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rwrbficrecs · 2 months

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We’ll Invite Something In by @smc-27 (book-verse)

@dot524: This is a fandom favorite and for good reason. In this canon divergence AU, Alex is President, Henry is out, and they never got together in their 20s. Instead, they encounter each other in their late 30s and a very different type of relationship ensues. They still hide it at first, but there’s a lot of living that they both have done and need to work through. I really enjoyed the character dynamics here and how the premise changed both Alex and Henry, making them bolder and more mature. Definitely read this one!

Eyes Blue, Like the Atlantic by bleedingballroomfloor (book-verse)

@dot524: A Titanic AU! Adapted by an excellent writer, this one has suspense, action, romance, and intrigue. There is a MCD (Main Character Death) in here and some other tags to be aware of, but also vibrant scenes with dancing, chasing, art, and formal wear. I really enjoyed it!

Clean Slate by @smc-27 (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: This was just so excellent. I devoured it in no time, couldn't put it down. I love the way Alex just slips into Henry's life like a silk glove even though Henry has his hesitations. There's abslutely no angst at all other than "you're too young for me" "no, next question" I love it. I love Henry finally feeling young for the first time. I think that is something that Henry generally feels after meeting Alex, like he's never been able to, no matter at what point in life he is. ANYWAY I'm talking about Henry way too much again for a rec. Read this.

Most People Exist by @sprigsofviolets (book-verse)

@na-dineee: Henry, 30, is a nurse on a cancer ward. From the very first moment he feels an intense connection and attraction to his newest patient, the one who has a brain tumor and is named Alexander Claremont-Diaz. - The tags say it all: "Falling in love, Slow Burn, Angst with a happy ending, Hurt/Comfort". After reading this story I am a whole new person. I laughed and cried, had butterflies in my stomach, I felt it all. Hands down one of the best fics I've ever read!

after hours by @dumbpeachjuice (book-verse)

@na-dineee: How much can happen in a few hours? stutteringpeach: Hold my beer. 😅🤝 Reading this was truly a roller coaster ride, my stomach was doing somersaults non-stop: On his last evening in New York, poet Henry meets bartender Alex and the two spend the night together - in true "Before Sunrise" style. To sum it all up: enchanting, sweet, phenomenal, iconic!

No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue) Oil on Canvas by @captainjunglegym (book-verse)

@zwiazdziarka: This fic is so twisted and surprising in the best way! The summary did not prepare me for all the action that comes after the initial relationship drama and I'd really like to fawn over it some more but I don't want to spoil the fun of figuring out what really is going on and what are characters' motivations. Just give it a try.

Meet the Parents (series) by @14carrotghoul (book-verse)

@dot524: I really enjoyed these thoughtful character studies of Ellen and Oscar. The two short stories are a series of canon vignettes from Oscar and Ellen’s POV. These glimpses of the Claremont-Diaz parents add heart and depth to the RWRB canon, giving insight about how Ellen and Oscar think about parenthood, power, family, and each other.

Leave The World Better Than You Found It: A BONES AU by @treluna4 (book/movie-verse)

@myheartalivewrites: I really enjoyed this FirstPrince meets procedural TV show fic! With Alex as Booth and Henry as Brennan, they learn to work together, solve crimes--and fall in love, of course. Plus take down a very satisfying book villain.

No Laughing Matter by @inexplicablymine (book-verse)

@suseagull04: This fic is absolutely hysterical- a must read if you need something to cheer you up! It's also very relatable for anyone who, like me, has said things they've regretted in all the best ways!

in summer air by @acdsbff (book-verse)

@na-dineee: I need a vacation and vitamin D - maybe that's why this series (both POVs are covered 🥰) captivated me so much?! It is set on a Greek island, where Alex, just cheated on by his boyfriend, meets hotel owner Henry. What follows is a whirlwind speedrun romance against a beautiful backdrop. Really therapeutic for the heart on dreary days!!

here is a map (with your name as a capital) by @alasse9 (book-verse)

@dot524: What an incredible surprise to have this entire 50k story drop at once. In this canon divergent story, Alex and Henry start getting to know each other in Rio, when Alex helps him recover from a panic attack. Their friendship, and later their relationship, is a delightful slow burn with funny moments, heartbreak, and steady support of each other. I thoroughly enjoyed this start to finish — the characterization of both Alex and Henry is on point and I really enjoyed how the writer changed some of the scenes from the book while keeping key callbacks. A delight.

Claremont 2008 by @happiness-of-the-pursuit (book-verse)

@suseagull04: This friends to lovers AU is done so well! Having Henry and Alex meet as kids means we get years of their friendship before they even start dating, and it gives every aspect of their relationship so much depth through this entire fic. It also gives some events only referenced in the novel a completely different perspective, which makes them even better!

keep me in the moment (don't it feel so real?) by @anincompletelist (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: I absolutely love everything that comes out of Sarah's magic little fingers and this was no exception. Alex and Henry are best friends and pinning over eache other unknowingly and an accidental lil discovery turns their relationship upside-down (for the better) absolutely recommended. I honestly loved it so much.

you know i can't be found with you by @dumbpeachjuice (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: This was SO much fun. Alex was RELENTLESS and I absolutely love an older Henry. It was also very fucking funny. 10/10

the great duck fiasco by @alexclaremont-diaz (book-verse)

@suseagull04: A spy AU, dating apps, and Alex's Texas roots combine in the funniest way possible- definitely read this if you want a good laugh!

#monthly faves #rwrb fic recs #firstprince #firstprince fic recs

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larkingame · 5 months

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so, i don't usually crosspost these posts, but this week's update on patreon is available to everyone and I know I have a bit of a larger following on tumblr, and I'd really like everyone on the same page so I'm dropping all I have to say here too.

good evening friends!! i hope you're all doing well! welcome to the first update of 2024. momentous for me personally, because this is the year we finish larkin. i am making this post available to all patrons, (paid or not) because I'd really like to start 2024 on the right foot with everyone aware of the road ahead. i am so determined to get it done you have no idea. this is my year. 2024, i christen thee: the year of the vampire cowboy.

okay, so big things ahead, lets talk about the update, explore some of the features we have in the game, plans for this weekends release, the schedule and a couple other things.

so, if you've played at all with the new version of the game, you'll take notice that it's a little bit different than my first image of the game. at first larkin was just a straight interactive fiction following the likes of cog like games, with choices and avenues and split stats and the like. but now, as of 2024 (crazy) we're seeing a game that is more reminiscent of a ttrpg, like dnd or cyberpunk, with stats, classes and dice rolls. admittedly, the very first encounter of the game is well (it's a little rigged) the game, of course, could not really get started if the preacher gets cooked before they've even made it to nevada, so, the odds are a little bit stacked in the players favor this round, but at least, it gives you a little bit of a taste of whats to come. to dive into the specifics of what's important with this first encounter (or just, how to avoid getting your ass really kicked) these first few rolls give bonuses to players with high dexterity and athleticism—-but that's not to say you need to make your character beefed up in these departments. each stat will get their time to shine later down the line.

but let's talk about what i'm really excited to discuss: classes. so with the new version of larkin, i've introduced a system of classes that operate somewhat like your standard dungeons and dragons class, but with a little bit more of that classic background from the original ttrpg mixed in—coloring the way your character sees the world of the game, sort of how a race might effect a dnd character--(a dwarf player is going to have a much different worldview than say, an elf.) for this i was heavily inspired by games like dragon age origins and baldur's gate, and while I do have those original background ready to be dropped a little bit later on the game in relation to your character's perspectives on the abrams family, I really like how these have come to form.

in total there are seven new classes: con-man, outlaw, healer, thief, gambler, showman and slayer. each of these classes warps the perspective of the player character, giving them new motivations, dialogue options, and affects their relationships with the other characters in the game and the world around them. to illustrate this, I'm thinking of making a little bit more of an in depth explanation screen to be added to saturday's update to really get that point across, but I'm still toying with how I want to phrase the specifics of it. what i might do is something similar to baldur's gate with little pop-up tutorials that can be turned off/on depending on how you'd like to play.

to give an example of some of the more in depth motivations/choices each class offers lets talk about the thief and the outlaw classes. the thief class i am especially excited for, because like the con-man class and similar to a few others, it really allows your character to be very money/materialistically motivated. it opens up routes later in the game, like romancing one of the sokolovs—with motivations reminiscent of gold-digging (hehehe very excited for that—i think it will be very fun to write—because you have this idea of a cold hearted player who is entering into a relationship with them strictly for business, versus a cold hearted player who is in it for the cash but also. might be falling in love with one of the sokolovs? ((a lot of fun dynamics afoot here.)) the outlaw class is also one i'm excited to work with because it really puts something of a strain on the preacher and wyatt's relationship—-mostly because you see a strong division in terms of their ethics—the preacher in that case is very 'do what you gotta do to survive,' whereas wyatt believes (key word—believes) he's living by some sort of moral code—that he's failed to instill in the person he views as his child. so like there are layers here boys. layers of resentment, failure—to connect, to teach, to bond. a final tidbit about the slayer class before I move on: if you would really like to play into the enemies to lovers trope with one of the vampires, I would highly recommend giving your player this class ((that's all I'll say))

so: saturday, that takes us to the bar, where each class will get a unique scene, similar to how the scheming tactic section worked in the original game. we're gonna finish up the encounter with the first vampires, meet our guild pursuers and move to the bar. I'm planning also to implement the character customization here—(sort of a way to prep before the player heads out to the bar.) most likely won't get to all classes by saturday's code, but after that, I'm planning to release again on next wednesday, so we're keeping on track. I'd really like to give a full picture of customization for the player character, with all the original options for physical appearance (i might keep clothes vague for now though and let you dress your character later on, until you get a taste of the inventory/bartering system-—you have to deal with MY poor fashion choices for a little bit.) but that being said, about character customization, if there's something that's lacking here and you'd like to suggest an addition I'd be all ears. This is what I'm planning to implement so far:

skin tone

body type*

hair color

hair texture

hair length

hair style**

height

skin details (acne, scars, vitiligo, rosacea)

facial hair

make-up

piercings

eyewear (glasses, no glasses, eyepatch, prosthetic eye)

gender-affirming customization (for ex. use of binding)

* a note on the body type section, I kind of had this idea of digitally drawing some silhouettes of different heights, shapes and sizes, and allowing the player to click through arrows to select a rough estimation of what their body-type might look like. I'm going to do an art dump later this month, and I have a few sketches of what I'd kinda like to do with that, but I'm still toying with it, because even that could be a little limiting in terms of options. if any of you had thoughts on that, I'd love to hear them.

**I think it might also be cool to kind of have drawings of different hairstyles available to the characters, arranged in the card formats like the previous gender options in that same red colored sketch format.

speaking of art though--and this is purely tangential so I apologize, I'm sure you've taken notice of some of the art being repetitive--for the moment that's purposeful. I'm planning to commission some work for the cards to be implemented in a later update--so what you're seeing are just placeholders for now.

okay! with saturday's notes out of the way, plans for the rest of the week. I need to finish the timeline and then I need to make it readable to people other than myself. it is currently incomprehensible and of the few people that have gotten their eyes on it only one (1) could make sense of my mad ramblings. (shout out to friend of the game bianca from exiled from court if any of you are familiar with her or her stuff, we are big bianca fans here.) After that I need to do some edits with the new update and such, and poke at the code.

Tonight after I post this, I'm specifically working on sending a few more emails to betas (know that sending emails is. my personal hell because of intense social anxiety. BUT we must persevere. emails will be sent tonight.) after that, I have to work on the phillip/kc/sam schedule + calendar for this month, just to keep the three of us on the same page. I'm in the process of looking at some stamps.com printers for sending out packages with this next round of physical rewards and ordering the merch (hehehe)

okay. super long update for our first one of the year, but I am so excited to get to keep working with you guys :) i'd like to thank you all for your continued support and I can't wait to show you more of the little universe i've crafted :)

until friday! i'm gonna be posting some cyrus asks/scenarios for you all to enjoy, so look forward to that! <3

#larkin if #devlog #patreon

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aspiringtrashpanda · 6 months

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✨Fic Rec✨ - Divergent Fist 🍙💍

Buckle up, Inuokko enjoyers! It's time to check out Divergent Fist! If this story doesn't already have you in a chokehold, constantly on the edge of your seat, then it's time to dedicate a whole afternoon getting caught up. Make a tea, grab your weighted blanket, and read the 12 current chapters of this incredible doujinshi.

RATED M. Content Warnings - Canon-typical violence and gore, post-Shibuya incident, sexual content, lots of angst, trauma and related physical and emotional reactions (AKA Toge has no food left in his stomach).

Divergent Fist follows the stories of Toge Inumaki and Yuuta Okkotsu, navigating the world of jujutsu sorcerers, trauma and healing, and budding romance in the aftermath of the Shibuya incident. Expertly balancing the soft moments with the devastating, ArtMop (she/her) is in the midst of crafting a doujin that is sure to stand the test of time and become a classic for any fans of BL in the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom.

To start off, I'd like to be transparent that yes, I do edit ArtMop's chapters and help with the general planning of the series. I have a clear bias. That being said, I genuinely believe that this doujin is not getting the attention it deserves, and I just want to shout my love for it from the top of a mountain. Let me give a hardworking creator some love, okay?

First off, let's talk about the #1 selling point of DF - it is an illustrated fanfic that updates regularly and is accessible entirely for free. What more could you possibly ask for? You wanted more Toge content? More Yuuta content? Well, here you go!

It is worth noting that the art itself, despite being above average to begin with, improves drastically throughout the story. The anatomy, expressions, and details in the last few chapters are breathtaking. With each installment in the DF series, ArtMop improves and improves and improves. I, personally, wait with bated breath for the drop of the next color cover, the next insert art. There doesn't seem to be a ceiling in sight when it comes to ArtMop's swiftly growing skill, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for her. If she applies a fraction of the same dedication to honing her craft to anything else in her life, she may become the next president... or something far cooler.

Stunning visuals aside, the story itself is magnificent. It integrates canon world building, mixed with original cursed techiques and characters, so seamlessly that it feels as though this is an actual spin-off of Jujutsu Kaisen. Perhaps an alternate universe where underutilized characters are given a bit more depth (shots fired 👈😎👈)?

The character arcs have been set in motion! We have Toge refusing to acknowledge his trauma. We have Yuuta's sexual awakening. We have a deeper look into Maki's friendship with Toge, and a delightful duo of new first years. And best of all? We have a villain with an interesting motive. It's clear that ArtMop has so much planned, more than we can possibly imagine! We are already starting to see how relationships are developing, how each character manages the aftermath of certain choices differently, and the story is only going to build from here.

Chapter 12 has just been posted on Tapas and Tumblr, and if you're craving even more Divergent Fist content, there are even a couple behind the scenes moments found on Archive of Our Own. Listen, as someone who knows the trajectory of the story, please check out this amazing series. You may be chewing your nails (like Toge) waiting for the next chapter, but I promise you that being along for the ride is part of the journey, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Okay, ramble over! Thank you for listening! Here, have a cute trio pic from the cover of Chapter 8:

Huge thank you to @artmopworks for this incredible work, and for letting me scream about her doujin. 💕

#inuokko #ottoge #inumaki toge #yuuta okkotsu #toge x yuuta #doujinshi #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jujutsu kaisen fanart #artmopworks #seriously this is so good #please check it out #editor privileges so i know what happens next #and trust me you want to be along for the ride

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nevesmose · 2 months

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Nostraman Nature Sucks: An Attempted Lore Post

Ave dominus nox Night Lords fans. I thought I'd take some time to go through the various NL stories I have to hand and see what I could find out about the animals that lived on Nostramo. Might come in useful for something, who knows?

Sharks and Whales

As a child, on several coastal journeys with his father, he had witnessed the eyeless barrasal sharks that would group together to hunt the great whales of the open ocean. (Night Lords Trilogy)

His voice filters into something savage and predatory, as hungry as the eyeless white sharks of Nostramo’s blackest depths. (The Long Night)

Not a big surprise since they talk about them fairly often and have the Space Sharks as a successor chapter but Nostramo does have sharks. Pretty gnarly-sounding sharks if I'm honest.

I didn't know what "barrasal" meant, so I looked it up and only found one thread on r/40klore that had the same quote in it as above. Hmm.

Assuming it's not a typo or a more straightforward reference to something I'm just not getting, I'd venture a guess that barrasal, understood here to mean of or relating to "barras" like with "abyssal" could be connected to the French Revolutionary leader Paul Barras who is mostly remembered for supporting Napoleon's rise to power before being overthrown by him.

So maybe the older barrasal sharks will make use of younger ones as temporary hunting partners only to be inevitably betrayed and consumed by them. Sounds about right I think.

As for the whales, where do I even begin? I would imagine they're "whales" in name only like in Dishonored:

This does imply the possible existence of a whaling industry at some stage in Nostramo's history, though.

Crows

Jago reached into his pockets, offering a handful of breadcrumbs. Come, he said to the crows. Food for tonight. Flesh, flesh, flesh, they called back. He laughed as several of the black birds landed on his shoulders and outstretched arm. (Prince Of Crows)

‘Yes. I’ve seen them in books. Is a crow a type of bird?’ ‘Black of feather and dark of eye. It feeds on the bodies of the dead, and sings in a raw, croaking caw.’ (TLN)

Breaking news - legion that keeps referring to crows in shocking has crows on its homeworld scandal. "This is outrageous," said local Nostraman cutpurse and skin disease enthusiast Verxaglryn Quickstabber, "here we are trying to make a good name for Nostramo as a respectable hellhole, a place you'd be proud to exile your worst enemy to, and yet we're surrounded by some of the most intelligent and curious birds in existence. I was shanking someone in a back alley the other night and suddenly I saw a crow learning how to use rudimentary tools! Not on my watch, I said to the rapidly cooling body, and I threw my shiv at it. But it just flew away." At this point Mr Quickstabber was obliged to end the interview due to having been eviscerated by the Night Haunter.

I know their communication with Sevatar is happening in a dream but I really like the idea of the crows adapting to Nostramo by developing some kind of psychic hive mind that's also able to be understood by human psykers.

Crag Cougars

A beast of my home world. When next you see one of the Atramentar, look to their shoulder guards. The roaring lions on their pauldrons are what we called crag cougars on Nostramo. It was considered a mark of wealth for gang bosses to be able to leave the cities and hunt such creatures. (NLT)

Every single one of them is Scar from the Lion King, isn't it? An interesting hint about Nostramo's geography though, of which more later.

Rats

Groundcars whisked by, headlights brighter than deep-hive rats’ eyes, the occupants snug and safe behind armoured glass. (Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter)

No surprises here either. Where there's people there's rats after all.

Something with tusks?

The older Astartes grinned, wolf-like and keen, as the Atramentar either side of the Exalted’s throne growled through their tusked helms. (NLT)

This isn't that conclusive because a lot of Chaos Terminators have tusks no matter what legion they are, but Nostramo being Nostramo they probably belonged to a species of giant carnivorous mammoth that ate babies and sprayed acid from its trunk.

Cows? On My Sunless World?

‘They are still of standard human stock, and not to be mourned. What does it matter if the cattle fear the herdsman?’ hissed Krukesh the Pale. (KC:TNH)

This one's a real reach on my part as it's very likely just a turn of phrase, but I noticed it because wouldn't it be slightly more typical to use a sheep metaphor here? Plus it supports the existence of Nostraman cowboys/ranchers/vaqueros which is fun.

No bats?

His helmet bore a new, spread batwing crest in blatant imitation of Sevatar’s own. (A Safe and Shadowed Place)

A sole space was neat: a circle around an iron lectern fashioned in the form of a bat’s outflung wings, which carried a heavy book bound in human skin. (KC:TNH)

Although they appear a lot in the VIII legion's iconography and artwork, oddly enough I wasn't actually able to find a direct reference to Nostramo itself having bats. Let's cover my ass by saying this aspect might therefore have been brought in by the legion's Terran component instead.

Some Nostraman geography

The Hill Folk lived away from the cities, eking out an existence in the mountains. (NLT)

What's worse than living in a Nostraman city? Living on a Nostraman hill, apparently. This seems to just be an idea of ADB's that doesn't come up again but I've always found it quite interesting. Were the Hill Folk as scummy as the City Folk, just with more of a down-home Dukes of Hazzard vibe? Seems likely.

This also supports the idea of Nostramo not being completely urbanised like some Hive Worlds are. In my view its continents might have had a geographical layout a bit like Italy or Scotland where the cities are mainly on the flatter coasts with a more sparsely populated hilly/mountainous interior.

What else? (This part is just me making stuff up so feel free to ignore it. I'm not ADB, I'm not even ADB's hat.)

If the rest of Nostramo's marine life is anything like the sharks and whales then it's fucking terrifying. I would imagine, because it's funny, that a lot of Nostraman food features disgusting industrially-processed fish in some way or another. Like the food in Dishonored but even worse.

Is something wrong, dearest offworld husband? You haven't touched your stale bread, whalemeat and jellied eels.

Since all life on Nostramo seems to be comically carnivorous and aggressive, it would make sense in a 40K kind of way for there to be giant predatory penguins living at one or both of its poles. A bit like the monstrous blind albino penguins HP Lovecraft wrote about.

Last known infrared pict-capture of an early Nostraman settler attempting communication with a juvenile specimen of the native penguin species. There were no survivors.

#ended up mentioning Dishonored a lot #fine by me I love Dishonored #shall we gather for whisky and cigars tonight?#warhammer lore #wh40k #warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k #night lords #nostramo #neves loreposts

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tiny-tk · 2 months

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hi friends !! bit of a different post this time, but i wanna talk about disney and it’s place in the agere community.

i won’t get into specifics, but events in palestine r making a lot of people (including me) decide to boycott disney by not doing anything that lets them make money. if you don’t know about this, i rly rly encourage you to do ur own research (ideally while not in little space since it’s .. very rough topics) and make ur own choice on wether or not u wanna support them after knowing the full story of what’s going on n disney’s involvement.

this post is for littles who feel conflicted by the calls for a boycott!!

first of all, i know it can be scary to find out that something you’ve been giving money to for merch or subscriptions or whatever is going to a bad place. but no one is blaming you for that, and if you didn’t know then you didn’t know. but you can always change!!

"why are people boycotting disney?"

i won't go in depth to keep this post little-safe, but essentially the israeli military is currently doing terrible things to the people of palestine, and disney is helping them fund and promote it. here's a couple links that go more in-depth if you want to learn, but i'd recommend not reading them while regressed:

https://insidethemagic.net/2023/11/disney-israel-palestine-boycott-jc1/

https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2023/12/column-why-boycotting-for-palestine-gaza-is-important-opinion-vanderhorst#:~:text=There%20are%20currently%20three%20main,financially%20or%20through%20public%20statements.

but i mostly encourage you to try n find out on your own, rather than listening to some random tumblr user about it.

“but disney is a huge comfort source for me.”

this doesn’t have to change. you don’t have to stop liking their movies n shows. you don’t have to stop loving your toys or books of disney characters. if something brings you comfort, that is sacred, and no one can take that away. a lot of disney media made me who i am today, and yet i’m still writing this post against the company, these things can both be true !!

similarly, agere is a safe space for so many people, which can be used to justify supporting things that really don't deserve our support, since people want to protect themselves by not finding out why. put bluntly, people knowing that there are problems, but choosing to ignore them, is part of the problem itself. if you feel at all capable of educating yourself, please do. it's so important.

“ok, so what can i do?”

if you’ve decided to join the boycott, that’s wonderful!! all that is being asked, is to not spend money on anything from disney. so branded food, toys, a disney+ subscription, stuff like that. if you’re used to doing that a lot, here’s some alternatives!

. :+* get disney toys second hand - they’re pre-loved!! they’ve already started a life with someone, and they’re eager to continue it with a new kid

. :+* pirate shows n movies instead !! this can be a little tricky to figure out, but it’s how i watch pretty much everything hehe, and can be a lot of fun! alternatively, you could just borrow a friend’s subscription or buy dvds second hand if you have a dvd player.

. :+* get merch from independent sellers. this way, you still get brand new things with ur favorite disney characters, but you also get to support independent creators n not support disney the brand !! also, these are often higher quality than official products too, which is like bonus points.

. :+* if you're posting about somethin disney related, add a note that lets people know that you don't support the brand n encourages ppl to find out why for themselves

it’s a tough change to make, but any help is better than no help. if you aren’t sure what i’m talking about, please do your own research. the scale of what’s happening in palestine is huge, and boycott movements like this have been proven to cause real positive change in the past. i won’t get mad at anyone for choosing not to boycott, but it’s important to me that as many people as possible consciously make that choice for themselves, instead of blindly following a company that’s using their money to hurt people.

hearing about terrible things happening is exhausting, regardless of how much you're doing to help. but try to remember that any action is better than nothing, especially with activism, and keep doing whatever you can. <3 take care of yourselves friends !!

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readreactrant · 2 months

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'Tale of Winter and Spring' another goyuu arranged marriage fic that might just become a fave despite some reservations of mine!!! Let me explain!!! (Rec Review and thoughts)

This review was so sweetly requested by the actual author and lovely mutual of mine @star2112 (really love their name for some reason). So with that context and their permission I'll be going a bit more in depth, and letting them know where I feel they could improve upon. I do keep in mind that many ao3 authors aren't from the pro writing background so I'll be super gentle.

But before we get to that I will give you a quick summary and listing out the fic's strong points (and there are a lot (✿ ♡‿♡)

CW for review and the story itself: there will be spoilers in this rev so if you want to read it before hearing my thoughts go ahead and follow the link in the title. The story involves mpreg, omegaverse and dub con.)

Tale of Winter and Spring is set in historical Japan as all good fics should be, where Yuuji is given away to Gojo by his older brother Sukuna. Thing is Yuuji is in love with next heir of the Zenin clan, Megumi and he's very, very, very unhappy with what's happening. Nevertheless he goes through it all with some very un-Yuuji like gloom )don't worry, we'll get to that). Its an ongoing fic so we don't know the end or which direction the plot itself is taking but for now there's a whole lot of intrigue and hints of Geto coming into the picture to ruin (or maybe not ruin) everything happening.

There's a handful of things that made this story a bit challenging to read but one of the many things I have to give props to is the development of the FushIta relationship side of Yuuji's story. I don't hate FushIta but it's one of many jjk ships that makes me grit my my teeth when it's not a side story in a goyuu ntr fic. So reading the development of their bond here… actually made me kick my feet a bit, is the author a FushIta shipper in disguise??? We'll never know ig ¯_(ツ)_/¯

There's the flashback scene where they're talking about books they read and after some banter Yuuji's like,

"hey megumi… in the future, let's go North, and see if those demons are real or not."

And I felt that, especially since Yuuji does end up going North (Gojo's Clan location if I remember correctly) but Megumi isn't there with him and it's much colder and lonely for him since he can't relate to Satoru at all.

Genuinely almost sobbed ಥ‿ಥ

Another thing I did enjoy was Sukuna's backstory and part of me really wanted more of it and him. It's said he got his hands dirty but I'd love to know what exactly this entails as it would really add more depth to the evilness of his character which is mostly told but not shown. It's easy to so say oh this character does evil things and imply that constantly but harder to display those evil things and show them doing the tragedies that solidify them in the reader's mind like 'yeah, this dude is the worst'. Example, Sukuna throughout the entirety of jjk lollll.

And there was an opportunity for the story to show one of such things which I'll get to in the critique part of this review.

I also really love the characterization which is very important you're making and alternate world. You don't always have to put characters in roles they'll fit but one thing I do like is when a they reflect that role with their canon personalities. And I know someone's already going "well fanon doesn't care about canon" which is fine and true but realistically many fanfic readers, myself included aren't into ooc content. What counts as ooc does vary from person to person tho, especially bc different people interpret characters differently.

Despite the various interpretations there is a common way a character is viewed and enjoyed, which is why, despite how much I enjoyed reading, there was something about Yuuji that constantly…called out to me.

I'm getting into the critique section now to talk about that. Where the writing shines in dialogue and interesting world building, it's kind of falls back in consistency.

Somewhere at the start, in the wedding scene, Utahime says they all have high expectations of Yuuji putting Gojo in his place with kind of indicates a firey kind of attitude but up until this point Yuuji has being quiet and avoidant and kind of continues to be until some of the later chapters. So it's weird she puts this responsibility on him when his character hasn't shown any signs of it. It's not one of more glaring instances but it's one that precedes a few others.

There's another part where Yuuji apologizes for speaking angrily, but Gojo says he doesn't have to because he knows he's the problem. Yuuji's internal thoughts proceed to view that as his apology being discarded which don't exactly make sense to me and ends up feeling like he's looking for reasons to be nitpicky at this point.

Character building isn't a huge problem but it's always the little things that manage add to the overall picture. There's a scene where Sukuna wants to take Yuuji to the Zenin clan and Wasuke doesn't want him to bc everyone thinks Sukuna wants to sell him off. Thing is Sukuna says he's not depraved enough to use an omega child like that but in my opinion it would have done his story and Yuuji's a greater service for him openly consider it and hold that over Yuuji's head for good behavior. He's evil, even if he'd actually never do it, evil people say evil shit.

With all this talk about characters it's time I finally expand on what really got to me and that would be Yuuji. My baby boy is literally all over the place. Yuuji canonically is a very social characters, eager to please and more ready than usual to give other's the benefit of a doubt. Here he's very quick to judge and overly guarded to me.

Now, I'm not saying has to overly friendly either but there's a balance that could struck with him not insulting or assuming things of Gojo constantly, and yeah the white haired bastard doesn't make it especially easy but one of Yuuji's admirable traits is his fortitude and patience with those around him.

Nevertheless, a part of me does think this was a stylistic choice to convey the disparity of Yuuji's behavior with his two love interests; Yuuji is only truly his best self with Megumi and the worst with Gojo. And understanding this, I was able to look past his behavior with the hope and interest of seeing both him and Gojo warm up to each other.

Also, did I mention it's still a mystery why Gojo asked for Yuuji's hand in marriage. Either that or it was mentioned that it's bc of his scent and I forgot (I've been through a lot this week forgive me (〒﹏〒)

My final critique is the writing structure and grammar. Grammar and writing are like 80% of a fic for me. If I don't vibe, no matter how interesting the concept I just might not read.

Thing is, I do vibe with Star2112's writing a lot, it simple yet beautiful in the way in which it conveys the emotions and moods of the story and characters. I enjoyed reading the scene where Yuuji freaks out cuz Gojo didn't spend the wedding night with him and now it may harm his reputation and Sukuna's. I enjoyed every FushIta interaction and I most definitely enjoyed when towards the ending of chapter 8, Yuuji allows Gojo to touch his belly and feel the baby while the Alpha spoke it (also Gojo wants to be a girl dad and that made me throw my phone across the room screaming cuz cuuuute (●♡∀♡)!!!!)

What I didn't enjoy was the structure of the sentences.

"Sentences work like this," Ren says. ✅

" Not like this, " They add. ❌

Figuring out how dialogue and quotations work are a big step for every author's writing journey, it's common not to know if you end with commas of full stops but for the most part, that doesn't really matter. Leave no spaces between the quoted sentence and the quotations marks and always start a new statement with a capital, doesn't matter if it was a continuation of what they were saying in a previous sentence.

Capital.

Grammar-wise, there were a lot of frequent errors but none to glaring and they could all be fixed with a more thorough read through. It can be pretty hard without a beta reader bestie but I believe you, there's so much talent for you not to give the best reading experience you're able to.

Overall, this is definitely a fic I would recommend to avid arranged marriage goyuu fans that love the DRAMA (and if you're like me who likes to read Megumi getting cucked, tho it's not exactly cheating here we'll manage ( ꈍᴗꈍ)💕

At the end of the day, a lot of this advice is partly objective, all authors are free to take what they feel they want to work on and leave the rest. Or leave it all because what matters about writing and fanfiction is that you enjoy what you do. Other's enjoying it is just a bonus/by product.

And to Star2112, you're doing so good, keep it up, I'm subbed and ready to see more, especially if I'll get to read goyuu raising their kid or kids, I'm a sucker for 'oop it's twins'. I'd also encourage you to read more books outside fanfic if you don't if you're still interested in dialogue and sentence structure. You have a strong voice and I think working on your weak points will really amplify that. I'm honored you came to me and hope I was able to help.

If anyone else wants to request, recommendations and reviews are kinda two different things. If you Recommend me a fic and I may or may not talk about it, depends. If you request I Review (for analysis and advice) a fic it has to be yours and you'll have to prove it to me. Depending on what you want I'll either write a post or just let you know my thoughts privately. DMs open so don't be shy.

Thanks for sticking to the end, go check out Star's work to get in on that action and happy Easter my precious freaks!!!

Ps: will edit this later, my brain is literally on fire, bye lovelies (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

#fanfiction #anime #ao3fic #ao3 author #jjk #gojo satoru #itadori yuuji #omegaverse #smut fic #jjk smut #fic writing #fic rec #goyuu #writeblr

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 8 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/goldenfoot/730129219314663424/i-was-considering-recently-how-kataras-necklace thoughts ??

*sighs* Okay, let's do this.

"Katara didn't go into detail about her grief during her bonding moments with the other guys"

1 - The reason Katara brought up her mom during these moments was because she could relate to the pain, say, Aang and Haru were feeling, and wanted to comfort THEM. When you're trying to help someone, you can bring up your experiences, but you don't make it all about you.

2 - Katara first started talking to Zuko about her mom in Ba Sing Se because she felt he was trying to diminish the suffering the war his nation/family started. She literally starts with a "How dare you?" And in the Southern Raiders, she only chose to talk to Zuko about it after a long time of them traveling on a mission specifically to hunt down Kya's killer. Of course it came up and felt like the right moment to discuss it a bit more in depth.

3 - The Southern Raiders was part of Zuko's life-changing field trips with his new friends, with them bonding - it would not make sense to NOT have him bond with them in ways that were different with how they all had bonded with each other before because it'd get boring to watch.

4 - Talking about traumatic events can be VERY difficult. Sokka didn't really discuss his trauma about his mom dying until book 3 - it's not that weird that Katara did the same.

5 - I'd argue that her talk with Haru WAS pretty in depth. It was only focusing more on the bond she had with her mom BEFORE the tragedy, not the tragedy itself.

"Zuko is the only one that 'wore' the necklace as well, symbolizing his in depth understanding of Katara's pain"

Zuko didn't have the necklace in his pocket, but rather on his wrist, because this is a TV series, and the whole point is that we should SEE things that will be significant in the episode.

Zuko had that necklace in the first place because HE STOLE IT. She did not trust him with it, did not allow him to touch, and show frames him getting it as NEGATIVE thing. It could NEVER be a symbol of any kind of trust or friendship (let alone romance) between him and Katara, because it was a way to show HOW ZUKO COULD AND WOULD HURT HER! Him stealing it, taunting her with it is literally another cruel reminder to Katara that even after taking away her mom, the Fire Nation STILL could take away even the little things that gave Katara comfort after all of that - see Zuko trying to capture/kill the boy Katara explicitly called FAMILY.

Even worse, while he did do a good thing by helping Katara confront the man that killed Kya, Zuko did it for all the wrong reasons. He came up with some bullshit theory of how Katara was TOTALLY not mad at him for essentially handing the victory to the Fire Nation and nearly killing Aang in the process, but was in fact "unfairly" shifting blame for her mom's death onto him (like "I lost my mom" wasn't exactly what they were bonding about before he stabbed her in the back).

Sure, by the end he was genuinely thinking of what he thought was justice, but that doesn't change the fact that at start he literally used her trauma to get her forgiveness because he thought he deserved it already (not to mention, having Zuko, the boy who was banished for trying to DEFEND the soldiers of his nation, suddenly be okay with killing one of them because of past horrible actions, like he was not doing the same thing two weeks before, is one of the WORST aspects of an otherwise pretty good episode).

"Zuko is the only one to wear the symbol of Katara's trauma, like she's the only one to touch his scar, showing their connection"

*Dies laughing* My guy, Mai was nuzzling said scar every other episode, which Zuko seemed to like quite a lot. Stop lying.

Also, Katara touched it to try to heal it - after Zuko had just told her he no longer resented it being there as he no longer felt that scar defined him as a person. While Katara's intention was sweet, that kinda shows how, even during a bonding moment, she and Zuko are NOT on the same page.

"Why was Zuko mentioned during the flirty Kataang moment?"

This is what people call a "joke." The show is making fun of the idea of Zuko giving Katara that necklace back and getting a kiss in return because the writers considered the thought that absurd. Hence the sarcastic tone, and hence Katara kissing AANG. The guy that actually gave her the necklace back with good intentions.

(Seriously, IMAGINE using "Sure, the show is actively making fun of the idea of Zuko and Katara bonding because of that necklace, and showing us how she's into Aang, but this is TOTALLY secretly proving how great Zutara is, trust me" as an argument).

#anti zutara #pro kataang

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detransdamnation · 3 months

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hey, i'm a transgender person who came across your blog while looking through some tags. i don't necessarily agree with much of your views (i'm very much not a gender critical), but your posts have given me a new perspective on detransitioners. i didn't hold any animosity towards them before (or much of an opinion at all really), but my understanding of them didn't have much depth. i just wanted to say that i feel a great amount of empathy for you. transitioning might have not been the answer for you, but i hope someday your dysphoria dissipates and you're able to find peace. you aren't a freak for pursuing a path that didn't end up being right for you, you simply tried to alleviate your dysphoria in the only way you knew how to. i'm sorry it didn't work out. and i'm sorry so many of my peers treat detransitioners with vitriol when we really should be extending our support to them. i apologize if this came off as me pitying your situation. i'm not good at conveying words through text, but i just want you to know that my sentiments are genuine. i'm sure this is kind of a weird thing to get in your inbox (probably even weirder coming from a transgender person, sorry). i suppose we're at odds with each other, but i hope you are able to find happiness and someone who will love you for you.

Thank you so much for this message, sweet. One of the driving forces in my decision to publish my mostly unfiltered turmoil in relation to my dysphoria (beyond the fact that I just need a place where I can drop it and forget about it) was/is the wish for people to gain this very perspective through my blog. I find that a not-insignificant portion of the gender-critical community consists of people who (self-admittedly) do not actually experience long-term dysphoria to the degree that I and many other transgender people experience (meaning they're just parroting talking points without a personal, in-depth understanding of what it is actually like to hate yourself and your body to such a degree and be so fucking desperate to just make it stop), while the wider detransitioned community (contrary to somewhat popular belief) do not actually criticize gender identity as a concept, and in fact, often continue to find comfort in upholding it post-detransition. I also find that the ways in which dysphoria is approached and talked about in both communities can be a bit... shall I say... missing-the-forest-for-the-trees in that there is so much emphasis on "curing" dysphoria (whether through the means of transition, therapy, or simply "growing out of" it) riddled into the ideologies that when they come across someone like me—someone who has continued to have severe, persistent dysphoria through transition, detransition, and pretty much everything under the sun—they, very often, have no idea what to do or say because I exist outside of the plane of generalizations they have based their beliefs off of. I believe, if you want to have an honest conversation about mental health, you have to acknowledge that you can do everything "right" and still suffer—I am living, breathing, walking proof of that shitty fact. I choose to be pragmatic about it, to show that both "solutions" to this internal nemesis have caused me pain in different ways, because I think it's way too easy for people—including myself—to forget that real people's stories are often much more nuanced and complicated than mere theories would have you assume. Maybe that's cliché, dramatic, pessimistic or self-defeatist of me. But it's messages like yours that show my decision has made the intended impact.

You have nothing to apologize for. I don't read your message as your pitying my situation (and even if I did, I'd totally understand, considering the content of some of my posts lmao). I'm so glad to know that you have found some value in what I have shared here, even more so that you read through my blog and came to a place of compassion instead of defense. I'd go out on a whim and say we're not so at odds with each other, seeing as how I do still live my offline life as a transgender person currently, although I understand how many would disagree with me on that considering my perspective. Especially in this past year, it can be very hard for me to not look at this clusterfuck of an issue and want to throw back all of the anger and hatred that the trans community has shown me in the past, I'll honestly admit that—but through it all, I try to hold out hope that we will move past this weird timeline of extremism (on both sides) and we will all be able to come to a place of mutual understanding that will benefit all dysphoric people who precede us.

#genuine fanmail #detrans #submission #text #my post

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batrachised · 9 months

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Bit of an odd question, but do you have a list of academic resources/a place to start researching about LMM and her views on WW1?

I'm going to be writing a research paper on Canada's views on war and how they changed from WW1 to WW2 and I remember Rilla of Ingleside and The Blythes are Quoted were some of LMM's most relevant wartime material, but I'm not sure where to start looking so if you could point me in the right direction that would be very helpful!

Btw, I do have academic access to articles right now, so paywalls are less of an issue if that matters.

I'll preface by tagging @gogandmagog who is our resident lucy maud montgomery expert <3 she'll probably be able to contribute here more than I will

I am thrilled to be asked this question because I love digging into stuff like this! I wish I had a photographic memory because I've recently come across quite a lot of material discussing LM Montgomery's attitudes toward the war, but I can't remember what it was specifically (AAH).

As far as fiction - yes, Rilla and TBAQ are the most directly related to the war. There are other novels that foreshadow it, such as Ingleside and Rainbow Valley. I just found out the other day that Rainbow Valley has in fact been argued to be an allegory for WWI (ie, Walter's fight with Dan Reese). In terms of nonfiction, I do remember some sources, and can offer some names for you to start digging into. Foremost LMM scholars, that sort of thing. I also tried to add in examples of the books/articles that I know specifically discuss the war, with relevant passages as examples. (note: these passages are just a few examples of many! As such they're just a starting point - answering the question thoroughly would require more of a deep dive 😄)

Mary Rubio: my impression is that she is THE scholar when it comes to LM Montgomery. She wrote a biography of LM Montgomery called The Gift of Wings, which discusses WWI and specifically talks about attitudes towards it (ie, the death of innocence or the death of religion caused by WWI), especially LMM. This will probably be the best resource for answering your question. It includes lm Montgomery's responses to interview questions about the war where she discusses her moral philosophy. However, it doesn't go into depth on WWII. See example below.

Elizabeth Epperly. Another LM Montgomery scholar. She wrote The Fragrance of Sweet Grass, which also touches on LM Montgomery's attitudes on the war. However, here is through the lens of LM Montgomery's fiction rather than biographical materials. (IE, analysis of how Walter represents WWI in the text, and how he reflects the "gallant knight" attitude towards the war). I just read this passage today for example:

LM Montgomery's Journals. There are the selected, but I think the complete set would give you a fairer picture. They are organized by time period, so you would be able to select the ones from WWI and WWII if you wanted to. These are very detailed on the war to my understanding - much like Rilla, they go into specific battles etc. In fact, many lines in Rilla are directly copied from her journals, including ones belonging to Miss Oliver, Rilla, Walter, etc. You'd get primary source material and details if this is a heavy duty research paper. If it's not I'd probably rely on the other experts who have combed through the journals for you haha!

The Blythes Are Quoted. I recommend this one because it has a (short!) foreword by Epperly that specifically addresses this exact topic - see relevant passages from it below. This is the only source I found that really dug into WWII attitudes. Really, the thesis of this collection addresses the exact topic of your essay. It also has a short afterword by Benjamin Lefebvre (of Walter's Closet fame) that delves into LM Montgomery's ambivalence. The first two screenshots here are from the foreword and the last from the afterword.

The LM Montgomery Institute. It has a citation database for secondary source material on LM Montgomery. It also runs the Maudcast, a podcast on LM Montgomery but I don't think that will have relevant information. It has the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies as well.

Good luck with your paper! It sounds fascinating!

#lm montgomery

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fivedollarfred · 3 months

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I saw the ask post with all your wips and two of them had me curious; Tornado Warning and Psychosis!

(Tbh, all of them intrigue me, but I don't want to ask too many questions lol)

Thanks for the ask! I would have answered it yesterday but it was sent right when I had to go to bed.

First, I'll say that the ones you asked about are tf2 fanfic WIPs, so bear that in mind. But I'm glad someone asked about them, since I like talking about the ideas I have! Tornado Warning is the WIP I'm currently working on and is the direct sequel to my first published fanfic It Came With The Rain that takes places a few months after the first story, and could be seen as this fic/AU's version of MvM(Mann Vs. Machine). Don't know if I should go into spoilers because I'd have to spoil ICWTR's main plot points and reveals, but if you want me to go in depth of TW's plot and how it relates to ICWTR, I'd be more than happy to. It's definitely more of a drama than the first story, as the first is a mix between a thriller mystery and drama with a lot of horror elements(which were really fun to write)

Here's a paragraph from the chapter I'm currently working on:

"The second Scout silently stepped through the door frame, a sharp, chilling feeling shot through his system like a blaring siren. The feeling that he shouldn’t be here. That whatever he’d been planning on doing could wait another day. That he had stumbled into no man’s land; a minefield where one wrong move would set things in motion the runner couldn’t hope to alleviate.

He took another step."

As for Psychosis, that is a placeholder name for what would be a crossover between Silent Hill and tf2 if I ever get the time to write it. I got inspired by an already existing crossover fic about tf2 and Silent Hill, and while I liked it well enough, it was more based around the first Silent Hill's lore and not the second's, and the second is the one with all the symbolism and psychology in play. So I spent around a week or two thinking about what each merc's own SH experience, and their own "Pyramid Head", would be. I can't go over all my notes and thoughts and ideas, otherwise I would be here typing for hours, so I'll just mention who has a clear environment and personal monster and who doesn't, and if you're interested in the details, I can talk more in depth when I get the time. Scout: has both a clear monster and environment to deal with. Soldier: has a clear environment, not so much a clear monster, but I have some ideas. Pyro: clear environment and monster, but I think they could be more fine tuned. Demo: clear monster, but no environment yet. Heavy: clear monster, had environment that needs fine tuning. Engie: very clear environment, can very much picture where he'd be located, but monster not so much. Medic: neither but that's more intentional as he'll experience things different than the others. Sniper: Very clear environment, and the clearest monster. Couldn't imagine him dealing with anything else. Spy: clear environment, monster is slightly foggy and needs more thought. That's about all I can say for now. Like I said, if you want more details I'd be happy to give them, I just don't have a lot of time to get them all out right now. And don't worry about asking too many questions; I like getting them and answering!

#anon ask #fanfiction #my wips #current wip #tf2 fanfiction #silent hill #but mostly as a setting #hope this is enough info for now #it's fun to talk about my wips

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cee-grice · 5 months

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Happy WBW! I noticed your tags on a post where you mentioned magic ethics and I'm curious - are there any magical laws or anything else related to ethics with magic that you'd like to mention? I'd love to hear about how that functions in your world.

hi!! thanks for the ask!! it's such a fun one, because this IS a very interesting topic to me that I'd love to talk about more haha

also. I fucking lied. I said 'a slight bit' of discussion, but actually, there's a LOT of discussion of this in the story lmaoo. idk why I said a bit??? it's literally at the center of the conflict??? holy hell omg i'm tired

okay, so. magic ethics is HUGE in my setting, to the point where there's a whole separate branch of law that's dedicated to all the minutiae of it. it's... quite a complicated topic ahaha.

(also, I'm gonna be covering the ethics of magic in just One country, where the story takes place, but I wanted to mention that this stuff does vary from place to place)

so, first things first. to perform magic, you need a magia conduit. to get a magia conduit, you need a license. to get a license, you need to have finished appropriate studies in appropriate institutions (most commonly, magic-focused academies, but some specialized vocational schools offer it, too), so it's definitely not a thing Anyone can do. and you can very much lose that license for misconduct (this is, of course, not mentioning anything outside the law lol).

ethical violations are the most common reason people lose their licenses. broadly speaking, using magic on/against other people is, in most cases, not allowed. this affects some areas more than others - for example, charm magic, which is essentially manipulation of the psyche. this branch of magic is the most heavily regulated, for obvious reasons lol. it helps that, 1) in most cases, people can tell they've been charmed afterwards (it takes a very adept charm user to fully conceal it), and 2) magic always leaves a trace, so even if the person doesn't remember, it can still be uncovered if they'd been charmed, even a long time ago. rule of thumb is that you may only charm someone if they had given their consent, but even that can get pretty muddy lol

of course, an entirely different set of ethics apply to magic academies and research institutions. which is where some major parts of my story's conflict rise from, actually lol

essentially... wow, I'm struggling to condense everything here because the whole story is very much intertwined heavily with this topic, but. a huge part of magic advancements come from research done on people - specifically those afflicted with magical conditions. ''but wait!'' I hear you say. ''isn't it forbidden to do magic on people?" well! depends. to put it very simply, every study needs to get approved by an ethical committee, who weight the potential harm the subjects may experience vs the potential knowledge gained from the study. and potential knowledge is the most valued aspect of any study (or person).

thus, if you can prove that your study could hugely advance the understanding of some part of magic, then, in terms of ethics, you can get away with a lot.

now, this brings us to an interesting part of the justice system. depending on the severity of a mage's transgression, their punishment may range from a temporary suspension of their license to the death penalty (which, fun fact, Quil almost got HA). somewhere in the middle of that falls exile. and that is by far the most popular form of punishment for disgraced mages (only those who are deemed active threats to society get locked up, which in academia circles happens quite rarely).

why? well. I'd love to go in depth, but this is already getting too long lol. guess you'll have to wait to read the story to get the full picture! but, putting it shortly, remember what I mentioned about potential? yeah. there's also a reason why those exiled mages don't actually get their magia conduits confiscated... sure, other countries would confiscate them if they chose to travel there, but there's the whole Wilderness! you can do whatever there! you can even continue your...studies...that got you exiled.... hm. hmm.....

also, here, have this snippet:)

But of course she dared. From the moment he’d walked through Cielle Academy’s doors, he’d given them his life, and even death hadn’t been enough to release him. He’d died, and yet they still dragged him back. Because it hadn’t been the right time. Because they hadn’t given him permission. There was a reason, after all, why exile was such a popular punishment for disgraced mages. Let them see how life looked like beyond all they’d ever known, let them see exactly what they’d lost, and when the Academy graciously offered them forgiveness, they’d come running back like starved dogs. Never again would they dare step out of line. Never again would they betray the Academy's trust. Because it was where they belonged.

well, anyway. I love complicated and perhaps-kinda-immoral ethics lol

#wbw #wwcc worldbuilding #wwcc wip #oop this got long ahaha #can u tell i'm p passionate about this topic lol #ty for this ask omg #:DD

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zeep-xanflorp · 1 year

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What part of the 6th season did you really like?

Could be a specific episode, character, story, whatever you wanna talk about the most :3

YOO I GET TO INFODUMP ABOUT S6

some general things i loved were the beths getting together, rick and the president taking down the dinos, morty standing up for himself, seeing the cronenberg dimension and how that jerry beat the apocalypse, and everything they're setting up w rick prime.

my favourite episode is definitely analyze piss and i know a lot of ppl r weirded out by how gross it is, but if u look past that then i think there is a lot that it's trying to say. but i think what rlly connects to me about this episode is rick's character. he's doing shit to try and benefit himself and it's great, but obviously ppl aren't going to get better immediately. he was bound to fall back into his old habits bc that's what he knows and is comfortable with. it's hard to break cycles that have gone on for so long.

i think a good point of comparison is with the old man and the seat. like there r so many similarities between pissmaster and tony. just a few off the top of my head:

rick relates to both of them. he relates to tony bc he also has a dead wife, and he relates to pissmaster bc of his suicidal tendencies and bc they both have a daughter that is rightfully critical of them.

rick pities them both. tony is stuck in a dead end job, pissmaster is being vilified (not to say he didn't deserve it).

rick reaches out to them. he refuses to kill tony, he even tries to resuscitate pissmaster so they can have a drink.

both episodes end with rick displaying a strange amount of honour to these two. he helps tony's family, he mends pissmaster's legacy. he did it all silently without wanting to be thanked.

but for the life of me i cannot work out what rick was trying to do by telling morty about pissmaster's suicide. when i first watched it, i interpreted that as being a self sabotage thing. that he told morty bc he knew it would backfire and he wanted that. but then i saw other ppl saying how it represents the way rick views his grandson as a peer, with no regard for his well-being or boundaries. he told morty expecting support when he should've gone to dr wong. and i think either interpretation is valid bc both work.

it is absolutely time that they started taking rick's mental state more seriously. he deserves more episodes like this imo where we take a more in depth look at his issues. i'd love to see future episodes in a similar style that deal with his substance abuse, autism, queerness - not that the latter two are issues, but just bc this so got me excited. i thought they were staying away from serious topics bc they couldn't do it but this proves the writers still have it.

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ghostlycoze · 4 months

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What do you think about the scene in the Cave of Tempters when snakes turned Sohone into a demon?

I'll answer these both at once since they're quite similar

Ooh, I honestly think that's one of my favourite scenes for a couple reasons!

Despite Mune and Glim being my favourite characters, they admittedly don't receive a whole lot of character development. That's the big appeal of this scene, we really get a deeper look on the abilities of the snakes, and the real point where Sohone's character arc kicks off. Not to mention Phospho's sacrifice, and the little conversation the two have before that point.

~little ramble under the cut~

With the snakes, we had only seen how they work with Leeyoon. It's a rather fast scene, so it's explored a little less in depth (although I must say the way they completely encase Leeyoon in the end of that scene looked amazing, like it was a coffin). Though by this point they knew how quickly it was to corrupt someone, especially if they have enough negativity brewing. Leeyoon was already brimming with jealousy and anger, so he was an easy target. Sohone was a little less so, though there was certainly a couple points where his cocky, proud attitude cracked (e.g. when Mune and Glim didn't respond well to his behaviour while they travel through the forest, that little "I'm terrible with the ladies" line, or... something along those lines, upon seeing Mune and Glim bond). He's got insecurities, and seeing Mune succeed when he didn't even want this only reinforces those when Sohone had been training for so long. He holds onto the idea that Mune is a bad guardian as long as he can, and once the snakes reach him, they feed off of it.

I vaguely mentioned it in the last Mune-related ask, but I particularly like the body language they gave Sohone in that scene. On all fours, growling and looking around wildly; much like a cornered animal. Scared, threatened, caged. The more corrupted he became, the more these aggressive behaviours grew, until Phospho was able to talk him down and shed him of the demonic rock growing over him.

It's a moment where Sohone's character changes. He sees the cowardly ex-guardian make a brave sacrifice, and gains a new perspective on Mune in the moment too. Even with Phospho's "Going out in style. For the ladies, right?" joke, Sohone remains serious (and, well, devastated to see Phospho die), his focus shifted, the gravity of his position finally weighing on him. His ego cast aside, when Mune and Glim arrive he doesn't hesitate to agree to do this together with Mune.

Big ol ramble, my bad, I just love analysing this character! Sohone arguably received the most development (aside from Necross, I'd say, with Phospho close behind Sohone), and it's nice to see these kind of "all brawn, no brain, egotistical asshole" characters actually grow beyond that archetype.

Thanks for the excuse to talk about these silly movie characters some more! I'll always be open to more conversation and analysis :)

#ghost rambles #ask reply #Mune #mune guardian of the moon

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all-pacas · 2 months

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Are you comfortable saying what characters and what about the characterization you disagreed with? Just curious!

I don't want to get too specific because I'm not trying to do any kind of call out post! But it was a sort of situation where a specific character is highly whitewashed and can do no wrong, no matter how understandable or even welcome that would be. It's frustrating writing, not just because it's annoying to read about characters who can and are not allowed to Do Anything Wrong, but also because it's not human.

I'm a huge proponent in messy characters. People making mistakes, making assumptions, saying or doing the wrong thing. Good, well-meaning people who make mistakes, or get upset in the heat of the moment. Especially because they can and absolutely do exist with good or "paragon" characters! It adds so much more depth and interest and relatability! I love positive traits taken to the point of flaws! It's my crack!

And here's the tangent that's made me decide to answer this ask: I. Fucking. Love. That. So here's some very random examples of Good People and Characters with Positive Traits that can be flaws:

PETER PARKER. Amazing Spider-Man's semi-recent Sin's Past arc directly discussed this. Peter has a hero complex; he IS a hero. He compulsively needs and wants to save everyone, explicitly due to his own guilt complexes. It also makes him controlling. He will or won't allow help, will or won't share information. He keeps things to himself, he refuses to share, he intentionally keeps people out of the loop. He wants to save everyone. He thinks he knows how to do it. He dismisses and pushes friends away. He is a great hero and often a shitty friend.

CRITROLE, my guys Caleb and Nott. Best friends, they love one another, they are ultra found family. About halfway through the campaign, Nott begins to struggle with her personal issues, openly and obviously (Xhorhass and Flaskgate). Caleb cares for her a lot. He wants what is best for her. Instead of talking to her about her problems or calling her out on her recent recklessly dangerous behavior, he refuses to talk to her at all. He enables her, an alcoholic, with alcohol. It isn't that he wants her self-harming or in danger, it's because he loves her and can't bring himself to call her out or bring himself into conflict. He Fucks Up.

ALOY Zero Dawn. Another heroic type, she spends about half her time refusing friendship, help, companions, all of it. Her catchphrase is "I'm faster alone." She saves the world and skips the victory party. She's too busy. She has too much on her plate. She hurts her friends. They tell her this. She pushes them away. It isn't because she doesn't want friends -- she's actually a fairly warm person -- or even because she's so anti-social. She has the best of motives and reasons, and she is still a bad friend. She is cold. She is unkind. She is quite cruel to [SEQUEL GAME SPOILER CHARACTER], who we AND she knows does not deserve it, but she sees too much of herself in this person and lashes out. We know why she does it. It's still a dick move. We still love Aloy.

(you might think I'd include current hyperfixation smoothbrain vampire on this list. i cannot. he is an asshole on purpose. his minimal goodness is in spite of this, not because of it.)

I'm not for a second going to pretend that I'm a great writer worth bragging about. But it's something I like to do too. My current OC Tav lady is passive and easy-going. This is a flaw. She isn't passive and easy going because she's okay with shit, but because she feels like she can't and has no right to complain. If you give someone a Trait, follow it to its logical end. How is it good? How is it bad?

It isn't that "these characters are flawed" is some plot twist, it isn't that "characters having flaws" is news. It's that in all three examples, these are characters whose positive traits (heroism, love for another) have the side effect of hurting others. These are characters who are sympathetic (Aloy is isolated, Aloy lashes out for understandable reasons) but still make mistakes (being mean to someone who doesn't deserve it).

In the fanfic I was ranting about, there is neither. The person does not make mistakes, does not take their heroic, story-specific flawlessness into this direction. When arguing, they have the moral high ground, but also the flawless composure to not be rude or hurtful or controlling or a little bit rude in making their points. The other characters fall over themselves to apologize, to understand, to feel sorry for opposing them. It isn't just that they have no flaws (a subjective phrase), it's that the universe twists and conforms to them. There are no consequences, no stakes. They are the sun at the center of the universe. And I vastly prefer messy heroes.

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makeitastrength · 2 months

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1,5,14,34,44,45,49 for the writers ask 😊

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Answered here :)

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic - Bigger than the whole sky]? Answer it now!

Oh gosh. You couldn't have picked a more difficult fic for this question, I don't think. Actually, this is just a difficult question in general. I have no idea what I wish someone would ask me about any of my fics, to be honest. Sorry that's such a terrible answer

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

Answered here :)

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

A lot of the emotion, especially associated with childhood trauma, inspires my writing for Lucy and Tim. My childhood was made up of pieces of both of their childhoods, and I relate to both characters in that way so much. While I always try to not project too much of myself onto the characters, what I've been through definitely informs how I interpret and understand them

I also just think life experience in general inspires everyone's writing. I look back at the fics I wrote for a different fandom years ago, back when I hadn't ever been in a real adult relationship, and I can see how I missed the mark on some things

44. If you take/write prompts: do you prefer dialogue or scenario/narrative prompts?

Hmm... it depends. Scenario/narrative prompts work for me sometimes, if it's a scenario I can actually see playing out in a way that makes sense for the characters. But the dialogue ones give a lot more flexibility for me to make it into whatever I want, and often times my brain does better having that flexibility

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

To echo what I said above, I think just as I've gotten older I've gotten better able to understand adult characters and adult relationships, and I'd like to think my fics have gotten more mature and more in-depth as a result

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Answered here and here, but I can share one more snippet as well, this time from an alternate version of 5x08 that I haven't worked on in months because I'm just very stuck. Maybe this will get the words flowing again:

“Do you love him?” “That’s not. We haven’t even been together that long,” Lucy stammers, and she knows she sounds as unconvincing to Tim as she does to herself. And damn it, this is exactly why she didn’t want to ride with him today. She doesn’t need Tim to know that her relationship is a mess, and she absolutely doesn’t need him to be asking her questions and poking holes in the – flimsy, she realizes now – narrative she’s built for herself. “He loves you,” Tim says, the words soft but certain. “I know,” Lucy replies indignantly. “I know,” she says again, though this time it sounds more like resignation. “I should love him. Chris is so great in so many ways.” Tim internally rolls his eyes because no, from his interactions with the man, Chris is not that great in any way. But that’s not the point, so he keeps his mouth shut and allows Lucy to continue because he knows if she’s going to reach what seems – to him, at least – like the obvious conclusion, she’s going to have to talk herself through it. “He’s just… he’s not you.”

Thank you for the questions!

#asked and answered #fic writer asks #thisnightissparkling089

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