#I would have so much more to choose from

[perverse-idyll]

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers ❤️

Thank you to @yletylyf and @danpuff-ao3 for the invitation and reminding me to think about fic! It’s one in the morning, I had four hours sleep last night, and I’m going to entertain myself by seeing how coherent/interesting I can make this.

Anyone else want to play? @ac1d6urn, @writcraft, @liladiurne, @squibstress, @titconao3 - do you have favorites?

The first two picks are easy:

1. When the Rose and the Fire Are One - My first fanfic! Snape/Harry, my OTP before I knew what the acronym meant, my first experience of fandom, a love letter to the pairing and the Snape-centric LiveJournal community I had serendipitously stumbled upon. Written for the Snarry Games, thus finished on a (several times extended) deadline after pulling an all-nighter. I was talking shop with a writer friend recently about themes, as in “in 20 words or less, tell us the theme of your story,” and we agreed that it grows organically out of the writing and we have no idea what the theme is before we muddle through the first draft, nor do we care. (My friend writes pro fic, but she never condescends when I talk about my fanfic as if the creative process is the same - because it is in many ways, with the exception of professional editing in her case.) Well, I lied, because this fic was consciously and passionately written with the themes of freedom and beauty in mind. In canon, Snape is a character who never gets to experience adulthood free of masters; he signs up to be a pawn not once, but twice. I wanted to give him - for Harry to give him - that freedom, while at the same time presenting the temptation of a third master. The fact that Harry loves him by the end doesn’t make that beholden-ness less true. I was also determined to show that even someone raised in financial and emotional poverty, associated with ugliness, trapped in an ugly life, was capable of beauty under the right circumstances. Yes, I was up my own arse about this fic, but that’s okay because it made it more personal and intense. It was also, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my first time writing a sex scene, and I jumped in at the deep end with glorious abandon. As one may gather from subsequent fics, I proceeded to make up for lost time and contribute to the mainstream perception that fanfic = smut.

2. The White Road - If there’s one fic I’m known for among Snarry readers, it’s this. Why? Because it’s set in Lily’s POV in the afterlife? Because it positions her as a voyeur, a mother watching the fork in the road of her child’s future, someone with the right to judge Snape? (The voyeurism aspect turned a lot of readers off.) Because it has a cracky premise treated seriously? Because it’s nonlinear? (No. For some, this was a bug, not a feature.) Because, as a recent bookmark proclaims, it’s “such a weird fic”? Mostly it was me wresting a different ending out of the ruins of Snape’s canon demise and the utter bollocks of the epilogue; it was a purgative experience. I think for Snarry readers at the time, in the year after the series ended, it touched a communal nerve. Snape fandom remained in turmoil for quite a while after the Lily reveal and Snape’s redemption by death (a redemption currently much disputed). At this point, 15 years down the line, perceptions of Snape have changed so drastically the fic no longer has that cathartic effect, if that’s what it was. Readers are less inclined to be consoled or sympathetic. But the chutzpah of putting Lily’s voice at the center - of turning her into a Snarry shipper, to be flippant about it - well, I’m still surprised I pulled it off. And this fic, like Rose & Fire above, vibrates with so much of my joy in fandom at the time, love for my OTP, for the stories being written about them, for the exuberant emotional engagement on all sides, that I'll always be able to dip into it and be transported back to that creative ferment and sense of belonging. I think it’s one of my best fics, but my love for it goes deeper than its relative worth as a story. It’s a memento of one of the best periods of my life.

Now things get tricky. I’m pretty sure the five, arrrgh, five WIPs I’m working on would be eligible for this list, but since at this stage only I can know what makes them favorites, I have to make other choices. And I haven’t written very many fics, you see.

3 & 4. In Infinite Remorse of Soul (Snape/Dumbledore, Snape/Harry-ish) and And Mine the Gall (concluding the Dumbledore arc from the earlier story, and going further with the Snape/Harry-ish mess) - I put these together because they were conceived as a single narrative, but In Infinite Remorse was written for a fest with a word count limit, so I posted the rest of it as a separate fic. Which turned out to be the right choice since the second fic is the darkest thing I’ve ever written. These linked stories were inspired by Dumbledore’s words to Snape in The Prince’s Tale - “You disgust me” - and how he condescends to and sometimes makes a fool of Snape in the books, when the poor bastard is simply trying to abide by Dumbledore’s expectations. Dumbledore is a fascinating character, but his lack of generosity toward Snape - his tendency to treat Snape’s moral worth as disposable when it’s clearly one of the things Snape struggles with throughout his life - caught my attention. It’s a counterweight to all the examples of Dumbledore’s wisdom, his concern for other characters. Even Draco has more charity and protection bestowed on him than Dumbledore ever gives Snape. And I decided to run with that idea because surely what Snape suffers and the loyalty he demonstrates deserves more than a “Poor Severus...” afterthought. What would it have done to his soul to never once be thanked, to have Dumbledore pass over his sacrifices while lavishing time and explanations on Harry? Yes, Voldemort’s defeat depends on Harry going back to fight. But what would Snape’s reaction be to learning that Dumbledore knew of a way for Harry to survive - counted on it, in fact - and lied about it to Snape’s face? From there I decided to chart Snape’s moral collapse and his “fuck it all” desire to go after something (someone) he wants for himself - destroying every moral gain he’d so painfully acquired because in the end the authority figure who was his role model took it so much for granted he even forgot to say “thank you.” And then I went for something twisted and frightening because I think a Snape who no longer believes in anything - who feels nothing he did in his life ever actually redeemed him - would be terribly destructive.

On a less dark note, I enjoyed writing a florid and heavily metaphorical prose for Dumbledore’s POV, mostly to suggest the complex and not always praiseworthy workings of his mind. He’s one of canon’s most intelligent characters, bent up into plot contrivances for the consumption of children, and I didn’t want to rehash his canon schemes because they rely too much on coincidence and authorial fiat. (Plus: word count.) I tried to show how his calculations and his roots in the Victorian era might influence his interior monologues. As for Snape? I just enjoyed letting his worst impulses off the leash. (Some readers haaate And Mine the Gall.) (Where is my evil grin emoji?)

5. Hmm, the last choice should be split between my creepy massage kink/character study Soft Touch, but I’m feeling rather listless about that one at the moment, so No Room for the Weak it is. Another oldie, functionally a gen fic with pre-slash Snarry vibes, it evolved from my interest in Snape’s mum Eileen. Snape fans often assume she’s dead in canon, probably because she’s not referenced past a certain point in his childhood and doesn’t appear in the Spinner’s End chapter. So I wrote this fic about Eileen trying to come to grips with her son’s violent death and all the contradictory rumors clouding his reputation. It was a chance to explore what kind of mother would produce a kid like Severus and to ponder how he seems to lack any instinct for distinguishing right from wrong. His upbringing left him morally deficient - in fact, clueless. I also tried to pull off a bit of a plot twist, just to see if I could string readers along. Also, tip o’ the hat to Joy Division. Best of all, IMO, I nailed the ending. I found exactly the words I wanted, and I’m pretty confident the story earned them. (Same with The White Road. And Mine the Gall … maybe.)

#blathering about my fic #five personal favorites #self-recs #another reason to finish my wips and concentrate on short fic #I would have so much more to choose from

[dunmeshiminimumwage]

back when i worked at [large chain coffee store], i tried to unionize my workplace. my manager sat me down and gave me a very guilt trip-y talk. lots of "but i thought we were a family :(" and "you don't *really* know what unionization does, do you?" i played dumb and managed to avoid being fired, but. chilchuck momence.

#mod chilchuck #i will say: i feel like chilchuck would be more adamant about forming a union given that he actually has done it #like. he has definitely received pushback for trying to form a union. even from other halflings (mickbell). #and i feel like he would know how to deal with it. #not to say that you didnt deal with your situation well. just that he had different priorities and wasnt at as much riskof losing his job(s) #given that he wasnt dealing with the fucked up job market we have right now. in which its dominated by very few companies. #diferent people are in different situations and sometimes you have to pick and choose you battles #which is why unionizing is so important. bc you dont always have to put yourself at risk to get better conditions #often times unions will have people who work the picket lines and lobbying etc. for better conditions. #working together makes us stronger. its not an individual's fight. its for all of us. #n e ways... that was long. #also. sorry for the late response to the ask. we (the blog) decided that it would be most fitting if i aswered this one. #and i was struggling to come up with a response. #(and having a severe episode of hypochondria) #dungeon meshi #chillchuck #laios #marcille #izutsumi

[bleaksqueak]

"How do you stick with one project for so long without abandoning it" "How do you just sit down and work" "How do you make yourself keep working on a comic" "How do you draw and write when there's so many games to play instead--" The answer to these questions is always "I really don't think you understand the degree of hyperfixation I have for these characters." "But how do you keep the same hyperfixation?? Mine only lasts a month or two--" I was obsessed with a single manga from the time I was 15 years old until... Wait, still obsessed, but I think the last time I did fanart for it was two or three years ago now. (My friends know not to accidentally trip the wire and set off a gushing volcano of love on the topic of said manga. I will info dump with the fist of a very neurodivergent god.)

#I get asked these questions a lot #from friends or from peeps on the internet #and i'm over here like.... i could choose to be embarassed abt how obsessed I am with my own chars #but it's so much more fun to have zero shame #there's a real discussion to be had about “work ethic” when it comes to art work and creative work that would be a whole other can of worms #but that's a blather for another time

[mxi-88]

me every time i replay aai2: THIS TIME i will be so normal about manosouta (lying)

#.log #ace attorney #aa #ace attorney investigations 2 #aai2 #horace knightley #simon keyes #manosouta #manosuke naitou #souta sarushiro #fanart #S #i think sooo much about manosouta in the orphanage before simon ran away like theres so many facets #recreating your identity from scratch.. choosing your names....... still sticking together.. #i like to think simon started getting his memories back after seeing dogen again (idr if this was mentioned explicitly) #and the realization is so bad cus he had presumably been friends w knightley for 6 yrs after losing their memories #so like. the shift to malice was more gradual than simon would HAVE US BELIEVE #like he was 12. jeez man

[moongothic]

So I'm confused about something. There was a cover story about Ms Goldenweek and other Baroque works agents breaking Crocodile out of prison but he just. Told them no? And stayed there with Mr 1 and Mr 2? I don't get why he wanted to go to Impel Down just to break out when he had the chance

I can't tell you 100% why Crocodile chose to stay in prison and go to Impel Down, but my best guess really is that he was just...

Taking the L with grace

More specifically. Crocodile had lost everything. I think deep inside he might've been literally too depressed to want to go free again.

Like he does literally say that. He gave up.

He had been building his reputation as "the Hero of Alabasta" for at least 10 years at this point. He had built not just a criminal organization that he had been running for four years, but also he had been running legal business stuff (like his casino) for probably longer than that. A decade's worth of work and effort to take over a country, and most importantly, get away with it. The reason he had orchestrated that whole rebellion was so that the rebels and the royal family could "take each other out", leaving the country wide open for a World Government Official such as himself to take up. The reason Baroque Works was doing this all in secret was so that the WG never found out, otherwise they wouldn't have let him have Alabasta.

But indeed, his plans were foiled by a kid in flipflops in less than 24 hours, just at the final moment before Crocodile would win. He lost everything. And the World Government found out about what he had been planning.

So even if he escaped from that prison with his former agents, what was he going to do?

He wouldn't be able to take over Alabasta anymore because he did not have manpower (as he had lost all his goons), and having lost his financial empire he wouldn't be able to build a new army any time soon. And even if he did, now that they knew what he had done the people of Alabasta would not accept him as their new king, even if he personally assasinated Cobra and the entire family. Not to mention, the WG finding out about his plans meant that they had every fucking reason to try and stop Crocodile if he did as much as set foot on that island again. By which I mean, they could launch a Buster Call on his ass. Send all the fucking Admirals after him. And so, even if Crocodile still believed Pluton was somewhere in Alabasta and that he just had to comb through the entire desert to find it... Between the Alabastan people and the WG in the way, finding Pluton would not be easy. Especially when Robin wouldn't even be there to just point him directly to it. It could take years, if not decades, while fighting off the WG by himself. And that's while assuming Pluton was somewhere in Alabasta. Like WE the readers now know Pluton is in Wano, but since Robin didn't tell him that. All Robin said was that the Poneglyph "didn't mention the weapon", and Cobra's reaction to the name merely proved the weapon's existence in Crocodile's mind. But surely, because Crocodile is a smart young man, he'd understand there was a risk that Pluton could exist, but just not be in Alabasta, right? Like that would be a possibility too, right?

I think this is why Crocodile has given up on Alabasta. He had one opportunity at seizing the country, and he failed. And without Robin, he could spend the rest of his life combing through a haystack for a needle when there's no needle, and he'd have no idea. I think is why he explicitly says in Impel Down he no longer has "interest in that country". He won't be able to pull off another stunt like this, ever.

And that leads us back to "why not escape earlier and avoid going to Impel Down to begin with". Thanks to his status as a Shichibukai, Crocodile hasn't been on the run from the WG for like two decades. And the past 10 or so years he has seemingly lived a life of luxury in his funny little casino. But now, having lost everything, he'd be back on the run. And because he's a world famous former "hero of the people", there would be nowhere he'd be able to go where people would not recognize him and send the marines after him. So he'd be on the run, for the rest of his life or until he'd get capture again. And mind you, the guy does not trust anyone, so he'd be on the run alone. Without any purpose or goal.

And you might be thinking, "Daz and the rest of BW was still there!", yeah, arguably true. But at this point Crocodile had no reason to trust any of them. Like personally, I think the reason Crocodile ended up taking a liking to Daz was BECAUSE he chose to follow him to Impel Down when he really did not have to. Like Daz showed an unusual level of loyalty to Crocodile, and I think Crocodile recognized that. That's why Daz is still with Croc, post-timeskip. But Miss Goldenweek and co? Crocodile had no reason to believe they wouldn't betray him if given a chance and a reason. And if the WG would come chasing his ass, they'd have plenty of reason to try and betray Croc (handing Crocodile over to spare their own lives). Not to mention, when they come release their former boss from jail, what did Miss Goldenweek say?

"Let's do Baroque Works again"

As I've already explained in detail, I think we might know why Crocodile wasn't interested in being Baroque Works' "boss" again.

So. Yeah. If in Crocodile's mind he'd be on the run from the Government for the first time in two decades all alone, in a situation where rebuilding what he had before would be bloody hard if not downright impossible, and he wouldn't be able to obtain what he had spent the last decade working for regardless...

Taking the L and just going to prison might've been the easier option

#Moon posting #Asks #OP Meta #Sir Crocodile #Long post #Mind you Crocodile only *left* jail because he saw AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY for petty revenge #Like had it not been for that war bringing Whitebeard out he probably would not have bothered to try and fight WB again #Otherwise he could've just escaped prison with Goldenweek and co and travelled to the New World to fight the old man right away #((Also theoretically Crocodile might've been slightly suicidal with the ''taking WB's head'' thing)) #Also worth noting that Crocodile choosing to stay in prison could've had two other purposes re:the former agents #It could've been a test of loyalty (to see if anyone would stay with him or would they all abandon him) #Which could be important to Mr Trust Issues (and to be fair he did find at least one loyal subordinate in Daz) #((Like if they had all told Croc they'd stay with him...... Who knows. Maybe he might've chosen to escape after all?)) #Other option: Crocodile escaping with them would mean the agents would be in much more danger than they'd be without him #Like the WG wouldn't send tons of marines after the individual agents if they all scattered to the winds #But if they all stuck together they'd become a bigger target. And even more so if Crocodile was there to lead them #And like. IDK if Crocodile was willing to leave out Goldenweek from the assassination order and spare her... Maybe this was the same #Maybe he wanted to spare Goldenweek (and the rest?) from being put into danger by going with them? #I dunno man this reptile has far too many layers to him I can't tell what's going on in his head

[saint-bestial]

i hope sleep token does unmask at wembley only to have another mask on underneath so everyone speculating on an official face reveal shrivels up from their own sodium content.

#sleep token #they have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever #plus it would be a sick way for them to debut new masks... 👀 #but yeah i have no clue where you guys got this idea from #idk i feel like they'd end the band sooner than they'd unmask #i'm sick of people acting like they HAVE to do it at some point #we aren't entitled to any more information than they choose to provide #if you're really that concerned about how they look that information is very much readily available so go to google and then shut up #but honestly if that's something you care that much about maybe you're in the wrong fandom

[unbidden-yidden]

As a follow up to the previous post re: Jews by birth having ugly attitudes towards gerim-

Sometimes it's really hard to love ourselves - especially the parts of ourselves that others hate and have denigrated us for, mocked us, hurt us, or even killed others like us over.

I think the challenge to Jews by birth of gerim, especially Jews by birth who have been deeply wounded over their Jewishness, is that loving us means loving a group of people that chose you, specifically based on those wounded, vulnerable parts. We love you. We love you and the Jewish people enough to risk our lives by joining our fates to yours. We love you enough to leave behind everything we know culturally and religiously to be like you, to daven next to you, to join your family. And that can be really difficult to accept.

"Gerim are as hard for Israel as a scab" says the Gemara. Why? There are many interpretations of this statement, but mine is that we love the Jewish people for their Jewishness, which for many is still as tender as a scab. It can be hard to stomach someone choosing you and your family, especially if they come from outside, especially if they come from the very people who hurt you. And then we are here, in your space, excitedly embracing many of the very things that have gotten you mocked or excluded or hurt.

To fellow gerim, I would say that we need to be mindful of this and let our love include a lot of listening and grace towards those who are healing. To Jews by birth who may struggle with that sort of feeling, I would say that it's a perfectly natural instinct to have. Don't beat yourself up about it, but don't give into it, either. Let us be your salve, even if it hurts at first.

#I haven't met anyone saying anything like that anon irl #but I have met plenty of Jews by birth who have asked me some varient of #''okay but why tf would you do that?'' #''I'm here because I have to be - why would you choose to be here'' #and it could be read as hurtful #but I think it is rarely coming from that place #I think much more often it's the intrusion of love for something one has trouble loving in themselves #and that can be a really tough thing to grapple with #so I don't take it personally #because it's not really *about* me or any other convert #jumblr

[reinedeslys-central]

more!! again!! for the nico after blood of olympus fic!! actually I thought of this while writing the last one but I just finished it.

His elbows buckle and he lets himself fall into Will, snorting at his theatrical groan under the weight. They lay there for a second until Will shoves him gently, and Nico lets him manoeuvre them into a more comfortable position.

"Hi," he whispers, moving a curl away from his cheek. The greenish tint of the loft window casts a weird shadow over Will's face.

"Hey yourself," Will murmurs back, winking.

Nico rolls his eyes. "You look like Apollo when you do that. Please stop." Will squawks in protest.

"I do not! Also, since when do you remember what Apollo looks like? Actually, no, don't answer that, you can't bring up my dad while we're in bed, Nico, why would you do this to me?"

Now it's Nico's turn to sputter and whack Will in the chest - getting another dramatic oof and a laugh in return - before turning around to face Hazel's bed. He's not sure when he'll ever be able to sleep facing the wall. Will can't do it either.

As Will's arms curl around his waist and draw him back against him, just like they did back in the infirmary that one day, he thinks maybe he'd be okay trying that with him sometime. One day, in a house with gates, no longer wary of monsters.

Will noses the back of his neck, causing him to twitch. "What is it?"

Will's answering smile presses through the rough cotton of his t-shirt. "Nothing, sunshine."

Nico frowns under the covers. "Hey, what do you think of houses with gates?" He whispers.

"Gates? Well, it'd be safer, I guess, but we'd lose the neighbours coming over -"

"As if you want to see random people at the door anyway. What if they're monsters?"

"Oh, come on, darlin', I'm from Austin. Of course I gotta keep space for the neighbours to come knocking."

"…Fences? Actually, hey, why'd you assume I was talking about us? Obviously - Obviously I was talking about random. Random houses. For architecture reasons."

Will muffles his laugh into the back of his neck, again. "Oh, my bad. And I'm only here because you ripped a stitch on the lava wall yesterday."

Nico feels his ears warm.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"..Still."

Will reels him in closer until his back hits his chest and he can press a soft peck to Nico's still-red ears. "I think a fence is a great idea, by the way. We could ask Hazel for help with some ward stones too, like you have in the cabin. Gotta make sure we've got at least one window and standing space in every direction, though, or at least in the east, because you know my dad would sulk if he didn't get to scream me awake in the morning."

Nico's blush gets worse.

"Now who's talking about your dad in bed?" He gives up on pretending. Will sees him through every time, anyway. "Also, shrines, obviously, and we need a spot to stargaze."

"Yeah, shrines, obviously. Maybe just yours, mine, and Lady Hestia's though, or else everyone else is gonna get pissy."

Nico barks out a laugh like it's shocked out of him. "Pissy? Don't let them hear you say that."

Will holds him tighter and settles against the pillows. "Sure thing, sunshine. Now can we sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah."

It's not long after that that Will's breath evens out behind him, his muscles untensing. Nico knows he's got a few minutes yet, so he thinks.

Today was…. good.

Today was nice. Normal, even. Just a day of camp schedules, working in the infirmary, an admittedly short campfire, and this. No monsters, and no mistakes. No deaths, but..

Unbidden, the moments in the infirmary come to mind. He thinks of helping Will scrub in for his one surgery of the day, a kid that had gotten parts of an arrow stuck in their leg a week ago and hadn't noticed til yesterday. He thinks of yesterday during capture-the-flag, stepping in and desperately trying to copy what he'd watched Will do, because Lydia was hanging crooked from a tree and there was no one else around but him-

He thinks of Patroclus tying the straps of Achilles' armour, watching his lover sleep peacefully. He thinks of what Connor had told him about at the campfire weeks ago, of Silena Beauregard taking on a drakon when Clarisse declared the Ares Cabin wouldn't be fighting.

He thinks he might understand.

Lydia wasn't the same (thank the gods), but if there was something to be done that only Will could do right, yet couldn't, and the only way Nico could take up his mantle would be to die trying - then, yeah. He'd do whatever it would take for these kids. To do what Will would do. He's gone to Tartarus already, hasn't he? At worst, he'd try his best and greet his father early if he failed to survive. Nico could even give Charon a tip on the way in for the hell of it, why not?

If there is a luxury that comes from being a child of Hades, after all, it is that dying is not the thing that scares him.

There's a brazier still lit outside the window. Its glow falls in slits across their bed.

Will grumbles, pushing his feet forward until their ankles are wound together. The sheets shift.

Nico smiles into the dark, into the chirping of crickets and the soft glow of the fireflies out the window, and falls asleep.

more for this fic:

scene 0 - prologue-ish scene 1 - the library of social awkwardness or here (or in my heart, 'kidney function is not a right, it's a privilege' lol)

general writing directory

also lmk if you want more lore. I am so down to talk about this fic + the worldbuilding ideas I have for it in the notes it is unreal

#writing process #nico di angelo trying to make friends #when the characters start doing their own thing and you're just along for the ride #would y'all help me choose a fic title if I asked? #will solace #toying with a chb fic about nico and grief and what three days in the infirmary actually looks like #plus my healthy nico agenda and a healthy dose of solangelo obv #nico di angelo #riordanverse #pjo fic #worldbuilding my beloved #they're teenagers your honour #I loved writing this scene TT #maybe a timeskip idk #solangelo #solangelo fic #pjo #hmmmmMMMMMMM you tell me which cabin lydia is from #she's like less than 14 #lydia morrin is a young sweet spunky child that thinks she's a genius (like we all did) with a companion lack-of-confidence a mile wide #gotta say i am LOVING this new writing technique i am trying out with just writing scenes as I go #and creating this story trail I can actually trace and work with bc i have smth on the page now #like just from this I already have three more scenes I could write and I love it #thw you're writing and the sentences sounds a bit off grammatically but every other option you can see is so much worse

[gods-favorite-autistic]

Hey yall im back with Fig and the Cig Figs professionally produced Freshman year album (formally known as Detention) track list:

Detention

Bad Kid

Dragonslayer

Sk8er Gurl (yes it is basically just a fantasy version of Sk8er Boy by Avril Lavigne)

Burn Towns Get Money

Pit Fiend

Corn Cuties

Disguise Self

Closed Book

Infodump

Seven Maidens

Every Album Needs A Bonus Track (yes that is the name of the song)

Here’s the Junior Year Track List in case you wanna see it!

#just to be clear most of these song titles weren’t figs decision at all #like she would not choose that as her album title but because this was made when she was signed I wanted everything to feel a bit more #clinical compared to the junior year one where it was just fig and gorgug and the other bad kids having fun fucking around #that’s also the reason why the Junior year one is so much longer and totally not because I struggled coming up with song names on this #the main issue is I had to channel studio filtered Fig and not just straight Fig so I couldn’t include like #the ballad of lunch lady Doreen or fuck you coach daybreak #<—— #also she would definitely release these as ‘from the vault’ songs along with her Junior year album #I do think she fought hard for every album needs a bonus track burn towns get money and Sk8er gurl #I think the song fig hates the most is bad kid because it says literally nothing about any of the other bad kids only about her #she fucking loathes it but the label was so obsessed with keeping up the image of a teenage rockstar cool kid #if it were up to her she would have talked about the party a lot more but as it is there’s only vague references to them in detention #autism (mads) speaks #fantasy high #fhfy #dimension 20 #d20 #fig faeth #fig and the cig figs #fantasy high freshman year

[shorthaltsjester]

taliesin and laura remain truly so fantastic at making characters who… don’t necessarily have something extremely and inherently in common but do have experiences that were caused by similar sources and that lead them to have quite different opinions/ideas about things but in ways that are typically very reconcilable? which is a lot of qualifiers but it’s a through line of vex/percy with nobility, jester & cad with loneliness (and also god stuff but in a different post maybe someday i’ll talk about how actually their god stuff is intensely related to their different experiences of loneliness), and now imogen & ashton with being left behind.

like vex was this character who technically had a claim to nobility due to her blood but at the same time was burdened because of that same claim. and percy who was born into and raised by nobility but that nobility ended up making his family the targets of a massacre. and then vex who lets down her walls and Do I Look Like I Come From Money? and percy giving her the title grand mistress of the grey hunt because it has nothing to do with blood, or his love for her, or anything aside from the fact that it’s something she can prove herself worthy of simply by virtue of who she Is, not who someone makes her. and percy and vex’s conversation about forgiveness and it’s necessity for growth as probably two of the characters most inclined to hold grudges.

and caduceus clay who gets left behind with nothing but his Belief while his family goes off into the world. and jester lavorre who gets shut inside with no company except her Belief as her mother protects her from the world. and they both get the burden of loneliness and the understanding of love’s nonmalicious imperfection. and caduceus having a panic attack on a ship and jester telling him that the world is a lot bigger than his cemetery and that means he has to break out of his comfort zone to find his path. and caduceus telling jester that he doesn’t think she gets as much credit as she ought to and she deserves more pastries. and jester thanking caduceus for showing her how cool it is to actually heal people and caduceus asking if she wants to use his shield while he doesn’t need it.

and ashton who was left broken and dying on the ground and was given inescapable pain as their means of survival. and imogen who was left behind by the only person who could provide true understanding of the pain she’d one day come to feel. and ashton who’s a barbarian, who wields their rage casually and unapologetically and who sees the Shittiness of the world but is unrelenting in his version of optimism. and imogen who is weighed down by pessimism she doesn’t Want to have but hasn’t cracked how to undo and who doesn’t admit her anger until it comes up again and again and again and carries it like a burden or like guilt, who we only see really Grasp and feel Confidence about her anger being something good in front of others when she has those conversations with ashton. and like. ashton who looks at imogen and sees a superhero. imogen venturing through ashton’s mind and holding his bleeding and exhausted head and saying i’m sorry. i’m sorry. and imogen who looks at ashton and sees someone special. and fucking “we got him killed.” and “no, we didn’t. don’t you dare. […] we are not what fucking killed that man. […] we are his eventual victory. we are his fucking revenge.” and “i’ll be his revenge.” and “i have no fucking doubt.”

and in general rp wise they both tend to make some of my favourite characters (also typically the ones i find most frustrating) because they both tend to make flaws that are easy to hate and they make those flaws very central to their characters but i think that’s also what makes their character interactions so deeply compelling because so frequently it’s like. yes yes these two characters have like. a helix of things they have in common but also things they deeply disagree on but they’re going to spider-man point at the things that are the same and they’re going to honour their differences while doing so. and it’s just. i always enjoy it so much and i was psyched when i heard about an imogen and ashton side pit stop in last nights episode and i was not let down when i watched the episode today.

#also gotta emphatically say that i Do Not Mean their characters understand each other better than others or completely #i just think those two consistently have characters that have opinions that would perhaps naturally be the most at odds but then #they always craft these dynamics that like. web together pieces of sameness so that their characters end up having deeply #meaningful relationships with one another. #but like. ashton and imogen really do Not get each other in a lot of ways. cad and jester were very opposite in a lot of ways #percy and vex i think probably had the most in common but also like . they had and have vast differences . #idk this probably is worth a longer post that lingers in my brain about how relationships between characters whether romantic or not #are actually Much more compelling and rewarding when characters Don’t just click and have perfect matching experiences #because. to have to Choose to want to understand someone and what they’ve experiences and why they differ from you #if actually a much stronger act of love than searching for your reflection in everyone you meet. #someday i’ll string together that post but. until then. tal and laura my beloveds. storytelling duo truly #cr3 #cr2 #jester lavorre #imogen temult #vex’ahlia #caduceus clay #ashton greymoore #percy de rolo #cr1 #critical role #cr spoilers #no molly and jester input here because i haven’t watched early m9 in a Long time but. i’m sure there’s similar scenes in there. #honestly even like. jesters Earnestness with her still manipulative trickery vs. mollys much more . not necessarily Cruelness but just. idk #there’s something there with the way that when they meet jester is all in for the tarot cards for the experience that they both get out #of her choosing to believe what molly says vs molly going in to get something out of jester? yk. #but they’re still bestie icons. jester still tears a man in half in the hopes of saving molly. molly still died trying to help get her back. #anyway. beloveds #laura bailey #taliesin jaffe

[quietwingsinthesky]

i do love canon amy & rory but god, does some part of me wish they really had gone with the idea of the doctor picking up a child as a companion (and then later, that child’s best friend with a huge crush on her.) with the rest of the season really not changing at all, except now it’s amelia pond with an angel in her head killing her and lost alone in the woods. it’s little rory who dies and is forgotten and becomes a toy soldier. if this is going to be a fairy tale, then let it be one. children have never been safe in fairy tales.

#it wouldn’t have to change any of the actual plot of the season. except MAYBE amy’s choice but even then i think amy’s choice would be the #one episode where they should be adults. if only for the half where they live in a village in that dream. #because that’s the kind of future that children would dream up. they live in a little cottage and nothing ever goes wrong and their best #friend visits them all the time even though they’ve grown up. #they aren’t actually adults there just children with an idea of what they should be as adults and acting accordingly #and it would still end the same way. #but idk its just. rory’s 2000 years waiting for amy inside the pandorica is already tragic. yes. #now imagine its a kid. a kid in a little roman soldier helmet who will never grow up. who will not leave his best friend. #he loves her and she’s more important than the whole universe and that sort of love is supposed to MEAN something in a fairy tale! #its supposed to melt the ice out of hearts and transform people from stone. #and what that love means here. is that he will have to wait 2000 years. a child and a box. #little rory and the amelia who followed the doctor’s letters to the pandorica. and she doesn’t recognize him again. #and amelia in the pandorica… 2000 years a child trapped in a small box waiting to be rescued. #s5 is already fucked for them but it could be worse. it could be so much worse. #and it would make the doctor choosing to take her place in the pandorica to save the universe later even better. #because who else but the doctor would put the fate of the universe on the shoulders of two children and realize much too late what a #monstrous thing he’d done. and still have to hope. have to hope. that amelia would remember him fondly enough to bring him back to reality. #the logistics of all of this would have been a pain lmao. child labor laws in acting and all that. #BUT. hypothetically. it would have slapped. #doctor who #amy pond #rory williams #<- also this entire time ive been referring to him in my head as rory pond so much that i fuckin. forgot his actual last name. #and then like if you want them to be adults in s6 or whatever you can just timeskip to them getting married and still have amelia remember #the doctor there. it would work. it would. #amelia pond au

[kisaraslover]

if anyone has any problem making sense of the way i interpret Kaiba just remember this: Tea Gardner looks at him one day and has the dawning realization "hes like a lesbian of some kind" this should make all the pieces fall into place

#not art #tea gardner #anzu mazaki #seto kaiba #yugioh #ygo #i mean it. kisara existing or not. i mean ittttt #i look at him. i look at myself. i look at his barely contained animosity towards all men- immediate competition- rivals #and then his much more calm reception of women. and i go ''hes literally me'' #this is why im forever kaiba-mai valentine kaiba-ishizu friendship truther. tea doesnt make the cut but like. #if i write the series again id have to make him choose her for anything that isnt dueling. that spot is determinedly atem #but hes gotta sit next to someone from yugi gang for a flight? gardner. hes gotta share a cab? gardner. hes gotta save a yugi friend? #gardner. #not that they speak. not that hed want to spend time with her he doesnt have to. but to me hes like those dogs that hate men always #mai valentine would genuinely have his respect -she seems to have given battles of her own and came out a bit similar to him #hed actively enjoy her humor especially if joey is the butt of it. she would actively make an effort to get close too. birds of a feather #ishizu though. ohhh hed be so annoyed anytime shes like ''fate and gods and magic'' the way i am when straight girls bring up. #astrology. and tarot and whatnot. half disproving and trying to convince them. half listening to see where they take it #but 100% not taking it seriously for himself #but shes an accomplished woman who can be a deadly business woman and hed like that part of her. #again he can see himself reflected in powerful women and the sexist writing aside he just wouldnt be threatened by them #COUGH gozaburo COUGH. #sigh i just gotta make everything about that asshole dont i. #<- actual seto kaiba thought whenever he has an emotional awakening to his trauma once again being tied to gozaburo #DAMN im a good kinnie. yeeeesh

[puppyeared]

man ok so you know the spiciness scale on menus that show you how spicy a dish is so you can order based on your tolerance. can we have that for sauces too please

#im being serious btw. the sauce to rice ratio is very important and sacred to me #whenever i eat at home i get to choose how much sauce i can have with my rice because i dont like absolutely dousing it but i still wanna b #able to taste it yanno. i dont do well with slippery/saucy foods and ive given up trying to understand it. it might be a sensory thing #i am so sorry to admit this on the soup website but i cant handle thick/chunky sauces or curry. forgive me #the worst part is that i actually can handle and even enjoy some like caldereta and congee. but its so hard to tell people ill eat this but #not that.. its embarassing because it feels like im making exceptions. which i am!! because its preference!! but alas #but anyway with the sauce scale. i was thinking it would be nice to include a scale for how much sauce you want with a dish #rather than just skirting away from a food because you feel like you cant handle the texture or feel unsure about it #sauce could be adjustable without completely changing the recipe so it would be more like a matter of quantity or serving size #also i feel like i can make cool names for the scale. like “light drizzle” to “sauceageddon” #im asian so when i eat sauce i pair it with rice and it works because the rice kind of cancels out or makes the sauce more tolerable for me #with caldereta i make it an even 50/50 because i can taste it in the rice without the texture getting in the way #but with pasta and sauce its normally 1/3 sauce because the pasta normally isnt enough to cancel it out #i also grew up with relatives making fun of my eating habits and i really really hate eating at restaurants and gatherings because of it #maybe its because they want to make sure im eating right but!! you dont have to call me out for my 1/3 portion of spaghetti sauce!! damn!!! #anyway im not sure if anyone feels the same abt this and maybe its just me. but it would be really nice to have this a normal thing #without judging ppl for their eating habits and preferences. on god #yapping #food ment #EDIT: ASKING FOR SAUCE ON THE SIDE. MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED. I DIDNT KNOW THAT WAS A THING

[lunarharp]

lazy scribbling of my baldur's gate 3 characters

#*emerges from 430 HOURS of life-changing playtime blearily like a lost and confused kitten* #i lost my interest in drawing bc everything is too sad & horrible right now. it was a luxury and privilege to lose myself in this instead #what follows will be my personal and trivial emotions about that #i'll do better proper drawings later. for me. they are both so very dear to me... deeply dear...unforgettable journeys of fate #truly have played like one possessed for the past few weeks. you have no idea. what do i do now. what do i do. #their personalities are so vivid to me though they mostly made the same choices. both intersex and they/them - canonically <3 #i missed out on FOUR PARTY MEMBERS in my first playthrough due to not understanding anything whatsoever. #gloaming ended up with wyll and pavane romanced karlach and astarion. and ended up with the one i did NOT plan on. this wasnt the plan #one of the most fulfilling romance paths i've ever..i cant say more..it all got too immersive and now i have to just.. MOVE ON ?????????? #live in THIS world where i can't gut imperialism personally and emerge alive from that? #without Long Resting? without my character requesting a kiss from their beloved after a tough day ?? #without preparing my little spells? without channelling divinity from my death god to keep us all alive? #without dyeing my man's clothes fancy colours for him? without him Approving whenever i lie and double-cross our enemies #without sharing clothes with my ex? without choosing to eat the heavy food first so that the weight is easier on her Carrying Capacity? #without orchestrating ways for all of my friends to kill the abusers that ruined their lives for a decade or even 200 years? #without experiencing degrading horrors on a daily basis but in a cathartic way where we always make it back to our rooms at the inn #WITHOUT SPEAK WITH ANIMALS??????????? #at least there's music. just like with persona 5 that will always be with me. always #like how p5 melodies take me back to those feelings. those rich and personal feelings.... BUT THIS WAS A WAY MORE NUTS EXPERIENCE #i thought i would hate it. i did at times. thought it would desensitise me to various things. it did. but there was so much more..it was... #Well anyway *continues my life* imagine if dnd was real..something to think about

[astranauticus]

had to relisten to 2.4 for my last drawing and got compelled to draw the scene of dani point blank shooting her own dead dreams so here we are

#rolling with difficulty #dani rwd #this was so much fun like i wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as i did but like!! complementary colours go brr i guess #it's just.. such a cool visual like design choice? anyway #in hindsight this is dnd so i'm not sure if she's supposed to have an actual handgun but it's fine #i just googled pistol and took the first pic off google images #i should draw dani more her design is so much fun #every time i draw the hypnagoug i jsut choose to ignore more of its description but come on #i think sacrificing a bit of accuracy for rule of cool in this case is pretty understandable #as a side note the reason why i drew my last hypnagoug comic in greyscale was that for some reason that entire fight is just #greyscale. in my brain. idk why like genuinely that's how i imagine it #but for this one i really wanted to get the blue/orange contrast so here we are #ALSO side note to the side note but if you saw my demon possession au comic from the discord (which. no you didn't) #THAT ONE was in greyscale bc i was trying to save time bc i literally rushed that in more or less one sitting #and colouring in greyscale is just.. pretty intuitive for me for whatever reason so i just did it so i thought it would be faster #idk fun fact i guess #art I made

[itspileofgoodthings]

I know I’m talking to an empty theater here but the writing on that episode of Lark Rise to Candleford where Robert loses his tools (and so the means to feed his family) and is facing destitution and then runs into the young guy who’s in love with his daughter and then uses the moment not to take out all his angst and anger on Fisher but to ask him if he’s ready for all that marriage and staying and giving up his life on the road actually means thus forcing Fisher to admit that he isn’t ready for it—-

!!!!!!!!

#and it’s just so brilliant because we’ve watched Robert suffer so deeply the entire episode #because of how crushing the weight of parental responsibility and poverty can be!!! #and he sees this guy that loves his daughter but has no understanding of the life that that love could and should and will lead him to #if he chooses to stay. this guy who’s just living in the moment and in the feelings of the moment but whose love is not strong enough #to endure the sacrifice that would be required of. well. ordinary married life in a small town! #and Robert uses all his wisdom to force him to admit that he’s not ready for it and doesn’t want it #and then it gets even more brilliant! because after Fisher leaves and Laura is heartbroken and angry #he presents her with the same reality/question but from HER side #her being like ‘how dare you make him not stay’ and Robert being like ‘and did I force you not to go with him?’ #‘were YOU ready to give up your whole life and world for him? to make it work? or did you want your life AND him’ #it’s the have your cake and eat it too truth in this case. their lives didn’t fit together and their love was real in a way #but not real enough to weld their different lives together without both of them hating each other in the end #idk it’s just BRILLIANT and I love it so much #because it unfolds so truthfully and all of the pieces of the story fold into each other so that it a) hits exactly as hard as it should #and b) reveals the truths of things so clearly and so accurately #Robert is so annoying so much of the time but he was a fatherly icon in this ep #lark rise to candleford