#basically several compilation ones

[headspace-hotel]

by the way (i sadly cant share this document cause it was sent to me personally and i dont think its online) i've been reading a compilation of earliest writings by European settlers about Kentucky and its fucking wild

the main thing they mention is the river cane, everywhere. Cane cane cane cane cane on every page. Canebrakes stretching for miles and miles, dark woodlands of massive trees spaced wide apart with canebrake as the understory

But also they talk a lot about: Huge fields of strawberries that seem to turn red in spring with all the strawberries getting ripe. Raspberries. Groves of American plums, even some AN ACRE big just a huge patch of plum trees. Cherry trees. Huge grape vines growing up one in every four trees. Persimmons and pawpaws. Walnut trees. Hickory trees. Oak trees. And sugar maples. EVERYWHERE. And the canebrakes absolutely TEEMING with turkeys, passenger pigeons and quails

Reading the descriptions of looking out into a valley and seeing herds of 200-300 bison frolicking in the clover and river cane almost makes me want to cry...

It's crazy how much they talk about plum trees because plum trees are so rare now!

Really it's wild seeing how abundant the edible woody plant species and berries just-so-happened to be when Europeans first came. Right?

To me it seems like obvious pieces of evidence that indigenous people were actively cultivating this land. It was a landscape scale agriculture fully integrated with the ecosystem.

Even more so because it started to collapse very soon after settlers came. The sugar maple trees were mostly killed by settlers hacking indiscriminately into them with hatchets for maple syrup making without caring about the trees survival, the livestock running loose destroyed the native clover and cane causing invasive grass to grow back, and the bison...reading about the bison is so sad!

The wasteful slaughter of bison began very early. Lots of writers talk about other settlers killing bison just to say they killed one, or killing several of them and barely taking one horse load of meat from them, or seeing traders killing bison by the hundreds just to take the most valuable parts and leave the body to rot...And the writers knew it was wrong! but they couldn't stop the others from doing it. So bison were basically gone from around Lexington before 1800 :(

Settlers even killed the bison for wool--this was fascinating to me, they described making their cloth out of nettle bast fiber and bison wool. Native Americans also used bison wool for textiles, but as far as I know they didn't kill them for it (tho i reckon they might have used the wool on a bison they killed)...the wool peels right off in big clumps in the spring. Same thing with mountain goats, indigenous peoples would just gather the mountain goat wool when it naturally shed. But the settlers were killing bison to shave the wool off and it said only the young ones had good wool so if they killed a bison that didn't have good wool on it they would just kill another one.

They destroyed the river cane not knowing that bamboo was strong and useful for practically everything. Destroyed the native pastures of buffalo clover, Kentucky clover, running buffalo clover and God knows what other extinct or undiscovered clovers. And now wild strawberries and raspberries are hard to find, American plums very rare, persimmons rare...

The settlers didn't understand this land, didn't try to understand it, they were full of greed and just tried to force their idea of agriculture and their idea of society onto it, and watched in bafflement as the natural abundance and beauty of the land around them fell into decay and ruin from their abuse.

[lizzybeeee]

DATV Spoilers - The Story We Lost

Posted earlier that I was compiling a list of lore/story threads that have been dropped with DATV's handling of Southern Thedas. The sheer number of things means that I've made this into two parts - this one focusing on all the story threads that have been effectively dropped.

Spoilers for the game ahead, of course.

If you've played the game then you'll know that Southern Thedas - everything from the past three games - was basically swept away by the blight.

A double blight should have catastrophic consequences for the entirety of Thedas, I don’t deny that, it’s nothing short of a mass extinction event – the absolute worst case scenario for all of Thedas.

However, waving away the fact that Southern Thedas - specifically every area you ever traveled to and interacted with in previous games – is gone, devastated by the blight, in a codex entry and line of dialogue makes it abundantly clear that BioWare is attempting to clean the slate so that they can move forwards with the game series with no ties to the previous ones.

The Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor effectively accomplished nothing.

As I put it in another post: I never expected them to consider every decision in game outside of the three options they gave us, but I certainly didn’t expect them to go scorched earth on the possibility of ever seeing the results of those decisions either.

How the lore has been handled in this game, summarized to “the elves did it” and “there’s been a shadowy organization in the shadows pulling the strings on everything” is absolutely devastating to the franchise.

The lack of care with which this was treated just bleeds, “There, we’ve answered all questions and finished with this era of Thedas. Moving on now.” At the same time, this destruction absolutely obliterated whatever story threads remained from the first three games.

Could BioWare bring these threads back? Yes, I suppose. But it doesn't change that it was so carelessly thrown aside in the first place.

If they didn't want people to care about their decisions and the impact they made on the world, perhaps they shouldn't have made that a feature of all the previous games.

-------------------------------------------

Story Threads/ Plot Points that were dropped:

Limited my points to what was in the Dragon Age Keep and what points were brought up frequently in codex entries, conversations, etc...

Edit: I never expected all of these points to be answered in DATV - this is just a list of what was effectively brushed to the side through very bad handling of lore and story.

-------------------------------------------

Dragon Age: Origins

What is the line of succession in Ferelden?

Things are looking very grim for Ferelden's succession and the Theirin/MacTir line if nothing is done. And nothing was done. The entire plot of DAO literally culminated in resolving this issue, yet no one seems to have learnt a thing from it?

- Anora ruling alone is unmarried with no heir - Alistair ruling alone is unmarried with no heir - Ruling together they have no heir - Alistair and a Cousland Queen have no heir - Anora and a Cousland King-Consort have no heir

The only potential candidate that can fit into several of those world states is Kieran.

Fergus Cousland, according to lore, is the second closest to the throne that is confirmed to be alive in DAI - potentially the brother in-law to the King/Queen of Ferelden.

Ferelden's succession with Alistair as King hinges on whether or not the Warden was able to cure the blight. Alternatively, it is hinted that he may be more resistant since he has dragon blood in him from Calenhad.

The potential implications of Kieran being the bastard son of the King of Ferelden.

Kieran being used as a political pawn to depose Anora using the Theirin bloodline.

DAI took away whatever destiny Kieran had with the Old God soul – that didn’t mean that BioWare had to take away everything else too. Regardless, it doesn't matter. Denerim and Redcliffe have fallen to the Blight - it's unlikely that any of this will ever be brought up again.

2. Did the Warden find a cure?

Unknown. Irrelevant.

Ferelden ended up blighted. Denerim fell. If Ferelden rises from the ashes, it will be without any sign of their influence. Any mention of them will likely be their title alone - no mention of their accomplishments.

3. General Questions about the Landsmeet

What happened to Anora if Alistair is named King? Who rules the teyrnir of Gwaren following the blight?

What happens to Alistair if he's exiled? We know Teagan finds him in DA2 but what happens after?

If Leliana becomes divine does that mean that Connor Guerrin is potentially an heir to Redcliffe?

4. Companion Plot Threads

Morrigan's sisters - the many daughters of Flemeth.

Shale's quest to reverse the process of becoming a golem.

Whatever the hell Nathaniel Howe was going on about when you run into him in DA2 in the blighted thaig.

What, if anything, Avernus leaned from spending a literal age or two studying blighted blood.

5. Zevran's Crusade against the Crows

RIP Zevran's one-man crusade against the Crows and their child slavery ring.

DATV messed up immensely by portraying the Crows as more of a ‘found family’ rather than the horrifically abusive organization it was set up to be.

The very same organization that preys on the weak and disenfranchised - honing them to be tools for the nobles/powerful of Thedas - are now the heroic freedom fighters of Antiva.

The literal decade he spent hunting down the Crows and their leaders is up in flames. No mention in DATV whatsoever.

Wasted a perfectly good opportunity to have a schism in the Crows, with Zevran at the helm of kicking out the antaam, taking in Crows who are are sick of what's happening.

6. The Dwarves of Orzammar

The impact of Bhelen/Harrowmont's reign - ruthless progression verses strict traditionalism

The rumours of an uprising of the casteless dwarves in DAI

Will we ever hear of noble House Brosca or Queen/Lady Rica? Nope.

Will we ever hear of the son that Aeducan can have with Mardy? Nope. (RIP Duncan Jnr - I still love you)

The Anvil of the Void and potential links it may have to the Titans.

If Branka lives what happened to her?

No more fine goods direct from Orzammar

The entire caste system has been simplified by Harding in DATV to effectively be: 'surface dwarves' and 'deep roads' dwarves.

7. The Magisters Sidereal / Awakened Darkspawn

According to a codex in the Descent: one went mad, consumed another, and the final magister fled into the Deep Roads.

Corypheous + Codex Magister + the Architect (most likely) = 4/5 magisters remaining? Possibly?

Reminder that it's hinted that there's an eighth Old God that was struck from the records of Tevinter.

The Architect and his Awakened Darkspawn.

No, it was all the elves. They're all dead now anyway. Thanks BioWare.

8. The Guardian and the Urn of Sacred Ashes

"Where did you come from, where did you go? Nobody in Thedas will ever knowwwww."

-------------------------------------------

Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age 2 was pretty self-contained, with most things being tied up in Trespasser or DAI. The worst of the plot points abandoned relate to the companions in the game and the lack of closure/answers about them.

General Questions:

Kirkwalls, apparently, endless line of 'provisional' viscounts and constant political instability since Varric ran off to go after Solas.

According to DA: Absolution the Red Templars are still in Kirkwall...yet the show is set after Trespasser - when Varric is viscount? When he mentions that they threw a parade when getting Meredith out of the Gallows?

Aveline, Varric, Merrill and whoever remains of the Kirkwall crew apparently just allowing red templars take over the Gallows?

What happened to Petrice if she lived?

What happened to Feynriel if he went to Tevinter?

If Hawke lives following DAI - where are they?

I have a whole list of lore that's also been brushed over: the Sundermount, Corypheous, the Band of Three etc... I decided to put them in Part 2 since I feel they fit in more with 'lore obliterated' rather than 'abandoned plot points'.

2. Companions

Merrill's Eluvian:

Merrill spent years fixing an eluvian with a piece of string, a potato, and some gum - managing to actually do it.

And it meant nothing.

Eluvians are now a fast travel hub - all mysticism and awe at this marvel of magic are completely gone. Whatever sacrifices Merrill went through to save her sliver of elven history is meaningless.

Imagine if Merrill's eluvian aided in the fight against Solas - if having it intact gave you an advantage against him. Imagine Merrill weeping as Bellara fixes every other single eluvian in ten seconds with her magical omnitool.

Fenris and Slavery in Tevinter:

DATV utterly trivializing slavery in Tevinter is abominable.

Disregarding everything Fenris went through, everything he ever fought for, and making it something barely touched upon in DATV is insanity.

You wouldn't know there was slavery in Tevinter if the Shadow Dragons didn't drop a line or two about it.

Fenris' entire story of going to help free the slaves is diminished because no one wanted to show the ugly, dark side of Tevinter in DATV.

DATV has retroactively made this choice for him to be so unfulfilling.

Where is Anders?

What happened with Sebastian's crusade against Anders? Was he ever captured? Was he executed? Are you telling me that no templars ever pursued this man fanatically after what happened in Kirkwall?

Does his fate vary if Hawke was friends/romanced him?

Varric appointing a new Viscount’s Keep healer called ‘Banders’ who just happens to sleep in the same room as Hawke and their children call him ‘daddy’ lmao

Does his fate vary according to who is Divine? Vivienne hunts him down, Cassandra puts him on trial, while Leliana pardons him?

How does he react to Leliana abolishing the Circles? How much does he weep when the rebellion fails and the mages are destroyed? This man instigated the starting event for DAI and drove most of DA2's major plot and he's just...gone.

The Hawke Siblings:

From DAI we know that Warden Bethany/Carver are safe, but what happened to them if they're in the Circle?

Give us Knight-Commander Carver and First Enchanter Bethany Hawke, you cowards! Have them dismantle the Gallows and be the shining examples of human decency we know they are.

What happens to them after DAI and the Mage/Templar War is concluded? In a world that can embrace or reject them - how do they find their place?

Varric

Trespasser gave him a satisfying conclusion - he's viscount, he's in his shit hole of a city, he's surrounded by the people that he loves and cares about. He has the chance to truly build up Kirkwall after all the shit its gone through.

It just feels so bitter, so meaningless, that they gave him the end that they did in DATV. Varric should never have been the one to go after Solas - the only reason it was him was because he's a popular character in the franchise and was used to draw interest.

Why not Cole?! Who was literally mentioned in Trespasser as being on hand to help his friends - who has the ability to get through to Solas in a way no one else could?

No proper send off - no acknowledgement from those who loved him as to his fate...Varric was reduced to a marketing gimmick to draw people in who wanted to see if he died or not.

Isabela

Isabela's story was brought to a close in DAI - she became an admiral, got a fancy hat, helped the Inquisition, and kept in contact with those she loved/Hawke if defended from the arishok.

Imagine bringing her back in a terrible outfit, having the most sex/gender positive character misgender another person, and making her part of the group that steals cultural artifacts from others.

The tomb of Koslun and Aveline would like a word with you?!

The entire Lords of Fortune group is also extremely bland? No commentary on the ethics/effects of colonialism/cultural appropriation - because confrontational topics/ideas are not allowed in this game. Just like topics of slavery/indoctrination.

Her entire character just seems to have regressed from DA2. Why bother having her cameo in the game if she's not going to meaningfully contribute/comment on whats happening?

Edit - Thanks to bunnyiscthulhu for reminding me that Isabela's mother sold her into marriage...yet she does nothing when Taash's mother is outright forcing them into a life they don't want. Isabela, who believed that everybody should be free - that no one should be forced into a life they don't want, just...lets it happen to another person?

-------------------------------------------

Dragon Age: Inquisition

What's going to happen to the Red Lyrium that's popped up across all of Thedas?

Ferelden, Orlais, Kirkwall - all areas are reported to have red lyrium on the surface.

What happens to the Red Lyrium in Suledin?

DAI speaks about how they can never stop the spread of red lyrium, only slow it – animals, insects, organisms - whatever life is in the ground is all susceptible to becoming blighted by red lyrium. Suledin Keep in particular was utterly devastated by the Red Templars - what happens to life there?

2. What happened to Corypheous' Inner Circle?

What happened to Samson? How long did he live *if* he’s given the chance to help Cullen? Can something good come from his cooperation?

What happened to Calpernia?

Looking at previous concept art for DATV she was a companion - freeing slaves, gossiping about Samson & Corypheous. Just...what a waste. Any potential insight we could have gotten into Corypheous is gone.

3. The Mage / Templar War:

How does the world vary if you conscripted vs allied with either?

How do the remnants of what faction was not chosen fit into this new world?

How does the world deal with abominations and weird magic shit now? Is an alternative to the Order made if it's wiped out in DAI?

How is Cullen's templar clinic doing? If the templars still exist, how is Divine Victoria changing/adapting the Order to better support mages/templars?

4. Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts:

How do Orlesian politics reflect who was made ruler?

Is Gaspard looking to expand into Ferelden once more? Are the elves being brutalized under his rule like they were by his chevaliers? Does he do away with the grand game like he threatened in DAI?

How does this differ if Briala has collared him? How do his supporters feel that Briala has his balls in a vice?

Do Celene and Briala stay together? Do things improve for the elves and for the culture of Orlais at large?

Do improvements for the elves mean that Solas' arguments to his elven agents are less persuasive?

If Florianne is alive what the hell is going to happen to her? How quickly does she fall on her blade after being forced to wear flat shoes for the rest of her life?

How quickly does shit fall apart if you get all three to cooperate lmao

Friendly reminder that DATV sets up that all of Orlais, except for the Winter Palace has been overrun by the Blight - and that a coup from the Venatori is inevitable, likely resulting in any ruler dying.

5. What is the line of succession in Orlais?!

Why does every noble family in Thedas have no contingency plans for if their head of government dies?!

Part of why we needed to resolve the leadership problem in DAI was because there was no clear, direct heir if Celene died!

Celene has no heir Gaspard has no heir

Florianne planned to frame Gaspard, murdering Celene herself, leaving no clear heir to the throne - Orlais was already in a civil war, the council of heralds/nobles would have all campaigned in their own interests...that was why this was so important!

Orlais shortsightedness and pride in their nation being the greatest in Thedas led to them almost falling in a single night!

6. Here Lies the Abyss:

What are the ramifications of having the Warden's exiled verses remaining in the south?

Trespasser literally states that there's a schism in the Order because some Warden's believe they should touch grass more often and not listen to some bloke up in Weisshaupt for what they do down in the south.

Perfect opportunity to have the wardens remaining in the south mean something! Greater numbers in the south means that there's a greater chance of holding against the blight - while greater numbers in the north can effect if Antiva/Tevinter end up blighted in the first attack!

How does public perception towards the Wardens/King of Ferelden change when they learn they were exiled for committing human sacrifice to demons?!

Give us a warden coup and First Warden Alistair / Blackwall, you cowards!

7. The Well of Sorrows:

What was the point of drinking Mythal's bathwater?!

It's been set up as something that changes you. Bound to Mythal forever?!

Retroactively, Solas feels like he's going mental about nothing! One of the few times he ever breaks - he begs you not to - and...for what? Nothing.

DATV does not acknowledge that in the slightest. Such a waste and disappointment of what was made out to be an impactful decision in DAI.

Imagine if the Inquisitor drinking from the well made us forced to fight against them during the fight with Solas - imagine if Solas, in a world state who hated the Inquisitor, used them as a puppet! Just like the envy demon in DAI - and no one notices until its too late. Imagine Mythal herself, wanting Solas to go through with his plan - (or one of the other evanuris) using an Inquisitor/Lavellan he loved as a puppet - imagine the horror he feels as another one of his friends is reduced to nothing more than a mindless slave of the evanuris once more. Imagine the devastation as he watches Lavellan lose all sense of self - perhaps swaying him to, maybe, not go through with his plan?! Imagine having Cole come back to help save the Inquisitor - or Solas begging Rook to save them.

8. DLC Implications:

What happens if Hakkon is not slain? What happens to Southern Ferelden and the Avaar?

How does the rest of Thedas react to the truth of what happened at Red Crossing and the Dales? How do they react to learning that Inquisitor Ameridan - First Inquisitor and leader of the Seekers - was a dalish, elven mage?

What happens if you do not save the mines in the Descent DLC? How badly is Orzammars economy crippled? There are already rumours of riots occurring within Orzammar - it this enough to push the caste system over the edge?

9. Elven Uprising and the War with the Qun:

The elven uprising that was implied to be occuring all over Thedas as a result of years of oppression, systematic abuse, and Solas’ influence? What happened to it?

Where are the agents of fen'harel?!

It was set up that Solas was planning to use this rebellion as a smokescreen for his plans - the elves, all rebelling for good reason, rallying to his cause while Solas planned to restore the world that once was. The rest of Thedas would only see an elven uprising, not knowing the true face behind it until it was too late!

The war between Tevinter and the Qun?!

Everyone conveniently forgetting that the Qun literally attempted to assassinate every noble family in Thedas? Why was there no exalted march because of this? This should have destroyed any accord between the chantry and the qun. There would absolutely be blood for this – Tevinter could have attacked the Qun and all of Southern Thedas would have applauded - no one would have differentiated between extremist qunari and the normal qun, especially not after Kirkwall.

The implication at the end of Trespasser that we could convince Solas to abandon his plans? Him saying that he welcomed giving us the chance?!

The difference that the Inquisitors friendship, love, or hatred could have in either convincing Solas to take another path or damning him to go ahaead with his plan, no matter the cost?

Have our decisions in previous games matter! How we treated the elves - if we worked to better their lives or 'put them in their place' - can be used to convince him that the world can change! Have the ripple effects of these decisions be seen when the elven gods return, blighted - does the world turn against the elves, hardening Solas, or does the world defend the elves from those who would blame them?

Why was Sandal in the Crossroads?! Where is Bodahn?!

10. Divine Victoria!

How does the world of Thedas change with Leliana, Cassandra, or Vivienne at the head of the chantry?

How does Tevinter react to having a mage divine?!

Do relations change between both nations because of this?

Leliana allowing elves, dwarves, and even qunari to join the Chantry! Leliana also allowing members of the chantry to get married if she's romanced by the warden.

What happened to the Seekers? Are they being rebuilt?

Does the chantry inform the masses, the rest of the mages, that they can CURE tranquility?!

If either Leliana or Cassandra was romanced - what are the implications that may have on the chantry?

-------------------------------------------

No wonder the writers insisted that none of the past choices would have an impact on Veilguard - they literally went scorched earth on everything we ever did.

Ferelden is blighted - any legacy of the warden is gone.

Kirkwall is destroyed - any impact Hawke had is gone.

The hard won peace/order of the Inquisition was rendered meaningless since every single place that you went to and helped is now destroyed by the blight.

Orlais' ruler will likely be assassinated by the venatori who are plotting a coup with the nobles - making whomever you chose obsolete.

AND IT WAS ALL THE WORK OF THE MAGICAL ILLUMINATI FROM ACROSS THE SEA???

[codacheetah]

The Loop Dialogue Spreadsheet

RELEASE 1.0 BABY!!!!!!!

SHEETS LINK

WEB LINK (I don't recommend this one, but it's also here)

✦ WHAT IS THE LOOP DIALOGUE SPREADSHEET? ✦

As I'm sure you could guess by the name, this sheet is a compilation of (to my knowledge) all of Loop's dialogue in the game, sorted into tabs for easy access.

✦ WHAT DIALOGUE IS ON THIS SHEET? ✦

Currently, the sheet is divided into:

Generic dialogue - Dialogue for starting and ending a conversation with Loop, calling them, basic dialogue options

"What should I do next?" - Loop's advice regarding story progression.

"Let's talk about something..." - Optional conversations with Loop, relating to the "Behind the Scenes" achievement, also known simply as "loop chats"

"I had a question about..." - Loop's advice regarding sidequests

Predialogue - Automatic conversations with Loop preceding the regular dialogue options

Tutorials - Occasions in which Loop gives information to Siffrin in brackets.

Item interactions - Loop's reactions to using Souvenirs near them, as well as to using Your Dagger near them

Story events - Loop's introduction, Beginning of ACT 3, Loop hangout, Forgetting Mirabelle's name random event, ACT 5 Loop confrontation, and the Epilogue

(...plus the intro, where the key comes from)

✦ WHY USE YOUR SHEET? ✦

So you can be obsessive over Loop the same way I am (◕‿◕)

Also so you can take screenshots and see stuff you missed! Yippee!

Anyways, with that out of the way, thank you to anyone who has helped with this project along the way, ESPECIALLY @felikatze and his script project. 💖 You're free to copy anything out of this sheet without credit because, well, I didn't write any of this dialogue.

Fair warning ahead of time that this sheet contains unmarked spoilers for the entire game, including several optional achievements.

[orteil42]

re: prev post a few folks asked why i don't use a javascript preprocessor or compiler for my games and it's for several reasons! a big one is that i am not a professionally trained programmer so i didn't look into those (or have a need for them) until much later, and by that point my workflow and codebase were basically set! i'm also not a fan of what preprocessors spit out; i'm sure the code works fine but on my longer scripts it comes out all kinds of mangled with some odd things sprinkled here and there. my code is often atypical and tools of that sort have always had nasty surprises for me. i would much rather do it all by hand! another reason is that i'm very fond of the idea that you can just view my game's source and read the code exactly as i wrote it, which from what i can tell has been very handy for people wanting to mod the game or learn from the source code

[glitter-stained]

Jason Todd Meta Masterlist

With all the misconceptions and (frankly insulting and at times sexist) assumptions I've seen about Jason Todd fans, I've decided to make a post gathering the meta I could find that helps make sense of why he's my (and so many other people's) favourite character. (Spoiler: it's not because I'm shallow, it's not because he's hot, not because I love guns and the death penalty, and not because I think he's secretly a woman.) This list is incomplete for a bunch of reasons: I haven't read all the meta that exists, if there's a good meta with like one sentence I disagree with I usually don't include the meta, there's a lot of meta I disagree with, and if there's a very good meta analysing dynamics or characters based on a comic I really hate, I will simply not include it (for example i've seen good analysis of Nightwing Brothers in Blood, unfortunately it's one of the worst comics i've ever tried to force myself to read so I can't include any of it in Jason analysis without betraying a fundamental part of myself). This will include some serious analysis commentary, some lighter/trivia stuff, and there's also a part dedicated to some misconceptions I've seen running around and posts that address it. Some of this is jaybin analysis/appreciation, some of this is red hood analysis/appreciation, some of it fits for both, and there's nuance here due to the fact I'm very critical about many parts of red hood's writing, so some jaybin posts might be red hood critical, but they're still parts of the reasons why I like jason so I'm including them. If you have suggestions for more meta posts to add, feel free to share them, though be warned that I may not be able to edit and include them all due to reasons previously mentioned! (And do not be afraid to share your own meta we love self-promo in here).

With all that said:

if you're a Jason fan looking for more meta, a comic fan who doesn't understand the hype and is genuinely wondering what people see in him, a fic writer determined to do his character justice, or new to fandom and wondering if it's worth it getting into him, this post is for you! And of course if you don't like him I'm not arrogant enough to assume I can change your mind, you're perfectly allowed your taste, all that I ask in return is that you do not try to police mine.

Now let's get to it!

Mental illness

So, this meta is kinda organized by how important those points are to me, and it turns out I'm a complete freak about psychopatholgy (the study of mental disorders). Now, is Jason a good depiction of mental illness? Eeeeeh... Compared to my other favs with stories building up around trauma like Mia Dearden or Jill Carlyle, he has a lot more material to sink our teeth into due to sheer number of appearances, and there's loads of interesting stuff in that, but he also often falls victim to dc's classic love for demonising metal illness. So what makes Jason's mental illness compelling to me, someone who loathes the Joker's character so much? That's a complicated question I attempt to answer in here. Now this is an ongoing compilation of different psychological analysis meta (we're playing meta masterpost matryoshka!! Yay!) and doesn't have all the answers yet because I need time to write this shit but anyway, if anything, it's a good opportunity to learn about psychology through Jason, and I think how much I love sinking my teeth into those depictions already shines into it. So basically: The depiction of Jason's mental illness, despite often very flawed, is extremely compelling to me.

On victimhood

Now say it with me: you can like several things at once. Jason's character isn't the only one who is a victim, and he isn't the only one where victimhood features as an important theme, and none of that diminishes the fact that the way victimhood is portrayed and handled in Jason's story is compelling both for its meta commentary on the narrative and the catharsis it can bring. Here are some meta that analyse Jason's character in relation to victimhood:

-Jason and Joker's other victims

-How Jason's story resonates with victims of SA

-Jason and childhood sexual abuse

-How Jason is blamed for his death

-Jason's UTH monologue is sincere, and he has a right to his anger

-Jason's point isn't about the villains, it's about the victims

-Victimhood VS Survival

Philosophy

Now when it comes to this section, a lot of people associate ethics (for instance what Jason considers right and wrong) and politics (what solutions/actions he thinks should be taken as a result of those ethical beliefs). Of course that makes sense with the way those concepts intertwine, but they're not the same question (crucially, you can agree with his position on one without agreeing on the other) so I've tried to separate the posts into those two categories the best I can.

Ethics

I couldn't find a jaybin post that was only on ethics (though the political jaybin posts cover it a little) but some of my favourite stuff about Jason is the discussion of ethics. Honestly I consider it much more enjoyable than the political part of the discussion, it has my preference for sure.

On love and Red Hood

A reading of UTH as an invitation to incorporate emotions into our ethics

Pragmatics vs sanctity? Jason does value human life

Politics

I'm subdivising this one again because Jaybin and Red Hood wouldn't agree on everything here (I don't think the gap is irreconcilable, but it would require writers to put effort into bridging it which I never see dc do, at least not correctly.)

AS JAYBIN

Ethics, crime, grief and vigilantism

A philosophy of love and care

AS RED HOOD

Does Red Hood valorize organised crime?

Red Hood is a pimp (no, wait, listen)

On the death penalty

Jason's political thesis in UTH: you cannot rule through fear alone

Jason's point isn't about the villains, it's about the victims (yes, this one is here twice because it fits into both categories what do you want me to say)

Symbolism

You know I love me a character with some cool symbolism. I only got two posts on the matter so far but if anyone has articulate meta posts about Jason wrt Paradise Lost, Abraham and Isaac, Orpheus and Euridyce or literally anything else please share it I would love that so much I have so many thoughts about it but not all of them have a meta that develops them. Anyway here's another reason to like Jason Todd: he's got a lot of symbolism to sink your teeth into.

My thoughts on catholic Jason Todd

Jason Todd VS The Bible

Jason & Isaac

Abilities and skills

Now a lot of that was about what makes Jason interesting to me but one thing Jason is that he's also extremely fun. He's just all around an enjoyable character! To me his #1 best fun trait is how witty/funny he is, both as Jaybin and Winick's Red Hood, which is a shame because I don't have a post gathering panels of how funny he is (if anyone has one please feel free to share!). But his #2 best fun trait, to me, is that he's a hyper-competent jack-of-all-trades. And I don't mean a gary-stue! He's probably not one of the world's best at most of those things, but he's pretty good at a whole bunch of things and he's also very resourceful and underhanded, making for great battle scenes because it's always fun to watch pull tricks out of his sleeve! This is especially true for his villain era, because while hyper-competent heroes can become annoying, I find hyper-competent villains/antagonists super exciting. So here are just a tiny tidbit of metas I could find about some of his skills!

"The dumb Robin"

Jaybin is a skilled hacker!

Languages

Marksmanship (amongst other skills)

Jason and Bruce

Warning: if you're here it means you haven't blocked the anti batman tags but like, this isn't a super Batman-friendly blog. The meta in this part doesn't exactly hold Bruce in high regards so like, if you're a fan of him like, be aware of that.

With that being said, I find Jason's story, and the criticism of Bruce/Batman that ties into it, very interesting. I also am personally drawn towards stories around child abuse for cathartic reasons, and DC, albeit unintentionally, draws a very realistic depiction of abusive families within the batfam, which I also find really compelling. So here's a bunch of meta about Jason and Bruce and utter misery! Parenting tip: don't do that.

-Jaybin era Bruce was far from perfect

-Bruce projects on jaybin

-Parentification

-Analysis of Jason's grave

-Can you believe Bruce yellow-wallpapered Jason?

-Jason as a meta character

-Jason's isolation wrt his relationship with Bruce

Jason and Mia

-Green Arrow: Seeing Red makes a great point about victim-blaming

-On defense of jaymia : So, this one requires some explanation. It's kinda funny to include this in a meta masterpost/character manifesto since 1) the ship is not canon and 2) i do not ship nor particularly like the ship (no offence to those who do!). However, a lot is said about these two characters, and as a fan of both characters I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the matter, and I believe this post is a good breakdown of some conceptions and views wrt these two characters, even outside of the shipping length. I have more analysis about Seeing Red in the works, but it's bound to take a long time to happen!

Some other misconceptions I found interesting to mention

-Jason isn't a loner

-A quick forray into pre-crisis: Jason and Dick's backstories were similar, but they had their fair share of differences! They're far from the same character.

Trivia

And finally, as a palate cleanser after all that stuff, some trivia for your writer's needs.

Jason's taste in food and drinks

Jason's music taste

Books Jason Todd has read

Anyway, shout-out to all these amazing people for all that meta, and please note that just because I included one of their post in my meta and character manifesto doesn't mean they have to agree with everything I said (should be evident but like, just in case. Leave those people alone if your issue is with me.)

I'm leaving you with these comic recs from laufire! and this collection of pretty jason fanarts!

Hope you enjoy ✨✨

[thefanficmonster]

Never Beating the Allegations

Colby Brock x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: A compilation of Colby and Y/N being far too obvious with their feelings for one another for the entire world to see. Basically, a YouTube documentation spanning several channels that marks the history of this goofy relationship

"It's fucking nighttime already, dude! We're running two hours behind schedule!" Sam complains through a smile, shaking his head at Colby who's trailing behind him with bags full of snacks. "All because someone spent those two hours scouring a store!

They're currently in Canada following the filming of a couple investigations for Hell Week with Kris and Celina. As Sam said, they were supposed to be two hours along the road back home already - a very tiny portion of their roadtrip back, seeing as how they didn't get to buy plane tickets on time. So, they settled for a two day roadtrip and the adventure it would bring on.

Colby, not at all bothered by Sam's accusations, smiles at the camera, "I promised Y/N I'd bring back signature Canadian snacks for her. There is no chance in hell I go home empty-handed. She'd kill me." As if to prove he is serious about his quest, he lifts the two heavy looking bags for the camera to get a better shot of them.

Sam's smile falters, replaced by a highly offended frown, "So you're telling me we're not gonna eat any of those snack on the road?" Colby - folding with laughter, mind you - shakes his head. "Are you fucking ki-...."

* * * * *

"I'm almost done!" Y/N calls out from her spot in front of the mirror where she's been stuck for the past thirty minutes trying to even out her winged liner.

A groan comes from a far distance but is still picked up by her phone microphone and is heard by the audience of Y/N's Instagram live, "You keep saying that!"

Not ten seconds later, the door is thrown open, provoking a laugh from the girl. She lowers her hand and takes her attention away from her reflection to pay her roommate proper acknowledgement. "Give me a second, sheesh! Can't a girl make herself pretty in peace?"

Although he never enters the frame fully, the live chat is already flowing with cheers of Colby's name. Whether it was wishful thinking or an educated guess on their part is a mystery. Regardless, they're entirely correct, their suspicions confirmed when they hear his voice and see his arm come into frame, his hand cupping Y/N's chin to tilt up her face.

"You're always pretty." He says, causing her to roll her eyes. At that, he boops her nose with his pointer finger before withdrawing his arm, "You have five minutes to wrap things up."

Y/N's gaze lingers on him until he's out of sight. She shakes her head and catches the camera's eye in the mirror reflection, "The audacity on that man. Tsk

* * * * *

@_y/n_dragonfly Fuck Valentine's Day @_colbybrock

Needless to say, the comments went wild, running with this post on Y/N's Instagram as unofficial proof of the ship the fandom seems to hold so near and dear to their hearts.

Hope dies last, after all. Maybe one day their ship might set-sail.

* * * * *

"Ok, so, update..." Colby chuckles, looking away from the camera he's currently holding blogging style to make sure he doesn't trip on anything, "We were supposed to go grab food before starting the investigation, but then...." He flips the camera to show the backyard of the abandoned house they'll be exploring tonight, "Y/N found a trampoline in the backyard."

As the camera focuses, both Sam and Y/N come into clear view - the former laughing at the latter who's too busy to care. She's too occupied having the time of her life on this raggedy looking trampoline, reveling in childlike joy as she hops around.

Colby sets the camera on the tripod Sam had left nearby, wanting to capture this wholesome moment, even if it didn't make it into the final cut of the video. Though he doesn't see why it wouldn't.

After adjusting the camera, he turns to find Sam has joined Y/N on the trampoline, far more hesitant than she is, though.

"You guys are ridiculous." He remarks as he approaches them, shaking his head with a bright smile on his face.

Y/N lands on her knees so she can be at least halfway at eye-level with her friend, offering him a beckoning hand, "Come be ridiculous too. Don't be a bore."

Colby scoffs and rolls his eyes. Still, he accepts her hand but instead of using it for support to climb up to join his friends on the trampoline, he tugs on it. Y/N lets out a little yelp as she's enveloped in his arms. Her legs instinctively wrap around his waist, unwilling to have a rather unpleasant encounter with the ground.

"Colby! Put me down!!" Put her down he most certainly doesn't, instead opting to spin her while securely holding her in his arms, eliciting mock terror-filled screams from her.

Eventually, he does get persuaded into joining her and Sam on the trampoline.

And the whole fiasco eventually makes it into the final cut and onto the internet.

And, inevitably, in edits.

* * * * *

It's an innocent, wholesome TikTok they filmed in the garden of the Conjuring house. Yes, the Conjuring house, no biggie.

Sam is the cameraman who much to his relief didn't even need to orchestrate anything. He just pressed the record button on his phone to capture the tomfoolery going on. The lighting is perfect, provided by the few remaining rays of sunlight before dark befell them. A little lighthearted fun was more than needed before they'd have to go back in the house to chat with spirits for the night.

The video captures Y/N in her natural element - dancing goofily with the pair of headphones they use for the Estes method on her head. The caption under the video reads: 'When the spirits drop a sick beat' and is quite the perfect depiction of the trio's dynamic.

Sam documenting the chaos. Y/N being the chaos. And Colby observing her chaos with heart-eyes from the sidelines.

Although Sam hadn't originally noticed his best friend's awed gaze accidentally captured in the video, the fans most definitely noticed. And, as per usual, they ran with it.

*sigh* These two are never beating the allegations.

@benbarnesprettygurl @jessy-shine @mushycore @richardsamboramylove55 @smuttiest-smuttt @honey-bees-13 @rei-ito

[awesomesnailguy]

Overanalyzing SM's skill icon/Fount brainrot

Credits to fandom wiki for most of the source images, others are from ingame screenshots :)

Looking at SM's skill icon and this Fount CG side by side, they feel very similar pose- and framing-wise:

Majority remainder of yap below the cut, beware of long post :p

In most in-game depictions of SM, the artists tend to put his hair at a 3/4 angle, even when he's meant to be facing forward like in the character menu or a cutscene. Idk how to explain it with words, but basically they always put his hair off to the side like so:

This is probably just to make sure his silhouette remains consistent across all depictions of him, since the Asymmetrical Hair is one of the most distinctive parts of his design. But! This makes it even more interesting that they chose to make him (or at least his hair shape) very Round and Symmetric in his skill icon? When the (iirc) only other time he's been drawn symmetrically in official art is as the Fount?

Another note about his skill icon: the way they positioned SM's collar thing(? don't know what it's called) and his arms makes it look a lot like Fount's accessory:

I would not be surprised if this was intentional as well :p

All this considered, it feels like SM hasn't completely moved on from his time as the Fount. Not to say he wants to become the Fount again, but that he hasn't been able to sever his current identity from his past one. Some of the Fount's mannerisms still live on in him after all this time. This point comes back in his dialogue in Ep2 and Ep7-8 where he constantly questions and debates with the protagonists, something that would come naturally to a scholar/academic (There's more evidence supporting this idea, might make a post compiling those someday)

Another angle worth approaching, though, is- what if this wasn't meant to depict SM retaining traits from the Fount, but rather the transitional period between his identity as the Fount and the Master of Deceit?

(Puts on tinfoil hat) Back to the skill icon and CG comparison, SM's icon is missing a lot of the traits you can see in his normal design, such as the white right sleeve and his hair color split into blue on top/dark bottom. These *could* be shortcuts taken for the sake of simplifying the icon, but when they went to the effort of including his sleeve stripes and exact shape of the Souljam (despite it being half hidden by the larger eye icon in front) and also the ten million eyes in the background, I'm not sure if they know what the word "simplify" means (read this in a joking, light-hearted tone, with a slight hint of concern for the artists' wrist health)

The exclusion of the special sleeve color makes him look much more symmetrical overall, & the removal of his normal hair color now makes his icon hair look a lot more like the Fount's. Despite the design in his icon being more similar to current SM than Fount overall, there are still some missing design elements that suggest he hasn't fully become the Master of Deceit at this point in time.

If SM's icon is meant to depict a half-corrupted Fount, it makes the parallels between it and the CG even more interesting though. Both versions of Fount have their eyes closed, head tilted up slightly, smiling, but the circumstances couldn't have been more different. CG Fount looks wise, tranquil, trustworthy; generally just a fairly put together guy. Rays of light emanating from him as he presents the light of knowledge to the world: but the light rays in the CG look false, metallic, as if there's already Something Wrong hiding beneath the Fount's peaceful facade. Skill Icon Fount looks happy. He's plunged the world around him into darkness with nothing but his own power. The eyes surrounding him in the background, representing his countless lies? The eyes on his hair making eye contact with them, attempting to form an illusion of companionship?

The lighting of the icon still presents him as the only source of light in a darkened world, but it feels more like a spotlight now, focused on his face and himself alone, rather than radiating out from him onto the receiving audience of knowledge-seekers. Maybe his conjured Other Realm eyes are his audience now. He doesn't need anyone else but himself (or at least that's what he wants to believe)

Im going insane

[copperbadge]

So the ADHD Handbook post struck a chord with a lot of people...

I don't think I have it in me to write the book I suggested, mainly because most of what I want to write about is variable by situation. I can't actually offer a magic formula for getting a good assessment, all I would be able to do is say "Here are the warning signs, here's my personal story, shit's just rough". Which I could do but it'd be basically an entire book of "shrug emoji". The best possible way would probably be to offer it as a workbook, like "Here is a page for you to record every communication with the clinic doing your testing. Here is a page for you to write down possible other approaches to getting your medication if the pharmacy is out." etc.

I do think I might write it as a novel of some kind. Possibly even a novel about someone writing a handbook, I haven't decided. I had a dream last night about the book, in which I saw a woman watching a revolution taking place in the distance, thinking, "This is not what I intended when I set out to write a self-help book." Baller way to start a novel, honestly.

Anyway there were several suggestions for books in the notes, so I thought I'd compile those here. I have read none of these, so I can't vouch for their contents, but I'm including what my readers said about them.

@blogquantumreality linked to How To ADHD by Jessica McCabe, who is a well-known ADHD youtuber (I haven't found her videos super helpful but they're also not aimed at me). @knitsinweirdplaces added "The last section of the How to ADHD book is literally called 'how to change the world' and exactly points out we can advocate for a more disability friendly world that traumatizes ADHDer less in the first place. It's the only book I've read that hits the balance of 'your brain has immutable challenges' and 'these strats may help' right. Bonus, it is inclusive of people who use adhd meds and those who don't/can't."

@theindefinitearticle mentioned "I read how to keep house while drowning recently and it's been much more practical for me in terms of actual usable advice." This book has also come up numerous times during National Clean Your Home Month as a helpful guide to cleaning.

@buginateacup said "The year I met my brain is the only one I've read that actually felt like it was making useful suggestions for living with ADHD."

@cabloom said "iampayingattention on Instagram wrote How Not To Fit In."

@grison-in-space said "Do you have any idea how over the top excited I was when I found I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder?"

@doubleminorforroughing wrote "Please read Devon Price. He wants to tear it all down and I love it." I will add that I don't think I've read Laziness Does Not Exist but I have read Price's shortform work extensively and I think he's been very influential in rethinking how we frame laziness and productivity in relation to both work and neurodivergence, so I can second the recommendation.

[waywardmillennial]

Mission Impossible Movies Ranked by Benji x Ethan Scenes

literally no one asked for this but ever since we got that trailer shot from Final Reckoning I've been wondering which MI movie has the most Benthan scenes packed into it

so I rewatched them all the past few days and compiled my rankings and thots

spoilers below for all the MI movies they're in together - from III to Dead Reckoning

Mission: Impossible III

They're both babies in this! (let's not talk about how this was released in 2006 ... omgggg)

The main focus in this plot is Ethan/Julia of course, but notably Benji being the one person Ethan can call at the end when he needs help to find Julia shows such a level of trust between them!

And Benji barely needs to be convinced to help Ethan. It's the first sign of how whipped he is for this man! Benji also suggests they can share a jail cell together if arrested - that's at least a little bit gay

They feel more like co-workers who drunkedly made out one Christmas party than lifelong partners in this one.

Rating: 4/10

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Before they even see each other in person - before they've even technically worked in the field together! - they have a married-level argument in the first few minutes. Ethan uses puppy dog eyes to win this argument, then blows Benji a kiss! and points to his heart!

(and Ain't That a Kick in the Head by Dean Martin is playing this whole time btw)

I actually had to gif it because what the actual hell is this?? blows a kiss, says he knows Benji is watching, and points to his heart -- is he saying he knows Benji guards his heart? Or that he loves Benji?? Either way I'm a mess about it!

GAAAAYYYY!!

Benji later tells Ethan that being in the field with him is a dream for Benji (awwww - you know he's totally written about this in his diary beside a whole page of Benji Dunn-Hunt practice signatures)

The scenes of them at the Kremlin and the Burj Khalifa together are very good. Love seeing them work together!

We don't get much more than that, but remember that in this film, Benji thinks that Julia either left Ethan or was killed and Ethan is mourning her, so ofc he's not going to flirt too much with his man while he's grieving

There's a blip of jealous!Benji at the end when he interrupts Ethan and Jane having a moment, but overall not quite gay enough. I do love Ethan's hair the most in this one but I deducted a point for not enough Luther in this film

Rating: 7/10

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Benji hasn't seen or heard from Ethan in six months but still gets called in for weekly polygraphs about him. Does he crack once? Nope! He lies to the CIA every week about the nature of his relationship to Ethan - really gay

Ethan gets Benji to travel to Austria and dress in a tuxedo just so he can ogle him from afar - super gay

Then Ethan tries to send Benji away, because he wants to keep him safe (all kinds of gay), but Benji puts his foot down and refuses to leave and Ethan is both surprised and turned on by this dominant behavior.

They totally had sex after this scene. Trust.

^^this is basically a wedding scene okay - some kind of vows at least

Then they meet up with Ilsa and Benji's so confident Ethan can hold his breath for several minutes underwater - like "yeah my boyfriend is very skilled in this area, don't ask how I know this" - GAY SEEN FROM SPACE!

"Are you sure you should drive? You were just dead a minute ago." ^^married level dialogue

And when Lane wants to kidnap the member of the team who is most important to Ethan, who does he pick? Benji of course!!

There was never any doubt that Ethan was going to go after him. And he comforts Benji as much as he can during a hostage situation because Benji is his focus even when there's a mission at hand T_T

This film really has a lot going for it! Benji is given proper screen time from start to finish and the overall writing of this script is probably one of the best in the series. I also love Ilsa in this one! They could have made it so her and Ethan kissed, or slept together, but they didn't which is refreshing from so many pov's!

Rating: 18/10

(yes eighteen not a typo)

Mission: Impossible Fallout

They start the movie with some married banter "I don't feel relaxed" // "I won't let anything happen to you" ugh WHATEVER

Benji gets to be extra competent in this movie (and Ethan has a competency kink - he told me himself) like Benji wearing suspenders and specs while driving a boat like a bad ass? YES!

And when Benji pulls off the Lane switch he's so happy and instantly looks to Ethan for approval:

OMG STOP FLIRTING IN FRONT OF YOUR CO-WORKERS

Overall, Julia is a main focus of this movie and I really like how much they included her! When she's helping Luther it's so good.

But then the writers decided to try to make Ilsa a side love interest? For whymst?? Unnecessary. Sorry, I don't get romantic vibes from Ethan x Ilsa and I never will. Two points deduction.

Rating: 8/10

Mission: Dead Reckoning

Benji disarming a bomb - that knows his name!! - and he hides it from Ethan. Interesting, but not necessarily gay.

I do love the moment when Ethan is all alone in Rome, after he sent Luther and Benji away, and he looks so sad. But then the van pulls up and Benji is like "why are you surprised? of course we followed you!" expression

When the Entity wants to send Ethan down the wrong path in Venice, it chooses to impersonate Benji - standard ops but also a little gay. Also, Ethan can soon tell when something sounds like Benji but isn't him, proving how far they've come in their relationship over the years!

The argument about the train and making Ethan jump is pretty married level, but not as much as we've seen from them before.

Really, this movie is lots of Ethan x female characters, with the flashbacks to Marie, meeting Grace, and sharing a quiet moment with Ilsa in Venice. This one is almost as straight-washed as MI:III and that's when Ethan got married so.

Some good Benji (and Luther) scenes in this one, but not enough imo

Rating: 5/10

side note: this still below from Final Reckoning is so funny to me out of context because it looks like Grace is clinging onto Ethan and yet he only has eyes for Benji

So until we see if we survive Final Reckoning my winner goes to Rogue Nation!!

So, if you want to rewatch the gayest MI movie before Final Reckoning (that may well rip all of our hearts out) this is the one to see!

And if you finish that, here are a few Benthan fic recs that directly follow Rogue Nation (movie spoilers in the fics)

Tomorrow (it's you and me) by Haepherion

It should feel a lot more momentous than it is. It should feel like freedom. But the only thing Benji can focus on is his next breath, of breathing through the sudden rush of pain he feels from the bruises on his beaten body. Benji’s at least grateful that Lane had told his men not to beat Benji in the face, otherwise the others surely would have caught on by now. Not Rated, 8k, more like pre-slash with some violence, but feels like it could easily be an after-credits story

The Next Day by Three_Oaks

What happens after the events of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Benji is hurting, and he's alone. Until Ethan finds him. Teen, 2k, Hurt/Comfort and more pre-slash but very in-character

I Can't Lose You by chaostheoryy

Watching the ones you care about suffer is the hardest damn thing in the world. And for Ethan Hunt, seeing Benji Dunn with a bomb strapped to his chest was something even his nightmares wouldn't have conjured up. General, 2k, Ethan being worried about Benji, with some romance to go with the angst

Leave kudos and comments if you read!

[deesblanketfort]

Picrews I like as a regressor ☆´ˎ˗ ︶︶︶

Blatantly based off this post by @thetinyblossom because making picrews is certainly in my top 10 favorite regression activities and I'd like to compile some of my favorite picrews as well :3

🖌️ My room 🖌️

About: A room maker and half body character maker with a cutesy style.

Variety rating: This picrew has two very basic dark skin tones and practically no good curly hairstyles. It's more feminine and androgynous leaning but can be used to make any kind of child, chibi-like character regardless of gender.

🌊 Let's go to the sea 🌊

About: A simple half body maker with sea/pool/swimming themes.

Variety rating: This picrew has four basic skintones, no curly hair options (there's some wavy hairstyles but not quite curly). The cutesy artstyle makes it easier for fem/neu leaning characters.

🍬 Macarons 🍬

About: A very cute and yummy food and character maker with a simple chibi artstyle.

Variety rating: the curly hair options are very underwhelming and the darker skin tones aren't even dark, but the macaron itself is very customizable as it's the focus of this picrew.

🏠 Room picrews: 1st, 2nd 🏠

About: Two room makers for those who would like to envision their ideal regression room!

Variety rating: The first picrew is more focused on brighter/darker colors and has ton of fandom related options for plushies and posters (just look at the picture I made, lol), while the second picrew has a pastel color palette and 2 to 3 options for each furniture space, but it's still very fun and cute nonetheless!

🍹 Cream soda 🍹

About: Here you make and decorate a cream soda drink! With a little critter of your choice on top of it.

Variety rating: I don't think you can get more variety from a cream soda picrew than with this one! It covers a wide range of colors, toppings and effects, and, most surprisingly, critters! Mammals, dinosaurs, insects, ghosts, dragons and other mythical creatures, you can find there!

🧦 Baby Carrot outfit maker 🧦

About: A fullbody outfit maker with a focus on fashion and tons of outfit options.

Variety rating: Very inclusive! Tons of curly hair and dark skin options, a chubby body type, scars, facial and body hair.

🌙 Terrarium maker 🌙

About: A very pretty and detailed terrarium/aquarium picrew where you make a terrarium or an aquarium instead of a character.

Variety rating: For a terrarium picrew, it has a large variety of options from the shape of the bottle to the color of the sky to every little corner, you can even add animals and human characters!

🍼 Cute person maker 🍼

About: This fullbody picrew must be one of the most agere coded picrews I've ever seen: it includes onesies, pajamas, oversized shirts, pacifiers, costumes, diapers and it's overall very adorable :3

Variety rating: Decent range of skintones, a couple of good options for curly hairstyles and one alternative chubby body type, plus all the agere coded options I've mentioned above!

🐾Littlest pet maker🐾

About: LPS maker!

Variety rating: Although you can't make every single LPS in this picrew (obviously) it has tons of options and cute accessories (and several references to LPS popular if you're into it!!!)

[royalarchivist]

Aimsey: [While watching a Hideduo compilation, and seeing Fit message Pac "It's going to be ok"] Aww... That's fcked! Wait, what is it? "Sau–" wait, hold on. How do you say that? "Saudades?"

[He plays a clip of someone pronouncing Saudades and repeats the word several times to copy the pronunciation]

Aimsey: Ohhh, nostalgia! [Reading the definition] "Saudades is a word in Portuguese that claims no direct translation in English. However, a close translation in English would be "desiderium," defined as an ardent desire or longing, especially a feeling of loss or grief for something lost."

Aimsey: It's like "Hiraeth," yeah! It's like the Welsh word! Guys, I can teach you something! Wait- wait- wait– Chat I can teach you something!!! So, in Wales, in Welsh, we have a similar word! We have a similar word, ok? Um... [She plays an audio clip of someone pronouncing "Hiraeth"] Ok, ok, hold on, hold on. We have a similar word, yeah. So, in Welsh, there is the term "Hiraeth," which is a home– ok, I'm gonna explain: "Hiraeth" is a homesickness– lemme, lemme say it in chat... [They type out the word and verbally spell it out letter by letter] I'm gonna spam it.

Aimsey: SO! In Welsh, we have a very similar word, and the- like, the description for it is basically a deep longing for something, especially someone's home. And it's like a homesickness. [Pauses] And there are no direct English translation, but it basically mean like, a homesickness tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed. [Reading chat] Yes, you're all saying it right! Yeah, you're all saying it right! You're all saying it right!

Aimsey learns what "saudades" means, and teaches chat a similar word in Welsh. One of my favorite things about QSMP is seeing people learning about other cultures and seeing them get SO EXCITED when they get an opportunity to share their own culture or language with others :')💕

[garchankdefender]

The Music of Arcane: Vi’s Motif

This one took some legwork! So strap in, strap on, and enjoy the fruits of my labour: a deep-dive into the musical score of Arcane.

Recently, I posted a link to a list someone made of leitmotifs (musical motifs that represent a character, place, or concept) in Arcane. To my surprise, Vi wasn’t listed - and in the comments, people including OP were speculating that it’s strange she doesn’t have one. But I’ve done some sleuthing.

And she does!

At least, I think she does. Bear with me, here.

"VI'S" MOTIF?

Quick reference: The leitmotif in question

So here’s the thing: I’m not sure that this leitmotif actually represents Vi herself. To me, that appears to be the closest match - but there are some instances where it doesn’t quite seem to fit. 

The motif is derived from the chord progression of Goodbye, as I'll explain shortly, so perhaps it represents saying goodbye: loss/death/change/having to say farewell in general? 

I’ve outlined what I’ve found below - I encourage you to have a look through and, if you draw your own conclusions, let me know what you think! I don't have much in terms of music theory and music analysis background, so I’m sure there’s much more to unpack here that I haven't even begun to touch on.

THE LEITMOTIF ITSELF

This is the chord progression from Goodbye that becomes the foundation of Vi's leitmotif:

[From Musescore: “Goodbye - Ramsey (Arcane: League of Legends OST) - Piano Solo” by caliko]

Specifically, the top two notes of the first two chords: a minor third (Gb,Eb) to major second (F,Eb). The top notes are the vocal line of “It’s time to say goodbye(Gb), goodbye(Gb) goodbye(F).” This progression, and the disonnance between the Gb and F, make up the Goodbye/Vi leitmotif (for the sake of clarity, I’ll just be calling it Vi’s motif) that I’ve been trying to pin down.

Goodbye makes sense as the foundation of Vi’s motif, because, if you look at the lyrics, this is Vi's song. As @bwat5-blog said in an earlier post examining the lyrics of a couple different Arcane tracks, this song represents “Vi's perspective as her world is completely falling apart around her.” And when we hear the motif in the soundtrack, it often seems to be referencing Vi’s trauma, or her losses (in fact, in my notes, I was calling this the “Vi-has-a-bad-time motif” lmao).

Below are all the instances of Vi’s motif that I caught. For your convenience, I have compiled a list of timestamped youtube links, along with short descriptions of what’s going on in the show each time the motif appears.

LIST OF OCCURENCES

(click the song title for a timestamped youtube link)

Season 1

The first time we hear that dissonance is in Episode 3, The Base Violence Necessary for Change (the one with Goodbye):

Deal’s Changed 0:39 After Benzo and Grayson are killed, Vi watches helplessly from the basement as Vander is knocked out and taken by Silco A Short Reunion 0:07 Vi leads the team on the Vander rescue mission A Short Reunion 1:44 Vi faces down the first of Silco’s goons; Powder sees and gasps; Vander also sees and gasps. Silco gives his dude the go-ahead to attack. Explosion 0:27 Everyone is reacting in slow-mo to Powder’s monkey-bomb hextech explosion (note that the dissonance plays as it pans across Vi and Vander specifically - ALSO, note that it’s intermingled with Jinx/Powder’s leitmotif here)

Revenge 2:25 Silco stabs Vander and drops him off the catwalk while Vi watches (the whole sequence has the leitmotif several times) You’re a Jinx 1:42 and onwards. This song is the lead-up into Goodbye, so it has a lot of this same chord progression. The timestamp is where Vi looks down at her hand in horror after hitting Powder. Goodbye - basically the whole song. It plays at the very end of S1E3 as we’re left reeling over Vander’s death and Vi’s abduction by Marcus, and Powder’s left sobbing in Silco’s arms. Slow zoom out, roll credits, this song plays. Chills.

Episode 4, Happy Progress Day!: 

None - also no Vi, she only appears at the very end when Caitlyn goes to Stillwater.

Then in Episode 5, Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy:

Order for Release 2:28 Vi cautiously watches Caitlyn after Caitlyn has her cell door opened in Stillwater.

Episode 6, When These Walls Come Tumbling Down:

How Could I Forget? 0:46 Caitlyn examines Vi and Powder’s growth chart and childhood wall art, just after giving Vi the Shimmer potion.  Showdown 3:10 Ekko stops a Firelight from spearing an unconscious Vi after Jinx and Vi get jumped during their reunion - and there’s a second instance a few seconds later, on a shot of Vi being carried by the Firelight

Episode 7, The Boy Savior: 

No instances of the motif that I noticed!

Episode 8, Oil and Water:

We Got a Deal, Pretty Boy? 0:39  This is right as Vi is talking about Stillwater with Jayce, asking, “You don’t bother to find out what it does to someone, being stuffed in a stone box for weeks, or months, or even years?”

And finally, Episode 9, What Could Have Been:

She Still Needs You 0:37 This is a slight variation of the motif, but it’s clear enough that I wanted to mention it. Happens right as she stands to face down Sevika once again, after hallucinating Vander encouraging her. (Actually, upon review, I think this instance is more just a part of Vander’s theme)

That’s it for season one! Now onto…

Season 2

Episode 1, Heavy is the Crown:

It’s Your Legacy Now 3:37 Our first appearance of Vi’s motif this season is as she storms away from Caitlyn after turning down her offer to join the enforcers (before she starts drinking with Loris for the first time). The Burden of Responsibility 0:38 After the memorial attack, while Cait and Vi talk about what’s next. (“Maybe you should change that.” “I don’t know how, okay?”) Another neat thing about this one: that cool driving percussion line in the background is one of Caitlyn’s leitmotifs (and it’s one of the coolest, imo) The Burden of Responsibility 1:14 Same song, same conversation. “Every way I slice it, if I go after your sister alone, one of us comes back in a box. It’s all coming apart.”

Episode 2, Watch It All Burn:

Awakening 3:05 Interestingly, this is the one of the few examples I found that doesn’t directly involve Vi - although it is still a “goodbye,” as Viktor leaves Jayce after being revived with the hexcore.

Episode 3, Finally Got the Name Right:

Surprisingly for an episode with so much Vi, I didn’t catch the leitmotif at all here

Episode 4, Paint the Town Blue:

Sevika’s Speech 0:43 This one is during Sevika’s speech to the Jinxers, as the crowd clamors to see Jinx herself. Another instance of the motif where it doesn’t involve Vi. Interesting that we heard it a lot in episode 1, but haven’t heard it for Vi a single time since she joined the enforcers. Losing herself? Is that a stretch?

Episode 5, Blisters and Bedrock:

Blisters and Bedrock 0:34 IT'S BACK. It sounds right as Vi touches the Silco-Vander letter. Also at 1:02 while we hear Vander read “When [Felicia] died, I lost my head.” And at 1:50 while we see Vander’s seeing-red pov chasing down Isha, Jinx, and Vi, and Vi looking nervously down the tunnel. That’s Not Vander - various. It’s not as obvious as in other songs, but the leitmotif is woven into the Vi vs. Warwick song several times.

Episode 6, The Message Hidden Within the Pattern:

Don’t Sugarcoat it, Cupcake 1:06 Vi and Caitlyn talk about what Caitlyn’s doing in the commune - hunting down a murderous chem-beast.

Episode 7, Pretend Like It’s the First Time:

Predictably, none in this episode.

Episode 8, Killing Is a Cycle:

A Second Chance 0:39 This is right after Vi wakes up and talks with Caitlyn after the commune battle injury. “Who decides who gets a second chance?” The motif plays on the shot of Caitlyn looking conflicted/regretful as Vi storms away. A Storm is Coming 0:34 Jayce addresses the assembled governing parties of Piltover and Zaun, and says “we’ll need every hand we can get,” as the motif plays.

Episode 9, The Dirt Under Your Nails

The Bridge (Reprise) 0:49 Just one instance of the motif this episode, and it might be a stretch - it’s the last shot of the show, as Jinx (presumably) flies off in her balloon.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

So there we have it!

I probably missed all sorts of inversions and variations and things, so feel free to let me know if there are more, or if I made any errors.

Also interesting to note is that Vi's motif is similar to an element of Vander’s theme (in fact, it’s possible I accidentally added a couple of links that are actually Vander’s, or are a blend of Vi and Vander together)

I know this was a long read, but thanks for sticking with me, for those of you that did! I find this stuff endlessly fascinating, and I actually really enjoyed compiling this post. It was a fun little mystery to try to uncover (even though I still don’t think I’ve quite gotten to the bottom of it yet). And it was fun doing a truly complete listen-through of the Arcane soundtrack! (I’ll probably do it again, too… probably several times - send help lol)

BONUS LEITMOTIF CONTENT

Episode 9, The Dirt Under Your Nails: You’ve Fought Well This has nothing to do with the Vi motif, just something cool I noticed during my listen-through that I didn’t notice during the show: the music references I Can’t Hear It Now when Caitlyn and Mel finally take down Ambessa, just after Catilyn sacrifices her eye… except now it’s for Mel’s mother, not Caitlyn’s. THIS SHOW.

[bioethicists]

Psych Abolition Chat: Harm Reduction for Disorderly Eating

A huge thanks to all the people who came to the first set of Harm Reduction Chats! I really enjoyed spending time with you all + I was surprised by the turnout + delighted by how much everyone had to say.

Some topics we touched on across both sessions:

disability + eating disorders + the ways that those intersect, as well as dealing with grief related to acquiring a disability via an eating disorder

the problems with withholding harm reduction until one's eating disorder has been sufficiently "severe + enduring"; harm reduction as a right for all

harm reduction in restrictive settings like inpatient: is this possible?

abstinence-only care models for eating disorders + the harm they cause

autonomy, choice, + ng tubes; autonomy as the defining factor of positive experiences with all forms of care

the invisible labor of having to teach oneself harm reduction techniques when they aren't widely available

disordered eating, obsessions + compulsions, whether or not disordered eating is a manifestation of obsessions/compulsions

People showed interest in creating or crowdsourcing the following:

more resources on harm reduction for laxative use

basically any harm reduction resources about eating disorders that are actually rooted in radical principles of autonomy

community/social connection for sharing grief surrounding acquired disability from eating disorders

The next set of sessions will be focused on self-injury + presented by Elliott @trans-axolotl + they are on Monday, Sep 16th at 9pm EST + Saturday, Sep 21st at 12pm EST.

The compiled resources from all of the sessions can be found here. I am still looking for more resources, especially pertaining to ED harm reduction!

(img src; Louise Bourgeois, 10 AM is When You Came to Me, 2006)

[the-bi-space-ace]

Writing Echo & the effects of Skako Minor

Discussions of trauma, CPTSD, and PTSD.

This will be a lot of personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt but I wanted to touch on writing Echo as someone who has CPTSD. Personally, I think after what he experienced on Skako Minor Echo would have CPTSD. The very basic thing you need to know is that PTSD and CPTSD are two different things. Symptoms overlap, they often get lumped together, but there are differences. From what I have learned from therapy and doctors PTSD happens from a single traumatizing event. Something happened, an accident, violence, etc. and it has stuck with you. CPTSD occurs when someone has multiple traumatizing events throughout their life that all compound. So if you grew up in an abusive household, experienced outside violence, and had several life altering events, that would be the perfect breeding ground for CPTSD. It is not one event. CPTSD comes from the fact that it is multiple things on top of each other, all working together to make your PTSD complex in nature since it comes from a web of things instead of one event.

After Skako I think Echo would suffer from CPTSD mainly because he has experienced several traumatizing events over and over again. The explosion, being tortured, being experimented on over and over again, and finding out he has been used as a weapon, along with his injuries sustained in the battle of Anaxes all compile together. This is what I base this off of.

With that in mind I wanted to talk a little bit about some symptoms and how this could translate to Echo as a character.

One can experience shaking (imagine Crosshair early season 3), paranoia, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. I have seen Echo portrayed often with nightmares, which I think is a great route to go, however I want to offer up other ways you can show his difficulty living with CPTSD. Physical symptoms are one thing and definitely make life more difficult but what about the mental ones?

One challenge can be constantly feeling like the other shoe is going to drop. There can be waves of feeling okay and stable and then other periods of constant vigilance and anxiety. When things are good you could think ‘how much longer until it is all gone? How long do I deserve safety and happiness?’ These fears are often completely unrealistic but your brain cannot determine that in the moment.

I think Echo could struggle with this. I want to imagine that this is part (not all) of the reason he wants to badly to do more and part of why he does not really want to retire. He doesn’t understand safety anymore. He’s still more comfortable in chaos and vigilance. Safety would likely feel unsafe to him. At least, for a while. Truthfully, survivors guilt and his own loyalty and personality are all wrapped up in there too but imagine if there was another layer.

What if he is clinging so desperately to helping because tomorrow he could be swept away again. Or he won’t be able to save anyone. Or somehow Tambor will catch up with him. Or maybe, just maybe, he becomes the algorithm again. He snaps right back into it mid mission. He’s taken over and can’t be saved. He attacks his loved ones. He can’t help it. He could hurt them. What if he hurts them! Safety may frighten him so deeply he can’t even begin to think about it. His brain won’t let him. It won’t let him cling to that thought because it can’t be real it will be danger. It has to be.

It doesn’t have to be rational because CPTSD is not rational. Your brain and body are trying to protect you. It has learned that you are in danger and it is not comfortable with safety anymore. It will protect you even if you are perfectly safe. Even if that means telling you lies.

And none of this makes him weak. He’s confident in his skills, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s lethal and loyal and kind hearted and not at all weak. His strength and compassion are things to look up to. I love Echo. He’s dedicated to saving his loved ones, he’s been through so much, and he has never ever given up despite the challenges. I think he is wonderful and such a rich character for storytelling. It certainly isn’t necessary to include this when writing Echo but if you’re looking for other ways for his trauma to manifest this may be an interesting route to explore.

have the best gif of Echo ever as a treat for reading this far

[ikimaru]

when and how did you find your art style? has it changed much over time?

I'm gonna go on a tangent here bc it's pretty interesting for me to look back on aksjd

I don't think it was really linear in a point A to point B kinda way, I still got it more or less where I wanted it to but I can't say it felt streamlined

my first fandom was pokemon anime, so I was 100% set on learning that style first bc that was fun to me, instead of learning basics or anything I went right in and learned how to draw humans in that style, then I got into Death Note so I had to learn an entirely different style bc the previous one didn't help at all, I didn't stick with it very long tho because THEN I got into vocaloid and various anime and more colorful characters so it was pretty much the huge eyes - dot nose style for a while

*then* I got tumblr and this site was very.. overwhelmingly cartoon-oriented so I quickly took an interest in cartoony styles and learned the style which I used between 2011-2016 pretty much, I think that was the first one where I could be like "it's mine" bc I was actively figuring out things I liked and putting my spin on them and it was so fun

but by the time I got into vld I wanted it to be more more complex so I was focusing more on learning lighting, anatomy and making the faces less cartoony annd I really wish I tackled the style of faces differently and I didn't end up hating drawing for several years in the process without even realizing it BUT Anyway

with gnshn last year is when I finally started compiling all the things I liked about drawing again from past styles and also new things so I can all combine it together at last, which is something I haven't done in huh 6(??)+ years.. ughhh lmao I really had to stop and be like "what do I WANT my art to look like?" and I'm still working on it

but yeah basically, it IS a lot more streamlined if you pick tutorials and go like that's a good™️ style to learn and go from there, instead of learning/unlearning things over and over like I did, I don't regret learning the previous styles tho, each of them were what I wanted out of it at the time, but there was a learning curve every single time

anyway your art path is your own whether you choose to get better in the faster way possible or do detours or something else, once you have a set of things that feel personal to you in how you draw them and you can comfortably use that to draw whatever u want to, you'll just know, it doesn't have to happen asap c:

[booksandabeer]

Crowdsourcing a Fic Rec List: Stucky & Peter Parker

Well, look at that!

Due to the numerous responses to this post, and since things have become a little cluttered there (different reblog threads, some recs are in tags or in comments, etc), I thought it would be a shame if anything got lost. So, I decided to compile a list of all the submitted recs for Stucky fics that also feature Peter Parker. Of course, I couldn't help myself and added a rec of my own. Fics that were mentioned multiple times are only listed once, and, if one was provided, I kept the original commentary. I hope I credited everyone correctly. If I got something wrong or missed anything, please let me know.

Thank you to everyone who shared recs, commented, or reblogged the original post to get more eyes on it. You're all wonderful! 💙

Here we go:

💙 recommended by @thankssaragorn

🕸 taking my time but I don't know where by cosmicocean | 35K, T so much fun, post-TWS Bucky lowkey mentoring Peter in being a hero and then some family and healing stuff, very sweet. 🕸 Steve Rogers Is (Not) A Good Influence by attackofthezee | 4K, T a goofy oneshot where Peter joins Steve on his Bucky-hunt. 🕸 the rattle of their hearts by iron_spider | 59K, T | part 1 of 2 in rattle universe series an IW fix-it where Tony & Steve try to fix things and Peter & Bucky are trapped in the soul stone together, also trying to fix things. Features irondad if that ain't your thing. 🕸 Dear Teacher, With Love by fancyh | 61K, T doesnt ~strictly~ fit the prompt but i love it so much im always gonna rec it. Bucky becomes a HS teacher post-TWS and Peter is in his class they rlly don't interact a ton but I just love this fic i can't help it.

❤ recommended by @sparkagrace

🕸 Steve and Bucky low key adopt Peter Parker by Andthrowmethekey | series in 3 parts | 3.5K, T 🕸 Drive It Like You Stole It: A Bodyswap by AggressiveWhenStartled | 28K, E | part 1 of 2 in The Old Codgers GreatestHits Album series

🤍 recommended by @eternalspine

🕸 longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak by honeycombclaire | 96K, M | part 1 of 2 in trigger words series Peter being raised by Bucky in Hydra as an assassin but he was Tony’s biological son that had been kidnapped as a toddler. I literally cannot say enough good things about this fic you should all go read it right now. I would inject it in my veins if I could. It genuinely took me several days to be normal again after reading it. There’s even a sequel!

💙 recommended by @arctic-turtle-cassiopeia

🕸 Astronomy in Reverse by pansley | 185K, T

❤ recommended by @maplefiasco

🕸 Make it Till You Fake It by AggressiveWhenStartled | 4K, E another super fun one by [this author]. 🕸 When I Am On Your Shoulders by Lady_Blackwater | 165K, M Steve reconnects with Bucky while going through a divorce from Tony and trying to navigate parenting their teen son Peter. I remember binging this in a day, I couldn't put it down.

🤍 recommended by @funkylittlelurker

🕸 Is this child Venomous? by rWolfWrites | 80K, M | part 1 of 4 in Stucky Shares Custody of Peter Parker series It's angsty as all get out, but it has a happy ending. Basically, it's a HYDRA Peter AU, wherein Peter is an asset right along Bucky. Peter is like, 12 at the youngest, so it's mcu Peter, don't worry. Bucky drops Peter off a Steve's house, designation Steve as Peter's new Handler. You can see why this might be bad. I won't spoil much, but the Maximoff twins also come into play! (Bucky saves them)

💙 recommended by @leihaddock

🕸 The Trials and Tribulations of the Watermelon Werewolf by BlueSimplicity | 67K, E Explicit between Steve and Bucky & Bucky basically lowkey adopts Peter. 🕸 Rainbow Dinosaurs by holla_the_forestfairy | ~1K, G short but sweet queer story

❤ recommended by @fsbc-librarian

🕸 Peter & Bucky Are Pals by DJ_unicornsrgr8 | series in 11 parts | 147K, G-T This series is set in the verse of Owlet's Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail, which is absolutely wonderful. 🕸 Steve Rogers' Dad Face and Other Common Hazards by AggressiveWhenStartled | 4K, T | part 1 of 4 in Workplace Hazards series 🕸 we leave through the fire by justanotherblond | 41K, T | part 1 of 3 in timshel series -> Also, always worth checking out the library for more fics!

🤍 recommended by @booksandabeer

🕸 Praetorian by RecoveringTheSatellites | 28K, M | part 1 of 2 in Amor Manet series Historical AU featuring Bucky as a pagan witch, Steve as a disgraced former Praetorian Guard, and Peter as a young recruit to the Roman army. Maybe a bit of a cheat, since Peter is not central to the story, but in the moments he does appear, he definitely makes an impression, and what we get to see of his mentor-mentee relationship with Steve really resonates. Also, look, this is just a banger of a fic with lots of action and romance that everyone should read.

💙 recommended by @stuckydrewx

🕸 Extra special treat! Drew shared a whole other fic rec list that she made a few months ago. Yay!

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this crowdsourced rec list—you're all fantastic!