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sirfrogsworth · 5 months

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I posted the below on my Facebook. I am secretly trying to head things off at the pass. Every time people see pictures of me out and about, they think I have been magically cured or my health status has improved. And I know going to Florida is going to give people that impression.

But also, I just wish a few of my relatives could understand my situation better. And why I didn't come to Christmas. And why I might try to come to Christmas now.

I guess I'll see how this goes.

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One of the biggest struggles I've had my entire adult life is explaining why I appear fine whenever people see me. I say I am very sick and bed-bound and then they see me and I am out of bed and talking and joking and... a normal healthy person.

What many don't realize is I am making a choice.

A choice to get sick.

I can use up all my energy in a short time frame to accomplish a difficult chore or entertain a friend or go to a doctor, but that is going to have a consequence.

The more I do, the more severe the consequence.

In the ME/CFS world this is called "post-exertional malaise." (for those interested, you can read more about it here: https://rthm.com/art.../what-is-post-exertional-malaise-pem/ )

Imagine every time you wanted to do something, you were *choosing* to get the flu.

Take a walk, get the flu.

Exercise, get the flu.

Spend a night out with friends, get the flu.

And you might be thinking, "Okay, it can't be as bad as the flu. I've had the flu and the flu sucks. No one would choose that."

I may not get the nasty respiratory symptoms, but everything else is pretty much the same. Crippling fatigue, horrible aches, and the loss of the will to do much of anything. Sometimes it is much worse than the flu. Some people don't know how much being this exhausted can hurt. They have never used up enough energy that their body is unable to power itself properly. I usually say it is like every cell in my body is starving and screaming for energy. I feel it in every inch of my body—and not just on the surface... through and through. So, like... cubic inches.

Sometimes I don't even have the energy to power my legs. Trying to stand feels exactly the same as trying to lift a barbell with way more weight than you can lift. I can't get upstairs or even walk to the kitchen. It's a concentrated misery that defies description, despite my constant attempts to try.

Sometimes I get lucky and this flu lasts for a day or two. But the more active I am, the longer it can last. And the severity increases as well. There is also a cumulative version of this—where if I do a bunch of little things over a longer period of time, eventually it will catch up to me and I may be stuck in bed for a few weeks.

And when I say "stuck in bed" I mean stuck in bed.

Short trips to the bathroom and a few minutes in the kitchen to make food. If I spend too much time upright, my legs will literally give out and I will be stuck on the floor until I recharge enough energy to get up again. It would be like every time you needed to get up, you had to hold your breath. Not to mention, the more I do, the longer the recovery will take.

For a long time I chose to never get the flu. I stayed in bed and did just enough to avoid the worst of PEM. I skipped family get-togethers. I didn't see my friends. And I lived my life inside the computer. Some may find that sad, but I actually found a way to make this work. I ran a successful blog that was seen by millions of people and I met my two best friends who I now consider my new family.

One thing that allowed me to choose not to get the flu was my parents. I fear some thought they were spoiling me. They did my laundry. They helped clean my room. They got my groceries. They cooked my food. They took on any chore they could so I could avoid the flu and live some semblance of a life on my computer. There is a lot of guilt wrapped up in that. I didn't ask them to do that. They just sort of... did. And I am so grateful to them.

To be fair, they would have to do these chores for themselves anyway, and tacking on my stuff wasn't a huge deal. But I know it caused them a little extra pain and a few post exertional consequences of their own. So I appreciated that sacrifice more than I can put into words.

But then they both got very sick. And not only could they not help me with my stuff, I had to help them with their stuff. And this was a difficult transition. I had to choose to get the flu to take care of my parents, but then if I got the flu, and I couldn't take care of my parents. I believe this is called a catch-22.

My initial solution was to just not take care of myself. At all. My health and mental well-being was set aside and I just gave all of my energy to them. I didn't shower. I forgot to take important medicines. I didn't do a single thing that brought me joy. And I'm reminded of that analogy of the airplane emergency where the oxygen masks drop. You put on your mask first before you put one on your child. Your instinct is to save them first at all costs. But if you pass out, they are screwed.

So I kept getting that cumulative version of the flu. I'd help them as much as I could for a week or a month and then I'd be useless to them for just as long. Living in the basement did not help. Stairs were very hard for me and constantly going up and down was a huge waste of energy.

And I'm sad to say, the level of care I gave to my mom was not great. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't understand how to balance my needs with hers. And it led to costly mistakes. She had several preventable falls that caused injuries. At one point she spent hours on the floor because I fell asleep and did not check on her. When you know someone needs regular supervision, you need to synchronize sleepy time.

Thankfully I learned from all of these lessons. Maybe not as quickly as I would have liked, but I did figure it out. I just wish I had learned them before my mom passed. I just wasn't able to give her the help she needed.

And you can tell me "you did your best" all you like, but this isn't a guilt I am choosing. It's just there and I feel it no matter what anyone says. In time I am hoping it will get lighter, but I'm afraid it cannot be wiped away with a well-intentioned platitude.

But with my dad, I decided to move upstairs. That was something I should have done much sooner. But I liked having my personal space and that was hard to give up. When he slept, I slept. When he spent 4 hours at dialysis 3x per week, I would make sure to take care of any personal needs. I would do chores a tiny bit at a time. 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there. And then I would lay on the couch in between and regain my strength. I did everything possible to not get the flu. And I got my flu shots so I wouldn't get the actual flu. (Get your flu shot! 50K die from it every year!) The only hitch in my plan was when I got a kidney stone at the same time my dad was in rehab. I have no idea how I got us through that.

I was very proud of the care I was able to give my dad. And I'm so grateful I was able to pay back just a tiny bit of what my parents did to help me. And the care I gave my father is the only thing that helps me feel better about my failures with my mom.

But now I am entering a new chapter of my life. And I find myself choosing to get the flu more often. I have decided sometimes it is worth the consequences. Part of that is because I am more used to it after dealing with it for 20 years. I have coping mechanisms and procedures and techniques to manage the symptoms. It doesn't make them suck any less, but it definitely makes it more manageable. It's akin to people with chronic pain who still feel the pain just as profoundly as when it was new, but they get so used to it that they forget that isn't how they are supposed to feel.

I approached this scientifically. I did tests. I went to the movies. I tried once a week and that was too much. Then I scaled it back and that was more manageable. Then I realized I had movies at home and decided to end that experiment.

I started to put my energy into something I enjoyed more. My photography. So I have been finding new ways to take pictures again. More experiments. I'm designing a simpler studio that requires much less energy. I'm creating a little product photography workstation where I don't have to set up everything each time I want to take a cool picture of an object. It will just be "turn on the lights" and "take the pictures."

Figuring all of this out made me realize how much I missed photography. And since I have been shooting test pictures here and there, my mental health has been noticeably better. And once I get this all figured out and set up, I am hoping some of you will let me take your photo. Or a photo of your kid. Or a pet. Whatever you have that needs photographing, I'm game.

I'm not going to charge. It's not going to be a business. I do not have the energy to "hustle." And asking people for money just sucked all of the fun out of my beloved art form. It corrupted it. I just love taking pictures and if you need a photo, I'd like to do that for you. I also restore old photos for fun. I'll talk about all of this more in another post when I am ready to start.

And then my grand experiment is coming next week.

I am going to travel.

I am going to see my best friend in Florida for two days. Two days of travel and two days of visiting. This is a scary choice. I know the aftermath is going to be difficult. But I need to get out of this house. I need to see my chosen family in person. And I have never been on a plane and I love the perspective from high places. I know people hate air travel, but for me, looking out that viewport is stunning television that cannot be matched.

Purposely making myself sick sounds like a bad idea. But it isn't life threatening. I have the free time to recover as long as I need to. And I can always choose not to get sick for a while if it gets too hard.

I just ask that people not see this as going from a worse life to a better one. I was really proud of the life I was able to create for myself while staying in bed. That took a long time to figure out. I met some of my favorite people. And I accomplished things I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams. Please do not shit on that life and think it was sad or meaningless. I was given that life as a gift from my parents and it kept me alive. It has always been a huge insult when people pitied that precious gift they gave me.

This is not a better life that I am trying to figure out. It is just better for me right now. My needs have changed. I have changed. So I am trying to adapt. I just ask that people understand when I go out and do something, please remember the choice I am making.

You may be tempted to say, "You are doing so much better!" I am not any better than I was 10 years ago. Actually, my health has degraded. It's just that before I didn't think getting the flu every time I did something was worth it. And I would hope everyone would understand that was a valid choice.

And now I am inviting those consequences.

On purpose.

Give me the flu, I guess.

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jojo-oliver · 10 months

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How to tumblr for artists… my own version

A collection of things that have been working for me, but may not work for everyone

~~~ your posts ~~~

!!!reblog your own stuff!!! you need to reblog your own stuff, there is nothing morally wrong with reblogging your own stuff regularly. in fact, it is morally right to allow the chance for more people to see your artwork.

~~~ queue it!! ~~~ my queue is 500 posts strong. maybe don't try to make your queue hundreds of posts strong in the same day omg but like… once every month or two i'll go through my whole blog and just scroll and "add to drafts" to every one of my own posts i have. then i'll use the "mass post editor" to add content warning tags. and add to queue, and shuffle. and then I write down what the date was for when I last added my posts to be reblogged on queue. this is helped by turning on timestamps for posts in tumblr "dashboard preferences" settings.

queueing is necessary and life saving for me. It takes out so much work with decision fatigue and the anxiety around posting. It also guarantees that even if I suddenly need time off or away from my phone, I don't just disappear and lose all traction. It also breaks the instant-gratification cycle that you expect when you finish an artwork. It's hard to keep creating when you post something and, when you're expecting to get that gratification, you get none... If you queue your new artwork to come out at a later time, you've separated that expectation - with time. It hurts less and contributes to a more consistent gratification thing instead of peaks and troughs.

~~~ tag ya stuff ~~~ when you're making a new post, the first 20 tags are what gets put into the searchable tags. do not feel shame for using lots of tags. shame is the mind-killer. tags are hard. hard to know what to tag a post with. hard to remember the tags. so I found some ways to help myself. maybe they'll help you too. dedicate some time towards just figuring out what tags you want to use. i have a list in my phone notes that i add tags to and reference whenever i'm making a new post. i have the phone right beside the laptop while i'm tagging so that i can just look at it and scroll. tags are the only way for people to find your artwork, other than people manually coming to your blog because they saw you somewhere. there is no algorithm. posting without tags, until you have an established fanbase, is throwing something into the void.

When I'm doing tag research, I look at what people seem to use - when you put something in the search bar, tumblr recommends you some that have a higher following, typically. Looks like this on desktop:

if you like one tag, look at what other people who use that tag also tag their posts with. Observe and learn how this tag is used. search through a bunch of them and write them down.

here's what i got in my notes, for the specific kind of art I post and look for:

these tags are sort of specific to me and the kind of art I make. You'll want to research your own tags, but this is an example of how I keep them organized to make posting more effective. I generally only write down a tag when it's got more than 2k followers. You might be tempted to use the tags with millions of followers, but I've actually found those a lot less functional for small artists. If your stuff doesn't immediately get a bunch of notifications, you're drowned out and pushed to the bottom much faster. But the bigger tags are better than no tags, so I keep them if I can't think of anything else to tag something with.

~~~ post at the right times….? ~~~

fridays and saturdays is when I post fresh new things... usually. every website has it's own peak hours, and you can find those hours in many different online articles that try to sell you social media growth services. tumblr is unique in having later hours.

here's some random graph from google images:

please don't over think this. please don't let this consume the idea of when to post, preventing you from posting at all. it doesn't mean too much - if you post during very active hours, maybe your art would just be pushed down the feed faster. if you post at the end of hours, maybe everyone's going to sleep… if you post at inactive hours, maybe there's less 'competition'… if you post at the beginning of active hours, maybe that's just more time for your post to circulate for the day, if you have enough people reblogging it once it drops....

this also is in EST. So fuck the other time zones, I guess. I'm over here in europe knowing that the "best" time to post would be like 2-3am or something. It's like this for most english-speaking majority sites - higher traffic in north american time zones.

it's also worth mentioning that this is scattered as heck, compared to other social media sites. and it's not like, the activity times of your followers. it's not the best time to post for your niche. this is just tumblr, broadly. all of tumblr.

~~~ Plan ahead for annual dates ~~~

Your artwork will get more circulation if it's posted on a celebratory day. You could just put them on your calendar and if you're wondering what to make, look on the calendar for what's coming soon. For example, asexual awareness day, trans day of visibility, location-specific holidays, etc. Here's my phone notes thing with my own recorded annuals:

I got these dates from googling and reading different articles, but I find that I still miss dates, and then I add them for next year. If you know of some I missed, tell me and I'll add them please <3

~~~ reblog other people's stuff ~~~

tumblr is sorta about ecosystems. things get passed around within groups of people that are all following eachother. to enter this ecosystem, you must engage and reblog other people's stuff too.

if you reblog other artists' stuff, sometimes they'll come over and reblog your stuff too. sometimes they'll follow you back. this is called becoming a mutual. I'll search specific tags for the kinds of people I want to follow and the kind of art I like - those are listed in the screenshot of my tag note under "Tags for finding new people".

I see a lot of blogs out there that are very clean, posts are tagless, and are only for the artists' content. like scrolling through a portfolio. I imagine this is good for people who are migrating to tumblr but already have their own established fanbase from elsewhere.

you don't need to do reblog other people's stuff on your art blog, you can do this on a separate blog. but if the two don't look very closely correlated, it's hard to tell who you are when you're interacting. and hard to make sure people know that you are the same person as your art blog. and you gotta remember to promote yourself on your personal blog.

~~~ have an art tag ~~~

make your blog easy to search!

if i go to your blog, and you've written 'artist' or 'sometimes art' in your bio, i wanna see it… it make me so sad when i don't get to see it. i want to reblog it. please let me reblog it :(

to make a tag on your own blog searchable, you don't need to repost it to add a tag. you don't even need to reblog it. you can actually just go back to the original post and edit it to add your tag. I've seen post people just have their art tag be something like #(blogname)art . you can see my own in my tags image above. if it's very unique, then it'll work tumblr-wide. I think that's good, since the tumblr search function is really weird. Otherwise it should still work if it's not entirely unique, people just have to make sure they're searching specifically your blog to see only your stuff.

I like to have a link in my pinned post where people can click to have immediately searched for my art tag. Convenience is king. Keep in mind that most people are on mobile, and if something isn't immediately clickable, they often won't find it.

~~~ be consistent and be patient ~~~

!!!this time will pass anyway!!! how many notes you have is not correlated with how good you are as an artist. wanting to earn something from your art means you essentially have two jobs. two potentially full time jobs. this shit's difficult. most of the job is promoting yourself. don't undersell how hard it is to do… don't feel bad for not immediately succeeding. I would write about how hard it's been to promote myself, but it would just be long and sad I think.

This isn't a full guide, please feel free to add more!!

I'm sure in another year I'll disagree with a lot of this, it will become irrelevant with time, and I'll have a lot of different opinions. Chip in and share what you've been doing? Teach me? This is very overwhelming. Don't do it all at once, just like, try one thing at a time, and see how it works for you. Your niche might be different. One size does not fit all. If you're confused about some of the things I talk about in here, you might be on mobile. I do most of my queueing and posting from the desktop browser version.

I will update this with more as things change, but I think you'll have to click through to see the updated post

#pinned #beginner artist #small artist #queer artist #trans artist #artists on tumblr #artist support #artistsupport #new artist #art blog #art on tumblr #lgbt artist #lgbtq artist

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rose-tea-and-strawberries · 10 months

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Hey, it's been awhile!

So, I don't know if you know about the Disney Villain Recruiters. You might have heard some whispers about them if you've been in the twst fandom long enough. They're a very niche part of Disney Japan, so don't be surprised if you don't know them. They're basically minions of disney villains turned human in order to recruit new minions during Halloween at Tokyo DisneySea. There are a number of videos of them on YouTube (I recommend dahjEt_'s channel)You can find out more about them here: Disney Villain Recruiters: An Introduction

And this is pic of them:

I was just thinking recently about how they would approach Yuu and the shipping war within the House of Mouse.

People in the fandom pretty much agree that Jack Heart is Ace's older brother. Jack teases Ace a lot about being so far behind in the shipping race despite being Yuu's best friend. He's on the RiddleYuu ship his Queen and all of Wonderland, but he secretly ships his brother with Yuu.

Eight Foot Joe totally sympathizes with Yuu's situation being overworked by Crowley as he himself is overworked by Ursula. Joe is secretly a Chad, just a tired Chad. He gives some pretty good advice to Azul on how to woo Yuu.

Veil on the other hand gives pretty bad advice to Rollo about how to pursue Yuu. Farja is also enthusiastically shipping JamilYuu

Apple Poison, aka tall Apple Boi, and Lady Hock have soft spots for Yuu in spite of their stoicism. They don't care much for the shipping war, but they're protective of Yuu.

Mr. Dalmatia and Pretty Scar are pretty much like the animal children when it comes to protecting Yuu. They're both like the "Get you dog" vine. In fact, I actually did an animation of them a little while ago. You might have to scroll down a little to see the video: https://www.tumblr.com/tickledpink31/720236920779800576/bio?source=share

Hi! It has been a while - how have you been? I hope you're all good.

So I have heard a thing or two about the Villain Recruiters - like I saw a post with a picture of them in a Disney Villain blog once but I have no idea who they are but now hearing about their job - wow the idea is absolutely fantastic and would totally get me to join the dark side!

I have a soft spot for the villainous henchmen so I can imagine the sort of shenanigans they would get into with their animal counterparts - Eight Foot Joe mucking about with Flotsam and Jetsam, Malfie and Diablo side-eyeing each other whenever the goblins mess up because they are the only competent henchmen there, the list goes on...

Also I just want to say that I absolutely love your art - the drawings? excellent. the video? phenomenal.

I lowkey think that this would cause a smaller war between henchmen over who Yuu's favourite 'older brother/sister' is.

I also have the mental picture of Yuu being a precious smiling sunshine girl and then you have the NRC boys and Disney Villains as dark shadows looming behind her, their eyes promising a tortuous death to anyone that looks at her.

Personally, I don't really understand the Jack as Ace's brother thing since he seems to work directly under the Queen, who had long since passed since passed before Ace was even born (also isn't Ace supposed to also represent the Jack of Hearts since he steals the Queen's tarts just like the Knave of Hearts (otherwise known as the Jack) did in the poem/book?) - but then again I consider Maleficent to be Malleus' grandmother even though that's completely impossible so I'll let it slide. Plus it makes Ace's behaviour towards Riddle and the Queen's rules even more hilarious if you consider his brother is one of the people who enforces them. Just wait until Riddle finds out - he'll have a conniption!

I don't really know enough about them to write anything more specific but the idea sounds awesome!

#twst #twst yuu #fem yuu #twisted wonderland #house of mouse au #asks

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ficreadingchallenge · 10 months

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Summer Fic Reading Bingo

This is a low key summer reading challenge specifically for fandom. All you have to do to participate is get a bingo card, read a fic, leave a comment, and mark that square off on your card! We hope this will encourage you to step outside your go-to fandom paths and find something new and amazing.

The challenge will run from June 21, 2023 to September 21, 2023.

Your friendly mods are @carcrash429 and @therealjambery. Now get reading!

FAQ below the cut.

Q: What's all this, then? A: This is a low key summer reading challenge specifically for fandom. All you have to do to participate is get a bingo card, read a fic, leave a comment, and mark that square off on your card!

Q: How do I sign up? A: Fill out this form!

Q: What are the dates of the challenge? A: This year the summer reading challenge starts on the summer solstice, June 21, 2023. You have until the fall equinox, September 21, 2023 to complete your bingo card.

Q: Who can participate? A: Anyone who reads fanfiction!

Q: Can I get a text-based bingo card instead of an image? A: Absolutely, please let us know you’d prefer that format when you sign up.

Q: Do I have to leave a comment to complete the square? A: Yes. I mean, we're not going to check up on you or anything, so it's the honor system. But let's give creators some love, shall we?

Q: Can I listen to podfic instead? A: Yup! The comment rule still applies, though.

Q: What if the thing I'm using to complete my square isn't on AO3? A: That's fine. You can reblog on Tumblr, leave a comment on a blog post, or otherwise let the creator know you enjoyed their story/art/podfic.

Q: What sort of things are on the bingo card? A: You can see our full list here.

Q: What if there is one of my triggers or something that squicks me on the list? A: Just let us know when you sign up and we'll make sure you get a card that doesn't have those things on it.

Q: What do you mean by [fill in the blank]? Does this fic count for that square? A: It's up to your interpretation - we wanted to leave things as broad as possible. If you're really stuck, send us an ask and we can talk about it!

Q: What do I win if I get a bingo? A: The priceless satisfaction of a job well done. Also, we might have something special for you at the end. Guess you'll have to participate to find out.

#summer fic reading challenge #sfrc 2023 #fandom event

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maniculum · 28 days

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Bestiaryposting Results: Dikebael

This animal's name is, admittedly, a bit of a "Tirion upon Túna (upon Rye)" situation in that I did not process that there was anything unusual about the name until, shortly after the entry went up, it got a "heh. Dick-ball" reply. (And they weren't alone; at least one of the art posts that's gone up has acknowledged the unfortunate name.) It probably doesn't help that this entry references the animal's testicles.

I can't even go, "well, it's not pronounced like that," because by the orthographical rules of the conlang I used to generate these names, it would be pronounced /dɪ·kɛ·bæ·ɛl/, so the start still pretty much sounds like "dick". I'd say I'll be more careful about that in future, but I scheduled all of these ahead of time and I'm not sure it's worth digging through the queue, so we'll just have to see.

Anyway, for anyone who's not sure what this whole "bestiaryposting" thing is, you can find an explanation and previous posts here: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. The entry that people are working from this time is here:

(Also, I just want to remind anyone reading that you're free to join in -- this is not a closed thing, just check out the "maniculum bestiaryposting" tag and sort by latest to see what the current beast is. Felt I should say that since we've had the same group of people for a while and I don't want anyone seeing the same set of usernames each time and thinking this is an exclusive club.)

Anyway, art below the cut in roughly chronological order.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here), acknowledging the lack of physical description in the entry, has opted to just have fun with it and put together this strange chimerical creature. I think the flat little horns on top of its snout are really interesting -- the linked post describes them as functioning like a stone circle to make sure it has the right date for its annual announcements. I have no idea if that would work at all, but it seems like it fits the general logic of the bestiary, and I like it.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has an interesting explanation in the linked post about how they decided to combine features of various desert-dwelling animals with the basic body plan of a peccary (which is apparently the same animal I know as a "javelina" -- I learn a lot looking stuff up while I write these posts). They then acknowledge that, without the context of all the things they're working in here, it kind of just looks like they've drawn a very large warthog. It's a very good hog, though. Something neat that you might miss if you're just looking at the drawing without the context of the post, for instance, is that it has the same fat-storing tail as a fat-tailed sheep. For more little bonuses like that, check out the linked post.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has given us a whole herd of critters here. They've also hooked onto the "desert" thing due to the lack of physical description, collected traits from real-world animals that make them successful in a desert biome, and combined them into a new creature. They make me think of jackals, which aren't mentioned in the linked post, and also make me think of donkeys, which (kind of) are. Let's all take a moment to note the baby hiding behind a pile of rocks to the right, watching a smaller animal of some sort. I think it's cute.

CheapSweets also wonders about the significance of March 25th, and I have to say so do I. It's not explained in the text. The symbolism bit does say they call the same number of times during the day and night to represent the devil wanting to make day and night the same, which... what?

@pomrania (link to post here) clarifies that this is a grayscale rendering and that the animal would actually be a sort of dusty tan in a color version. They also went the direction of "this animal lives in the desert, so let's focus on desert adaptations." So we've got the split hooves and nostrils that can close to keep out sand. I particularly like the overhanging lip; it adds a certain charm, I think.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has decided that this is an excellent excuse to draw an elephant, since we're short on specific description beyond them living in Africa and being able to make loud noises. As a bonus, this means that the young Dikebael can be conveniently hidden behind the mother's large ears. The other aspects of this illustration relate to Coolest-Capybara having a pretty solid theory as to "why March 25th" -- apparently that's the Feast of the Annunciation, which of course the medieval author would have known. So here we have the Archelephant Gabriel trumpeting at Mary. (Actually it seems like the baby is doing the trumpeting, and it looks adorable doing it.) The linked post describes the medieval artworks that are being referenced in the illustration, so I recommend checking that out.

Anyway, time to check the Aberdeen Bestiary...

... well, we can't, actually. The Aberdeen Bestiary is missing a few folios, and this is on one of those. I got the text from MS Bodley 764, since I have a print translation of that one and it's fairly similar. For the illumination, we're going to go to the digitized Ashmole Bestiary, which is even more similar but I don't have a translation of it.

So this is the onager or wild ass.

Interestingly, it looks pretty much identical to the image of the tame ass on the same page, but to be fair, I don't think I'd be able to distinguish between an onager and a donkey with any reliability. Makes one wonder why they have separate illustrations, though.

And yeah, I have no additional explanation for why... any of the stuff in the entry.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #dikebael

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barmadumet · 4 months

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You’ve seen all the Star Wars decor all over the house, but THIS is my private little sanctuary in my bedroom closet that’s just mine ❤️

I reworked the space during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to make room for my treasures from the cons I attended to meet Hayden & Ewan 🖤🤍

Friends, I’ve been thinking about logging off tumblr for good lately. Social media exploded when I started college at the end of 2005, and I stayed away from ALL platforms until joining tumblr in 2020, and even after that, it took me several months to start posting and interacting. My main concern was my self-esteem - my mental health. I have always struggled with not feeling good enough and comparing myself to others. I made the decision to give this a try when I was in a good headspace - when I felt mature enough and strong enough to fight those negative feelings. It hasn’t always been easy these last few years, but it’s been so very rewarding. The good always outweighed the bad.

But lately, I’m not sure I can say that any longer. I feel like I am straddling a fine line. It surprises me how much things I see here can affect my mood and feelings of self-worth. Thanks to past (somewhat recent) trauma, I wrestle more than ever with this voice inside my head that says, “You don’t matter.” And usually, I can find ways to justify that being a false statement… Right now, I can’t find any reason not to believe it. For the moment, I do believe it. I feel if I vanished, it wouldn’t make a difference.

The friends I’ve made here are honestly what is carrying me through. And I can exit this space and keep those relationships, but then I wonder what I might miss out on. What about the new friends I’ve yet to meet? What about those people that I really don’t have side conversations with but always make me smile when I see their names in my posts’ notes? What about all the art that is yet to be created that I wouldn’t get to see? What about all the comms I wouldn’t get to share with you? How would I even know when comms are open??

My decision isn’t made. I’m going to try to hang in there and focus on all the positives. I’m feeling fragile, but typically, opening up helps me to better sort things out. So, here’s what’s in my head, and here’s what’s in my bedroom closet lol. I invite you in - because that’s the scary and vulnerable thing to do - the thing that’ll make or break a situation.

I want you to know that I care deeply for each and every one of you - maybe too much - and maybe that’s part of the problem. Not everyone will care in return, but that’s my issue. That’s something I need to learn to be okay with. I thought I had toughened up in my old age, but I suppose the tenderheartedness will always be a part of who I am, waiting to flood my emotions in weak moments. The people that are reading this give me the will to be strong ❤️

#tmi #my Star Wars sanctuary #my stupid self esteem #I’m losing the battle #am I believing lies or finally seeing the truth?

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bitemegamer · 2 months

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Log 01: A Note and Meeting Qiu and Tamarack (Long Post)

Something about this intro... It makes my heart ache in the best way possible. It's the start, the start to a new section of a new life. It is the Fall, the air is cooling down and I can feel it hitting my nose.

*Forgive me, I shall be using MC thoughts as that of my own and basing things off of how I would react, I shall be using first person writing

I decided, since my MC is 10 and I was a little bit of a nut at this time, I would have him believe that it was a ghost that poked him instead of him being rational about it.

He gets greeted with this paper, and... Honestly, how WOULD your little kid thoughts (esp that of someone who did believe in ghosts) think this meant?

*I blurred the last name for my own reasons, thank you very much*

I really, truly wished to be Nancy Drew or one of the Hardy Boys. I spend so much time watching mysteries with my mom. Probably way too much time.

Too bad I am going to break those rules, Mother! Muahahaha! I am a little troublemaker. Just kidding. However, it's okay. I have a way to bend the rules... Just a little bit ;)

*Proceeds to go to the woods, which to me feels like straying even further??? tbh, knowing myself as a kid, I would have done this without thinking too deeply*

Oh where shall I be going? On a cool quest! Off I go to the amazing and great unknown!

WHAT??? Man... :( I know for a fact I would have been so upset, yet a little relieved. Had I gone further into the forest, I might have freaked out just a little bit.

The ghost inhabits this building.

Also, random thought/feeling/vibe that I am feeling... This reminds me so much of when I was a little kid doing my own thing, just wandering about and feeling like the whole world was amazing and whimsical. As a kid, I would always go out of my way to have some sort of fun and adventure... Even if that meant getting lost or making something out of nothing.

A RACCOON!

If I end up dying, let it be known that I met the end of my life with the coolest animal ever.

I'm sure said kid feels very different about a total stranger being in their backyard climbing up their fort.

lol, he thinks I'm quirky...

I mean... You were the one who sent the note... Right? Right? Oh God, never mind--

Don't look at me like that *SOB SOB* I'm trembling over here as if I am some sort of scared little grey hound!

Nice to meet you as well, Qiu!

*Snorts*

OCD Autism meeting and seeing someone with ADHD for the first time be like (joking):

I decided to be a little more nicer to him and politely just point it out to him:

This honestly does beg the question for me... How often has Qiu lost something simply from people just not telling him that he dropped his pages.

That's it, Bud. You. Me. We're going to be in it together. You're never going to lose something like that again while I'm around you.

He'll listen to me, but he will have no idea what I am talking about. At least he tries.

Making art out of trash... I see.

Yeah... Maybe my joke about ADHD might not be as much of a joke as I thought it was.. Hm...

Oh... OH... She's so cute, she makes me wanna cry..

Tamarack really went: 'Wow, okay, *bye*.

Well... Since I have exceeded my image limit for this post, I do believe that I can have this a closing moment... As of now, my MC has met both of the wonderful romantic/friend interests and I think they're both so wonderful!

I know that I am currently playing the Demo at the moment, but goodness this is so cute. This reminds me so much of my days after school and spending time with my friends around this time period.

I can't wait to finish this intro out and write more about my silly little thoughts... Until then, I hope you guys have enjoyed my little comments. I love doing that when I play games.

#our life #gb patch games #our life now and forever #olnf #game logging #qiu lin #our life qiu #our life tamarack #tamarack baumann

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cypherscript · 1 year

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Take a Look at yourself

Danny's day had been going about as perfectly as it could have been, if a little strange, there hadn't been a single ghost attack all day and Danny was enjoying every moment he could get.

Sam, Tucker and him had been chilling at the nasty burger, trying one of everything on the menu, when Danny's phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Danny," Jazz shouts from the other end, barely heard over the klaxon sounding in the background, "You need to come home! Something's going on with the portal and Mom and Dad are freaking out! They've run out of the house screaming for Vlad."

"Vlad?! I'm on my way," Danny hangs up and slides out of the booth through Tucker who yelped.

"Dude, not cool!"

"Sorry, something's going on at home, I'll be back later. Save me a Nasty Burger."

Danny loses sight of them when he leaves, turning invisible and intangible after rounding a corner before flying home at max speed. Upon arriving he plugs his ears and finds the terminal for the klaxon that's sounding and turns it off.

"What was that?"

"That's the Proximity Alarm for the ghost portal."

Jazz looks over his shoulder at the terminal he is at, "I wasn't aware it worked properly. I've never heard it go off and we know ghosts have been using the portal. It didn't even go off when that Ghost King took the city."

"Whatever's near the portal must be more powerful than Pariah Dark then, that or," Danny sticks his head through the portal and his stomach drops along with the temperature, "Or it's bigger than any of the other ghosts... I guess this explains why none of the other ghosts have been attacking."

Looking down Danny sees a impossibly huge black serpentine body with glowing blue spots along its length that pulse and shift. Along its spine glowing white mane that he follows along the body until it unable to be see into the distance.

Danny pulls his head from the portal, the new coldness of his face steaming in the new heat of his parent's basement lab. "We~ might have a slight problem."

"How slight is slight?"

"Ok, I lied to try and make you feel better. It's so big, I can't even see all of it."

"What?! How-"

"I don't know, I'm going to go all the way in and check it out. Keep the portal sealed and that alarm off." There's a flash of light as Danny turns into Phantom and floats through the portal.

____________________________________________________

I was inspired by this ghost king danny art so I blurbed a thing. I'll try to finish it when I can but I've been moved to full time at work and my free times been changed. This was the post that caused this.

#danny phantom #ghost king #eldritch danny #dragon danny

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bluedalahorse · 3 months

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Okay, I’ll bite. Posts like this one on the confessions blog kind of make me wonder/worry about how I come across on tumblr. I’m one of those people who’s 200% down for the secondary characters in YR, particularly the controversial ones. I’m also someone who’d been lurking for a while prior to season 2 airing, but joined tumblr a little bit after season 2 to finally start discussing with people.

Given the way the post I linked above resonates with some of the themes I made a post about few days ago, it seems like the anon and I might both be struggling with some of the patterns of conversation in fandom. That said, we’re coming from very different places. And given the way I engage with this fandom, I sometimes wonder if I’m the antagonist in someone’s fandom story.

I do recognize that some of my posts come from a place where I could come across as pretentious, lecturing, or overbearing in some way. When I first de-lurked this fandom, I talked about a lot of the show in terms of craft and literary theory and such, in part because I’m in grad school for just that and in part because I hang out with a friends group IRL who uses that existing vocabulary to discuss things we love. I was also using the academic voice with a dose of sarcasm thrown in as a sort of armor, because I knew my favorite characters in the show (Sara and August) were so widely beloathed by so many people. I was worried that if my first post was “wow they sure are cute even if they’re messy; where do I find the fanfic?” I wouldn’t make friends, or possibly would even get chased off of tumblr. I figured it was much safer to come in and say things like “I find it really interesting to see how their relationship is a narrative foil to Wilmon’s, and them being together really raises the stakes of the drama” and keep my Big Feelings to myself. (Especially since some posters can be pretty nasty about my faves, and make assumptions about what I’m an “apologist” for when I talk about them.) I still lean into academic speak to some extent—like I said, it’s part of who I am even outside of YR, so it’s hard to shake. But rest assured there is fannish passion behind it, and also know I don’t think academic speak should be a requirement for participating in fandom.

I’m also wondering… what role should making the case for the characters and plotlines one loves play in establishing one’s fandom presence? Like, in general? Ultimately my motive when I make my posts, analysis or otherwise, is to invite people to play in my weird little sandbox with me. (If they want to, of course!) I recognize that some of my fandom opinions/hills I will die on are what they are, so I imagine some folks don’t want to change their opinions any more than I do. But I also recognize that in more than two decades of being in fandom, there are times when someone else’s passion for a character or a take on some aspect of a show or book really led me to see something new and interesting, or hook on to particular rarepairs or whatever else. That’s the beauty of fandom as a community—we all get more excited about things together and share our love of things. Since some of my favorite aspects of YR are much much more rarely represented in fanworks, I’m usually talking about how I adore them in hopes that I’ll continue to find the people who like the things I like, and in hopes that maybe I’ll spark something in someone’s brain and they’ll write a cool fic or draw cool art or something. Talking to people here has made me more interested in pairings like Walty and Stedrika, which I didn’t think about as much before on my first watchthroughs of the show. So anyway… I do know there’s some folks out there who are never gonna be interested in what I’m interested in. I also know there are folks, myself included, who’ve learned things from what other people are passionate about. I also know there are some opinions that seem a lot more unpopular than they are until someone voices them.

I recognize that the two factors above—a tendency toward academic speak, and another tendency to make the case for the less popular things I love about the show in hopes that people will join me, combined with maybe me not having the best day or not choosing my words well—all that together and I could I see how I could come across as pretentious or holier-than-thou or looking down on people. (And admittedly there are times where my posts come from a place of frustration about the way certain characters are talked about. I think we’ve all been there at one time or another.) It really isn’t my intention to come across in a negative way, but I can see how it would happen. It’s also possible I’m doing something that completely doesn’t register with me at all, but it’s super hurtful to others. I may not know the full extent to how I’ve bothered someone, because ultimately I am just in my own head.

If I’ve hurt you or made you feel crappy in your time being a fan on tumblr, I am truly sorry. I’m open to talking about it if you want to talk about it, but also, zero pressure if you just kind of want to hang out in your own space and do your own thing.

To sum up… it seems like on one hand there’s a portion of fandom that seems to want to embrace the YR world in its entirety, and another portion of fandom that would like to lean into a focus on Wilmon. And there’s probably people all across a spectrum there, because nothing is a strict binary. All are valid approaches! I don’t think we all need to be best friends, but I do think we need to figure out how to coexist and assume positive intent in each other’s approaches to the work. Does anyone have ideas about that? Are there hashtags we could be using a little more carefully? I don’t have answers yet, but it is something I’m thinking about.

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eccentric-nucleus · 4 months

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actually if i'm gonna make a games rec post.

here are some games i have enjoyed recent-ish.

kenshi. an open-world squad-based rpg with base-building elements. get stronger by getting beaten up. lose a fight and get knocked out, have your weapons and food taken by the bandits that mugged you and left you bleeding to death. get rescued by some slavers that capture you and sell you into slavery. free yourself from slavery and limp away until you roll in hours later with a whole squad of overpowered fighters. then head a little bit too far south and get murdered by skin bandits. they take your skin. this is a completely self-directed game; there's no "main plot", although arguably "figure out the history of the world" is kind of the main 'story' mystery. there's also a bunch of unique recruitable characters with custom-written interactions. i usually recruit exclusively from freeing slaves but you can do w/e.

wildmender. a survival gardening game. this one came out recently and the devs are still releasing bugfixes; it's unclear if they'll make large content patches in the future. apparently multiplayer can still be pretty glitchy, and there's a water flow bug that i've been finding very frustrating. the way biomes work is kind of unsatisfying. kind of slim content-wise, but still, i really enjoyed what's there. out of all of the climate change terraforming anxiety games i've seen, this has been the one i've most enjoyed.

hellpoint. a scifi soulslike made by a team of like 12 people. previously i had thought things like "it would be neat if dark souls was less linear". hellpoint is a great example of why that might be a nightmare. the areas are connected in such a complex way, with one-way routes and branching unlock keys and secret paths and hidden doors behind hidden doors that it gets profoundly disorienting. a hint: almost every single hidden door in the game (there are a lot) is the middle panel of the same exact three-paneled-wall geometry. once you notice what it is you will see it everywhere. also, the enemy designs are hot.

crystal project. remember playing fan translations of final fantasy v? remember wandering around in old mmos? crystal project is kind of a... turn-based rpg mmo-influenced platformer. with a job system. you can sequence break the game from the tutorial level and also at basically every other point in the game too, although until you know what to look for it might seem like there's a linear critical path. but there's a lot out there. hint: play on easy mode. the combat gets tough later on and the game absolutely expects you to be finding and exploiting some class combinations.

astlibra: revision. a sidescrolling rpg. it must have been released episodically originally or some of the chapter pacing makes no sense. also it was originally released with a mess of art sourced from all sorts of places; 'revision' is a re-release with a more unified art style. it gets extremely anime all the time. there's a whole obligatory section where you have to ask all the women in a town about what kind of panties they're wearing. it's rough. i enjoyed how chaotic the systems are and how much Stuff there is to pick up and upgrade and unlock. the plot goes some unexpected places though it doesn't quite stick the landing, i still enjoyed what it did. also karon should be the love interest instead.

silicon zeroes. a cpu-building puzzle game. this straddles the line between the tech/code games that are literally just "learn a new language and code in it" and ones that are more structure-themed like, idk, spacechem. connect modules to assemble solutions to problems. it takes too long to get to chapter 3, which is where they start asking you to make entire cpus.

ashen. another souls-like. i just really like the environments in this one. the initial area looks gorgeous and the way it changes through the game is really neat to see happen. the seat of the matriarch is wonderfully awful to traverse and i wish there had been two or three more dungeons like it in the game. you can't level up; you gain stats mostly by progressing sidequests and the name quest. i eventually ran out of things to spend money on AND inventory space to store items. the late-game tuning is a little rough but until then it's great. a hint: there are three weapon types and within that type nearly all the weapons are identical. you get thrown so many weapons that don't matter; don't worry about collecting all of them. see above re: running out of space and things to use money for.

i guess it would be cheating to recommend minecraft regrowth or morrowind but i have also been playing those.

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alrightsnaps · 2 years

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Jily Fanfiction Recommendations

So, I’ve received more than one ask about giving some Jily fic recommendations... but tumblr is determined to drive me mad and if it didn’t crush after I’d spent hours compiling a list, making me lose everything, it refused to process my post as an answer to an inbox message *sigh*. But I’ve been meaning to make a list of my recommendations for a while so I’m posting it separately here!

Buckle up cause this is going to be a LONG post.

The first half consists of sort of canonverse stories (in that they take place in the magical world of the hp books) but not necessarily canon compliant. The second half consists of varying non magical AUs.

There are some stories that I’ve revisited time and time again over the years as well as others that I haven’t read since I was a teenager but remember liking at the time.

At the end of the post I’ve also included some fics and new authors that are on my TBR- I’ve hit a big slump over the pandemic, but I’m still keeping an eye out and there are some new jily writers that have began writing over the past 2-3 years whose work looks amazing and I can’t wait to check out!

Enjoy!

HP UNIVERSE (CANON-COMPLIANT AND AU)

LONG MULTICHAPTERS (90,000+ words)

The Life and Times by Jewels5

She was dramatic. He was dynamic. She was precise. He was impulsive. He was James, and she was Lily, and one day they shared a kiss, but before that they shared many arguments, for he was cocky, and she was sweet, and matters of the heart require time.

Words: 613,762 Status: Abandoned

Pretty much my holy book. Anything I say about TLAT will not be enough to describe this masterpiece that has owned a piece of my soul for years, more so than the hp series itself. The perfect Marauders era story to read even for those who don't ship or particularly care for James and Lily. No other fanfic has managed to make me feel attached to its ensemble the way Jules' story did. While it's abandoned, the way the last two chapters are structured could serve as a nice conclusion of sorts- in any case do NOT let its abandoned status put you off!!

An Unexpected Attraction by thegingerhairedlass

A telling of the Marauders Era and the romance that shaped it all. Lots of teenage angst & romance spanning from the Marauders' seventh year until the end of the First Wizarding War.

Words: 648,698 Status: Complete

My second favourite Marauders era canon compliant long fic and by absolute favourite portrayal of Marlene McKinnon (Jules' Marlene doesn't count, she's a Price and I view her as a whole different character, okay? 😝)

All Right, Evans? by CokeBottleK

Part I of in-progress trilogy [6th year]: The thing about being Lily Evans and James Potter was that you couldn't do anything without everybody else saying something about it.

Followed by Dangerous Crowds by CokeBottleK

Part II [7th year]: "As in all wars, life goes on."

Words: 106,188 Status: Abandoned

The Rise and Fall of the Stag and the Doe by SiriusUntiltheVeryEnd

Moments. They make or break relationships. Lily didn't just happen to fall in love with James. It wasn't an accident, but a long drawn out process that grew out of the relationships of the people around them. And when it came down to it, even Lily and James couldn't fight fate.

Words: 379,212 Status: Complete

Turning Tables by scared of clouds

Lily Evans' and James Potter's relationship has always been a complicated story; it's just about to get a lot more complicated. And so is everything else. They might not know each other well, but they're about to know each other a lot better. Cover art by anxiouspineapples.

Words: 205,589 Status: Complete

Followed by My Kind Of Love by scared of clouds

James and Lily are out of Hogwarts and engaged; add in the Order of the Phoenix, complicated friendships and deranged Death Eaters, and things can only get more difficult from here.

Castle on the Hill by ac0llecti0n0fn0nsense

After graduating Hogwarts, Lily finds herself quietly fighting the First Wizarding War from an Order of the Phoenix safe house in Scotland as a potions mistress. As the war escalates, Lily and James learn about love, fear, and what it means to grow up.

Words: 200,042 Status: In Progress

Sunshine in My Eyes by monroeslittle

Mr. and Mrs. Evans are killed when Lily's only a girl, and she's supposed to go to a home with her sister. Instead, a relative they didn't know they had comes to collect them, and introduces Lily to manners, magic, and a life that's just the slightest bit different from the life she was supposed to live. Or, an AU in which Minerva McGonagall raises Lily.

Words: 93,410 Status: Complete

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Breanie

The story of how James convinced Lily that he wasn't actually the arrogant bullying toe-rag she claimed with help from her new best friend, Sirius Black, who is working to help Lily through difficult times. Can be a standalone, but also works as a prequel to my Beginning Series.

Words: 234,367 Status: Complete

First James/Lily fanfic I ever read back when I first discovered fanfiction is a thing. Aw nostalgia.

Sparks by BirthOfAPhoenix

Lily was certain her final year at Hogwarts would be the best yet. She had amazing friends, top marks, and was a shoo-in for Head Girl. Everything was as it should be. But with a war brewing on the outside and a new relationship heating up on the inside, she could no longer pretend it was business as usual when, all around her, there were sparks.

Words: 154,134 Status: In Progress/Abandoned

Every Other Midnight by Kathryn's NomDePlume

Professor Potter and Head Girl Lily Evans... The Dark Decline

Words: 997,210 Status: In Progress

What About Now? by SiriusUntiltheVeryEnd

She noticed him, of course she noticed him but Lily didn't let her gaze linger. She had always thought James was fit, but she didn't particularly want to. James Potter was trouble and she had enough problems.

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (10,000-70,000 words)

Kiss and Tell by SunshineDaisiesWindmills

The rules were simple. Provoke each other. Scream at each other. Snog each other. Do this as frequently as possible, but don't ever, ever kiss and tell.

Words: 47,861 Status: Complete

Talk Me Down by gxldentrio

James is determined to stay away from short, freckled redheads. Lily, having had enough drama for a lifetime, is equally resolved to avoid dark-haired troublemakers. But he rarely does what he ought, and she is too stubborn for her own good. It should be an interesting year.

Words: 54,647 Status: Complete

October Thirty-First by jamespotterthefirst

Even before they were a couple, they always seemed to spend Halloween together. Series of oneshots.

Words: 17,557 Status: Complete

In Fields of Poppies by SunshineDaisiesWindmills

Her father's war and her grandfather's war were fought with metal and manpower. Hers was done with magic.

Words: 41,527 Status: In Progress/Abandoned

Playing the Hero by MeganRachel09

James Potter never thought he would be found guilty of a prank he didn't actually commit. When he realizes that Lily Evans may secretly be Hogwarts' greatest prankster, however, he finds he doesn't mind taking the fall for her, especially when she turns out to be unexpectedly enthusiastic in her gratitude. His only hope is that it all ends up being worth the punishment.

Words: 46,343 Status: Complete

Sober by LovelyFlowerAK

The first time James and Lily get drunk are very interesting stories. As are the last. And, really, everything in between.

Words: 49,097 Status: Complete

Let's do something you're not supposed to by Oynnej

Lily isn't happy. Although she should be with a seemingly perfect life and perfect boyfriend to boot. But then James Potter comes along and shows her you're not always supposed to do...what you're supposed to do.

Words: 15,628 Status: Complete

Crossing Paths by twilightstargazer

She knew him in Hogwarts; wildly popular, overly confident and a massive flirt. Honestly, she'd never expect to see him again when he left school but now he's back and, oh goodness... he's going to be working side by side with her now, isn't he?

Words: 37,508 Status: Complete

Just Stay Here Tonight by monroeslittle

AU. Lily Evans isn't a witch.

Words: 38,077 Status: Complete

And the Wolves All Cry by monroeslittle

AU. if a certain person doesn't hear a prophecy, does it still come true?

Words: 31,769 Status: Complete

Time Lapse by Apalapucian

three years ago, lily discovered that she could fly. two years ago, james stopped flying.

the first time they meet, he's twenty four, and she literally falls from the sky.

he thinks it's love at first sight. it's not—it rarely ever is—but close.

Words: 32,136 Status: In Progress

Eight Days by B.C Daily

During a week-long exhibition, professional Quidditch player James Potter encounters Lily Evans, Junior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Words: 40,697 Status: In Progress

Firelight Waltz by cgner

"I'd like to assign the two of you a special, undercover mission," Dumbledore says, his wrinkled fingers steepling on his desk. "I require two Order members to pose as a newlywed couple."

Words: 11,411 Status: Complete

Just Keep Your Eyes On Me by crossingwinter *AU- No Voldemort*

You’re not allowed to date your roommate. There’s practically a law against it.

So James moves out.

Words: 50,070 Status: Complete

The Twelve Days of Christmas by pratty-prongs-princesse

With Alice and Frank's impending nuptials on Christmas Day, Lily Evans is back home for the holidays. As maid of honour, she's unexpectedly thrown together with the best man, James Potter, who has seemingly changed since their graduation. This is a Christmas love story about how the two school rivals went from hate to lust to love while planning a wedding.

Words: 68,812 Status: Complete

The Art of Self-Defense by cgner *GILMORE GIRLS AU*

Lily got pregnant at sixteen and left Hogwarts to work at an inn. After seventeen years of single parenting, she now has to manage a persistent James, nosy villagers, and a son who's all too interested in joining the Order.

Words: 22,047 Status: Complete

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (less than 10,000 words)

Snaps by Jewels5

James comes up with a nickname.

Words: 1,680 Status: Complete

Guess where my handle comes from....

The Incident in the Library by greenconverses

Lily Evans has been distracted lately…and it’s all because of James Potter and his stupid, unbuttoned shirt. Hardly any fluff, but plenty of shirtless James for everybody. Seventh year fic.

Words: 3,780 Status: Complete

A Wizard Walks Into A Bar by GhostOfBambi

Contrary to popular belief, it's not always the man who does all the chasing.

Words: 5,558 Status: Complete

Fundamental Laws of Magic by lizardcookie

There are certain rules of magic that Lily Evans would very much have liked not to confront in one day. What began in Defense Against the Dark Arts between two people avoiding the obvious ends in the dungeons, the same two people not the same as they were before.

Words: 4,669 Status: Complete

Yeah, Okay by CokeBottleK

A series of instances in which Lily Evans said yes to James Potter.

Words: 8,214 Status: Complete

Questions and Answers by lizardcookie

The simple question of whether or not they're dating doesn't exactly have a simple answer. Seventh Year Jily.

Words: 5,629 Status: Complete

History of a Friendship by lizardcookie

Seven years of friendship between Severus Snape and Lily Evans.

Words: 4,473 Status: Complete

Just Belong With Me by scared of clouds

Sometimes it's the smallest moments that can cause the biggest changes. Five small moments are all it takes to make the biggest change of all. One shot, seventh year Lily and James. Cover art by anxiouspineapples.

Words: 7,517 Status: Complete

The One With The Forgotten Two of Diamonds by Apalapucian

James and Lily brew Amortentia together—and nothing happens. Lily thinks she's officially gone forever numb, James thinks the dungeons smell like a swamp, and everyone concludes they're both idiots. Everybody's daft in love.

Words: 8,048 Status: Complete

Lovers and Voyeurs by MeganRachel09

Towards the end of their Seventh Year, Snape wants to make amends with Lily, but ends up witnessing a private moment between her and James Potter instead.

Words: 5,604 Status: Complete

To Live Nobly by cgner

It doesn’t feel like he’s living. In a world ruled by the Dark Lord, he’s miserable, but not because of the government. A chance meeting wakes him up, but there’s something familiar about her that he can’t quite put his finger on…

Words: 5,741 Status: Complete

For the Price of a Cup of Coffee by cgner

Something is wrong with Lily's brain. She's not sure what, but nothing good comes out of waking up in a hospital bed with no memory of how you got there. To make matters worse, the messy-haired Healer who shows up doesn't seem to know anything about Healing - he's pretty attractive, though, so that's something.

Words: 5,172 Status: Complete

Good Enough by lizardcookie

They were standing chest to chest, lungs working in tandem and minds blazing. Her wand was still pushed against his heart and he could see gold in her green gaze, but maybe that was his own eyes shining back at him. One move forward and their feet touched now.

"Duel. You and me."

Words: 4,167 Status: Complete

Couples Therapy by GhostOfBambi

Transfiguration Professor. Head of Gryffindor House. Deputy Headmistress. Love Guru. Minerva McGonagall is a woman of many talents.

Words: 4,334 Status: Complete

Two Sides of the Same Coin by GhostOfBambi

There are those who claim that Lily Evans couldn't possibly love James Potter as much as he loves her - including, on occasion, James Potter himself - but they couldn't be more wrong if they claimed that the moon was made of cheese.

Words: 8,126 Status: Complete

i (am in) love (with) you by welcometonerdworld

Five times Lily says she loves James, and one time James says it back. Cover art by viria.

Words: 2,835 Status: Complete

Keep It Sweet, Keep It Slow by Apalapucian

She needs him, needs a lot of things; needs to inspect his head for herself and make sure he didn't crack it open, because he's an idiot. She needs to apologize and berate, needs to trace his jaw with her fingertips, unearth the seasons in his eyes, taste his Quidditch-sky-laden lips.

Words: 3,870 Status: Complete

Fireside by Acacia Carter (xaandria)

Trying to reassure Lily Evans that the world isn't going to fall apart on his watch, James ends up revealing far more than he'd intended - and the emotions that have been bottled up for years are finally realised.

Words: 5,330 Status: Complete

fallen leaves by Apalapucian

they don't tell you about the quiet days.

Words: 1,017 Status: Complete

Easy, Bloody Easy by GhostofBambi

Answer to the prompt: Head Boy James is trying to keep his cool because some Slytherins are causing trouble and he doesn't want to hex them but Lily sails in to the rescue.

Words: 2,546 Status: Complete

Marlene by elanev91

Lily finds out that her best friend was killed in the war. This is the aftermath.

Words: 4,306 Status: Complete

The Early Morning Toast Brigade by GhostOfBambi

In which Lily Evans makes the best of insomnia, with the help of her womanly wiles.

Words: 2,397 Status: Complete

Stay The Night by scared of clouds

The events of a single night can have very unexpected consequences. Two shot, Jily AU. Cover art by Viria.

Words: 6,888 Status: Complete

Eleventh and a Half by Apalapucian

He has never seen her this drunk before, and he's not sure if he's more amused or worried about it.

Words: 1,092 Status: Complete

Of Crossing Lines and Changing Minds by honeylake

In which James asks Lily out... only once.

Words: 6,940 Status: Complete

Perfect Match by Franklet

“Are you coming?” James demanded. Lily raked her eyes over him with marked disinterest and rolled her eyes. “No.”' 7 years at Hogwarts, 7 years of Quidditch, 7 questions asked and only 6 refusals?

Words: 7,342 Status: Complete

The Way I Loved You by Apalapucian

"His name was Terrence Hunter, muggle-born and all kinds of perfect, but Lily couldn't help but note the lack of callouses on his fingers, the way his brown curls crowned his kind face a little too immaculately, the way his eyes were of the wrong hue…how there wasn't a pair of spectacles for her to remove before he leaned in to kiss her."

Words: 9,068 Status: Complete

That Scent by erinsailorditz

Spicy. Warm. All him. That man's cologne was haunting her, though Lily's one night with him was long over. Sweet. Floral. All her. Was that her perfume James just smelt drifting by?

Words: 2,355 Status: Complete

The Potions Missile Crisis by GhostOfBambi

As if Slughorn wasn't bad enough already, now you'll never be able to see him again without spontaneously combusting from shame.

Words: 6,425 Status: Complete

Alarming and Beautiful by stolen-whispers

What she didn’t realize until after she agreed to go out with him was that these things were piling on his shoulders until he was hunched under the weight of the world and it was all he could do not to throw it off and watch it shatter.

Words: 4,831 Status: Complete

Subtle Perspectives by amethysth

Though they've "known" each other for years, it takes Lily Evans and James Potter several moments to truly connect.

Words: 5,166 Status: Complete

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE (NO MAGIC)

LONG MULTICHAPTERS (90,000+ words)

Bloody Shangri-La by firbolging

"The way she babbled on about the place made it seem like some sort of promise land, but James knew full well that is was nothing of the sort. Sowsworth was a wasteland that comprised of seven shops, a pub, and the incredibly bored shadows of lonely people. It was not bloody Shangri-la."

Words: 128,218 Status: Complete

Covet Thy Neighbour by BeeDaily and GhostofBambi

There are lots of ways to introduce oneself to a new neighbour, but breaking into their flat, perhaps, is a road less travelled.

Words: 125,706 Status: In Progress

The Underground by elanev91

James and Lily are doing the fluffy things. Muggle AU, Mass Transit AU (lol not a thing?), Coffee Shop AU.

Words: 91,923 Status: Complete

Fighting Fate by scared of clouds *PIRATE AU*

It may have taken him a while to get to this point, but James Potter is happy with his life; as the captain of the pirate ship Fawkes, no-one tells him what to do or where to go. But when he agrees to carry a passenger - for a fee, of course - his life takes a rather interesting and wholly unexpected turn, and the past may be about to catch up with him. Jily AU, cover art by Viria

Words: 128,296 Status: Complete

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (10,000- 70,000 words)

A Game of Thrones by ritaskeetered *MODERN ROYALTY AU*

Lily Evans had never imagined she would meet Prince James, but when she does at St Andrews' annual Christmas Pub Crawl, her whole world is turned upside down. For who thought that a girl like her - with a sister that reads "Hello" magazine like it's the Bible - would end up with a prince like him?

Shelf Awareness by GhostofBambi *BOOKSHOP/COFFEE SHOP AU*

It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there.

Words: 28,416 Status: Complete

Elevator Love Song by BeeDaily

James unexpectedly finds himself trapped in a dodgy apartment elevator with Lily Evans.

Words: 15,995 Status: Complete

The Fight Before Christmas by GhostofBambi

The heartwarming Christmas tale of Lily Evans and James Potter - two plucky kids who hated one other, until the day they really, really didn't.

Words: 29,201 Status: Complete

Key Limes by cgner *CELEBRITY/MODERN ROYALTY AU*

In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the mysteries of Prince James’s gold star system.

Words: 23,481 Status: Complete

Followed by Ending the Stars by cgner

Five times Prince James proposes to Oscar-winner Lily Evans, and one time he doesn’t. Sequel to Key Limes. Words: 9,014 Status: Complete

Filthy Animals by GhostofBambi *BROOKLYN NINE NINE AU*

James Potter is a talented young detective who's used to doing whatever he wants. When his new boss, DCI McGonagall, tires of his troublemaker ways, she hires her brilliant protégée, Lily Evans, to keep him under control. Now, if only Lily could control herself...

Words: 65,524 Status: In Progress

Wherefore Art Thou, James Potter? By GhostofBambi

For never was a story of more woe than this of James Potter, and his sad, pathetic attempts to win the heart of a girl who thinks he's a prize idiot.

Words: 56,927 Status: In Progress

Salmon Fishing in the Olympics by GhostofBambi *FAKE DATING AU*

Modern Era AU: When Lily Evans seeks assistance from James Potter to avoid the attentions of a suitor who just won't take no for an answer, she accidentally lands them both on the front page of every gossip magazine in Britain. She should have thought about that before pretending to be the girlfriend of a famous athlete.

Words: 12,163 Status: Complete

Question Time by cgner *POLITICS AU*

Newly-elected Prime Minister Potter has his work cut out for him. If only a certain red-headed MP weren’t deliberately making life harder for him.

Words: 11,214 Status: Complete

Careless Texter by GhostofBambi

Answer to the prompt, “I left my phone number on the bathroom stall wall and you text me about your day and your frustrations for a month & it’s really nice and cute but I still don’t know who you are,” with some twists and differences.

Words: 33,121 Status: Complete

Catastrophe by GhostofBambi *UNPLANNED PREGNANCY AU*

With a best-laid plan, a naked rear end, one jalapeño and a pair of light-up antlers, Lily Evans's carefully crafted life is hurtled into chaos.twists and differences.

Words: 36,602 Status: In Progress

Say When by jamespotterthefirst *COLLEGE AU*

A version of how Lily Evans and James Potter would have met if they were only two university students in a world where magic and Hogwarts didn't exist.

Words: 33,646 Status: Abandoned

Dead Men Rise Up Sometimes by cgner *PUSHING DAISIES AU*

Lily Evans leads a simple life of making pies and waking the dead. She doesn't wake them for good, mind – only for a minute, until she and Sirius can find out who killed them. Their latest case: James Potter, moneyed heir, messy haired, and recent murder victim. Keeping him alive is a terrible idea. Too bad Lily's always been a bit reckless.

Words: 38,824 Status: Complete

Seven Things by Apalapucian

"James leans in. Lily hears the script crumple in his hands, but she doesn't look to check. His lips touch the corner of hers, a hand coming up to cup her face. He is moving. So. Maddeningly. Slow... She curses in her head, makes up about a hundred thousand excuses for the next second—and then grabs him down by the back of his neck and kisses him fully, desperately, fervidly."

Words: 19,097 Status: Complete

Sofa-king Fit by elanev91

Two new people move in across the hall and Lily gets locked out.

Based on the "oops we have to share a bed" trope.

Words: 10,277 Status: Complete

Stop Flirting with the Talent by elanev91 *THEATRE AU*

Lily Evans is the hot new performer on the West End, James snags her first interview.

Words: 12,512 Status: Complete

Build-a-Daddy by dancinglily *SINGLE PARENT AU*

The college au where Lily is a single mom struggling with finishing school and raising a child, and James discovers he quite likes babysitting.

Words: 28,540 Status: Complete

Georgia Peach by elanev91 *UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR/AMERICAN AU*

Lily Evans, lifelong New Yorker, is headed to the University of North Carolina for a job interview and she can’t find the right god damn building. Lucky for her, southern belle James Potter is there to save the day.

Words: 15,680 Status: Complete

One Wild Ride by twilightstargazer *SINGER/BAND AU*

Breaking News: Lily Evans and James Potter are not so secretly snogging. The internet is losing its shit.

Words: 14,405 Status: Abandoned/In Progreess

Provisionally Yours by snapslikethis *FORCED MARRIAGE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP AU*

Lily Evans discovers she's been married off to James Potter without her knowledge. She and the spoiled count (in whom she appears to have finally met her match) have three days, for better or worse, to decide whether to accept the contract. With her sister adamant to make her life miserable, and a husband who seems equally determined to repel her, what else can possibly go wrong?

Words: 43,618 Status: Complete

Straight On Till Morning by ritaskeetered *ANASTASIA AU*

When Lily Evans leaves the orphanage in Cokeworth, there is much she does not understand. With no memory of the first eleven years of her life, she only knows that she should head to Paris if she ever wants to find out where she belongs. Unsure of where to begin, she meets the Marauders and strikes an unlikely alliance. They will take her with them to Paris if she pretends to be the lost Princess Lilibeth Evangeline. Jily/Anastasia AU.

Words: 17,840 Status: In Progress

Darkest Night by whatcuriousthings *COLLEGE AU*

"It’s a tiny place, warm and welcoming with soft light and softer croissants. A place so small that if you happened to, say, run into the bloke you had been hell-bent on avoiding—well, there would be no avoiding about it."

Words: 11,691 Status: Complete

ONESHOTS (less than 10,000 words)

Textbooks, Time Scarves, and Tea by cgner *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Lily visits the coffee shop because Sev works there, even though he's got a completely obnoxious coworker with admittedly fantastic hair.

Words: 7,389 Status: Complete

Lessons in Lesson Planning by cgner *FAKE DATING AU*

Answer to the prompt: “our asshole mutual friends set us up on a blind date and didn’t tell us it was a blind date, so instead of getting to know each other we spent the entire ‘date’ scheming against them and decided an awesome way to get back at them would be to pretend to date and then have a horrendous breakup but now that we’re two months into this charade we’re not sure what’s real and what’s fake anymore”

Words: 6,585 Status: Complete

Three Swipes, You're Out by twilightstargazer *CELEBRITY AU*

Sports star James Potter tries to pick Lily up on tinder. Lily Evans, a dedicated not sports fan is offended by the idea that someone thinks she wouldn't recognize James Potter's face. She laughs about it with her friends at a bar, until James Potter, who also frequents that bar, comes over to clarify that nope, he's on tinder, and he's definitely hitting on her.

Words: 4,099 Status: Complete

Sing A Reckless Serenade by twilightstargazer *FAKE DATING AU*

After an almost minute of silence, she finally relents, “I need you guys to help me with a work thing.”

A hefty pause. And then-

“What kind of work thing?” James asks, warily.

Lily takes a breath. It seemed like a brilliant idea last night, when she was more than three drinks under, but now in the light of day it just seems… pathetic. Still though, she needs help, and needs it soon, so she finds herself blurting out:

“I need you to fake date me for a week.”

Words: 7,817 Status: Complete

Mother Deer by GhostofBambi *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Euphemia Potter is the unequivocal boss of everyone, including and most especially her son, and if the sweet, bright-eyed redhead who frequents her coffee shop doesn't know that yet, she's about to find out.

Words: 6,712 Status: Complete

Cat in a Fifth Floor Flat by GhostofBambi

Modern Era AU. When Remus Lupin moves out and Lily Evans moves in, James Potter finds himself instantly drawn to his beautiful new neighbour. Little does he know that a mysterious force of nature is secretly pulling the strings.

Words: 5,349 Status: Complete

Supermarket Sweep by GhostofBambi

James Potter can find anything he needs in his local supermarket - bread, milk, the woman of his dreams - they've got it all.

Words: 4,634 Status: Complete

Foam Hearts by Sleepinghookah *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Coffee shop AU. A story in which James and Lily are blind - both in entirely different ways.

Words: 6,655 Status: Complete

Erotic Porridge by elanev91

Euphemia Potter thinks her doctor needs to go on a date with her son. This story is so named because I saw it somewhere, could not stop laughing, and my best friend professor-riddikulus hates it so much that I just had to. This story has nothing, literally nothing, to do with porridge.

Words: 6,351 Status: Complete

The Yeast I Can Do by elanev91

Dr Lily Evans had an absolute shit day at work. Luckily, there's a bakery nearby that offers a course that she hopes will take her mind off of things.

My Spellbound Heart by twilightstargazer

She washes her face and tries to compose herself before heading back out there. Marlene catches her arm and whispers, “You’ve got a soulmate.”

The word sits heavy between them and she says nothing. It’s crazy how in less than ten minutes her life has changed.

Words: 5,265 Status: Complete

Hospital Walls Have Heard More Sincere Prayers than Churches by marauders_groupie

Jily modern AU, based on a prompt - "We broke up but I'm still your emergency contact so when you have a car accident, they call me"

She knew she could never get James back. But she didn't care. All she wanted him to do is to live.

Words: 8,987 Status: Complete

The One That I Want by snapslikethis

She'd come without a date, dressed as Sandra D, and the owner of the bloody house, the host of the party she was attending, perhaps uninvited, the unfairly fit bloke staring down at her, was actually dressed as her fictional boyfriend. Danny bleeding Zuko. He was really, really fit.

Words: 3,688 Status: Complete

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer by dancinglily

Lily works at a country club over the summer and has to remind herself that she can't fool around with guests, even if said guests are charming, bespectacled, messy-haired boys.

or "AU where person A of your OTP works at a summer resort and person B is vacationing at said resort with their family and they both can't stop checking each other out until they finally make out"

Words: 8,826 Status: Complete

Subtle Arrangements by snapslikethis *FLOWERSHOP AU*

Person A owns a flower shop and Person B comes storming in one day, slaps 20 bucks on the counter and says, "How do I passive-aggressively tell someone off in flowers?"

Words: 3,370 Status: Complete

it continues (the beginning doesn't matter) by whitesunlars

She is the last person he expected at his door at that exact moment, despite feeling unsure about the fact that she managed to track down his address, he agrees to go out to coffee with her. A lot could be said about James Potter, but nobody could claim that he had good self-preservation skills.

They meet in a bar. Mistakes happen. They learn to keep going.

Words: 3,200 Status: Complete

Authors I love and recommend if I haven’t made it too obvious already: Jewels5, thegingerhairedlass, BeeDaily, cgner, GhostofBambi, ritaskiteered, jamespotterthefirst, lizardcookie, monroeslittle, CokeBottleK, a_c0llecti0n_0f_n0nsense

Authors whose work I really want to check out but haven't had the chance just yet: clarewithnoi, missgryffin, AlightWithHappiness, thequibblah, theesteemedladydeborough, mppmaraudergirl

STORIES ON THE TOP OF MY TBR LIST

Potter and Evans by AlightWithHappiness

She was dramatic. He was dynamic. She was precise. He was impulsive. He was James, and she was Lily, and it's about time they shared a kiss already.

This is my attempt at TLAT Chapter 37. It's Jules's world, we're all just living in it.

Words: 43,469 Status: In Progress

I've been putting this one off so that I can read it after another devastating TLAT reread but I'm sure I'll be screaming compliments at the author in between sobs when I finally check it out....in any case, bless this person for taking up the challenge!!!

Bond and Free by clarewithnoi

The year is 1977, and a group of Gryffindors are learning that the final two years of Hogwarts are punctuated by battles – big and small, mental and physical, devastating and triumphant.

It is fortunate, then, that they have grown up warriors.

MARAUDERS ERA: 6th/7th year. Canon compliant. Primarily JILY - but other pairings make significant appearances.

Words: 96,978 Status: In Progress

I Want It to Be Us in the End by theesteemedladydebourgh

"You sneak out the window and into my arms

Tell me where we’re going baby" London, 1979 West End actors and former classmates James Potter and Lily Evans enter into a secret love affair.

Words: 22,932 Status: Complete

Love Is Complicated by theesteemedladydebourgh

Three years. Longing. Academic shenanigans in Egypt. Almost-kisses. A snowed-in office on Christmas Eve.

Or, the one time James Potter’s (who is not Indiana Jones, no matter what he thinks) spur of the moment passion quest isn’t for an ancient artifact.

Words: 12,186 Status: Complete

theogony by clarewithnoi

The trip that Lily Evans expects to go on is the annual pre-dissertation jaunt to Athens with the rest of her Classical Civilizations PhD program. The trip she does not expect to go on is to 479 BCE, right on the cusp of one of the most important battles in the Greco-Persian war. Now, she has to navigate antiquity as she tries to find her way back to the 21st Century, God—or gods—help her.

James wants to win this war. No, James needs to win this war. He is a man of honor and duty, and even if it means dying a gruesome, bloody death, he will go down in history as one of Athens's great warriors. He will suffer no distractions; not even beautiful ones who speak strangely and refuse to listen to his orders.

-- OR: The Outlander-Meets-Ancient-Greece Jily AU that literally no one in the history of the entire world has ever asked for.

Words: 76,269 Status: In Progress

Not Quite According to Plan by BeeDaily

For Fleamont's retirement party, Euphemia hires her favourite event planner, Lily Evans, and wrangles her son, James, into assisting in the planning.

Words: 17,171 Status: In Progress

Last Resort by BeeDaily and GhostofBambi

Dinner with a hostile stranger was not on the holiday itinerary for James or Lily, but it beats getting hit with an ice cube.

Words: 8,085 Status: In Progress

Casablanca by BeeDaily

When James takes over Remus's Uber shift, the last person he expects to take on as a passenger is a familiar redhead who is a trifle inebriated.

Words: 5,532 Status: Complete

Thirty, Flirty, and Aubergines by BeeDaily

Bakery owner Lily is quite good at tempering her consumption of sweets…except when the treat comes in the form of one tall, sumptuous, messy-haired patron.

Words: 4,628 Status: Complete

Everything but the Kitchen Sink by GhostofBambi

Consequences ensue when James Potter drunkenly promises to bring his arch-nemesis to his friend's wedding as his date. Oops?

Words: 32,412 Status: In Progress

The Wedding Ring by mppmaraudergirl

What is undeniably worse than attending your sister's wedding looking as desolate and forgotten as a wilted houseplant?

Drunkenly ringing your ex-boyfriend and asking him to be your date.

Words: 91,655 Status: Complete

Come Together by thequibblah

It’s difficult to say when James and Lily took the first steps to love. Perhaps they had always been walking this road, unaware of the person they were walking towards until the mist cleared. They would fall in love eventually — but we would be remiss in ignoring the hiccups along the way.

Words: 738,179 Status: In Progress

tell me where your secrets lie by thequibblah

She’s Lily Evans. Her best friend is Severus Snape. She's Muggle-born. She's a witch. She's a Slytherin.

You already know how this story goes.

Words: 26,009 Status: Complete

Two's a Crowd by thequibblah

The only thing Lily Evans can share with the Earl of Devon is a healthy dose of mutual dislike.

Prompt: "there was only one bed" but make it Regency.

Words: 4,200 Status: Complete

(Didn't I?) (Didn't I?) Didn't I See You Crying? by ritaskeetered

James Potter has fancied Mary Macdonald for as long as he can remember. Everything about her is practically perfect, except for – if he were being honest and he always liked to be – her choice in friends. For Mary’s best friend, Lily Evans, is a right shrew and, much to his dismay, the Head Girl to his Head Boy.

Lily Evans had disliked James Potter with a passion after their first interaction on the Hogwarts Express. A dislike that turned into hate – never mind that she also has an infatuation going, but no one needs to know about that – as soon as he decided to make her life a living hell. Unfortunately for her, he also decided (a few years earlier) that her very best friend in the world was the worthy object of his affections. (Which was fine, really. She wasn't about to cry over it, for Godric's sake. She was a strong and independent young woman, thank you very much. And yes, perhaps she was a little in love, but it was all for nothing, so she had to keep calm and carry on.)

Certainly, their complicated past would result in major disaster if common ground was not soon established. For the love of Merlin, though, why did either of them think it would be a good idea for Lily to help James woo Mary Macdonald?

Words: 55,682 Status: Complete

It Only Takes A Taste (When You Know It's Good) by ritaskeetered

Lily Evans is 28 years old and far too busy saving - according to her friends - the world to enjoy an epic romance. If you were to ask her, she would say that the last thing she needs is a complicating relationship that will distract her from all that she deems important: 1) her organisation for teens and young adults: Exceed Expectations, 2) her friends and family, 3) Mary's Instagram cooking vlog, 4) her favourite novels, 5) her favourite shows and films, 6) actually going to bed before midnight.

Enter Prince James, heir to the British throne and the world's most eligible bachelor. There is no way she will allow him to sweep her off her feet. It's out of the question. It screams trouble. Yet... it only takes a taste, because - as Mary always likes to say - sometimes one bite is more than enough, to know you want more of the thing you just got a taste of...

Words: 62,556 Status: In Progress

(You're So) Golden by ritaskeetered

After the worst possible year and a half, Lily finds herself at her best friend’s wedding, staring at her ex-boyfriend whom she claimed to hate a year earlier but never actually did. A story of grief, heartbreak, regret and finding yourself.

This fic features James as a windsurfer and was originally inspired by the Tokyo Olympics, except for the fact that I managed to turn this into something different altogether.

Words: 20,879 Status: Complete

If We Never Meet Again by thequibblah

"By the time this is all over, you'll have to be a little in love with each other."

Written for Jilytober 2021's Bittersweet challenge: "here, use my sweater to warm up in," sweet to bitter.

Words: 42,623 Status: Complete

Shout Out To My Ex by ritaskeetered

Phoenix Radio is going through a rough period with the arrival of the new and controversial Riddle Radio. Albus Dumbledore, founder of the country’s number one radio station, asks his team to get ready to rebrand. Gone are the days of family friendly radio, a show where two exes talk about where their relationship went wrong and deliver relationship advice live on air, named Shout Out To My Ex, is exactly what Phoenix Radio needs. Who better to co-host this show than Lily Evans and James Potter, two Phoenix Radio employees who absolutely despise each other, or do they?

A Jily Modern AU inspired by Rachel Lynn Solomon’s "The Ex Talk".

Words: 108, 441 Status: Complete

So Just Act Like You Love Me by twilightstargazer

“Petunia knows Sirius, but she doesn’t know you,” she says, and her voice doesn’t wobble even once.

He doesn’t seem to catch it, but Sirius is staring at her with his eyebrows raised, just a little. She ignores it and trudges forward, steeling herself for what's to come.

“Petunia doesn’t know you. She doesn't know that we're just friends or that we argue like nothing else so–”

A flicker of understanding flares to life in his eyes and his jaw almost falls open. “Oh god.”

or, Lily was looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas by herself. Instead she's heading back home for her sister's engagement party with a fake boyfriend in tow.

Words: 13,160 Status: Complete

The Season by missgryffin *BRIDGERTON AU*

James Potter, Duke of Peverell, has returned to London just in time for the season, where Miss Lily Evans is about to make her debut. Only, he’s not looking for a wife, and she’s not particularly interested in a husband. [Bridgerton AU]

Words: 43,361 Status: Complete

A Jily Bridgerton AU and I haven't read it. I know, I should be ashamed of myself!

foreigner's god by clarewithnoi

answer to a Tumblr prompt: "we were lovers in a past life" but the current incarnations are enemies-to-lovers, and they don't remember anything from their past selves.

Words: 17,577 Status: Complete

#jily #lily evans #james potter #jily fanfiction #marauders era #my recommendations #long post

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alovelyburn · 6 months

Text

Day 8232....

It's starting to come together actually. The display as of RIGHT NOW is unlit because i ordered striplights fuck spotlights. and the specifics of each display will change as more of my preorders come in and more of the cases get built but AS OF RIGHT NOW....

The centerpiece of the collection for now, a 1:3 Prime1 Guts. HE'S THREE FEET TALL. THE MAN IS HUGE. Anyway.

A life and times of Guts display. This one is definitely going to change, like I'd rather have the 100 man statue alone but until i build more cases I can't. so for now he gets to be the centerpiece of a whole thing about Guts' experiences and problems. Details:

Please ignore my beverage collection. I like the idea of this statue but I might need to get a new one done because it annoys me that the bangs didn't come out and that the painter made him so light skinned. But for now here it is.

The Golden Age Plus display, aka Figma and Art of War showcase:

Since I put the Figma Femto up front with the Gutses and Casca I swapped him out for the Art of War statue in the back. Appropriate since it's a moment from the Eclipse.

Eventually I want to do a Post-Eclipse display and then Femto and Berserker Guts can move over there, which will make Casca stand out less HAHA RIGHT NOW SHE'S A BIT OF AN ODD ONE OUT but I don't have all the stuff I need for that yet.

Edit: It wasn't obvious that Judeau has a Hawks flag, haha.

And of course, Griffith remains as he was:

So, I have one (already built) case left to fill, and I have one more Prime1 statue (for now), but I only have two ThreeZero Guts figures, two banpresto figures and this nose demon:

So the next one will be sort of random until I have more figures and more cases to start theming more accurately.

But yes for now, that is my update.

#ariel talks about berserk #my unfortunate collecting habit

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natalchartnurtures · 5 months

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Mars Back Home

Note: This post might not give you anything new if you're at an intermediate or advanced level of being on the astrology wildride :p

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Fire Mars, on a good day: "Inside me, there's a blazing fire that fuels me to take on challenges and make life my bitch. I'm all about calling the shots and forging the path to my desires and doing it my way"

Why?- Ah, Fire Mars. In his own territory, he becomes quite the showstopper, doesn't he? When realized in his higher octaves, he can be caught blazing his way through life, transforming and alchemiz-ing any old obstacle on his way to what he wants. The element of fire represents transformation, oh! and fun fact, Mars used to be the ruler of Scorpio before Pluto took its rightful place as the lord, okay? That's a big deal because it gives us yet another insight into Mars' true nature and potential. He's in his zone, he's home. So let's really get to know him.

Us tarot whores out here (I'm one too, by the way :p) will let you know that the Wands suit in tarot pertains to the fire element. The King of Wands, a figure we can liken to the higher octave energies of Mars, is seen as a figure who has command over energies, meaning he possesses great potential for manifestation—the raw-hands-in-the-clay, creating his reality. He's like the poster child for fiery energy– full of passion, willpower, leadership, courage, action, assertiveness, pioneering vibes, and oh, creativity. And get this, the connection to the non-physical? THROUGH the physical. Fire is about actions too. And for actions to happen, you need impulse. Ever wonder why fire signs are all about impulse? Yup, that's why. But here's the kicker though– when this impulse is divinely guided in its higher octave, it's a game-changer. Otherwise when it's your-own-mind-guided, it isn't nearly as great, trust me :p. But how cool is it? A connection to the non-physical through the physical? Isn't that interesting? Mars is quite a fascinating planet. Gosh. I love him.

so.. here are some ways how this glorious energy can show up.

Imagine this: You're in a class, the teacher asks for a volunteer, and everyone's like, "Nope, not me." but there's that one kid, heart pounding, who still raises their hand. That's Aries Mars for you– fearless, pioneering, action-oriented, and bolder than bold. Mars here bestows one with the potential to embody the divine masculine, nothing more and nothing less. He is sort of like a warrior that takes on everything with a certain adrenaline-induced spirit, which when channeled well can translate into wonderful things like assertive leadership. Honestly, what's hotter than that? If you've got Mars here, you'll probably discover yourself solely through active engagement with the world. It's how Mars here self-actualizes—pure action. Low-vibe Fire Mars might get called out for not finishing what they started, but a higher octave Aries Mars? You guys will see through anything you kick off. You've got drive, and once you set out for something, nothing can stop you. If something does, you''ll burn right through, no matter how long it takes. It's mesmerizing watching you sexy-ass people do your thing. Seriously, its incredibly hot! Ugh!

And then Mars can also waltz right in and charm your pants off, being all confident and being his self-assured daddy-ass self, shining brighter than the stars in the sky. Looking right at you, Leo Mars. Mars here loves to channel himself through the arts and creative pursuits of a similar note or simply have immaculate self-expression. Creativity almost becomes a drive with this Mars; it's so beautiful to watch Mars chase his dreams this way because the energy of Leo tends to add a certain drama to it, you know? A certain flair~. It's well known that Leo is a fixed sign, and also it being a fire sign, Mars here is gifted with a fire that is steady and just won't run off and get burnt out. It will keep burning until it reaches where it needs to be. Mars can get stubborn like that, and we don't have to guess what happens when passion meets stubborn. A bewildering drive to live, love and create the life of your dreams. Moving on, it's kind of obvious for me to talk about the leadership qualities of Leo Mars. Leo Mars is a leader, like he is a king. There's no subtler way to put it. You guys are leaders who lead with your heart—generous, people-focused, warm and loving, with a suave that gives you a royal air, naturally commanding respect. Which suits you anyway since Mars here takes a lot of pride in whatever he does. It's magnificent, truly.

Now, think of Bilbo Baggins on his adventure with Gandalf and friends. Got that picture? Now replace Bilbo with Mars. Ta-da! That's Sagittarius Mars for you. Here, Mars makes love to freedom, fun, and philosophy. It's a party out here. You humans are free spirits who only God can tie down, unless you peeps decide to settle, of course. You are risk-loving, positive-minded, adventure-sick sweetie pies who have a huge drive for life itself. Your action often aligns with some deep personal meaning, aka your personal philosophy of life. Your driving force is laced with a raw desire for freedom and endless expansion in every aspect of your lives. You guys are the kings and queens of dreaming big, and in doing so, inspiring the rest of us earthlings to aspire to move out of our comfort zones and to challenge ourselves to live life bigger than our regular ones—even if just by a little bit. Y'all embody a divine truth of the universe very well, and that is—expansion. It honestly moves me TO MY core to be in the presence of you divine beings. Keep celebrating yourselves (especially after you came out on top after that major risk you took :p) and keep living bold, honey.

So that was my take on the Fire Mars energies. It was a whole lot of fun writing this one because I reeeeeally do enjoy this energy :p

Time to cool off now. phew.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as i did writing it :]

Love and Light!

#astrology community #spirituality #zodiac #astrologyreadings #fire signs #fire mars #aries #leo #saggitarius #mars in aries #mars in leo #mars in saggitarius #astrology blog #astrology insights #astro community #astro observations

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duhragonball · 10 months

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Dragon Ball Super manga ch.84-86

“Hey, honey, I got the crap beat out of me.”

“Well don’t just stand there! Go show the baby!”

“Oh yeah, good call. Hey, son. I got worked over pretty good.”

Currently, Goku and Vegeta are trying to stop Gas, who became nearly invincible thanks to a wish on the Dragon Balls. Their only chance is that Bardock once fought Gas before, and as Goku listens to the audio recordings on Bardock’s old scouter, he suddenly has a recollection of his infancy on Planet Vegeta, up to and including the moment when his parents shot him into space.

That scene is shown in here as well, but I think I like the above page the best, where baby Kakarot was just watching his mom putter around the house throughout the day. He didn’t see much of his family while he was in the incubation tank, but he saw some, and now he finally remembers it.

You might think the Bardock audio would be useless, since it didn’t provide any special insights into how to defeat Gas, past or present. Bardock just hung in there and kept sluggin’ away until he won. But that’s actually exactly what Goku needed to hear. As Whis tried to explain to Goku earlier, the key to mastering Ultra Instinct is not to devise some cool new transformation, or to imitate Whis’ angelic calm. Goku has to be himself so he can find his own path to Ultra Instinct mastery. Hearing his father’s voice, talking about victory and survival above all else, that reminds Goku of who he is, and who he’s always been.

And Vegeta needed to hear it too. He had been trying to use Destruction energy like Beerus, who had advised Vegeta to cast aside his guilt over the sins of the Saiyan people. Now he’s finally figured out how to do that properly. Before, he was just acting like he no longer cared about the Saiyans’ crimes. Now, he finally accepts that their crimes are not his responsibility.

So when Gas finally returns to Planet Cereal to settle things, he finds Goku and Vegeta are ready for him. This time, they fight him together, and their Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego forms are much more focused than before.

Elec tells the Heeters that he expected something like this, and it doesn’t matter that these two power-ups gave Granolah some trouble, since Gas is stronger than Granolah. But Goku and Vegeta don’t give a fuck. Screw the odds, they just want to kick some ass.

Let me skip a bunch of this fight. I feel bad about doing that, since the action sequences are probably the best feature of Toyotaro’s art. But I’m here to talk about the plot first and foremost. Basically, Vegeta sets up a beam struggle with a big Hakai blast, and while Goku pushes it, Vegeta tries to flummox Gas at the same time. It doesn’t quite work, but Vegeta still manages to hang in there, because Ultra Ego feeds on the damage Gas dishes out. So it becomes a question of whether Gas can take down Vegeta before he surpasses Gas in power.

Gas tries to solve that dilemma by killing him all at once, but good luck one-shotting Vegeta. Of course, eventually Vegeta does fall, because Gas hits like a speeding truck, and Vegeta can only take so much punishment. But while he’s fighting Gas, it gives Goku a chance to figure out how to optimize his UI.

I should really write about this in a separate post, but it seems like Goku is just sort of inventing a new form specifically for the way he plans to use Ultra Instinct here. With the silver-haired form, he could use it well, but it only lasted so long, and he had to keep his emotions in check. Now, he’s using this other version that looks pretty close to his base form, but he can use his turbulent emotions and Ultra Instinct at the same time. And this freaks Gas out, not because of Goku’s methodology, but because the result has him looking a lot like Bardock did right before he kicked Gas’ ass forty years ago.

To be clear, Goku always looks like Bardock all the time. The resemblance isn’t what got in Gas’ head. It’s the confidence Goku found in this moment, where he’s totally in synch with who he is and what he’s trying to do.

By contrast, Gas had some pride in himself as a warrior, but all he ever does is what Elec tells him to do, in the name of some grander agenda for the Heeters, which I doubt Elec has ever deigned to explain to him. And that plan involved Gas surrendering his warrior pride to get a boost from the Dragon Balls, so his morale is shot, even if he won’t admit it.

Sure, Gas may be stronger than Goku... no, wait, maybe he’s not. As Goku fights, he seems to get just a teeny edge over Gas. It’s not much, and it won’t last long, but it’s just like Vegeta warned Granolah earlier. The rankings don’t mean much in the long run. Strongest, second strongest, it all changes with the weather.

But then Elec gives Gas another scolding/pep talk, and that reawakens Gas and he starts to fight even harder. Also his body looks messed up. Macki and Oil begin to get concerned, even as Gas seems to have Goku on the ropes.

But then Granolah shows up to make the save. So somehow, Monaito managed to heal all three of them up during the 20 minutes while Gas was away. That’s not hard to believe, except Monaito kept complaining about how he could heal people very fast, and now he seems to be improving.

Anyway, Goku agrees to keep Gas busy while Granolah charges up his full power for a single attack. You know the drill.

Goku has trouble, but fortunately, Vegeta gets a second win and helps buy more time. Then Oil and Macki try to jump in but Monaito stops them... with the power of hypnotism! Well, whatever works.

But it still isn’t quite enough, so then Goku activates his Stand, or whatever that giant Goku thoughtform is supposed to be. It’s the same thing he used against Moro, so I guess it makes sense. Anyway, he grabs Gas and chucks him into the sky so Granolah can get a clear shot, and Oatmeel helps him aim, since his eyes are still hurt from before. The power of teamwork!

Granolah fires, and it looks like one of those classic anime blasts where the bad guy disintegrates into nothing, but instead Gas falls back to the ground, and Granolah explains that he didn’t kill him, because he’s decided to forsake revenge. Then he apologizes to Goku and Vegeta for the trouble he’s caused them, and it looks like that just about wraps things up....

... or does it?

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #vegeta #granolah #bardock #gine #monaito #gas #oil #macki #elec

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iwitch-plus · 5 months

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Online grimoire/journal, page No. 1 (probably more than that but its been years. Let's call it page one).

Getting to know my tarot deck/reintroducing myself to the community.

(In this post I write briefly about not feeling like I'm in tune with my practice, or myself at all, and then I get into my interview with my "new" tarot deck. If you just want to see the interview, keep scrolling until you see "The Interview". I think a more journal-style grimoire is the direction my posts might go. I don't see a lot of people talking about their shortcomings in this community, or maybe I just don't follow the right people who do. I used to be super active in this community, 1k followers who actually kind of cared and interacted with me on tumblr and discord. I did online readings, made posts about spells I've done, things like that. Well this isn't going to be like that. This is for me. If you feel as though you're lacking/want to get back into your practice, I feel the same. You can come with me on this journey and follow, or you can just read this and go about your day, or you can scroll right past it without giving it a thought, anything you choose to do is ok! I might share personal things on this blog. Not super personal, they will all be related to witchcraft, but instead of giving other's advice I'm going to be writing down my practices, tarot card readings, and everything else as a reference for myself. If that type of journey interests you, I implore you to give a follow and come along. Maybe if I know people are interested in that style of blog, it might motivate me to do it more lol. Thanks.)

I don't really read tarot...In fact I don't even think I can call myself a practicing witch. I've been on and off for just a little under a decade. Sounds like a long time when I say it like that, and I know so many things but I'm also still beginning my journey. CONSTANTLY beginning the same journey over and over again, it feels like.

Anyways, I got a new tarot deck probably two or three years ago...I actually got 3 new decks at the same time, and I've really only sort of used one. I've felt bad about it for a while. They just sit there collecting dust. For some reason, I was feeling drawn to this deck in particular and decided to go ahead and try my hand at getting to know the deck. Needless to say, it was a very insightful "interview" if you can even call it that. I wrote small passages in my notebook, but I wanted to type here to get my thoughts out. This might be long, you don't have to read it, I'm sort of more doing it for me...as a journal entry type thing I guess, but also as a reference to my interview with the deck so I have a more detailed version of it than just what's in my notebook. I just didn't want to use up more notebook that I needed to.

Before The Interview

Deck: The Antique Anatomy Tarot Deck

Why I bought it: I was intrigued by the name and the art style. It's beige which I like, and I love bones and antique type things so I figured hey why not.

Why I was drawn to it today: Recently I've been thinking about things I can do to help better myself. Growth wise. It's more about me and less about coming back into my practice. I have a couple decks that I thought about but none of them seemed right. Until, DUH! Antique Anatomy. It's literally focusing on the self, and not just the outer self but LITERALLY the inner self as well. That seemed helpful.

I started by cleansing it with incense smoke. I didn't do anything in particular, just held it over an incense stick that was already burning and talked to it a little.

Then, I looked at the cards. Actually looked at them. Took mental note of the colors being used, what bones were on which card, what the labels on the elixir cards said, what flowers were used in the art (if I was able to identify them by eye), how many of each flower/certain things were on the cards. I looked at EVERYTHING.

And Now, The Good Stuff. (there are 6 questions, in each one I'll include the card pulled, the zodiac sign/element related to it, numbers such as the number of the card or how many of a specific thing were on the card, and colors used on the card. I'll include key words that relate to all of those things, and then lastly I'll include my interpretation for each one.)

The Interview

Please Introduce Yourself.

Death: Scorpio - 3 - 4 - 6 - Red - Black

Key words: Stability, fairness, solution, growth, regeneration, passion, love, power, pain, necessary, emotional.

My interpretation: When I flipped the card, I literally said "how did I know it was going to be death?". I was thinking it to myself as a joke, but then I flipped it and BOOM. Death. That's alright, though. Also I find it interesting the deck showed me a Scorpio card as an introduction. I'm a Virgo, and I love/hate Scorpios. They have taught me so much, some have damaged me, some have loved me endlessly, and currently I'm in a relationship with a Scorpio. Very prevalent sign in my life. I think by introducing itself with this card, it's telling me that it is an emotional and powerful deck. It sees itself as necessary, powerful, un-biased, but at the same time also very passionate, loving, and may even acknowledge that it might sometimes tell me things I don't want to hear. It also seems to be good at helping people explore their shadow, which is interesting because that's actually something I've been doing recently, witchcraft aside.

2. What are your strengths?

7 of Rods: Fire - 5 - 7 - Yellow - Orange

Key words: Evaluation, patience, conflict, perspective, determined, optimistic, growth, success, does not give up in the face of adversity, experienced warrior.

My interpretation: By showing me the 7 of rods in response to what the deck's strengths are, I think it's telling me that it's main strengths are focused around personal growth, which I guess makes sense. It's telling me that no matter how hard it gets, or how often or little I use it, it has the patience and determination to still help me through whatever I may need guidance on. That's very kind, thank you deck. It's also telling me that it knows and has seen a lot, which I don't doubt at all. By just sitting on my shelves, it has seen me through heartache, love, sickness, new jobs, new homes, depression, happiness, tears I've cried and why I've cried them, it has seen every part of me. It has perspective that maybe I don't, and it's optimistic that we can work together to better myself.

3. What are your limitations?

Strength: Leo - 6 - 8 - Red

Key words: Control, artistic expression, ego, anger, passion, values, understanding, calm demeanor, quiet resolve, understanding.

My interpretation: Okay this one was really interesting and sort of seems like the deck pulled a "my biggest weakness is that I'm too passionate about my work!" on me, but let's see if I can make some sense out of it. By showing me Strength in response to what the deck's limitations are, I believe it's trying to tell me that it does find itself a little big-headed or mainstream in a sense. Just looking at the key word "artistic expression" makes me think it's telling me to try to look further than just the colors and numbers on the cards, because maybe what the artist is trying to express isn't precisely going to align with what I need to hear, but the deck can't express that? Some other limitations it may be trying to express is that it's not going to be quiet about things. Besides maybe sometimes having to dig past the art for guidance, it's not going to sugarcoat or hold my hand. As much as it will support and have patience for me, that doesn't mean it's going to baby me. I appreciate that.

4. What can I learn from you?

Page of Coins: Earth - 6 - Blue - Purple

Key words: Fairness, values, orderly, determined, calm, peace, grief, sadness, prophecy, dreams, high power, studious, diligent, introvert, misses out on lighthearted aspects of life, buckle down, study, money, creativity.

My interpretation: I think by showing me the page of coins in response to what I can learn from the deck, it's telling me that I can learn how to be more in tune with myself, emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It's telling me that I can learn to dig into myself (and perhaps my shadow?) to find out more about myself. It's telling me it can show me how to interpret my dreams better, it can help me stay more focused, and potentially even help me connect with a something higher than myself again. All of this seems essential for my own personal growth, and if I can learn that from this deck then I would love to work more with it.

5. What is the best way to work with you?

2 of Coins: Earth - 2 - Yellow - Purple

Key words: Balance, duality, opposing forces, orderly, determined, optimism, growth, prophecy, dreams, higher power, harmony, over-indulgence, stagnant, creative solutions.

My interpretation: By showing me the 2 of coins in response to the best way to work with the deck, I think it's telling me a couple ways, both deck and user focused. One thing it's telling me is that it might work better with a higher power also helping? I don't exactly have one I guess...I love Aphrodite and have had altars for her in the past, and still consider her my patron Goddess but it's been so long. I'd have to rekindle that relationship and I don't know if I'm ready for that right now. It also seems to be telling me that it can work better by helping interpret my dreams, too? I've never considered using a tarot deck as a dream interpreter, but I do get prophetic dreams in a sense and I take my dreams very seriously, so maybe that's something to consider. I think it's also telling me that the best way to work with it is to stop over indulging myself in things that aren't good for my mental or physical health, which makes sense. How can one effectively get guidance when they aren't in the right state of mind or physical well-being? All in all, I think that the most important thing it's trying to tell me is that no matter what I may or may not do, we can work well together if I stay optimistic and determined to grow. If I ever stop having the motivation to better myself, then it doesn't think it can do much for me.

6. What is the outcome of our relationship?

Knight of Elixirs: Water - 4 - Purple

Key words: Stability, foundation, nurturing, caring, mystery, prophecy, dreams, high power, luxury, expansion, growth, loving, appreciate beautiful things, affectionate disposition, finding ideal partner.

My interpretation: By showing me this card in response to the outcome of our relationship, I think it's telling me that I'll be able to have a little bit more routine and stability in my everyday life. I think it's also telling me I'll be able to connect with my subconscious mind more, as well as my softer emotions such as nurturing, caring, and loving. It can help me appreciate smaller things in life instead of always looking at the bigger picture. By "finding the ideal partner" I think the deck means that it can help me find things in everyday life that will help with my personal growth. Ideal things to interact with and love besides literally the people and animals I love.

Very insightful. If you got through this whole thing, thanks for reading. I'm going to post a bit more frequently and hopefully that will actually help me gain the motivation to do this stuff more than just once every 6 months. I think it's essential for my personal growth, and for some reason I'm really obsessed with that right now but I lack the time and motivation. I don't actually lack time, but things are hard when you wake up late and you feel like every day is sleep, work, maybe eat, sleep, repeat. Here's to hoping this is the beginning of a new chapter for me.

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