalties are divided. She might also have a crush on Jack but since everyone's a kid, I wouldn't really call it much of a love triangle.

I also wanted to make a friendship between Jack and Owen Mercer, Boomerang Jr. Owen's more carefree and wayyyy less repressed, so he'd make a fun foil for Jack. This friendship's obviously inspired by Hal's and Barry's (Green Lantern, Flash) friendship, tho the dynamic's slightly flipped. With the 'flash' of this duo being the more irresponsible one, tho Jack isn't nearly as put together as he thinks.

Finally here's an older drawing of Jack, when trying to figure out how to draw him outside of his red lantern persona (think of this like concept art ig), the upper right doodle still makes me laugh.

Sorry that was so much, I just never had the chance to post about this character, so I kinda overdid it.

Still hope you like it! On to the next drawing tomorrow!

[not-poignant]

T/F game: you hate surprise gifts (good or bad, doesn't matter)

True-ish!

~

Depends on the gift, depends on the giver, but this is largely true. It doesn't ruin a birthday or an event for me to know that a present is coming, and if it's a big present that people have invested a lot of time or money into, I'd rather know in advance how much I'm going to have to mask through the gratitude.

I'm very bad at keeping surprises too. I'm that person who will just pop and tell someone what I got them in advance, lmao.

I do like certain kinds of surprise presents but they need to come from particular people in particular ways lmao. Like, Glen who I live with, if he comes home with my favourite chocolates of all time, I will be truly delighted. Esp because I only get to have them like twice a year. If a good friend of mine just randomly buys me a game on Steam (we do this for each other intermittently), I'm very happy. I know it doesn't come with expectation and I don't have to mask in person.

One of the biggest reasons I skipped the family christmas last year was because I was so overwhelmed and depressed I knew I wouldn't be able to mask any kind of gratitude through it and had a very flat affect and monotonous tone, and I felt so bad at the idea that people would think I was ungrateful or hated it, that I just...didn't go to something that is one of the most special things I do with my family all year (to the point that I cancelled my birthday which is on the 17th of Dec to preserve energy for christmas).

So surprises can be rough on a masking level.

If a friend comes over and is like 'we're doing something new today!' they're not going to stay a friend very long x.x

[moonpool-system]

i want to vent a little. If it's ok. Im a person with tulpa. Who was in tulpamancy-community for almost ten years, passively looking and reading many blogs. And it's bizzare for me how people see headmates/alters in DID/OSDD same as their source??? Like...

I just were in a community and did read, spoke with so many people with tulpas who are always so different from source! There was hosts with same character as a tulpa, and oh gosh how they were different and how much they did change (esp when you read blog pists like. Ten years old)! The only similarity always was name and looks (tho even these both changed for many).

And it's just so bizzare for me how many systems experience weird attention to certain fictives, because... Some people really do think they're same and related to source that much?..

Idk. In russian speaking community i don't really see trend of people expecting tulpas to be like sources, the opposite is the norm. Tulpas! The "i want to spoil and hug this character so i will create them from scratch".

Even there it's wide known fact that they're aren't their source. Heck, they sometimes even change identity to be completely sepatate from source, and even don't want to use tulpa labels. (the "i was there long before you forced and knew about tulpamancy" happens often.) And how wide-spread this experience is among OSDD and DID systems makes me kinda... Uh, feel weird? Like, im a crazy? Im i treating them as source and don't notice? Is there people who can't comprehend it, so many, and i never saw them? Uh... It's so confusing. Thank you for reading.

Hey, so this is Akira, Persona 5. I'm a source LOVING fictive, for me whenever people ask me about source things it's ridiculously affirming to my identity and who I am. I'm a traumagenic alter in a (P-)DID system, but I'm also a representation of our spiritual past life, so I'm also alterhuman in that way. I'm here to say, basically, every fictive is different. The tulpamancy community is very specifically focused on giving your tulpa agency and making sure they're not conforming to your expectations of them, and since they're being created over time with a base instead of appearing here (almost) all at once in one way or another, it only makes sense you'll find source separated tulpas all over the place. Our tulpa Badeline is the same, she's still herself but she's very different from source now. But if you look into the soulbonding community, you'll find it to be much more focused on fictives' sources and oftentimes how to handle living as a soulbond and grapple with your memories.

I've only been using spiritual sources as an example, but regardless of your origin, how connected you feel to your sourceself or source memories you are is your choice. I mean, otherkin and other alterhumans aren't hurting anyone by being connected to their source, so why should there be an assumption that it hurts us? It depends on the fictive. Our three golden rules are this: treat them like a person, don't ask questions that'd be invasive if it happened to the body, and go by their individual judgement for what's ok.

[wind-up-thancred]

Hey I saw ur Thancred face mod and wanted to say…thank you so much!!!! And I miss his old face 🥺 do you think it’s possible to ever get it back? I’m tempted to learn modding just to fix up my boy bc they really massacred him 💀

hi anon! im glad you like the mod. yeah i dont blame you for missing the old face lol, i took one look at it in textools when the patch dropped and went "wtf did they do to my boy... 😢" i think it depends on what you mean by "getting his old face back":

-if you want to start with the 7.0 base face, you could probably open it up in blender next to his old face and use the sculpt tool to physically sculpt his mesh to be closer to what it used to be, but i think past the lips there isn't too much else on the actual geometry to change— maybe his nose and jawline? but to me it feels like a lot of the change also happened to his normal maps, which are the textures that add extra shading detail and volume to the face. the old textures cant be ported over because the new mesh isn't laid out for them, buuuut im aware of a tool being developed currently in the ffxiv loose texture compiler for automatically transforming the old textures to match the new mesh layout. will that work for thancred's unique face? i'm not sure, but it could be worth a try— im fairly certain his unique sculpt is an edited version of one of the male midlander faces, so once that specific face is supported in the tool, it might work. if not, you can always manually adjust the new normal map while referencing the other one. -if you want to start with the OLD 6.58 base face, i believe there is a blender script going around (i saw it in the textools discord last iirc?) for converting old face sculpts to new ones. this is necessary because the new faces have QUITE a few new bones in them that need to be rigged, or else the face will not animate. from there, you MIGHT have to convert some of the old textures as well, but i'm not 100% sure, i think it depends on how well they work at baseline for 7.0. i know there's still a legacy skin shader in the game for older faces since not all of them have been updated yet, so you might be able to switch it to that so that the old textures still work. if that sounds like A Lot, uh... i dont blame you 😅ive been learning xiv modding for about two years ish now so ive got a lil bit of know-how under my belt, but if you want somewhere good to start, i would recommend joining the textools discord, there are multiple channels there for people to ask questions about how modding works, how to mod specific things, lots of tutorials, etc, and im sure therell be something in there to help you along. buuuuut in the meantime, i HAVE seen two other existing mods so far on XMA that do both of the things i mentioned before: https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/109670 this one seems to be a very good version of the first fix, where they went in and sculpted his new 7.0 face to be closer to the old one to a higher extent than i did, with his lips, jaw, and nose tweaked. it doesnt have heterochromia or scruff like mine does but i think you should theoretically be able to do that easily— feel free to send another ask if you want me to explain how i did it on my mod. https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/109665 this one, meanwhile, is the second fix— they ported the old face model over the new one. it has stubble and no heterochromia but again, if you want to change either of those, id be happy to explain how i did it. i have not tested either of these myself so i have no clue how well these work in-game but im sure they work fine!! i hope either of those help you out and if not i wish you good luck on your modding journey.... esp learning blender ^^" its a pain in the ass at first but trust me it feels really really good once youve figured stuff out!

[margridarnauds]

writers truth or dare: 🎱🕯️🔪🎨

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats 

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🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

6, probably. It isn't my favorite bit, because it's harder to tell when IT'S done VS when the overall plot is done, it's much harder to constantly reread what you've written and go "did I do what I set out to do?" I think that with my last thing, I spent more time editing than writing; there was one part that required the whole scene to be rewritten about three times. And it's never fun to have a part that you really liked and then have to cut (there was one line in my most recent one that KILLED me to cut -- it's safe in another document so I can use it down the line, but still). On the plus side, it's also where I get to fill out parts, add things to suit the mood, build atmosphere when I feel like I need to do that.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

...oh. God. WEIRD, hm. I guess that depends on how you define "weird" -- for some people, authentic Old Irish is weird, but for me, that's just bringing my job into my fanfic. But I suppose for things that are far away from what I would usually do...

For anything set in the Toho RetJ world, I actually did look at pictures of, say, Chernobyl now, to give myself a template for how the world would look like. I looked up different predictions for how the world would look after a certain number of years, including weather patterns, natural disasters, etc., looked at videos like "Life After People" from the History Channel (which is...the History Channel, but gave me some inspiration), looked up photos of crumbling apartment buildings and how they look and the kind of natural decay that settles in, while also hunting down articles on the Shakespeare so that that could inform some of my characterizations.

Likewise, for my Terra Nova fanfic, I often found myself looking up fossils from the Cretaceous period, both plant and animal, trying to integrate them into the world of Terra Nova, looking through pictures of the sets so I could try to do some worldbuilding for how the world of the show works.

For my BG3 things, I have, like, 4-5 lore books on my computer, and I've looked up everything from, say, how to kill Lolth to drider transformation to Drow foods in the Underdark to Drow burial rites to coming of age rituals to necromancy to whether Devils in the world of DND eat mortals (...undecided) to Cambion biology (answer: they'd have to be able to decide on what a Cambion IS first) to what body temperature a Drow VS an Elf would have. I've looked up the ingredients to various potions for the sake of Kitrye's alchemy, common traits among albinos IRL VS the Szarkai in DND for Malla (Malla's eyesight is too good, but it's essential to her character, so sure), and real-world contracts and the language involved to write Raphael's deals. For a non-DND player, I've had to dive as deeply into the lore as possible (and often, esp. with regards to the Drow, going "that's stupid, I'm doing something better".)

For weirdest research OVERALL, definitely probably walking up and down a ~16th-17th century fortress so I could get a feel for how the Bastille might have felt.

...actual 18th century smut and how gay men in the 18th century usually conceived of sex. Opera schedules from the 18th-19th centuries, so that, when an opera's mentioned, it's usually something that was either playing at the time or plausible.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

God, I've gotten to see a lot of really good fanart, and, especially, now that I'm doing BG3 things, I am really routinely being spoiled. I'm going to give a list, just because I think that there are worse things to spill a lot of ink on than giving people their proper due.

First of all, propping my friends, @hotelfgirl did a piece of Kitrye that lives rent free in my head. She has that specific sad girlfailure vibe that I love to see.

@drewsaturday did some Morléans fanart for my birthday that also lives eternally rent-free in my head; it really captured part of the appeal of the ship (besides the tragic ending), which is the level of trust involved, the intimacy of it.

For Irish Myth stuff, even if it's always slightly awkward to call it "fanart" in the same way that, say, BG3 things are fanart or things for my musicals are fanart, anything by @amylouioc, absolutely wonderful interpretations of medieval Irish figures by a modern Irish artist, my favorite is probably Nuada over here. I love the lighting, I love the color scheme, I love the detailing around the arm, especially the little blue tatoos...and, admittedly, I also love that Nuada's a KILF (King I'd Like To--terrorize the Fomoiri with) because I am, at the end of the day, a simple woman. (You all thought it was going to be Bres, didn't you?)

@aodhan-art - WONDERFUL pieces from medieval Irish lit; the first piece of his I was aware of was this one which...well. He knows the context, but it was a very memorable part of a very memorable trip for me. There's this real...sassiness Áed in particular has that I love, this real sense of personality. I also have to talk about this; it isn't often that we get Bres/Sreng fanart (or anything about Bres at ALL), so I love seeing him memed; I'm glad someone put up the money to do the commission and I'm even more glad he did it, it's perfect for both of them. Lest anyone think I'm forgetting Bres' better half, though, I love the work done on Bríg here; I love all the little detailing, all the textures, the little freckles on her skin, the clothing ITSELF looking like something from medieval Ireland.

Speaking of which, @violetcancerian's drawing of Bres and Sreng here, like. Look at them. It's Christmas. They're happy.

For BG3 fanart...

@lemmeurs Raphael fanart here is great; I love anything that captures the duality of Raphael's character, I love the use of lighting and shadow in it, the single strand of hair hanging over his face in both the Cambion and Human forms, the sharp edges of his cheekbones, the overall color scheme. Legitimately have not stopped thinking about it for days.

@shahs1221 ANYTHING by her is great, I really love this one here. For obvious professional reasons, I can't engage with any Professor/Student Raphael content on here (nothing personal, but if I don't engage with it, I have nothing to hide if anyone decides to link my fandom life to my academic life...which has happened before, regrettably), BUT her Professor Raphael art, both this and the follow-up, live rent-free in my brain (I will also note, if any colleagues, mentors, undergrads, potential peer reviewers, etc. should FIND this, they will note that it is based on a wonderful fic series where Raphael is dating someone who is NOT a student). LOVE the cozy academia vibe, especially the one in the follow-up where he's sleeping in a nice, incredibly comfortable looking sweater. (The real question in life: Do I want Raphael in this art or do I want to BE Raphael in this art?) Also...the baby cow eyes paired with sharp cheekbones are in full effect, causing me to briefly have my IQ drop into the single digits.

@adarlingmess WONDERFUL Raphael content in general, but I think I lean towards Dadbod!Raphael in the bath . I love it for the...plot? ("The plot" in this case being "Those cheekbones + a soft stomach"). I love the atmosphere, the kind of haze created by a combination of the steam + candles, Raphael looking relaxed for once in his immortal life, the way the candlelight plays on his face, the railing in the background (...not...that kind of railing...the railing from the game. The metal railing that is in the game.) Overall, it just really captures the feeling of that area of the Boudoir very well, it brings in a lot of small details, AND Raphael looks very good.

@potatocrisp Absolutely LOVE the dynamic that their Tav has with Raphael, the kind of push/pull dynamic on both ends, the way the two of them are both compromised for one another but are extremely stubborn about it (favorite Tavphael dynamic, ngl), the way that her Tav very clearly has the upper hand over this immortal, ancient being. I love her character design, I love the detailing on his doublet, especially the little shine of metal at his wrists, the little lace edging at her stockings.

@infernaldaydreams Hahaha, BG3 fanart that is NOT Raphael. I love everything I've seen of hers, but this one is probably my favorite, not the least because it was the first one I saw. I love how bittersweet it is, I love the tenderness, the focus on hands, the way that Gortash's face gets overshadowed and then lightens up for her, I just...God, these two rotten people have me in a chokehold, I love them. (But also, in the nicest possible way, fuck you for making me feel THINGS, knowing how Durgetash ends in canon.)

[avelera]

AAAAA i cant tell you how excited i am about your new fic!! Esp Love love love the huge contrast in hob in the first chapter compared to your other fics. (given sanctuary anon back from the ether)

Thank you! Yeah I am having SO VERY MUCH FUN writing 1589 Hob who is by far the most audacious and the least self-aware of all the eras of Hob. He's had 200 years of meteoric rise beyond anything anyone of his birth could hope to attain and not a single setback to check his instincts. As far as 1589 Hob is concerned, the more he pushes for what he wants, the more he wins. Why in the world would he bother with modesty or hesitation, then? He's going to be absolutely awful in the 1589 fic for that reason, though there is still that thread of sincerity to him, particularly with regards to Dream. They are genuinely awful for each other in this era, a powder keg of disdain and irritation and arrogance and attraction to the right person at the wrong time that makes them at once infuriating and irresistible to each other as a result. And I can't wait.

That said, I think one of the reasons I kind of... had to write a bit of 1589 Hob before I could finish up Giving Sanctuary and get into the sequel is because after writing over 100,000 words of Hob at his very lowest in 1689, I kind of needed to go back and remember who he was before all that happened? Like, it would be far too easy to have Hob learn all of these important lessons in GS and find the love of his life and rebuild his broken self confidence as a result, only to keep him in this sort of cringing low self-esteem just because it's what I'm used to writing? So I wanted to take a moment to go all out on who Hob was before the 1600s broke him. Obviously in Giving Sanctuary he's not going to be 1598 Hob, he's grown so much and learned so many lessons since then, but this canny bandit and all-around arrogant fuckboi was there at some point, and Hob regaining his self confidence even if its tempered now with wisdom is going to contain elements of that 1500s nobleman.

Because here's the thing, all my centennial AUs are still the same Hob. The only difference is the one thing went different so they get more time with Dream sooner. So like, obviously Giving Sanctuary doesn't happen in the Joke's On You 'verse, and it also doesn't happen in the Come live with me 'verse, but the Hob you meet in the first chapter of each of those is like... still the same person in my mind? It's still the progression of who he would have been? Which means for as whacky and weird as the 1589 fic is going to be, this is still the Hob we meet in Giving Sanctuary! Like, these "fuck you" thoughts about the nobility are still thoughts that, at one point, Giving Sanctuary Hob had 100 years before the events of the story. I might stress certain characteristics over others depending on the genre, but they're all the same person.

Anyway, Giving Sanctuary's last chapter and sequel is still coming, I promise! All of my fics are. The delay is genuinely a matter of having to hold down a day job, if I could get a month off I'd get so far in all (*checks watch*) four of my Dreamling centennial AU fics? Which I so badly wish I could do ;___;

[gaykey]

maybe bc i haven't been paying much attention for the past 6 months but i never felt like key changed, just that his pragmatism and the way he doesn't let anything stop his bag (which are things i used to admire abt him!) had their natural consequences. seeing him with shinee only solidified that, esp with what he said abt jjong complaining abt juice, we all said that when the song came out! he's always known fans' hearts best and that's what's made it more difficult to reconcile, bc why in that regard and not others? stanning one celebrity or not doesn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things but i'm still struggling with this for some reason when i found it so easy to drop other people i liked. idk sorry to dump this all on you, i know ur getting it from all sides, but you're one of the first shawols i followed and i feel like our journeys are connected even tho we don't know each other lol. sending love to you and yours <3

nah it's cool. it's cathartic for us to all discuss it. me too. i find it really hard to get my thoughts and feelings out in a coherent way sometimes, and these messages (the nice ones) do help me to sort out how i'm feeling, see other nuances i might not ect.

mmmm, so your saying he hasn't changed his behavior, but, his....work ethic? go-getter personality? has backfired on him in a negative way as of late? or, that that type of mindset was bound to result in something like this. (i'm paraphrasing you so badly i'm sorry idk what i'm talking about.)

that makes sense to me. because, as i have said, though it has proven to be a somewhat contreversial opinion, i truly don't think he's a bad or evil person.

mmmm, this is the struggle with me. kibum seems to have always known what the fans are discussing, what we want/need to hear, and are feeling.

i truly think the crticism hasn't been loud enough. which, makes sense. it always feels like a very small miority are willing to call out certain issues.

and it's the parasocials anon lol. idk how long you've stanned, but, either way, shinee just have a knack for making you feel really emotionally connected/dependent, some varying degreee of the two, to them. it's all the tough sad times evwryones been through over the years. it sticks with you and really strengthens the connection with them.

but yes! thank you for the love, anon! sending it right back <3

[canonicallyanxious]

assorted thoughts/speculation on how the alan/wen relationship could have possibly stopped working, beyond "i fell out of love with you":

"You should have asked him too if he wanted it" - my very first reaction to this line from Gong was that he was maybe talking about something specific, mostly bc it felt very pointed esp in conjunction with the later line of "maybe you should try doing nothing". then i thought maybe he was talking about a sort of last straw incident as part of a recurring pattern. now i think it's very possible it wasn't about anything specific necessarily, but more a general commentary on their dynamic. Alan seems like a very solution-oriented man-of-action kind of person, from the way he constantly asks Wen what he can do to fix things and make them better and if there are "any other options". on the other side of things Wen is an attentive listener and seems to be pretty attuned to other people's wants and feelings [thinking about his interactions with Li Ming, for example].

so from that perspective i can see how Wen maybe started doing things he didn't necessarily want to do because he could see that it made Alan happy, and not expressing that he might not want to do those things bc it didn't seem like that big of a deal at the start in comparison to how happy it made Alan, and Alan maybe didn't know to ask because he himself is the kind of person who expresses himself through his actions, and things slowly building from there until the situation became intolerable.

"I don't really like beef... but you like it, so i can eat it too" - this line reinforces this impression i get, and i can imagine it being especially true at the beginning of their relationship. they're in their late 20's, i'm guessing somewhere around 27-28, and they've been together for over 5 years [possibly closer to six, depending on when the break up actually happened; their 1 year anniversary was May 2017, so they actually started dating in 2016], which means they probably started dating around 21-22 years. I don't think it's totally out of the realm of possibility for this to have been their first serious long-term relationship [definitely not an uncommon queer experience in particular, i myself didn't start dating girls until after i graduated college] and even if that isn't the case, when you're younger i think it's easy to romanticize things and tell yourself there are things you're okay with changing about yourself to make the other person happy. Wen especially seems like the kind of person who could buy into this pretty easily [Mr. "if i were them i would do everything possible to make it work" over here].

but i think even in your late twenties you have a much more solid idea of who you are as a person than you do in your early twenties, and a better understanding of the things you're less willing to bend for. and i think five years is a long time to push yourself into the mold of a person you aren't, even if it's with things that seem small like waking up for morning jogs or eating beef. like Wen said in ep 5 part 1, he did his best, but after a certain point maybe he realized he just couldn't do it anymore.

"deep down i also hoped we could make it work again" - wen strikes me as the kind of person who doesn't let go of the things that are important to him very easily [i mean just look at how persistent he is with jim lol man knows what he wants!]. and this can be an admirable trait in some cases, but i can def see how it might also significantly exacerbate a situation like the one Wen ended up in with Alan.

what makes it especially complicated is that by his own admission he still cares about Alan and wants him to be happy; he notices everything that Alan does for him and how hard he tries and he's not immune to that because he knows how badly Alan still wants to be a part of his life. and i can see how all that would make it difficult for him to make a clean break. actually i understand the desire to want to stay friends with an ex bc of how important of a role they've played in your life for such a long time, on a very personal level [five years is a long fucking time to have such a deep and intimate relationship with a person! no matter how it ended or how you feel about the person it can be really difficult to imagine life without them!].

but ultimately esp in this case because Alan is still in love with him but Wen isn't a clean break is probably what's best for everyone, i think it's just difficult to realize that when you're as deep in the situation as Wen was. i can see it being a limbo/stasis kind of situation for a really long time, until the opportunity to get some outside perspective comes along [from an emotionally damaged chicken rice seller, for instance. apropos of nothing.]

-

side note: even if they didn't explicitly say it i still hc that financial reasons were at least one reason why wen was having difficulties moving out. idk how the housing situation in Thailand is but i could def see it being difficult to disentangle yourself if both of your names were on the lease or if you both owned the place [I think Gong at some point says that their place is "also yours" which doesn't necessarily mean that they own the place, ownership is maybe difficult to attain at their age idk how ownership compares to renting in Thailand, but like maybe, who knows, it's a pretty small flat as opposed to a house and if they had rings they might be committed enough to the relationship to spring for a place together, IDK].

also i think the implication is that Wen's family doesn't live in Pattaya so living with them wouldn't be an easy option unless he transferred jobs which is also not an easy thing to do [he doesn't sound like he would particularly want to move back to Bangkok anyway, from his convo with Jim at the beginning of ep 6].

honestly the only thing i can't explain is why Wen would choose to share a bed with his ex for all that time skdnfsdkjfnsdkfns my man just didn't want to sleep on a couch for 6+ months i guess, place apparently too small for an extra futon or an air mattress, didn't want to bunk up in the kitchen so he said "you are not kicking me out of my own bed please and thank you" idk



[goosegoblin]

Hi jess. Hope you’re well. Asking you this because im honestly not sure who to ask in my life and ive liked the advice you’ve given to others in the past. So im an american poc, 21 and in college, as is my white bf. We’ve only been dating 5 mos but im more in love and secure w him than anyone ever and he feels the same. We’ve started talking about postgrad plans since we’re going to enter our last year of college. He is planning on a phd whereas im going corporate. He wants to live together after graduation and be in the same city. He’ll heavily consider my choice for location when it comes to grad school and wants me to apply to jobs in those cities. I really want to be with him and I can see a future w him but at the same time it’s really scary. Especially the thought of moving away from my state and moving in with him and starting a life together. I feel like im still young. But i also dont want to be long distance, esp because wherever he picks for grad school he will be stuck at for a few years. Are we crazy to be talking about all this and considering living together (a year later) when we’ve only been together for 5mos? Im aware we could break up before then and my immigrant parents will present MANY issues, but there’s hope in my heart that we’ll work thru all of it together. Or am I being delusional and need to chill out? We still have a few mos but I’ll need to start applying to jobs in the fall and will need to figure out which cities by then. Idk. It sounds crazy to me. He could be the one or he could not. I dont know and my heart wants to run w this but also scary to make decisions when we haven’t known each other that long (even tho it’s been wonderful. Not perfect bc many external obstacles but perfect btwn us). Any advice is much appreciated!!! Sorry this is so long

Hello my friend,

I think to a certain extent this depends on how much this would limit your career options. Are we talking about a career where you can pretty easily find jobs in most cities? Or one that's quite niche, where limiting yourself would make life a lot harder? If you weren't moving to be with him, would you consider moving to another state at all, or would you strongly prefer to stay where you are?

A few other things to consider- if you make these plans and then you break up beforehand, will you have somewhere to stay? What if you break up after a few months of living together- who will leave and who will stay? Will you be alright for money? Will you have a support network outside of him, even if not in person? You say there will be issues with your family- if they're currently an important part of your life, will you potentially lose them if you make this decision? Is that okay with you or not? None of these are leading questions, by the way- they're just things I think are worth consideration.

For reference, I moved in with my then-boyfriend and two other people in a shared house after dating him for around six months. We're now married, so it went pretty well! That being said, it was in the same city I was living in anyway, we were also living with other people, and we were both still attending (the same) university. I am sure many people have stories of moving in together early and having it work; I am sure many have stories of moving in together early and it not working (I suspect, sadly, there are many more of these). Nothing in life is risk-free.

I think if you do go through with it, it's sensible to think of and plan for worst-case scenarios- but I don't think this is a situation where I can tell you what's right or wrong. I think it depends on a lot of different factors. Are there friends or people in your life that you could ask that might know you and your partner better? I'm sorry that I couldn't give more specific or useful advice.

Best wishes and lots of love,

xx

[bylertruther]

can i hear all of your thoughts on the ballad of songbirds and snakes? 👀

no ❤️ hehe ofc! this is just going to be a braindump bc it's been a while, but here are my thoughts! (under a read-more bc i be talkin)

first, i'd like to say that i was never one of those people that went ugh 🙄 who wants to hear about the bad guy 🙄. never! not even a little bit. snow was one of my favorites and i thoroughly LOVED every scene he was in. years later, those are the ones that stand out to me every time. also, i felt that collins had done a superb job of showing her understanding of such topics and her literary prowess, so even on a more technical note, i still couldn't understand why people were disappointed or thought it would be a fluff piece.

moving on to the book itself now: i liked this book because of snow 🤍 and the way it approached certain themes, like poverty and war and the politics stemming from both.

every page felt gripping to me, because snow is very much a Thinker^tm. a plotter. a schemer. he can never not be present, not even just in the moment, but in both the past and the future, too. he has this dogged persistence that was refreshing to me, bc it's very different to how katniss felt as someone that was thrust into something she never wanted in the first place. katniss was born into poverty and largely accepted that, bc she had no choice. snow was not, and thus can not accept this fate for himself, and fights it every step of the way.

as for poverty, i don't think that a lot of people understand just how much it can influence not just your entire life, but also the lives of your children should you keep the cycle going. it's something that demands to be known and dealt with; something that dictates how every little interaction with the world can or will go. it's especially brutal if you haven't always been poor or if you live in an area with such wealth inequality, like snow.

the importance and constant presence and reminder of hunger / food, appearances / clothes, outside mannerisms / internal monologue, drive / desperation, and the reasoning behind snow's actions make this exceptionally clear, i feel. you're not allowed to forget, not even for a moment, because snow can never forget. he also can't afford to, because his future and his social standing within society depends on it. he simply has no choice in the matter, esp not with his obsessive tendencies.

we're reminded again and again that snow doesn't have the same safety net as his peers. he has to be the best and he has to fight for everything, because otherwise he won't be able to pursue higher education and has no way of moving up. every decision that he makes is informed by that. when he sways, he inevitably remembers what it's like to be poor, and quickly shifts gears.

he remembers the war. he remembers all that he lost. he remembers what they had to do to survive. he carries that with him all the time. he's always going to look out for himself and ultimately do what's in his best interest, because there is no one that's able to do that for him. he has to do that not just for himself, but his family, too. you don't have to agree with him and the many justifications he makes for himself, but he is fighting his own fight the same way that other characters like katniss and gale were.

i'm reminded of this quote from lucy herself:

"people aren't so bad, really," she said. "it's what the world does to them. like us in the arena. we did things in there we'd never have considered if they'd just left us alone."

and i don't say this to excuse the things he does, or later goes on to do, but to reiterate that throughout the entirety of this book, snow is in a fight for survival. he even says that what he sees in district twelve reminds him of his time in the arena. of course, he's twisted this into a justification of his superiority, but he's acknowledging this point, and adding that "it takes very little to bring the beast to the surface."

like. everyone reacts to hardship and war differently. you have characters like gale and snow. you have characters like tigress, peeta, and sejanus. and you have characters like katniss and lucy gray.

there are millions of people in the world that wish to escape the boot. and there are many that when they do, rather than throwing it out entirely, they make the conscious decision to put it on themselves be the one to do the stepping this time. i don't agree with it, but i find it endlessly fascinating, because of how human it is. many people respond to cruelty with cruelty—eye for an eye—and justify it to themselves by equating it to order.

i also just loved, loved, loved how she dived into war and post-war society, too. the things people are willing to do to survive (cannibalism, crime, sex work, etc). what happens afterward (no-waste policies/culture, the winner imposes retaliatory violence and sanctions against the loser, propaganda culture, hostility and prejudice between opposing groups / classes, ptsd, restructuring society in such a way that it cannot happen again, etc).

it's like. i just. clenches fist. i love it when there are reasons behind evil. snow wasn't born that way—he was made. circumstance and his own decision-making along the way are what make him the man he is. there are many moments within the story that show you that he is capable of feeling things for others, many points where he does struggle to make a decision, and many points where he struggles even after making that decision, that show you that he is incredibly and undoubtedly human. that anyone is capable of being like him. that there are many people in this world that are just like him. this story is every bit as human and real and fascinating as the first three books were, and it didn't even need fantasy elements to make it so, bc it's just Real Life.

i focused on snow here bc he's my favorite, but i also really enjoyed sejanus and lucy gray, too. the tragedy of sejanus and his inability to be anything but himself is chef's kiss. when he cries out for his ma? omfg. SINISTER!!!!!!!!!!!! EVIL, EVIL, EVIL. and so real. and lucy gray is just that girl, that character, the One. if she were a vine, it'd be this one: "i'm a bad bitch you can't kill me". it didn't matter what snow did, bc she lived on despite his efforts and got the last laugh. "it's the things we love most that destroy us" #true but also not true bc he brought all that on himself, not her. and there are many such dr gauls in the world, too, trying their best to poison enough minds that it keeps their machine going even after they're gone. many such people that don't know when to stop or more accurately simply don't care to.

anyway. i loved it <3 loved it so much tht it bumped snow up to number 1 fave of the series and made me weep n wail bc i need more content from ms collins immediately </3

[lizclipse]

I'm a sucker for timelines so

hopefully im not overdoing it (not exactly a teacher who knows how to grade smth) and this stuff is actually helpful in some way

2025-2026: a general increase is optimistic so soon (esp without eco problems) is optimistic, but honestly we need some optimism

2027: appreciate the use of a real mission for this :)

2030: would this second embankment not trigger a renewed call for a second canal? not sure if there's any news about this from the first one, tho

2034: i'd keep an eye on the h_3 mining, since there seems to be missions to look into it already in the works (2025 is a year ive seen a couple times in a shit-quick search, might be bs)

2036: i'm not personally convinced that fusion will be market-ready by then, especially not the ITER variety. i know there are other techniques being looked at, maybe some might be more viable for this point? (i may look into it myself and get back to you, but if i do that now i'll get lost and never come back)

2036-2037: the martian mission feels odd to me, since all i've heard about such a thing is that it's currently 1-way (the main thing that bothers me about the film 'the martian'). are there plans for a send-and-return currently?

2037: ykno that optimism thing i mentioned? you could guess what i feel about a certain point in here :) otherwise, it might be worth looking in to skyhooks, as those might be more viable that sp-elevators, and the baby surprises me. would expect missions like this to prevent that sort of thing, so i'd at prolly expect a scandal (or at the least an investigation into the how, sovereignty should be fine since antartica is similar legally)

2040: self-sufficiency is huge, but i'd expect it happening on the moon to be a pre-requisite for a mars mission because of the difficulty getting things there

2042: i'm surprised that the US gov would involve themselves like this after big QOL improvements earlier, is there some political stuff that makes them slide back?

2048: a year feels like a very short time for a full QM revolution. it would do one prolly, but physics needs a ton of time lol

2050: half the states being western corpo based feels odd to me. western corps have had a historically hard time breaking into the chinese market, and i'd expect Taiwan to have some say here due to their historical claims on the chinese mainland (they'd also have a large influence as well due to a shitload of western tech depending on them). oh, and there's a bunch of climate targets aimed at 2050, so it might be a good idea to mark how closely they were hit (or just think about it idk)

2051: i really like the beamed energy idea happening :3 would it affect the fusion reactor demand?

2053: i could be really mistaken on all the mars mission stuff, but wouldn't it have to be at least semi-sustainable from the get-go? considering the months travel time & cost of launching things, regularly supplying a permanent base would be hella, hella expensive

2057: what is $1T in comparison to other big corpos? inflation is a bitch honestly

2060: new york feels odd at first since i'd expect a lot of space to be necessary, but it is the area with some of the highest energy demand so it'd make sense nearby at least

2067/2071: i'm curious on the life on venus here. mars seems like a much more likely place, but is the intent here that there's a completely different kind of life on venus? this feels like a big deal tbh, and might be worth exploring more (like huge advancements etc)? i would take care with this, tho, since (i believe) our current knowledge of chemistry seems to indicate that carbon/water is the single best basis, and alternatives are non-viable enough to make life built on it really unlikely. also, panspermia isn't super relevant at the moment, but i don't think you could ever outright prove that is didn't happen (doesn't seem likely to be right tho).

general things: i like the asteroid & (especially) the gas giant (& venus possibly) mining, since it's cool and opens a lot of potential for mega-corp shenanigans. not sure we'd colonise the gas giants themselves, but i can 100% see some of the moons. i'd be curious on a map showing the territory ranges for corps and govs closer to the end. also the 'massive object' is an interesting mystery...

overall, i really like it, and it seems fairly reasonable for a potential future timeline. curious on the setting, tho, and whether the massive object is going to be alien in nature :)

Unfinished Timeline for an Untitled Setting

Critique and advice is more than welcome, though please be nice about it. Goes up to about 2081 rn, though I plan to get at least another 50 years further in before I get to the time I want the bulk of the setting to be set in.

Timeline:

2022: First controlled break-even fusion reaction, followed by first controlled net-gain fusion reaction.

2025-2026: Increasing unrest in USA leads to mass riots outside the white-house. Sweeping reforms after growing revolts threaten to become a major armed rebellion. NASA miraculously left untouched, general increase in standard of living. Economic crisis narrowly averted.

2027: First nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) tested in orbit by NASA and DARPA. GPT-style language modeling declared “dead end” for self-aware AI.

2030: First Lunar base established under NASA Artemis program. Suez Canal temporarily blocked by a poorly driven cargo ship again. Evergreen Shipping goes bankrupt.

2034: Lunar Gateway established under joint NASA, ESA, JAXA, DLR, ASI, and CNSA. Lunar helium-3 mining declared officially nonviable. Radial detonation engines become standard for lower ascent stages, SpaceX Starship, NASA SLS, and Roscosmos Soyuz phased out. Drop in launch prices.

2034-2036: Additional modules added to the Lunar Gateway from SpaceX, KARI, ISRO, and Roscosmos. Lunar Gateway Collaborative Group (LGCG) established consisting of all current contributors to the station.

2036: First commercial fusion energy plant reaches full operation in France under ITER. Mass production of Tritium begins. First fully private space station under SpaceX. Asteroid mining corporations begin formation. Establishment of Nigerian Organization for the Development of Space (NODS). Ecuador experiences communist revolution.

2036-2037: First manned martian mission under LGCG, first human footsteps on another planetary body.

2037: Elon Musk assassinated. New SpaceX leadership declares plans for space elevator. North Korea collapses, Korean peninsula unified under South Korean leadership, becoming simply Korea. Indian nuclear stockpile secretly surpasses 50000 Gt. First baby born on the moon.

2040: Artemis base becomes semi-self sufficient, producing it’s own food and air from hydroponics, and water from mined lunar ice. Lunar LH2 and hydrolox production begins. Lunar population passes 100.

2040-2042: First commercial fusion power plants established in the US, UK, Australia, Korea, and Japan.

2042: A joint US Government and SpaceX black operation destabilizes Ecuador, leading to a corporate takeover of the territory.

2044: Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand form West Pacific Trade Organization (WPTO). Construction of the base of SpaceX’s planned space elevator begins off the coast of Ecuador.

2047: LCC completed at CERN. Mission for permanent martian base declared. Major economic crisis in China, intervention from several megacorps results in a decrease in Chinese government power and increase in corporate control in the region. SpaceX space elevator counterweight construction begins in geostationary orbit.

2048: Major revolution in quantum mechanics brought on by new data from the LCC. Lunar population passes 250.

2050: China splits into 4 corporate states, Amazon Corporate Territory (ACT) with its capitol in Chongqing, Samsung Independent State (SIS) with its capitol in Shanghai, Territory for Electronic Developments (TED) made up of Apple and Microsoft with its capitol in Yinchuan, and the Chinese Corporate Union (CCU) made up of several formerly state-owned corporations with their capitol in Wuhan and possession of the Three Gorges Dam. Beijing becomes an independent city-state controlled by the former Chinese government, retaining control over the CNSA. Massive revolution in battery energy density. Permanent martian base established by LGCG.

2051: Breakthrough in photon manipulation, beamed energy and solar collection becomes increasingly viable. Many asteroid mining corps branch into solar power, notably Binghamton Vacuum Mining Solutions (BVMS). Lunar population passes 500.

2052: Martian population surpasses 100.

2053: Martian base reaches semi-self sustainability.

2055: All 4 Chinese corporate states and the Beijing city state form the Chinese Federation for Space Exploration (CFSE), supplanting the old CNSA. Lunar Gateway module renamed and LGCG roster amended accordingly. SpaceX space elevator cable completed, first test cart sent to GEO. WPTO begins construction of a space elevator in the Banda Sea.

2056: SpaceX space elevator declared complete, commercial operation begins.

2057: BVMS surpasses $1T in net worth, becomes primary supplier of energy for the Artemis Lunar Base. Lunar Population surpasses 1k, massive migratory population surge begins following influx of energy from BVMS. Martian population surpasses 250. First fusion reactor in Ecuador.

2058: WPTO space elevator counterweight begins construction in GEO.

2060: First fusion reactors in Nigeria and India. First large-scale solar collector on Earth constructed in New York operated by BVMS. Large population surge in Binghamton NY. Lunar population surpasses 5k. Martian space station established. Regulations for GEO development established.

2061: First lunar-built spacecraft flown. Secondary lunar settlement founded by CFSE. Massive influx of funds for the WPTO space elevator from the CFSE, GEO counterweight construction begun. Lunar Gateway population surpasses 100. First fusion reactor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Congo space agency (DRCSA) founded.

2064: WPTO space elevator cable completed, declared complete and opened to commercial operation.

2065: BVME establishes unmanned Mercurian base. CFSE settlement population surpasses 100. Martian population surpasses 500. Lunar Gateway population surpasses 200.

2066: Mass expansion of Artemis Base life support systems using BVMS produced automated construction equipment. Aerostat scientific outpost established by LGCG.

2067: Microbial life discovered on Venus. Venus outpost (and LGCG) acquires substantial funding boost. Artemis base population surpasses 2.5k and begins to plateau.

2069: Unmanned mission to Europa announced by LGCG, plans to use BVMS automated platforms to drill into subsurface ocean established. Martian base purchases automated construction equipment from BVMS, massive population boon ensues. CFSE settlement population surpasses 750. Lunar gateway population surpasses 500. Martian base population surpasses 500. BVME becomes the largest corporate entity in the system.

2070: BVMS performs feasibility study on gas giant aerostat mining platforms.

2071: Study of Venusian lifeforms disproves Earth-Venus panspermia.

2073: BVMS tests laser-sail propulsion on small unmanned craft.

2075: LGCG Europa mission discovers multicellular aquatic life in Europa’s subsurface ocean. Plans for a dedicated research base drafted.

2076: Multi-corporate base established on Ceres to facilitate further asteroid belt mining. BVMS intentionally excluded from this project.

(System effectively split into quarters: Past Venus under BVMS, Between Venus and Mars under LGCG, belt under Multi-corporate mining control, outer system unclaimed.)

2077: GEO-Lunar cycler niche mostly filled by Intraplanetary Transport Services corp (ITS).

2080: Permanent scientific base established at the Europa Breach Point (EBP) with mostly automated systems and a small (5 human) management and maintenance crew.

2081: Panspermia further disproved by study of Europan life. Massive object detected in Jupiter’s lower atmosphere. BVMS begins mission to establish a mining aerostat on Saturn, utilizing laser sail propulsion to transport equipment.

(Saturn Aerostat site intended for use in the further colonization of the outer solar system and the Uranus planetary system itself. Atomic Rockets page)

[clambuoyance]

do you have any favorite hyper-specific tropes you enjoy? like a certain line of dialogue or character type or something

OKAY LETS SEE

1) Since it’s on the mind bc of toh—i’m an absolute sucker for found siblings. Of course, i enjoy the found family trope in general and most variations (middleaged character adopting a random ass kid, etc etc) , but when its focus is on siblings? I eat that shit upppp. I mean relationships like luz and hunter, any of the dc families tbh, the rgb siblings (nya lloyd kai), or my ocs keiko and rolin—they scratch a special part of my brain.

Maybe its because i’m eldest sibling myself, and my brother is only two years younger making us pretty close in age, but i just really like sibling relationships and they hit more than parent/child ones for me😭🙏 We don’t always get along, but i’d say we have a pretty strong relationship now

Something about going through the same motions, esp if ur both still trying to find ur place in the world, and knowing you have someone to rely on is just so special to me. Even with blood siblings, it doesn’t really feel like unconditional love at first. Like, you have to choose to be someone who will care and be there for them. Urgh idk it just feels different even though with parents it’s also a choice to care about someone. Like with a parent or guardian, it’s like you want to expect them to have all the answers, but with someone closer to ur age who chooses to treat you like family, it’s like—well we both don’t know what we’re doing but we have each other to lean on.

And the “found” part isn’t necessary but just a nice treat bc i feel like it highlights that Active choosing to care for someone like family. waaah. Like Kai in s1 of ninjago having a whole arc that leads to him leaving behind his own desires to save tiny lloyd, and then literally promising to always look after lloyd after , or luz promising to keep hunter safe bc he’s family now, and then my story with my ocs rolin n keiko is all about them becoming siblings to each other😭 it just makes me feel sooo emotional

also sibling banter 💥💥💥 i feel like u can say more uncalled for shit w siblings

So yeah if you look at my list of faves don’t be surprised if u see a lot of characters who have a significant sibling relationship in their story 🙏

2) Now i dont know if this counts as a trope, but as for fave character type theres usually this One scene that makes me go Oh i love them. and that scene or line tends to go like this: Character up to this point has shown a fun, perhaps confident or carefree personality, but as soon as they’re alone, it’s revealed to the audience they’re capable of feeling so much more. Idk i guess im thinking kon at the campfire, or wukong in lmk specifically always being chill then being serious when he’s alone

3) Also in category of things that make me love a character: slapstick comedy to highlight dorkiness. or honestly just any type of comedy that undercuts a character’s supposed Cool/Importance Factor. 💀 like the amount of slapstick a character goes through has to be proportional to how unaware the character is of their own dorkiness. Im thinking Kai bumping his head while threatening garmadon or bragging about his skills only to get slammed by a tree (or a rock. or a wall. the list goes on.). Or Kon saying he’s fine cuz he can fly only to wham his head when the ship turns and then subsequently get flung around while the ship flies, or slamming his face straight into the ground cuz he’s an idiot.

Or like, Karkat’s whole thing. he’s a walking clown circus. sollux going “do NOT run that computer virus” and karkat ignoring him only for the computer to explode in his face. idk that shit makes me laugh

4) When characters start talking about how they don’t wanna be left behind—it depends on the writing but that usually Hits for me 😭

um i could probably think of more but thats all i got for now

[ducktracy]

Different anon here but can you go into more detail about how the original shorts are uncirculated and misinterpreted in certain fandom circles? I was under the impression that they were the most iconic and well-known versions of the characters and the other LT stuff wasn’t as popular.

I don’t want to go too in-depth about this because I don’t want to come off as hateful towards TLTS however I will say (with no disrespect towards people that like it and esp not the people that worked on it) that I feel the reason for its sudden resurgence has less to do about the show *in particular* but more how it presents the Looney Tunes cast in a consistent domestic setting with consistent characters—which is much more easily consumable for fandom than shorts with VERY little continuity and characterizations that could depend on director, year, or even just that short.

☝️this previous anon i just got completely hit the nail on the head and shares my sentiments exactly. The Looney Tunes Show hit a HUGE resurgence of popularity in the past few years (which is great, anything to get people interested in the characters) but i sometimes get the impression people wholly base their impressions on the characters off the show, and the show is VEEEERY far removed from the attitudes and personalities of the originals

i ALWAYS go on about him and have used this comparison countless times so i apologize for going on about it again, but a great example of this is Porky—i have a lot of issues as to how he’s portrayed in TLTS because he’s often portrayed as a helpless dweeb who everyone picks on and beats up and he’s just supposed to take it. this portrayal has sort of been adopted in a lot of modern LT media as a whole, but there’s a tendency to generalize characters, take one trait and run with it. Porky totally could be passive and a little dweebish in the originals (but often from a standpoint that paints it as endearing rather than mean spirited and sympathetic by proxy), but i have a hard time believing the same character who has spelled “START PRAYING DUCK” with a spray of bullets in the white flag Daffy was waving as a means of surrendering would totally be fine with having Daffy throw… was it butter? bread? i forget but there’s an ep of TLTS where Daffy lives with Porky and then just turns him into his personal assistant and throws stuff at him and Porky’s just fine with it. this is the same guy who nearly drove a domesticated dog to jump off a bridge and successfully shot a cat dead because it was keeping him awake

what little OF the originals is circulated again from a very fandom centric point of view… this isn’t an issue exclusive to the LT fandom, but viewing everything from a lens of “i MUST ship these two characters together everything has to be shippable” (i did this when i was first getting into things too—it’s a hard habit to break but i promise you do not have to ship anything and everything to get fulfillment) is so restrictive and makes people concoct their own personalities for the characters WHICH IS FINE, but trying to pass those interpretations off as cold hard fact is not so great. a lot of misrepresentation gets circulated that way and it all just kinda turns into one big loop

i realize how pompous i sound right now so i just want to say: don’t take any of this too seriously. my main point of this is to say curate your OWN experience and make opinions for yourself by watching the originals, and that INCLUDES me. if you watch the originals and don’t like them and want to keep doing things your way, DO IT! feel free to disregard all of this. i promise i’m speaking from a place of passion and love rather than scorn and gatekeeping. we all come from different places and have different points of view and different ways to experience things that we find the most fulfilling. if you enjoy shipping the characters and searching for a continuity and deeper meaning, that ROCKS and more power to you. i just wish more people would check out the originals or at least base those headcanons with an acknowledgement of the original mindset in mind, because i feel much of the popular consensus on the characters ranges from generalized/surface level to wholly misrepresented.

to say people have to enjoy and experience LT a particular way is totally wrong, and HAVING FUN should be a priority first and foremost. but i really do think you should familiarize yourself with the source material so you can have an understanding of what’s actually there versus so you can build off of that or at least acknowledge it. the LT characters are not one big happy family, they’re not ALWAYS actors unless explicitly stated otherwise, there are trends and continuous character traits or formulas for certain characters, yes, but the shorts themselves have no continuity. these characters change constantly in the originals. there are at times 3 separate conflicting interpretations of the same character at the same TIME from different characters. some people have a tendency to view that as a sign of weakness, and that’s WHY i encourage people to check out the originals because that variety and humanization and FEELING THE HANDS AND MINDS AND BACKGROUNDS THAT MADE THE CARTOONS is such a fulfilling and UNIQUE experience. revel in the variety and confusion and dissonance of the originals. there doesn’t always have to be an explanation or an end justifying the means. it’s 7 minutes of characters beating each other up, saying funny lines, and making outdated radio or celebrity references. enjoy it for what it is