#Exploration of Life's Questions

[highlysuspiciousstew]

[baeshijima]

u know what would be a cool genshin fic idea? isekai/transmigrated reader, but instead of appearing within the general timeline, you come into the genshin world 500 years prior to the start of the storyline in khaenri'ah.

honestly it could be either a little before the cataclysm, giving enough time to delve into some relationship building + explore some world building with characters like dainsleif, traveller's sibling (which would probably be lumine bc i actually do like her as abyss sibling & aether as traveller), and npcs like halfdan (still crying over him to this day ;w;) and possibly the khaenri'ahn royal guards (assuming you either join them or have a good enough relationship with them), OR it could be you appear during the crisis, completely and utterly lost as to why you were brought amidst the chaos and bloodshed as you watch everything you barely knew about this nation crumble before your very eyes.

either route will still result in reader's existential crises and constant "why am i here? just to suffer?" monologues because really, who would be fine after going through that after coming from /our/ world? and not to mention you've had to endure the next 500 years wandering with no real set path because you don't know this world— this era of teyvat or of genshin. you're merely stuck, unable to die, and forced to live a life of uncertainty with no clear direction for you to go to.

despite it all, you've at least been able to see dain during this course. while your meetings pass far too quickly for your lonesome, and his solemn demeanour is something you're yet to be accustomed to after having been with him before the fall of khaenri'ah (assuming it's the route where you appear before the cataclysm), you're glad to see a familiar face every now and then. after the messy departure with the lumine who left for the abyss order, you've come to appreciate his quiet presence more and more each time.

and then you decide it might be time to settle. you soon realise it's difficult to do so when your lifespan has become far more than that of a human's — of a mortal's — and so you find yourself becoming used to staying in one place for a few years before setting off for the next. rinse and repeat. over and over. it's come to a point where you've witnessed the nations undergo various changes each time you visit. you know change is inevitable, and yet your heart stings each time you witness it; a testament to how the world is ever-changing, yet you're stuck in place as a bystander.

one thing you're grateful for, however, are the bonds you've established amid your back-and-forth over the centuries. from archons like zhongli and venti to long-life beings such as neuvillette and the adepti to regular mortals who have showed you kindness as if one of their own... you've grown to cherish those memories, often reminiscing them when the nights get too long and surroundings too quiet. it was difficult at first, and still is, but you've become used to the inevitable change and the passing of those you once knew.

and after 500 years, you find yourself face-to-face with one you haven't seen since before you appeared in this world; the protagonist of this world, and the one you eventually join in hopes of finally finding a means to an end, aether.

little side notes/extras:

from /our/ world, you would probably know the storyline from up to around current (5.0) or maybe a little after the fontaine aq conclusion. it gives a lot to work with, but you definitely won't remember a lot of the lore after so long other than some main events, especially since most of your knowledge is pretty irrelevant for the next 500 years,,,

i think it would be cool if you had an inteyvat on your person as a little homage of khaenri'ah, which may or may not invoke some opinions from certain characters (*cough* aether immediately being reminded of lumine and having an existential crisis *cough*)

post-cataclysm you would go through a, uhm, long phase of helplessness, wondering why you were even brought to this world so far back if you couldn't even make any contributions. it does eventually morph into a resolution to do what you can to help those you come across if it's within your capabilities, but the nightmares and helplessness come back every now and then as a reminder for what you can't do :D yippee :D

honestly i'm on the fence whether you would have a vision or some other type of abilities (think on the similar lines of aether/lumine's and dain's), but i think having some type of purification mechanic would be a must in your arsenal !! would definitely lead to some moments between you and characters like dain or zhongli who suffer from the erosion as you give them a slight reprieve from what rages within and corrodes them

a little self indulgent, but i'd like to think your first /proper/ meeting with zhongli happens during a lantern rite festival, wherein you're admiring the lanterns in the sky after making a wish of your own and he comes up from behind with "they're beautiful, wouldn't you say so?" and !!

also as for love interests, as much as i would love for human/mortal characters, a part of me feels like this story would be better suited for the immortal/long-life characters as love interests?? idk i feel like considering that 500 years is, well, a long time, the bonds you would have with them compared to characters like, say, alhaitham or diluc would be way too different ?? though i would definitely still add them as love interest bc i am a sucker for so many of the human characters ;w; it would also add to the angst and hurt/comfort ahahha...

anyway thank you for reading this massive brain dump of a fic bc i absolutely would put this as a long term project, and if u made it this far then i would like to say that dain solos—

[lesserl]

crosscode endgame spoilers

does anyone else get's bothered by the fact that evotars are called AI's? I mean, from a purely technical standpoint they are. their entire existence relies on operation of the CrossWorlds servers (or, potentially, Instatainment servers in general), their abilities are contained within the game, but, like... doesn't AI usually means "entirely made by x"? like it's an intelligence not because it's borrowed/copied, but because it's created to be intelligent, it's intelligence is artificial, and artificial, al least on our planet, means human made, not human "generated". it's like taking a photo, printing it out and saying that the printed object is entirely man-made, which, i mean, is true, there's a lot of human effort that came into it but in essence, the fact that light bounces off differently from various materials, the way light reacts to lenses with all kinds of properties, the chemistry oh physics that come into play for the image to be captured — these that make the photo possible. real photos aren't machine generated. 'nyways, evotars are digital clones, period

[quickfixinator]

Hiii!!! You mentioned in your reblog "jersey boy", while talking about fanfics including mullet Stan and old ford. Can I PLEASE get a link? I need fanfics with them. please. You'll save a life if you do, or if you have any other interesting reccomendaitons [excited][excited][excited]

HOLY shit I have waited for this day for my entire life YES absolutely here are a few I love with my heart and soul, the first one is mullet stan & old ford, the rest are mostly just good fic recs with brief descriptions, title, author, & word count guestimations.

I typically read longer, multi chapter works, but there are a few on here that are one shots, or are so close to being one shots that I consider them that in my head. for the most part (in this fandom at least) I don't read anything that's below 5k unless someone really twists my arm into it, so these are mostly going to be decently large time commitments but very, very good stories.

this is mullet stan & old ford, but also old stan & nearly-paranoid ford pines: (Stan Overboard, itS_JuSt_a_thought, approaching 100k I think?) https://archiveofourown.org/works/59722483/chapters/152329459

sea grunks, absolutely gut wrenching. I've gone back and reread the end a minimum of four times: (Fisherman's Knot, scribefindegil, just over 100k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/6179098/chapters/14157307

gravity falls retelling but the best version of it I've ever seen. this fic is a commitment, but this fic is worth it. it will take up more space in your head than you're likely going to want to give it: (Knowing Me, Knowing You, f_imaginings, hit 1,000,000+ words the day after christmas. I would know, I was there. wonderful little (Big) christmas gift.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/9529949/chapters/21548483

paranoid ford & mullet stan. what could go wrong? (so, so much.): (Monster Hearts, gen_is_gone, 50k~ & there's another part when you finish getting destroyed by this one) https://archiveofourown.org/works/61267219/chapters/156583162

am obligatory jersey boy by fordtato mention: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6885211/chapters/15708244

mullet stan & paranoid ford battling the devil (their communication issuses) this is also the best time loop fic I've ever read, and I read Knowing Me, Knowing You, in a week. that is to say I read a lot and I read often. so to be the best time loop fic I've ever read, is really, really hard feat to accomplish. that being said, this fic did do that so: (Déjà Vu, interlude, I don't remember this one being very long, but it is a gut punch) https://archiveofourown.org/works/27586903/chapters/67484779

actually destructive I'll just let you know that now: (Bait & Switch, underwater_owl, multi chapter, there's a series for it on AO3 with NSFW sections that aren't in the work & an additional part that is in progress) https://archiveofourown.org/works/58728250/chapters/149654767

baby stan twins. they make me want to bawl so hard: (The Effigy and the Inferno, Pokimoko, multi chapter, not super long) https://archiveofourown.org/works/60958624/chapters/155724274

have you ever considered the ship of theseus. what if the ship of theseus was a man. does that idea make you want to hurl? I'm a big fan of when people drive a stake right through the heart of stanford pines. really big fan of that: (To Make This Man of Me, mikripetra, one shot) https://archiveofourown.org/works/62754457

what if the stan twins met in the multiverse and shared a drink? surely that wouldn't hurt. surely not: (What's Almost Familiar, Fangirlwriting, one shot) https://archiveofourown.org/works/58904062

I know a lot of these are not mullet stan & old ford (there's one! please don't kill me! if you know of any others PLEASE let me know I would love to see them.) but these are some of my personal favourites. I'm a sucker for a story with a good sibling dynamic in it, so buckle up, grab your tissues and settle in for probably over a weeks worth of fic recs, if you read anything like I do.

also I am so sorry if I've managed to screw up the formating on this, I am on my phone OR if the captions contain a level of inaccuracy to them, this is a collection I have curated since the start of august and I've never compiled them like this before so I am working on some moderately old memories. forgive me in advance for any errors.

anyway, please take these, share them with your friends, leave the authors a whole hell of a lot of love because they are fantastic and I don't think they'll ever know just how much time I spend thinking about their fics.

[therentyoupay]

im completely feral over all your jelsa stories!!!!!! do you ever write established relationship jelsa or have any headcanons about what they would be like together in a serious relationship or marriage????

THANK YOU SO MUCH. 😭😭😭😭😭😭💕💕💕💕🙏 thank you thank you nonny for this super sweet ask and this really lovely question and all of your love and support!! 💕💕💕💕💕

i have... never actually written established!relationship (in any fandom), now that i'm thinking about it? that said, i guess i can come up with a quick list of some headcanons, maybe? 😂 i will have to think about this more, but for now, here's a quick drop:

elsa is an early riser; elsa helps jack create more sustainable sleeping patterns and habit formations 😂

when jack gets Impetuous Urges to Do Something Rash and Impractically Spontaneous, elsa will ground jack, reminding him to think before acting. (he occasionally Still Does It, anyway.) elsa knows what she signed up for, lol.

jack loves to play Harmless(!) Pranks, just to watch elsa’s reaction. (he is no longer allowed to sneak up on her after The Incident).

they also quibble over the definition of "harmless" and the specific logistical implications of that; for a while, jack was banned from further pranking, but then he got more creative at showing elsa that pranks could be wholesome and genuine, in which they could both be in on the joke. however, due to elsa's deeply-rooted Need to Excel and her (Not-so)Secret Competitive AF Streak, her retaliation in escalating the Cleverness Prank War quickly resulted in jack's prompt implementation of the Prank-Free Zones and Time Periods. (no, he was not scared.)

elsa, usually reserved, has learned to let her playful side show more often with jack. she might still pretend to be exasperated by his antics, but sometimes it's part of the game (or habit).

elsa sill struggles with opening up emotionally sometimes, but she progressively feels safe enough to share her innermost thoughts and fears. with time, she confides in him more about her worries. she still never likes the idea that jack sees her Imperfect Parts, but at least she can tolerate the discomfort (and, yes, take comfort in it) now

(jack loves elsa's Imperfect Parts, and jack admits that he is Weirdly Proud and Competitively Honored to be one of the only people, even including anna, who gets to see them. he also is strangely Comforted and Validated that elsa is, in fact, not perfect because for a while there, he was pretty freaked out and intimidated by how fancy she is.)

until he realized that no one ever let her actually be a Weirdo before, and once he realizes the Truth of Elsa Also Being a Secret (albeit perhaps more Subdued) Weirdo, the Universe Aligns.

jack listens to elsa's Big Conversations intently, activating varying levels of Serious Mode.

jack is getting better at recognizing the moments when elsa needs him to play and needs him to listen or Give His Opinion or any combination of those things.

jack learns that it's not always about Saying the Right Thing (which he is not very good at, anyway, or so our Serially Unreliable Narrator thinks), but rather being able to read elsa's mood and anticipate what she might need (even if she is not aware of it herself yet).

elsa is meticulous about planning and preparing for special occasions.

elsa likes traditions! jack likes tradition only because elsa likes them, lol, and hey, okay, these are more fun than he thought?? (who knew fun could be organized??!!?)

so he really wants to show (off to) her by pulling off Incredible Planning Feats in her honor, too (they do not go as smoothly, lol).

jack will often go out of his way to spontaneously create something meaningful, a moment or a gift or a gesture, that reminds elsa that he cares. he is big on words of affirmation, gift giving (but like, souvenirs that he collects on adventures like, "i saw this rock and it reminded me of your cousin olaf, we should put it on the window after we paint his face on it"), and acts of service, as well as physical touch and quality time. HE WANTS LOVE. he wants TO BE LOVED. he wants to prove that he is worthy of being loved.

(and elsa has to get him to Chill Out sometimes, remind him that he doesn't have to Do Things For Her/Anyone in order to be deserving of care; he is more than what he provides for other people.)

(jack gets its, and appreciates it, but also, the Urge to Provide and Protect is still strong, even after so much time, and sometimes Old Habits Die Hard.)

i get the sense that he'd be the type to he wake elsa up in the middle of the night to take her on a surprise adventure, or convince her to Do a Fun Thing without any preparation (/warning).

and she would Be Alarmed at the Lack of Plan (especially if/when jack Did Not Think This Through), but he also took precautions to ward off Concerns by pacifying her with tea, or reassurances that yes, he did call ahead to make sure the restaurant was open before they left the house, of course he did, he would never just leave home without double-checking beforehand (and frantically googles it two minutes later when he thinks she's not looking; she is, naturally, and even occasionally pretends not to be).

elsa approaches conflict with a desire to resolve things Calmly and Logically. she tries to understand jack’s perspective, even when she disagrees, and she’s careful with her words, not wanting to escalate the situation.

however, she can sometimes withdraw emotionally, fearing that she might say something hurtful if she’s too overwhelmed.

jack was initially (and, honestly, still is, even though he understands more now) hurt by her tendency to shut down when she Feels Too Much, and understands (although it's still hard) that elsa needs time to process her feelings and organize her thoughts.

jack also helps elsa actually Feel her Feelings, instead of just trying to intellectualize and analyze them. (she hates it, BUT sees the value. jack lives for these moments in which he realizes that he's actually contributing positively to her life and helping her in some way, rather than just being a burden or a nuisance, as was/is his fear.)

his initial reaction might be to push for a resolution quickly, but he’s also deeply afraid of Creating Distance between them, so after the first few fights, he really makes an effort to find the right balance between Pushing Hard Enough and Not Pushing Too hard, so that he doesn't drive a wedge between them as they work things out.

jack FEELS intensely, and can be so stubborn. he does not always have the most precise vocabulary or tools to describe his thoughts and feelings, or identify the root causes of what is actually going on inside him; sometimes elsa asks a lot of insightful and guiding questions that help jack come to the conclusions himself, and other times, she Puts Into Words the very thing that he had been thinking or feeling, but could not name, and it is very reassuring to have someone who understands him well enough to be able to do that.

after conflicts or arguments, they take time to Decompress and reassure one another (especially if at least one of them, if not both, was Overthinking again).

when they argue (and healthy couples do, remember!), it’s a dance of patience and understanding: elsa might need a moment to Collect Herself, and jack learns to give her that Space while also making it clear that he’s ready to talk whenever she is, and that he is going to try very hard to be Rational and Patient About It.

in the end, they both prioritize their relationship over any disagreement, always finding a way back to each other.

[feech]

Its been like two months and I'm still thinking about The Office of Never Was and how ruthless Ianto was. Initially, the whole situation was an accident, but Ianto took it way too far after he messed up. He retconned people's families that the couldn't remember the person who died. He says he thought it seemed kinder than letting them grieve but personally I think its so much worse. And then at the end, deliberately leaving that man locked in the building to slowly starve to death (or potentially get eaten by smart killer rats) and choosing to retcon himself so that he would forget the whole incident rather than live with it on his conscience.

The fandom tends to really focus on how sweet and thoughtful he is and how much he tends to people please but he can be goddamn terrifying.

[thepersonalwords]

Your life is an opportunity to question, discover, and explore.

Janice Anderson

[whatwillyousing]

i really love this. the imposition and projection of happiness because thoughtful explorations of autonomy are too sad and horrible to entertain apparently that is

[bonefall]

jayfeather and moleflight toxic yaoi…

Oh wow there's not even anything in the Molejay tag. Is this pair so rare it's not been done yet?

Jayfeather and Moleflight, toxic yaoi, "I named myself after the time I trounced your angelic ass" and "I've personally assigned my entire afterlife to trying to prevent you from causing chaos." They want to kiss each other sooo bad it makes them look stupid. The rituals, they are so intricate.

[donnatroia]

real talk though shoutout to the current tec run for actually letting often ignored or villainized asian women have a voice

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

so obsessed with susato that i forgot that her saving holmes's life wasn't something i just made up in my head but implied by the game to have been What Actually Happened.

[fangsandfeels]

I can make tons of romance screenshots

but none of them will summarize Jerra and Astarion's relationship as perfectly as this masterpiece.

[arolesbianism]

I caved and made them real. Obverse me losing more and more motivation to draw as I made each of these back to back lol

[just-a-simpel-narrator]

Question for everyone; can/should we make PkA (=Paperinik Angst) a Tag?

[a-b3rry-disaster]

I can't escape

history will always repeat itself

like I remember seeing the tmnt fandom blow up because of the rottmnt movie, remembered my little cousin watching episodes of 2012, and was just curious on what kind of fandom they are

i ended up in months of brainrot, trying to learn more of the different timelines and iterations, i was in deep

transformers blew up because of a new movie, i was curious, i remembered that same little cousin watchin an episode of prime

fuck

i am knee deep into star trek right now, i didn't even finish the tmnt series

brain

i'm begging you

i can't handle two large franchise series right now

transformers is way too much

fuck it

i blame transformers fans for being so passionate and transformers for being my cup of tea

[deadlittledogs]

Le sigh. I want to move to Canada one day so bad. Even perhaps to just go live in the backwoods (though Vancouver is really amazing). I recently reconnected with my nice lesbian auntie and she said she would help me research ways I could potentially immigrate sooner than later (and she's very good at those sort of things)... waa... thank you, nice lesbian auntie. I'm counting on you.

I think my goal is to get up there in the next five to ten years •̀.̫•́✧ and my first step to accomplishing that is.... Moving to Washington! >:D

Please cheer me on or I'll send maggots to your brains! <3