#saltiest wizard

[mesmoe-rizing]

U know what id do if i was a fancy pants wizard with my own wizard tower and the ability to take on apprentices?

Id teach them basic shit like Teleport and. Then have them teleport to the nearest sea/ocean and have them gather saltwater, boil that shit down into salt, and sell that everywhere.

Id be a salt god wizard

The saltiest wizard that ever been seen

[mickgaydolenz]

another crunchy doodle inspired by my favourite cursed beatles photoshoot. you can see the source under the cut!

[queen-ofsunflowers]

Top five stage plays or musicals you’ve seen, want to see, or just think are neat.

5. Legally Blonde!! It's such an upbeat show and I love the soundtrack to it. The movie is such a feel-good thing for me, and the musical takes that and amplifies it. I also like the way they gave Vivian more character. They did way more with her in the musical than in the movie, which made her friendship with Elle at the end make more sense.

4. Heathers. Okay, this is mostly because I love the music in this, some of the jokes actually make me laugh and the songs give me ideas for my OCs and animatic ideas in my head, but it's also the show that the drama club at my community college was supposed to do. It was the first time that I stepped on stage since my senior year of high school, so I was really excited for it -- even if it was an ensemble part. Unfortunately, though... this was in the beginning of 2020. Around March, everything was moved to remote learning. Though we tried to figure out a way we could be safe and rehearse, it didn't work out and the show was cancelled. I was and still am really disappointed about it, though I don't talk about it much since my sibling's high school graduation was that year and I didn't want to overshadow their problem with my own.

3. Wicked. It's a classic, and it was the first show that I saw on Broadway. My aunt took me up to New York and we saw it as my sixteenth birthday present. It was amazing and a great day, so I usually associate the show with that. That, and I can't watch The Wizard of Oz the same any more because of it. I know it was based off of a book series, so I do want to read those at some point.

2. The Spongebob Musical. HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE, ALRIGHT?! The soundtrack is killer and there are so many themes going on in this show that you don't even realize at first because it's Spongebob. My theatre teacher also took the seniors in her class my senior year (myself included) to go and see it on Broadway. We got hit with a storm just as we arrived at the theater, and my friends and I got stuck eating dinner at a McDonald's where I had the saltiest burger of my life. But everything had died down by the time the show started and it was great. I usually associate it with spending all that time with my friends, too.

And now for my favorite musical of all time.

Kinky Boots!!

It's actually the only one on the list that I've seen multiple times in person, even if a few of them were a high school production that my sibling was working on their senior year. For those who don't know it, it's about a guy named Charlie trying to save his family's failing shoe factory, and he ends up teaming up with a drag queen named Lola to create boots for drag queens since theirs end up breaking so easily.

The soundtrack is so upbeat and hits in so many different places and the show sends such a great message about just being who you are, and how you can change the world just by changing your mind and accepting others for who they are... I fell in love with it.

[girlpocalypse]

I found a man in the Chicago River while volunteering at a family Pride event on June 17th. Here is what I remember:

Hoping he was a mannequin, or a fallen tree. Clinging to that idea like the lifesaver he never got. Turning away so I didn't have to see his face.

My nervous system, annoyingly waiting for this kind of day to shine. Adrenaline’s cool, calm, clarity on the phone with 911; notifying the Salt Shed staff; warning everyone in the vicinity what they were about to see; giving a statement to emergency services.

That ADHD superpower of being infallible in a crisis quickly fading when I saw a body bag whisked away by people in scuba gear. Breaking down, held by my loved ones, standing under a banner that cruelly read: “Queer Without Fear.”

The push notification I got later that night with an article confirming his identity, as if I were just an unaffiliated, concerned Chicagoan: Noah Enos, 26. Missing after the King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard concert.

I can't seem to stop raining tears for him. They splash in my glorified kiddie pool of a backyard hot tub; hide in the spray of the shower; well in my eyes over the glass of water I've been lovingly reminded to drink.

Unraveling in the aftermath. Finding myself, over and over again, standing at the edge of Lake Michigan.

This place has always been the perfect vessel for me to pour in what doesn’t fit inside of me. The waves churn with eleven years of my secrets and overgrown feelings. The water bubbles with the dreams I left here for safe-keeping. Where did Noah’s secrets and dreams go when he died? I wonder if they’re here, swimming around with mine.

Though I never met Noah, our lives will be forever linked. Where our stories meet, mine continues and his ends. What happened to him is random and unfair and I cannot make sense of it.

My tide rises, from my legs up to the lump in my throat, filling me to the brim. If I take on more water, I might drown, too. When I can't hold it all anymore, I have to let the excess wash away at the lakeshore.

So, I let my saltiest tears fall into the very body of fresh water where Noah lost his life; somehow still beautiful and magical as ever.

-AOK, August 2023

[klixxy]

weekly fic recs

(ft. my bookmark comments - mostly mha and voltron)

boku no hero academia:

what is right and what is easy - theroyalsavage

(bnha; tododeku; fluff + angst; 2k words; oneshot)

Midoriya Izuku is not chosen to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament. He does not slay a dragon, or rescue innocents, or brave a maze of dark magic. He does not win accolades, or fame, or glory.

Instead, Izuku meets the son of the greatest dark wizard of the age, a Durmstrang student with hair like a sunrise and eyes like a war. And maybe, he just might win something else.

If I'm Being Honest.... by I_dont_know_man 

(bnha; tododeku; fluff + crack/humor; 26k words; oneshot; truth quirk)

Midoriya scrunched up his nose in confusion. “Uh, Shouto, why are you glaring at me like that?”

“I-” Todoroki began to lie, until nausea slammed him like a door to any room that Bakugou entered. “I--” Todoroki grit his teeth, and glared daggers into the wall behind Midoriya. Goodbye, friendship. It had been absolutely divine while it lasted. “Because you’re very attractive.”

They say honesty is the best policy, but it sure as hell had a knack for Todoroki making a complete and utter fool of himself.

Or: In which Todoroki is placed under a mysterious truth-telling quirk and suffers, Uraraka laughs at him, Midoriya is confused but smitten nonetheless, and Twitter is the thirstiest site on the planet.

paint on our lips (paint on those fingertips) by spicanao

(bnha; tododeku; angst + magical realism; 11k words; oneshot; gallery au)

Galleries are wonderful places. The works seem so vibrant, so beautiful, so alive.

Until they're actually alive.

(Ib AU)

[my bookmarks: holy shit this is beautiful in an odd, poignant, dream-like way]

Todoroki Shouto’s Amateur Guide to Not Fucking Up The Timeline by Anubis_2701

(bnha; tododeku; crack/humor; 13k words; oneshot; time travel; future fic)

All that Todoroki had wanted was milk. Nothing drastic, nothing dramatic, just milk.

Unfortunately, in his quest to get milk, he ended up running into one of the saltiest, most impulsive people this side of the globe. Who also just so happened to have a volatile time-travel quirk.

So yeah, he was fucked. Just slightly. Being punted randomly through time wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to spend his Saturday morning. At least the younger versions of his friends are cute.

awake and (un)afraid, asleep or- by driedupwishes

(bnha; tododeku; fluff + angst + The Feels; 54k words; oneshot; social media/future fic)

“You,” Shoto says, picking his head up from where his screen is filled with The Worst Photograph Ever, curtesy of Shinsou, Jiro, Kaminari, his brother, and nearly everyone they know. “You are so dead to me.”

Kirishima blinks, mouth half open while Izuku mutters oh god, it’s too late, isn’t it on the other end of the phone, before Kirishima is leaning into his space to see his screen.

“Oh,” he says, in response to the photo someone in the crowd of civilians watching the fight had taken of them. “Oh, that’s-” he cuts himself off for a minute, leaning back to eye Shoto’s face while on the other side of the phone Izuku smothers what is probably a laugh, and then changes tracks.

“It’s super manly to love and support your friends,” Kirishima tells Shoto haughtily, as if this whole thing isn't his fault in the first place.

-

or: Kirishima and Shoto accidentally start trending on Twitter and in retaliation Shoto decides to make an Instagram to showcase all his Hero Deku merchandise, so that everyone knows how much he loves his boyfriend Izuku, and no one expects how quickly it will all spiral out from there

[my bookmarks: broke my heart. i teared up multiple times and even now I'm barely holding back tears.

pure beauty. pulls an incredible amount of emotion from the descriptive language and conveys the love and loneliness and that pulsing ache so well that i thought that my chest would cave in from the force of all the fucking feelings in it. this entire fic was a perfect, awe-inspiring package of fluff, beautiful shoto and class 1a interaction, heartfelt long distance tododeku feels, and almost every single paragraph had my heart fucking squeezing so hard in my chest that i could barely breathe.

i am in awe.]

Hooliganisms by aphrodaisyacs

(bnha; gen/todofam; crack/humor; 17k words; series; social media)

In which an anonymous artist’s street art of Bald Endeavor goes viral, causing a chain of coincidental events and ironic situations to ripple through the lives of everyone- heroes, villains and civilians alike.

[my bookmarks: i'm crying so much from laughter]

Part 1: Where it all begins- the origins of the street artist known as the "Bald Hooligan" and their rise to infamy

Part 2: The spin-off focusing on the unlikely trio whose friendship was borne from the events of Part 1

Daydreaming by AnonymousTwit

(bnha; gen/todobakudeku; angst; 7k words; oneshot; todoroki-centric)

If he'd been more careful, then they'd be fine. If he'd been paying attention, then he wouldn't be alone right now.

But he wasn't and he hadn't, so it's just him, now. It's him, his thoughts, and the unconscious bodies of two of his closest friends as he waits for someone to reach them.

Whether they be friendly or not.

Or

Author has writer's block and coughed up some Todoroki angst in retaliation.

A Study in Firsts by Oceanbreeze7

(bnha; gen; angst + fluff + humor; 76k words; ongoing; class 1a-centric)

There’s a first time for everything.

The first time everyone crammed in Momo’s room to study, a mess of limbs and books on her bed.

The first time Mina burned crepes so badly the smoke alarm went off.

The first time a jumpscare got Sero so badly, he flipped off the back of the couch.

The first time Uraraka fell asleep at the table and accidentally sent it floating.

The first time someone realized Todoroki walked far too quietly, and far too cautiously around the dorms to be normal.

The first time Midoriya broke his toe on a door frame and kept walking through it.

The first time Kirishima woke up screaming through the walls.

The first time Tsuyu blanched at the sight of a needle.

The first time Bakugo dropped, clutching the back of his neck with eyes scarily vacant and detonating everything around him until Aizawa had to intervene.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the dorms were filled with firsts.

Responsibility by deafmic

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 94k words; series (complete); todoroki-centric; dadzawa + papamic)

“I told you outside,” Aizawa chooses his words carefully, reiterating the same point he’s made before. “My responsibility for you doesn’t end at the classroom. Every part of your life is partially my responsibility. Your father doesn’t scare or intimidate me. If you need help, I can get it for you, but you and I both know that you need to ask for it first.”

Aizawa organizes a way for the students to go home for the holidays. Todoroki Shouto, however, gets left behind by his father. Aizawa, annoyed at Endeavor, takes Shouto under his care for the night, and is joined by a certain Yamada Hizashi.

[my bookmarks: *unholy screaming sobbing noises*

an incredible and emotional journey from start to finish.]

the drip of melting ice by walking_through_autumn

(bnha; gen/platonic shintodo; angst + fluff; 19k words; oneshot; todoroki/shinsou-centric ft. dadzawa)

Aizawa found out within a day. It was quite likely due to the dish Todoroki had washed and left to dry in the shared kitchen after the kitten had been fed off it. Hitoshi was forced to reflect that it wasn’t any good hiding the litter and cat food in their wardrobes if Todoroki was going to make a fundamental mistake like that.

Aizawa stood in his door frame and raised an eyebrow. “Well? Where is the cat?”

Hitoshi gave his most disarming smile. “What cat?”

Todoroki chose that moment to exit his room, eyes on his phone, other hand holding a cat toy. He bumped into Aizawa and looked up slowly, like in a horror movie.

“...oh,” Todoroki said. Aizawa raised the other eyebrow. Hitoshi rubbed a hand down his face.

Herbal tea, weekly floor gatherings, spoiled surprises, movie marathons, shared custody over a cat, rain and ice and blankets and plushies, and the journey of falling into a friendship.

(Or: Hitoshi moves into the 2A dormitory at the beginning of his second year, learns who his neighbour is, and makes the friends he had declared he isn't there to have within the space of a semester.)

Hand in Hand in Hand by kngsbrg (Citlalcoatl)

(bnha; todobakudeku; fluff + strangers to lovers; 10k words; oneshot; tea au)

Boiling the water, choosing the right temperature for the right kind of tea, using quality leaves, scooping the precise amount, and letting it steep for just the perfect time...

All that and more is needed to make a delicious cup of tea.

A business that Shouto was quite knowledgeable about.

*

Spring begins and brings with it the hint of new fresh air, buds waiting to blossom, and just a bit of change.

[my bookmarks: featuring: oblivious teamaker shoto and pining firemen baku and izu]

even if i die (it's you) by monomoon

(bnha; todobaku; fluff + angst + strangers to lovers; 75k words; complete; paramedic au)

Or; where Todoroki never went to UA and, in rejection of his father's ambitions, became a paramedic; and where pro hero Bakugou Katsuki is just a little bit too intrigued with the heterochromatic man who always glares daggers at him whenever he sees him.

When Bakugou was suddenly and abruptly met with two cold, heterochromatic eyes glaring daggers right back at him, he had two immediate thoughts:

"Why does he look like he's plotting my assassination?"

and

"Why the fuck are his eyes so pretty?"

[my bookmarks: UGH THIS IS JUST FUCKING PHENOMENAL- GORGEOUS LOVELY INCREDIBLE HEARTSTOPPING HEARTBREAKING BEAUTIFUL RIDICULOUSLY GOOD POIGNANT I AM RUNNING OUT OF ADJECTIVES BUT IT'S GREAT TRUST ME AKDHJSFNW]

This Is Now by colormesherlocked

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort + fluff; 193k words; series (ongoing); todoroki-centric)

Todoroki Shoto will be a hero.

...But not just yet. Right now, Todoroki Shoto is a bitter, pessimistic, hurt teenager who doesn't want help, friends or hinderances of any kind getting in the way of his misguided goals.

Thankfully, there will soon be people in his life who will be more than happy to drag him into a place of happiness, safety, and acceptance - kicking and screaming the whole way, if they have to. All he has to do is survive his first meeting with them and all the incredible changes that will come after.

This is Todoroki Shoto's Hero Academia.

(Semi-canon compliant up to a point and told from Todoroki Shoto's POV.)

the league of anti-villains by aizawa_wears_crocs (avenris), avenris

(bnha; gen; angst + fluff + humor; 35k words; ongoing; todobakushinmono-centric)

When he's secretly tasked to find the UA traitor, Todoroki isn't expecting help. He's especially not expecting it from the three other first year students perceived as villainous in their own ways. Unfortunately for him, Shinsou, Monoma and Bakugou have all got something to prove, and his solo mission turns into a team effort that rapidly spirals far beyond what they were expecting to find - but hey, they're in too deep now.

Or: in which the gang solves the mystery of the traitor feat. todoroki family shenanigans, copious amounts of dadzawa, backstory for my favorite 1-B gremlin, and good old-fashioned illegal vigilantism.

such eloquent graffiti by firelilyblooms

(bnha; todobaku; angst + hurt/comfort; 9k words; oneshot; todoroki-centric; future fic)

Todoroki Shouto is sitting cross-legged at his coffee table, hunched over a bowl of instant ramen, when he finds out along with the rest of the world that the Flame Hero, Endeavor, is dead.

Or, Shouto's guide to dealing with death.

[my bookmarks: i am in ✨pain✨:)]

Tell-All by HopeNight

(bnha; todofam; angst; 4k words; oneshot; todofam/natsuo-centric)

When Natsuo is twenty-years-old, he publishes a tell-all book on his father and growing up in his house. This starts a domino effect, of course. With the book comes an investigation and sets the groundwork for the Hawks scandal in several years’ time that will see the disbandment of the Heroic Public Safety Commission and the ascension of pro hero Deku to the Number One slot. This will also lead to a decades long chain of change and progress with Deku wielding his influence and charisma like a sword and shield to make society and the world a little better than when he found it.

In essence, you can say, that Todoroki Natsuo is the true hero of this story with his fake quirk and an anger burning in his gut. Just one small book and suddenly…everything changes. The future is brighter for its existence. The curtains are thrown back and the light begins its work to disinfect and cleanse.

When Todoroki Shouto is in his second year of UA, his brother, Natsuo, publishes a tell-all book of essays about growing up in Endeavor's house.

This is Natsuo's story about how he really changed the path of things.

like an open wound by filzmonster

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 5k words; oneshot; todoroki-centric; manga spoilers)

It's a Sunday and Shouto is making gyoza in the dorm kitchen - or: It's a Sunday and Todoroki has an existential crisis over food.

[my bookmarks: oh my GODDDDDDDDD

*screeches while crying**is a blubbering mess*]

Shouto Todoroki and His Stuffed Eeyore (And Also Childhood Trauma) by ThatSpicySeaFlapFlap

(bnha; gen; angst + MORE ANGST; 42k words; complete; todoroki-centric)

Aizawa looked him in the eye, placed a gentle hand around his bicep (not like Endeavor, his father had only ever touched him with the intention to burn) and asked, “Are you okay?”

People don’t usually ask him things. They like to tell him things, like where to sit or what to wear or how to talk or how to be a hero or how to be himself.

‘Am I okay?’ He thought. He realized he doesn’t ask himself things, either.

Shouto didn’t have an answer to Aizawa’s question, so instead he said:

“A very long time ago, my mother did something....highly upsetting.” The boy was tracing the outline of his scar, his calloused finger stopping and jumping around the bumps and ridges of the burnt skin. “Something today reminded me of that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” His teacher asked.

“No.”

“Okay. I’m here when you do. I’m always here, kid.” Shouto only responded with a sob. He felt as if he’d earned that right after all the emotional labor he had been put through tonight.

days by chibistarlyte

(bnha; todobaku; angst + hurt/comfort; 19k words; series (complete); todoroki-centric)

Most days, Shouto is fine.

But some days...

Some days, Shouto falls apart.

Location Sent by sunflowerstorm

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 15k words; oneshot; todoroki-centric; third year 1a)

In their first year at UA Midoriya sent his location to the class 1-A group chat during the Hosu incident because he didn't have time to do anything else before rushing to Iida's aid.

Now in their second year, Todoroki sends his location to the group chat at 6:30am on a Saturday morning after going home for the weekend. Midoriya knows immediately that something is very wrong and takes off, Bakugo hot on his heels.

-----

"They’d known each other long enough to be able to communicate practically wordlessly. The quiet rage on Midoriya's face was extremely telling, this was bad. Bakugo braced himself as Midoriya shuffled to the side to show where his hands were hovering over what was most certainly a burn and a serious one at that. Todoroki’s own fire didn’t burn him but they all knew that didn’t make him fire proof. Bakugo could do the math."

Faith by phinnium

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 7k words; oneshot; todoroki-centric; manga spoilers)

"You wanted to open a case?"

Aizawa frowned, "uh, yeah. Someone showed you Dabi's video, didn't they? And I don't doubt Todoroki himself has told you bits and pieces."

Izuku did not expect this to be how the conversation went.

"Yeah. But Todoroki isn't being hurt now. He's fine. Endeavour's changed."

Or: Midoriya trusts the Hero Commission far more than he should, especially given the situation at hand. Todoroki isn't available to explain what's what, so Aizawa and Bakugou do it instead.

(Written after the release of issue 293 of the manga, and in the aftermath of the current arc. Spoilers ahead.)

Incendiary by macrauchenia

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 17k words; ongoing (hiatus?); todoroki-centric)

"You're going to die, little Todoroki. And if you don't, your classmates will instead."

A training exercise backfires when Izuku and Todoroki become tangled in an escaped villain's vendetta against Endeavor. Alone in a perilous situation due to the villain's barrier quirk, Todoroki must take desperate and creative measures to save his classmates.

[Class 1-A Teamwork/Bonding]

Parallax by petrichor (findingkairos)

(bnha; gen; angst + hurt/comfort + fluff; 64k words; ongoing; todoroki-centric)

Todoroki Shouto has memories that he didn't make on his own, motor skills that his brain doesn't know how to parse, and a love of science and mathematics and physics that means he broke down his Quirk into its most intricate, universe-bending components at the age of seven.

In one universe, he wants to become a hero. In this one, even though he doesn't want to, he might have to.

(Featuring: a rapidly developing Shoutosquad, Quirk science, headcanons of all flavors, healthy and supportive sibling and sibling-like relationships, and Dadzawa.)

[notes: one of my current favorite fics that i’m eagerly following for the next update. :D]

Caturdays by staqua (aka my fav todobaku author)

(bnha; todobaku; fluff + angst + enemies to lovers; 10k words; oneshot)

"Hmm... It's lunchtime now isn't it? You should have lunch with him."

"With Bakugou?" He blanched. "I think he would refuse and then murder me."

Rei chuckled softly as if death was a joke and held his hand tenderly. "If he's in the hospital, someone he cares about must not be well. I think anyone going through that should have a nice meal with good company."

"You overestimate me," Shouto pointed out and she gave another laugh.

OR: Shouto's usual Saturdays included visits to his mother and the cat cafe; he wasn't expecting Bakugou to get thrown in the mix.

voltron: legendary defender:

*hacks twitter in space* by Zakyuu 

(vld x marvel; gen/klance; crack/humor + fluff; 17k words; social media au; ongoing)

the voltron paladins arent as popular as the avengers, obviously — in fact, no one even knows they exist. but they still radiate the same kind of dumb gay energy like the rest of the world.

or: pidge somehow manages to connect voltron's communicators onto earth and virtually nothing is the same. voltron also collectively makes everyone lose their marbles while they play hot potato with the fact that theyre in a ten thousand year war with the galra.

the fear of falling by amillionsmiles

(vld; gen; angst + fluff; character study; 3k words; oneshot; keith-centric)

Keith can pull off a downward spiral. It's the kind of maneuver he does in his sleep.

[my bookmarks: stunning. beautiful. breathtaking. poignant.]

Recoil/Release by Cheshyr

(vld; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 22k words; oneshot; keith-centric)

When Keith is bitten by an alien creature with venom that causes your dominant emotions to be amplified, the team is ready for a day of dealing with an incredibly angry paladin.

Which means they're not ready at all for what actually happens.

hound by story_monger

(vld; gen; angst + hurt/comfort; 47k words; oneshot; keith-centric)

Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there. And here's the worst part: even after rescue and after things return to normal, Keith gets the distinct sense that whatever was on that planet has followed him. He doesn't have proof. But he knows it's there. He knows it's not going to stop until it gets what it wants.

Keith's 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program by alisayamin (sh_04e)

(vld; gen; fluff+ angst + hurt/comfort; 26k words; oneshot; keith-centric)

Keith didn’t move and neither did Pidge. It was a little awkward until Keith finally said, “Maybe we could officially officiate this..?”

“What do you mean?”

“Fist me.”

Pidge recoiled and sputtered, “Keith, what the f-” She was cut off by Shiro’s bellowing laughter from the observatory deck.

With his straight face unchanged, Keith lowered his left hand with the stopwatch and lifted his right hand, fisted.

Pidge actually sighed with so much relief, “OH. You mean fistbump! Right.” She slapped her forehead to remove the very very wrong image her imagination drew for her, “Holy shit, Keith, we need to work on that but yeah sure, I’d be honoured to officiate your physical contact program whatever.”

Or

That one time Coran realized Keith was too distant and decided to make him undergo the 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program which then led to --> 5 times the paladins realized Keith was an actual cat.

The Red String by Le_Tournesol

(vld; gen/klance; angst + fluff; 19k words; series (ongoing); keith-centric; pre-voltron au)

Lance and Keith keep coming across one another at different points in their lives.

[my bookmarks: this is so sad and sweet and lovely]

All that is gold does not glitter by Rangergirl3

(vld; gen; angst + fluff + hurt/comfort; 28k words; complete; keith-centric)

Keith isn't what most would call a 'people' person, but that doesn't stop him from caring about his team.

aka

Five Times the other Paladins learned something about Keith, and the One Time he learned something about them.

[my bookmarks: fuck. just- fuck.]

Miscommunication Celebration by SleepySsnail

(vld; gen; fluff + hurt/comfort; 4k words; oneshot; keith-centric; birthday fic)

Keith was never too focused on his birthday, but when it rolls around he hopes his team remembers it. When Keith's birthday is full of quality time and fun, he doesn't even question why his friends haven't said "happy birthday" to him.

Or: Where Keith thinks everyone is celebrating his birthday when they really forgot about it.

Keithtober 2019 Day 23: Birthday

avatar: the last airbender:

Change of Address by hearmerory

(atla; gen/zukka; ANGST + fluff + hurt/comfort; 89k words; series (ongoing); zuko-centric; modern au)

A collection of instances in a modern AU of Zuko's shitty childhood, featuring Ozai's dislike of his son's autism and sexuality.

[my bookmarks: FUCK F U C K WHAT THE ACTUAL F U C K.

I CAN'T WITH THIS ANYMORE.]

[eunsoyi]

karasuno first yrs as hogwarts students

- hinata is no doubt the biggest hufflepuff out there (like cmon he’s so cute & loyal & soft PLS he radiates big hufflepuff energy)

- kageyama & yamaguchi as ur resident gryffindors who are polar opposites to the point where their housemates wonder why they’re constantly together

- tsukishima is probably the saltiest, pettiest, & most sarcastic slytherin who likes to pick on his two gryffindor friends

- yachi as ur sweet & thoughtful ravenclaw who tries & helps yams, kags, & hinata w their homework (with tsukishima tagging along)

- the four of them getting kicked out of the library constantly

- tsukishima secretly hexing the other three boys with yachi laughing at the side (but helps them & scolds tsukki after lmao)

- trips to hogsmeade every weekend

- kageyama being so, damn, terrified of different creatures during care of magical creatures class

- + him acting so smug about it & denies that he’s not scared (when he’s literally shaking and on the verge of tears)

- yamaguchi taking advantage of kageyama’s fear and constantly pranking him

- the two of them getting detention

- hinata & yachi sneaking them out and almost getting caught

- tsukishima, who was secretly following them, defending & talking to the teachers so that they’d let them go

- staying up late at night & hanging out at each other’s respective common rooms

- yachi vs tsukishima wizard chess + tsukishima losing everytime

- hinata and kageyama trying to play wizard chess, ends in chaos bc the both of them share one brain cell

- quidditch season?? u mean house wars??

- trashtalking during quidditch tournaments

- ofc gryffindor wins. they always win.

- going to the forbidden forest (pls save kageyama’s soul)

- sending letters to each other during the holidays & after the school year ends

[for-gold-and-glory]

March2Madness Blitzball Tournament Winners: The Mhachi Meteors 

Assembled by Thunder Coeurls fan and fresh blood Rusty Axe and Rio Ignis - the Blitzwyrm themselves - this team of punk-arse wizards, witches, monsters and friends are going to crash this season with a bang! Though they cannot train in the Yafaem Saltmoor itself, they instead train in the densest, saltiest depths of Loch Seld. What they lack in shared experience on the field they make up for with their raw power of destruction, their drive to stick it to the man and their infectious evil laughter. Ohohohoho! With the funds for the biggest, most candy and meat-filled All Saints' Wake party ever™️ on the line, there is no way the Mhachi Meteors are just going to crash and burn! Congratulations! See you in the spring!

[out-of-this-dimension]

Star Fox -- DnD Headcanons

This is just kind of a fun headcanon that I’ve discussed briefly with some friends.  I’m currently toying with the Lylatian version of DnD being called something like “Planets and Privateers” or “Asteroids and Aliens”, but I haven’t settled on a name yet.  I’m just gonna call it “DnD” in this post to avoid any confusion.

Also as I am most familiar with 5e, the classes used are keeping 5e’s subclasses and stats in mind.

---

Slippy, Fox, Bill, Fara, and Lucy played DnD very often when they were at the Academy together.  Slippy was obviously the DM most of the time, as he was the best at crunching numbers on the fly and making the maps.  Occasionally Bill would step in to DM but he was less about the number crunching and more about the story.

Fox usually played Fighter (Champion or Weapon Master) or Paladin (Oath of Crown or Devotion).  He would oftentimes take on the role of the leader in the group, making decisions for everyone on what quest they would go on next.  

Slippy usually played Wizard (Bladesong, Necromancer, or Conjuration) or Monk (Way of the Open Hand) when he wasn’t DMing.  During a oneshot, he played a Hexblade Warlock that ended up getting them all killed.  The party banned him from playing Warlock ever again.  

Bill usually played Ranger (Beast Master always with the intent to get a pet Goras) or Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest).  He was the most likely to derail a campaign with flights of fancy.   

Fara always claimed Bard.  Always.  If she could, she would spam Vicious Mockery if only to have the chance to yell out incredulous jabs at her enemies.  She also would attempt to flirt with everyone and everything.

Lucy was the wildcard of the group that would pick whatever suited her fancy at the time, but usually had the most fun on Rogue (Arcane Trickster or Assassin) or Sorcerer (Draconic or Wild Magic).  Occasionally she would get stuck playing as a healer-type class and would pick Cleric, only to yell and be arguably the saltiest healer in all of Lylat. 

DnD carried on over into Star Fox team life for awhile after.  Although their party was reduced to just a handful, Slippy tried to make it work, especially when he and Fox wanted to show the game to Falco.  Falco tried to wave it off as “nerd stuff” but was soon obsessed with it.  Fox walked into Falco’s room one day and Falco had made an entire stack of potential character ideas.  Though he had plans for one of each class, it was clear he seemed to favor anything with archery (Archer Build Fighter and Ranger specifically although Falco did like the idea of a Rogue thief build too).

Since they only had 3 people, they thought about recruiting Peppy, but were afraid that he wouldn’t be interested.  When they approached him, Peppy laughed and pulled out his first edition DnD set that he had used back during his time in the army.  Fox, Falco, and Slippy were stunned.  Peppy explained he used to DM for James, General Pepper, and a few others in the barracks.  That night, they began to make characters for their next campaign and played regularly up until the time Falco left the team after the Lylat Wars.

[unorthodoxsavvy]

Tagged by the Wonderful @misplacedconstellations

Nickname: Savvy, Sav, Unorthodox, Uno 🖤

Zodiac: Libra ♎️

Height: 5’1” 📊

Last movie watched: Captain Marvel 📽

Last Thing Googled: Dunkin Donuts 💻

Lucky Number: 4️⃣7️⃣

Favorite music artists: Dance Gavin Dance, Hayley Kiyoko, Skrillex, Boston Manor, etc. 🎵

Song stuck in my head: “Care” by DGD 🎶

Other Blogs: @wendigo—psychosis 🖤

Followers: 1,566 👌🏻

Sleep: usually like 10-12 hours a day 💤

Dream Job: Butterfly Caretaker/Storm Chaser 🦋🌪

What I’m Wearing: pentagram necklace, 90s style striped yellow t-shirt, long green button-up shirt, cuffed blue jeans, high top black-and-white converse 👖

Favorite Food: Hamburgers/Chicken Patties/Pulled pork 🍔

Language: English 🇺🇸

Can I play an instrument: Yes 🎹

Favorite Song: “Stroke God, Millionaire” by DGD 🎼

Random fact: I’m also allergic to kiwis 🥝

Describe yourself aesthetically:

Witch 🐾

90s 🌼🌻🌞

Emo 🎵♾🎶

Punk 🖤🎧

Goth 🎧🖤

Plant Gay 🏳️‍🌈🌵

Book I am currently reading: hahahahaha that’s funny 📚

Series I’m trying to finish: Bones for like the 3rd time maybe? 🦴

Tagging: @secret-phan @thetimebeforeeternity @roztherobin @mystery-lunas-blog @greasyratboi @cirriiwoods @ciphertail @the-saltiest-of-lawyers @thathumanwiththecatears @hopeless-wizard @my-own-fatal-flaw @legal-dumbass @shootthesun @fryingpaninyourface @littlelesbianmoron @creativepastelvoid @gravityphil @phanniephobic @tommarvaloriddlemethis @demons-hunt @adventure-yikes

[vanvelding]

We've all heard about Brawl, standard-only EDH with 60-cards and allowed planeswalker commanders. Now, you can make your own new format to shake up your tabletop meta with this guide. Each new format comes with a Wizards of the Coast pitch to get other players on board!

1) Deck Size - Roll 1D6 and consult the table. 1: 40 cards 2: 60 cards 3: 100 cards 4: 200 cards 5: 12 cards 6: Thanos Deck Construction - 512 cards, but every time you shuffle you exile half the cards you own

2) Copy Limit - Roll 1D6 and consult the table to see how many copies of each card you can include in your deck. 1: Singleton - 1 copy 2: 4 copies 3: 10 copies 4: Unlimited 5: 4 copies, but every time you tell someone about a better card they could be using, shuffle all copies of that card you own into their deck 6: Recursive 1EA rares, 2EA uncommons, 4EA commons, and you may pay 1 life at any time to shuffle a copy of Takeno's Cavalry or Skeletal Kathari you own into your library.

3) Rarity Limit - Roll 1D6 and consult the table. 1: Commons Only 2: Uncommons Only 3: Rares/Mythics Only 4: No rarity restriction 5: Only Real Players Remember Pool - Purple symbol Time Spiral cards only 6: Some Calculus - Every three common cards in your deck reduces your minimum deck size by 1. Every rare card increases your deck's minimum deck size by 1/6 (round normally). Mythics increase it by one, unless they're really bad.

4) Card Pool - Roll 1D6 and consult the table. 1: Legacy - Constructed 2: Modern - Constructed 3: Standard - Constructed 4: Draft 3 pack draft - Sealed 5: Cube 360 curated cards shuffled into fifteen card packs - 'Sealed' 6: Premium - Begin with a deck of 24 lands and if you would draw a card, you can instead open a five-card "Draw Pack" ($1.99 MSRP) and place one of those cards into your hand (guaranteed one basic land per pack).

5) Authenticity - Roll 1D6 and consult the table. 1: The Commander Pitch  - This is a popular casual format which has been around for a while and now we're doing it! 2: The Planechase Pitch - For a $60 buy-in, we can play this once a year just to shake things up! 3: The Conspiracy - This sounds novel enough to spend a week of anticipation hoping it will fill the hole in your life! 4: Cube Pitch - Jeff thought of this and Jeff's many friends like it and we like it and play it a lot and don't ask any of us about our decks or the meta! 5: Unused Pitch - It's an adaptation of a popular format that supports our current initiatives and we've playtested it to satisfaction. Try it; you'll like it. 6: The Horde Pitch - It's a cool new way to play that uses some cards you might not usually play with. Hope you enjoy it.

6) The Hook - Roll 2D6 and consult the table 1: Commander Card - You start with one card in your command zone and can cast it multiple times per game. Other stuff. 2: Shaped Commander - Commander, but you have to discard a card that shares a CMC with it to cast it after the first time. 3: The River - Five cards from a special deck are revealed in the command zone. All cards that match the type, color(s), and CMC of a card in the River are those cards. You may pay 1 as a sorcery to move the River and reveal the next card from the River deck. 4: Type-Love - Cards of one type are shuffled into their owner's libraries instead of being put into the GY or Exile. 5: Whose Commander Is It Anyway? - If another card you own is exiled, it replaces your commander and your commander goes into the graveyard. Commander damage is tracked by name of card, but commander tax is tracked by player. 6: Lazy Susan - A deck of 5 permanents with broad, static effects is in the command zone. One is always in play and destroying it puts it on the bottom of the lazy susan and brings the next card up. 7: Brawl AMI - Brawl, but hybrid cards count their color identity as either/or, not both, AS MARO INTENDED! 8: Baby Boss: Legacy - After every game the saltiest player may add one card to the playgroup's banlist and must remove another. 9: Pink Slip - After a match, a player may offer to buy your deck at $1/card. If no one else has previously offered, you must sell that player your deck at the end of the night. 10: Everyone's a Commander - Each player starts the game with one instant/sorcery of each color in their command zone as 'commander' spells. Basic lands let you tap, discard a card, and pay a 'commander' card's cost to cast a copy of a 'commander' spell from your command zone. 11: I dunno...Tribal-Tribal - You choose a creature type and all creature types of non-legendary creatures you play and on effects of non-legendary cards you control reference that type instead of any other type. Allies are banned. 12: Lazy Archenemy - Whenever a players removes another player from the game, the removing player take the removed player's life total, their permanents, their hand, their emblems and counters, and their graveyard. They get a Lazy Archenemy emblem that reads, "Whenever you finish a turn not granted by a Lazy Archenemy emblem, take an extra turn after that."

[valeriegirion]

i mean fantastic beasts... all i care about is seeing hogwarts again and jude law being quite good as young dumbledore, even though i wasn’t sure about him before, now he convinced me

but damn, i don’t give a single fuck about johnny depp’s grindelwald and newt’s threesome with zoe kravitz, and actually newt being ‘the chosen one’ to defeat grindelwald, i mean no offense but newt scamander just made a fantastic beasts book, please don’t make him the answer to anything, i mean i know he’s adorable and everything but damn i’m just salty that this fantastic beasts franchise is going to take 4 films or more and like whyy he just wrote a fucking book ok? leave him alone, save him from the drama ok?? i’d prefer an absolute different film with dumbledore and grindelwald taking place in different time and without any connection to newt... i’d prefer to harry potter sequels being like star wars spin offs - “crimes of grindelwald - a wizarding world story” and “fantastic beasts - a wizarding world story”. and that would be much better and that would give an opportunity to make a lot of different timelines spin offs like “the marauders - a wizarding world story” or anything that fans want

+ of course grindelwald should be played by one and only jamie campbell bower becaUSE WHO ELSE SHOULD PLAY GRINDELWALD??? WHAT YA SAY?? JOHNNY WHO??? i’m gonna be the saltiest about it, because it’s a fucking parody of grindelwald, and find more unsimilar actors like johnny depp and jamie bower, i’ll wait. that’s a motherfucking joke

[whyismagnuscrying]

Magnus is crying because for Halloween Angus dressed up as a salt shaker and claimed to be dressing up as Taako, the world's saltiest wizard.

I️ love the level of sass on this boi. Taako trained him well

[bookbeani]

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

I usually put a quote here, to interest the potential reader in the book, but I refuse to do so here :) 

Goodreads Summary: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war. What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

My Thoughts: This book completely ruined Aladdin for me. Hell, I can't even sing A Whole New World anymore without this book popping into my head and haunting me. Yes, the original Disney movie wasn't perfect. It had its inaccuracies (because, really, where exactly is Agrabah meant to be and which culture is it based on?), its cliches, and its flimsy worldbuilding. But it's Disney. It's a twenty-year-old hour-and-a-half-long movie for kids - the characters are going to be cartoony, the fight scenes aren't going to be super serious, and the villains are going to be slightly ridiculous. A lot of the problems with this book came from the fact that so many of these elements were transferred directly into it, without modifying them a) for the new (longer and altogether different) medium and b) for the different audience. This is a young adult novel - it isn't geared towards palatable consumption for four-year-old kids. And yet the first quarter of the book was pretty much a word-for-word transcription of the movie. Everything felt two-dimensional and scripted, the dialogue coming off as incredibly awkward. "Oh boy, am I glad to see you!" might not sound extremely strange in the context of a Disney movie, but it sure as hell does when you write it down in a book. 

If I could sum up this book in one word, it would be lazy. Aside from the whole the-first-quarter-of-this-book-is-literally-the-first-quarter-of-the-move thing, this book relies so heavily upon tropes and cliches, it wouldn't even be able to stand up on its own without them. And it brings absolutely nothing new to the table. Every single part of this book is something I have seen hundreds upon hundreds of times in other YA novels. Instalove? Check. Royalty in disguise? Check again. Two-dimensional characters who have no personality other than things that are directly related to the plot? Check. Delicate female heroine and muscular hero who comments on said delicacy? Check and check. A completely unexplained magic system with no clear rules other than three things it can't do for absolutely no given reason? Check. Characters literally referring to themselves as, I quote, "the good guys", and the villains as "the bad guys" because how else would the undiscerning reader over the age of two and half really understand? Check. Impromptu revolution against an Evil Sorcerer who is defeated by people who he should logically be able to kill without batting an eye? Quadruple check. Oh, and the Evil Sorcerer's evilness being ascribed to mental illness? Disgusting problematic check. I could go on, you get the point. 

But you know what, I could forgive this book for all these things, just shove it in some dark corner and never think about it again, if it wasn't for the absolute butchering of the worldbuilding, and the blatant lack of research/fucks given that went with it. All through the book, I was scrambling to figure out what culture exactly this was based on, and came to the conclusion that the author herself does not even know. But okay, whatever, I’m nice, I am willing to ignore the fact that the Middle East is treated like one big giant country, because everyone is brown, so all their cultures must be the same, right? It’s been done before (just like everything else in this book), nothing new. But Braswell doesn’t even stick to actual Middle Eastern culture. Two more points, and then I promise this “review” is over and you can go on with your life and never think about this again. 

Point number one: the blatant mixing in of western culture into the book and the complete disregard of her (quite frankly overtired and overused) source material. These two go hand in hand, which is why I’m condensing them into one point. And it all really starts with one thing: a wedding dress. Now let me get this straight, wedding dresses are great things, ubiquitous to many cultures. White wedding dresses, on the other hand, are not. Also, please note my use of the word many. I don’t claim to be an expert on history or anything, but it doesn’t take an expert to know that white wedding dresses are a (quite recent) western tradition, and that they have no place being in this book that supposedly takes place at a time when people can be “as easy to read as a book in Aramaic”. 

But aside from the offending fact that this wedding dress is white (what a quaint symbol for white-washing, huh?), you have the Genie, who claims his own wife wore the exact same wedding dress on their wedding day. Oh, how cute, why would that ever be a problem? I don’t know, maybe because Braswell completely disregards the idea of djinn as another race/species/whatever and turns them into some form of magical human beings, complete with weddings and wedding dresses? I’m not even putting these words into her mouth, she says that. There is literally a part where she describes djinn as humans, but with magic. The Genie and his wife literally look like human beings, except for the fact that their skin is blue and purple, respectively. His wife even has freckles. Freckles. First of all, why would you call it a djinni or a Genie or whatever name you’ve chosen for it (she uses both), if you’re going to make it a creature of your own invention? And a boring-ass creature at that? It’s just, again, lazy – including a fantastical creature with so many fun possibilities for worldbuilding and I-don’t-know-what-else, and then reducing it to a magical human being? What’s wrong with calling it a wizard, huh, if that’s what it is? Because, get this, in the end, the Genie loses his magic and literally because nothing more than a blue-skinned human. Granted, a blue-skinned human with an abnormally long lifespan. But still. Oh, and probably the thing that I am saltiest about in this section of my rant? She doesn’t just include djinn, she includes ghouls. Why am I differentiated the djinn from the ghouls? Because according to Middle Eastern mythology aren’t ghouls a type of djinn? Yes, friend, you are correct, but those aren’t the ghouls that Braswell writes into her novel. She includes the western version of ghouls. You know, those undead creatures? That have nothing to do with djinn? At all? There is some incredible form of irony here, but at this point, I’m just too exhausted to delve deeper into it.

Now, on to point number two: I’m going to be succinct here, and just provide you with a single quote. It is only a single instance of this kind of thing throughout the book, but I think it suffices to drive home the point. You can take it however you will, make your own judgements, I won’t say a thing. Here you are: 

“And where is your headscarf you insolent woman? Go back to the harem where you belong!” 

And that’s my review for A Whole New World. There are dozens of other points I haven’t touched upon, but at this point, I feel like it would just be excessive to include them. My point has been made. I’m not sure if it’s been made well, but it’s been made all the same. 

[anyway-i-love-vanderwood]

Mystic Messenger MMORPG AU

I’ve always wanted to do a really detailed, indepth Mystic Messenger MMO AU but here’s the summarized gist of it I’ve had knocking around in my head for awhile.

The RFA - short for Rika Family Atelier - is a mercantile guild (with a heavy emphasis on charitable philanthropy) that exists within the hot new virtual reality MMORPG, Mystic Message Online. It’s lead by V, who is one of the lead art directors of C&R Development (who manages and funds the game), though company policy demands that those who work at C&R keep their admin accounts and personal accounts entirely separate. The RFA is given some leeway in this, due to V and Jumin being the founders of the game, but they still try to remain a sense of propriety about it all. Mystic Message Online was Rika, Jumin, and V’s childhood fantasy game, the thing that they always wanted to create. Rika was the programmer, V was the art director, and Jumin both provided the funding and did the company work that all games need to succeed. Together, they started a game that exploded in popularity, and has now become a worldwide sensation.

Back in the glory days of the guild, the RFA used to organize server-wide events within the community to help people socialize, make connections, and have fun. They frequently provided tutoring for newbies, created compendiums and guides for the playerbase, and in general were a welcome and loved presence in Mystic Message Online. Most famously, they coordinated enormous and expansive player-run markets, as the crafting/trading aspect of Mystic Messenger Online is particularly robust. However, after Rika’s peculiar and strange death, V practically abandoned his ‘for fun’ characters in favor of work... and the RFA has since stagnated without an active leader.

The RFA gets shaken up when, in a strange turn of events, Rika logs on again - except, it’s not Rika. Its MC, having been told to access RIka’s account by a strange e-mail sent to them the day they bought a copy of Mystic Message Online...

Yoosung plays a holy paladin who’s always helping newbies in the starting area. He’s pretty generous with his items, and he quasi-roleplays with the rest of the RFA where he dramatically says he’ll protect them from all harm. He’s pretty good at his class - which isn’t surprising, considering that he is online 24/7, much to the detriment of his real life. On his own time, he tries to organize events for the community, but it’s very difficult without the backing of the rest of the RFA. He loves dungeoning, raiding, and chasing after the latest rumors he’s read on the forum. 

He’s easily taken in by scams, and he really, really hates Player Killers.

Zen plays a bard, and he works as a voice actor for C&R. Every character he voices is incredibly popular, and he has a blog where he’ll fill silly requests for the community. He’s stopped playing the game mostly, instead hanging out in cities to network (and be fawned over) by other players... which makes Yoosung particularly sad, since they used to go on tons of quests and dungeon runs together. Zen is, honestly, a bit burned out on the game, and only sticks with it because he works with the company. When “Rika” logs in again though, his interests is certainly piqued... 

Jaehee plays a cleric, and she’s the saltiest, most tired healer on the planet. She usually logs on in tandem with Jumin, as after she’s done running around the office for him, she duos quests and heals him in dungeons. It’s a bit exploitative, and Jaehee is always tempted to just let Jumin die. She is afraid she’ll be fired if she does that, however. Jaehee wasn’t around when the guild was big into the mercantile and shopkeeping aspect of Mystic Messenger Online, which makes her really sad, because she’s always wanted to pursue a crafting profession... maybe cooking?

Jumin, the heir of C&R, is a wizard who spends at least half his time taking screenshots of his familiar, Elizabeth the III. He’s socially oblivious, has no concept of online decorum, and is the kind of guy who’d roll ‘Need’ on an item because it looks cool. He is also an absolute encyclopedia of information about Mystic Message Online, so if you need to know how to do something, how to solve a quest, or where something is, ask Jumin. Of course, he doesn’t really offer this information unless you specifically ask...

Seven is C&R’s lead programmer (taking over after Rika, the old lead programmer), and the reason why Mystic Message Online has so many ridiculous and weird, quirky features is DIRECTLY because of him. He’s frequently caught up in passion projects, and he loves pitching bizarre, horrible dungeon mechanics that make people suffer. Despite Yoosung’s begging, he will not give him advanced information about anything going into the game. His main character is a mechanic - a class focused on making and controlling robots, turrets, and technological magic - but he has a number of side characters, including one who he has in a prominent PK-ing guild. Vanderwood is part of this guild as well.

V is an illusionist, which is a special brand of magic user that focuses on buffing allies and debuffing enemies. He never logs in anymore, instead throwing most of himself into his duties at the company... or that’s what he says, at least. V was honestly never very good at the game when he played. Jumin always had to explain things to him, take care of him, and tell him what to do. They had a lot of fun though, especially when they were first developing the game...

Unknown is... a mysterious presence within the game. He appears to have a glitched avatar, and he also seems to have strange admin powers. Following the appearance of MC are a number of other strange elements in the game, such as a odd, out-of-the-blue update which adds an entirely new area to the game, along with a faction called ‘Mint Eye’. They seem to be a religious faction, but all the NPCs aligned with Mint Eye seem.... really developed and advanced?! Almost like they’re indistinguishable from real people...

Vanderwood is a PKer with no association to C&R beyond knowing Seven. They’re pals online, and Vanderwood is kind of a shitty person who likes hunting other people down to blow off stress from their demanding and stressful dayjob. However, they get really, really curious about the new ‘Mint Eye’ quest, and start pursuing it with Seven, who is very, very confused about all of this content thAT HE DID NOT DEVELOP, WORK ON, OR KNOW ABOUT IN ANY CAPACITY. Their quest to uncover the truth is interrupted by something, however.

Following the update, no one in the game can log out.

[aranece]

Okay but???? Me and Peter are so happy with the little family he has build since he started this blog. And they deserve a shoutout Jess AKA the Gruncle™- @murdockiisms - Peter loves and adores his godfather who he just outright calls his uncle even if there is no blood ties anywhere. Matt is the person who teaches him how to punch correctly, who also worries about this kid, and definitely the grumpiest and saltiest but best uncle ever. Amanda AKA Charlie Weasley- @dragonologistic - The older brother Peter never knew he had wanted. Yes Peter might get a bit frustrated at him at times and how overprotective he tries to be but??? Peter also loves it and he loves Charlie and bro... not anyone can brag their older brother is a wizard who works with dragons.

[pictures-to-prove-it]

My “Hamilton-Chicago” Review, told entirely by the quantity and quality of my tears.

There is no possible way I could put this experience into actual words, so here is a list of all the times (and all the different ways) I cried during the March 7th evening performance of “Hamilton” at the PrivateBank Theatre in Chicago. 

Full tear-stained review below the cut.

Alexander Hamilton - My idiot grin gives way to welled up eyes immediately after “Just you waaa-aaait!” Composure held, however. Through Herculean effort, tears stay in place. 

Story of Tonight - Gigantic lump in my throat from start to finish. No tears, but just barely.

Satisfied - Blinking back tears when Angelica absolutely screams “To the groom!” toward the end of the song. (Jesus Christ, Karen Olivo. Warn a girl, would you?)

Wait for It - The first tears finally fall, as I suspected they would. Wayne Brady slays the “Death doesn’t discriminate” verse, and I’m alternately weeping and remembering when he and Ryan Stiles pretended to be fireworks on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” back in the day. Now I’m laughing and my husband is looking at me with mild concern.

Yorktown: Throat is constricted, and I can’t figure out if the tears are from emotion or just not blinking. Probably a mix of both. (I cannot stress how fucking showstopping this number was. Holy shit). 

Dear Theodosia: Composure officially lost. Silent sobbing commences. Miguel Cervantes is so adorable here, I want to die. 

John Laurens Interlude  - Snot has been added to the moisture coating my face. All I have is a plastic bag to wipe my nose. I nearly suffocate, but it’s for a good cause. 

Ah. Intermission, followed by a lovely interlude with no tears. This gives me ample time to scrape the mascara off of my face and mentally prepare myself for the Hell that is to come. 

One Last Time - All choked up, mostly because I can’t hear this song and not think of Obama leaving office. Jonathan Kirkland does a lovely job of crushing both this song and my faith in the American electorate. 

Burn- The saltiest tears yet. Right after the “You, you, YOUUUUU” line, Ari Afsar pauses for a much longer beat than Philippa Soo does on the album. I’ve never heard 1800 people be so completely silent before in my entire life. “You could hear a pin drop” is an understatement.

Stay Alive (Reprise) - Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf and FML. I’m a mess at this point.  My first audible sob. I’m definitely not the only one. 

It’s Quiet Uptown- Tears are coming out of every pore on my face. I look like the gatekeeper in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is crying outside of the Wizard’s chamber. 

The World Was Wide Enough- There aren’t any tears left in my body by this point, so I’ve resorted to clutching my chest and shaking.

Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story  - Oh wait. I do have some tears left. Standby tears, if you will. There are whimpers too. I can’t tell if they’re coming from me or my husband.

Curtain Call - for both the cast and my tear ducts. My eye makeup has disappeared, my nose is raw, and I’ve never been happier. 

So there it is. Of course, there was much much more than me just sobbing like an infant, and perhaps I’ll be able to process all of it someday. But that may take awhile.