#wyn gabs

[calico-heart]

I know unicorns in modern media are kind of relegated to cutsie, MLP, rainbow plastic toys, or shitting rainbows, 'lets go to candy mountain' but man. I WISH more fantasy media would put them in unironically. There is so much symbolic and narrative potential in a creature that is, depending on your mythology:

A guardian of wild spaces, the embodiment of nature untouched by mankind's industry and greed. Fewer and farther between.

The ideal of "Purity" made manifest, elusive and powerful and hunted for fruitlessly by many a person. To kill. To actually kill. Living symbol of the oh-so-coveted Purity, not treated as a sacred thing to protect, or even predated for food to survive off, but a trophy for knights and lords to boast about.

So absolutely fierce and deadly that no one smart dared to fight it fairly. A gentle maiden had to betray it into resting in her lap so that a man could spear it while its guard was down.

Able to heal any wound no matter how severe - it promised miracles, if you could find one.

A creature who's magic vanished if it was captured or killed. In trying to take control of it, you destroyed it. Some things can only be given by free will, and no amount of personal desire or brute force can change that.

[lookbluesoup]

Estinien's "????" face through this scene though LMFAO

[calico-heart]

This reminds me back when I was 14 years old I was super into Naruto (original ikr) and collected a lot of ninja stuff. Once, I accidentally left a pair of (decorative, not sharpened) metal shurikens in my backpack before taking a plane ride with my family.

Security spotted them in the x-ray machine of course, pulled us aside and then aggressively questioned me and my mother about the contents of my bag and whether I wanted to declare anything, over and over, until I finally remembered those had never been taken out during packing and announced I had them.

My mom, understandably supremely irritated by that point,, was like, ok so you can just confiscate them and we can go, it's like a pocket knife, right?

Wrong. A shuriken was considered as deadly as a "small bomb" and this was a serious offense that could result in hefty fines, being put on the no-fly list, jail time, etc etc, and since I was a minor she was also culpable.

We ultimately didn't get arrested but they did tell us they'd have to report it to the higher-ups for review to decide about a fine or other penalties, and we got a letter several months later letting us know we were on some kind of probation. I assume we got off "easy" because everyone reading the report realized this categorization was stupid, but that was apparently very much on the books within the past 15 years

It's generally true that institutions don't make rules prohibiting things that nobody is doing (i.e., the existence of the prohibition demonstrates the existence of whatever it's prohibiting), but then I think about the moral panic back in the 1980s where people genuinely thought that shitty movies about white dudes dressing up in ninja costumes were teaching children to be ninja assassins, and passed a bunch of laws banning "ninja weapons" for which their only source of knowledge were those selfsame movies, with the result that, to this day, many jurisdictions have laws on the books prohibiting weapons which do not exist, and I reflect that every principle has exceptions.

[calico-heart]

Show me your Blorbos!

Hey guys. I'm sick as a dog and don't have the energy to do much rn. Please make my day brighter by sharing pics of your blorbos, whether they're ocs or from a game/show/whatever! And maybe a little bit about them & why you love them? 🥺

[lookbluesoup]

I know shippy stuff and canon-adjacent stuff is popular and I'm certainly not dissing those. I like them too, they're a lot of fun! And AUs are great, I have so many!

But man, I wish there was more... idk, emphasis and exploration of the FFXIV lore, and those moments that have to have happened but aren't shown on screen - talked about and written about and illustrated here on tumblr.

That's usually been my favorite part of fandoms, discussing the lore with other fans in-depth and sharing theories, and seeing how everyone's characters would handle those big or quiet moments from the story itself. Exploring how a game mechanic/boss fight would feel from a story perspective, and what it would mean to the characters.

It's not entirely absent from here, but even when I make my own meta posts, even if they get lots of notes, I tend to see very little discussion added compared to what I'm used to from other fandoms. And when new patches come out, there's not a lot of deep talk about the story itself circulating. Maybe I've just been lucky in my previous spaces!

But... I want to know how the WoL and Graha bonded during the Crystal Tower raids. Did they sit around the campfire at night and talk? Did they drink and sing and laugh and argue?

What was it like, recovering from Ultima Thule? How did it feel to set out on the road again, leaving the title of Scion behind? Did they give their friends a tour of Ishgard? Did they visit Edmont? What was it like in the trenches of Ghimlyt Dark, for these characters who have never seen war before, versus the ones who have? Did the WoL help stabilize Lakeland, and tend wounded after the sin eater attacks?

I want late night study sessions with the twins, bittersweet work in the hot sun rebuilding Ala Mhigo, learning to fight on dragonback, Hraesvelgr's brood visiting Ishgard on diplomatic forways. I want snarking with Emet Selch while you help people with "side quests" in Norvrandt. I want gentle moments with Ryne on the road because if anyone understands the suffocating feeling of immense responsibility Hydaelyn and Minfilia have dropped on that child, it's the WoL.

What was it like for the WoL to fight the pirates in Sastasha? To see the women taken captive there? To see the Drowned mutilated by Leviathan's tempering? How did they handle the narrow tunnels and rickety elevators in Copperbell, and the giants angry after centuries of unjust imprisonment? Did they step in Aurum Vale's goldbile and have a shoe burnt off? Did they bring a pet korpokkur home from the Arboretum? Do they carry scars?

Do they take the manacutter out for joyrides? Did Grani recognize the color of their soul, and choose them over the tempered twist of Emet Selchs, or did Emet charge his familiar with looking after them? Have they ever been robbed in Limsa Lominsa? Did they ever buy loinfruit?

Does that goobbue sproutling grow up? The coerl kitten become a battle steed? The wolf pup a guardian? Do the sylphs play games with the WoL when they visit the Shroud? Do they carry a polished shell to remind them of their Clutchfather? Do they stop by the guild to check on the Deftarm whenever they're in Dravania?

What was it like trekking the spindly mountains of Othard, riding a Yol for the first time, seeing the endless plains of green, and the dead white of the Burn?

Do they still have nightmares about Haurchefant, or are they good dreams remembering his smile? Did he teach them to make hot chocolate? Did they stay up all night when the Scions lost their souls, waiting by the bedsides with a candle and feeling helpless?

Do they visit Amaurot, even after Emet Selch is gone? Are they still trying to remember? Did they look up at the night sky in Elpis and feel an indescribable sense of loss?

Was there ever a moment in Endwalker where they almost became a Blasphemy themselves? Did they ever answer Venat's question? Do they know that the love their friends had for them, saved them?

[la-lunaluna]

time for fic recs! (May 30th)

Hi! This post every Sunday is becoming my new ritual and I’m loving every single part of it: reading, thinking about what to write to convince you all to read, post, everything! I confess the writer’s reactions to this are priceless, it makes my day! By the way, to all writers I tag on this post: you are all amazing and I cheer for your blogs to grow every day because you deserve it! 

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Today’s stars are Din Djarin, Javi Peña, Frankie Morales, and Prince Oberyn Martell. (MARCUS PIKE IS NOT ON THIS LIST TODAY, IT’S A MIRACLE!)

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● this post contains fics I’ve read between May 24h and May 30th and titles were organized by alphabetical order. ●

When I write “prompt” on the names it means the author got inspired by another person to write, for example, a reader idea, or an image, or a sentence, etc. 

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HAPPIER by @folklord​​ (Din Djarin)

We are always so used to read/watch stories with happy endings that sometimes we forgot how sad endings are as real as the happy ones, and sometimes even more real. I think that’s why stories like La La Land or Inside Llweyn Davis impact us so much, they simply show us that this is also a real possibility. Laura, in only 1k words, was able to show how Din thinks like us, how he bets he was getting a happy ending, but without remembering sad stories also exist. This impacted me and made me think about life itself, and how life is just like this, unpredictable. Thank you, Laurinha, and congratulations on your first fic on Writer Wednesday!

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PRINCES NEVER SAY PLEASE by @starlightmornings​ (Oberyn Martell)

I simply LOVE when @autumnleaves1991-blog posts her challenges on Writer Wednesday because my dashboard gets full of new fanfics, all based on the same prompt. It’s delicious to read how each author takes the same reference to a different place, and it was thanks to this week’s prompt I found PRINCES NEVER KEEP THEIR PROMISES, with Oberyn Martell. After I figured out that fic and Princes Never Say Please (which @danniburgh​​ has recommended me this week) were connected stories! And it was DELICIOUS! There were four chapters to read, but all I wanted was to kept reading for a long time, Oberyn was so well written even I, that was just reading, felt comfortable with all the situation. Kaylie knew perfectly how to write the way Oberyn has the gift of the gab in her story, and this became everything wonderful! 

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PROMPT REQUEST by @sugarontherims​ (Javier Peña)

This was the first time Mandy wrote something with Javier Peña and I thought it was so real! Javi can be a hard nut to crack, but if you have patience and give motives to make him trust you, soon you see he is such a sweetheart! And how Mandy did that? Putting a pregnant belly on the story, my weak point (SERIOUSLY, WANT ME TO FREAK OUT? PUT A PREGNANT READER AND WATCH ME DIE)! How could I not love? I’ve already read this cuteness three times this week and I can’t get enough!  

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PROMPT REQUEST by @wyn-dixie​ (Frankie Morales)

One more answer to a request on my list this week. Seems like people are really having good ideas to ask for stories and they’re putting it in great hands to write them! Wyn was wonderful by describing with few words how it’s a common feeling a person feels insecure with its own body, and I think in a certain way, we all identify with that. The course of the story is sweet and made me see myself with more affection, besides obviously, made me fall in love even more (if it’s possible) with Frankie. Thanks for that, O.!

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PROMPT REQUEST by @autumnleaves1991-blog​ (Javier Peña)

I’m saying, this week is becoming practically an ask responses to reader’s prompts special version, and I’m loving it! Autumn, besides being such a sweet person and very creative, puts everyone to move on Writer Wednesday and puts me to cry reading this one-shot! It’s not a secret for anyone that content with pregnancy makes me feel completely melted away and fell in love, but when it’s really cute and very consistent with the characters, it gets perfect! Each word Connie says here is something she could totally say on Narcos and this shows how Autumn is smart when she writes. I adored it! 

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Consider reading and supporting fanfics. There are many writers who write to help with their personal problems and your support can make anyone’s day!

Do YOU have something to recommend to me? I’m sure you do! Comment here (or by an anon ask if you’re shy) the fic you want to spread (it can be yours)! Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac, and Star Wars fics are the most welcome, but be comfortable to recommend me anything! See you next Sunday! 🥰

[lookbluesoup]

Be advised that if you have accounts linked to your Discord like Spotify/Twitch/etc or card/Paypal/etc data saved for things like Nitro subscriptions, those can be compromised by this, too.

And another way to recognize that you've been compromised by at least some versions of this malware (there's a few different versions that go around, and they do change and evolve over time, so its not a one size fits all) is if the .exe is run, your Discord will then "crash" and ask you to log in again.

You won't be able to use the QR code to log in, it'll just be stuck "loading" forever - because they want you to type in your password and submit it, and that information will be given to the scammer who will immediately change it all and lock you out of your account.

So even if you don't use a QR code to log in, if Discord wigs out on you and suddenly won't load that QR code, be suspicious.

Also yeah these .exe files can do... a lot of stuff. They can scrape your files, install keyloggers to track your typing, steal your passwords (including some encrypted ones like those saved to Google Chrome's autofill), even make you part of a botnet. If you run a malware .exe it can kind of put whatever it wants on your pc. In some cases viruses installed like this can even use your wifi to reach out to other devices connected to your network and infect them, too. It's really really nasty stuff. Be very very careful about running programs on your computer if you cannot verify the source with ABSOLUTE 110% certainty.

Use two-factor authentication if you can and keep your passwords varied. Consider keeping your passwords written down on paper instead of saved for quick-filling and don't save card data for faster checkout or whatever. This would have saved me an awful time of it if I'd only known beforehand, that little extra effort is worth the cost.

PSA, there's a really nasty Discord scam going around rn. If one of your friends DMs you, starting off with a simple "hello" "how are you", may even joke around a little, and then starts asking you to look at a game/project they're working on, don't click the link, don't download anything. If you can reach that friend through non-Discord means, reach out and let them know they got hacked.

One of my friends said the link takes them to a very convincing video game page that has in-game screenshots and stuff, and then gives you an option to download a playtest zip file or something. That download exploits a weakness Discord apparently has for password protected zip files and steals your Discord log-in and changes your account info to the scammer's account info. Two of my friends lost their accounts. Be careful.

[calico-heart]

Tagged by @eriyu ! Thank you :D Hope its ok I'm answering over here instead of @lookbluesoup :3

I'll tag (no pressure!) @seasaltandcopper @sayonaramidnight @orime-stories @traveleorzea @ronqueesha

@slothssassin @bogglebabbles @memento-moogle @bardic-inspo @therisingphoenixden

@espurrs-wild @phoenike aaaand anyone else who wants to do it! :D

[calico-heart]

An illustration by me every year from 2010-2023. Sometimes I look at my older stuff and feel like I've stagnated, or even gotten worse. But though progress isn't always perfectly linear, having things lined up like this makes it a lot easier to appreciate how much I'm still growing overall!

[calico-heart]

Me rn trying to figure out ways to force X'rhun and Arya and I'lyrha to be involved in the Bozja plotline

There's a pair of Red Mage resistance fighters there, a Legion conscript named Lovro and his apprentice Meryall, who defected from the Empire to fight for the liberation of Bozja. How did they learn Red Magic? Lambard. Lambard agreed to teach Red Magic to Legion soldiers as part of his betrayal.

Lovro hated Lambard's guts. When Lovro went on to train new Red Mages for the Empire, he deliberately tried to recruit revolutionaries who he could encourage to use the magic against the Empire. Absolutely hilarious to me. But the narrative potential of finding out Red Mages live on and fight for freedom elsewhere... because of Lambard, is something I really want to see X'rhun react to.

There is ALSO a Vochstein beastmaster enemy - and a neat chunk of lore on what happened to that noble Ala Mhigan house after they let their griffins loose to prevent the Garlean's having them. Cairm insisted their griffins could not fall into the hands of oppressors. To spare his father's life, one of Cairm's sons agreed to enlist and teach the Garleans their secrets to training griffins. His adopted daughter now serves the Legion loyally, with Vochstein griffins and - there's just something very cool to explore there.

Trimaran, Lyrha's griffin, is only half Vochstein - but he has the notorious temperament of that breed and inherited the vibrant blue coloration. She's not a beastmaster. That combination of flaws shows in their tempestuous relationship. Pagaga would recognize Trimaran's lineage, and the intense rivalry that might spawn there - two inheritors of a vaunted bloodline, each accusing the other of being unworthy to claim it. Idk! Sounds fun! Plus like. Griffin fight. Griffin fight.

But X'rhun is pretty allergic to leaving Eorzea and getting involved in large military movements so somehow I'm going to have to make the plot kidnap him 😔

[calico-heart]

This is such a fun idea! :0

Songwise I'd probably just rip the Trigun Stampede intro out for my WoL, Nahte LOL They're such a great blend of angsty and hopeful (English subtitles in CC)

The sequence would probably have a lot of aesthetic focus on the Moon and Sun, gods and primals, the tug between dark and light, deep woods and open prairie, ocean and starfields, etc etc Really pushing that feeling of being caught between two worlds and two elements that's so central to his story! Art wise maybe its a mashup of charcoal drawing and crisp art deco.

Lyrha would get Still Here of, with, of course, a black/white/red color scheme. Red Mage spells make great background kaleidoscopes. Probably lots of blood/ocean/chain imagery too. Some poetic silhouettes of her and X'rhun and Arya in different stages of meeting as friends, foes, and family. The theme of course being Red Magic as a catalyst for liberation from oppression and fear, and all three of them becoming more than they thought they could be, together.

(Someday I'll finish that animatic I started to go to this song LOL)

Silly OC Question...

If your OC were to have a James Bond style opening credits sequence for their story, then what would be the song you would choose to go with it? And what might be the theme of the sequence?

[lookbluesoup]

I think something that gets missed in a lot of the "good guy characters are boring" debates online is that there doesn't actually have to be a debate. There needs to be a deliberate awareness that conflict is what drives story. And the source of the conflict doesn't have to just belong to the narrative.

Good guys can be incredibly interesting and dynamic if given the chance.

I do think it's harder to write a compelling hero than it is to write a compelling bad guy (or even antihero) because... villains are usually about conflict. They create competing interests. It's usually their specific function in a story. They often surrender to their impulses, and sometimes they say what we, the audience, are thinking - because a lot of good villains are characters who took a noble idea to an ignoble extreme.

And in a sense, "good guys" can seem flat compared to the villain, depending on how the story is written. If they're just nice, polite, moral, mild-mannered. always have self-control, always know what to do, never face any serious challenges to their morality then... there's no real innate conflict. There are no questions to answer.

But in real life? It is really. really. hard. to be good. Which I think can even make the hero characters like this feel a bit threatening or disconnected from the viewer.

There is so much potential to show the hero being human in stories, that gets missed. The good guy becomes a lot more interesting when they have serious reasons to doubt themselves or their ideals - and even if they don't doubt them, then that stubbornness becomes much more narratively significant.

Or times when doing the good thing means going against what their friends or family want, what other people who claim to share their beliefs want, or what we the audience want that puts them in danger of ostracism or injury. When they choose to do something radically, dangerously, kind in a situation when we, the audience, would expect and understand them to do otherwise. When they face backlash for it. When their kindness isn't repaid. The person they want to help spits in their face, or didn't want help to begin with.

I'm not just talking about a character who sticks to their guns and stays upbeat. Those are difficult things to go through, even if you've got healthy coping mechanisms. Letting the character struggle with it, in one way or another, makes it more believable. Even if they still make the right choice in the end each time.

All that being said, if someone is enjoying a character who's just... good. Who doesn't face any serious conflicts in their story, who always wins and gets to go home happy at the end of the day? Maybe it's that person's real life that has the conflict, the stress, the unresolved questions and tension. Maybe that good guy is the balance to the villains running rampart in their real life day to day, and they need to see that character win, over and over, to balance it out and keep hoping.

We live in a world today where there's... a LOT of conflict. Every day. Everywhere. News spits it in our faces because bad news sells better. Work can be hard to do and hard to find. Family can be difficult to deal with. Health can be stressful.

So I don't think it's wrong for some people to want to read "simple" stories where the good guys can just be good, because stories are humanity's mythology. It's our escape. It's how we give context to our lives. We need "good guys" just like we need "bad guys."

[calico-heart]

I want to read a story where a fae tricks a human into giving away their name.

But then later the person comes out as trans and that name becomes a deadname.

And the fae tries to use the name to control them and ofc it doesn't work bc that's not their true name so instead the person is like 'hey please don't deadname me'

And all the other fae are like "😱 Nutmeg Bumblebutton how could you be so rude deadnaming that person" and turn the other fairy into a donkey for 100000 years

[lookbluesoup]

Love having a cat that is just always down to cuddle.

If I have to go lay down bc I’m in pain or dizzy, she’ll give me a happy little chirp and beebop over to the bed or couch or floor or wherever, smush herself as close as she can possibly get against me, and purr until she falls asleep

Good for my soul. Makes chronic pain that much easier to bear, having a little creature that loves me

[lookbluesoup]

Nahte was never really given an opportunity to be blind to Eorzea's problems. He was born to a Moonkeeper clan deep in the Shroud, beyond easy reach of the Wood Wailers - and grew up knowing that to Gridania, he and his family were considered Poachers for living outside the city's laws. It was not safe for him to venture beyond the dark of the canopy, though he'd do it anyway.

More than that - he was mixed blood. His father was a Sunseeker, and Nahte was the product of a failed attempt at a cross-cultural partnership which fell apart in his infancy. He grew up trying to be a man in the Moonkeeper way, but it never quite fit him, and as much as he loved his clan, he knew something was missing.

From the day he was born, Nahte's life was divided into Dark and Light, caught between both, never quite feeling at home in either, and thinking it was some internal Lack on his part that made him an outsider.

Then Hydaelyn, in all her Light, spoke to him. And for most of ARR, Nahte was a true believer. Her champion. Her crusader. The Scions became his family. It was hard work with difficult people; deep down he still felt an outsider. But the Mothercrystal had chosen him, and that had to mean something.

Nahte sang and played and laughed and loved. He was young, free, with the whole world before him and a divinity guiding his steps.

But folks started dying. Hydaelyn started sacrificing people. He realized she was keeping secrets. Twisting truths. The Eorzean Alliance could not let go of their political scheming and many of the people he'd considered colleagues were all too happy to use him as a weapon to sweep aside whatever inconvenienced them. Nahte realized he and his loved ones were disposable.

He was angry. He'd never really been angry like this before.

And that trust never really recovered. From Heavensward on, he was learning to rely on himself and his small circle of closest friends. Hydaelyn was an ally, at times, but he stopped venerating her. His faith in all the pantheon dwindled to almost nothing. Nahte became increasingly withdrawn and broody. He didn't sing, anymore. He was suspicious and hurting and he had no answers.

Ishgard became home.

The love and sincerity he found there saved his life, in more ways than one. Nahte learned to love himself.

And it got better. Not easier. But people were helping him carry those burdens. Nahte no longer allowed himself to be used and discarded in silence - he found his voice. Even though he still didn't have answers, he felt his own convictions and had the courage to follow them and forgive himself.

By Shadowbringers, Emet-Selch's revelations made too much sense to be entirely false. It solidified Nahte's mistrust for Hydaelyn, but throughout all the stress and horrors of their time on the First, Nahte was actually at his most stable internally. He'd embraced his inner Darkness.

He knew what he believed in - or rather, who. Love kept him strong. And it wasn't the same blind, naive love that he held in his youth. He'd been through horrors and knew the price of opening one's heart. Knew doing so was worth the risk. It was an older, wiser love. Impossible to kill.

His songs had never been more beautiful. He even brought a certain lurking Ascian to tears one night, who hovered in the dark out of sight of Nahte's campfire.

And by Endwalker - though it was the most difficult trial Nahte ever faced, and his faith was tested like never before - he'd learned that he didn't need to be Dark or Light, he could be both. Being born between worlds was not a mistake or a flaw, he was always exactly who and what he needed to be, and he didn't have to be afraid.

(As for appearance, you can see all the scars he collected here!)

How has your WoL changed from ARR to Endwalker? Personality, looks, etc?

[calico-heart]

Reinstalling Fallout 4 today and setting up my mods. Three years ago I was SO careful about reading instructions and checking for incompatibilities and not putting too many in at once. today I'm deploying 91239127 mods before even running a save file and we'll just see if the game survives when I try to boot it up