#something about it scratches an itch in my brain

[artsarasp]

You had people send you fics, but what are personally your fic recommendations?

Or fics you like in general or just find cool/neat?

WELL- First off you can always assume that I'm highly recommending any fic I've drawn art for, that's me pointing a neon sign at it and saying GO READ AND LEAVE A NICE COMMENT TO THE WRITER! I'm gonna go dig in my history to get some recs.

- "dumbstruck when you're tender" by pennydaniels This fic is SO good, I wanted to yell about it by making a drawing but I just couldn't decide what to draw. It's a timetravel fix-it fic where Liu Mingyan goes back in time and fixes the plot by joining Qing jing and basically spends the entire story making SQQ go "what the fuck is WRONG with this girl" .

It scratches an itch in my brain. 10/10 go read it.

"We should stick together" by pennydaniels (again <3)

As the author put it, SJ babytraps LQG without the baby. It's honestly so well written, (i want to personally break the face of SJ's Shizun) there's also a sequel fic where sj is de-aged and its so sweetttttt aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"held within the sharp and the curving" by corduroyserpent

I've read this the other day and really enjoyed it!!! It's Gongyi Xiao/Zhuzhi-Lang. Zhuzhi-Lang brings Gongyi Xiao back from the dead and its a bit of a mess and then it turns so tenderrr

"How To Train Your Empolyee" by ParueCake (MiraEyeteeth)

I think about this fic so much. It's so good. Shen Yuan is a dragon and he needs someone to help him take care of chores around the house, he gets a tiny terrified Binghe to do the job. But honestly, LQG steals the show for me (CALL ME BIASED, HE'S MY FAV) There one scene in particular that just gives me the biggest smile whenever I think about it and it's when SY and LQG are sparring and SY keeps yeeting LQG far away and he keeps coming back like a cat that likes to be thrown around. ALSO LQG TRYING TO APPLY A TALISMAN ON HIMSELF TO GET RID OF MIND CONTROL AND IT'S NOT WORKING BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE WIFE BEAM- IT'S SO FUNNYYYY Mira said something about writing a LQG pov and I'm staring longingly in their general direction.

"A person I can't recall" by milktan

Honestly, I could recommend all their fics (They are ALL amazing and the ARTTT) but this one scratches that itch in my brain that loves funny misunderstandings like these. You can sum it up as: yqy: oh, my poor shidi is so traumatized :( sqh: FUCK FUCK FUCK *TROWS A MOLOTOV* 10/10 amazing shenanigans

"Seamless" by elanor_pam

This one is just the first chapter but it's so good already!!! Timetravel fix it where we get a front-row seat as YQY absolutely TEARS into the Qiu's, just one chapter and it's already PEAK just for the absolute smack at Qiu Jianluo.

"Celestial Afterglow" by elanor_pam (again <3 )

This one is a weird one, but I had a lot of fun reading it. SQH saves the plot by setting up the weirdest unintentional voyeurism session ever. SQQ turns into a living CLAMP illustration, Xin Mo is defeated by the sluttiest flower in the realm, LQG unlocks the particle effect. Everyone has a great time and the OPM gets destroyed as a little treat <3

[dizzycycl0ne]

the choreography of ‘this had better come to a stop’ reblog if you agree

[jamdoughnutmagician]

I can't stop thinking about giving Steve a languid, and tortuously slow hand-job. His t-shirt is rucked up enough to show off his soft hairy tummy, and his boxers are pulled down just enough to free his heavy cock from where it was eagerly tenting underneath the material. It's quiet, and neither of you are in any hurry. His pink tip is streaming with pre-cum to slick your fist as you stroke him. You're leaning into him, your lips pressing a hot trail of kisses into his neck whilst he lets out soft little whimpers of pleasure. His freckled skin is flushed with a scarlet pink sheen as he desperately begs for his release. When you finally take pity on him enough to stop your teasing, his stomach muscles tense and he's spilling rope after rope over the knuckles of your fist.

[quinn-pop]

scared of the dark? marry a flashlight

[chandralia]

the intimacy of Deku just sitting behind Bakugo in class…

[preciouslittle-bhaalbabe]

Astarion and Esme lounging in a field of flowers while the sun is high in the sky. Bees are buzzing and birds are singing. A moment of peace.

Esme is reading a book while Astarion rests his head on her lap. She holds her book with one hand (and mage hand) and softly runs her fingertips along his chest with the other. He keeps picking small flowers and putting them in her hair.

[tabithatwo]

Courtney Eaton for Free People / May 2023

[swordscleric]

I don't know if anyone's gone through the original Dawn War pantheon* and compared the events of the Dawn War to the events of the Calamity, but it's interesting comparing how Tharizdun acts in the Dawn War to how little we know about it as the Chained Oblivion and might be useful as a theory-crafting aid for how the Chained Oblivion fits with Predathos**.

In the Dawn War, Tharizdun was a normal god, driven mad by extradimensional demons who provided him with huge amounts of power and attempted to force him to open a portal in the Astral Plane to release them. He took this power, and instead of releasing them created the Abyss. He and his would-be masters fought to a stalemate over control of the Abyss, until the rest of the pantheon found out and sealed him away, leaving him chained to a remote part of the Abyss[1].

By contrast, the Chained Oblivion is "something other entirely"[2], "less like a god and more like another world"[3]; it's been categorised as not of the Primes or Betrayers[4], and generally Matt has leaned much more into the cosmic horror vibes (sans a connection to the Far Realm) of the Chained Oblivion. It's a creature of "roiling ink and hungry darkness"[5], and was sealed at the bottom of the Abyss by the Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress, with support from the Allhammer and the Changebringer[2, 3, 6]. The Chained Oblivion also wants to consume all and end the world and is kept at arms length by the Betrayers[5], and as a result of that plus its association with an unknowable hunger some people have now associated it with Predathos or think it and Predathos are of a similar species.

I think the Chained Oblivion is not Predathos in another form, but I do think that it's of a similar species. Looking at the Dawn War, and assuming (with the full acknowledgement that I'll more than likely be wrong) that Matt will stick as closely to the Dawn War as he has in the past, I think the Chained Oblivion is a smaller and weaker being of nothingness that decided to forge its own path instead of following Predathos' lead. My gut instinct is that the Chained Oblivion, seeing Ethedok and Vordo get eaten, took up Ethedok's mantle of darkness[7]*** and avoided working with Predathos and porentially fought the God Eater in order to survive and work its own odd plans of destruction. The Chained Oblivion makes a lot of plans to try and free itself (see the Angel of Irons or Cognouza), so I wouldn't be surprised if its propensity towards planning was present from the very moment it set foot on Exandria. Does this mean the Chained Oblivion will be let loose to fight the God Eater if Predathos is released? I doubt it, considering that it nearly killed the Knowing Mistress. And we know how the gods feel about family.

Footnotes

*The Dawn War pantheon is the slimmed down pantheon used for 4th edition D&D; can be found on page 11 of the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Used by Matt for the Primes & Betrayers with the addition of Sarenrae from Pathfinder.

**I'm aware of the pitfalls of using existing narratives and non-Exandrian lore to try and predict what's going on in CR at this moment in time; while there's not a 1:1 overlap between other D&D worlds' lore and Exandria, some of the major relationships do stay the same. For example, Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun are all linked in Exandria and in D&D "canon" (Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun all looked into the Far Realm and saw mysterious secrets, secrets which drove Tharizdun to want to destroy the universe as per Gates of Madness (2010). Additionally, Tharizdun is deeply associated with the Abyss across both settings). Bear with me.

***Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent is also associated with darkness; however while the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon are associated with order there is no explicit god of order which was Vordo's other domain. The Chained Oblivion is explicitly described as a god of darkness in both the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (page 27) and the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn (page 34).

References

1. Demonomicon (2010), pages 7-9. The wording of how the sealing took place is intentionally vague as it's a plot hook for DMs to expand on in their campaigns.

2. Titles and Tattoos, CR Campaign 2, Episode 84, from 14:00.

3. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020), page 27.

4. Matt's Discord post during Nick Marini's AMA (linked here).

5. Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, page 36.

6. The Endless Atheneum, CR Campaign 1, Episode 106, from 1:08:16.

7. Axiom Shaken, CR Campaign 3, Episode 43, at 3:02:19.

[perfectlypreservedpie]

I drew more outfits for my sole survivor Annie Dyer bc I thought it'd be fun

[doctorsiren]

My sister infodumped the entire FNAF lore to me on Monday grrr she can’t do this to me

[plasterhound]

Should've realized something was up when my favorite character was albedo frkm genshin impact

[thestarsarecool]

“After Epstein died there was nobody to comfort them or tell them how to handle things so Paul thought he was personally responsible. I constantly saw Lennon & McCartney together because Paul came along to see that I wasn’t rude to John — who I can’t say I got on with. Paul didn’t want me to upset John and thought he could handle me better than Lennon which of course he could.”

— Sir Joseph Lockwood, former chairman of EMI, quoted in Northern Songs: The True Story of the Beatles’ Song Publishing Empire

[judeable-brainrot]

idk why but this is the funniest thing i’ve ever seen his fucking EYES when he says “arguably” makes me cry😭

[boykingscourt]

no but a fic about 20s or even pre-series sam as rowena's protégé in witchcraft would fix me actually

[like-red-lads]

"My poor, mad, cursed Knave." line goes so fucking hard honestly the most chillingly phrase in the entire 7 minutes animation. Its like the tsaritsa is pitying her but also branding/cursing her forever and at the same time calling her as her possession (her knave). What an absolutely bonker line to say to someone who just killed their mother and collapse an entire building with her in it.

[unexpectedbrickattack]

Does Peppino actively enjoy using himself as a subject or does he just use it for marketing? What other things does he usually like to draw or make? Is he a wood carver? I can see him as a wood carver

Oh this is interesting; ive been stuck on this for a little bit. The needle swings between yes and no mid response lol. I think he enjoys being able to use his likeness for marketing, but less so for personal, artistic use. It feels obvious to use ur own face and/or name for ur business (one that u put so much blood sweat n tears in) but he doesnt feel compelled to draw himself. There is a level of self awareness(?) i think u have to have to even desire depicting oneself in art and i think he would be too focused on his failing business to start that process. He has more important things to do. But on the flipside; i think he would look at his own creations (for his business) and regard them as reminders of his failures. So he wouldnt have the best opinion of himself.

But! i think he would enjoy others depictions of his likeness. Despite his awkwardness, he enjoys putting on a show, he enjoys performing to some degree, he likes entertaining a crowd. He feeds off of positive attention (like most people do) even if it leaves him a little flustered. People take pictures of him and he smiles earnestly. He doesnt have the words for it, but it is grounding to see himself outside of his business and existing outside of his failures.

This obv gets better postgame as he gets more support for his business. But also, as Pepperman starts to take genuine interest in his form to use as a muse. It is the perfect balance of him enjoying being an art subject, without him having to Make the art. And tying his visage to a now profitable, successful shop, makes him feel a bit better about seeing his own caricature on the storefront. I can see him in Peppermans studio being convinced to draw himself on canvas, and instead of his usual caricature style, it is an attempt at realism with him waving hi towards the ‘camera’, which is a nice contrast to Peppermans first picture of Peppino looking very blue and very sad. Pepperman is delighted lol look at his muse branching out !!!! Pepperman does not do this for anyone but he lets Peppino take the picture home with him (‘But you must promise to give me a copy of this to hang in my studio 😊 PROMISE ME-‘)

And yes, Peppino wood carves bc Peshino is a wood carved toy!! Hes got some bits in him to let him move around w a simple wind up mechanism. I dont think Peppino would do this in his free time prior to postgame, but as he gets more (positive) time to himself, he starts to take up some easy crafts. Wood carving when hes home and watching tv, and sculpting/painting when hes at Peppermans studio.