#been through the trenches

[crowbury]

I CAN SEE!!!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

come get yer juice (aka some 'stocks i never posted </3)

[clonerightsagenda]

I've started noticing content warnings start popping up more frequently in the front of published books, and I'm curious as to people's thoughts on that. So, poll time!

[lispenardst]

sun bleached flies – ethel cain

yes i did make a 6 minute long ethel cain x ft edit

no i am not well

[stardustdiiving]

How evil is arlecchino and what is she cooking

As of 4.2, I’m really curious what they’re planning with Arlecchino as a character, especially as a villain/antagonist/morally dubious character, and how far/which direction they may go with that

Intuitively my impression is we’ll see her do something way more “villainous” than she presents herself as being for majority of Fontaine’s AQ in front of us right—(which isn’t a surprise given that, you know, Arlecchino nor the House of Hearth have never been presented as 110% ethical LOL) but I find myself not being in complete agreement with most analysis or speculation threads I see about Arlecchino’s morality and the like, level of sinister people seem to ascribe to her.

Idk how to put it, especially in regards to her children I do agree they are not a wholesome found family, that Arlecchino is not above pulling strings or using them for her own ulterior motives, but I kind of hesitate on the idea she only cares about the Hearth children as a means to the end/things she can control and there’s nothing else going on with her characterization wise there. I’m not saying that impression seems remotely unreasonable or unfounded, but just that it feels there’s something intentionally missing in how we are supposed to conceptualize her as a person

My main reasoning for this hunch is the fact they have not elaborated on Arlecchino and the previous Knave—who Arlecchino is stated to have taken over the position from by force. The extra tidbits I think about are that 1) Arlecchino was previously an orphan in the Hearth 2) the previous Knave is described as way, way crueler to the children of than Heart than Arlecchino was from when she took control of the House

Often, people’s major indicators that the House of the Hearth is kind of super fucked up are the NPCs we meet in world quests who are part of it and clearly suffering. But one thing I haven’t ever seen people mention w this that i think is a very interesting detail is, in The Very Special Fortune Slip Inazuma worldquest, where we stop this House of Hearth guy (Efim Snezhevich) from manufacturing tension between Watasumi/the Shogunate to restart the war with his other Hearth subordinates, at the end of the quest we get this dialogue that reveals he had been acting under the previous Knave’s directives:

It’s also mentioned he’s employing this plan in an attempt to “rebuild the prestige of the Knave” following Signora’s death, iirc? Now, see, the dialogue itself says that this is “assuming our captive is telling the truth” so who knows what’s really going on, but I find this a really odd/interesting thing to highlight. I’m a bit fuzzy on other world quests with Hearth members, and am not saying none of them were acting and subsequently being treated poorly by our Arlecchino, but like, this gives me a lot of questions especially when paired with implications this previous Knave seemed to be way worse

Like, what drove Arlecchino to take over? How unexpected and controversial was this within the House? Assuming the above information is all true it definitely says something this guy went rogue and acted on what the previous Knave would want and didn’t think our Arlecchino would greenlight it, which does feel consistent with the previous Knave being described as basically worse & crueler than our Arlecchino. It also makes me question how much house of hearth things we’ve seen outside the main story are the work of our Arlecchino or if there’s a bigger divide of loyalty. Heck, I could be wrong but it doesn’t even seem like we know if the previous Knave is dead or not

This isn’t me saying Arlecchino couldn’t possibly be treating hearth children worse than she wants us to know, especially ones who aren’t her “favorites” the way the fontaine trio seem to be, but I really don’t feel sure about making a solid conclusion of her exact level of malice the way ppl r generally understanding it rn when it feels there’s going to be more about her. Just the idea of she, as a Hearth child, clashed with the previous leader who was known for being cruel, overtook their position and took on less harsh methods of leading that made at least some members with more power/possible closer proximity to the previous Knave go rogue and try to commit atrocities in the previous Knave’s name…I feel this leaves a lot of room to suggest there’s more going on with how Arlecchino is as a person

I don’t mind if she’s just very evil and deceptive bc if she totally had me fall for thinking she was less evil than she actually was that’s fun tbh. But I feel people suggest that’s all her character could be with no degree of like, “sympatheticness” or deep grey morality and that if her character did go there it would be automatically poor writing and genshin walking back on making a truly evil woman when IDK. I feel you can claim at this point they have left it open ended and it’s never been completely confirmed she’s pure evil. Also sometimes I just get a hunch and feel cautiously confident in Genshin executing certain characters well. Not all characters, just certain ones. Especially given Fontaine’s character writing being very good and a character like Lyney feeling very solid to me when any development with Arlecchino would likely involve him and his siblings as well, I honestly feel open to the idea of Arlecchino being satisfyingly written to be both villainous/morally dubious but “sympathetic/likable as a person” in ways outside of just her ruthlessness if that makes sense

If I’m wrong/they drop the ball with it more than I anticipate I’ll eat my hat but I am pretty excited about her character and which way they decide to go with it. I will say the only potential impression I have of where they’ll go with her has been wondering if it will go in a “cycles of abuse” direction—I’d be surprised if they ever elaborated on Arlecchino’s character especially in how she feels about things and her also growing up as an exploited child of the hearth wasn’t relevant

[allastoredeer]

Hey! I just want to say, you are my gateway into Radioapple and Hazbin fics as a whole, and boy did you set an expectation for me!! I'm always afraid of coming across OOC fics, and I'm especially picky with what I choose to read at first when I'm still so new to fandom portrayals of characters. When I read the summary and tags of Just Kiss Already, I couldn't believe my eyes because it had everything I was looking for?!? Post season 1, Alastor whump (I squealed at the concept of the angelic wound), Luci having to face the public and his lack of knowledge regarding politics, jealous Vox, Overlord meetings, and! Fake/pretend relationship!! With the sprinkle of rumors and speculation from the public (Idk what it is with me and loving this trope). You delivered a full course meal! The characterization was so so amazing, I love the banter, and I just adore the concept of Alastor being vulnerable in front of someone stronger than him (that someone being Lucifer, who despite being the king of hell, doesn't use his powers to take advantage of Alastor's vulnerable state is ahhhhhh so good). The pacing is incredible, the interactions are golden, and I applaud you for writing POVs that feel real and authentic to canon!

One major thing that made me extremely picky about choosing and reading fics in the fandom was my fear of authors not being able to handle Alastor's Asexuality well. Thank you for doing Alastor justice, I'm so amazed at how well you wrote him in this regard. Like when Vox yelled at him "What does Lucifer have that I don't?", it didn't even cross Alastor's mind that this is a confession of sorts, and instead he thought Vox was talking about power. I love the subtleness of this so much!! The last chapter you posted was amazing in this regard, with Alastor's thoughts about relationships in general. Just, thank you for sharing your work with us, I enjoyed all of it, and I'm so excited to see where the story goes <3333

Another thing I'm still skeptical about is reading explicit fics, because... well, I'm not sure if they will handle Alastor's Ace identity well. Do you happen to have a recommendation for someone like me who's never read Radioapple smut before? And I would also love to know your overall favorite Radioapple fics as well, I've bookmarked some stuff and I don't know where to begin haha. Again thank you, and your blog and asks are so interesting to read!!

HI! HELLO! So this has been sitting in my inbox for a while and its not because I was ignoring it, its because I have come back to read it over and over and over again as I've been writing the next chapter to "Chaggie's Dating 101," and I didn't want to lose it in the void of my blog.

Thank you for this 🥺 not only is it cool being your introduction to Radiapple/HH fics, but I'm so glad you've been enjoying it too!! Hahaha I'm definitely having a lot of fun with "Just Kiss Already" and all the shenangians that are already happening, and knowing that other people are having just as much fun makes me just dlkfnvsdkgjslkgj 😭❤️

I totally get it about being picky. I'm a very picky reader too 😅 Alastor's aceness is definitely something that I can get picky about. Like, it doesn't have to be the focal point every time I read a smut fic--or any fic in general--but when it feels like its either brushed aside altogether or there's underlying aphobia (unintentionally, I'm sure), I nope out real quick. I base a lot of my own ace experiences, thoughts, and emotions on how I write Alastor, and it is so, so validating to see so many other people feeling the same way.

I'll admit, I can be a little more slack with smut fics so long as the smut itself is fantastic, but yeah, there are certain pairings or dynamics I don't stray into because I hate how Alastor is typically depicted, especially in smut fics.

I've slowly been going through all my Hazbin 'marked for later' fics, but here's some radioapple smut fics I have bookmarked (Warning: I enjoy dark and very explicit fics so be sure to read the tags when you look through these):

Bayou in the Mountain by lelepandewritium

With a Coffee and a Caress by winterveritas (<- my current fav radioapple smut fic)

Together In My Pocket by keelywolfe

Unhealthy Attachments by keelywolfe

And, of course, I always recommend checking out keelywolfe's Lucifer's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Relationship radioapple series! I haven't had time to finish it, but I think I'm up to fic 9 or 10 and I'm been loving it so much! It's so much fun! And I love the radioapple smut :3

I'm...just now realizing this is all the Radioapple smut I have in my bookmarks.

Wow.

I've been reading a LOT of smut recently, but looking back, I think it's all been RadioStatic 😂 if ya'll want any RadioStatic smut fic recs, let me know, I have a lot of those.

BUT ALSO! If anyone's read to this point! Here's an update on the chapter 3 of "Chaggie's Totally Legitimate Dating 101 Crash Course" :

The chapter is officially written and is being looked over by my beta's! I'm hoping to have it posted by Saturday or Sunday, so be on the look out for an update 😉 because it's happening very soon!

[dimsilver]

🙏🏻

[cycian]

Sarah Morgan, my beloved.

Sarah is a critically under appreciated character. She's more than meets the eye--she's not bossy, cold and high-strung. Quite the opposite. She took in Andreja, and never told the other members about Andreja's past. She checks in with her about the deliveries to House Va'runn and seems to even help out Andreja and Vladimir with these.

She's a kind, compassionate leader. Hell, most of her quest is about how she shut herself away from others, how terrified she was that what happened to her department and crew would happen to Constellation. She's genuinely worried that her leadership wouldn't be enough, that her unquenchable thirst for knowledge would destroy all that she worked for.

As you get to know her better, you get to see the hues of grey in her personality and worldview. She's angry and sad, and has been hiding it for so long that she let herself become the caricature that some other players hate. But at the core, she's a woman who'd do anything for science and discovery, while always striving to protect her people. Her romance is sweet, full of doubts as she slowly lets her walls come down.

So before you start hating on her character, take the time to get to know her, I am certain that'll change your perspective on her.

[ghostbite0]

You know the little yippee cat that jumps up and down? Yeah that is literally me when you post. I've always loved imagining what characters would be like as babies, as most people love a ton of their favorite show characters and get inspired by them, yet, those characters always seem so in-human ( like, you could never imagine yourself in them from how tough and incredible they seem ) but seeing that even fictional characters were once babies is so comforting 🥹🥹.

Your art is beautiful, and you display things in such a sweet way, you catch the dynamic of all of the hashira so perfectly It's amazing. From their expressions to the sparkle in their eyes it's literally exactly what they would look like 😭. You manage to capture a character with their original personality, or what they were before their trauma or the true personality were told about but it isnt displayed in the show ( for example, becuase iguro was abused as a kid, he probably doesn't cry loud, and in your art he doesn't scream cry and its so wholesome I'm gonna die 😭😭 ) .

Your art is so perfect and it's comforting the souls of so many people! I hope you keep going as honestly your so talented and you have an army of supporters behind you 🤍 you should be super super proud of yourself. Also. Please, we understand your a student and need time for your studies, so focus on those if you have to! We are all humans, and no one has infinite time.

I hope you have an amazing day/night!! ✨️✨️

[agoldengalaxy]

thanks to everyone who voted in my poll! 2 truths 1 lie was the winner, so here’s my edit for you <3

[infiniitefrequency]

remember when we had mun fcs?

those of us oldies?

[cinematicnomad]

I googled We Keep the Dead Close a little and was intrigued! Can you tell me what you liked about it?

oh yey!! i'm always happy to rave about a book i've enjoyed, so i can totally share my thoughts with you :)

we keep the dead close: a murder at harvard and a half century of silence is less a standard true crime book, and more half memoir and half a chronicling of the author's meticulous research process. as an undergrad at harvard, becky cooper, heard repeated tellings of a near mythic campus legend: of a nameless female grad student who had an affair with a tenured archaeology professor in the '60s who murdered her in a ritualistic manner and got away with it thanks to the omnipotent powers-that-be at harvard and the case remained unsolved ever after.

the story stayed with cooper until she felt compelled to learn all that she could over the course of the next decade. to untangle the truth from the cautionary tales that were whispered in the hallowed hallways of harvard. the very beginning of this story starts with the uncovering of a name: jane britton, who was so much more than the victim she became in the final moments of her life. and then it unfurls from there: not just to the facts surrounding the murder, but also the intimate details that make up a life, both loved and lost, and the surrounding culture that could allow this silence to perpetuate for decades while recognizing the power structures that still thrive in today's world.

this book is an exhaustive record of cooper's research efforts—the archives she dug through, the events she snuck into, the websites she trawled, the doors she knocked on, the people who would and wouldn't talk to her, the jobs she accepted and turned down to help her make the time to tell this story—but also an examination of her own biases and motives. how we affect the stories that are told and how we tell them, and also the ways in which we, explicitly or not, try to force facts to fit into familiar narrative story beats. it's also concerned with the power structures in the world of academia, specifically at harvard, that so often protect powerful men at the expense of vulnerable women, no matter how talented and promising and innocent, all in the name of reputation and tradition.

potential suspects rise and fall away like waves crashing on a shore as cooper and those who loved jane try to make sense of the violence that ended her life so young, but this is not a book that is confined to the whodunit nature of most true crime tales. rather, cooper is more compelled to tell jane's story in a way that both honors jane and is honest about her.

if you like non-fiction, have ever enjoyed true crime, and have some time to devote yourself to a 400+ page book, i highly recommend we keep the dead close. the case was solved in 2018 while cooper was still writing the story (though perhaps some answers bring forth only more questions), but i recommend against googling the case beforehand and instead letting the experience wash over you.

[lexithwrites]

Just had the realisation that there’s omegaverse wolfstar out there somewhere and I don’t know if I have the strength to start on that particular journey

[scary-grace]

In the mood to make a personal post but all my ideas are bad

[pinkprettycure]

they dont know that the 2018 build isnt the first one by a long shot

[libraryleopard]

the thing about idlewild. is that there is a LOT of really interesting stuff to discuss about to discuss in regards to this book (codependency, theater, queer loneliness, unrealized trans identity, racism, fetishization and idealization and exploration) but also my most visceral memory of reading this book is probably going to be when i realized that that excerpts of the rpf the two protagonists wrote was going to be actually INCLUDED in the book and had to physically put my copy down and walk around the house with my head in my hands out of sheer secondhand embarrassment. utterly masterful moment of cringe.