#anyways their dynamic is great and so nice to have going on in the background while rebecca is doing her whole toxic love triangle

[grinchwrapsupreme]

the reason darryl and whijo work so well together is because they’re both so earnest and sincere but they do it in such different ways like with darryl it feels like it’s a natural trait whereas for whijo it feels like it’s completely intentional, born out of kindness

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have nine fics dealing with Grief or Mourning -dealing with the losses in the recent episodes of Critical Role, older losses, and imagined losses still in these character's futures. Check them out beneath the cut, and remember to comment and kudos if you like them!

divorce the first by Ink_Beneath_Her_Fingernails (3496,Not Rated) Warnings: Brief mentions of Molly's death, but it's not a focus. Pairings:

Common is the only language all of the Nein share, but it's not the first language of any of them.

Reccer says: There's such an aching sense of longing and grief and mourning in this fic that leaves you with the feeling of an old pain, almost too small to bother dealing with, not that you even could, but every day it sticks around like a rock in your shoe. It manages to slip under your defenses in a way fiction about things like death can't always do, while still touching on loss. There's also some really excellent development of worldbuilding and Wildemount here.

Proud by awaytobeunshaken (557,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

Beau isn't sure how to feel after her father's death. Caleb tries to comfort her anyway.

Reccer says: I liked it

a white and soundless place by BeatriceEagle (7064,Teen) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death Pairings: Una Ermendrud & Caleb Widogast

A portrait of grief, from either side of the thing.

Reccer says: Una and Leofric feel like people, rather than saints.

psychopomp by hydraxx (3357,General) Warnings: Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Essek comes back to visit Blumenthal over the centuries after Caleb dies, while a long series of local innkeepers observe his mourning process.

Reccer says: It's a really sweet look at how Essek processes losing one of the people important to him, with background worldbuilding!

A Wisdom Without Face or Name by violettressed (17280,Teen) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Jester Lavorre, Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss, Artagan & Jester Lavorre

Jester Lavorre spends a lifetime learning how to let go.

Reccer says: A great fic if you need a cry - there's little sparks of humor left by everyone being in character that make the entire thing even more heartfelt

Things to Do in Whitestone When Your Best Friend is Dead by untropicalisland (3038,General) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Laudna, Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Ashton Greymoore

Ashton tries to make sense of FCG's death while the party regroups in Whitestone following their return from Ruidus.

Reccer says: Ashton and FCG's relationship was so great, it's nice to see something that's got Ashton processing their death. And the Percy and Ashton's dynamic is pitch perfect and *chef's kiss*

Synonym for Tragedy by thetickingclock (1060,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym/Dorian Storm, Fearne Calloway & Orym & Dorian Storm, Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

Dorian and his brother. The music is different now.

Reccer says: Beautiful and haunting

like wildfire, it starts in my chest by ellis (ellabellachicketychella) (1523,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

If this is grief then the poems got it wrong-- or, i love how dorian's grief is rage so much. i wrote a little about it

Reccer says: A brilliant character study of Dorian after episode 93

To hold, to cut by thetickingclock (1665,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

A series of vignettes about the coping with grief through shared work

Reccer says: It felt true

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be focusing on Fjord Stone! Know of something focusing on his backstory, or maybe his interior life during the campaign, that orphanage heist that happened after? You should rec it!

After that, we'll be changing things up a bit. Mentorship will be happening on the 15th, but after that, we're going to switch to a twice a month schedule - starting with Scanlan.

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

Oh! Also! Critter Gen Week is happening! We've been using the themes for our reclist - so if you're inspired by what you're reading, consider writing (or making art) for that week!

[presidenthades]

⚠️Spoilers for S.2 ep.2, kinda❓

DAERON EXISTS, LIFE MAKES SENSE AGAIN!

Anyhow, your thoughts on the new episode🎤???

Oh, and in celebration of show!Daeron's confirmed existence: mini tiny Joffron doodle ig? Made with love, not with skill☝️💚🖤❤️

Wait omigod I love this. Why does it perfectly encapsulate the two of them. 😭😍🥰 They really do have a reverse Hades/Persephone dynamic! Honestly I love this art style, it’s giving a chibi vibe that I adore. I’m going to link this to my HOTD artwork list.

Anyway yes, Daeron truthers rise up. ✊

(Obviously, S2E2 spoilers below the cut.)

First I’ll start with new thoughts on B&C. After my rewatch, most of my feelings about E1 remained the same, but I want to update my reaction to B&C. Helaena’s muted reaction made more sense to me the second time around. It is consistent with her character, and the BTS info about her visions makes it understandable why she seemed to treat Jaehaerys’s death as inevitable.

HOWEVER. Viewers should not be required to watch BTS commentaries etc. to have full context for the scene. The background info about Helaena’s visions should’ve been in the actual episode. If knowing about Helaena’s visions about her children’s potential demise is that important, they could and should have incorporated it I nto an actual scene. For example, instead of her opening scene being her embroidering, she could’ve been scribbling about that vision in her notebook.

If for some reason this was too difficult to film, there’s one small change they could’ve made to B&C which would’ve made a huge difference, visions or no visions. When Blood says both children “look the same,” Cheese could have responded with “just kill them both.” This instantly heightens the stakes and makes Helaena’s actions more understandable to even the most casual viewer: if she doesn’t point out Jaehaerys, then both her children die.

End of E1 rant. Onto E2 rant!

I’ve seen a lot of different reactions to this episode. Some say it was great, some say it was awful. IMO, your takeaway of how good the episode was probably depends on who your favorite characters are.

I think Rhaenyra and Aegon had the best scenes this episode. Otto also had some banger lines, and Helaena made me feel a lot of emotions. Daemon did not come away particularly well, Aemond was a little weird, Alicent continues to be frustrating, and I’m convinced that Criston is the writing room’s whipping boy.

TGC really got to show off his acting chops this episode. Personally I wish they could’ve spent more time on Aegon smashing the LEGOs and bludgeoning Blood, but that is a me preference. I think Aegon really did love Jaehaerys, AND he is angry about the blow that has been struck again him as king. Both these things can be true at the same time. The end scene where he’s crying alone in his room proves that his grief isn’t just a show.

And I don’t mind that Aegon’s decision to hang all the rat-catchers makes him seem violent and impetuous, because he is violent and impetuous. The scene is also framed so that you understand why Aegon did it; we see Cheese hanging with the others. And let’s be honest, if Rhaenyra did something similar to avenge Luke (eg burn down Storm’s End because Borros contributed to his demise, which would kill a lot of other people too), a lot of viewers would cheer her on.

(I was definitely thinking during the “Aegon fires Otto” scene that Aegon could really use a Jacaera to kindly knock some sense into him. 🥲)

Speaking of the end scene…omigod Alicent why. 💀 Conceptually, I understand there’s generational trauma going on. Otto was cold with Alicent, who is in turn cold with Aegon especially. But like. Holy shit. Give your son a 5-second hug. It would’ve been nice if they could at least show Alicent feeling conflicted, like she wants to comfort her son but feels incapable, so she walks away.

Backtracking a bit: I feel like Alicent is consistently made the focus of the story in places where she arguably should not be the focus, and I wonder if this is because the showrunners want to take advantage of the fact they’ve paid good money for Olivia Cooke. But I truly do not understand why it was Helaena and Alicent at the funeral rather than Helaena and Aegon. Otto said something about “our gentlest souls” but this could’ve been a great opportunity to showcase more of Aegon and Helaena’s complicated relationship and shared grief.

Whatever my other feelings on the scene, I do think Phia and Olivia’s acting was phenomenal. Helaena’s panic attack during the funeral 😱. I really just wanted to emergency evacuate her from that mess.

I’m going out of chronological order, but I’m going to backtrack again to Otto making the decision to have the funeral as a PR campaign. It’s very Machiavellian, and TBH I understand why he chose to do it. It is a huge blow against Rhaenyra’s reputation. But I feel like the show wants Otto and Daemon to be the only actual schemers on their respective sides. Everyone else kinda just whoopsies or white-knights their way through the narrative. I just want to shake the writers and tell them it’s okay for other characters to be villainous. There’s a reason Daemon is way more popular than Criston. At least Daemon fully commits to his bad decisions.

I kinda feel bad for Fabien Frankel because the writers seem to really have it out for Criston. They really want to make him the most hatable character. 💀 Imagine if instead we got a more Machiavellian Criston who intentionally decides to claw his way up from nothing to become one of the most powerful people in Westeros. Even if he does reprehensible things along the way, at least he does them purposefully, not because he’s incompetent.

I almost forgot to talk about Aemond, because he really has not been getting a lot of screen time these two episodes. The brothel scene was odd but not as odd as it could have been. I wish the writers would stop having his personality revolve around Daemon, but it’s probably their way of building up to God’s Eye. Honestly, I would’ve preferred a scene of Aemond with his family dealing with B&C aftermath rather than fucking off to the brothel.

Now, changing topics to the Rhaenyra and Daemon divorce scene. I think viewers’ reactions to this scene depend a lot on whether or not you’re a Daemon fan. He really comes off not great in the entire sequence from when Rhaenyra learns about B&C to when Daemon leaves. Also, it’s very obvious Sara Hess wrote the scene; she’s been vocal about how she dislikes Daemon, and a lot of what Rhaenyra says seems to be opinions that Sara has shared. I think Rhaenyra was right to call out Daemon for B&C and for lying to her face about it.

It may have been better if they had more buildup showing cracks between Daemon and Rhaenyra, because she’s also calling him out for a lot of stuff besides B&C. There was the S1E10 argument and choking scene, but some more interaction in S2E1 or E2 where they’re at odds would have made it fresher in viewers’ memories. But it’s not necessary, and I think the scene works as is.

Despite viewers’ feelings on this scenes, it was VERY well acted by both Emma and Matt. And it leads to Rhaenyra’s interesting interaction with Baela. Rhaenyra refuses to risk Jace and send him out on patrol near KL, but she tells Baela to do the exact same thing. It’s very subtle, and the scene is framed as a positive thing between the two characters, but this is probably the most morally gray decision Rhaenyra makes in this episode. She won’t risk her child, but she will risk Daemon’s child immediately after they fought.

The Mysaria scenes were interesting. I really don’t mind the show’s efforts to whitewash her. She’s horrible in the book, but show!Mysaria is actually sympathetic for the most part. She worked her way up from nothing but the people in charge of the system keep stomping her back down. I think her dialogue about Daemon/Otto/powerful men was heavy-handed foreshadowing that she’s going to end up serving Rhaenyra, who is notably not a man.

I don’t have a lot of groundbreaking comments about Erryk & Arryk. It was very emotionally impactful…and I wish the episode had ended either with them dying, or with the scene where Aegon is crying by himself, rather than ANOTHER Alicole sex scene. 💀

Overall, this episode had its highlights, and acting is phenomenal as always. But the writers really need to figure out what to do with Alicent and Criston, other than have the fuck all the time.

[seriousbrat]

im asking this because you made a james one but can you make a jily meta if you have time🙈🙈

Anon I'm sorry for the delay in replying, I was thinking it through!! But it's nice to have something positive to talk about haha.

The loves of my life tbh. I really really like jily even though I think my snapeishness means I'm not as involved in mainstream jily fandom. I mean enemies to lovers always has its appeal and to me james and lily are a realistic, imperfect- but all the more compelling for it- appealing dynamic.

Obviously we don't get to see a lot of their actual relationship in canon, but I think that's why it's so fun to fill in the blanks. Personally I think it's pretty normal that they were drawn to each other and ended up in a relationship from what we know- they're both pretty big personalities, intelligent and charming and brave, they have similar goals and beliefs about the world, there was attraction early on (obviously in james's case, more or less confirmed by jkr in lily's- and b4 anyone starts in on lily for being attracted to him that's not something one can control, and she probs wasn't aware anyway).

Lily basically hated his guts, with good reason, so to go from that to dating there had to be a pretty big shift in both james and in their relationship (and likely lily too, or that's my belief). Honestly what I think is that in their final years at Hogwarts, the encroaching war brought on this new seriousness, and as lines were more clearly drawn in the sand it became obvious that lily and the marauders were on the same side of it. Things like sports, popularity, rivalries cease to matter in the face of a life-or-death conflict, you're forced to grow up and deal with it, and while for Severus this brought out the worst in him, for James it brought out the best.

People talk about James changing but I think a post SWM-lily was also changing. She set a very clear boundary with Sev and I think that was an important character development moment for her. Again, the war was on the horizon, their priorities were becoming clear, and I see Lily as becoming more sure of herself and her beliefs, less tolerant of bullshit from those around her. James was becoming more circumspect, more open-minded, more responsible, so when lily and the marauders were thrown together in natural alliance the two of them were just at a point where they were compatible.

I don't think their relationship was perfect and idyllic and all that, that would be less interesting anyway. It was probably hard sometimes. One thing I love when fics explore is the class differences between James and Lily; not only is he pureblood while she's muggleborn, but he comes from wealth where she comes from a humble little working-class family in the mids. There was probably a lot of stuff James didn't understand about her life; I feel like he probably tried his best anyway. Lily probably felt intimidated or defensive about her own background at times.

I don't doubt that they argued; in fact they got off on it probably enjoyed arguing with each other, given their personalities. Both of them were intelligent, opinionated, had an arguing kink, fiery people. Like I don't think it was this exaggerated screaming match sort of thing but I'm sure they loved a healthy spirited debate which maybe got a little out of hand sometimes.

I have touched on this previously but I see James as deep down pretty insecure (who isnt in this world apart from sirius black) and I think initially he was probably pretty insecure about Lily too. I do see him regretting his previous behaviour and thinking he isn't good enough for her and that he's incredibly lucky to be with her. which is true and he should suffer. but I have an upcoming scene (lily's first time at the potters') where james is like "i feel like i'm not good enough for you" and lily's like "shut up i'm the one who's not good enough for you" and they're like "great. i guess we're not good enough for each other. sorted i guess." My point being James actively tried to be a better man, Lily saw that and admired it. because she's good and wonderful like that.

Idk I guess I see it kind of as a realistic, flawed, but ultimately loving relationship. I'm sure there was a lot of stuff they had to work on over the few years they got :( but I'm also sure they had a lot of fun together because to me they just seem really compatible in so many ways as humans.

My belief is that they got married quickly because of the war (I also believe this about frank and alice, even though i see them as older) but it's likely they would have ended up married anyway, or at least in a long term, healthy, happy relationship.

Also the pottermore entry about Vernon and Petunia is my absolute fave for many reasons (love the vertunia of it all ofc) but also the little snippet about jily is golden. The double date between vertunia and jily is perhaps one of my favourite scenes I've ever written haha it's just such a good moment, basically the only canon info we do get about while they were dating.

[thesoftboiledegg]

Man, I did NOT realize how much I missed Morty until I watched "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort." If you've spent thirty seconds on my blog, you know that Rick is my favorite character. I like Morty, but I don't specifically watch the show for him. But his dynamic with Rick is brilliant, and separating them by putting Morty in the background could've been a fatal flaw if season six didn't start turning it around near the end.

When other characters appeared on the screen (especially in group family scenes) I thought "OK, let's not take too much attention away from Morty." I never thought I'd hear myself thinking that. I think that season six is great overall, but that actually made me look at it a little more critically. This show just does NOT work without Morty. Developing the family dynamic was great, but I'm hoping that the show will start focusing on the core characters again.

Anyway, this was a good episode. Like Morty, I kept waiting for the reveal that Rick was just being an asshole and letting Morty talk himself into a disaster so that Rick could save him and then hold it over his head for ages. I wasn't too worried since Rick's been changing so much and going to therapy, but it still crossed my mind.

Maybe Rick's still following Dr. Wong's instructions: being patient and watching events unfold instead of immediately reacting with anger.

The callback to the infamous "The Vat of Acid Episode" blew me away. I didn't think the show would ever even mention it again. That episode was Rick at his worst: an abusive, sociopathic monster who emotionally destroyed Morty under the guise of being nice. So much of Rick's affection in seasons 1-4 was fake or manipulative. He did care for Morty, but boy, he didn't hesitate to smack him down and remind him who was the Rick.

I loved how the end of the episode paralleled the start of "The Vat of Acid Episode" perfectly. It's like this scene with Rick and Morty saying "I love you," grasping each other's hands and jumping willingly into the lava together undid all of Rick's cruelty.

Well...not quite. Which brings me to the one issue that I have with their relationship development: the show keeps acting like they needed to come to a mutual understanding, like their issues were partially Morty's fault. 99% of their problems came from Rick's bullshit.

Rick IS taking accountability, admitting that he fucked up and trying to do right by Morty. However, I think Morty needs to tear into him. In fact, it's a little unsatisfying that he doesn't. Rick needs to know how much he hurt Morty because that's the only way that Morty could ever find peace and Rick could even begin to atone for it.

I don't think Rick's trying to dodge responsibility. If Morty finally unleashed his rage, I think Rick would stand there and accept it. Maybe Evil Morty was supposed to be C-137 Morty's stand-in when he tore into Rick at the end of "Rickmurai Jack," but it's not enough because C-137's got personal issues with Rick that no one else has.

Rick's my favorite character, but--he deserves it. He took his shit out on that kid for way too long. Even once would have been too many times. I wish the show would let Morty seriously confront Rick about everything that he did.

Also, Rick's still got a lot of work to do, but this episode left me wondering where they could go from here. Either Morty's going to start seizing control, or something huge is going to happen that shakes up the status quo.

Still, I enjoyed the sweet moments in this episode. Rick calling Morty "little junebug" was so unexpected, but so loving and sincere. He's called Morty "buddy" and "kiddo," but that's the first time he's given him an affectionate nickname like that. Sounds like something that he would have called Beth when she was little.

I was wondering when Rick and Morty would share an emotional hug (as opposed to the spontaneous one that they shared in "Get Schwifty" all those years ago), and there it was. Not the scenario that I expected, but Rick and Morty hugging while Rick assures him that "we're going to make your dick so fake" is perfect for this series.

And again, Justin Roiland does a great job. I love how he captures the gentle undertones in Rick's voice.

Between Rick (basically) having two daughters in the house, trying to give Beth parental advice and showing Morty affection, it seems like he's learning how to be a father again. The way he extends his arms to Morty while shushing him looks so natural, like when he gently turns on Morty's goggles for him in "Full Meta Jackrick." He's reclaiming in his 70s what Prime Rick tore away from him in his 30s.

I also liked how this episode kept things fresh by returning to Earth's solar system. When Rick and Morty can visit infinite planets in infinite universes, what else is there to do? Return to an "ordinary" setting that they haven't spent much time in. This episode reminded me of "Something Ricked This Way Comes," which Rick mentions directly--another great callback to earlier seasons.

I noticed that Morty and Rick are continuing to gradually switch places. Morty's the one who suggests that they move to another dimension, and he says in the beginning that he wouldn't be too upset if he never saw his family again. Glad to see that he hasn't regressed back into being a passive little boy, which I was worried about.

Overall, this was a solid episode. I would've done a few things differently, but the writers have done a great job of pushing the show's boundaries and transforming the characters. Still, this upward growth can't go on forever, which makes me a little worried about what's coming next.

[chaospikes]

Dungeon Meshi Shipping appreciation

Hey guys, did you know I like Dungeon Meshi? It has such a great wealth of characters that are all so fleshed out and interesting! Characters that have so much love and care put into them, from main ones to even background ones. I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore shipper but it's always so nice seeing creators who love a ship dearly and that love bleeding into their works!

Ships are all about chemistry, they are all about having fun with your blorbos, normally beyond canon. Maybe most won't get that chemistry, maybe only you will get that chemistry and that's fine, I just think that with the way how the characters are written, they could have an interesting relationship with almost anyone in the manga.

We've got cute ships like Farcille with the way Marcille was willing to sacrifice everything for her, I personally also like Laimar just because seeing the progress of their relationship and seeing Laios feeling genuine joy at Marcille slowly coming to understand him, Labru with the amount of shenanigans and probably difficulties these two would have to go through to make things work and even some lesser know ones like for example Marchil with bantering and potential angst due to differing lifespans there is or Chilshi with seeing Chilchuck's overall admiration for him bgbgdbg.

Shipping in dungeon meshi is honestly really fun! Lesbian ships, gay ships, straight ships and everything in between and beyod... they are all really good and interesting! Yeah, this is just me gushing about how good Ryoko Kui is at writing characters and how she manages to make even shipping secondary or even background characeters fun with lots of potential dynamics and stories with plenty of meat in its bones.

Anyways, love is love and remember, it's all about having fun with our blorbos.

[goldenlavendered]

welcome to my enclosure I have many thoughts and doodles abt lila (shipping mostly)

[ID in ALT!]

hc dump under cut (it gets LONGG lol)

General:

anthro au specific but since my Skid & Lila are both cats, some nights they'll just sit in total darkness (bc cats can see in the dark). it is great and enriching for both of them.

adding onto that, ever since Pump started coming over they added some glow in the dark star stickers along the walls to help him find his way around :)

Lila is transfem to me . I don't need proof or elaboration this is just something I know in my heart /lh

she probably started transitioning pretty young, which is something she feels lucky for. her parents were supportive ^_^ !!

that being said, her parents were rather protective, and she didn't get out too much as a youngin.

-- that is why she was so lax with Skid going outside. she was kind of overcorrecting for that.

She was probably deep into alt fashion in college (elaborated on later)

Shipping Opinions:

I am just some guy on the internet, if you like a ship I don't, that's great and I love that for you! Live your life.

Goldenlavender (x Jaune): gestures at url. I think it is funny. also.

I feel like they've quietly been pining for a very long time now, but they've both been friends for so long and don't want things to change.

there's something quiet and unstated, but definitely there between them. they don't kiss or anything, but they hold each other really close and aren't too shy about being affectionate. you know?

women who are best friends.

also ross would finally have a parent who can pass off as a natural reason why he has black hair. he is beating the hair dye allegations!!!!!!

Grapecandy (x Kevin): I'll be honest right now. I keep thinking Kevin's, like, 17.

He isn't, I think. But I literally didn't even think of him as being a suitable option for her for a while LMAO

I think I can sum up all of the wagegang x Lila thoughts here: It just doesn't compel me, unfortunately. I don't see their potential dynamic as being particularly funny, or spawning interesting drama. Shrugs. Sorry!

specifically w Kevin though I think they would break up as soon as Skid is brought up LMAO. like he doesn't hate the kid but he isn't ready to be a stepfather imo.

(x Bob): Do they have a ship name? Anyw the age gap isn't my main issue with it. Lila's in her late 20s at the youngest, and they're both adults. I don't think anyone means tiny witch Lila when they bring this ship up anyways

nor is the stalking or attempted murder. I had a creepypasta phase, these behaviors are obviously Very Bad irl but they can be interesting to see in fiction. morbid curiosity and whatever.

My main issue is that their potential relationship is so much more interesting if it isn't romantic, you know? Like, how do they know each other? What was he to her? Why did she react so strongly to seeing him in her past? She seems eager to try to reject the idea that the man in the photo is him, but why? Was he important to her? Did she care about him?

TL;DR: I want more fics abt these two's relationship, but specifically non-romantically.

Deadflowers (x Patty): Not sure about this ship name. I don't see this one often. Anyw, I don't actually have any thoughts on Patty, so this is going to be super short.

I think they might have a nice time together on a date, but I don't think it could be anything serious.

Though, if they did.. overworked x overworked means they'll have to take care of the other, even tho it'll mean they call each other hypocrites for working so much all the time.

I could see it as a background/dressing ship, but not really as the focus of anything. sorry girls

Poisonwine (x Skid's Dad): I want to know more from onscreen canon first!!! But I think they could be super interesting!!!

The tweet that implies that he didn't care bout Lila is. hROUUUGH (<- thang whose heart is breaking). He didn't care, but did she know that? Did she care? I feel like she did..

There's no way Lila doesn't know about the cult. I'm a believer that she was a part of it herself until he died (the robes, "Remember Lila") ...Did she join because of her own beliefs, or because her husband was in it? Did he have to coerce her at all?

I think he was a good dad to Skid.

You may notice this is a lot of me dancing around what I actually think they're like. That's because I don't want to really solidify any specific readings of what's going on here. I am embracing the future with open arms!!

they're t4t tho this is non-negotiable /silly

RoyalPurple (x Carmen): this was supposed to have its' own section but now I'm making a fic with them so just. wait a minute there HAHAHA /silly

(& Streber): this is a Specifically platonic headcanon but I like to think they ve gone to the same university. They're definitely in diff strands, Streber to Engineering and Lila to Architecture, but they could've met through an org and just been pals.

They weren't suuper close or anything, but they were birds of a feather. Girl who goes to class with chokers and giant boots, and guy dressed like a victorian fantasy LARPer.

I think she sent him flowers or a get well card in the hospital :) [miserable hand shake between them abt being personally victimized by Bob]

The Ships That Don't Have Doodles

these will just be single bullet points!

(x F. Gregor): same comments as wagegang x Lila; doesn't compel me. Nothing's wrong with it, I just don't see it.

(x Dexter): this is only funny to me because I draw Lila and co as cats in the Anthro AU. he calls her a stupid bitch, we can move on.

(x Jack): I could see a onesided crush from his side, like "the lady who keeps calling is kinda cute" but I don't know if I could see it getting serious. she can give him a smooch if he wants, as a treat.

(x John): ok this one could actually be really cute. eatyourmaker's post abt Skid and John getting along is super adorable and I could maybe imagine Lila hitting it off with him after seeing how much he cares for Skid. maybe Skid plays matchmaker. this could work. I like it.

(x Ignacio): in the deleted scenes she tried to beat a teen to death for calling Skid a dumbass, I don't think she could get over the threats.

(x Fat Thief/Thin Thief): this could be funny if she was still mad at them for breaking in repeatedly. she doesn't seem threatened by them just irritated LMAO

(x Frank): childhood friends who don't really talk but are chill with each other. they're funny. I don't feel the romance tho. S&P's cool uncle

(x Pump & Susie's Parents): Pump & Susie officially get Skid as a brother AND they finally have one (1) parent who isn't always absent, just sometimes absent. other than as a background detail tho there's nothing here.

(x Mayor Evermore): they would ignore each other on the street on purpose

(x Moloch): he didnt get to but he WOULD call her a bitch.

(x Richard): poor man's Lila x Carmen

(x Spider): please let my girl beat the spiderfucker allegations.

[yoonmeowzz]

ateez ! on your first date

contents: gn!reader x ateez members, fluff and lots of cliché

warnings: mention of food in hwa's, yunho's and woo's (and kinda? in mingi's)

hongjoong

this boy is definitely thrift shopping with you. he would ask your opinion on every piece of clothing that catches his eye, because he wants to look good for you (for himself too ofc but u get me). every now and then he says "this would look amazing on you". and maybe he would try to find matching accessories for the both of you.

"do you like this necklace, y/n?"

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

seonghwa

he either takes you to a coffee shop or you have a movie night at home. maybe both. some nice background music and your dumb conversations as the only sound inside the small café he took you to. and since you both were having the time of your lives, you decided to go to his house, make popcorn (the sweet ones) and watch your favourite movies.

"wanna watch the whole star wars saga?"

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

yunho

picnic date with golden retriever boy! he would even check the weather forecast some days before asking you out. you guys decided to buy your favourite snacks, but he would try to surprise you by making something on his own. like those cute heart biscuits or some avocado makis. yunho would probably play with every child or puppy that approaches your small spot on the grass. and he's definitely cleaning the corner of your mouth with his thumb even if you have nothing.

"wait, you've got something there."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

yeosang

he would be very nervous so he chose going for a walk with you. that way you both can decide where to go and what to do. you would walk around the city, taking a look at some shops and maybe stopping at some of them to buy whatever. but his fingers would always be linked with yours. once the sky starts to get darker he would insist on dropping you at your place, even if it's on the opposite direction of his. he's just making sure you're safe.

"don't let go my hand, i don't want to lose you."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

san

since he's really good at videogames (and he may want to show off a little bit), he'd take you to an arcade. he would teach you how to play his favourite ones and once you're used to all the dynamics he would get a little competitive. but he's obviously letting you win some games so he can see your smile on full display. after you've played almost all the games there, he would try to get you a plushie or whatever reward you ask for at the claw machine.

"it's not fair! you're getting really good at this, y/n."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

mingi

he wanted you to decide where to go on your first date, so you chose a theme park. they're fun and you can get a lot of prizes, what else can you ask for? mingi is very jumpy, so he wouldn't be so excited at first. but he would enjoy your date anyways. you went for the soft rides like the cups or the carousel. but at some point he agreed to go into the haunted house. bad idea, he would be screaming and hiding behind your back (or trying to) all the time. at the end you would buy some snacks and call it a day.

"i really like you, but i'm never going in there again."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

wooyoung

wooyoung enjoys cooking. and there's nothing better than cooking something for the first time with someone you like. you both searched some new recipes to try out and once you decided what to make you went to buy the ingredients together. you guys would be laughing most of the time. it doesn't matter for woo if it tastes bad in the end, he's happy that you had a great time together.

"let's just order something instead, i don't want us to die from food poisoning."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

jongho

his voice is really something else, so you would go to a karaoke on your first date just to have a private concert together. at first y'all would sing iconic songs, jumping around and singing your lungs out. just having fun with each other. but at the end jongho would choose a slow love song something like perfect by ed sheeran and he would not stop looking at you while he's singing. once he finishes he'd be kinda embarrassed but glad that you liked it.

"darling, you look perfect tonight."

    ⠀ ⠀⠀

[34saveme34]

thinking about 3 and him making friends

I don't know how everyone handles him but 4 is definitely not the only one who cares about him

also I wish they showed it more but Meggy definitely considers 3 a friend

Mario also cares about 3 in his own way

He gets along well with Bob when they both want to

he can be nice to Boopkins

we don't see him with Melony which is a shame, they should touch on that more ugh

but yea like Idk the idea that 3 is isolated in 4's grasp to justify the idea that 4 could be abusive-

Sure, he revolves around 4 but it's not really fully his fault, they're cosmically assigned as a pair so like, the fuck can he do but make the most of it?

Like I'll say, he's definitely not fully integrated in the friendgroup and he still has a lot to work on in that regard but he's far from having only 4 as his friend

I think it's just rather that HE thinks that but like he doesn't even know if he should cuz his stupid ass is constantly scared, got them trust issues

You know who has that problem though but doesn't appear a lot so we don't think about it too much? Kaizo. Bro only really knew Saiko and like, that's all we really know of him besides like being irresponsible as hell

but we didn't really like, see him bounce off with anybody else

3-Meggy bouncing off works, similarly to how honestly 4-Meggy works, it's the competitive shittalking kicking in with both, although we saw less of it, since the 34 dynamic really took over

I bet Kaizo could have a great dynamic with someone other than Saiko but he doesn't get enough screen time for that

anyways I'm still fucked over the whole 34 thing. There's so much of them. I don't know, if their whole gay little thing is gonna forever stay a bit and nothing more, it's- gonna get boring real quick

like you can try and dangle the treat in front of us, the animals, but at some point after waiting for it long enough, we'll grow bored.

But really, it feels like such an odd writing decision to focus on them so much if they're just meant to be a bit and they don't want to progress their relationship further. Like it's not like that's what people prefer. Sure, there's a minority who would want only that forever but then it's just pleasing a tiny crowd which could drive others away. It just feels like it wouldn't worth going through so much trouble with them all for that

Like if they just wanted to keep it a silly bit, they shouldn't. focus on it so much. Like, logically if they put so much emphasis on them and tease the hell out of us with things like the end of wotfi23, forced hold hands, elevator, the god damn titanic scene, squidbob34, Perfect, them bitches always being next to each other, like you'll find them mostly next to each other in most scenes they're present in

like, logically, LOGICALLY, this shit's supposed to become more than a god damn bit. Why would you put so much in a ship, the actual like, majority of your fanbase doesn't really care as much about (see: that one youtube ship popularity poll on another yt channel) and some (although a minority) even despise and call the idea of making it canon the end of the world

I am just, you know, left wondering, what the hell is it for- if not for them to make it fuckin canon at some point?

Honestly, I think I said it before, maybe not publically but I'd find it really fun if wotfi24 somehow drove them to be canon

not like as an arc thing, just a fun thing yknow.

but then again, this pair has been a thing for a really long time now

like it makes you think about like, what would even be grand enough to match them, the anticipation that is if those 2 could ever get together, what could match that?

Or would it become like the Puzzlevision movie where it's like, it's fine but still kind of weak. Like sure, but, eh, I expected it to be more cool and like making the wait worthy

then again it would be really funny if they didn't make them canon on camera, we'd just see kiss them in the background while other characters get focus. Like Idk, maybe some random characters we don't see enough, getting together in 3's cafe and like. In the background we see 4 walk over to the counter and very clearly kiss 3 and then them talking. But like they aren't the focus so imagine people actually missing it LJLKLFFL

imagine being a shipper, missing the scene and then losing your shit when people post screenshots of them kissing and you have to go back and check and lose your shit even more

Idk I'm just rambling at this point

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Season 1, Episode 1 Review

Spoilers for season 1, episode 1 of the anime below the cut!

I watched both the English sub with Japanese audio, and the English dub, on Netflix.

I think overall it's very good, has a good tempo and doesn't mess with the pacing or characterization in any major way, very faithful to the manga. I think there could have been SOME improvements or adjustments made, but I'm not at all surprised that it didn't happen, making 1:1 extremely faithful manga adaptations seems to have become the norm lately.

On the plus side, that means that if this current level of quality continues, that the anime will always be at least as good as the manga... which is already very good! So that's great.

But on the negative side, that means it won't ever be better than the manga, and that makes me a little sad, because I think an anime adaptation of Dungeon Meshi could absolutely surpass the manga, if they were willing to take some risks, and with Ryoko Kui's guiding hand. Anyway.

Love the OP song, love it's old timey tavern feel and that it's not a straight up jpop or jrock song. Soundtrack music was really nice. Animation was great.

Love that they show a closeup of Falin's open eyes in the OP so we'll know.... ;3 later

Things that I didn't like as much:

Almost all the background text is in Japanese when it wasn't in the manga. Kui often used glyphs or scribbles to indicate that things aren't in English or Japanese.... but they're just using Japanese as far as I can tell.

Netflix America doesn't translate most of it either. They also don't put in the English logo on the opening even though they have it on the show homepage... Don't know if they'll fix it later.

Personally, I think it would also be fine if all the releases had the background in-universe text appear in the target language so the implication is "this is in the viewer's language, whatever that is, but that isn't the actual fantasy language being used in-universe". But I doubt this will happen.

And there is SOME text in glyphs! The dungeon gourmet book isn't in a real language when it's shown... I think it's just laziness. I would honestly very much prefer nonsense text in a variety of languages than this.

In the Japanese I genuinely thought Laios was providing the narration, so I was totally taken aback when there was a different narrator in English.... and I honestly liked it a LOT better when I thought Laios was narrating, it felt really natural and good! So sad that it isn't actually what's happening. Don't really like the slightly snarky David Attenborough style nature commentary narrator. Feels weird and jarring at times.

Subtitles are fine, but there's some things that are randomly different for no good reason, subs say Senshi means "researcher" and dub says "seeker" and.... Senshi doesn't have a mouth, you don't need to match his dialogue to mouth-flaps, you can make him say ANYTHING you want so why have it be different?

There's some dub script choices I REALLY hated and am probably going to die mad about lmao:

Marcille saying that their "inventory" was wiped out, like they're in a video game, calling the scared adventurers "newbs" like they're in a video game, saying "as if" like she's a 90's California girl.

Senshi saying "delish" instead of "delicious" . There's no mouth flaps, why shorten it to a modern slang term that feels unnatural?

Laios also says "geez" which is short for "jesus" so they could have picked literally anything else for him to say, I'm sure the Japanese was probably "mattaku" which just means "Really?" (too lazy to confirm this lol)

Chilchuck says "god" and you could just have him... not say that. Or say "gods" because there's multiple gods in Dungeon Meshi.

Those were my major thoughts so far. Overall thought it was great and I enjoyed it! Looking forward to more!

It's not perfect, but I have seen much, much, MUCH worse adaptations lmao so I'm excited for when they get to some of the more dynamic action scenes in the second half of the manga.

[ad-hawkeye]

got hit by the artem truck out of nowhere and now that he’s jumped to my favorite rn i was wondering if you had any card stories you would recommend(recent or old is fine if you answer this)

Come On In To The Artem Truck

oh gosh! oh uh, okay okay okay! i got this! i got YOU! pulling out the tot app for this. my recommendations are below. bolded cards are my absolute favorites, but the rest are cards that while not my favorites, are very good and do have important relevance to artem or his future cards. also worth noting, these are only cards on global. i plan on making a list of future card recommendations soon! i think i talk about a few on this blog as well!

any cards not on this list aren't awful per say, just not as good or important - in my opinion, anyways!

BASE GAME CARDS (RECOMMENDATIONS)

loving memories (SSR): showcases pre development artem well. good neil lore. the haunted house also gets mentioned again in future cards.

focus fire (SR): good neil and artem lore. not exactly groundbreaking or anything, but i think it's worth a watch.

sparks (SR): you'll be seeing a lot of bold early on. sparks is a classic and favorite of many people. recommended.

in sickness or in health (SR): the og. this made me an artem stan.

autumn dreams (SR): while not a "must watch" imo, it is very cute and worth it if you have the time. also the final card art is artem's background on his tablet (you can see it on artem's tablet skill item)

thin veil (SR): paywalled but up on youtube. this is a MUST watch. introduces mockingbird and artem's whole deal with movies. also artem sucks at hand crafts and its a treat to watch him panic

unusual love (SSR): paywalled but up on youtube. this one is just rly fun to watch. it's fake dating AND angst! fun fun.

-

EVENTS (RECOMMENDATIONS)

lost gold: just. lost gold. love artem's route so much. also if rosa tries to use her little gun, it references artem teaching her how to shoot in focus fire.

artem's first birthday event: this one is so cute! recommend.

-

EVENT BANNER CARDS (RECOMMENDATIONS)

entwined fate (SSR): yeah you saw this one coming. it sets up a lot of stuff for the artemrosa dynamic. also it's just very cute AND you get amazing neil and artem angst! for what is probably the last time ever!

dreamful melodies (SSR): artem is so deeply pathetic and incompetent in this. please watch it <3

fixated on you (SR): very cute and one of my personal favs! marks a shift in their dynamic towards them being good friends AND has artem sucking at art

wandering heart (SSR): one of the classics. artem tricks rosa into eating some shitty chocolate to make her laugh and feel better.

two hearts as one (SSR): artem cries in this one and it's great!

sunshine after the rain (SSR): i just wrote a whole block of text about this one and it's one of my favorites. trust in meeee

winning ball (SR): not groundbreaking but watching artem talk about his absentee father is always a win in my book

eternal yearning (1st anniversary SSR): well yeah this one is a requirement for reasons. it's very good! i wouldn't say it was life changing but they do get together here and it's very nice imo.

new skies (SSR): i like this one a lot. playful artem makes a reappearance and the ending is super cute

masquerade passion (SR): love this one a lot!! this is also a classic artemrosa card, imo. its very in character and also includes theater boy artem again. cant go wrong with that!

paired blessings (SSR): this one is honestly a little boring, but they go back to the temple from entwined fate and talk about life and stuff. also worth a watch!

heart listener (SR): this one references loving memories! artem also heavily relates to the kid they have to babysit who is struggling with busy borderline absentee parents.

the weeds (SSR): probably one of artem's better au cards, which is why it's making it on this list. this is the one to watch if ur in an au mode.

day and night (SSR): this one isnt my favorite but it's his second bday card and does have some interesting stuff in it, me thinks. worth a watch.

[luce-speaks]

Hi pal! I sent over a passage for director's commentary on Laid To Rest Chapter 4, I'd love to hear your thoughts! :3

i've never watched a DVD director's commentary so i actually don't know what's supposed to go here. i have taken the opportunity to be incredibly long-winded (what else is new). enjoy!

to preface: these are screenshots directly from the original google doc! every major writing project i work on starts in the notes app for drafting, then moves to google docs for editing. once in the google doc, it gets its own background color to help me tell them apart. laid to rest is green for forsyth!

forsyth’s inability to just “do nothing” is a running theme in this story (not to mention something i personally relate to), and this is totally one of those moments. it’s a nice contrast to python, who is great at doing nothing and generally thinks forsyth needs to get better at it.

python has no reason to believe that forsyth even has a book with him. he just says things. forsyth’s answer is also a hint that this story happens before the forsyth and lukas support.

i had a whole talk with my beta reader about this bit and "sir ghost", because forsyth, as a very proper aspiring knight, would not be inclined to use the title incorrectly! but there wasn’t anything good to replace it with (“mister ghost” sounds weirdly anachronistic and a little british), and i didn't want to take it out, so it stuck anyway. the line about forsyth being relieved was basically a retcon fix to that issue! also, i think it’s funny how much python hates the nickname...

…and how quickly forsyth switches to ‘oh, no, sir is only for knights’. forsyth doesn’t see the irony here. i do.

python has no idea how much the stealing comment offends forsyth, but if he did, he’d say it anyway. i don’t think the same goes for the second insult—it’s very personal to forsyth, and it might be a bridge too far for him. but he has no idea, so he just goes ahead with it! also in this part: i wanted lukas’s presence to be felt as a character even though he wasn’t around for most of the story. in this case, we see how forsyth looks up to him for being level-headed and tries to follow his example in a social situation he doesn’t know how to handle :)

“Oh my god, Forsyth, you can’t just ask people why they’re dead.”

i don’t think it comes across clearly, but this was supposed to be a real autism moment for forsyth. the original draft had something like “forsyth notices a sarcastic edge to his voice—he doesn’t mean it.” like, this is a cue that forsyth successfully picks up on, but he does it very consciously / it doesn’t come naturally to him. i ended up changing it because i couldn't get the original to flow right, but i hope it still carries the general feeling.

python is snarky. what else is new

ok nerd time SO!! you know by this point that python has lost his memories, right? well there are actually two types of memory, implicit and explicit! explicit memory encompasses facts you know and things that have happened to you, while implicit memory includes reflexes, muscle memory, and how to do things. it’s common for amnesia patients to retain their implicit memories but not their explicit ones—so, for example, you might remember how to ride a bike, but you wouldn’t know how or when you learned that. i’m playing a bit fast and loose with the rules here, but as you can see in this scene, python’s instinctive reactions about things stay the same (dislikes nobles, likes archery, etc), even though he doesn't necessarily know why he feels that way about them, which makes for some interesting dynamics. more on this later in the story!! also, this plotline takes some inspiration from the game Ghost Trick, though I can't really go into detail about how for spoiler reasons :)

one other fun thing about this scene is python starting to be more visible! i had an interesting conversation with a friend about how ghosts would convey themselves. if it were the other way around and forsyth were the ghost, i think he would tend to be more upright and would stand on/near the ground to emulate a living person (sort of in denial about being dead). python's default is either doing little flips in the air (showing disinterest) or laying "like in a hammock" (humorously making the most of his ability to fly).

thanks for the ask!! this was really fun!

[diorama-love]

hmgh i love when i try to explain things and get internally invalidated so i'm just gonna channel my inner bev and throw this into the void because i know this sounds fucking wild.

so hi! i'm day. i, uh, experience myself entirely separately from bev despite the fact that we're two sides of the same coin. i'm not gonna lie a lot of the shit from the past few months has been trying to confirm that i even exist because oops! all identity confusion /hj

the reason i'm even comfortable posting about on not-main is like. threefold:

the space is relatively anonymous. ofc not completely but enough that there's no algorithm and i can voidpost if i need to. there's nothing particularly identifying on here.

anyone who follows us already knows we have DID, whether from being mutuals on a different (let's be real, now-defunct) social media site, mutuals from a sideblog, or from me just saying something.

because i want to be more open about my experiences as day!! i think i'm allowed that ;;

i think there was a fourth reason, but you get the point.

again, i'm sorry for this being so, so out of nowhere, and for how absurd it sounds! there's actually a lot more to why i decided to like. fully separate myself, but the tl;dr is that bev and i...don't have a great dynamic internally and i don't wanna be lumped in with them? 😅 so uh. yeah. i don't know what else to say. this has been going on in the background for a while so it's nice to get off my chest!

we're both still parts of lemon so if you still wanna call me lemon that's fine! and i'd still prefer lemon in like. discord servers with people who Don't Know, y'know? i actually have a whole-ass different discord account but i'm nervous because, again, i'm hyperaware of how absolutely fucking wild this sounds but anyway that's all bye

[nettleshuttle]

the more i think about it, the more certain i am that dm’s bakura and malik are easily the best ygo antagonists/villains

malik has a huge importance plot-wise and can actually play the damn card game. the decks he uses, first slifer and then ra, are cleverly managed and both give the good guys quite the scare. the typical revenge-oriented villain trope does determine much of his motivation, but the interesting twist is how he actually strives for groundless payback after putting all the blame on the pharaoh — he needs revenge for revenge’s sake, something to give him purpose and keep him going, until he’s so into it that he can no longer tell the difference. his gravekeeper background and the trauma he suffered at young age both make a lot of sense, as does the way he acquired the rod. his family, ishizu and rishid, do a great job in complementing and completing his character. besides, he’s one of the few (only?) ygo villains that act fucked up (real evil, i give him that) and get plausible retribution arcs afterwards — a good wrap-up with realistic, justified pacing is what most of them lack (ekhem yuri, ekhem quattro).

bakura is the major villain of the whole dm (it would appear) — and i love the way he’s absent through a good half of the whole plot anyway. his character is introduced in pegasus’s island, then he plays his part at battle city and returns only for the final arc, showing some very nice long-term pacing (just the way the millennium eye shows up after a long time to serve its purpose). the ryo-dark bakura-zorc-thief king set up makes a surprising lot of sense and explains a good part of the plot. the “evil non-human destruction entity” part is a bit cheap, but i can let it slide because it’s rather congruous. bakura’s motivations are really my favorite — his issue with the pharaoh is a tragic conflict, making his drive both understandable and condemnable. his personality and emotions adds a lot to the mix (as does being near-immortal): he’s not very goal-oriented and likes to do what he pleases, which is perfectly reflected in the battle city duel against yugi. it’s a shame that he gets annihilated without at least a proper death scene, but i guess it is rather deserved. either way, he’s the only major villain in ygo that is so well-developed (or at all) and has so much in common with a human being, especially if we count ryo in. the fact that he sucks at the card game makes it even better for the chaotic-evil “do i look like i have a plan” character he is, though they could have let him play more than, like, three duels in total.

being two revenge seeking antags with very different motivations, backgrounds and priorities — as well as very different endings to their respective stories — they do a fantastic job with forming the main villain body in dm. the personality split thing also works vastly different for the two of them, adding to the interesting dynamic. when i say that battle city is the best duel monsters arc and that they carried the battle city arc, well, i mean it. their interactions, ship it or not, are a great thing in dm. besides, there’s a sense of completion in the ends they meet that doesn’t exclude the bitter-sweetness of an open ending and a feeling of making sense, of plausibility that many other ygo antags fail to reach, even complexity of character aside.

[acespaceacepilot]

Genuinely the academia fic makes me want to read every poem you cited!! Oh my god. Obviously I looked up Staying Quiet and I had a moment of stunned silence and wonder that you specifically knew the poem and exactly where it would be at home. Insane. Also reminded me of other great academia AUs in that now I almost want to write my english lit end of semester essays, thank you for the motivation. Anyway I'm here and not in the AO3 comment section because in the author's note at the start you mentioned having planned out what the characters would be doing and since you were on point with what you showed I am so so curious what else you've got for this setting 👀 in any case thank you so much <3

up top, thank you so much!! amongst my friends, i am a known poetry heaux. i go to poetry readings and feel my feelings; my partner got me a necklace that's engraved with a buddy wakefield quote. i have one of his collections signed to me. i fucking Love poetry.

hieu minh nguyen is one of my personal favorites and something was pinging around in my skull being like "hey! listen! there's a poem from them that perfectly fits astarion!" it fell Perfectly into place, shout out to my adhd background thoughts that were So Sure that hieu minh nguyen's poem should be there.

i'm going to put the rest below the cut, because. i have A Lot of thoughts and feelings

let's start with what i directly used in all my visions converted to blurs:

wyll is a low-rung english professor at a state school when he Could be at an ivy league bc of his dad’s nepotism. but wyll doesn't want a position his dad gets him, obvi. i want wyll to want to be out of his father's shadow, damn it.

(ulder is dean of a business school at an ivy league in my mind. it just fits. as a person with an english/linguistics degree: ulder ravengard has hella business major energy.)

astarion has taken a year or four off from school at this point. i hinted at substance abuse being the main reason that it's taken him so long to graduate from the law program? when he was the same age as his classmates, i think he partied A Lot and ended up having to retake some classes during his undergrad. i think i landed on coke being his chosen vice? idk it's vague for a reason. he's trying to get his life back on track

wyll and gale share an office space.

now here's what i left on the cutting room floor:

astarion is Still older than wyll, but not by more than six years

mizora is head of the english department. wyll has to play nice bc he's waiting to defend his dissertation and she'll be on the panel. she uses this to push her work or responsibilities onto wyll

lae'zel is doing her doctorate in anthropology/paleoanthropology. she's researching ancient war strategies and how social norms impacted them.

minthara is lae'zel's advisor because they'd have a Great dynamic. she specializes in biological anthropology. she can ball park which century any given human skull comes from.

shadowheart is working on her doctorate of psychology and specifically writing her dissertation profiling the susceptibility of cult victims mixed with religious studies to compile information about modern worship

1000000000% there are rumors about shadowheart's personal experience with cults. people say she goes by shadowheart so the cult she escaped from can't find her. she's heard every joke in the book about midsommar. there's some frat boy in the greek row that swears up and down that she bit his buddy hard enough to draw blood when they hooked up.

halsin and jaheira do ecology and agriculture, respectively. environmental sciences people. they both have tenure. halsin runs an internship for wetland management in the summer. jaheira is like a leading expert in soil science.

jaheira told mizora she was a bitch during a whole university department head meeting once and that's why halsin's the department head now.

minsc is literally just a coach. he does not teach Any classes and hangs out with the university's mascot Constantly. he coaches rugby and crew in the summer, basketball in the winter.

gale is a double discipline professor for history and cultural anthropology. So Close to getting tenure. his rate my professor score is mid as hell bc students either love or hate him because boy does this man drone onnnnnnnnnn

he's been on like four different digs in egypt and will talk about them at length but does that thing of "my second time in cairo. wait.... no. it was my Third time in cairo."

i posted this on twitter, but here's the couch lore: the couch in their office is a hand me down from gale's apartment because tara scratched it to hell on the corner of the armrests + the reason why the couch doesn't have any throw pillows is because gale didn't want to be tempted to nap and he already has a terrible time maintaining a work life balance

karlach is in sports medicine. she coaches the track team and works with weightlifters that have olympic aspirations. she was good enough to go to the last summer games for weightlifting, but an accident with a treadmill that she doesn't like to talk about prevented her from going.

she still has beef with gortash because he was on the shortlist for open spot availability.

she's Convinced that he's on steroids

[prettyflyshyguy]

Alright for the freaks who are oldschool Supernatural tumblr people, or just normal supernatural people, and for the rest who are just like me and don't know shit: I'm dumping all my garbo takes under the cut.

Mostly gonna be me either being really enamored or really upset.

No in-between. These things are either great or the worst. My tastes are specific and I'm picky with vampire fiction and rarely do I find media that ticks the boxes yet, I still watch almost anything I can find obsessively.

Who knows maybe this'll become a new casual TV series if I like the dynamics. Anyway, long post warning under the cut.

They got Bela Lugosi's Dead playing in a room full of nu-metal heads LMFAO

truly the alt communities have always been done so dirty in media

least they did their research on song choices

-

jesus christ

flashbacks to my steampunk phase circa 2011

-

I LOVE that this woman looks so normie and looks so delighted when she meets this equally normie looking dude in an alternative bar (i want to go there the people seem chill and the vibes are impeccable)

anyway who is this guy he seems familiar

love that they made the most normal dude in the bar the real monster good on them :)

christ they just took one look at twilight and went yeah lets TV parody this shit just for a laugh didnt they

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHE'S 17

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(DID SHE HAVE A FAKE ID I WASNT PAYING ATTENTION)

OK ok ok you get big bonus points just for this bit. Just for this bit.

Thank you supernatural go off

-

"I'm just scared I'm dreaming and I'll wake up in math class" girl me too

im sorry this woman looks so much older than 17

POINTS DEDUCTED

POINTS DEDUCTED

BAD TEETH

great eyes, horrendous teeth. very dissapointed. I'm only here for the fucked up canines because we already HAVE them and whats better than perverting the existing human form into something subtly wrong

-

This show has such an aggressive title screen compared to buffy and the x files LMAO

-

ok i can get behind the chevvy, the chevvy is nice

-

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

POINTS ADDED - holy shit points added for this cheesy poster alone really capturing the schtick of the late 2000s

ok i get it, i get it guys, they're fun, they're funny, they've got a great sibling energy, the periodic 'screaming' happening in the background of this scene is sending me

-

this has been too fun so far i feel like somethings gonna ruin it

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok this is so self aware yet the degree they're committing is just.

its marvelous. this is peak. I'm into it.

there are so many ads please i want to see dean have a bad day

Holy shit is that Skinner from the x files i love that guy

-

the fashion. iconic. if anything I'll be coming back to this for inspiration for myself.

-

the way Dean just slammed that guy on the car yelling "OPEN YOUR MOUTH"

yeah instant favourite.

you've rounded a corner, a dude has just beat the shit out of your brother and now he's about to force feed him blood and your response is: stand there staring like the shocked pikachu

oh so you wait till after he's done to scream "no!" in a half hearted tone

is there something I'm missing here, i know Sam gets a bit cooked at some point (does he get possessed??? idk) so I'm gonna assume thats whats going on

this is the best 'turning' scene I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing in all my years of trawling through vampire media

holy shit the team that wrote this episode fucking get it

the audio design, the acting, is so on point

Supernatural Crew you cooked so hard and I'm deeply thanking you for it

this was fucking made for me what the fuck what the fruck what the fuck what the fuc

Nooooo dont have an emotional breakdown in the bathroom looking at your fangs, but you're so sexy aha

The constant heartbeats anytime Deans in a room with someone got me grinning like :]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

ok points deducted, again, for bad teeth but my god

the "I gotta go-" scene GOOD SHIT GOOD SHIT

someone get this kicked puppy a sippy cup

a red fanta chug jug

where is his sippy cup

look i know its probably not fun, at all, to drink red mystery meat juice on set but its gotta be cheaper than CGI teeth. Please.

Please let more relunctant vampires reluctantly chug jug (with you)

Oh Never Mind they wrote it in that he can't drink or he's stuck >:(

im still having a good time, just a bit less of a good time

YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

-

using a large serrated knife to cut appart a horde of vampires seems like a great idea and getting covered in blood you're not supposed to drink is inevitable

but watch out

Sam: thats a pretty mentally stable thing to do

I REALLY WANT TO

CHUG JUG WITH YOU

ok this scene of him makes up for the lack of authentic blood chug jug I'll take what I can get

-

Ok final thoughts: that was a solid 7 and a half out of 10

thank you Supernatural you hit almost all the high notes when most stuff falls flat for me. Still, you came soooooooooo close. And got so far. And Yet in the end it doesnt even matter.

Still, this one's going straight to the pool room, and I can comfortably say I'm throwing it on the shelf of 'comfort media' that I can go back to on a bad day.

This had some fucking BANGER scenes that surpassed my expectations and deeply pleasantly surprised me. Good shit! As someone who is hard to please, this was a riot. Still; a shame they arbritrarily rules-d him taking a chunk out of someone. Would have been sick. Could have had the great slow build up of the initial turning scene - him and the love interest, holding back - then him cracking it after holding out and snapping.

It is not too much to ask, I swear. It's a good trope.

Do I dare take the risk of trawling through fanfiction to find another horribly specific weirdo like me, because Supernatural seems huge and a scary place to fanfic trawl.