#that WILL be relevant to my day to day life.

[gah-lore-ious]

okay I have more to say about this actually!!! since y'all seem to like this post you get to have my continued analysis of the movie which leads us tooo.....

💖🫧🎀popular!🎀🫧💖

yes welcome back to my OZtalk, continuing the analysis of the call and response choreography in Wicked (2024) let's get into something more wholesome and fun!!

how about a whole song about Galinda teaching Elphie how to be more like her?? complete with her literally teaching Elphie the choreography of her life!! Galindafication🫧💕

and certainly not a song about an outsider literally being taught the steps to living a life within a system of oppression. certainly not a song about someone trying to tame a radicalist with more palatable ideas and expressions. (not blaming galinda for that at ALL btw it's simply all she knows and she's GOOD at working within that. anyways. look! makeover scene! so cute!

and her success gives her some measure of confidence. Elphaba is brought out of her shell and shown that she's allowed to be a person, allowed to WANT things. so the next time she reaches out a hand, it's not a desperate plea for ANYTHING. it's for something she really wants...

and Fiyero... he runs from her.....

*sigh*

sooooooo.... as much as I LOVE "one short day" there's not a Ton of relevant choreo to my point in this particular scene. and to be quite frank, this is the part of my analysis that breaks from dependence on the choreography anyways. so... MOVING ON

because their choreography IS beautifully indicative of their characters. because Glinda is the type of person that, as I said, finds her place of control WITHIN the influence. we've already been shown that. this is why when Elphie asks this question...

... weeee already know the answer.

they're just two best friends. but they're not the same person. they don't work the same way. for the SECOND time in this movie, Elphie reaches out her hand for something she wants: Glinda. and for the SECOND time, she doesn't get it.

so here comes the third (and final) time in this movie that Elphie needs help. the next time she reaches out a hand, who does she find?

because Elphaba plays the outsider's game. she's different, she's radicalized, she's alone. But this time, it's not hopeless. it's determined. she embraces HERSELF on the path forward. she is in control of HERSELF now. Elphie is the only one with influence on Elphie now.

and NOBODY is gonna bring her down.

nobody asked for this post BUT has anybody talked about the beautiful metaphor of all the call and response choreography in the Wicked movie??? how the dancing shows the influence that characters have over each other. cuz im about to.

okay okay look at this. everybody at shiz copies Galinda during "what is this feeling"

okay standard expected yeah but THEN we get to "dancing through life" (AKA everybody's horny for Jonathan Bailey) and Fiyero has to "corrupt his fellow classmates"

WATCH them follow along! watch them LEARN the dance as his influence spreads over them. BUT not just them! because for the first time in her life, Galinda is NOT the center of attention. she's nor in command of the crowd and she JOINS IT. SHE JOINS THE CROWD.

now of course she eventually finds her way to the center, she finds a place of influence in the dance because that's who she is. When Glinda isn't in control, she joins the influence to take control of it.

but you know who isn't dancing? you know who's the one person refusing that call? of course you do you watched the movie too.

and yes. I know, those of us that are familiar with musical theater probably already saw all of this. but shhhh this is fun to talk about anyways. AND we're getting to the fun part. that's right... it's the

🧊🐟✨️ozdust ballroom✨️🐠🧊

now THIS is what's special about the call and response aspect of the choreography. THIS is the part that makes all of us cry whether or not we consciously realize it.

because whereas Glinda is able to FIND her place of control in the influence, Elphaba doesn't have that ability. she's NEVER had that. she can't join a crowd because she's different and she sticks out no matter what.

Elphaba has to do her own thing. She always has to go it alone. that's why this dance is so strange and so beautiful!! because it's so uniquely her! and THATS why the call and response motif of the choreography makes this moment so sad. because it's not just Elphie not caring what anyone thinks.

it's a desperate call for anyone, ANYONE to respond to her.

And Galinda sees her. FINALLY, a response. finally, Elphaba has broken through that wall. for the first time in her life, she's reached out a hand, and someone else took it.

and i just think that's beautiful. 🥺

i definitely have more to say about this but for now I will end it here anyways thanks for coming to my OZTEDtalk.

[limethefirst]

Hello! I have a request for movie shadow if your alright with it? Can we have one where maybe shadow saved the reader at gun when he escaped and after he visited the base he kept Maria's skates perhaps and then as he trusts the reader cleans them up and give them to them on the crab?🥹. Showing them how to use them and the two end up bonding even more over it, shadow in his head promising to protect them after and not let what happened to Maria happen to them. This just sounds so flipping cute I hope this request I'd okay. Thank youuuu🥰.

Skating Friends

pairings: Shadow the Hedgehog x reader (platonic)

warnings: none

summary: After Shadow saves you from GUN during his escape he takes you along with him to visit the old base, stumbling upon a pair of skates he hadn't seen in a long time

a/n: did yall miss me, sorry i have so many requests this is gonna take me some time...i also want to drop a new story sometime maybe a DC one if life permits me, anyway sorry the requests take forever here you go see you all next time, tysm for keeping my blog relevant <3

Shadow didn't know why he brought you with him, he isn't the type to get close to people, at least not anymore. Yet here he was, walking through the old base, the lab, his home. Well, before it became a ruble of dust and broken pipes that gathered dust.

When Shadow first met you, he was shocked. You were being held at GUN against your will, trapped just like he was, it was part of the reason he kept you so close now. It was like he saw himself in you. Just some scared thing that had no choice in your own life, a slave to responsibility and ever droning duty.

You kept a safe distance between you and the hedgehog, he was solitary and it was easy to tell. He was slow as he walked through the dark and dusty corridor, like he wasn't all there. His min was else where, no matter how much he'd wish it wasn't. It was better to stay quiet when he was like this anyway.

Suddenly he stopped, his gaze was unwavering as he looked towards a pile of rocks that leaned against the cold wall. Quickly he made his way over, he was looking at something in the mess but you couldn't tell what yet. Quietly you moved a bit closer to him, following his line of sight until it landed on a pair of skates.

They were dirty and old. Like they'd been left behind, you gave Shadow a small look before putting your attention back on the skate he'd picked up. His brows furrowed as he held it in his hands, his gloved hands slightly tensing as he looked at the skates. A small huff escaped his lips as he put the skate back down and continued walking.

You stood there for a bit longer, watching as he walked off. A curious expression gracing your face. You didn't know exactly what Shadow went through, you'd heard bits and pieces, but it was easy to tell these skates meant something to him. As he was distracted you grabbed the skates on the ground, and shoved them into the small bag you had slung across your shoulders and quickly made your way back over to him. Following him again through the base.

As the day passed Shadow met with Gerald, a man who you came to learn was someone Shadow seemed to share deep rooted trauma with, and apparently that man had a grandson who was considerably just as intelligent as him. Both men as well as Shadow all made a plan to infiltrate GUN HQ and steal the keycard to an old plan that Gerald had some up.

Shadow not wanting to leave you behind, gestured for you to follow. So now here you were, onboard a strange crab like plane with 3 older men who seemed to have some strange thing going on and the resident hedgehog who kept to himself.

While you waited you went over to a quieter part of the Crab that would leave you unnoticed by everyone. Slowly you took out the skates that were still in your bag; you let out a small hum as you examined them. They were very old and very dirty, it even looked like they had stains but that just made you determined. This was going to be a long trip anyway might as well find something to do.

So while you all flew to London, you'd decided to try and refurbish the old skates. Sitting down in the corner you began to try and brush some of the dirt and dust away, clearly that didn't do much. So you quickly got up and grabbed some paper towels near the kitchen area of the Crab, dampening them slightly so that you could clean up the skates. You felt your arm getting sore from all the scrubbing that you had to do just to get all the gunk off.

The skates looked slightly better, you could actually see the color now. Blue, they were blue. Whoever owned them before had taste. You looked at the wheels, also cleaning them and taking out anything that would disrupt the skating process.

Shadow, noticing the lack of your presence behind him, turned around and tried to find where you'd gone before his eyes landed on a familiar sight. He's eyes scanned the skates, he noticed you trying to clean them. Unable to look away he made his way over to you in quick strides. You looked up at him and smiled at the hedgehog, one skate in your hand and the other still dirty on the ground.

He let out a small huff at the sight, it was oddly endearing, but it also brought back slight pain. Without hesitation Shadow grabbed the skate off the ground and from your hand before walking off without explanation. You sat there, mouth agape as he just grabbed the skates away from you.

Quickly you stood up, following behind him, "What are you doing?" You asked, trying to get a look of what he was doing with the skates.

"Here," he grumbled as he handed them back to you. They were clean, and the wheels turned fine, he had fixed them, "Put them on." He stated, leaving you no room to decline. Sitting down you took off your shoes and slipped the skates on, they fit well considering their age.

Shadow grabbed your arm, and helped you to your feet. He looked at the skates before looking back at you, "Keep them safe," although he tried to keep a cool demeanor it was easy to tell his voice softened as he addressed you about the skates. Clearly they held a lot of sentimental value for him yet he trusted you enough to have them.

"I can't skate, Shadow.." You stumbled a bit as you stood up, trying to keep your balance. He took notice of this and kept a safe distance as a way of making sure if you fell he'd help.

He thought for a moment before speaking up again, "I can show you then" He walked back slightly before he started to glide around a bit. His shoes seemed to have some type of wheels on them. Your eyes widened at this sudden revelation, not realizing he had his own skates this whole time. A subtle smile found it's way onto your lips before you tried to skate towards him, flailing your arms slightly to keep your balance. Shadow sighed at the sight, realizing he had his work cut out for him but you guys had a good amount of time before you reached London, which meant he could teach you.

Stone turned around from enviously watching the Robotnik's to look over at you two, his ears perking up at the sound of laughter that seemed to escape you. Shadow wouldn't admit that he was enjoying this, but then again he didn't need to. There was a small underlying understanding between you two.

And that was just fine.

[timesorceror]

So I started this rec list sometime in mid to late 2024 after listening to @thisweekinfandomhistory's episode on the Crack Van, where one of the hosts commented (and I'm most definitely probably paraphrasing here) about how rec lists are something of a lost art.

This, combined with my burning desire to write a primer on Dreamling (in the hopes it could perhaps one day get covered on the pod) was what pushed me to start going through my 30-something pages of bookmarks (of which those occupy slightly more than a third of my total pages of bookmarks) and start categorizing them in preparation for this list.

Sorry about all the parentheses; I've very likely got some rather loud undiagnosed ADHD and cannot for the life of me keep my brain from interjecting with every single bit of information, relevant or otherwise. But, I digress.

There are ten posts included in this monster of a fic rec masterpost, and they are divided between Oneshots, Multi-Chaptered Fics, and Series. The reason for the divide is simple: Tumblr only allows 100 inline links per post, as I also learned from listening to the lovely ladies of the This Week in Fandom History Podcast.

The rec list posts are below the cut, along with a link to my masterpost Google Doc, an explanation as to the method behind my madness, among other things.

Oneshots - Part One Contains: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crossover

Oneshots - Part Two Contains: Fluff / Happy Ending, Fishbowl Rescue, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, New Inn Is A Temple

Oneshots - Part Three (NSFW) Contains: Accidental Vouyerism, Age Difference, BDSM, College / University AU, Centaur AU, Dragon AU, Dream Sex, Fantasy AU, First Time / First Kiss / Getting Together / Friends to Lovers, Fluff / Smut

Oneshots - Part Four (NSFW) Contains: Fishbowl Rescue, Hurt/Comfort, Medieval AU, MPreg / Breeding Kink, Nursing Kink, Omegaverse, Oviposition, Pacific Rim AU, Period Sex, Retired Dream of the Endless, Selkie AU, Sex Pollen, Shapeshifting, Star Wars AU, Stuck in An Airport AU, Soulmates / Soul Bond, Temporary Amnesia, Tentacle Sex, Touch-Starved Dream of the Endless, Venom AU, Werewolf AU

Oneshots - Part Five Contains: Soulmate AU (No Smut), Touch-Starved Dream of the Endless

Multi-Chapter - Part One Contains: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Study, Crossover, Fishbowl Rescue, Fluff, Friends / Enemies to Lovers, Getting Together

Multi-Chapter - Part Two (NSFW) Contains: Angst with a Happy Ending, Body Swap, Canon Divergence AU, College / University / Academia AU, Creatures & Monsters AU, Dragons AU, Dream Sex, Established Relationship, Fairy Tale AU, Fantasy AU, Fishbowl Rescue / Hob Gadling Saves Dream of the Endless, Friends to Lovers, Fuck Or Die, Getting Together, Historical AU, Hob Gadling is Hope of the Endless, Hob Gadling Owns the New Inn

Multi-Chapter - Part Three (NSFW) Contains: Hurt/Comfort, Medieval AU, Modern Setting / Human AU, Monsterfucking, Omegaverse, Past Relationship(s), Period Sex, Retired Dream of the Endless, Roommates, Sex Pollen, Soulmates AU, Temporary Amnesia, The New Inn is a Temple, Touch-Starved Dream of the Endless, Vampire AU, Victorian AU, Werewolf AU

Series - Part One (A–L) Features series written by: acadethicc | AceDragonType | Aetheltrythh | Anonymous | apocryphal | Ardin | Aria_Lerendeair | aWordyBody | Bacota | BeatnikFreak | behold_me (feat. The_KickIt_Domain) | BuckytheDucky | chaosheadspace | charinabook | CourfeyracFredMariusCratchit | cuubism | dancinbutterfly (feat. Moorishflower) | Darci | Delta_Pavonis | Dira Sudis (dsudis) | everythingisconnected | foxish_nonsense | frihetkanske | GalaxyDreamStories | hardly_an_escape | honeyteacakes | IcePhoenix96 | im_not_corrupted | Ismene_Jane | issylra | Konstadt | LeotheLionathefootofOrion

Series - Part Two (L–Z) Features series written by: Lightning_glass42 | LikeMmmCookies | lithenemesis | LLflorence dreamling (LLflorence) | Maelstrom22 | MDJensen | Mondaysundayssadurdays | monobuu | MonstrousRegiment | MoonlightMav | Moorishflower | Mywayornorway | NyriaMizell | often_adamanta | Purplesauris | Sam_Salami | SerenAur | starsniper | softestpunk | Stormysaslytherin | slythernim | Sylcian_SPH_Legacy | tharkuun | The_Shy_One | TheFanficMustFlow | Thesuspiciousflyingjellyfish | ThirtySixSaveFiles | Thranduilland | TimelessRiver | tinglingsensation | Torte | ObsessiveAgony | viiidispade | winterbucky (WinterLadyy) | Whoareyou0000 | zoomacroom

There will likely not be any more posts added to this, given the nature of how Tumblr posts work, but as I am still in the middle of my second run-though of the Dreamling ship tag's entire body of completed works, I will continue to update this Google Doc as I go (and whenever I comb through my Marked for Later tab and go through fics that are still there as well) that you may view at your leisure.

Note: this Google Doc is my personal fic rec list, and is not the be-all, end-all of Dreamling fics, despite how expansive it is. If there is a fic I have not added, it's very likely I did not read it because of a tag I'm not into (like Hurt No Comfort), or I read it and didn't bookmark it because I felt like I wasn't going to read it more than once. Or any other number of reasons, such as incomplete fics, which I rarely read these days unless it's a tag that I absolutely go feral for.

So don't DM me asking to add specific fics, please. Thanks. :)

I would like to explain that the Google Doc uses the tab function to separate the Oneshots, Multi-Chaptered Fics, and Series, and within each tab, they are further divided using the outline function.

The way I chose to organize the Oneshots and Multi-Chaptered fics was to start by thinking of this rec list as sort of like a menu at a restaurant by picking a main tag that I feel is the focus of the fic, and then further organize them by a sub-catagory tag (for example, I have Moorishflower's fic, Radio Silence, under the broad umbrella of 'Alternate Universe Oneshots' which is further organized under the sub-catagory, 'Post-Apocalyse AU'). Mostly I tried to follow this method by selecting two tags from the tag list of the fic, however not all fics I wanted to include HAD enough tags to use, or they had a bunch of hyper-specific, talk-commentary tags that I felt were not very compatible with the system I had worked out. So there are a few fics that I had to categorize or sub-catagorize simply based on vibes.

Hopefully, that explanation was sufficient, and I know that – given the current state of the fandom in regards to NG – some of these fics may one day become orphaned or be taken down. Unfortunately there is little I can do about that other than to encourage you to download any of the fics you enjoy so that you may continue to enjoy them if they disappear.

The purpose of this undertaking was more to challenge myself (and my patience) to see if I still had what it took to make a proper rec list and also to truly get a sense of Dreamling's major themes, tropes, and common tags so that I could list them out in the primer I still want to write for TWIFH.

That's... pretty much why this exists, though along the way, I was moved to finish this project for the sake of creating a snapshot of this particular ship's fandom at this particular moment in time. Whether or not it lasts remains to be seen, but I'm glad to have done it, and I hope that any fandom historians, as well as current and future fans of Dreamling appreciate my efforts.

I would also like to give a special shout-out to the @mr-sadman Discord, which also has a fic library of at least some of the listed fics for the occasions when AO3 goes down for whatever reason, as a good chunk of Dreamling authors and artists tend to congregate there and are all a bunch of lovely and wonderfully derranged people who have supported me in this endeavor.

So please, enjoy. Go forth and read fic.

All my love, TimeSorceror

[disgruntleddemon]

so, better world Stan and Fiddleford are not fans of each other at first. Fiddleford doesn't want to be involved in all of this, he's stressed, and Stan won't stop pestering him. Stan thinks Fiddleford should hurry up and bill proof Ford's brain. he's also still hung up on the whole kidnapped by the society thing lmao. meanwhile, Ford is dealing with sleep deprivation, Bill, playing mediator between Stan and Fidd, and trying to rebuild his relationships with them individually.

after project mentem is finished, Fiddleford actually has to talk to Emma May. she's done with his bs, and wants a divorce. of course Ford offers to let him stay. which means he's making a road trip back to palo alto the get the rest of his stuff.

Ford, sick of the constant arguing, basically forces Stan to go with to help, figuring they'll either bond or finally kill each other and get it over with already. i kinda picture this as roadside attraction, but more relevant lol. surprisingly, Ford's plan works, and they return on better terms,

unfortunately, Ford does not take the isolation well. he kinda forgot how much he's come to enjoy actually being around people again. and the last time he was alone was the worst time of his life, which is still pretty fresh in his mind.

he throws himself into obsessively dismantling the portal as a distraction, and is hopped up on coffee and anxiety. Fiddleford and Stan come back to him conked out on a pile of metal <33

During all of this is of course a baffled Emma-May trying to figure out what tf is even happening. Especially why Ford randomly sent his (up until this point, un-mentioned) brother instead of coming himself hkgkf.

here's a fun fact! the banjo thing wasn't something i came up with! it's based on a story my friend recounted of her parents hitchhiking with a guy who played (iirc) a fiddle while driving. i still think about that mental image to this day

*id prefer if this wasn't tagged as fiddlestan*

[buginacup]

Tynk! Day Update:

Wrote a thread on Bluesky talking about Tynk!, figured I'd copy/paste it here for those of you that may have been curious.

Happy Tynk day to those who celebrate ~ it's amazing how much Twitter and the world at large has changed just in the few years since I crowdfunded it. Remains to be seen if I need to translate Tynk's verbal hashtags to Tiktok unalive le$bean speak.

I wonder if the ideas will feel as relevant by the time it comes out. I can't help but feel embarrassed about its focus on "life as an artist". Feels too narrow, self-sympathetic.

Though, the utility/intent of the POV is more to think about media/consumption in general, and it still does that.

If you've been wondering, I spent last year shopping the game around as best I could. Since the games crash and the collapse of Twitter I haven't commanded nearly the attention I initially drew from publishers, and it shows in how many of them leave me on read.

Ultimately it's not a game or a genre that causes money people to drool, and for good reason. I doubt Chu♡Lip made anybody rich.

I still think I'll finish it eventually, but it doesn't get to be my fulltime job - so it has to cook on the backburner for how many years.

It sucks, but I like my job right now and I have debt/bills to chip away at. I can't afford to throw myself into this project full force.

Right now I need to prioritize surviving. To hell with being a 20-something savant. I want to live to be a 50-something, a 60-something.

I hope you'll be excited for Tynk whenever it manages to emerge, even if that's so many years from now. Thanks for your understanding, stay safe. 💚

[dumbhungsubboy]

In a perfect world🙂‍↕️

What does your ideal relationship look like? Like, a day in the life of this sweet boy and his lover?

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to work or anything, and live in a house near the ocean, lots of seafood because I love it.

We could just spend all day being around each other, and have a room dedicated to our hobbies, one for me and one for her. A door connecting them, and it’d be like stepping between two different worlds.

Just being able to indulge in each others interests and just spending time together.

Oh and like a really big bed with big soft pillows and all.

So basically my ideal day would just be spending time with her in a place like that.

Actually, thinking of it now, none of that is super relevant. We could spend all day hanging out by a dumpster or something, as long as I’m with someone I love, it would be an ideal day.

[rincewitch]

god i thought i was doing bad after the election but since inauguration day my mental health has just completely collapsed

i feel like the current situation calls for a level of resilience that i’m just not really capable of. but like. i wish i was stronger and braver and tougher, i wish crisis and catastrophe would galvanize me or be a call to action or even just spite or whatever instead of constantly feeling like i’m made of glass and about to shatter

am i doomscrolling? i’m probably doomscrolling. i know i shouldn’t be doomscrolling. but there’s so much going on and it’s all so bad so that like literally the most basic awareness of current events (including the ones that are like immediately relevant to my life as a trans woman) is— psychologically speaking anyway— basically indistinguishable from just drinking from the firehose of perpetual misery

maybe what i really want is for someone to just pat me on the head and tell me that everything is going to be okay. but that’s a childish thing to want. but also i’m exhausted by spending so much time marinating in anxiety and dread and it’s only been like. a couple weeks

i don’t want to spend four years like this. i guess i will if i have to, because of the linear nature of time— there’s nowhere to go but further into the future, even if i’m just constantly afraid and on edge and on the cusp of panic. i felt like that during the height of the pandemic, and eventually i did stop feeling like that. but, you know, i would prefer not to have to do that again. but the scale and scope and pace of events, the way they span both high politics (are we on the verge of societal collapse? is the world economy about to explode because of tariffs or whatever?) and the business of everyday life (like trying to figure out getting my name and gender marker change sorted out) kind of short circuits whatever coping tools i have that might address one sort of anxiety or another. is there like one weird trick for not losing my mind during the second trump administration?

uhhh anyway in summary:

[muchanmocha]

When I was looking through the artbook for the first time I genuinely teared up 3 different times. And one of them was Shine's profile for Mizi.

Your tags are amazing prev, wanted to get my thoughts on this section in particular!

If we take a look at Shine's chart, we have zero data on any of their stats (Intelligence, Moral Sense, Awareness, Life Expectancy, Status, Wealth). This lines up with Shine's tag #mysterious race — they're likely a mystery to even other segyein (aliens). But there's another important tag here: #transcendent being.

transcendent (Merriam-Webster)

— extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience

— being beyond comprehension

— transcending the universe or material existence

Shine is a "being beyond comprehension" who "transcends the material existence."

With this description, it's no surprise that they would be entrusted with something by an "old and divine existence."

But what does it mean to be a transcendent being? What does it mean to be beyond the material world?

Personally I think it implies they do not involve themselves in worldly matters which includes wealth, status, and in relevancy to our topic, the morals of the segyein community. I think Shine, as "masters of the deep sea" no longer concern themselves with issues of the world at large, only that of the domain under their protection and management. Not to say that can't or won't change with the recent events.

Let's also look at Shine and Mizi and the latter's entry into Alien Stage. (Putting this under the cut bc it's unnecessarily long lol)

Shine is very clearly designed based on jellyfish, and all of these cues (the popularized "immortal jellyfish," "creatures of the deep sea," being "a mysterious race") surrounding them indicate that there's a high chance of Shine having a very long lifespan, if not immortal altogether. Either way it would be incomprehensibly more vast than we or Mizi and co. can conceptualize as humans.

Let's say you have a pet hamster. You've grown very attached to this hamster. You love them to bits and they're the brightest joy in your life and you would do anything for them [insert I've only had Arlo for a day and a half meme].

One day your hamster says they want to do this very cool and amazing thing that might end in their death or maybe not but the thought of it makes their little eyes light up and — OFC YOU SAY NO!! Is this little guy crazy??

But then you think again.

Because of their biological limitations, this little guy is only going to live a year or two. Maybe three if you take very good care of them.

Do you really have the right to dictate what your little guy can do in the short, short year they have to live? Even if it's for their own good? Do you have the right to say no if this is what they truly want? What their dream is for their short time on this planet?

Would it be selfish of you to choose keeping them with you longer over what they want? For the sake of extending 1 year with them to 3?

No matter what, Mizi's time with Shine was limited from the start.

Their time together was always going to be short. So why not do whatever they can to give her the best and happiest life possible while she's still with them? Why not try to grant as many of her wishes as possible? Even if one of those wishes will shave down the time they have, if it could make Mizi all the happier, wouldn't that be worth it for Mizi's sake?

From the perspective of a potentially near-immortal race, the difference between a handful of years and two handfuls of years is minimal.

Shine definitely wouldn't be on board with Mizi participating on Alien Stage but I can see why they would choose to support Mizi's wishes despite the risks.

But this is with the aforementioned by prev canonical "inability to truly understand humans bc they're aliens/segyein" coming into play.

Bc this reasoning is flawed ofc haha.

Mizi was a child, prob less than 6 years old when she was sent to Anakt Garden which means she likely told Shine she wanted to do it way back then and idk about you but 6-year-olds prob shouldn't be making life or death decisions.

Mizi also wasn't aware of the stakes at hand. I can see various reasons for why Shine wouldn't enlighten her of it, if they even realized this was a need. Additionally if Shine as a race are long-lived, Mizi wouldn't have many opportunities to encounter death as a concept among her companions in her homeland.

Anyway those are some of my extrapolations from the text with random thoughts thrown in haha

I hate alien stage…

I’ve recently gotten really into alien stage. I’ve been avoiding it because I wanted to finish watching milgram but I got curious and just decided to watch it. Point is I hate it. I hate it for a very stupid reason that’s honestly my own fault. I hate it because I fell in love with this stupid character.

Not Mizi (even though I love her also)

HER I LOVE THIS STUPID ALIEN AND I HAVE NO CONTENT FOR HER

EVER SENSE I FOUND OUT SHE EXISTED IVE BEEN LOSING MY MIND BRO

Shine my beloved ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The only good alien in this stupid series

Someone please make more shine content I love them so much…

Someone please tell me I’m not the only one…

Like I genuinely love them more than the other characters.

They could actually be the worst character in the series and I wouldn’t know sense I just got into this stupid thing

Shine… please… I need more content

[moe-broey]

Hhnghb

[musubiki]

🎂 birthday time 🎂

[shikai-the-storyteller]

I've been thinking a lot about Leonarda's not-death ever since it happened back in April.

("What death?" you might ask, to which I say: "EXACTLY!")

Back in mid-April, Vegetta and Leonarda were mining together in a one-block wide tunnel. A mob (a Petriman) got between the two of them, and Vegetta told Leonarda to step back while he took care of it. At this point, they'd spent enough time together that he trusted Leo to listen to him.

Instead, she was killed by the same sweeping edge bug that killed her siblings.

-

Vegetta's reaction here is what's really interesting to me. Unlike most other parents on the Island, there are no shouts or tears – only a very brief "Hmm" and then silence. He very quietly takes stock of the situation, saying "Vegetta, no" and wondering aloud why Leo didn't defend herself. In chat, Foolish says "It was a bug, right? LAG" to which Vegetta slowly responds "Yes, lag. Bug." (Despite this, Foolish still asks "WHAT HAPPENED" in chat, though Vegetta doesn't reply).

Instead, he creates a slightly wider space in the tunnel where Leo's body is. He continues quietly taking stock of the situation, wondering why Leo didn't defend herself (which is what necessitated his intervention). She'd been lagging a lot that day, and he figures that must be the cause, and eventually when Leo re-appears out of thin air in the middle of the cave and collects her stuff, she confirms that the lag got to her and that's why she didn't fight the mob.

Now here's where things get interesting:

Vegetta checks the tab list. Online, it's just him, Leonarda, Roier, and Foolish. He quietly tells Leonarda "The body has already disappeared, and without a body, there is no crime. Nothing is happening. Did you die?" Leo shakes her head, and Vegetta shakes his head too, and in the kind voice he uses sometimes with Leo, he says: "I believe you have not died. Where is the body? It isn't anywhere, no mija. If it was a mistake, it was a mistake."

Leo says: "I saw Diosito (God) pa, and I was scared. God, what am I doing here?" and Vegetta laughs, telling her it's alright. Leo says "No pasa nada (don't worry / nothing happened)" and Vegetta says: "And the people who are watching us have not seen it either." To Foolish and Roier, he messages: "Secreto."

And the funniest thing about this is it worked.

Not a single person spoke about it. I saw this entire event go down live and I didn't see a WHISPER of what transpired among fans. I can't even remember if the QSMP official accounts talked about it (they sure didn't mention it in Vegetta's recap of the day). We could discuss this in meta terms of course– Leo was having known lag issues that day, Vegetta's beloved by the admins so of course they're willing to turn a blind eye rather than slap a "?" over Leonarda's life on the Eggstatistics, but meta talk isn't what I'm interested in here.

I'm interested in q!Vegetta, the weird "god-adjacent" aura he's got, and the way the universe bends to his will.

Before he took a break from the server, Rubius seemed to be a caretaker for the Eggs who died (for example, he was present when Maxo, Quackity, and Mariana & Slime said their final goodbyes to Trumpet, Tilin, and JuanaFlippa). Because of his role as an "angel" and some of his dialogue during the early days of the server, it's not a stretch to say he probably came to collect any Egg who lost a life. I can imagine he did the same when he saw Leonarda die – that is, until Vegetta said "And the people who are watching us have not seen it either." Realistically, we know Vegetta was saying this to Chat (and possibly the admins as well), but again, we're looking at this from an "in-universe" perspective.

I wonder if Vegetta was aware of Rubius' role, and this was his way of telling Rubius "No. I won't allow that to happen." We know Rubius has a soft-spot for Vegetta (and we also know that Rubius was cast out of heaven several months later) so it makes me wonder if these two instances are connected.

Either way, this isn't the first time the laws of the QSMP universe have bent for Vegetta, and I certainly don't think it'll be the last.

Rubius or no, Leo didn't die that day.

Vegetta made sure of it.

[fictionadventurer]

Actual January Reads

Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp: A solid light read with a likable and relatable main character and some good exploration of the intellectual/artistic realm vs. ordinary life. Good start to the year.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I liked this much more the second time. I found a lot to enjoy, and it's a classic for a reason, but I still think Jane and Rochester both get away with a lot that isn't questioned by the narrative because they're "soulmates".

"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell: I don't read ghost stories, but I liked the style and the story here enough to keep reading. I love how Gaskell used the ghost story format to explore themes of regret and compassion that would fit into her realistic stories. However, the danger to the child was chilling, and it still haunts me, so I kind of regret reading.

Matched by Allie Condie: This reread didn't hit as hard as it did during the pandemic, but the "fighting for human creativity in a world where technology creates everything" is more relevant than ever in a world with AI.

Crossed by Allie Condie: My first time rereading, because I didn't like it the first time. I liked it better this time. I always like a travel story--the desert atmosphere was immersive. The side characters made more sense. But I'm still not convinced there was a point to this book--it'd be pretty much the same story if they found the rebellion right away.

Reached by Allie Condie: I'm really glad I didn't reread this one during the pandemic--somehow I'd completely forgotten that the whole story is a medical thriller about a pandemic. I was pretty impressed by the virology--it was detailed and mostly hung together. (Though anything would be better than the Lunar Chronicles' "people drank the vaccine to cure the disease). (And the Mormon symbolism in the cure amused me.) The only things I had remembered about the story were some details I thought were stupid--it turns out I'd misunderstood them and they made total sense. I liked the "find a third option" approach to rebellion. The unresolved government situation both made sense and disappointed me.

The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting: A cute enough story, except for the blatant, over-the-top racism that provides major plot points for a huge section of the middle. I'm used to a certain level of racism in old books--this went well beyond that. And overall, I like the story less the longer I think about it. I'm never much one for animal narratives, though some of the animals here were cute. As for Doolittle--there's a difference between "unworldly and innocent" and "complete irresponsible idiot", and Doolittle has way too much of the latter in him. (I would be interested in the story from his sister's POV, though--imagine one day your brother gives just adopts a million pets and starts making weird animal noises and gives up his medical practice. How do you deal with that?)

So Big by Edna Ferber: The best book I read this month. I started out unsure of the story--it had a bit too much of the cynical trying-to-impress-the-literary-elite vibe that I associate with American literature of this era--but it became a really lovely exploration of what it really means to live a good life. Selina is a masterful character, and I loved getting her story, and the contrasting stories of the two boys she helped to raise. A few bits of content that went a bit beyond what I like, but overall a very good book.

The Home-maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher: I loved the premise, kind of hated the first three sections where everyone hates their lives and the husband can't do anything right, and then adored the fourth section. Possibly the best exploration of gender roles and child-rearing that I've ever seen in fiction.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse: A nice little story full of fascinating historical detail, psychologically-rich characters, and a heartwrenching story. I'm not sure that the free-verse structure added anything to it, but it's nice to add another one to my list. Initially, this story left me going, "Yeah, it's good, but nothing special," but the more I think about it, the more impressive I find it.

Red Palace by June Hur: The worldbuilding here was more intricate and unfamiliar than like 95% of the fantasy novels I read. I loved it. (And it turned out I'd seen just enough k-drama gifs to envision some of the outfits). Unfortunately, the intense worldbuilding on top of a murder mystery plot was a bit too much--it got overwhelming to piece together the worldbuilding when the heroine's understanding of the truth was constantly shifting. I ended up half-skimming to survive. But I did like the story and the depth to the main character, so I'd like to read more by the author.

Deathmark by Kate Stradling: My most relaxing read of the month. Once again, I liked a Stradling book better on reread. I didn't mind that it was barely a Blue Castle retelling. The story was relaxing, the romance was cute, the hero's tragic past compelling, the turn into darkness just a bit too dark, and the hero's parents amazing. Unfortunately, it did my least favorite Stradling thing of ending with a huge, complicated infodump about backstory + the magic system. I can never explain just why I like these books so much, but finishing one of her stories always leaves me wanting to read another one.

Potential January Reads

A Brilliant Night of Ice and Stars by Rebecca Connolly

Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp

So Big by Edna Ferber

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Vibrant Paradoxes by Bishop Robert Barron

The Diary of a Country Priest by George Bernanos

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope

Katherine Wentworth by D.E. Stevenson

[reunitedinterlude]

lofi phantasy: the album

track 11: a good stretch

[xxplastic-cubexx]

waiting for marvel to take you up as their comic artist so that we can have amazing art with cherik official storyline

marvel hire me to draw professor x and magneto making out sloppy style for forty issues straight you will get a BAJILLION dollars i promise

[autisticaradiamegido]

thoughts on dave and aradia (<>)?

day 356

BIG fan tbh. in this house we love and respect timerails

truly yall read this log and tell me theyre not cute

[wiltkingart]

wanted to look at all my trans art in one place so i combed through my archive and added a trans art tag to my blog. it doesn't include everything, but it does span back several years and will surely continue to grow. 🏳️‍⚧️🌷