#etc. like it's kind of fun but also GOD THE SHEER AMOUNT OF OPTIONS

[trifoliate-undergrowth]

the thing with applying for federal seasonal jobs in national parks or forest service is they'll put out a general application for like 50 locations and ask you the check the ones you'd be interested in working at. Not all of them will allow you to select "any" and they generally want at least your first preferences. So basically the federal government has me sitting here with maps open on another tab playing lightning round smash-or-pass with "places I would be interested in working at for 6ish months of my life" checking answers as I go.

[queen-beefcake-sqx]

Ask game, feel free to comment for both fandoms please or skip for one.

2,6,7,9 16, 17, 21, 22,

I'm going to like.... jump around to whatever fandom I feel like for each question.

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

Okay so I did this for Disco Elysium so -- He Xuan would never bottom. My compelling argument is he told me personally. Next question.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

I'm sorry but all ya'll Qi Rong fans who keep trying to find him a boyfriend... I support you, but maybe go stand over there? please????

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Again, did this one for Disco Elysium, so again tying into the above answer... Qi Rong is a character I'd like to be able to spend more braincells thinking about, because I think there COULD be some interesting meta I could make about him, but the fandom seems to have a very predetermined way of thinking about him and writing him that makes it so hard for me to want to engage.

9. worst part of canon

I feel like I can't speak on DE just because I haven't finished or explored it as thoroughly as I'd like to yet. For MXTX books... God I'll be so honest it was silly and fun the first time, but I cringe rereading the whole Statue Mecha scene near the end of TGCF. It's so ridiculous and outlandish that it breaks emersion for me a bit.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Okay, I'll be SO HONEST -- as someone who's come to better accept his trans masc-ness because of Kim Kitsuragi -- I'm kind of shocked at the sheer amount of trans!Kim fics. And I guess there's a part of me squinting at it going, "Isn't there something a little weird about ascribing transmasculinity to a character who -- in the real world -- is part of a race that's often feminized (the "pretty Asian boy" stereotype) and is visually the most slender and short of the male characters? Like? That feels a little weird to me, ya'll..."

(Like, not saying stop, I get it, and the fanfics handle it really well on the whole, but also like... I think it's worth asking ourselves (1) WHY Kim gets this treatment over Harry or another character and (2) WHAT kinds of queerness we're ascribing onto characters. Especially in light of stuff like me seeing KimHarry on a yuri poll.... like. come on ya'll. A tiny bit of critical thinking) (and again. not saying "don't write queer characters" but maybe like... consider diversifying your options).

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

Tip Top Racer Kim. Why the fuck are none of you writing Tip Top Racer Kim Kitsuragi AUs. Why. Where's the art. Where's Kim in tight fitting racing uniform huh??? (which. uh. if anyone has a good artist you'd recommend for a commission....) (I am LEGALLY obligated to drop my favorite DE fic now just so you all can see THE POTENTIAL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40802268) Also not enough Jean crossdressing fics, send tweet. That blonde wig is all I think about and there's so much unresolved in that choice....

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

In Disco Elysium, who the FUCK are these student communist dudes everyone is talking about because I LITERALLY haven't seen them.

Also for TGCF, the underwater kiss scene. The actual kiss is honestly secondary to me to EVERYTHING ELSE happening in that moment because people seem to forget how INSANE the circumstances are.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores Oh for my MXTX fandoms that's easy -- I am easily the second most Beefleaf brain rot person you'll ever meet and the Black Water Arc of TGCF is everything to me. Everyone always talks about the climax and the beheading and sure that's cool but the BUILD UP? The visit to Fu Gu and watching the performance of He Xuan's massacre? The Truth or Dare game in the temple? The foreshadowing with the Water and Wind master statues? The visit to Shi Qingxuan's terrace and the poetry written there? BREAKING SQX OUT OF HER PALACE BECAUSE SWD IMPRISONED HER? AND THEN SQX WALKING AWAY FROM YUSHI HUANG'S FARM AFTER "MING YI" TRIES TO GET HER TO STAY BEHIND? None of you talk enough about the LENGTHS He Xuan went to to try to avoid getting SQX involved in SWD's death and it makes me ABSOLUTELY INSANE ON A DAILY BASIS!!! I am chewing on glass about this!!!!

[monstersandmaw]

Tell us more about your inquisitor!! I would love to hear about him(?) and Dorian

Ok, here's the second of the two asks I got about Ciúin thank you thank you thank you (His name is pronounced like 'queue-inn'). I've talked about him a fair bit before, but I'll do a new post now for the sheer, self-indulgent fun of it! Thank you.

He, like Lein, means a huge amount to me for all sorts of reasons not really related to the game itself, and he's one of the few characters of mine who really does live rent free in my head all the time. His story has had a few versions over the years, but here's my latest 'canon' version, as of 2021.

(I've also written for him before, and if you want a sfw angst-fluff-fest story with him and Dorian, you can read that here on my AO3) Also the immeasurably talented @hanatsuki89 drew him for me and you can find that here Alright, here he is. For tonight's other post with more photos, see this one.

And a close up (please ignore the horrible Skyhold pyjamas):

Ciúin is quiet, reserved, and a bit gruff, but he has an affectionate heart and will laugh freely around people he feels close to. Outside of the limitations of the game's hair options, he has very long, black hair that falls almost to his waist, and no side-shave.

He's actually a quarter Tevinter, with his grandfather being a low-ranking (now-disgraced) Tevinter magister, who fell in love with an elven slave and risked everything to free her instead of selling her when he fell on hard times in the Magisterium, and had to sell almost everything. She was taken in by Clan Lavellan, and her son was born a few months later. Ciúin tends to keep his heritage quiet on the whole, given the distrust in the South of Tevinter in general.

His half-elven father died when Ciúin was quite young, and he was sort of raised by everybody and nobody in the clan after that. He helped out where it was needed most, and slept alone near the halla most nights. He’s a spectacularly good rider and loved caring for the halla. His Red Hart mount with the Inquisition is called Conker.

He was an apprentice with the Clan's blacksmith (hence choosing June’s vallaslin, the Dalish god of craftsmen) before his magic developed quite late at the age of 14, at which point he reluctantly began to train with the Keeper in his spare time so that he didn’t lose control of his magic and hurt someone. He found he had to become her First when he was 19, since they had no other mage and he was pretty talented.

As is the case for many Dalish clans, his clan was attacked a fair bit by opportunistic humans, which made him wary of them, but they continued to trade and interact anyway. Unless his life depends on it, he rarely uses his magic (unlike Dorian, who will happily use it for everything), preferring to do things by hand. Vivienne finds this provincial and endearing, and Dorian is somewhat confused, but they can both see that Ciúin’s not going to change his ways…

He's panromantic and demisexual, and before he unwittingly falls for Dorian, he's only ever had one relationship.

More miscellaneous facts include:

His vallaslin (tattoos) go all the way down the centre of his chest, branching out towards his shoulders, and down over his hip bones as well. He also has a similar design to the one at the centre of his forehead going right up his spine, from the small of his back into his hairline. He will freely admit that the most painful bit to have done was his lip and throat.

Prefers savoury to sweet, and doesn't like fish

Hates ale and beer but enjoys liquors like brandy, elven fruit spirits, whisky, etc. He's a truly miserable drunk though, so it's best if he sticks to his limits.

Gets on really well with Bull and the Chargers, and ships Scout Harding and Professor Kenric really hard.

He's very, very unapologetically Elven about a lot of things, especially about his beliefs/religion, though respects people with different beliefs. For example, he admires that Dorian considers himself Andrastian while simultaneously loathing the hypocrisy of the Chantry and all it stands for.

Ciúin's 28 at the start of Inquisition

He's surprisingly nervous of mabari (who adore him, especially the one Cullen acquires in Trespasser), but he kind of wants to adopt one anyway

At Skyhold, he helps Blackwall with his carpentry projects - making June puzzles for the children of Skyhold - when he gets (or needs) a moment to himself. He can also be found in the forge quite a bit, making new weapons and armour for his friends in the Inquisition.

Can't cook. Don't ask him to. You'll get charred sludge.

Any more questions, please feel free to ask. I will literally talk about him (and Lein) until I keel over.

I'm also probably going to do some writing based on my gameplay, so if that's of interest (it'll be a 'Lavellan x Dorian' story with lots of plot and ambient description because it's me), please also feel free to let me know. If not, thank you for tolerating this long post about my Dalish elf.

^him scowl.

Also boop the halla snoot for good luck if you made it to the end of this post :)

[twistedtummies2]

Well, you've done DC. How about Marvel?

Okay, this one was REALLY tricky. XD The issue with Marvel is that while there is one character who is consistently one I adore, the rest of the characters I can have kink crushes on tend to be in flux, so to speak. Like, sometimes I'll like them a whole lot, sometimes I'll only like them a small bit, sometimes I'll like certain designs or portrayals and not others, etc. So there are NUMEROUS Marvel characters I wouldn't mind writing for and can fantasize about, but how much those levels stand is forever fluctuating. Having said that, this won't REALLY be a Top 5 of favorites, but more...a Top 5 of consistency. Because aside from my number one (and maybe my number two), the other characters here fluctuate in terms of how much I like them compared to others. HOWEVER, they are ALL characters I CONSISTENTLY enjoy to some degree or another in a pred/big eater role. (Mostly pred, if you haven't guessed from previous answers.) Now, let's get into them...

5. Galactus.

Ah, yes, the Eater of Worlds himself. In point of fact, Galactus' literally cosmic appetite is both his biggest pro AND his biggest con. Galactus is a veritable god of destruction; a nigh-omnipotent being whose entire existence REVOLVES around consumption on a massive scale. Galactus literally eats worlds; he absorbs all energy the planet has into his being, and his hunger is neverending. Time and again he's come after Earth, but every time, he's outsmarted by the heroes and left to find some other place to gorge himself. On the one hand, God-level predators are freaking AWESOME, and that level of sheer hunger is INTENSELY squeak-and-blush-inducing. On the other hand, however, it doesn't leave much room for intimacy or for writing that will present an especially great amount of conflict. As a result, Galactus' appetite is both incredibly appealing and yet slightly off-putting for me.

4. Fin Fang Foom.

While his name is pretty silly, this giant dragon is actually one of Marvel's most underrated and intensely powerful antagonists. Originally imagined as a sort of unlikely cross between Godzilla and Fu Manchu - a monstrous distillation of all things that terrified people during the Yellow Scare - Fin Fang Foom has evolved with the times and, much like the Mandarin, still has a steady home at Marvel in the comics and in animation. He's not very well known, however, I think mostly because he hasn't appeared in any movies. As you know, I love dragons, and Fin Fang Foom is a dandy of a beast: a regularly rampaging monster who is, indeed, a canon pred. The image used here is actually from a defective clone of Fin Fang Foom, which had much of his power but little of his intelligence; the REAL Fin Fang Foom is actually highly intellectual...but this does not make him any less ravenous than the version depicted above. (Plus...come on, with imagery and writing like that, I HAD to make this the image I shared.) He's pretty much perfect for macro/micro type stuff, if you're into dragons.

3. Nightcrawler.

There are several X-Men characters I have had crushes on: Beast, Blob, Toad, and Sabretooth are the chief ones. However, in all four of these cases, how much I like them tends to fluctuate, as I've said before: it depends on a LOT of factors. However, the one X-Men character I seem to consistently want to stuff full of food or end up feeding myself to is, ironically, one of the least likely options: Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler. I WOULD say this is because he's my favorite X-Men character (which is true), but I don't really think that's the reason. There's not much evidence of Kurt being an ESPECIALLY big eater, and certainly no evidence of him being of a predatory mindset...yet he has developed a niche group of vore-loving or belly-loving fans who really love the thought of feeding him one way or another, and I am in that niche. I think it's a mixture of his design and his personality: Kurt looks like a fanged, fuzzy demon, but his soul is actually that of a very fine fellow. He's an impish mischief maker, a charismatic and chivalrous gentleman, and a kind, charitable, religiously devout sweetheart, all at the same time. You can imagine Nightcrawler being a big tease to someone who has certain kinks, but you can also imagine him being very docile or very comforting. He's pretty much a tailor made character for the softer, safer, more playful sides of these interests almost without trying.

2. Tiger Shark.

I've only come to know Tiger Shark fairly recently, and I haven't READ much of him...but with what I have seen of him and learned of him, he's definitely worthy of the number two spot. Remember how I said in a previous thing of these sorts that Killer Croc was sort of "King Shark done right"? Yeah, I think Tiger Shark is an even more accurate example of that. In the comics, this rogue's story goes like this: Todd Arliss was once an Olympic swimmer who lost his abilities in an accident: desperate to regain his athletic capabilities, he gave himself over to experimentation, and his DNA was fused with that of a tiger shark, and also of the mythical Sub-Mariner, Prince Namor. The resulting mutation turned Arliss into a predatory monster, with superhuman strength and a savage appetite. Over the years, Arliss has been depicted less and less human and more and more animalistic by various artists; whether this is a canon show of his worsening mutation or just artistic license is anyone's guess. Tiger Shark has a more consistent personality than King Shark, and while his design has changed over the years, he's at least retained the basic concepts, as well as his hunger. I have to admit that I actually prefer a version OUTSIDE of the comics for my interests: the version that appears in the series "Avengers Assemble," which gives him a whole new backstory and a decidedly beastly design. If I were to write for the guy, I'd likely follow that one more closely. Still, the comic version definitely has some merits, too.

1. Venom.

Now, I'm specifically talking about the original Eddie Brock Venom; other versions just don't interest me as much. With that out of the way...Venom didn't START OUT as a predatory beast, but quite quickly, as time went on, the character became more and more focused on that aspect of things. Just looking at the guy, it's easy to see why. The Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque relationship between Eddie Brock and the ravenous Symbiote that controls him is one that can be used for both comedy and tragedy, and Venom's gluttonous, aggressive, and at times delightfully witty personality makes him a very fun character to imagine. He can devour massive amounts, has a canonical love of chocolate (as well as human flesh), and has more appealing dialogue than you can shake a stick at throughout his long history. He's right up there with Killer Croc as one of my favorite predator crushes in comics, and possibly the only Marvel character I can consistently say I adore above ALL others.

[ryuutchi]

Dearest Yulegoat [Mirrored Yuletide Letter] 

[General]

To start with, if you're writing fic for me, I love you. I'm going to be happy just to be able to share my fandom love with someone. You'll notice I throw a lot of ideas out-- feel free to take one, take many, take none. I know how hard it can be to settle on an idea once the assignments come in. So I'm offering a bunch of options that I will enjoy. None of these suggestions are hard and fast requirements. They're here to give you an idea of what's going on in my head and what my preferences look like. My current blog is ryuutchi, over on Tumblr. I can't promise it will be helpful, but in the interest of helping with the stalking process, feel free to check me out over there. I like: Plot, adventures, banter and dry humor, happy endings, over the top AUs (steampunk, noir, organized crime, rum-runners, harems...), casual physical intimacy, emotional interdependency, bad decisions and poor coping mechanisms, hurt/comfort and whump-with-comfort, loyalty and morality confusion, worldbuilding, identity porn, questionable healthy attachments, seeking out physical affection, accidentally caught feelings,  power-play, porn, gen, slash, femslash, het, any rating you feel comfortable with (for violence and/or sex), bittersweet things that are heavy on the sweet, Happily Ever After/Happily For Now endings I don't like: Deathfic, gratuitous angst, character-bashing, introspective character pieces, five times fics, mommy/daddy kink, A/B/O universes, contemporary social issues as the main focus/issuefic, sad or hopeless endings. (Also the standard DNWs: scat, watersports, necro, mpreg, homophobia, transphobia, etc) No Game No Life - Kamiya Yuu: Sora, Shiro The Series: They are both NEETs and Hikikomoris… but on the internet, the genius gamer siblings Sora and Shiro are known as the undefeatable ���__” (blank). Sora and Shiro’s talents and skills are so abnormally good they are considered as urban legend.  One day, they are challenged by the god of games to chess and are victorious. As a result, the god summons them to Disboard, a reality which revolves around games. Intent on maintaining their reputation as the undefeated gamers, Sora and Shiro plan to conquer the sixteen ruling species and to usurp the god of games... NGNL is a series of light novels, of which 6 have been translated (PDFs can be found here, or bought legally at any online bookstore). The No Game No Life anime can be found on Crunchyroll here. Request: The fact that Shiro and Sora literally cannot be separated from each other is one of the dynamics that I like about the series. I really enjoy codependent siblings as a Thing. So I would be happy if you played with that dynamic. Plotty gen for this series would be great-- it's always fun when one of them is much better than the other or they have to separate and execute plans while relying solely on the intuition of what their sibling will do. Alternately, someone kidnapping Sora and Shiro having to play a game to get him back while they both battle their inability to get anything done alone... I'd love background on them, where they tried to separate or were forced to separate and failed to function, or where one or the other tried to interact with other people (maybe a gamer who tracked them down) but were either terrible at it, the other one quietly sabotaged the budding relationship,  or the third person got way too freaked out by the way Sora and Shiro act around each other. Future fic would also be great-- King/Queen Blank or even the Gods Blank, after they've beaten Tet. What does that look like? What kind of world are they making for themselves and each other? I ship them, but do not expect other people to, so if you want to write shippy fic (with aged up Shiro!!!) for them, I will be surprised but happy. I will happily admit to wanting kinky sex games. Extra Details: For reference, I've read through volume 8 of the light novel, watched the anime and the movie. I am not precious about spoilers for this series, so feel free to use later information. I know this series isn't everyone's cup of tea, with the sheer amount of fanservice and Sora's utterly otaku personality and the pseudo-incest thing with the 12 year old. Personally, as is probably obvious from the request, I'm less interested in the fanservicey characters, and much more about the dynamics of Shiro and Sora's relationship. I love the way they know exactly what the other is capable of and trust each other completely and whole-heartedly. Whether you write something small and domestic or big and plotty, for me the core of NGNL is that they love, care and respect each other in a way that is beautiful but also extremely unhealthy. If you want to go the shippy route, again, Shiro needs to be aged up appropriately-- it's always been interesting to me that Sora understands that it is inappropriate to sexualize his underage adopted sister, while Shiro goes out of her way to help sexualize other women for Sora's entertainment. There's a part of me that wonders if she's planning ahead for when she is old enough to be an "appropriate" (in age, if nothing else) sexual partner and is trying to get Sora to lose his virginity ahead of time. selector infected WIXOSS: Aoi Akira, Igarashi Rumi | UlithThe Series: WIXOSS is a popular trading card game in which players battle against each other with fighters known as LRIGs, using cards to support them. Certain LRIGs are able to communicate with their owners, and the girls chosen to wield them are known as "Selectors". Selectors are given the chance to have any wish granted by winning battles against other Selectors, but should they lose three times, their wish will be reversed into a curse instead. The main series, selector infected WIXOSS, follows a girl named Ruko Kominato, who becomes a Selector after receiving an LRIG that she names Tama. As she and various other Selectors battle it out for the sake of their wish, Ruko finds herself drawn into the dark, sinister world of WIXOSS, discovering that, win or lose, there is always a price to pay. The anime can be found on Funimation here Request: So, you know how in my "general likes" I said I don't like "gratuitous angst"? In this fandom, there is no such thing as "gratuitous". Darkfic is absolutely welcome here. The thing I am most interested in here is the manipulative, awful relationship that Akira has with Ulith-as-Iona. Like, I love them all, and for some reason in this fandom, that comes out to "please break them". Exploring their adult lives and how their relationships and the Wixoss game affected them in the future would be amazing. What else happened to them? What are their careers like? What are their home lives like? Are they... living together? Does some sort of magic continue to be a theme in their lives? Feel free to write in-universe plot or no-powers universe, or some horrible Madoka or Yurikuma Arashi  or other magical girl thing, where they can all be horribly manipulative lesbians together because that's magical and wonderful. OTOH, if you want to write codependent-but-vaguely-functional adult Akira and Iona/Ulith being horrible assholes and having adventures of some sort (magic, detectives, idk) that is ALSO A+. I mean, I like happy endings, and if you can come up with something heartwarming (or "heartwarming") I'm not going to complain. Extra Details: Evil lesbians are Problematic, I know. But Akira was one of my favorite characters from the word go and (if you're paying attention to my fandoms as a whole) I really really like codependent or unhealthy relationships. I love her love/hate relationship with Iona and with Ulith, and the way those two characters sort of get mixed up for Akira specifically. If you want to play with Iona and Ulith's personalities and interactions as well, that would also be pretty fun. I'm also down for other types of AUs, like they have to get their shit together and track down someone who is killing Selectors, or they become selectors as adults and not girls. I know they're young, but given that this is a super-fucking dark canon, I am totally cool with dubiously consensual sex either on or off-screen. FANDOM: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers | Ronin Warriors (Shuu Rei Fuan | Kento Rei Fang, Mouri Shin | Cye Mouri) The Series: Ronin Warriors, known in Japan as Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (lit. "Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers"), is a Japanese anime series and manga adaptation created by Hajime Yatate. It's the story of five teenage boys, given mystical armor to protect the world from the evil Arago. 1000 years ago, Arago nearly succeeded in taking over the human world when Kaosu managed to defeat him. Although Arago's soul is banished to the demon world, his armor is left intact. Kaosu divided the armor into nine separate armor suits. Each armor will choose its bearer, and together they will fight Arago. At least that was the original intent... Although Arago manages to corrupt four sets of the armor, the last five remain safe. It's a bit like Power Rangers, only grounded in more serious traditional Japanese cultural trappings. Being created in the 80s, the art style is a little wonky, but it's an enjoyable thriller and is somewhat more focused and serious than a lot of sentai shows. The anime can be found on Crunchyroll here Request: I love Shuu/Shin with Shin being snarktastic and Shuu being smug and solid and dependable. I used to frequent the Minkland archive back when this fandom still kinda existed, and was forever disappointed that the skinny pretty boys got tons and tons of fic and Shuu was just sort of there in the background. (If you used to read Mink and Jink's fic, I will be so happy I could cry if I got that sort of cracked-out porny fic with Shuu, okay. Due to that formative influence, if you want to GO FOR THE AU, GO FOR IT WITH GUSTO. I've always wanted nanshoku/samurai AU. Or, you know, hooker fic, or dark!troopers fic, or harem fic or something like that. I also like found-family fic, gen-ish mysteries and adventures-- more fighting Massive Cosmic Evil, and curtainfic. Futurefic is also awesome, where they get on with their lives, maybe together or maybe trying to keep their friendships intact when there's no massive Cosmic Evil to keep them close. Extra Details: If you used to read Mink and Jink's fic, I will be so happy I could cry if I got that sort of cracked-out porny, possibly AU fic with Shuu, okay Fics I especially enjoyed from that archive: The Grand One The Clit Club Chronicles The Harem Vinyl Wagashi Cherry Zima Threesome Theater of Magic Due to that formative influence, if you want to GO FOR THE AU, GO FOR IT WITH GUSTO. I've always wanted nanshoku/samurai AU (see this image). Or, you know, hooker fic, or dark!troopers fic, or harem fic or something like that. My usual ships are Shin/Shuu, Shin/Ryo, Touma/Seiji and Ryo/Nasuti. But I multiship and am willing to run with anything-- I'm a Sex With All Teammates sort of person, so fivesomes and alternate pairings are not a problem for me. Dragon Prince Trilogy - Melanie Rawn: Ianthe of Princemarch, Sioned of River Run The Series: To blatantly steal someone else's review on Amazon: "Melanie Rawn created a world and a people that gives everything you could possibly want in a fantasy world. It gives love, hate, peace, war, magic, royalty, commoners, children to take over the next generation and best of all; dragons." I want to say "if this wasn't the matched fandom you should go out and read them right the fuck now', because I have read these books So Many Times.  They're high fantasy novels about politics and the prince of a desert and magical people who communicate via sunlight and can conjure fire. AND DRAGONS. Also a lot of interpersonal and romantic maneuverings. It's a high fantasy politics and romance romp of somewhere ~550 pages. If that sounds interesting to you, pretty much every used bookstore I have ever been to has at least one copy of these books. I think they spawn on bookshelves or something. The books are also available in ebook form here (Kindle) and here (Nook) for 3 bucks. Please read them. (TW for rape in the first book) The Request: I love everything this series chooses to be. It's fun and cheesy and fantasy, which the best thing in the world. I've always thought that Ianthe had a serious hate-crush on Sioned and part of the reason she was so vicious and fucked up was that whole "you must marry a guy and expand the empire or your useless" thing when maybe she didn't want to do that. Ianthe's always been one of my favorite characters because she's brilliant and ruthless and clearly takes joy in clever plans that go well. Of course, being the villain in a cheesy fantasy, she got no depth whatsoever, aside from that whole sexually liberated, taking male consorts thing (which is AWESOME, okay.) Sioned is also awesome and brilliant and kick ass. Her hesitance in the first book while she decided what she really wanted to do was pretty great, as was the fact that she promptly made friends with Tobin and pretty much every character not designated "villain". It seems like up through Ianthe's death, they're playing a game of brinkmanship. (Which isn't to say I don't like Sioned and Rohan together. They're bookTP and totally awesome.) As for prompts, I normally prefer plotty fic to introspection. I feel like the whole sunrunner thing lends itself well to espionage, so political thriller, or murder mysteries or something would be great. If you want to do plot-what-plot involving these two-- either sex or just the sort of dancing around/pigtail pulling that would be great. Threesomes with Rohan-- also acceptable! Hell, if you want to do an AU where they end up together instead of Sioned marrying Rohan-- or alternately, an AU end to the trilogy, where Ianthe never died in the fire and ends up taking over as High Princess and making the Desert monarchs' lives hell and discovering her powers. Or something where she knew about her powers all along. Or Sioned, I don't know, realizing she kind of did think Ianthe was attractive. I also really enjoy Pandsala, but I didn't find her dynamic with Sioned and Rohan quite as engaging, even though she also did some bad-ass stuff in the long run. Her weird push and pull backstabby, politicized sisterly thing was interesting, though. Extra Details: Okay, like I said, I think this series is the cheesiest fantasy series in the WORLD and in a lot of ways it's one of my first nostalgia fandoms. If you haven't read them, they are kind of ridiculously long (Like, GRR Martin-long), but they're quick reads despite that and rather less depressing than a lot of high fantasy. It's silly in the way that "adult fantasy" that takes itself way too seriously can be. A lot of the main protagonists actively enjoy each others' company and that's as much integral to the book as the politics and dragon-slaying. That said, I kinda asked for a semi-serious plotty story. But if you want to run with the "it's cheesy fantasy" and want to write about Ianthe rescuing princesses or Sioned running away to be a knight and abducting Ianthe away from her toxic father, or something silly, I say get down with your nerd self and run with it. I've only read parts of the second trilogy, and the second generation aren't really very interesting to me. If you want to write future-fic, I would prefer that it continues to focus on the original generation (no matter how much I love Andry, Pol just seems like kind of a jerk).

House of M - New X-Men: Academy X: Any The Series: I'm surprised it took me so long to nominate and request this fandom. I love New X-Men and was GUTTED when Decimation forced them into killing off so many of the characters. If you've never read it, New X-Men: Academy X was an X-Man title in the mid-00's, focusing on entirely new students at Xavier's Academy, being taught by the more established characters. Some of the New X-Men have managed to escape and become general Marvel characters in their own rights (David Alleyne, for example), but for the most part, they were just teenagers at school who rarely got caught up in larger plots. 616 New X-Men were about teenagers fighting, and coming to grips with the fact that they're being raised and taught to go sacrifice themselves for a Greater Goal. They're all wonderfully, horribly traumatized teenagers with powers. The plots were fleshed out and realistic, and when they weren't they were still interesting or fun. This request isn't technically for that. It's for the House of M megacrossover from 2009. Wanda Maximoff, mutant reality shifter and sometimes-crazy-lady, decided that mutants should run the world. SO THEY DID. And suddenly the lives of our young students become very different. Half of them after still "New Mutants", working towards peace, and the others are "Hellions", SHIELD trainees in a violently anti-homo-sapien state system. I've always felt that House of M as a narrative concept has been dismissed too easily by Marvel fans, because there are so many pieces of worldbuilding left unbuilt. I'm most interested in seeing it from the eyes of younger participants who are being trained or have been trained for their places. What does that world look like? New X-Men: Academy X can be found online here: https://viewcomics.me/comic/new-x-men-2004. The House of M crossover runs for issues 16-19. The Request: There's a lot here to play with because the authors never really got to play in either the Academy X OR the House of M sandboxes long enough to do all of their ideas justice. So I'm going to lay out some of the stuff I liked most about NXM in general and HoM in particular. The nom is for HoM, but I think HoM is most interesting in conversation with the standard 616 universe, alongside having the fun YA action stuff and the complicated interpersonal relationships. For example: in 616 Josh joined the Reavers and pretended not to be a mutant until he was confronted with Laurie nearly dying. I can imagine a bunch of different scenarios for House of M that would lead to where we see Josh and Laurie in the HoM comics (Laurie undercover with the New Mutants, and Josh working as an interrogator alongside Kevin). Laurie's introversion in 616 juxtaposed against her brazen treachery and clear control over her skills in HoM. HoM shows Kevin in a full decontamination suit, but we know in 616 that his ability is blocked by wearing synthetic fibers (I imagined this to be a interrogator scare tactic, but it could be any number of other things). Kevin and Josh's relationship in 616 is fraught, especially with Josh's previous experiences with anti-mutant activists and the fact that Kevin killed his father when his powers manifested. But they seemed to work together well in HoM. And speaking of Kevin-- how did his powers manifesting actually pan out in a universe where mutants aren't seen as a threat? I have to wonder whether there's some concept of "acceptable casualties" because some peoples' powers clearly manifest first in dangerous situations. Alternatively: Fluffy Josh/Kevin with a backdrop of torture, murder and state violence. I ship mostly Josh/Kevin because rivals-to-lovers and boy-who-kills-anything-he-touches/boy-who-cannot-be-killed is Great For Me. I also love the abuse of powers and manipulation involved in being interrogators/torturers(/murderers?) for the House of Magneto. They work together, they hurt people together, but maybe they also... smooch? THAT SAID! Adding Laurie to that ship is always a great way to fuck up and destabilize them! Especially in HoM, where we know she's already keeping secrets and can and WILL use her pheromones to fuck with people. And David! OH, DAVID. The only real New Mutant in this request. Does he have previous relationships with Josh and/or Kevin? I don't mind David/Noriko, but I also ship David with Kevin and Josh, and also Tommy and Teddy from Young Avengers, if you feel like exploring other parts of the HoM world. I have never considered David/Laurie before, but if you want to give it a whirl, I'm down. As for David-- His responses to state violence (as evidenced by the Hellions and SHIELD) are clearly different from the rest of the requested characters, and it would be interesting to explore David and his experience of this universe. Are his powers still restrained the same way? I know he supposedly dies at the end of the HoM mini-arc, but we never see them die, so feel free to write David managing to crawl off and plan to take down everything and everyone. A specific DNW for this fandom is Josh/Rahne. I don't mind the relationship having existed and impacting the characters, but only as a past relationship.

Extra Details:

SENSORY DETAILS. When it comes to magic and meta powers-- especially ones that aren't battle-oriented-- is what they feel like. What does it MEAN for David to be able to know anything someone else knows? What does the emptiness and fullness of it do to him? Josh's powers are all tactile and his body actively changes after trauma (in 616, first by turning him gold, then by creating black spots on his skin after he kills someone for the first time). Does his power always alter him, but usually in unnoticeable ways? What can he know and feel from a touch? Same for Kevin-- does withering sate a hunger, or make him feel worse? What would it feel like if he touched Josh? And Laurie... I'd love both her thought-process and the sensory details of what she's doing. Can she smell her own pheromones? Do they ever affect her? What does she feel like when she's manipulating people so subtly that they barely notice a passing smell? If you want to bring in other 616 knowledge and see what it looks like in HoM, that's cool. So is bringing in other HoM storylines. There's a throw-away line in Luke Cage's HoM crossover that the Runaways are known as an organized crime group. Cage himself runs a resistence cell (and given the end of the NXM crossover, David seems like he'd be willing to throw in with that lot). Young Avengers, the other New X-Men who weren't given much screentime in the HoM crossover-- I'd love any of that. Young Justice (Comics): Match, Tim Drake

The Series: Comics are confusing! This request is for the late-90s version of Young Justice by Peter David, which consisted of Robin, Impulse, Superboy, Arrowette, Secret, and Wonder Girl, along with others. It's very much a young-heroes-trying-to-make-their-way. Unlike the newer show, this Young Justice tended to be left on their own without much of a guiding hand. It was a very 90s comic, with very 90s fashion and a lot of nod-nod-wink-wink in-jokes. I love it because it's a series that always wore its humor on its sleeve. It's an affectionate look at young superheroes, and allowed them to react to teen problems alongside the more standard superhero tropes. There's the possibility for angst and darkness (and once they graduated to Teen Titans especially, that came up more), but they were allowed to be both hurt and upset AND fun and cheerful. The comics weren't available collected until last year (it took them TWENTY YEARS JFC), and it's well-worth buying from your local retailer, but you can also find them online here. The character I'm requesting first appeared in Superboy's solo series (starting in issue #35), which can be found here and again in the first volume of Young Justice: Sins of Youth. The Request: SO! I have always loved Match in the original YJ and Superboy comics, and the writers gave him really short shrift. We have a clone of Kon, who is as smart, if not smarter, can pretend to be Kon for extended periods of time— but every time he tries, people get hurt or die. I’ve always wondered how Tim felt that he literally couldn’t tell his best friend from an imposter. And then Match went and ran off and disappeared and no one ever seemed to consider what he was doing, after thousands of his/Kon’s siblings/clones were murdered essentially in front of him and the Agenda fell apart. (I’m not entirely surprised that Kon didn’t pay attention to all of those clones of him dying, but think about it from the standpoint of someone for whom those were supposed to be an army of his siblings. What a way to get survivor’s guilt.) Did Match go to Lex? It doesn’t seem like it, but given that as Kon’s clone, he’s technically Lex’s son too, it’s a possibility. Or alternately! He got himself out of the superhero game and did something else! What was it? I’d also love for a story about him wanting to be a super and have that family that Kon and Clark have, but being shut out of that world because he’s a “villain”. Or him getting that family after so long. Or him showing up at the Kents’ place because “fuck it, if Kon can have this, so can I” and it goes… well or poorly, depending on you. Or him finding his own family in a place that is separate from the who superhero thing, and Kon or Tim or Clark stumbling on him. Or Lex trying to use him— whether or not it works is up to you, although I’d love for it to touch on Match’s need to be part of something larger— after all, he was built and trained to be the vanguard for an army that was summarily murdered in front of him. Tim's refusal to even vaguely hint about his real identity during this time is fun too-- we have two boys who are both hiding their identities in different ways. It makes me wonder if Tim COULD have figured Match out, if the Sins of the Youth plotline didn't happen or was delayed somehow, because he seems to have all of the pieces of information. Or maybe Match-as-Kon was the only person Tim revealed part of his real name too, and has to deal with the ramifications of trust. Actually, Tim and the Issues Of Trust is the YA novel that I'd love to see Tim and Match (and Kon and the rest of YJ) star in. Bring back Mr Sarcastic (PLEASE bring back Mr Sarcastic) and Alvin Draper. Bring back the way that Tim hides by burrowing under identities and performances, and collects information on everyone he knows. I love detective stories and, out of all the Bats, Tim has always struck me as one of the best actual detectives, rather than crime-fighters. So Tim getting lost in a mystery will always make me happy. There's also something interesting about a group of young teens fighting for their own autonomy and identity. At this point in Tim's story, I think he was still thinking of the Robin thing as almost an extracurricular, and probably grappling with how hard it is on him physically, as well as mentally. So, I guess struggling for a coherent snse of self and agency are really interesting touchstones in this fandom. ALSO, MY DEEPLY HELD RARE PAIR FROM THE 90s: Tim/Match! See above, re: Match being present for Identity Crisis instead of Kon. I’d love Match to be trying to follow Kon’s footsteps re: Cassie, and being way more into Tim, which leads to Tim being confused and into Kon. Also any of the above prompts can include Tim (maybe Tim tries to help cushion a meeting between Match and Kon or Clark! Or maybe he just ends up Match’s sugar daddy. I’m down.) Although this request is ripe for dubious identity weirdness with Match pretending to be Kon, I'd really prefer that you focus on Match getting to be his own person, even if there's some pretending-to-be-Kon in there. Extra Details: This has been a lowkey love of mine for literally decades. My absolute favorite gift of all time was original pages from one of the Superboy issues where Match appears for the first time. And as I've grown older, my love for this rare, obscure character has deepened. Also, as I've grown older, I've begun to want more adult!Match, or growing up!Match just because the idea of growing up in the margins of superhero culture after everything that happened to him is really interesting. He was straight-up groomed and brainwashed, and then the Agenda was gone, so how did he cope? What is he doing now? What kind of adult does he make? This request is specifically for the mid-90s comic, so feel free to stick to that. But if you read the 2010-era Teen Titans and want to explore some later story choices-- like Match becoming Bizarro-like, Slade making him part of Titans East, or his fear that Jericho would hurt the Titans in his body, or save Match from Superboy-Prime, I'm not going to complain. (Personal headcanon time: I think Slade was trying to mind control Match with the same stuff he used on Rose, and it caused the Bizarro-like symptoms). I also love Elseworlds and mirror!verse stuff too. As I've said elsewhere in the letter, I really prefer Happily Ever After/Happily For Now stuff, and I prefer my bittersweet fics heavy on the sweetness. Please give Match the love and affection he's always deserved. But also, please feel free to make both Match and Tim HURT first.

[the-colony-roleplay]

THREAD TRACKING, DMS/ASKS & CONSIDERATE ROLEPLAYING

Hey kiddlies! 

So, I wanted to take this time to address a couple of small things that have been brought to my attention lately. As all of you know, here at the Colony we pride ourselves on our exceptional inclusivity, friendliness and sense of community support. When new members who join the family stay and feel a part of the team, it is thanks to how much we, as an entire unit, prioritize making sure new members know just how enthused we are to have them here, as well as reaching out to help engage them into our ongoing plots and into the verse. 

As an extensive worldbuilding RP with many long-term members, we know that it can be intimidating to get started when you’re new to the verse, so this is a huge factor in why we are still successful today and how we continue to grow and evolve as a unified, loving community. You are also all aware of the kinds of attitudes we don’t condone here, and can sometimes be rampant in the RPC. We believe that the key to forming a unified, safe and long-lasting roleplay is by prioritizing what I sometimes call the ‘rule of the three Cs’: collaboration, communication, and consideration.

Consideration is a big one. Because I can not tell you the amount of RPs I have joined and been disappointed by by the sheer self-involved mentality of individual members—or the amount of times I’ve heard horror stories from all of you. Yes, roleplay is meant to be fun, it is a pastime—but because group RPs are, by nature, an activity of collaboration, they literally only work when you can consider the perspectives, feelings and positions of everyone in it with you. Like a true team. I know... most of you are probably not sports players (lol) but if you can imagine being on a basketball team where no one considered every teammate equally, and put their own egos aside to play as a team, well—they would never win anything. Ever. Also, (and possibly more importantly, because nothing in RP is a competition or about ‘wining’): they would never have any fun.

Now, I’m bringing all this up, not because anyone has done anything wrong or against these practices, but because I want you all to understand why I believe this RP stands out the way it does, why we continue to foster and grow, and why I take the team-player aspect and consideration of others so seriously. Because it is literally the foundation on which this unique community is built on. We are very aware of how problematically inconsiderate so many RPs can be, and how disheartening it is to feel like you are being ignored or excluded, or like people are not interested in writing with you.

SOME CONCERNS & PLATFORM ISSUES

So, with all that said, I’m sure you will all understand why I take any complaints about lack of communication or feeling left out very seriously. Fortunately, we hear almost exclusively positive feedback in terms of communication and members feeling not just included, but all around adored and supported. We could not be prouder of each and every one of you for making this RP the safe place that it is. However, with recent issues and glitches with the tumblr platform certainly not helping matters, there have been a couple of patterns flagged recently and brought to Mod attention, involving the dropping of threads and lack of replying to DMs or asks. 

Now, I do know that this is probably mostly due to the activity notification thing shitting the bed (thanks tumblr), as well as the unreliability (is that a word?) of notifications for DMs and Asks. However, I’m going to address it anyway, mention a few tips that may help us work around the platform’s glitches, and also just be more personally mindful and responsible. 

So, being mindful to check your replies, your messages, your threads—it’s all part of being a considerate and responsible RPer, and someone who is able to function in a team environment. And it’s so, so important to remember that being considerate of others is not a single-lane highway. It doesn’t only apply to not dropping threads and replying to messages—it also applies to being allowed to drop threads if you need to, to being met with understanding if you are feeling overwhelmed, or have fallen behind or lost muse, etc. This is important because we do not want anyone to be afraid to say anything to help themselves because they are too concerned about hurting someone’s feelings. In fact, the most mature and polite thing to do, and the kind of conduct we expect from each and every one of you, is that you treat people with the same respect and understanding you would want to be treated with. And that includes patience, as much as it does communication and consideration. 

Again, I really want to stress how unbelievably proud I am of this community and of everything that you all do to take care of each other. There isn’t a single person here who I think would ever intentionally ignore someone or drop threads or be inconsiderate and I literally have never been in another RP that has felt as kind and warm as you people make this place. So seriously, thank you so much. 

But I’m sure that it also makes sense to you why I absolutely will not tolerate behaviour that is exclusive or inconsiderate of others under any circumstances. If I’m hearing that people’s messages are getting ignored consistently, or that people are skipping or dropping threads consistently without contacting the people they are RPing with about it, then I have cause for concern. 

Fortunately, I know the lot of you well enough that I trust that these few circumstances that have arisen are likely thanks to inconsistent tumblr notifications, at best, and at worst, simple absent mindedness we are all guilty of from time to time! 

So without further adieu... 

THREAD TRACKING TIPS AND TRICKS! WEE!!

So, in terms of threads—if you know you are losing track of things, just be mindful to keep an open dialogue with your fellow RPers, and do not just rely on the notification panel in tumblr. (Dear God, please don’t, it’s the actual worst). A good trick I find useful is to check out your own character blog (or character-exclusive posts but on the dash, if you know what i’m referring to, I never know how to explain that, haha)—take the ten extra seconds to remind yourself who you’ve been RPing with the past couple of weeks, because that’s often how I find accidentally missed threads. This kind of thinking and mindfulness just makes it easier to keep up with things. And remember! Everyone misses stuff sometimes! It happens to the best of us (including your ol’ Papa!Mod) so when it does happen, just be proactive and reach out to whoever you’re RPing with. Or, if it happens to you, don’t be afraid to connect with your fellow RPer and touch base about a thread’s status. 

I have also heard really good things about Rp Thread Tracker, which I know some of you use already. Now, some of you may be worried that it will be too complicated or too much of a hassle to set up, and so you avoid it, (which has been the case/reasoning with myself) but I’ve been assured by several people that although they had the same concerns, the set up is super easy, only takes a few minutes, and is kind of a life safer. It also is actually possible to track multiple threads based off one open starter—once you get the replies it’s just a matter of setting it up to be tracked. 

So, you can find that tool here, if you are interested in using it. But you can also check out this tutorial if you want to get an idea of how it works, or help setting it up for yourself! Of course, this is not by any means mandatory, but it is a really good option for people who might be interested, and something I think a lot of you might want to consider if you have a hard time tracking! 

I think one of the great things about this community is there has never had to be a.... hard rule about replying to threads in order or anything like that. Partly because a) that’s kind of impossible to manage and guarantee and b) we do want to be flexible for muse and time and all kinds of things like that! After all, writing and creativity is not a hard science! But one thing members here have always done really really well, is just being naturally considerate of your RP partners, giving them a head’s up if you’re needing more time to figure out how to reply to their thread, and doing your best to not skip threads consistently. (Skipping threads on a consistent basis in favour of only replying to a select few characters would constitute as bubble RPing, but fortunately, that has never been a problem here.) 

However, we always want to avoid making anyone feel ignored or hurt, by skipping their replies—so please, if you are struggling with muse for certain threads, do not be afraid to be honest with your RP partner about it. They will understand and will feel much better knowing it’s not something personal, or something they did, or like you simply aren’t interested in writing with them. As a member of Colony 22, we will hold you to your ability to be mature and considerate of others. It is by far one of our most important requirements. And since I know you are all the nicest, sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing with, I want all of you to pay close attention to occasions or habits that have the potential of being misconstrued as hurtful or negligent. 

DMS AND ASKS: OOC COMMUNICATION

So this is all pretty self explanatory, and verging on repetitive as much of what’s been covered above applies here as well. And just to be even more repetitive (because it’s a thing I do super well apparently), I am so unbelievably impressed with everyone’s attitudes and contribution here, so my bringing this up is more in the interest of calling attention to habits that may have formed that could be interpreted as hurtful by other members, even if that is not the intention!

So, if tumblr notifications with DMs are letting you down, or you know you’re likely liable to forget to reply to things if you see them on your phone, try to be mindful of checking things like that next time you log in. Take responsibility to check messages you might have missed, or forgotten to reply to when you were out and about and busy with life as we know it.

Now, this is coming from a person who can’t stand phone notifications. If you message me while I’m busy or on my phone, I probably will not reply to you because ~anxiety~. And hey, so many of us have it, so we all get it, you know? So not to worry. But that just means that the considerate thing to do in return of being treated with compassion and understanding by others, is to make sure to double check those things when we do have time. Make sure we aren’t leaving anyone hanging. Because another thing I absolutely will not tolerate in this RP is people ignoring messages about threads or plotting requests etc. Just do not do it. This community is your team, your family. This community is my family too, and as a moderator (and Papa!) I am very protective of each and every one of you and your comfort and happiness is of the utmost importance to both Lottie and I. 

So if you know you are likely a bit flakey when it comes to responding to messages (it’s okay! it happens!), please take care to amend that. To do what you can to make up for it when you log in at a more convenient time. Get back to people. Do not ignore people. And if you do feel like you are overwhelmed and you need to drop some older threads or anything like that, this is a safe place to do that! You will have moderator support and community support. We have all been there, so there is no need to be worried or afraid of being judged or letting anyone down. It is not that kind of community! So if that happens, and someone is asking about an older thread, please try to feel comfortable being honest with them, and asking for what you need, be it extra time, or to drop it in the interest of focusing on new future things :) 

And, if you don’t feel comfortable, for any reason, please know that Lottie and I are here to support you! We have had some of our lovely children come to us before feeling nervous or worried about threads getting backed up or falling behind or lack of muse due to extreme anxiety when looking at their drafts.... and we have always helped them through it! There is a solution, we promise you, and we know that sometimes it just takes a little reminder that yes, it is okay to let things go and that you have literally every person’s support here. No matter what you’re going through, we are here for you; as a mods, and as a community, we will do whatever we can to assist in easing some of your stresses and and getting back to the basics of why you enjoy RP in the first place! 

Basically, there is never any excuse to ignore anyone. Be honest, and be mindful, and if you have any trouble, whatever the cause or kind, come to the mods—either individually or to the main, whatever makes you most comfortable. But if I hear of anyone consistently ignoring anyone’s messages it is something I will take seriously as that is not at all being a team player, and I will be forced to have to ask for names and address the issue with that person directly. And no one here wants to call anyone out or throw anyone under the bus or make anyone feel bad, because at the end of day, we all love each other very much—so I’m sure it’s in everyone’s best interest if I don’t have to do that.

IN CLOSING... 

Alright, thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to tread this really long post. Thank you for your understanding, your team work, your love and commitment, your talent and joy. Thank you to those of you who felt comfortable bringing their concerns to my attention, and thank you to everyone for being the supportive and considerate little nerds ya’ll are. The concerns that were brought to me were pretty aware of it likely being a tumblr notif problem, but the people who did mention it to me were more concerned about other people being upset, than themselves. So I think that’s a really stinkin’ good sign of how sweet ya’ll are, and I want you all to know how deeply Lottie and I appreciate you. You are hands down the best, most considerate and fun group of writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing with, and I’m so grateful for you all everyday!

Keep up the fantastic work everybody!! And as always, if anyone has any questions or concerns regarding this post, please do not hesitate to bring them to us. Finally, please be sure to like this post so I know that you’ve read it. Thank you!!

Much love and sparkles!

xxMod!Ro

[seouldaily]

Things I miss about South Korea

This post has been sitting in my drafts for a good while now, and I finally got around to posting it! I’ve been in Finland for almost a year now, and there are certain things I really do miss about living in Korea. I don’t think I had that bad reverse culture shock at all, but sometimes I just feel like “Oh this thing was so much better in Korea”, and I’ve got some of those things listed here for you!

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Two words: It works. Coming from Finland, a country with rather big surface area with very low population density and not that big population overall… The public transportation here is awful and so damn expensive for what you get. In Korea it’s cheap, very convenient and comes and goes very frequently everywhere. And you can actually afford to use taxi in Korea, so basically you’ll be fine anytime anywhere. I would never get lost in the middle of nowhere at midnight after drinking in Korea like I did just one week back here in Finland, in my damn hometown.

HEALTHCARE

I know, I know, we have free public healthcare in Finland, but it’s so slow and you literally have to fight to get what you want. Often you have to diagnose yourself by your own damn self and be so persistent that they even consider looking into other options than the most obvious one when it’s not it. And private healthcare can get really expensive. In Korea, it’s so fast and so efficient, and not that expensive either if you just have your insurance. I know it’s highly medicalized and they’ll just inject you full of vitamins and make you eat crazy amount of antibiotics. But at least my 39°C fever was gone in a day, whereas in the exact same situation in Finland they made me wait for 3 hours to get to see a doctor who told me I shouldn’t have come there and just have stayed home and eaten few painkillers.

FOOD AND SNACKS

I miss Korean food so much. It was great when my boyfriend was visiting Finland and I could get authentic Korean food cooked by a Korean person, but that made me miss Korean food even more. I loved eating out in Korea because there are so many options and it’s so much cheaper, for the price one person would eat outside in Finland two people would have a super grand size meal in Korea. I’m not joking, Finland is so expensive when it comes to eating out. And snacks! Western snacks are expensive in Korea but that didn’t bother me, I really enjoyed Korean snacks. At first the sizes of snack packagings were annoying - they’re so much smaller than in Western countries, but now that I think it’s actually a good thing! Portion control, everyone. I ate so much less snacks in Korea. What I miss the most about Korean food though, it’s bingsu. God I need all the bingsu in the world. I love it.

CAFES AND BARS

I have to say, I love cafe culture in Korea. There's soooo many cafes and they have so nice beverage options for really affordable prices. Not to mention the absolutely Insta worthy interior in every single cafe! In Korea I also realized I’m not that big of a club person, there’s way too many people and way too loud music. I prefer bars and lounges, somewhere you can actually sit and talk with people when you drink, and in Korea there’s also so many different kinds. I also really miss 술집, they are something unique we don’t have in Finland and I really like the athmosphere of those kinda places. Super fun!

OPENING HOURS

Again, this has to do with the fact that I'm from Finland and we have less population, so all the stores, cafes etc. will usually close at 9pm or even earlier. Some grocery stores and restaurants might be open until 11 or 12pm, but that's not all that common. But in Korea, oh boy I love it. Many stores are open until midnight and many restaurants way longer, and convenience stores are open 24/7 so you can pretty much anything you want any hour of the day! And 24/7 cafes, bless your existence!  Again, after night of drinking you can actually go to some cafe or restaurant while waiting the subway to start running in the early morning, unlike in Finland where bars close at 3-4am, and the public transport stops around the same time and does not start until 6am or so and you have almost nowhere to go to wait.

COSMETICS AND CLOTHES

The selection of cosmetics in Finland is super boring and small. I don’t think I really need to even explain why I much much prefer Korea for shopping cosmetics. Only thing not good about Korean cosmetics is the shade range in base makeup items because I’m so fair, but to be honest it’s not easy in Finland either to find fair enough foundations. The fact is, I can find clothes that are made for a tall Western hourglass figure in Finland, but the style of clothes here rarely is up to my taste. I’m not exaggerating when I say that something that was trendy 2 years ago in Korea is now the thing here. I use very basic clothes, yeah, but in Korea just finding something that goes hand in hand with my personal taste and style is so much easier. I’m not about showing that boobage area and I often prefer to wear very oversized and shapeless pieces of clothing (it’s a fashion thing okay and it’s comfortable) which just seems to be a sheer impossibility to find here. In my eyes, shopping for clothes in Korea is much more good to me style-wise even though I’ll probably never ever be able to find pants there.

NO POLLEN

Okay this might be a little weird, but I’m allergic to every kind of pollen imaginable starting from birch pollen to hay and so on. Basically, that means I’ll be sneezing constantly and taking allergy medicine from late April/May to August in Finland. I know in Korea the air is generally more bad and not as clean as in Finland, but I didn’t have any allergies there! 

MAIL / DELIVERY

Don’t let me even get started how god awful Finnish post system is. I order a lot of stuff online from abroad because I don’t feel like Finnish stores have enough to offer for me. BUT. The package that was sent as an express letter from USA to Finland in just 3 days, might be stuck in the Finnish post system from customs to delivery for 2 WEEKS. That literally happened to me. So that’s why I really miss Korean post system and delivery: it’s so fast and you can get pretty much anything delivered to your doorstep from clothes to food and daily household items. I did order stuff from abroad too when I was in Korea, and I had absolutely no problems.

I think that’s about it! I hope you liked this post, feel free to leave comments or requests if you want to see other posts like this from different topics~