#there's so much more i could add but that's for another post

[unhappy-sometimes]

a 2024 reading retrospective

so. i read a lot of fics in 2024. here are some of my favorites.

before i get started, please note that these are not in any particular order and these are not all of my favorites!!!!!!!! i wanted to include so many more but i just wasn't able to! also please don't roast me for reading stuff from more than two years ago :(((

anyway, here we go!!

1. Air by Cantare

as always, @cantareincminor knocks it out of the park. i'm a sucker for alternate first meeting AUs and Air is one of the good ones!! i find that it can be hard to find authentic sounding banter between yor and twilight, but cantare manages it somehow! they have such great and natural sounding dialogue. it's just a one chapter fic, but maybe if we ask nicely enough, cantare will continue one day 😏

2. like the wild geese by anonymous_viscacha

okay in all honesty, i read this for the first time last week and i scrambled to add this one to the list. it's a short one shot about a shared lunch break between yor and loid, but it's so sweet and endearing that i just had to put it on. i love love love it when people let loid and yor catch up on the childhood they lost because they deserve it. i'm kinda obsessed with this fic right now.

3. what happens outside by aerequets

it's kinda unfair that @aerequets gets to be a great artist and author but here we are. i'm not complaining tho because what happens outside is a delightful read. i enjoy exploring post reveal pre relationship twiyor and this fic is perfect for that!! it's also just really cute and reading things from yor's perspective is super endearing.

4. chaos theory by sarsaparillia

so ngl this one scared me at first because i do NOT like major character death fics and this one really seems like it, but this fic was unexpectedly wholesome and has a happy ending!!! it's short but bittersweet so i can't really talk about it without spoiling it any more. go read it! it's short!

5. eventually i fall into you, you attack my heart by princessguard

i know this is a controversial (and somewhat ironic) take but i usually really don't like eden AUs but. this fic is proof that there are always exceptions to the rule. this one is a short little story about a serious student at eden and the weird girl he keeps meeting in trees. i don't know exactly why i love this one so much but it do. it's cute and the epilogue got me grinning like a fool.

6. like real people do by Puolain

once again another alternative meeting AU. i dunno, man, it's just so much fun to see twilight and yor having the chance to be real people and accidentally fall in love which each other. i eat that up every time. great work @loveroma!

7. I'll Be There in a Minute, Dear by fluffmelange

i was SO CLOSE to putting fluffmelange's "Leave No Trace of Yourself" here because that one is SO FUNNY but alas, this delightful fic barely won out in the end. you know what you should do? read both. fluffmelange is keeping us all fed with short and sweet fics that are so much fun to read. this one is a favorite simply because the premise is so goofy and simple but i could 100% see it being canon lol. we are in your capable hands @fluffmelange.

8. I've Been Throwing Bricks At Your Window Like There's No Better Way To Say Hello by thesmallestfishinthesea

this fic has such a silly and simply premise but i love it so so so much. it's about the three times yor forgets her keys (plus one extra time loid forgets!!!!) and it's so cute to have a view inside yor's (often frazzled) mind. i don't know what else to say other than READ IT RIGHT NOW!!! great work @smallest-fish-inthesea!

this is not all!! i really wanted to include the wonderful works of @whateversawesome, @briefhottubcoffee, @spencer-is-alive, luinel, and more (ao3 literally went out just as i was typing this UGH what awful timing) but i wanted to do something to give back to this awesome community. fun fact, today is my birthday and there's a tradition in my family where the birthday person gives presents to others. so this is my present to everyone!! thanks for everything you guys and here's to another great year!

oh oh oh one last thing, i tried to link everyone's tumblr if they have one, so if there's an author on here who has a tumblr that i didn't link, let me know and i'll link them.

okay! thanks everyone!

(ALSO DON'T MAKE FUN OF HOW DIFFERENT SOME OF THE DRAWING STYLES LOOK IN SOME OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS, I WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES AND THEY LOOK STUPID ALL PUT TOGETHER LEAVE ME ALONE😭😭😭😭😭😭)

[dear-ao3]

how to get f1 driver cards, a guide for mclaren, mercedes and williams (more to come)

im going to start by saying that there is a high high chance not everything on this is accurate. for some reason this is a stupidly complex process and i am just trying my best :)

what are driver cards? every year (most) teams have cards made of their drivers with their pictures and sometimes stats and fun facts, etc. they change every year and are collectible. theyre free, technically, as long as you pay for the postage.

ive sent away for some of them before, and those are the teams i have included as i know these ones work. will add more teams on as i attempt others this year.

MERCEDES

objectively this is the easiest one to get. you fill out an online form and if you are lucky you will get cards sent to you. the form is live for the 2025 cards as of me posting this.

beware: the address form is formatted for UK addresses only for some reason. if you are trying to send to the US with an address that is two lines (ie, a street address with an apartment number or a po box) there is a good chance it wont work. i have gotten it to work for street addresses only (both attempts to have them sent to an apartment address failed). this one also took the longest, several months.

all other teams require a double envelope, stamp and letter situation.

very basically, you address an envelope to the team and put yourself as the return address. it needs a stamp (domestic if the team is in your country, international if it is not)

write a letter to the team, something along the lines of "dear x team, i am a big fan of you and your drivers x and y and i like watching you / rooting for you for xyz reasoning (etc etc). i was wondering if i could get the 20xx drivers cards? thanks (name)." it doesnt have to be super fancy.

put this letter in the envelope along with another a5 size folded envelope addressed to yourself (this is the envelope that the team will send your cards in, make sure it is the right size and also has your correct address.

the a5 envelope also needs a stamp and here is where it gets a little tricky. if the team is based in the same country you are you use a domestic stamp. if you are Not in the same country as the team this is the terribly fun (read: tricky) part.

you can either include the pounds/euros needed to buy a stamp in the envelope or you can purchase an international stamp from that country and use that. i have gone the stamp route before (ordered royal mail stamps off of British amazon) and it worked. i put five second class barcoded stamps on each envelope and they came back to me okay. (could also use first class stamps, i dont remember why i ended up choosing the second class ones) (you have to check the stamp prices and make sure that the total stamp costs equal how much it costs to send a letter internationally (second class stamps are 85p as of me writing this and it costs 2.80 pounds to mail a letter internationally from the uk to the us specifically (all of this is findable on the royal mail site) so i would put 4 or 5 stamps to be safe per envelope in case stamp prices rise again)

put that whole folded envelope and your letter in your addressed envelope to the team and mail it out.

MCLAREN

they seem to be pretty responsive. i got my card for mclaren within i think 2 or 3 months. be extra careful when addressing your envelopes to the uk, the seven letter/ number combination is the most important and should be the most legible thing. i think this is formatted correctly. (again, im from the us. uk addresses confuse the hell out of me)

address:

FAO: Autograph Cards McLaren Technology Centre Chertsey Road Woking GU21 4YH UK

WILLIAMS

again, they were pretty responsive. i think i got mine in 2 or 3 months. my envelope was the wrong size for this team but they sent me the cards anyway in a different size envelope. again, really make sure that your seven number/letter thing is clear. there both a O and 0 in it so i would put a slash through the 0.

address:

Fan Mail Williams Grand Prix Engineering Grove Wantage Oxfordshire OX12 0DQ UK

fun little note: my sister and i both sent away for mclaren and williams last year. despite them having the Exact Same Addresses and being sent from The Exact Same Post Office on the Exact Same Day, my mclaren one was returned to sender for the reason unable to be delivered. my sister got her mclaren card in the mail the next week. and i got my williams card but my sisters got returned to sender for the reason of unable to be delivered. i have absolutely no idea why. not remotely. i resent both of them and had no problems the second time around.

good luck. its kinda challenging but it is fun. im going to try to send off for more this year so ill provide more advice once i figure it out but as for now, i know these ones work. i would wait until the start of the season to mail any requests, though fill out the mercedes one sooner if you want that :)

and, proof that i got my driver cards and im not just making this up:

[morningsharksworld]

Oh my goodness I can't believe I didn't say this before but I just saw your piercings headcannon for Haz and oh man 😮‍💨 just THINKING of his dick piercings I'm weak. I'm imagining he's like "ye wanna see what else I got?" *wink wink nudge nudge* when talking about his piercings with him

Pin Cushion PT.1

Hazard x Reader [NSFW WARNING]

A/N: The amount of piercings that I put on this guy is insane he probably looks like a pin cushion, SHIT his pp also might look like a pin cushion. BUT AM I COMPLAINING???? No, not at all :], part 2 may be my first AO3 post.

Summary: you got curious about Hazards piercings…a little too curious…

“You’ve been starin' at me all night” he teased, one brow quirkin’. “Somethin' ye wanna get off yer chest?”

You hesitated, fiddlin’ with the hem of your shirt before blurting, “How many piercings do you even have?”

Hazard’s grin widened. “Aye, so that’s what ye’ve been wonderin' about, eh? Buckle up, Love. Ye’re aboot to get the full tour.”

He reached up to tap his ears first. “Let’s start simple. Got the lobes done when I was a wee bairn—thought it made me look tough.” He laughed, shakin’ his head. “Turns out I was just a wee punk wi’ bad decision-makin’ skills.”

Then, without hesitation, he added, “Oh, and I’ve got these too.” He pointed to his lower lip, where two piercings rested—snake bites. “These were more for fun than anything else. Bit o' a rebellious streak, y’know?” He grinned, the piercings catching the light.

You didn’t even get a chance to respond before he lifted his hand to the bridge of his nose. “And this one” he said, tapping the thin bar of metal across the bridge of his nose. “Thought it added a bit o' character. Not exactly comfortable, but it suits the vibe, right?”

Hazard let the information hang in the air for a moment before he tugged at the hem of his tank top, pullin’ it up just enough to expose his toned chest—and the metal glintin’ from his nipples. Your eyes widened, and he chuckled at yer reaction.

“These?” He grinned as he let the tank top fall back into place. “Bet gone wrong” He chuckled. “The piercin' part sucked, but they’re surprisingly fun. Just don’t yank on ‘em, or we’ll both be in trouble.”

Ye were still recoverin' from that reveal when he pulled down the waistband of his pants just a little, showin' off the piercings on either side of his hips. “Lost another bet for these” he admitted with a shrug. “Apparently, I’m really shite at poker. But hey, they add to my charm.”

Before ye could respond, he leaned closer, stickin' out his tongue. That’s when ye noticed it—split right doon the middle. He flicked one side, then the other, the movement so precise it left ye momentarily speechless. Then, ye caught sight of the piercin' glintin’ on one side of the split.

“This one?” He clicked the piercin' against his teeth, smirkin’ as yer jaw dropped. “Got the tongue split just for the hell of it. The piercin’? That’s just the cherry on top. People never expect both, but that’s kinda the point.”

Ye stared, yer words stuck in yer throat as he flicked his tongue again, the piercin' catchin’ the light.

“Oh, and ye missed these.” Hazard grinned, running his hand over his collarbone, and sure enough, there were two surface bars on either side, the metal gleaming under the light. “Got these a while back. Had a bit o' fun with the placement. Kinda a pain to heal, but totally worth it.”

Then, his eyes twinkled as he gave a mischievous smile. “Oh, and there’s one more thing I’ve never told ye about.” He leaned in closer, his voice low and teasing. “A Prince Albert. Ever heard o' it?”

You blinked, confused. “A… what?” You stammered, trying to make sense of what he had just said.

Hazard chuckled, clearly enjoying the confusion on your face. “A Prince Albert, mate. It’s… well, a bit much to explain here. But hey, if yer curious, I wouldn’t mind showin' it to ye later.” He winked, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.

Your face flushed as you quickly tried to move past it. “Uh… yeah, maybe later” you muttered, not quite sure how to respond.

=====

after lying awake thinking about what he’d said, you finally decided you couldn’t let it go. You knocked softly on Hazard’s bedroom door, your heart pounding with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

“Who’s knockin’ at this hour?” Hazard called from inside, his voice muffled.

You swallowed hard. “It’s me” you replied, trying to sound casual. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

The door creaked open, and Hazard stood there with a raised eyebrow. “What’re ye doin' up this late, mate? Somethin' on yer mind?”

You took a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves. “I was thinkin' about what you said earlier” you started. “About the… Prince Albert thing.”

Hazard’s smirk returned immediately, and he leaned against the doorframe. “Oh? Ye finally curious, eh?”

Your face burned, but you pushed through, trying not to let the awkwardness get the best of you. “Yeah… uh, I was wondering… if ye wouldn’t mind showing it to me, like you said.”

Hazard’s grin widened, clearly amused. “Oh, ye want the full tour, huh?” He stepped back, gesturing for you to come in. “Alright, mate. If ye’re up for it, come on in.”

You stepped into Hazard’s room, feeling the weight of the moment settle in. The door clicked shut behind you, leaving the two of you alone in the dimly lit space. Hazard was still leaning against the doorframe, eyes sparkling with amusement as he watched you closely.

“So, ye really want to see it, then?” he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

You nodded, still unsure if you were entirely ready for this, but something about the casual way he was handling it made you feel a bit more at ease. "Yeah, you mentioned it earlier, and now I'm curious” you said, trying to sound more confident than you felt.

Hazard chuckled softly, the sound low and smooth. “Alright, love Just don’t blame me if it leaves ye a bit flustered, yeah?” He grinned, clearly enjoying the situation.

He walked over to the side of the room, pulling off his shirt and revealing the tattoos that lined his torso. With a quick, almost theatrical movement, he unbuttoned his pants just enough to reveal the piercing. You could see the faint outline of a small metal ring through the waistband of his boxers, but it was clear he was waiting for you to take the initiative.

“Go on then” he said with a wink, “Take a closer look.”

[iinryer]

tagged for a 2024 fic roundup by @annoyingcloudearthquake, @pelorsdyke, & @reyesstrand! tysm! this is so wild to see all written out like this. apparently i was afflicted by an unfortunate case of the gay firefighters. again.

APRIL

—under the bridge

[2.5k words | rated g | s7 eddie & maddie coda]

Looking back up, Eddie frowns slightly when Chris reenters the living room. Trailing behind him is…

Jee-Yun?

“We have visitors,” Chris says, grinning down at her as she steps forward to wrap her little hand around the middle segment of his crutch, like she’s instinctively reaching out to hold his hand while she looks around the new space with wide, inquisitive eyes

He’s overcome by so much fondness for that tiny gesture, he nearly misses Maddie following in a few moments behind her.

“Hi Eddie,” she greets brightly, lifting a reusable tote above Jee’s head for him to see, “Hope this isn’t a bad time? We just wanted to swing by and drop off some get-well-soon goodies,”

(or: maddie and eddie have a heart to heart after the basketball incident. a 7x04 coda fic)

—feels so real, must be fake

[5k words | rated t | post-bucktommy date spec]

But the only words he can find are, “I didn’t—I didn’t know…,”

Tommy seems to see him getting lost, and says, “Know what? Know that your opening day playing for the other team might be overwhelming? Or that it would get crashed by your coworker? Or even that you might feel some kind of way about it?” he smiles, easy as anything, and teases kindly, “I don’t see how you could’ve known any of that,”

Buck lets out an exhale in a rush, ducking his head, helpless to stop the beginnings of a bashful smile from peeking through, and makes himself peer back up, “Yeah, I—I guess so,”

“Well I know so,” Tommy says, eyebrows doing a very pointed lift, before breaking out into that light grin again, “You couldn’t have, and neither could I. That’s kind of how life works,”

(spec-adjacent fic based on the date crashing of the 7x05 promo)

—still the only thing, everything

[10.6k words | rated g | post-lightning buddie]

It should scare him, Buck thinks. Probably.

With the infrequency of it here, less opportunities to get used to it again. It should.

But another flash of bright cold light demands attention outside his windowed wall, the bass-y roll of thunder rumbling and echoing through the loft, skittering over him like waves…

And all Buck can think about is how much it doesn’t.

It doesn’t scare him.

(the next time it storms in la, buck thinks about fear, grief, and lightning. eddie drops by.)

MAY

—oh, how dare me

[2.2k words | rated g | s7 eddie coda]

So here he is, camping out by himself. Breathing. Thinking. Eyes closed, head tilted back against the wall, floating in this little moment of calm he’s carved out for himself.

It’s the laughter that catches Eddie’s attention. Familiar and drawing nearer, until he can make out what the voices are saying.

(eddie catches a quiet moment between buck and tommy after the hospital room wedding. it makes him feel some unexpected things. a 7x06 coda fic)

SEPTEMBER

—rules of engagement

[540 words | rated g | buddie prompt]

“PDA!” Chimney shouts, head in the cabinet where he’s rummaging around, before emerging with a jar of peanut butter and continuing, “PDA is what you did!”

Hen makes a dramatic tsk tsk tsk sound, putting on an air of aloofness and pretending as though she’s already returned to reading her book when she adds, “We did have an agreement,”

“The agreement!,” Chimney echoes, clenching a fist theatrically, “is nothing sacred in this house?”

(single scene fic for the prompt: 😳🤝🫠 + hiding face in neck)

—carry you, carry you

[790 words | rated g | buddie prompt]

“Come on, Buck,” Eddie grits out, as loudly as he can to be heard past the mask over his face and the roar of the flames a few floors above them, “come on, four more flights, we can do it,”

Buck just lets out a pained laugh, tightening his hold across Eddie’s shoulders—he’s been losing his footing more frequently and Eddie’s getting increasingly worried that they’re not going to make it to the ground level.

(single scene fic for the prompt: piggy back ride + leaning on the other for support)

—warm citrus

[760 words | rated g | nancymarjan prompt]

“Do I even want to know?”

Marjan watches in amusement as Nancy startles at her voice, popping upright from where she’d been sitting alone in the station kitchen with her forehead pressed to the countertop.

Seeing Nancy’s disgruntled face has Marjan putting a pin in grabbing her leftover smoothie from the fridge, and detouring to the espresso machine instead. Nancy settles again, slouching on her stool.

(single scene fic for the prompt: 🙄🌇☕️ + running fingers thru hair)

OCTOBER

—(de)tour

[1.1k words | rated g | buddie prompt]

“Hey,” just ahead of him on the path, Eddie gestures up towards a trail sign. He turns back over his shoulder, the perfect picture of composure and nonchalance, and asks, “did you want to take a water break at the next lookout?”

And Buck feels his hold on himself slip like a misstep on a rocky path.

He can’t wait.

“Can—Can we talk about it yet?” he blurts out in a rush, tripping over his own words, tumbling and skittering like gravel down the incline, “I—I know you don’t want to but it’s—Eddie. I really think we need to talk about it,”

Eddie goes completely still.

(single scene fic for the prompt: 🥾🌲😭 + touching foreheads)

DECEMBER

—be enough

[1.1k words | rated g | hotshots prompt]

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Teddy looks up from the glass she’s pouring, blinks at Chuck, blinks again, and says, “What,”

Chuck blinks back at her, stalling out like they’re playing back what they said, before suddenly snorting into their drink and having to hold a hand under their chin to save their shirt from falling victim to rogue rosé.

Teddy watches them fondly, raising her brow and waiting for Chuck to try again.

(single scene fic for the prompt: 📚😁🥂 + cheddy + spooning at night)

—seen / found

[1k words | rated g | buddie prompt]

The muffled, scraping sound of a key in the lock is what finally catches his attention.

Buck can’t even find it in himself to react. He’s nauseous and in so much pain that, at this point, embarrassment isn’t even close to being on the menu. He can’t go anywhere anyway, so he simply waits to be found.

It’s Eddie, because of course it’s Eddie.

(single scene fic for the prompt: 🛋️🔑💭 + grabbing onto their arm)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

aka shit i worked on this year but haven’t finished:

vanessa calls back (eddie/vanessa beards fic), eddie sees ghosts fic, failed threesome fic, 710 missing scene, coma dream sequence, eddie’s no good very bad decision, marjan manifesto (in uncertain terms), self indulgent boxing fic, s5 reunion dinner fic, chris comes home too soon fic, s4 carlos coda fic, nsfw fic that still makes me feel embarrassed, inflicting buddie unto buddie fic

—

tagging @gayeddieagenda @try-set-me-on-fire @colonoscopys @bigfootsmom @butchdiaz !

[dunkledog]

another gabriel post

this is him around when he finished combat training. He was officially contracted around mid-1959, but spent six months in combat and field medicine training by choice. (Usually they give former civilian newbies a lot less than that, but he insisted for as long as they would let him. Procrastinators, am I right?) He started actually fighting in 1960. Oh, also for reference this is pre-medi gun. I think in this little world I mess with that won't be created until 5-8 years later. I have not decided.

didn't go so well.

1960 really wasn't his year, because not long after he settled into his first team, he witnessed his first respawn failure. I like to call it "The Incident." (Gets a little prose-y and descriptive beyond this point, so I'll add a cut to keep the post neat.)

[TW for graphic descriptions of body horror.]

[also just a little emetophobia warning.]

His team was wiped by the enemy; all got sent to respawn at around the same time. For reference, it was a full team of 12 counting Gabriel. The only reason he survived was because the RED soldier that had him cornered felt bad about killing doctors, and let him go. He ran back to the base in hopes that at least one of them was back by now. The shutter to respawn seemed to be stuck, but there was banging on the other side. Gabriel slid his fingers beneath the inch of it that was jammed open and pulled. What came out was not his teammates. You ever see the circus clown chymus from Mystery Flesh Pit National Park? The fusion experiments from Steven Universe? Sorta like both those things. Their bodies, or at this point body, was one but incompletely printed. They leaked fluids from partial veins, bled all over from every orifice. They struggled to support their weight even on all those limbs and lumbered for the team's only doctor, who at this point was still very alive and anything but well. Many hands came toward him, begging and pleading without any words to be helped. To be healed. I'm imagining the layout as like if you tried to make the body plan of a starfish, but with human spines and ribs as the armature. Ribs are fused together, and can't hold the organs in. I've tried to draw it before, but nothing looks quite like what I'm thinking. I'll get around to it one day. By the time Gabriel snapped out of the initial freeze response, they were basically on top of him and there wasn't much else he could do but scream his head off, apologize, and try to get the hands away. He might've drowned in the blood and vomit if that enemy soldier from earlier hadn't followed him and shot them off. The blast burst an exposed stomach and splashed Gabriel's leg with the acid. He still has trouble with the skin on his knee being tight.

In the aftermath, there was an armistice in the local area in case other units were affected. The eleven who suffered the failure had to have their corrupted 'profiles' deleted (as is typical with a disaster of this magnitude) and were officially lost forever. The body was dissected in a bi-faction investigation under the supervision of Hoch (RED) and Greybeard (BLU.) Which was... certainly something, to say the least. Greybeard wanted to keep it a BLU-only affair, but upper managements with more power than he insisted that Hoch be involved as the machine's other developer. Hoch also insisted to be involved.

Gabriel was interviewed about what he saw, which is likely a long tape of him sitting there, staring a thousand yards into the distance and saying nothing in response to various questions. Regardless, Greybeard decided to invite him to the dissection. Which, he actually attended, though he still couldn't say anything, and wasn't exactly... there. Greybeard wanted him there to make diagrams. Gabriel didn't go there to draw pictures for himself. He felt some responsibility to be there. For his teammates, as their former doctor. Out of guilt for being unable to help them. To appreciate their contribution to this... horrific branch of medicine. Maybe just for closure. To say goodbye. Or, to ensure himself that they were, in fact, dead.

Anyway he's just more haunted than he began with. So that's... cool. I guess.

[graysontheslime]

Safety and Consent in Fandom

I don't really do this stuff, so sorry if I'm wording this all wrong. However, I think this is important enough to make a post about. This is a post about how fandom events aren't doing enough to protect teenagers from making sexual content for adults.

Teenagers cannot be making sexual content for adults for a multitude of reasons, one of them being that they cannot trust adults on the internet. Being asked to create such content for them could lead to them being pressured to create more or being hurt. Not correctly safeguarding this from happening can directly cause this to happen. 

The event that largely inspired this post, and the one I'll be talking about, is MCYT rarepair exchange (@mcyt-rarepair-exchange). It's a great idea for an exchange, and would have really recommended it, however, there's a major problem with how it's being run. Also as the response to said problem when I approached a mod was poorly handled. For the sake of privacy, I won't reveal who the mod is nor who I was assigned to.

When I got my assignment, it had NSFW prompts. This isn't a problem in of itself, however, I did not sign up nor consent to create or receive NSFW. If i was an adult, i likely would have picked the SFW prompt and moved along, but it was already a problem that i was given the option to. Because I am not an adult. I should not have been sent something with NSFW prompts, especially with the fact that I am under 18.

I asked to speak to a mod for an explanation, as this has not happened to me before, and I was confused on why I was given said assignment. This was their response:

This already raised a few flags for me, as the server and the exchange isn't 18+, and yet anyone is getting paired with NSFW content; including people who haven't consented to such. To be more specific, the exchange is 13+, which means, potentially, 13 year olds could be paired with someone asking for NSFW. Along with this, from the ao3 sign up we filled out, it made it seem as though NSFW was something to opt-in to by checking the explicit box. I did not do this, and yet I was given NSFW prompts anyways. Their system was either handled wrong or didnt work.

I figured this event must be new and didn't think this bit through too much, as I myself am running an event and have missed things to add to rules or how things are running, which have led to less than ideal solutions. However, I believe speaking up was necessary as children should not be given the opportunity to create sexual content for adults. At best, they could be creeped out as I was. At worst, it could go downhill very quickly if they decided to go for it and this could have been the start of a connection that puts them in danger.

Their response was dismissive. They didn't address the problem that I brought up, nor tried to take any measures in the future other than “taking it into consideration”. The problem here was not that I was uncomfortable. The problem is that I, someone under 18, who did not consent to being sent NSFW prompts, was sent an adult’s NSFW prompts anyways. It's not that I felt unsafe, it's that the situation was unsafe. It was said  in the event's rules that you must be 18 or older to receive or create NSFW, yet they’ve failed to stop NSFW prompts going to people under 18. 

They do seem to agree that showing 13 year olds/minors sexual content is not right, as in their Tumblr rules it says so! If the mod team describes NSFW as “anything you wouldn't feel comfortable showing to a 13 year old”, why didn't they take measures to stop NSFW prompts to going to 13-17 year olds? It's one thing to make this mistake, but another to ignore it entirely when it's as major as this one.

They, however, did not listen to me. They did not even respond to my concerns until an hour later when a different mod DMed me this, saying my concerns were in bad faith and that I questioned the mod’s competence. I do fail to see where exactly I questioned their competence. If they felt attacked or poorly treated by me voicing my concerns I do feel sorry, but I also feel that's on them to regulate. If you are a mod, you need to be able to handle criticism and handle people coming to you with safety concerns. You need to be able to take it seriously, not take it as an attack. 

I attempted to respond to the new mod, trying to re-explain myself, but  I was quite literally talking to a brick wall, as they have their dms off for people not in servers they’re in, or people who aren’t friends with them. I was also then kicked from the server for raising concern.

-

When you start to run an event, you are creating a community. And by running or modding that event, you are directly responsible for what happens inside of that community. It is irresponsible to send NSFW to minors, whether they consented for it or not. And not only that, but it is also irresponsible to send an adult’s NSFW requests to minors, for the sake of the adult! I highly doubt the adults who requested NSFW  knew they were possibly going to children! 

There was no consent given on my part to be given anything NSFW, and I highly doubt my assignment consented to their NSFW requests to be given to me as a minor. 

MCYT-Rarepair-Exchange has done a horrible job of keeping their community safe. The person running this event and their mod team are handling NSFW requests poorly, and people need to know that it is wrong to handle events like such. I did not presume ignorance on their part, but I will say now, this response to valid concerns is ignorant. 

It is ignorant to send out NSFW to minors from adults, and it is even more ignorant to not see why the hell this is a problem. 

This type of behavior needs to be addressed and changed, but by the way the mod/runner spoke to me, I am highly skeptical of that happening. I am not making this post because I want everyone who sees it to go dog pile and hate on these people, please do not do that. I'm not even making this post to change their minds and make them do something about this. I have little faith that i can with how they have handled my concerns. I'm making this because people could be dangerously taken advantage of or hurt with this. This is about more than just the Rarepair exchange, I'm making this so that people running these kinds of events know that it is not acceptable. So that teenagers who don't want to be sent sexual prompts and adults who don't want their sexual prompts to go to teenagers know that this is a problem they need to watch out for in these events. I love doing exchanges and I love being a part of the MCYT community. But seeing people creating harmful environments for people who are a part of this community, people I know, myself included, is so soul crushing. Fandoms, in large, should be a safe space where you can get away from serious things and create and have fun together. Especially exchanges! If events like this don't keep their space safe, and nobody speaks up when they fail to do so, more events could do just that, and people could get hurt. I do hope that other people running events and other mod teams can learn from this instead of repeating its mistakes.

[just-a-little-silly]

New year, New Arundhati (??) [lmao not really but hey!! small redesign!!]

Taglist!!

@queengiuliettafirstlady @ike-garden2024 @sh0jun @welp-back-on-my-bs @colourless-hydrangeas @oda-princess @obeymetalesandikemen

Yippee!! And as always please let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list💛!!

More about Aru under the cut!!

To be entirely honest, there isn’t much I’m changing about her apart from her appearance (slightly). I also feel like I could have done a better job talking about things than I did in her previous bio but for the most part, things stay the same. I might just not be great at writing these lmao.

I want to emphasize that Aru is playful, warm, and at times, silly though she can be distant at first. Yes, the transition to the Sengoku Era was rough and Arundhati is fundamentally changed by it ( I believe anyone would be) but while she does become distant / detached at first, she manages to overcome that in time. Her “ruthlessness” and “tunnel vision” (as I put it in this post) all stem from the fact that she was thrown into a hostile world so unlike anything she’s ever known.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that she spent two years with her first mentor/guardian/teacher/boss Mochizuki Chiyome and even though she ended up being a mother-figure to Aru, was not particularly motherly. Chiyome’s training was harsh and it is somewhat of a miracle that Aru could pick up anything at all but it gave her the necessary skills to survive as a ninja in the Sengoku Era.

However, Aru at heart ( and to those who are close to her) is a compassionate person though she struggles to express it initially but give her time and she will find a way to show you she cares by taking the time to learn what it is you like. She’s observant, awkward and if she’s just met you but stick around long enough and you’ll see that she’s actually pretty silly, playful and genuine too.

Now for some Arundhati trivia because it’s important to me:

• She LOVES thrifting

• She has insanely sharp hearing.

• Very fast, agile. Not as strong. She can use a sword pretty well but she really does prefer her poisons.

• Has horrid handwriting. Even Yoshimoto, a man who manages to find beauty in almost everything, is taken aback.

• Her handwriting is so bad that Shingen came close to hiring a member of the Mitsumono specifically to decipher Aru’s reports because they were starting to drive him up a wall.

• The part of her backstory where she’s engaged to a man named Gaël remains the same (you can read more about it here though its not very much as I haven’t written all of it out)

Its worth mentioning that it was an extremely toxic relationship (I simply don’t go in depth in the previous writing of it) that had been falling apart for a long, long time.

• She’s strategic but sometimes said strategy will go out the door if she’s hit with an intense emotion. It’s rare but it happens and when it does, she has to rely solely on whatever skills she has at her disposal to get out of the mess she threw herself into.

(Im bolding the next one bc its so so important (= funny) to me)

• She can keep up with Sasuke’s STEM jokes. Has used physics related pick up lines on him before.

ie. “Sasuke, are you a quasar? …because you’re the hottest thing in the known universe.”

And that’s when he knew she was the one.

They really match each other’s freak in every sense.

Though there are moments where he’ll fluster her and she’ll shut down + vice versa.

• She has tattoos!!

—> A sun design on her left shoulder. Her name written in Tamil in her grandmother’s handwriting on the back of her hand. An intricate flower and another sun pattern on the right side of her hip going down her thigh (a pretty large tattoo at that.)

• She’s allergic to peaches. (but she has eaten some to prove a point to Kenshin. she regretted it afterwards).

[I’ll add more later!!]

[pinkcarabiner]

white femmes are so quick to dictate the "correct" expression of feminity for femmes of color all while repeating phrases such as "femme is not an aesthetic" and "there is no right way to be femme." i have seen white femmes call femmes of color both "too gender conforming" and "not feminine enough" when talking about important aspects of feminity from their own culture. white femmes set the standard of femininity that all femmes are expected to conform. without meeting this expectation, you are not femme enough. when called out on their racism, white femmes will deflect onto other areas in which they face oppression such as classism, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, etc. or, they will imply that only cis able-bodied thin femmes can uphold white supremacy. they will say femmes of color can contribute to their own oppression by being feminine in ways they do not approve of. it's "listen to femmes of color" until femmes of color are speaking. it seems as though there is no right way to be femme, so long as your femmeness fits within the perfect box of white femininity.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him.  (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation 

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

--

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)! 

[extravagav]

AND WE JUST DONT TALK ABOUT THIS?!?!?!!????

[modkatisbacc]

Saw some folks point out that Lilly was most likely like the youngest in the Alliance, since her dad fought alongside Libby, Ray, and Maya in the War.

Consider, Even if this is more of me throwing a little bit of AU out there: Her father dies when she's twelve, and wanting to keep all the elemental masters together, Wu and Garmadon bring her into the Elemental Alliance, knowing that she already had the powers of Earth.

The other elemental masters freak out because,,, *points* that is a CHILD.

But they also understand that if she was left to her own devices (her mother passed when she was really little) then she could put herself or others in grave danger with her powers.

They absolutely deck little Lilly out in impressive weapons and battle armor.

Now here we go into heavy headcanons/au territory.

With Libby being the second youngest EM in the group, her and Lilly form a close bond.

Like her parents, Ed and Edna, Libby is great at creating things. She LOVES building- mechs, especially. With Libbys help, Lilly's first mech (the one donated to TOS I've decided) was created.

Yes they may have gone all out on safety features on the mech, but would you completely trust a twelve year old with a very large elemental mech?

One day she brings over a boy. Wu and Garmadon are WORRIED because the boy is NOT an elemental master, he doesn't even know anything about fighting. She is sixteen and could punch the head clean off someone's shoulders with her powers...

These two are worried the most because they personally made it their mission to make sure the EMs were ot being hunted or used for their powers. So, bringing in a non EM into the fold was deemed risky.

They of course warm up to Lou, who thinks Lilly is the coolest person in the world and he learns basic self defense from her.

The EM Alliance falls apart when she is only 20 . *I say that bc everyone looks like they may be in their 50's, mid-late 50's after the Merge With Lilly being a decade younger well .. she would've been a decade younger at least :/*

She gets sick after she defeats Grief-Bringer. It wasn't bad at first, she honestly just thought she may have caught a cold. Also yes, in my headcanons and AUs Cole has been born when she goes to Shintaro. I have another post going into an au-headcanon mashup (I say headcanons because it isn't necessarily disproved by canon) that I kinda want to write about some day.

Knowing she was going to get worse, she started working on making sure Cole was prepared to become the next Master of Earth. When she was feeling well enough she would leave the house (unfortunately she also didn't tell Lou where she was going most of the time fidjxjsjshd)

Refused to pass on afterwards and instead keeps an eye on her family. Is the reason SOMEONE survives stuff that he shouldn't have.

Fun Facts about Lilly!!! That are canon in my stories!!!

- She is a realm hopper. Yes this is based on the fact that she apparently spied on Garmadon while he was in the Underworld in that one comic. I haven't read it but you know. I want to do something with that knowledge.

- she isn't in the Departed Realm especially after the Merge. She's trying to keep an eye on Cole while trying to find her husband and her friends. She found Wu first, of course. And with Wu, she found Garmadon. Before the Merge she would switch between watching over Lou and Cole.

- She is the only Previous EM of Ninjago to participate in the TOS, which may or may not be canon. I say this bc of that outfit and you know... The mech....

-Cole is 9, she is 29 when she dies. Also it's freaking sad because ain't no way Ray and Maya knew this until almost a decade later. Wu keeps a close eye on him and Lou afterwards. You know since he was canonically there for his birth hello??? *According to the comic*

- fun fact about me it literally took me 6 hours to write all this in one setting bc I was at work. Lilly did this to me.

Also, if there are any timeline problems that aren't just me pushing it for the AU tell me about it so I can fix it please I don't want it to be too off the course!!!

I think that's it for now,,,

[xiakeponz]

for modern AU fics - what chinese media did diaspora consume?

making this post because some of us in the diaspora server were having a chat about what Chinese media "Diaspora Chinese" watched in the 90's - 2000's (and even sooner than that) while not having access to satellite chinese media or streaming services - this is in the context of writing modern AU fics based off Chinese media/novels (so your main character's grandpa or uncle is not, in fact, watching an episode of Friends or Shortland Street or something as flavour text because sorry what the hell-)

We generally watched a lot of stuff on VCDs, including bootlegged and non-bootlegged movies, shows, anime/donghua. My household had a whole VCD album of this, and a lot of VCDs (even if they were pirated editions) would have a fancy hardcover box with a magnetic clasp and some artwork representing the show on it.

All of this is Mandarin - so not TVB stuff, because I'm from Northern China and I don't know any cantonese - but Canto friends, please feel free to add to the list! This is mostly stuff my parents liked to watch, or I liked to watch with them, with the exception of a few which I mainly watched with friends/cousins when I was maybe (in most cases) eleven/twelve years old onwards. This is a pretty personal list, meant to give people general idea of a possible "ballpark" of sorts, and by no means exhaustive.

Now, for the list of shows which I can confirm I had or someone I know had on VCD or some kind of offline media format lol (I'll try add release year stamps and links to the EN wikipedia where possible):

Period dramas (mostly Qing Dynasty stuff):

Huan Zhu Gege 还珠格格 (1998, April-) This is a classic, so many memes come from this show; hugely popular series, basically cemented Zhang Tie Lin's face as the face of the Qing Emperor for about a decade. Tie Chi Tong Ya Ji Xiao Lan 铁齿铜牙纪晓岚 (2002-2010) - I loved this show as a kid and watched all four seasons on repeat with family... The "trio" in this show are well known and loved.

Amazing Detective Di Ren Jie / 神探狄仁杰 (2004) A very popular and addictive show. Ok now the Big Four:

Romance of 3 kingdoms 1994 / 三国演义 (1994) - a classic that has had many remakes, my older cousin would play this on repeat...

Hong Lou Meng/红楼梦 （1987） - another classic with many remakes, but I think the most recognised by the public one is the 1987 one.

Journey to the West / 西游记 live action (1986) - I think the 1986 version of the live action is the most recognised one. *Shui Hu Zhuan / 水浒传 (1998) - I am not too familliar with the live action of this one in my household tbh bc my mum doesn't like it lol (she keeps saying it's too depressing) but I'm sure it's up there with the rest of the big four, if anyone has an opinion on this one please let me know!

Modern setting shows:

My dad loved all the Sun Honglei (孙红雷 - actor name) stuff, iirc it was a lot of MinGuo period espionage stuff, your shanghai 1920's sxc aesthetic. This actor has been around since 1999? Qian Fu （潜伏）was very famous, and Ren Jian Zheng Dao Shi Cang Sang （人间正道是沧桑）。 These were around '08 and '09.

Chuang Guan Dong - 闯关东 (2008) (Baidu link, sorry - couldn't get an EN wikipedia one). This show was huge when it was airing, everyone was watching it. I was pretty young but even I watched it and got invested ... and I thought it was such an "old person" show at the time lmao. Xiao Bing Zhang Ga / 小兵张嘎 （2004） (sorry, again Baidu link) - yo, anti-japanese war movies set between 1937-1945 were crazy popular - this is one of them and was very popular):

Donghua/Anime (all the stuff kid me watched and some which I didn't but were popular):

喜羊羊与灰太狼 (2005-) Calabash Brothers / 葫芦兄弟 （1986-1987） Black Cat Detective / Hei Mao Jing Zhang 黑猫警长 （1984-2010） Lan Mao Tao Qi 3000 Wen 蓝蓝猫淘气3000问 AKA 蓝猫 (blue cat) (October 1999 - Present) Legend of Ne Zha 哪吒传奇 (2003) Journey to the West/Xi You Ji 西游记 This was truly the Donghua I grew up on from when I was a bb, the OP song and ED song are classic bangers all kids know. Slam Dunk/ 灌篮高手 - People truly watched a lot of anime that may or may not have been terribly dubbed into mando (possibly canto too). Late 80s and 90s kids were all over this, and Dragon Ball, Crayon Shinchan (labixiaoxin).

Taiwanese Dramas:

This is mid-late 2000's, I would be remiss to not talk about the Taiwanese dramas of this era. Mike He, Rainie Yang, Wu Zun (amongst many, many others) were huge. Stuff like Dou Niu Yao Bu Yao, it started with a kiss, Hua Yang Shao Nv (Taiwanese version of Hana Kimi) were all pretty popular. Not sure if these shows all hold up in 2023, but boy were they popular at the time.

Note about CNY:

For CNY, people would try to tune into 春节联欢晚会 (the CCTV official CNY show) at that One Friend Who Had China Satellite TV's house. Zhao Ben Shan / 赵本山 was a comedy staple, and the show would often feature people from the music industry to perform. Eventually these people became more and more relevant to my gen and Jay Chou etc started appearing.

Last but not least Xian Jiaaaan 仙剑:

In 2005 I was all over 仙剑奇侠传 (Chinese Paladin), based off the video game. This show was crazy popular and probably sent me and a whole lot of other kids into Xianxia / Wuxia hell (and Hu Ge hell, and later I came back to love Liu Yifei). Thank you. The OST is a true banger.

[whiteredrose13]

AAAAAA, OKAY-- @persephone-s-moon I could not find their updated refs for the life of me, so, woe, busted old concept art be upon ye. (Excuse the wonky proportions, these were done on my phone.)

Shortest rundown I can manage:

Did someone order a tragic throuple with time-travel/reincarnation shenanigans and a side of hurt/comfort/fluff?

Candavata Bhatia: Elven queen, from the kingdom of Sona, and the baddest bitch to ever live. In order to prove herself worthy of holding the crown over her sisters, she needed to channel one of the gods. So, not only did she channel one, she called upon Bijalee, the embodiment of lightning and storms--and the most difficult one to channel due to her wild and hazardous nature. She has been the only person to do so, aside from the First Queen. This earned her the titles of Storm Bringer and Lightning Tamer. She and Qamar are married and have been best friends since childhood. Can you tell I love her?

(Side note: Editing this on my laptop and holy ashy tone, Batman. Hoping it's just my screen because my girl does NOT look like this, I promise--)

Qamar Abn awaa: Werejackal prince, devout cleric of Layl, goddess of the night and medicine, and the definition of the "I'm a healer, but--" meme. He managed to show both great power and promise from an early age when, during a political visit to the Sona royal court, he used his knowledge of anatomy to turn one of Candavata's would-be assassins inside out. This is where he and Candi's marriage was arranged. He is of a generally very sunny disposition, which often makes people underestimate him, as they assume he's useless in serious situations--but, when shit hits the fan, he's the one you want to be next to. (I started designing him when I did not understand how to map out locs or braids. Qamar, my prince, I am so sorry, I swear I will do right by you and fix whatever monstrosity I gave you.)

Vincenzo Virago: Vampire duke. The intersection of an emotionally constipated killing machine and massive nerd failure. He's head over heels for both Candi and Qamar, but he doesn't feel like he can tell them, due to the fact that he views himself as unlovable, both wanting and growing jealous of them. (He is completely oblivious to the fact that they are also in love with him.) He's terrified of turning into his father, but it seems like everything he does only turns him further down that path. He's a warlord. He's a wet cat. He needs therapy.

It's a stable, constant dynamic. You never see one without the other. Where Qamar goes, Candi is right beside him, and Vince is right behind them. Whenever something goes wrong, usually they're at the center of it, all having different roles in the trouble. Candi, the planner, Qamar, the keen lookout, and Vince, the instigator. He keeps the two of them grounded, on their toes, and they do what they can to keep him away from his father. Even after they graduate and take their places in their respective castes, they stay in touch.

The story itself begins at the worst part of their relationship.

At this point, Candavata and Qamar have been married and are tending to their responsibilities as king and queen of their joined empire. Though they try to stay in touch with Vincenzo, it's difficult--and Vince doesn't make it easy, either. Over the years, he becomes withdrawn. He stops answering their letters, he refuses to see them when they come in person, every time. After a while, they stop trying. Not because they don't love him, they do, but there's only so much you can do when a person doesn't want (or doesn't think they deserve) help.

Vincenzo, after years of sitting with the jealousy and battling his father's horrendous treatment, broke. He didn't just spiral, he nose-dived, doubling down on every bit of gossip and rumor, until he's changed and warped into something even he can't recognize. He shuts out Candi and Qamar. Maybe he doesn't want to taint them, maybe he thinks this is how it was meant to go, maybe he can't stand their gentle hands or the pitying look in their eyes. Maybe he just wants the excuse. Whatever it is, Vincenzo becomes a monster, with blood on his hands.

In the end, Candi and Qamar had to be the ones to put him down.

Which is where we get into the time/reincarnation fuckery.

Because, when the pain fades and Vincenzo opens his eyes, expecting to see whatever eternal damnation looks like, he sees his university bedroom. Littered with textbooks and letters from Candi and Qamar, and his graduation robes hanging on the back of the door.

He's got a second chance to go back and unfuck everything, but only time will tell if he'll succeed or end up exactly where he was before.

Something, something, breaking cycles and being open with your loved ones, allowing yourself to be loved by others and yourself, and sometimes men are at their best covered in blood and a little bit pathetic.

(Oh, and, you want a really fun fact? Vince isn't the only one who remembers the original timeline.)

[acourtofquestions]

“She had no magic to wield, save for the keen eyes of the goddess at her shoulder and an uncanny ability to remain unnoticed, to play into expectations.”

[emdotcom]

My brain is so full of Bees about Post-Shift 2.

It's a fan game that was delayed for 4 years -- by the time it released, fnaf fangames as a whole were not as popular as they had been, & most people in the scene had forgotten about Post-Shift 1, so not a lot of people heard about it/played it.

Worse still is the people who did talk about the game. Pretty unanimously, the consensus was this: this game is the craziest, most insane fnaf fangame. It's overly difficult with mechanics that have no rhyme or reason to them & tutorials that are wordy, unhelpful, & sometimes actively mislead the player, meaning you need to comb through a lot of text only to be misinformed. It's not as infamous as some other fangames, but it definitely was talked about very poorly.

In general, I think most of these criticisms were blown up out of proportion, but I can't really disagree with most people's problems -- it is difficult & wordy, & rather hard to understand. I think, however, that the game is still 1. Really fun, 2. Not a bad game at all, &, most importantly, 3. Is a free fucking game that was clearly a passion project. Most damn fangames never get off the fucking ground when made in groups because the creators will never make a red cent off the thing -- this game was made by one dude for 4 years & delivered to people for free. It didn't ask anything of you except to accept it as a difficult game & to not go in with wild expectations. The dev just wanted to make a game that was rough, but he also wanted to make a game that felt unique & was fun. & It is fun, too, is the damn thing.

[milfbrainrot]

i feel like i type so much more than is reasonable when i do talk to people but i also don't get to socialize a ton so i just have soooo many words in me and if i'm like, tired or short on time, it is so much harder to restrain to the already-pushing-it point i can sometimes manage ;-;