#//I also rly rly RLY appreciate being given the chance to be heard out

[serpulalacrymans]

My neighbors keep replaying the same song…

When I do it I keep the volume down… This is just annoying..

[rhydium]

Info dumbo about the StarFinite story?

aright u asked for it anon GET READY [cracks knuckles] this is gonna be long so obligatory cut in 3, 2........

...1!

so the uh, the au! the story!! w/e yall wanna call it! full disclaimer, i only began working on this whole thing a while ago, but it's totally taken over my fukn brain. like, we're talking big hyperfixation hrs. am i cringe for being this invested in my own content? yes? cool i do not Care >:3€

i should also throw it out there real quick that i am kin w/ infinite, n this is actually one of my two canons (both of which are my own aus lmfao wow). i didn't go into it expecting it to be but sfsfsgdfs here we are ig!! for that reason it's got extra importance to me n this definitely contributes to the euphoria i get from it!! it's a lil odd writing ur own canon,,? but i kinda just go w/ the flow!

the au n, the story that i will start Eventually, revolves around infinite n starline (obvi) n it's honestly just ... the tl;dr is big healing momence n, what's this? uh oh sisters !!! they are falling in love 😳😳😳

uhhhh so infinite is an android, made by eggman. that's like, the most notable canon divergence here! super important context to have. i've got a whole big theory on the possibility of sega originally intending infinite to be an artificial being (which i explored in the works for my Other canon too), stemming from not only the scene in forces wherein infinite comments on sonic's "data", but a line of dialogue from tails in one of the last stages of the game where he Literally Says "so this is where eggman built infinite". that ... i mean. that contrasts w/ episode shadow pretty hard don't it?? would explain why that dlc was so rushed, n the comic too. ANYWAY adsfsfs um that's a seperate ramblepost. yeah!!!

they are also agender n use they/them (primarily) as well as he/him!! so i'll be refering to them w/ those pronouns!

after the war, infinite is taken in by the resistance n, instead of being dismantled, they're basically given a chance to rehabilitate themselves. it's agreed that they won't be reprogrammed, as despite the potential risks, it feels wrong to do so; like a violation of their free will, individuality n thinking. if infinite is to be a good person, it's not gonna be bc other ppl recreated their entire personality, it's gonna be bc it's what they themselves truly want. robot ethics idk man!! u can't tell me that sonic n co wouldn't offer this to infinite if they offered it to metal in IDW,,,, i am Standing By This!!!

it's, yknow, a bit rocky, at first. infinite has to really fight the urge to return to eggman (something they already tried once, before the resistance found them; they were cast out). it's a struggle against what they were built to do, against giving into unhealthy familiarity over facing a, while healthier, unfamiliarity. new faces, a new life, turning their back on their mission n creator, it's like, a lot.

they work for/with the sonic crew, rebuilding the world they tore down as deemed fitting justice, being closely monitored for a bit as a natural precaution. as it becomes apparent infinite truly no longer has any ambition to harm others (they don't have much ambition for anything, really), they're then granted more freedom, n start taking on more important missions!! it at least gives them something to do, keeps them occupied. they have issues with dissociation, unreality, whether they're truly a real person bc, well, android. feeling purposeless, n a lack of worth, especially. a need to prove themselves. heavy stuff. i'll kinda go into that a bit more in a sec. their work grounds them, if only temporarily.

n soooooo... IDW comic stuff happens. metal virus time. starline gets kicked out of the empire.

now, as the comics are ongoing, n as this is already an au, there's gonna be divergence, n i must admit i haven't planned out all that yet. there's a lot i have to consider!! infinite being w the resistance/restoration is a big game changer ... tho i Do believe that they were absent, likely on a far out mission during most of the chaos. eggman doesn't know abt them, nor does starline or anyone else other than the sonic crew; n some civilians that recognise them.

i'm not 100% sure of Exactly when it happens, but i think it's just after bad guys, that infinite is sent to locate n bring in starline. it doesn't prove too difficult. there's a whole, starline realising "oh fuck it's you???", some bickering n, the two don't hit it off right away. they're both kinda like. not mentally stable ddgddgdds,,,

so uh. starline ends up essentially going thru the same sorta shit as infinite. careful watch, rebuilding, all that jazz, making sure he can be trusted. he's like... very very lost, quite like infinite is. the world has kinda calmed down, in the meanwhile.

it's at this point i'm gonna go ahead n drop a bit of a ramble i subjected my friends to a while ago, to articulate the way i see the two, n their dynamic together!! i was considering making this it's own post a while ago!

analysing their characters a bit... let's look at starline. Like. so we have this, in bad guys, which SENT ME tbfh;

i feel like it's the moment that triggers starline onto the path he is rn canonically,,, he's clearly like. rly mad n bitter. the core of this?? he wants his work n his efforts to be acknowledged.

he's big angry. still kind of in denial at this stage. he has himself obsessed w/ the idea of making eggman see him as Worthy, that if he just tries hard enough, that'll happen. he's dependent on eggman's validation, n i mean, it's no surprise; he's followed him a Long Time by the sounds of it.

then in the recent issue, hold the fuck up, bc we got, This;

god. my god it's all comin together now homies. this???? this right here??? it is the CLASSIC "i have to do this to prove i'm strong n powerful n smart n worthy n should be respected please Give Me Acknowledgement" ..... n who else is Like That? can u see where im going w/ this?

i think most ppl are aware of infinite's character being extremely indicative of self worth/esteem issues n the need to prove themself, right?? the extreme adversity, repulsion, perhaps even fear toward the idea of being weak. the compulsion to prove otherwise, to show their strength, to become powerful, to conquer to make a point. their theme exudes this same energy as their behaviour in-game; an aggressive attitude, trying to assert themself, while if u rly listen...? the lyrics are actually really sad in places. it reeks of cover up, although composition wise, a v interesting thing to note is a lot of the more telling lyrics are prominent while some of the affirming ones are in the background. indicative of a desire to have their true feelings be heard but caught in a vicious loop?

okay okay that's yet Another different analysis. AHEM.

not to get deep on main (oh who the hell am i kidding that's the point of this entire thing) but i think starline has issues w/ his worth in a similar way to infinite. they both seem to have this need to Prove something, whether it's to others or themselves, n get caught in a toxic spiral of doing worse n worse things for Some kind of validation or acknowledgement. they'll go to really big lengths chasing that, n both of them ultimately sought validation in the wrong place n wrong way.

this is a big part of my starfinite dynamic,, n so, what happens, as they get closer n open up??? we have them BOTH realising together that they don't have to do fuck all to prove anything to anyone. they don't need to do all this to show they're strong n smart n worth something, not to anyone else OR themselves. they're enough as they are. they bond over that shared feeling that they have to do xyz, to prove themselves, n that desire to just finally be acknowledged n appreciated n help each other thru it. to help each other understand that other ppls approval, or lack thereof, doesn't define them, their strength, intelligence, and worthiness.

i feel like they have an interesting parallel between them in like... the above could be taken as a general analysis, but to go more in depth on this au specifically?? ...

starline followed eggman for presumably a long time n it no doubt left him feeling a heavy and deep regret for all that time wasted n spent on an unhealthy path. infinite kinda teaches him that what matters is what he's doing Now n also reminds him that if none of it happened, starline wouldn't have learnt a lot of the serious skills he has. n while starline still feels bad, he also realises himself that, he likely never would have crossed infinite's path if none of it happened. for that reason, he wouldn't take it back.

infinite has only been recently made, on the other hand. they haven't really existed long, yet, but so far their experiences haven't been very positive n it can be .... discouraging. starline sorta, shows infinite their limited experiences w/ the world are a very tiny fraction of what's out there, n things can absolutely change, yes, including for the better; that's the essence of life, a neverending, constant flow of change.

it's a big tale of moving on n letting go, honestly; made easier as they're doing it together. n as they heal n grow, well... these bitches gay. sfshshdgds like, ig that's putting it p bluntly but!! they start to trust each other, understand each other more. as they get to truly know who the other is, they both start developing The Feelings. they're both pretty oblivious n the reveal is totally unknown so far!! yeah, i know, bummer. i suck. boo. adafsfsds however i can say there will be lots of content in the making!! if that soothes the soul! i've got of ideas i hope to bring to life.

ofc there's still a lot of more specific things i haven't covered here so! if y'all want more juice hmu w/ more focused questions but !! this is the overview n i hope it was a decent read now that gave some uhhh! Cool Insight! yea!!! ✌

[lemongogo]

hey im the anon abt gyutaro/ume and i dont remember what happens to demons after they die ?? did i miss smth ? regardless i wanna ask what do you think their fate should be ? cause on one hand i think they're just victims of a cruel world who took the first way out they could find but on the other hand it doesnt rlly justify all the slaughter, and i also think abt the demon slayers who also suffered horrible fates and used it to fuel their determination to save other people from that pain

hi !! i don’t think kny ever explicitly mentions what happens to demons after they die (as in we never have concrete evidence of where they go or how their lives after are spent), but i think the general consensus is that the demons go to hell. 

in some cases, the family can decide to go with them (ex: rui and i think akaza? if i remember correctly?) but their fate is pretty much sealed from that point forward i believe. 

heres a pic of gyuutarou and ume, actually, in chapter 97 !!

but yeah !! thats something i think about a lot tbh. as you mentioned, many of the demons we’ve seen have either been groomed into demonhood (rui, ume, susamaru, etc.) or had their pain and suffering exploited (akaza, gyuutarou) for the sake of advancing other demons’ plans (muzan, douma, etc). so i agree ! a lot of these characters are unfortunate victims in themselves and its impossible to view their stories without incorporating the struggles they’ve had to face as both humans AND demons. especially considering that lots of these individuals experience muzan’s abuse regardless of their status relative to him (such as with the upper and lower moons). i think this is best explained through akaza’s relationship with muzan,

(ch. 67)

(ch.156)

and further explored though tanjiro’s observation of rui’s death. he notes that being a demon, for most, is an existence punctuated by extreme grief and despair, and that’s equally supported, i think, by the humanization of these demons following death. that their original conscious is restored (albeit with knowledge of everything they’ve done) and are oftentimes plagued by the guilt of what’s happened.

(ch.43)

what he says here is probably what sums it up for me. that while it’s important to condemn these demons and hold them accountable for the truly awful things they’ve done, it’s also important to consider the suffering they've experienced through existence alone. its so !! complex !! and thats what i love about kny. i love how .. you have some demons who are entirely despicable and bask in the carnage they create, but you also have some for whom demonhood was simply what appeared to be the only answer towards living a healthier life or righting the wrongs that’ve been done to them (usually with false promises and manipulation unbeknownst to them). and .. its so hard to figure out where to.. draw that line. or view these characters at least. because you sympathize with their pain, but you also realize that their actions have caused endless pain for many hundreds of people. tanjiro losing his entire family, giyuu losing his. shinobu watching her sister die before her very eyes, and kanao the same. the ubuyashiki family’s curse or the slaughter of himejima’s children. you look at characters like sanemi, shinobu, or giyuu and understand that you cannot invalidate their view of demons either. while kanae and tanjiro may find hope and humanity in demons, they exist as monsters who feast on pain to everyone else. its important not to discredit their perspective when making a personal choice to observe the demons’ hardships yknow. shinobu’s anger is just as warranted as tanjiro’s optimism and that neither are wrong for how they personally feel demons should be handled after death. 

im like. AAAAAAAA theres so much to it , its really hard for me to condense into a few sentences AHAHA im so sry for making u read this if u still are. but . i guess i’m not too sure. i think maybe, had i experienced the same pain as those above, it would be easy for me to say the demons deserve to go to the worst hell imaginable regardless of what they’ve gone through because that history isn’t accessible to everyone like it has been the audience (or that they’ve seemingly made the conscious decision to cause harm w/o understanding the ways in which demonhood obscures their original conscious/morality). but at the same time, you have those like tanjiro whose world view is shaped by positive encounters with demons like nezuko, tamayo, yushirou, etc. where it seems very evident that . theres more to it than what meets the eye. 

one of my friends ive talked to about this had a rly good perspective on it thats kinda stuck with me since !! she said she likes to view their conclusion as some . separation of identity?? if that makes sense?? that the demon side of them goes to hell while their human form goes to heaven (or division into whichever afterlife). and !! i think thats a really neat interpretation because there’s obvious descrepancy between demon personas and human personas. that the demon personas are like. exaggerations of their flaws, almost (akaza becoming hellbent on battle spirits and physical victories when hajuki’s fury & determination was fueled by love in a sense) while their human personas are the truest sense of self. and depending on which influence there is (muzan vs the appearance of loved ones), their identity changes accordingly. so ! idk ! thats one nice way of looking at it. holding their demon personas accountable while also recognizing that many of these characters deserve some form of healing after many hundreds of years of abuse. its hard because ofc i don’t want to negate the harms they’ve caused but its also? not cut and dry given the environment they were placed in and the fact that muzan’s blood essentially removes their humanity against their will you know. so in this way at least you have both forms of self receiving the proper conclusion. 

whwhwhw so im. !!!!!!!!!!!! ah !! i can’t say i have a definite answer but i think the one above is smth thats comforting to me. i think the story settles with sending them to hell once they’ve regained their past self but also .. “softens” it by providing them company by their loved ones who are willing to go w them?? so thats rly cool to look at too. because it holds them accountable for all that’s happened but also.. recognizes that they’re not wholly responsible for it either and that .. even in hell they’re able to keep their connections and human emotions/experiences . its tragic yet oddly. fitting, i think, of the kny narrative. while i like the aforementioned interpretation, i also really.. appreciate the way its set up in canon too. like yeah i want the best for them but also. it fits in with the tragic nature of demonhood and what it meant for them all. oddly enough. 

u make a good point too !! about demon slayers experiencing the same hardships but using their pain to help others. i think a lot of it is plainly chalked up to luck in terms of.. what they were exposed to following tragedy. how shinobu and kanae were saved by himejima, tanjiro saved by giyuu, kanao picked up by shinobu and kanae, sanemi given the guidance of kagaya while akaza was killed by muzan during his lowest moment, ume and gyuutarou were cornered by douma, rui misled by muzan, etc. i think circumstance is definitely a large factor in determining the paths that were taken. such as sanemi’s anger being validated and heard by ubuyashiki vs, say, akaza’s same anger being intentionally exploited for muzan’s gain.

aaa anyways. theres a lot 2 be said about this. like. SO much on my mind and obviously the extent of muzan’s abuse goes far deeper than what’s briefly mentioned here but.  i love talking about the complexities of kny . and how i view the demons vs the corps and how each of them have grown into their respective stories . AA but ill end it here THNK U >> also so sry for making u read thru all of this i get so excited i could talk abt kny all day long if i had the chance AAA 

[litlalein]

July Teacher Crush Challange

26. What does your TC’s voice sound like?

So I don’t usually do these, for laziness, but also privacy reasons I guess, but I just can’t let any opportunity to talk abt his voice pass like that. Specifically since to a good extent (and I am actually super greatful I get at least that, tbh even some newspaper quoting him is smth I much appreciate) I only get to HEAR him talk. So in fact this Tuesday - very unexpectedly - was the first time I saw his 2020 appearance, after not seeing him for some 8 months.

About his voice. He really has the softest voice I ever heard. It is really what I unenvitably think every time I hear him talk. (Plus he actually got even better at saying all the right things over the past few months!) Also he has this ability to bring across his point super structured and he just takes his time when talking, which - in addition to how familiar his voice sounds, and how much I love having him explain literally anything to me - never fails to make me super comfy, and provide for some calm in the storm literally everything has been since I left.

Since we kinda would be in a multi-cultural realationship - if there was anything even closely resembling smth like a relationship - I need to mention his accent here, which is literally the most beautiful accent I ever encountered (screw french accents, rly!). Plus he’s actually extremely considerate with not using his first language though probs a good third of my class arguably would have had better understanding of that language. So while this is another example of how nice of a person he is, being somewhat intrigued with his fst lang I have been dying to hear him talk []. As coroni actually turned out to have caused quite a few fairly nice aspects for myself when it comes to feeding my TC cravings, I’m currently having a short talk he gave at a virtual conference in my target language a few weeks ago opened in my browser, waiting for my readines to listen to it to arrive.

Also given Englisch is not his first language I need to express how awesome his vocabulary is! Plus he actually somewhat said a word - being a rather hard word to say for foreigners - in my first language, and he did so damn well! Given the transnational influence there might actually be a chance he knows at least a little [], which I’d find even more amazing. And if not it again shows how nice of a person he his, taking his time to learn this sound not existing in barely any language just to say the name of this famous criminal right.

That’s what I mean when I say I need to stop! Ok bye.

[theharellan]

RP POSITIVITY MEME

DAY 14: FREE DAY!

so this whole week i’ve kept myself from mentioning joly when possible. i promo joly on my dash every day. my very existence is a joly promo. it was mostly a way to make sure that i gave other people attention, and also b/c i saw the last day was a free day and wanted to use it to write about how much i love joly’s characters.

if it weren’t for joly i doubt i’d still be here. that’s not to say that i didn’t love rping solas beyond what i have with joly, but after my hiatus it was the desire to rp with joly again that really brought me back. and i’m so thankful for that b/c it’s allowed me to meet ppl like merc and lisa and kae, ppl who either weren’t around or i didn’t know before. also just when i was having a rough time last year and whenever i’ve had a rough time since then joly’s been there for me. they’re a really special person, who deserves even more kind words written about them than their characters do. but if i keep going i’ll probably make myself cry.

suffice to say if you like my blog, then you have joly to thank. not just for me being here, but how their ocs have shaped my solas. i cannot recommend joly’s blogs enough. they don’t have as much time as they did to write, but it doesn’t make them any less dedicated to their characters as someone who posts a dozen things a day.

before i get to their actual blogs, i want to talk about the npcs or characters that no longer have rp blogs.

first, deshanna. i’ve loved how they made a mother who is flawed and sympathetic, and who i don’t feel 100% good about solas disliking her in modern. it’s my secret desire to be able to rp in a thread where she’s npc’d one day, either in modern or batb. next, layne. what a piece of shit. i don’t know TOO much about layne, and i’m in this position where i want to know more but also i dread it. hoping one day solas and mio can shank him. and then, june. june had a blog (and may again one day??) and he was a fuckin hermit mamma’s boy that was too boring for fen to want to have anything to do with. joly’s recently been toying with some ideas for his character that i think only strengthen what they have, and i’m excited.

@ancientimpudence -

mio is petty. mio is mean. mio is stand-offish. mio is loyal. mio is driven. mio is honest. i love mio.

if you want a character who is flawed and not always nice, you’ll love mio. they’re a really good example of how you can make a character not always be a very pleasant person, but still get plenty of rp mileage off of them and develop meaningful relationships. how two characters’ relationship can somehow be incredibly deep and yet broken. i love what joly and i have built for mio and solas, two ancient friends who aren’t always the best friends.

i could really talk about about their relationship. solas goes through a period where he becomes very empathetic and in-tune with the problems of everyone around him, but mio’s somehow always escape him. i love the gap, and i love how it’s both not his fault b/c mio hides how they feel, but also he needs to do better by them. i love how mio wants what’s best for solas and their cause, while simultaneously suggesting things that actually wouldn’t be best for solas, because mio isn’t omnipotent and is also, to an extent, still trying to keep solas as he was.

i love how mio doesn’t like ian but is still there to help him. i love how mio expresses themself in ways not everyone understands. i love how modern mio has purse dogs and brings vher food b/c they spent all weekend playing the sims.

and vher / mio?? one of those ships that just kinda happened. one of the best things about talking to joly about characters is how often two just kinda cling to one another. vher is aro and can’t return the romantic feelings mio feels for them (and open enough to be accepting when mio finds romantic love elsewhere) but they still care for mio so much. everything about mio that i listed above, even the petty and vain stuff, vher loves. also sometims vher decides they wanna kiss mio and i can only imagine what it does to the poor child.

basically, what i’m getting at here is, joly lets mio be flawed but also shows how those flaws can still lead to positive interactions. joly lets mio be unadmirable at times, but still likeable and lovable. joly introduced some extra diversity in background to the rebellion and i’m eternally thankful tbh.

@betterthanmaps​ -

harding is one of those characters everyone adores, and so it makes sense that joly, one of the most adorable ppl on the planet, chose to write her. i love seeing characters with stable and normal backstories. harding is just such a steady influence, and i’ve loved seeing her contrasted with the sad backstories most canons and ocs possess. which i wanna be clear isn’t a criticism of sad backstories! i merely mean that it’s also nice seeing variety. not everyone has had a past that has made them cruel or kind, some people were raised by caring parents and lived simple lives until they heard the call to adventure. those people are just as interesting and worthy of telling stories about.

joly’s harding reminds me somewhat of tolkien’s hobbits, i suppose, now that i’m writing this out. and they’re some of my fave characters in literature. only w/ harding we also get fun dragon age dwarfy lore-- someone who is as un-dwarfy as varric but not quite so loud about it and we get actual queer representation.

@spiritualjourneys​ - 

i adore spirits? i do not adore how the fandom treats spirits. things like treating human cole as superior to spirit cole, rather than a person making different choices, both paths making them happy, even if one is for reasons we can’t all understand. pinning everything wrong with anders in da2 on justice. assuming lord woolsey, an innocent spirit-ram who has done nothing but help, has always been a rage demon (even tho the ways in which he has been shown to help the family that adopted him aren’t typical rage-related qualities) but ANYWAY.

the point is, spirits are given something of a raw deal by the fandom and are almost always judged by their ability to conform to human standards. joly’s spirit multi is fuckin fantastic and making spirits different and complex and alien, while also familiar and very much people rather than set pieces in the stories of others. though all of them started out as npcs created by either joly (love, sincerity), myself (joy), or bioware (wisdom) it took joly no time at all to establish their stories. love and joy especially...

what i appreciate about love is the path they took to get where they are. how they weren’t always love, how they focus upon a specific kind of love, how they can’t always see when love is best working past. though i’ve only just started rping peace, i’m in love (get it) with the dynamic the two of them have formed. how they balance one another out and keep one another from straying too far into their own interests, and thereby corrupting themselves. it’s a dynamic that i wasn’t expecting at all when i made peace as an au to my zenyatta blog, but i think that’s the amazing thing about writing with joly. something falls into place and then it grabs you and the idea just won’t let go.

and as for joy, it’s probably the least developed of the spirits, having no form that’s recognisably alive nevermind a person. but it demonstrates well, i think, how “humanity” in elvhenan wasn’t defined by shape. when solas says he dislikes when people see him as just a pair of pointed ears, and that he doesn’t necessarily identify much with modern elves, the idea is expressing multiple things. one of them, i think, is that being an elf sometimes meant being a physical body with pointed ears, but sometimes you could just be bubbles and you’d still be considered a valid member of elvhen society. joy doesn’t exist as we do. joy forgets, joy prefers to never touch the earth, and it exists in a state of cycles to keep itself from becoming something like despair. joly depicts the beauty and the drawbacks of existing in this state and i’m just??? so glad they decided to write joy. b/c they do it more justice than i ever could.

@paragoninexile -

tam’s new blog isn’t fully set up but i wanna talk about her anyway. tam is a good hero and a good person, and in many ways sort of made to be a hero. when i found out about tam i was rly excited simply b/c she was very much like my warden, only with so much more care and thought put into her that now she’s basically replaced my canon warden in my heart.

i think my favourite thing about tam is how much of a front she puts up for everyone. crowning bhelen, even if it meant the death of another father figure. recruiting loghain, even if it meant losing her friend or possibly lover. it shows that even neutral good heroes still have to make decisions that could be considered ruthlessly practical. bhelen is not necessarily the better choice morally, especially not as an aeducan (especially especially not as an aeducan who doesn’t kill trian). i imagine tam knows that crowning him will have dire consequences not just for harrowmont, but the entire harrowmont line. she does it anyway, not because she wants to, but because for orzammar it’s the best choice.

i’ve loved finally having a chance to write one of my fave dragon age ships: gorim/aeducan. i have a weakness for ships who have been together since they were only young, and the progression they take in the au is so good?? being able to find freedom for their love in a life that is literally killing tamar, and the reason they only get 12 or so happy years together rather than 50. but tam is so good that i’m honestly proud to be able to give her those twelve years with gorim. one day i’m gonna make joly hurt w/ thoughts about the kid gorim adopts after tam dies and who he tells them all about. 8)

@cadashsmash -

cadri i think was the first joly character i interacted with, though i believe i remember ian from way way back when i tried rping merrill and couldn’t quite get a foothold like i did with solas and thora.

i’m in love with dwarves u all should know this, so ofc i’m in love with cadri. i love how rough around the edges she is, how she tries to do the right thing, and how doing so can lead to some messed up shit like killing abelas. the work joly’s done with reaver lore is perfect, working with how dirty and raw the specialisation is without making it too hardcore for an inquisitor to ever hope to specialise in it (stop assuming all reavers are cannibals fandom smh). one of my fave threads on thora continues to be the post-battle thread where both are recovering from the drawbacks of their own specialisations and clash because of them. it’s just a really unique idea that is what makes writing with joly so... rounded? like i’m never just writing one thing with joly. they push me as a writer in the best possible way.

overall cadri is just a rly excellent character who, like tam and harding, do credit to dwarves that the series doesn’t always. i’ve loved exploring how differently her and thora react to their position in life, i’ve loved seeing cadri’s anger or indifference towards dwarven society. it’s so valid and realistic and good. i’ve loved exploring the specific ways in which she bucks the presumptions solas has about dwarves, how even in universes where she’s not inquisitor her individuality is still nothing he expects from her kind and how she changes him anyway. i also will always be fond of this being their friendship song.

cadri: hey solas, what d’you call a flower before it opens? solas: a bud. cadri: I LOVE IT WHEN YOU CALL ME BUD. solas: UGHH.

@dalishfreckles -

it’s really hard to not write a post just about ian, honestly. all of joly’s characters are special to me, but i won’t deny ian is my favourite and has a very important place in my heart. if i were to truthfully answer those top 5 fave characters questions, ian would be on there no question.

as someone who goes through some of the same struggles as ian, he’s inspirational. seeing him struggle to keep surviving, to keep loving, to keep helping even when everything inside him is screaming to stop. i love seeing him make mistakes, honest ones or ones born of anxiety. b/c anxiety is more than just hating yourself or having trouble talking to people, although that is very real. sometimes anxiety can cause you to project some really terrible things onto people, things that aren’t really fair to them.

when i see ian doing things like... projecting his own feelings of worthlessness onto solas, assuming he must think the same rather than giving solas a chance to explain? it’s realistic, and it’s not good. it’s trying to pull people into the same destructive game you do to yourself. it’s also realistic, esp since in the thread i’m referring to solas fucked up and has shit to apologise for. idk, it’s just really comforting to see ian pull the same shit that i do, but knowing he’s still a good person and that i love him is an act of self love.

ian’s an important character for so many reasons, that i could probably write a 20 page thesis on him and his development / how much he means to me. i’m proud of him so much. i’m proud when he finds the strength to tease solas, i’m proud when he stands up for himself, even when he’s standing up against the people he loves. especially when, tbh. how as he grows he can see inara’s faults but doesn’t hate her for them, and tries to help her, when he’s under no obligation to. how he still tries to connect with solas after solas coldly brushes him off the first time ian admonishes him. and i love how joly shows it’s not easy. none of it is. and that ian has to keep choosing to be good, it makes everything he does that much more meaningful.

finally, ian isn’t a hero, necessarily. he’s not the sort of person people tell stories about, which is one reason i love the solas/ian pairing so much. it’s really all about the person for solas, and ian is just so much about what solas loves about people. it’s not always about battles and heroes, sometimes it’s just about a person who has the patience and love in them to make a tree grow in the middle of a desert alienage. sometimes the most wonderful things about people are the little, radical things they do for themselves and those they love rather than how they change the world.

this has gotten to be very long, and probably rambling, but to be fair to me this is like two weeks of joly-positivity i’ve been holding in.

i’ll probably be doing one more free day tomorrow, even if today is the last day, just to do a v general positive post for those i follow. but i wanted to take at least one day to credit the person who has inspired me with their words and characters. like. this was just their characters? i didn’t even get a chance to go into the ways joly’s prose shines, how it’s descriptive and yet never difficult to comprehend. how many different types of plots they’re here for.

but to make a long story short, joly is an incredibly talented writer. i’ve said this before, but i can look back on things i’ve written years ago with joly and still like what i wrote (as well as what they wrote but that should go w/o saying), which is a rare feeling, simply b/c joly lets me access the best writer in me. we often here in the rpc use “muse” as a shorthand for “character we write that inspires us” and i’ve found it a difficult word to rly use-- simply b/c joly and their characters are as much my muses as my own characters. at least in the sense that thinking about them inspires me to write.

tl;dr- pls follow and write with joly. b/c the only thing i love as much as writing with joly is reading what they write with other people.

[taeyongtown]

D-15: Where’s my Mistletoe? - Jisung Fic

Day 1 of 15, NCT christmas writing countdown.

summary: Renjun invites you to a dumb Christmas party, and you only go for a chance to kiss your crush, Jisung Park.

word count: 1.7k

genre: fluff, semi-angst, christmas (taeyongtown’s christmas countdown 2017)

A/N: I haven’t written something since August. its dec 10 today. Anyway’s i haven’t proof-read this, and feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated 🌟

christmas countdown masterlist | masterlist

You didn’t even want to be at this dumb Christmas party anyways, but ofc Renjun dragged you along anyways. Well okay he didn’t drag you along, more like guilted you into coming.

“Oh Y/N, you’re my favourite underclassman, and I do so much for you!”

“Renjun when have you ever—”

“like remember that time you got detention and I got you out of it? Or that time you would’ve FAILED that fundraising project if I hadn’t bought all the left over cupcakes or when—”

“Renjun I don’t even go to your school and besides he’s gonna be there—”

“and you’re telling me you won’t even come ??????? Jeno and I didn’t DIE for this disrespect”

As soon as you walked in, Renjun had given you a hug and greeted you warmly, and you know, you felt like it’d be fine, what’s the worst that could happen? But then, he flashed you his pure boy smile, and disappeared into the throng of student. Yes, throng. As in huge crowd. It seemed like at least half of SOPA was here.

Is Taeyong alive, and how did Renjun and Jeno fit in so many kids into their dorms ???

You already weren’t super close to the rest of dream, and really, you had only expect them to invite like 15-20 kids max, and here you were, stuck with at least 50 or 60 kids giggling and talking and kissing under the FIVE MILLION MISTLETOES SLUNG EVERYONE

Whos fucking idea was this ??

Yup, taeyong is definitely not okay rn

Take a shitty college party, replace the alcohol with hot chocolate and like fucking Gatorade, and replace the making out with giggling under mistletoes and that’s the hell that you were in rn

So here you are, sulking in the corner, not only bc you were surrounded by a bunch of infants, but also bc Haechan and Chenle were screaming with a karaoke station, and Mark was dying in a corner with at least a dozen girls holding mistletoes over him as Renjun laughed, and mostly bc Jeno had tried to get you to kiss a boy who wasn’t Jisung Park.

Yes, you liked Jisung Park.

While you had known Renjun for a really long time, and Chenle for around a year or so, you had only really met the rest of the boys a few months ago

Renjun often used Chenle’s house as a place to tutor you, as Chenle was the only one who lived outside the dorms

While you weren’t super close with Chenle, he was like an acquaintance who you didn’t mind

So one day, a few days after school had begun, and when Renjun was done most of his main promotions for We Young, y’all were at Chenle’s

Renjun said he was going to get busier and so it would be good to look at the syllabus to plan out when you would need the most help in tutoring

God bless that boy he’s so sweet

And it’s all calm and quite with no one around

Until Chenle bursts open the front door, with Jeno and Jisung marching behind him

They’re all a little shook, but recover quickly, especially Jeno

Ofc you knew who they were but you hadn’t acc met them, save Chenle

While Chenle sniggers in the background Jeno approaches you professionally “Oh Y/N, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, it’s lovely to finally meet you!”

Renjun puts him in a headlock.

Jisung, however, is extremely quiet and just makes eye contact and smiles at your from across the room smh

And I guess that’s why you kind of fell for him?

Bc he was around your age and he gave you the soft fluttery feeling that you had barely experienced before ?

Anyways, wow I rambled of course Renjun knew the minute y’all left, he was your childhood friend after all

And what Renjun knew, Jeno probably knew too.

And a small, just a tinyyyy part of you had been looking forward to this party

Because you really, really wanted to see Jisung Park.

But no, Jisung was sitting in the living room, wearing some dumb reindeer antlers,,,, giggling with a few of his classmates, some boy, some girls— most of whom were at least 7 hundred and 89 times prettier than you :/ uGh

AnD suddenly,,,,, you had an amazing idea :- )))))) Putting on your best smile, you went out to go search for Renjun.

You find him in the kitchen, refilling snacks.

“Ahhh! Y/N, I hope you’re having a good time !! See, I told you it would be fun!”

You smiled through gritted teeth :- DDDDD

“Yeah, about that! Could I borrow your laptop? I have a huge history project due, and my partner keeps asking me to Skype her bc apparently she messed up :/”

Renjun looked worried, but smiled

“Yeah, it’s in my room, feel free to use it… you remember my passcode right?”

You grinned and hugged him tight, as if the best thing in the world had just happened

“Yes I do! Thank you so much !!!” you scrambled, running out to find his room

Were you going to call a friend? No. You guys had finished the project last week. Were you going to take a nap? Yes, of course you were. Renjun rly wouldn’t mind, he’d be a little disappointed, but he wouldn’t mind, you’d had sleepovers before. It was 8pm right now, and if you set your alarm for 9:30, no one would even notice.

You hit set, and before you knew it, you were asleep.

Except you slept through your alarm. Not by a lot, just maybe thirty minutes. But it was enough for you to be shaken awake by Jaemin, a slightly amused expression on his face. You weren’t close to him, but you didn’t mind him, he was really nice.

Your eyes widened at the site of him, and you scrambled to get up. “Relax,” he giggled, sitting down beside you.

“This is about Jisung isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“your crush”

“What no— I mean yes I like him— but no! wait what are you implying” you gush

Jaemin laughed again

“You probably wouldn’t hate this party as much as you do rn if it weren’t for Jisung”

you :///// “I guess,,,,,,,,,,,,”

“I say, just give it a shot, it almost Christmas, miracles do happen”

You throw a pillow at him

None the less, you grumbled and get up, tidying yourself in the mirror beside Renjun’s desk. You follow Jaemin towards the living room, and gasp. There were barely a dozen kids left, non including dream. You turn towards Jaemin, “what happened?!” “Most kids at SOPA are either trainees or some type of creative connoisseurs, we all need our beauty sleep Y/N!” Jaemin exclaimed before waltzing off.

You see Jisung sitting beside a few kids talking animatedly, but he himself was on his phone. You decide to take Jaemin’s advice, and go sit beside him. What’s the worst that could happen? “Hey!” you say, plopping down. Jisung looks a little shookt, but he smiles down at you, straightening up. “Hey Y/N! How long have you been here?!” “The whole time,” you say bashfully. His jaw drops a little, “What! No way, I mean you should’ve at least said hi :/ you have no idea how bored I was, everyone’s leaving!” he gestured around him, and that at the kids beside him who got up and walked towards Jeno, probably to say goodbye. You giggle, a little surprised, yet extremely content, at how bubbly and friendly he was being.

The conversation would’ve continued great, except…

“YO! Y/N” Jaemin yelled your name from across the room. You saw him smiling like an angel, and you saw, beside him, Donghyuck smirking like the devil. Donghyuck slung something at you and Jisung, which lodged itself in Jisung’s dumb antlers.

A mistletoe.

This was NOT the Christmas miracle that you were expecting. But maybe it’s the one that you deserve,,, ???

You looked around the room bewildered, looking anywhere but Jisung. You eyes settled on Renjun, expecting some help, but instead he just smiled into his hot chocolate. kermit looking ass. You narrowed your eyes as you realized it was probably his plan.

Donghyuck whooped, “GET IT JISUNG!” You looked down and shoved your face in your hands. Mark giggled, and him and Jeno yelled “Maknae on top!” “That’s so old…” Jisung mumbled, and when you snuck a glance at his face, it was bright red, even in the dim evening lights. Sensing you looking, he glanced up at your eyes, holding his eye contact for no longer than .25 seconds.

“Y/N…” he mumbled, his voice small and childlike.

“Jisung…” you replied back, a slightly shy smile on your face.

“I guess we have to Y/N,”

“I guess so,”

“May I?” He asked, finally looking up into your eyes. You nodded, your eyes fluttering close.

You felt him leaning in, and you did too, for what felt like a year. Maybe it wouldn’t have taken so long if y’all hadn’t been sitting a literal foot apart. You felt him place his lips on yours, his puckered and stiff. But it didn’t matter !! you were kissing Jisung Park !! your long time crush !! your face looks like that gif of haechan when jisung calls him ugly u kno the one. You leant in a little bit more towards him, both of you unsure of what you were doing, you trying to move your lips.

It was over before it even started, but before it was over, you felt a loud click go off. “My badddddd!” Chenle yelled, fake laughing, a camera in his hands. There was a brief silence, and then cheers. “Y/N I TOLD U CHRISTMAS MIRACLES HAPPEN! GET IT!” Jaemin yelled and you look at him, eyes wide in horror. “NA JAEMIN!” You threw another pillow at him.

Jisung ran his hand threw his hair, shy and looking like a baby chick. You leant forward and untangled the mistletoe from his antlers. He gasped, breath held.

“Jisung, I was wondering if you want to go on a date this weekend?” You asked him, looking directly into his eyes, a sudden wave of confidence over taking you. Jisung blushed, his eyes still wide, his face redder than ever.

“I would love to, Y/N”

[halfcupofcoffee-blog]

24 (I think??)

I'm just gonna let you guys know right now that there are things that I find and spend my life doing for months at a time. For four years I spent my life learning everything there is to know about the Beatles. Go ahead and ask me anything, I can probably tell you the answer. I spent a year on Harry Potter. I learned the spells and I knew everyone's last words and I knew every single detail. I spent six months listening to 5 Seconds of Summer and learning everything about them (Not rly proud of that one, though). But now. Right this very second. I have found Hamilton.

I know I'm late to the party. But my sister downloaded from iTunes and listened to it and she really liked it. So I listened to it and I swear that's all I've listened to for three days. I know....some of the words. There are too many songs with too many words for me to know them all at this point. But honestly, all of Lafayette's parts are amazing. Guns and Ships is my favorite I think. I also really like the Cabinet Battles. But yeah, that's my newest obsession and I'm sure in a day or two my older sister and my mom are gonna whine about how we've only been speaking in Hamilton terms. It's all part of the cycle.

Honestly though, I would learn so much if all history was taught like that.

Just look it up and listen to it if you haven't. It's really long, but worth it. Emotional roller coaster. It's good. My mom even liked it, which is shocking. I was a bit hesitant to show it to her.

See, I am a person that if I am showing you a show or a song that I really really love, you have to love it just as much. If you just kinda sit there and go 'Meh...' then I'm mad that I shared this perfect thing with you when you don't appreciate it. Like, I have just given you a precious gift by telling you this is something I like enough to talk about and fangirl over and I need you to know that I felt you worthy of hearing its awesomeness.

An example of a 'Meh' is when I showed my mother the Beatles LOVE album that they made for cirque du soleil. It’s an amazing album and it was the first album I bought with my own money of their music. You should look that up too if you haven't heard it, but listen to it with headphones or you miss out on a lot. Well, I used to go to sleep listening to it and I was listening to it while cleaning up the dishes like a year ago and my mom was there with me, so I was like 'Bro, this is amazing, pay attention to it.' So she listened for like two seconds and then started talking over it. Like if you aren't going to humor me, at least let me hear it.

An example of success was like four years ago, I channel surfed onto this channel called Antenna TV and found The Monkees on. And so I watched that because Davy Jones was cute and British (Even though I eventually became a Torkee) and I told my younger sister about it and she watched it with me and she listened to the music with me and she talked about it with me and we traded really bad fanfiction with each other and it was perfect.

Another example of a 'Meh' is once I showed this girl who was into The Beatles 'Layla' by Eric Clapton because it was about Pattie Boyd, with the preface ‘The guitar in this is amazing’, and she comes back to me to say she liked the instrumental part over the rest of the song. -_-

Like, I totally get that everyone has different taste and has a right to an opinion, but Eric Clapton's music is GUITAR music. The Guitar in 'Layla' IS that song. Eric Clapton was famous (Mainly) for his guitar playing! Not the instrumental part! I wanted to scream a little bit. Like that's my second favorite Eric Clapton song and I shared that part of me with the wrong person. It was unfortunate.

So just a warning. If I show you something with the preface “This is my favorite thing” you better like it. Or at least lie to me. I don't even care if you didn't like it, just give me SOMETHING other than talking over it or liking the wrong parts.

Obviously, I don't mean that.

But it's a very serious thing for me. I'm sharing a part of my soul with you and I know there's a chance that you won't like it, but you're special enough to hear it, and when you don't like it I am just shocked because how could you not like it??

Anyway, I like Hamilton and I don't really know how to function listing to anything else at the moment, which sounds nuts and weird, but it's how I love.

I have the honor of being your obedient servant, A.Jones

(Made a little joke about that big)