#feel free to write in options

[lucky-fy]

For the Laicion nation (aka, me and three other people)

I had this illustration commissioned (a big thank you to @lunehowls) for my werewolf AU Laicion fic (still a WIP).

The general pitch is as follows :

AU in which Laios never got to meet his sister again, putting his life on a whole other path, a more desperate one. A military deserter with barely a coin to his name, Laios hitches a ride on a boat to one of the elven continents, where he learns about magical tattoos that binds one’s soul to a wolf’s, effectively making them artificial werewolves. Illegal magic be damned, this feels like the answer to… everything.

In the process, he learns about the existence of an illegal fighting ring in one of the elven cities, where beastmen gladiators gather. Freshly tattooed and without anywhere else to go to, Laios decides to head there, where he meets Lycion, an elf and artificial werewolf gladiator. If they first bond over a simple shared meal, by spending time together (sharing the same room in the barracks, maybe the same bed? gasp) they find that they have a lot in common, notably a shared distaste for the body they were born in, a dysphoria partially remedied by becoming a werewolf.

They bond :)

NB: I commissioned another piece, go take a look :D

[pollsnatural]

Warning: no hate towards Sam in the tags.

[tomaturtles]

IT'S KAWOSHIN DAY!!! As well as the last day of Kawoshin Week :') It's been such a blast, gonna miss it when it's over

Kawoshin Week Day 7: Cuddling/domestic fluff! + Sleepover and Spinoffs (again)! Based on the Campus Apocalypse sleepover chapter ☺️

[roomba-mangga]

thoughts on thistle and yaad's dynamic that i vomited in the tags of another post but will now try to articulate here: they're not actually family, or at least they shouldn't be. not in a conventional sense anyway. framing them as uncle and nephew (even in a non-literal, silly fantasy world way) rides more on technicality than anything concrete.

what i mean by this is yaad calls thistle by name and says he and delgal were raised "like" brothers. he talks about thistle like he's an outsider imposing himself into the melinis' space, and it's clear that thistle was never legitimized as a member of the family. for thistle's part, though we don't know how he would treat yaad pre-demon brainrot, it's safe to assume based on the way he punishes him—turning him into a doll—and how little is shown in the way of any sort of relationship between them that thistle only cares* about yaad as an extension of delgal (otherwise i'd expect something like kabru and milsiril, because it's not like another complicated interspecies family dynamic would be out of place, yet there's next to nothing on them even in bonus content, just their scant interactions in the main story).

in essence, they're strangers to one another. thistle's desperation to preserve the illusion of a family, a model where he doesn't even fit, was the snare they were caught in for the past thousand years of stasis. yaad-as-nephew is a prop to uphold that illusion, and thistle is playing a role he's unfit to play. in the context of post-canon interactions, attempting to reconstruct that facade would only be a reenactment of trauma for them both (in a deeply compelling way i'd love to watch unfold, tbh), as that "uncle and nephew" framing places thistle in an implicit position of power over someone he's already traumatized through misuse of authority in the past, a role which also perpetuates his adultification and yaad's infantilization in turn. it'd mostly be an obstacle to any real connection.

best to burn the melini family bridge, i think, and if there's still anything salvageable left in the rubble, let something different supplant it.

[ethereal-bumble-bee]

anyone who replies with their name on this is being put into a hunger games simulator (limit 24 people)

Edit: 9/24 spaces filled!

[courtney-deserved-better]

telling myself i can't start another tdwt rewrite but dear god do i want to write one focusing on alejandro and courtney in this weird situationship thats a lot more nuanced than just alejandro manipulating courtney and her falling for it. like theyre best friends they dont trust each other theyre the same person they dont know anything about the other one theres a mutual attraction theyre pining for other people theyre codependent they dont care about each other theyre platonic soulmates like i just want to do a deep dive into how messy that relationship couldve been building off of their friendship that exists in my head except the line between romantic and platonic is so fucking blurred they have no idea what they are to the other person

[prince-liest]

more self-indulgent jgy abo headcanons

I read a fic so long ago that I no longer remember the fandom nor characters involved, but the thing about it that really stuck in my mind was that it was an abo-verse fic that used the concept that omegas have an ingrained biological need for physical (including platonic) affection, to the point where “touch-starvation” was a medical diagnosis

this is obviously extremely up my alley for ALL my blorbos, but consider jin guangyao in particular:

unlike the usual ‘omega pretending to be a beta’ trope, I think that once he is established at jinlintai, he would not really try to let people assume that he’s a beta. being an omega leads people not only into underestimating him, but also into offering him a certain degree of safety in providing a veil of stereotype-associated demureness, placidity, etc. it is more to his benefit for people to see him as a polite young man, perhaps even one who, yes, is a war hero - but people can’t quite imagine what kinds of things he must have done for that. surely nothing too bad.

but at the same time, this is the character who couldn't even serve tea to people as nie mingjue’s deputy without people making a show of wiping off their fingers after touching the cups. people know he is an omega, people judge him for being an omega on top of all the other things he is already judged for, but I suspect that most of the relevant and appropriate people in jinlintai avoid touching him unless absolutely necessary. in a world where casual contact is thoroughly commonplace just due to the socialities set up by their biology, jin guangyao has a personal space bubble of like 2-3 feet because he's the dirty son of a prostitute.

he walks through the halls, ostensibly the second young master of the tower, and feels like he is drowning in the physical manifestation of loneliness.

who does he have left? family? jin zixuan is not close to him, and frankly is likely an alpha raised by alphas to whom it would not even occur to that such needs need to be minded. jin guangshan certainly is aware, but is using it as leverage, allowing and denying contact as he see fits to manipulate jin guangyao the same way he does with his fatherly affection. there are his sworn brothers, but his relationship with nie mingjue is fraught: certainly da-ge wouldn’t withhold contact as punishment or leverage, but that doesn’t mean he wants to touch jin guangyao anymore, nor does he really understand how the necessity of it feels when he grew up with nie huaisang, an omega who has never been shy about taking whatever affection he wants. and er-ge... he just isn’t around enough.

lan xichen is still the best option, and by the time they have the opportunities to see each other, jin guangyao is pressing nails into his palms to stop from just plastering himself up against lan xichen’s side, which surely would be humiliating for both of them. but still, he’s so aware of it any time they’re in the same room, meting out as many small touches as he can get away with without embarrassing himself. lan xichen slips his fingers over jin guangyao’s wrists as he pulls him up from a bow, intending warm affection. jin guangyao doesn’t want to let him know that it feels like being allowed to gasp for a single breath of air before his head is shoved back underwater.

(with nie mingjue, it is worse. da-ge is just as aware as jin guangyao is when they touch, but for all the worst reasons.)

it is the strangest blessing whenever jin guangyao sees nie huaisang. it’s embarrassing, a little - the knowledge that nie huaisang understands, unlike most people in jin guangyao’s life. but nie huaisang takes that embarrassment onto his own self willingly, never hesitating before making a fool of himself in the way that only a terminally younger brother can, and simply flinging himself into his san-ge’s arms. it’s nostalgic, too: nie mingjue isn’t quite so aware of how important touch is with how proactive nie huaisang can be, and so during his days as deputy, it was often nie huaisang who gave meng yao what he could not ask for.

the cultivators at jinlintai look down on him just as the ones in the unclean realm did, but now there is no willing young master to soothe away the tangible, physical ache of it. more often than not, jin guangyao tucks his hands into his sleeves to hide the way his fingertips shake.

anyway this is my petition for jiang yanli to take two looks at this situation and promptly wrinkle her brows just the slightest amount, expressing quiet concern to jin zixuan that it’s strange how she doesn’t see anybody touch his half-brother very much, does she? and jin zixuan is a little confused, a little embarrassed, a little off-balance - he doesn’t feel close enough to jin guangyao to be that casual, but he’s an alpha, he doesn’t get it until jiang yanli explains to him, with a beta’s patience, the value of family bonds to an omega as well as jin zixuan’s responsibility as a brother (older brother? younger? his father claims older, but there’s no way to truly know - ), and isn’t it wonderful, having a little brother?

and then someone pats jin guangyao over the head until he’s feeling a little less strung-thin and out of options, he realizes he has to keep jin zixuan and jiang yanli alive lest he actually lose his mind (sympathy for da-ge? oh no...), and etc etc things end happily ever after, the end, QED.

[eri-pl]

(followup to this poll)

(We are deciding what we want to happen, not what would be most likely.)

Feanor has* a vision of Maedhros throwing himself into a volcano (also, he's got a lot of scars and just one hand and there's apparently some cataclysmic event around + there is a strange glowing thing in the sky + WHAT? why is the Silmaril burning him???)

His heart says to him: "Behold!…

\* assume it is happenning shortly before the action mentioned in your answer, at an appropriate point to not do the thing.

My thoughts on what might happen in some of those scenarios:

[In case it's confusing: I call the bad guy Melkor or Morgoth depending on how he was called at a given point in story. this is the natural way to do it for me.]

Feanor doesn't make the Silmarils is the boring option tbh.

Cooperate with Melkor... you could have Melkor gaining some common sense, and generally those two realizing that they have some ugly traits in common and getting into a more constructive sort of rivarly... but no. :D Realistically, it would end up as bad as the canon, maybe with a different setup of alliances and anmities.

Doesn't go to the party... I think this is what Melkor expected. We end up with Feanor dead but I think he would beat up Melkor well too. Melkor had underestimated him.

Which means that Ungolianth would have a good opportunity to negotiate her payment earlier. We may end up with a hilarious (well, ok, also tragic because Feanor dies) scene where Tulkas is the one to chase Ungoliant off from Melkor's face.

And Melkor gets (impisoned? kicked into the void?) so Beleriand is safe, I guess. Well, except one little admirable guy being left there without any supervision.

Also, the Trees are dead but the Silmarils are probably reclaimed and without Feanor having the opportunity to refuse earlier, his sons may allow the Valar to use them. The problem is: can anyone break them? (Alternatively, they got eaten by Ungolianth)

Take Finwe and Silmarils to the party… I assume Melkor knew (at least predicted) that Feanor would leave the gems (and maybe himself too) at home. So here we end up with a last-minute change of plans leading to a very surprised Melkor.

The Trees are still dead, but the Silmarils are available, and with Finwe being alive... I don't know. Feanor would surely take Finwë's opinion into account, but would Finwë want him to let Yavanna reboot the Trees at the cost of Silmarils? With Feanor believing that it would kill him: no, he wouldn't.

We still very likely get an Oath (to protect them from the Valar, which was imo the main goal of the oath) and Finwë is swearing it too. I like it, this makes 9 of them and 9 is a cool number.

And the Oath means that Feanor is banished, so they leave to Beleriand anyway. They wanted to leave even before the Darkening. Just with Finwë. Which may impact Olwë's reaction and later, Thingol's. Also, Finwë is the one going to "parley" with Morgoth (about what, if he has no Silmarils? idk, but Morgoth would think of something for sure)

Give up the Silmarils… Ooooh. this is the interesting one. I'll be honest: this is the one with best vibes for me. It just feels right and like it would result in the worst of Feanor's flaws going away.

The Trees are still dead, because the jewels are gone. However, I imagine this would change how the Silmarils impact Morgoth (because metaphysics). and by that I mean it's both more painful and somehow more constructive, more helpful to the general story?

Also there would be a Valar-approved army going to reclaim the gems, probably led by Eonwë. And much more coherent and with less tensions. And, of course, no problem with ships.

I like to think that Indis would go to war (why not? Morgoth killed her husband after all, even if she didn't care much for said husband). I like it because then she can die and Finwë and Miriel can live happily again and by letting go of revenge for Finwë, Feanor would eventually get Finwë back which is wonderful.

I don't hate Indis, but she is the third wheel here, sorry. Also, I believe she would stay in Mandos to let Finwë be happy with Miriel, because she is a good person. A good perso that is the third wheel.

Generally, somehow, happy ending. Happier than in the Silm, anyway. And Feanor doesn't die, or at least not for long. Miriel could heal after giving birth to him, he can heal after breaking the Silmarils.

Don't leave Aman... I'm not sure. He may start a civil war eventually (preasure the Valar to chase Morgoth and the preasuring escalates).

Doesn't swear the oath. This is another interesting one. He is not banished from Aman, just leaves by himself. The Teleri may be more cooperative. There may be no or less of doom of the Noldor.

It all may result in the sons of Feanor being much more cooperative after he died, trying to somehow make amends with the Valar? IDK.

Doesn't fight the Teleri… What's the alternative? Trying to build his own ships, or Helcaraxe? With all the tensions among his host? I think it's another "civil war" one.

Doesn't burn the ships… Much damage is done already, and I think Feanor still goes in front of the army and dies. It's just in character for him.

Succession crisis ensues (I don't think Maedhros liked Fingolfin a whole lot at this point?), Morgoth invites a king to a parlay… both of them, asking each to keep it secret… Fingolfin has to save both his cousin and his father.

I don't think there's much improvement overall. There is surely a big improvement for all who died or otherwise suffered the Helcaraxe, but in the historical perspective? Not much.

Doesn't die on Balrogs? This results to Maedhros not gtting captured, at least not so early. Feanor wouldn't go to a parlay— wait. He wouldn't be invited to a parlay. He would be invited to a duel. And go there, of course. Morgoth would be delighted. (Of course there would be no duel. It would be the same as with the parlay... And then he would have Feanor to "play with")

The sons would probably assume him dead? I'm not sure. Or they would die one by one trying to free him?

Anyway, bad idea. Probably worse than canon.

No second oath… I don't think it would change much. It felt like it deserved to be an option, but… idk.

[newpoetry]

in the moment drawing of deku + my take on some au versions i like to see (left to right: normal, ghost, villain, some type of monster IDK, prototype)

[lupins-hehim-pussy]

I wanna know ur Fontaine msq criticisms 👁️👁️👂I’m all ears

I'm not sure if you wanted me to talk about this secretly or publicly but! Here I go!

The TLDR: Fontaine MSQ aestheticised prison, poverty, child abuse, the justice system/court and didn't properly address any of it.

More:

Focalors/Furina has way too much of a sympathetic angle for a dictator who's lets people drown with her inaction.

Neuvillette feels Bad for sentencing some people to death/prison, but that's it. He's one of the most powerful people in Fontaine. If he felt like there are systemic injustices, I.E sending an abused Child to prison, he should be the first person to DO something about it, not just cry and be sad so the audience can be like aw, that's complex character writing isn't it? No it's not! And guilt doesn't absolve you!!!!!!! (These are stuff we deal with in OTCOJ read my fic now /j)

Meropide has children in it, both Sentenced there (Wriothesley) and BORN THERE (Lanoire), and this is just a quirk of the place. Not only that, Meropide accepts prisoners of all genders and crimes. There are abusers and abuse victims in one place. Do you know how bad that is? How much potential for crimes to happen in a place like that— oh wait, Meropide isn't under Fontaine's jurisdiction. If you are assaulted as an inmate it literally means nothing to the court.

Wriothesley had no qualifications when he took over. Depending on how long he lived on the streets, how old he was when he killed his parents, how old he was when he was first taken in by the orphanage, etc, the man might never have more than 4–5 years of formal education. Sigewinne probably had to teach him how to write reports. And do Meropide's spreadsheets. Edit because I forgot to elaborate on this one: This isn't a point brought up anywhere, which is bad, because when poverty and incarceration robs you of a proper education (and the rights to vote in many places too, too, by the way), it reduces your prospects for jobs, reduces many people's ability to get a home etc etc. Wriothesley was just, narratively, Given his position.

Meropide is an industrialized prison, and they portray this as a good thing. Prisoners are paid in coupons for their labour, and this is also portrayed as a good thing.

The One-Meal-A-Day reform was something Paimon gushed about being so great of a perk, that people might want to go to jail for food (could be interesting and reflective of systemic poverty if MHY had brains, but they don't, so I was just Pissed because essentially all Paimon wanted to say was "Prison isn't so bad, but still don't go to prison guys! Prison labour is really hard!"). By the way, in most real-world prisons they are obligated to feed you three meals a day. Because that's how much food a human needs. MHY went with one meal just so they can say "if you want to eat more, you have to work." And then the welfare meal is a goddamn gacha. So imagine you're a starving child who's too weak to work in the fucking robot assembly line, and you wander up for your first meal in 24 hours, only to luck in with a shit one. I'd kill myself.

They wrote Wriothesley, who's a victim of the system, into a guy who's say shit like "I'm the Duke I can do whatever I want" for a cool moment where he choke-slams an inmate (I know he was a bad guy. But also, in copaganda when cops are violent/disregarding protocols, they are always only portrayed to do that against bad guys, so what does our critical thinking tells us about this one?) They wrote Wriothesley, who was an inmate of a prison so bad, so notorious that it is the literal boogeyman of Fontaine, that has a legal (???) fighting pit, with an administrator who abuses his position to be unreasonable, to willingly stay in the place and become an Administrator who would choke-slam an inmate while saying a cool line about how he has the power to do whatever he wants. They wrote him, the guy who had to be fed on the streets by melusines, to think one-meal-a-day was a good enough reform (while he spends god-knows how much on his boat). This wasn't a victim-turns-into-abuser narrative either, they want all this to be seen as positive character growth.

And then, the final kicker is, they gloss over his entire abuse. You can only read about these shit in his profile, which most people don't because they don't Have Him or doesn't care to unlock it/read it online, and they jammed his entire backstory into a flaccid info-dump at the end of his character story quest. This man isn't Allowed to feel abused and neglected and show any reaction to it within the narrative of Fontaine itself, because if they actually Gave Weight to what happened to him, they'd have to confront THE FUCKING JUSTICE SYSTEM they had NO PLANS on criticising. I don't think they ever explicitly said the fucking Crime-Theatre nonsense was Bad either.

I could go on, but this is already so long. But yeah, I hope this gave you an idea.

[laeana]

Is the F1 fandom in the knowledge of that person creating an “audible for ao3” and taking fics without asking the consent of authors?

It’s a thing where you need to opt out (not opt in) to make sure your fics aren’t on it, but even that could not be enough to do so. You can also restraint your fics to user only for now and it should also block the links from this platform.

Here’s a thread on Reddit where they talk about it and have a video of the creator.

Least to say I am not comfortable with my fics being shared out of ao3, especially given I write RPF. RPF is already controversial as a whole, but at least ao3 can give it a bit of security, now it’s being brought on a whole new platform? Control is being taken from us for profit.

You can also think that some recognition that should have gone on your fic will instead go on this app. Away from ao3

Stay safe, dear RPF writers, and ao3 writers in general.

[keldae]

Okay, folks. I need help making up my mind for the next fic in the chain. You KNOW there aren't enough BG3 illness fics out there. ;)

[iwonderwh0]

Question for fic writers who write in english but whose first language isn't english

[phoenix--flying]

“I was a camper for a couple years until Luke left. I joined him, joined Kronos. Then after the whole shit-show out on Mount Othrys with those hunters we left.” Nico winced at the mention of the hunters and Alabaster gave him a curious look but opted not to say anything. “You’re not working with Percy?” “Technically? I’m working with Luke still, but our crew has allied itself with camp, against Kronos and the Olympians. Only fighting for the half-bloods. Why? Got something against Jackson?” Nico scowled and didn’t respond. Alabaster decided to drop the subject.

take this as you will !! but some nico and alabaster in the Labyrinth because ive decided to say fuck it and put nico on lukes side