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maychorian · 7 years

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Weekly Voltron Fics Recs #35

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Knights of Lion by VelkynKarma Words: 24,027 Author’s Summary: The Knights of Lion are the elite among the elite, permitted to wear the noble crest of Altea over their wings of freedom. But when three of their number go missing and Wall Maria falls, so too do the Knights. If humanity is ever to secure a foothold for their survival, the team must be reformed—but only if soldiers worthy of bearing the title can be found. My Comments: This fic is pure awesome from start to finish. All of the character choices feel so right and good, and the story is complete but also leaves lots of threads and questions that need to be answered. The action scenes are so so good, and the emotions are sharp. Parts of it felt like watching Attack on Titan for the first time, that overwhelming feeling of tension and horror, the thrill and amazement when the characters pull off incredible moves with their 3D gear… It’s just all so, so good. I don’t want to spoil anymore. Just read it.

Build A Home by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 4,152 Author’s Summary: After being gone for ten years, it’s time for Shiro to be part of forming Voltron again. But things are different now, including his relationship with the other paladins and the bond that links them.For Platonic Week 2.0 My Comments: Sometimes reconnection is hard. It’s so hard for Shiro to let go, not because he doesn’t trust his team on a physical level but because he doesn’t want to harm them with the parts of himself that hurt. He has to learn to be strong enough to believe that they can take it, and that they won’t treat him differently when they see just how messed up he feels inside. It’s always a journey, for any survivor of horrors, and this fic does it very well.

earth shaker by usabuns Words: 2,599 (2/?) Author’s Summary: A collection of Hunk character studies. Updates sporadically. My Comments: Ahhh, Hunk-centric fics! So good, so pure. Both chapters are lovely and heartwarming, first with Lance and then with Pidge. I’m subscribed and looking forward to more.

Transmissions from Persephone by armouredescort Words: 3,269 Author’s Summary: Lieutenant Commander Simone Turner is assigned to the communications team for the Kerberos Mission. Her job is to align the dishes, and receive data transmissions from the Persephone as she speeds further away from Earth. She’s there to deliver diagnostics and messages to loved ones. She’s there when they land. She’s there when it all goes to hell. My Comments: Well-done outsider perspective fics can give such a new and interesting take on the characters we love so well from canon, and this is an extremely well-done outsider perspective fic. I ached for Simone at the end of the fic, and for the Kerberos team, but there were moments of supreme loveliness, too.

All Too Familiar by oldmythologies for buttered_onions Words: 7,309 Author’s Summary: 5 times Shiro couldn’t sleep and the 1 time he could. My Comments: Such an intricate and emotionally complex fic. It felt realistic and wrenching and my heart hurt so much. Super glad for that ending, though.

No Place Like Home by Eastofthemoon Words: 1,942 Author’s Summary: Allura finds Earth to be a very strange place, and a part of her wonders if she could ever call it home. My Comments: It’s so fun to see Allura and the paladins out seeing the sights on Earth, and the ending was extremely heartwarming.

garrison buddies and altean nail polish by viscrael Words: 1,827 Author’s Summary: “Lance, why did you ask me to hang out with you?” My Comments: Super sweet Pidge and Lance friendship with nail polish and reminiscing about their families and their homesickness. Lovely.

Quick Fix by SerenePhenix Words: 4,001 Author’s Summary: Hunk noticed that something was not alright with Lance. Maybe it was high time they had a talk. That’s what friends are there for. My Comments: Lance is hurting so, so bad, and Hunk feels bad for not dealing with it sooner, but really, I’m just glad Hunk tried. Lance fell apart so quickly, the instant Hunk asked if he was all right–he really needed his buddy. Bad. This story made me ache in a good way.

tap your heels together thricely by dawnishere Words: 1,327 Author’s Summary: Post S2 Finale // Hunk wakes up in the middle of the night after the battle with Zarkon, feeling incredibly homesick. My Comments: It’s so nice to get a Hunk-centric character study fic, with bonus comforting Lance at the end. My heart.

Keeping Secrets by this_book_has_been_loved Words: 2,206 Author’s Summary: Pidge and Hunk meet up for a study session in Hunk’s room. Pidge finds a familiar book in Hunk’s bookcase. My Comments: Sometimes grief just hits you out of the blue and there’s no turning it away. Love Hunk rambling about his passion and then being gentle and supportive with Pidge.

Killbot Phantasm I by Anonymous for Itsjez Words: 1,402 Author’s Summary: Pidge’s eyes gleamed in the slightly unnerving way that meant that she was pleased with her own cleverness and wanted you to be too. “I finally got that video game Lance and I bought working! I was just going to test it out before I let him know, but I may have gotten a little distracted. But since you’re here, do you want to see it?” My Comments: Gosh, this is just adorable. I love these two bonding, and I love how serious Allura gets about beating this video game.

Now You Know by JayMor Words: 2,072 Author’s Summary: Lance is depressed. He doesn’t necessarily want Voltron to know, but maybe it’s not the worst thing ever when they find out. My Comments: I really like how realistic and almost understated this is. It’s just part of life, something they all have to deal with it at times, and the whole team is very supportive.

The Truth Shall Set You Free by Mists Words: 5,124 Author’s Summary: "What’s your problem with my hair anyway?“ Keith flippantly asked. "At the Garrison, the back of your head was the only thing I saw…” the words, eerily slipped from Lance’s mouth. “-as you blew past every accomplishment I made, like it was nothing at all.” Lance gets dosed with truth serum, and leads to him and Keith finally talking out their issues with one another. Keith and Lance Friendship, One-shot! Complete! My Comments: Great premise to force Keith and Lance to actually talk about their issues. Very emotional and satisfying.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Dislocation Down Time (Don't Let Me Down) Gate Keeper A (Space) Mother's Work is Never Done The Machinations of Perception Towards The Sun Bromances in Space The Ones Who Were Left Behind Lost Boys To Cradle a Baby Ten Days Aid Someplace Like Home

#voltron legendary defender #fic rec #weekly voltron fic recs #work was really busy this week so i didn't read as much #i have so many tabs upon #including lots of updates to wips that i need to read and comment on #hopefully next week will be more chill #but this is what i read and liked so i thought it was better to get this list up rather than wait #vldgen

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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I was procrastinating at work today and started toying with the hilarious idea of a Leverage-inspired D&D campaign.

Five players are characters who don’t necessarily have to be Sophie, Hardison, Parker, Eliott and Nate, but are nods to them. Each character is/was some kind of former specialized thief, but now they help people by stealing from assholes. Each mission starts with an NPC asking for help of some kind and involves cleverly finding a way to make the big bad of the mission pay for what they did to the NPC in some way.

Some ideas for character stats:

Grifter Bard

Maxed out charisma

Maxed out deception and persuasion. Can basically convince you she’s family, take everything you own, and walk out the door without you suspecting at any point that something might be wrong.

Disadvantage on Performance rolls unless the Performance is very specifically used for stealing something

Good Arcana and History skills for identifying precious, precious artifacts and art

Has Disguise Self and Comprehend Languages spells for maximum griftability

Best at support, build is not ideal for combat

Hacker Artificer

Maxed intelligence

High investigation and perception skills. Can figure out loads about targets with a little bit of research before they even get started

High charisma, good at deception and performance rolls, but can flub them if over-performing

Best at support, build is not ideal for combat

Will also function as the team’s treasurer for all rewards on missions

Will also provide item upgrades for the rest of the team for armor, magical items, etc.

Also maintains whatever magical/technological process is used for instant communication.

Also maintains whatever security measures keep the team from being noticed by local authorities

Basically the backbone of the team and required for a functioning operation.

Rogue Thief

I mean really what else would the thief be?

Maxed out dexterity

Absurdly high proficiency with sleight of hand, stealth and acrobatics. Like, basically will never fail to steal anything. Has to actually try in order to get caught.

A lower charisma score means occasional stumbles with deception, performance and persuasion rolls.

The bard makes it a point to boost this when possible in order to succeed on cons

Actually the second most useful character to have in a fight. Will not hesitate to stab when uncomfortable.

Daggers do additional Lightning damage for maximum ouch

Fighter Hitter

(Man, that looks really funny)

Absurdly high HP and AC, meaning it’s hard to hit him and when he does get hit, it takes a lot of hits to even come close to bringing him down

Surprisingly high charisma makes him good with deception and performance rolls. Plays instruments better than the bard.

High charisma also means great intimidation rolls. Really. Great. Intimidation rolls.

Insight is through the roof which allows him to ID classes, monsters, fighting styles, etc before engaging because they are ‘very distinctive’

Seems to have proficiency with pretty much every weapon somehow. But dislikes guns, if they’re in the campaign.

Which is not to say he can’t use them. But encounters will be over very quickly if he does.

If there is a fight, point the fighter at it, the fight will not last much longer. This guy pretty much carries encounters and functions as a solid tank for the team.

Mastermind Paladin

The One Good Man who is no longer so good...now something of a fallen paladin who’s lost faith in faith and is very good at putting bad skills to good use

Will constantly insist he isn’t a thief, even while leading a con to steal things

Curiously low charisma for a paladin, but has strangely good charisma based skills (deception, performance, persuasion)

Has surprisingly, but frighteningly, high intimidation rolls in certain instances

Very high intelligence

Has bonuses to every skill, strangely knowledgable about all kinds of topics.

Gets a bonus on all Intelligence and Wisdom-based rolls when drinking alcohol, and has a high chance to discover opponent weaknesses. But takes a loss on Charisma and Dexterity based rolls as a consequence.

Doesn’t seem like he would be good in a fight but turns out to be strangely useful in certain situations

#Velkynkarma rambles #Leverage #Dungeons & Dragons #D&D #Roleplay #I just felt like writing this up for funsies so I did #lol

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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Thank you for reblogging that post about how living as a single is just so damn hard! I'm a female single who loves being single bit it is so so hard to find any affordable housing, my taxes take up almost half of what I earn and the food waste makes me feel like a failure so often even though I KNOW it's not my fault alone. I'm currently trying to get out of my single room with a kittchen corner to a real flat and it almost feels impossible to find anyth so I really needed that post. Thank you.

No prob, anon. I’ve been there and I feel you, trust me. It took me like 3 years of dedicated searching before I found a place I could afford by myself, because I didn’t want to live in a teeny tiny studio, and anything more than a 1-bedroom is designed—and priced—with a couple or a family in mind. They suddenly become so much more affordable and realistic with a spouse’s income to add, or even dealing with a roommate...but what if you don’t want to live with a roommate? Too bad. It’s deeply frustrating. But you will get there, and I wish you the best of luck with your search.

As for food, I really feel you on the food bit. I’m not a big eater to begin with AND I’m single, so I buy a single pack of 3 pork chops because there’s nothing smaller, and that’s 3 meals right there. Things that spoil quickly, like veggies/fruits, dairy products, and meat, I always feel bad when they inevitably go bad before I can get through them, but I just can’t eat them fast enough and they always come in big packaging. It’s hard. With the pandemic it’s been even worse, because I can’t share anything I make, so I’ve had to cut things like baked goods out of my life entirely—because there’s no way I can go through a whole cake or pie, or 24 cupcakes, on my own. It also makes it kind of hard to do recommended healthy meals, because I can’t justify buying some of the ingredients when I know I just can’t get through them fast enough (like salads. I like salads, but I just can’t get through a head of lettuce or a premade bag of salad fast enough, or those containers of greens, and I feel terrible for throwing so much of it away). I’ve taken to doing instant pot meals a LOT because you can make a big batch of stuff and use it all, but then freeze it for later days.

It’s frustrating. I feel your pain.

But I always like to remind myself of the plus sides! Here are mine:

I can bake, clean, or play music at whatever hour I want because it’s not gonna bother a roommate or spouse. Feel like banana bread at 11pm? I’m making my fucking banana bread at 11pm. Got the motivation to clean the bathroom at midnight? I’m cleaning the bathroom at midnight.

Never have to warn/ask anybody before I take a shower. (My hair is down to my waist, so showers take a while. When I lived at home, this was hands down one of the BIGGEST complaints, because there was only 1 bathroom and it would not be accessible for a while).

My entire home is my ‘introvert recharge place.’ I don’t have to sequester myself in my bedroom to get much-needed alone time. If I want to chill and read a book in my living room without being bothered, I can.

Nobody can ever complain about my choice in video games, movies, music, etc

The TV is also always available for whatever I want to watch or play

My ‘organized chaos’ cleaning routines can’t bother anybody because it’s all mine and I know exactly where everything is

If I want to put my signed cartoon prints from VA’s on display in my living room, or my commissioned fanart, or my knicknacks and fandom interests, it’s my home and I can damn well do that

I have an entire second ‘bedroom’ in my 2-bedroom place ALL for me and my books, as my own personal library and study, and I don’t have to share it with a roomie or a kid

I can get whatever pets I want as long as they fit the complex restrictions because I don’t have to worry about a roommate or spouse being allergic to cats or scared of snakes

I don’t have to worry about other people in my place taking proper decontamination procedures, especially with the pandemic, because it’s my place and I control everything that happens in it.

Living alone can be a huge struggle, especially with the way society is designed to make it difficult to do so and actively punishes people for not being in a relationship or at least having roommates. But there are great things about it too, and I do my best to remind myself of them.

Good luck with your living alone experience, anon!

#Velkynkarma rambles #Anonymous

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velkynkarma · 4 years

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So I wasn’t feeling so good a couple of weeks ago, and started reading The Way of Kings again as a comfort book while I felt like garbage. At first I just intended to pick through and read the Kaladin bits (since I was not feeling that great), but then there was a Shallan chapter and Shallan is great so I read that, and before I knew it I’d finished the first part, and then it was a Dalinar chapter and I just couldn’t skip Dalinar, and then there was more Kaladin, and then suddenly I finished the book again. For the manyeth time.

Rereading after the events of Oathbringer hurts. Moash, man. Why. You had potential. Though, even back in the first book, now that I know what to look for, it’s like he only has two states of being: utter apathy, or extreme extremist. When he doesn’t believe in Kaladin he’s one of Kaladin’s biggest detractors. When he does follow Kaladin—only after he’s witnessed Kaladin’s skill with a spear—he’s alarmingly gung ho, to the point that even in book one Kaladin is reeling him in. He wants to steal all the spheres from the chasms, even when Kaladin points out it’ll get them caught. He wants to attack the guards on multiple occasions, even when it won’t help them. He’s almost bloodthirsty about following Kaladin into the final battle. If he has a goal to reach for, he’s ready to go to extreme lengths to reach it. But if he doesn’t have a goal, something he really believes in and wants more than anything, he’s utterly apathetic and lacks any kind of drive or initiative. I can’t help but wonder what that will mean in the future, especially since he’s such a volatile character in the fandom right now.

Kaladin’s whole story arc still makes me so happy. I love reading his journey from slave to Stormblessed once again. He remains in his Favorite Character status and has yet to be unseated.

Elhokar hurts even worse, after Oathbringer. His whole subplot, being terrified of assassins and paranoid about the faces he’s seeing, desperate to get people to listen to him and believe him...it’s so much more upsetting, now that I know what it all means. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened, if they’d figured out what he was seeing in WOK, or WOR. Where would his story have gone? What could he have done to change the world?

Adolin’s story is, as always, a wild one to me whenever I go back and reread WOK. I adore Adolin as a character, but I didn’t always. My love for his character really began partway through Words of Radiance, when we started seeing more of his personality outside of interacting with Dalinar. In WOK, Adolin is just...a jock, really. He’s a noble obsessed with dueling, fashion, and women, dating a different lady every week, and annoyed with his dad for having dumb stupid rules that his friends don’t have to follow. He has his moments—like in one of Kaladin’s chapters, when he steps in to save that courtesan just because it’s the right thing to do—but by and large, I wasn’t a fan of him. But he starts to do some really amazing stuff in WOR and Oathbringer, and you see a softer side of him then—one that’s more affectionate (even physically, demonstrably so), more friendly, more supportive, and more willing to do the right thing. So it’s always strange, going back to WOK and seeing Adolin acting more like a brat. I know he’ll get better, but it’s still weird.

Kaladin may remain my favorite character, but my favorite WOK scene still to this day remains the moment when Dalinar trades his shardblade for the lives of every single bridgeman. I just love that moment, when Kaladin is so convinced that Dalinar will be like every other lighteyes, honorable in superficial name only, and then Dalinar proves him utterly wrong and then practically adopts him. That moment took my breath away the first time I read it, and it continues to every time I read it again.

I fucking love this book. I fucking love this series. I forgot that I felt like garbage when I was reading it. This book never fails to make me happy.

#Velkynkarma rambles #Stormlight archive #stormlight spoilers #brandon sanderson

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velkynkarma · 4 years

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Since I just posted a couple Legend of Korra fics I’ve had LOK on the brain, and you know what I’m disappointed to have never seen?

Pabu is a fire ferret. Emphasis on the ‘ferret.’

Normal pet ferrets are notorious for stealing and stashing some of the most random shit from their owners.

In conclusion, it is 100% guaranteed that Pabu’s got a stash nest that has to be emptied at least once a week, whenever the brothers want to find spare socks, loose change, bits of food, the other half of the chopsticks, somebody’s pillow, pro-bending gear, pens, books, plates and cups, and basically anything else. Mako’s scarf goes missing at least once every couple of weeks, but at this point he just knows to roll up his sleeves and dig it out from the stuff-nest Pabu has put together. He grumbles about Bolin’s pet, but it is admittedly kind of funny to watch Pabu attempting to not-so-subtly haul off their bag of pro-bending training equipment that weighs at least ten times his size.

For Bolin it’s like an exciting excavation dig, since they find stuff they were missing, but they also find things Pabu appropriated from outside. He doesn’t remember having that pin. Is that somebody’s diary? Aw, that’s a cute stuffed teddy platypus-bear, hope a kid isn’t missing it. Is that an entire set of pai sho pieces? When did Pabu find miniature clockwork toys? Those are pretty cool though. How did he even get an entire jumbo-sized umbrella under here, it’s bigger than he is??? If something is missing, it’s just habit to check Pabu’s stash first, because it’s the most likely place for a misplaced wallet or the other boot to be.

As they meet more friends more and more people learn about this perplexing habit. Asami misplaces a necklace. Korra loses one of her hair wraps. Both happen to mention the missing items, and Bolin and Mako are like, ‘just check Pabu’s stash. It’s probably under Bolin’s bed but sometimes he hides things under the couch instead ‘cause he thinks he’s throwing us off the scent.’ Which sounds completely ridiculous, but the brothers don’t seem surprised at all by any of this. And sure enough, there’s all their missing stuff. And after that they just get used to it, like, ‘Bolin, Pabu stole my watch, can I get it back next time I see you,’ and Bolin’s just like ‘oh yeah sure no problem, I’ll check the stash when I go home today,’ and sure enough there it is, along with a couple of Asami’s hair clips, a bag of jerky stolen from Korra, and Mako’s left glove (again. It’s always only the left one, for some reason).

So many things went missing from Asami’s giant house. The servants found them months later hidden under fancy sofas and in the backs of closets.

It’s even worse on Air Temple Island because there’s so many people to take things from and so many places to hide it all. Everyone’s had something pilfered at some point, and and everyone knows it’s probably Pabu. There’s an air acolyte whose entire job now is just to find Pabu’s most recent stash of stolen objects and redistribute them back.

Every successive person to ever interact with the fire ferret throughout the series for more than two minutes has had something stolen from them. Most of the time they get it back.

Pabu is having the time of his little fire ferret life. So many things. It’s wonderful.

#Velkynkarma rambles #Legend of Korra #Pabu #Bolin #Mako #Asami #Korra

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velkynkarma · 4 years

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Every time I watch the first episode of Voltron, even knowing how it ends, I get the happiest feeling of excitement and pure potential.

And every time I watch the first Voltron transformation, regardless of how repetitive it is, I get chills.

#Velkynkarma rambles #Voltron #resyncing to characters is fun

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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Learning how to make smoothies with healthy food in it is an interesting experience for me because I feel simultaneously like an exasperated parent sneaking vegetables into my kid’s diet in creative ways and the aforementioned kid who knows vegetables are icky, I will sit here all night before I eat the gross green stuff you can’t make me—ooooh a sweet smoothie? HAH, I TRICKED MOM INTO GIVING ME A SWEET SMOOTHIE. I WIN. TANTRUMS WORK.

#Velkynkarma rambles #food mention #but for real I'm pretty terrible at eating in general #so I've been working on new ways to get myself to eat good stuff that doesn't take a ton of effort

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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Me: I don’t participate in this fandom but I just had a fun idea for it so I’m gonna jot up the outline for my own amusement, even if I never write the story from it. Should be real quick. Then I can get dinner!

Also me: Wait when did it get to be 10pm?!

#and I still haven't eaten #oops #Velkynkarma rambles

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velkynkarma · 5 years

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Y’know what I find absolutely fascinating about fanfiction? The trope trends that pertain to individual fandoms in each fanfic community.

I marvel at this every time I poke my head into a fanfiction archive somewhere, after finishing a series or a movie when I’m not quite ready to let it go but I’m not quite willing to dive in and participate. There’s always certain kinds of stories that are intensely popular in a self-contained fandom that are enormously rare in others.

There are, of course, some tropes that exist in virtually every fandom. You will never not find a Harry Potter AU or a coffee shop fic if a fandom has existed for longer than a couple months. The bigger the fandom, the more of them you’ll see. This is an Absolute Given. But others are less universal.

Some are self-contained types of AU’s that simply can’t work in another fandom, due to the nature of the original content’s story...but despite dozens of other potential tropes, one is just seized by the fandom as a fan favorite (literally). Take, for example, the plethora of chimera!fic in Fullmetal Alchemist (or at least, back for the 2003 anime there was a plethora of it. Maybe it’s changed since then, it’s been a while since I was in the fandom). It’s not really a concept that works in other fandoms, because the idea of chimeras is so strongly rooted in the source material’s lore, ‘magic’/science system, and concepts. But despite there also being dozens of other things you could run with in this universe too, this was a fandom-trope that was super popular.

But there are other things that I continue to be surprised at to this day. I watched a movie the other day and decided to poke my head into the fandom community and just scroll through AO3 without any filters. Every single page had at least one vampire AU, but that’s not something I see a lot in other fandoms. Why vampire AU’s? I don’t know, but something about it appeals for that fandom, clearly!

Sick!fics are super popular in several of the fandoms I’ve hung around in, but in others they’re all but impossible to find. In some fandoms whump or hurt/comfort is overwhelmingly the majority, and in others the bulk of what you can find is fluff so sticky sweet you’ll get a toothache. I’ve seen dozens of niche, oddballs sorts of premises or AU settings when browsing fanfic archives that seem to exist in only one fandom, but in that fandom they have an incredible amount of power.

It’s just fascinating to me, to see how trends fall based on what is presented in the source material, and the kinds of people that are drawn to that material. Things that are enormously popular to the point of being almost commonplace in one fandom might be a breath of fresh air in another. And clearly, no idea is every really ‘old’ or ‘done to death’ or ‘unoriginal.’ It’s all about the context of where you’re writing it, and about perspective.

And I think that’s kind of cool.

#Velkynkarma rambles #fandom #fanfiction #I always think about this when I poke through a new fandom archive out of curiosity #I finally decided I just wanted to write out my thoughts #fandom can be cool

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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HEY FRIENDS.

It’s the busy time of year at work for me and unfortunately, I need to work late tonight. I had fully planned to post the next chapter of Premium Pandemonium tonight but due to Life Stuff that’s just not happening.

I’ll do my best to get it up tomorrow for you all. I know it’s a terrible place to leave you hanging. It wasn’t my intention to leave it this long!

Thanks for understanding all :)

#Velkynkarma rambles #Premium Pandemonium

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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I bought a vanilla candle that was on sale in the holiday section of my grocery store while passing through the aisle. It was on sale and I was like, why not.

I cannot express how this seemingly unimportant discount candle has just made me inexplicably happy today. It smells nice and it looks cheerful. I love this candle.

#Velkynkarma rambles #it just makes me happy #fuck if I know why #lol

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velkynkarma · 3 years

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So I’m suuuper late to the party, but I finally, finally finished Rhythm of War.

I am delighted by it. Thoughts and reactions under the cut, just in case for spoilers.

OKAY SO I had a lot of feelings about this book, and I wanted to be able to sit down and read the book properly and devote time to it, instead of sneaking paragraphs here or there during work breaks. So that’s why it took me so long to read it. In a way I feel like a terrible fan for taking so long when I was so excited about reading it for over a year, but in another way I am satisfied that I did it justice.

General thoughts/reactions:

I am legitimately impressed with how well Sanderson handled Shallan’s Dissociative Identity Disorder. DID is one of those mental illnesses that gets butchered so hard in media, and carries such a stigma of being “evil” or “creepy.” But Shallan’s representation seems much more factual in terms of how we know DID works today, including but not limited to:

Created from a severe trauma at a very young age, in which the brain starts splitting itself in order to protect against traumas and form survival mechanisms

Alters exist to protect the system and handle tasks for the host that the host cannot handle. Both Veil and Radiant handle tasks/functions that Shallan can’t

Also establishing that different alters can have different skills (such as Shallan being good at drawing and Lightweaving while Veil is bad at it, or Radiant handling espionage poorly)

Establishing that actual DID treatments do include encouraging alters to learn to work together and establish communication lines between each other. I like that the three create a pact to work together and rules to stand by and enforce them on each other to the best of their ability. They mess up sometimes (Radiant killing Ialai, Veil forcibly taking over sometimes). But they try.

But also establishing that prior to Shallan’s realization of what was happening at the end of Oathbringer, each of these alters had their own memories and ways of handling things and did not necessarily communicate with each other

Establishing that multiple times in prior books when Shallan thought she was ‘acting’ she was actually Blending with another identity, either Veil or Radiant. This becomes more apparent when Veil or Radiant actively discuss being the ones to do things that were previously from “Shallan’s” perspective (such as Veil learning slight of hand/etc at the beginning of Words of Radiance). This stuck out to me as especially interesting since accounts of people with DID often mention not knowing they have it or are switching for years, but being semi-aware of doing things differently than normal.

Veil being a protector-type alter and a trauma holder is extraordinarily common in DID cases and made an absolute ton of sense. It also suggests that she’s been around for YEARS longer than before Shallan ‘created’ her which, again, is not uncommon with DID cases

Veil, at least, also acts like she’s much older than Shallan, even calling her things like ‘kid.’ While Veil is, of course, no older than Shallan, this is completely accurate that alters can have different ages and even different genders to the host body in terms of how they perceive themselves

Establishing that fusions/integrations are possible, with Veil being ‘absorbed’ by Shallan at the end. This is a part of DID treatment and I like that it was handled in a way where both alters consented and the trauma was released, but it was handled. Even if Veil developed additional skills over time, it’s clear her first and foremost job was as a trauma holder alter, and once the trauma was no longer being hidden, her ‘purpose’ was done. And now Veil is a part of Shallan, and the expectation is that somewhere down the line, Radiant will join too.

Very very VERY VERY importantly, establishing Shallan’s interaction with other characters as a system with DID in a way that did not make her look like she was ‘crazy.’ DID is super serious and systems are often stigmatized. But I adored that Adolin is supportive and treats each alter on their own playing field (and even seems to be able to recognize them without Shallan changing hair color). I love that other characters like Kaladin admit they don’t exactly get it, but do their best to be respectful of it anyway. I love that nobody treats Shallan like a freak and sticks her in a padded room, and that people DO respect her wishes and treat Veil and Radiant as equally viable people. I love that it’s treated so healthily.

Honestly my only real ‘hmm, not exactly like that’ moments were thinking back on how Shallan ‘created’ personalities. Veil being a trauma holder for Shallan’s old memories implies she’s been around for a long time, so she wasn’t really “created” in that sense, just given more of a face/name. But Radiant appears to have been created spur of the moment when Adolin was all ‘hey, let me teach you to swordfight!!!’ To the best of my knowledge people with DID don’t really have control over when they split, nor do they really get to actively ‘design’ their alters. It’s more like alters form as needed to handle something. But considering how accurate everything else is, and that possibly this is just Shallan’s way of handling her splitting in a way that makes sense to her, I’m willing to give this a cautious pass.

Also maybe lost memory moments. People with DID generally can lose time. Shallan doesn’t seem to, but then towards the end we also see she’s not a reliable narrator in her own right, since somehow Radiant managed to kill Ialai when we’re reading that passage. So it’s possible we the readers are missing things because Shallan is, too.

That said, the way DID works, it will never really go away even if Shallan does fully integrate. I’m curious if more alters could form down the line. I thought this had been happening with ‘Formless,’ but Formless didn’t turn out to be another alter so much. Oh well.

I had wondered about Shallan and Pattern’s bond for a while, and I’d been wondering if maybe she had a different spren ever since Pattern mentioned he could go away or she might kill him too back in...Oathbringer, I think it was? It seemed strange to me that Shallan wouldn’t have seen him around for a long time in his pattern form, or that she’d get chased by so many cryptics in book 1, if she’d been bonded to him this whole time. Or that she had a shardblade she could summon in book 1, but Pattern hadn’t been established as a character yet. And then when Adolin met a deadeye Cryptic in Shadesmar, I was like, ‘damn, that’s Shallan’s first spren isn’t it.’ And I was vindicated. I feel stupidly proud of myself for catching even one of Sanderson’s twists.

I think this is the first book in the series where Kaladin’s arc didn’t really grab me as much as the others to start. Not that it was bad, I still really enjoyed it, especially towards the end. But I was surprised to find when I got to Part Three and Kaladin’s name was listed but Adolin’s wasn’t that I went, ‘awww, damn,’ and used that as my break point for the night.

I think part of this is that so much of Kaladin’s story that I love and adore is about not just Kaladin, but Kaladin’s friends and found family arcs with Bridge Four, and so much of that was taken away from him in the early part of the story. Like Kaladin, I guess I was just sad about everyone moving on and him being along. Sigzil going off to be the new Windrunner leader, Rock leaving, Rlain leaving (for a while at least), Adolin and Shallan leaving...it was hard. I felt his depression. Unfortunately, it made it a bit difficult to read, I guess.

On the flip side though, Kaladin’s ending arc in the story was A+ and I loved it. I love that his Fourth Ideal is specifically accepting that he cannot save everyone, which is something he’s struggled with from his very first appearance in the very first book. I love how this sheds so much light on that moment in Oathbringer where Syl is calling for him to speak the words and he just can’t, because at the time, he wasn’t ready to accept that he couldn’t save everyone. I love that he admits to Dalinar that he really did need help and a chance to recover, and that his setup for the next book doesn’t seem to be as Stormblessed, the soldier, but as a healer. And I love that he made up with his dad in the end, and did manage to at least save him.

ROCK. NOOOO.

TEFT. NOOOOOO!

And yet as always, Sanderson books are the only books where I really feel...ok with character death. It’s sad, for sure, but also deaths have purpose in his stories. Nobody is killed meaninglessly.

I think my favorite arc was Adolin’s, throughout the whole course of the book? I can’t help it. I love my enthusiastic, optimistic himbo who is just doing his best. Every time he was like ‘well I’m useless since I’m not a Radiant, but I’ll do the best I can’ I was like NO, HONEY NO, YOU’RE SO IMPORTANT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE REALLY? Look at all the people you help!!! Just look at them all!!!

As stated earlier, I love that he’s just so damned supportive of Shallan’s condition. Even if they don’t have words for ‘DID’ in Roshar or even understand it in their own terms, he’s just so damn supportive. She tells him she’s got multiple alters and he’s just like ‘cool, how can I help.’ He loves his wife. He’s friendly with Radiant. He’ll share jabs with Veil. He just wants to help, always.

I love that he’s so supportive of Kaladin too. I adored towards the beginning, where Kaladin’s going into a depressive spiral, and Syl gets Adolin because Adolin is one of the few people he can’t intimidate. And I adore that Adolin is supportive, but in a way that shows he gets it. He knows it’s not safe to leave Kaladin alone with himself and refuses to let that happen. But he also doesn’t force him to participate and acknowledges that yeah, you can feel like shit, and that’s ok, but you’re gonna feel like shit around other people, because it’ll help you. And it does. And I love that a thousand pages later Kaladin starts going into another depressive spiral and happens to mention, ‘fuck, Adolin’s not here to pull me out this time,’ recognizing what Adolin can do. I just love how much their friendship has progressed.

I love that he’s still so supportive of his brother, even if Renarin was barely in this book. I love that he even briefly defends Renarin against Shallan, even when he recognizes she doesn’t really mean any harm.

I adore his continued arc with Maya. I love that he was so excited to go to Shadesmar so he could see her again. I love how he’s clearly had offers from spren or other Radiants to talk to spren about bonding to him, and he’s like, ‘nah,’ cause he’s loyal to her. I love how everyone keeps insisting ‘deadeyes can’t speak, deadeyes can’t feel’ and he’s just like, yes?? Yes they can??? Have you ever fucking tried??? I love that it’s his genuine connection to Maya that helps her recover enough to actually talk on her own with more clarity, and how she’s clearly coming back to herself. And what a revelation, that Maya and the others deliberately sacrificed themselves. And I love that ultimately it’s his bond with Maya that gives him success with the honorspren. He did this his own way, with his own skills, in a unique way that nobody else has ever done before, because maybe he’s not a Radiant in the shiny new sense of the word, but he’s the only person out there willing to treat his sword like a partner and show kindness to spren and that shows.

I also really do hope he works stuff out with his dad because he’s got every right to be angry but also, I want him to be happy :(

Ultimately I adore Adolin’s whole polarity, that he’s a masterful duelist and combatant, and has probably killed hundreds, and yet his best quality is his sheer kindness. He has really grown on me as a character since book one, honestly. I remember not liking him in book one. I still don’t, when I reread it! But in the rest, he’s probably second only to Kaladin as my favorite.

Venli. I remember not really liking Venli in earlier books. I thought Eshonai was cool, but Venli I remember just not really vibing with. Seeing her story really made her a lot more interesting to me though, especially since I love her whole gradual growth as a character. Openly admitting to herself that she’s a coward and just wanted to get attention against her sister...and then doing something about it to better herself. Doubting her abilities to do so and being uneasy about it the whole time, but ultimately doing it anyway. She’s a flawed character, but she’s a good character, and I grew to like her so much more after seeing her story.

Also, I loved Eshonai’s mercy at the end there. Fuckin yes. Bittersweet smiles all around.

Szeth-son-son-Vallano wore white on the day he was to kill a king, because apparently white is the listener battle color, it makes SENSE now

I am also veeery curious what is going on with Szeth, who wasn’t really in this book all that much. And I’m curious if ‘Sixteen’ in Lasting Integrity is actually his dad, because they sure drew attention to a hiding Shin man and then immediately never mentioned him again.

Raboniel. MAN. What a fucking character. I was fascinated with her from the beginning. I never knew exactly what to think of her, because we see her from so many perspectives. Leshwi, who has been established as possibly the ‘goodest’ and most sane of the Fused, openly tells us not to trust her. We learn she’s done terrible things in her lifetime, like trying to create a plague to destroy all of humanity, and one of her titles is just straight-up scary af. She learns how to really, truly, actually kill spren, which is terrifying. She tried to kill the Sibling, which is obviously Super Bad. And yet, she’s such a compelling character. She’s polite and reasonable, to a degree. Clever and enormously genre-savvy, but also blunt and to the point, knowing full well Venli is being used to spy on her and Navani is working against her and blatantly stating so. She’s so intelligent, and is willing to both respect Navani and work with her to create things together, and recognize her worth. I never fully trusted her at any point, because we know she’s done so much to be scared of, but man, I enjoyed reading her segments so freaking much. I was sad when she died, and her weird frenemy relationship with Navani was really intriguing.

I really enjoyed Dabbid’s little segments. I’m so happy he’s comfortable talking around the others. I’m also happy to see Sanderson delving into including more autistic characters in different points on the spectrum, while also showing other people treating them well.

Taravangian. I still don’t know where to stand on this guy and I’m very nervous now that he’s basically a god and apparently smart enough to outwit everyone else again. I was excited when he actually managed to kill Rayse but fuck, we might have been better off with Rayse.

SOMEBODY ACTUALLY MANAGAGED TO OUTWIT HOID AND I’M SCARED AF AT WHAT THAT MEANS

Moash. I just. Fuck. I don’t even know. I’m not even sure if this counts as him killing under his own power or not. He doesn’t really want to take responsibility for his actions, and as long as Odium takes his pain and feelings, he doesn’t have to. But that moment when he wasn’t protected, he seemed upset with what he had done. So I really have no damned clue where his story is gonna go. But fuck, it’s scary how easily he almost undid Kaladin completely. He knew exactly what buttons to press. We’re lucky the Pursuer ignored him and attacked anyway, or he really would’ve won.

I’ll admit, my Cosmere knowledge is less than stellar, so I’m still not entirely sure I understand the stuff with the Heralds and Mraize. But I am definitely curious to see where it’s going on a surface level, at least.

LIFT USES LIFELIGHT that explains a lot. I wish she’d been in this story more because I adore her lol.

I know Sanderson announced Ace Jasnah a while back, but I love that it’s been so firmly established in the book itself. No beating around the bush or leaving people to wonder. She just straight-up says she’s got no real interest in sexual stuff and never really got how it drove others. I love it. I love seeing that so honestly and bluntly stated.

Anyway I’m sure there’s a lot more to be said but overall, A++++ as always, super adored, next one when????

#Velkynkarma rambles #Stormlight Archive #Rhythm of War spoilers

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velkynkarma · 3 years

Text

Unus Annus is over.

But damn, what an interesting project.

I only learned about it maybe a month and a half ago. Definitely not enough time to watch all the videos before they were gone forever, but enough to get through many of them.

I’ve been kind of sitting with a tired, content smile on my face for the past forty minutes after the goodbye livestream cut off. I never doubted for a second they would really delete the channel, but it’s another thing entirely to see those blank screens and that empty account space where a whole channel with over three hundred videos was.

It feels surreal. I’m not going to be so crass as to compare a youtube channel to the death of a living human being, because it can’t really compare to the grief of losing a precious loved one. Mark and Ethan are still alive and kicking, and I’m sure they’ll be posting new things of their own soon and moving on to other projects.

But there is still that eerie sense of ‘once was here, and now is not.’ That same kind of lingering feeling you get when you realize you’re not going to talk to somebody ever again because no power on earth will ever let you. I will not be getting up tomorrow to try and watch more videos before they’re gone. And I won’t be getting up tomorrow and wondering what they’re gonna to today that’s weird or scary or funny or thoughtful. And it’s going to take a little time to realize that yeah...that’s how life is, now, and that part of it is over.

I’m not sad about it. Yeah, I wish I’d learned about this months ago so I could have experienced it right along from the beginning. Yeah, I didn’t get a chance to see all the videos, and I guess I’ll always wonder about the ones I just didn’t have the time to get to. Yeah, there are some that I really enjoyed, that cheered me up on bad days, that I went back to a few times to rewatch, and probably would have gone back to rewatch again and again if the channel had stayed active.

But honestly, during that final livestream, Mark and Ethan both kept talking about how they felt at peace and happy, and I just felt happy for them. Proud of them, even. Which is ridiculous—they are both very successful youtubers, and I’m a virtual unknown who will probably never speak to either of them, and my approval means nothing to them in the long run. But I was proud of them for sticking to their guns, seeing this through just as they promised they would, and for putting so much effort into the channel even if it ultimately was all destined to disappear. Nihilism is a philosophy that never made sense to me—what’s the point of living if you don’t make the most of what you’ve got? I liked that the channel’s ultimate message was to make the most of what you had while you had it, and that despite the ever-present suggestion of death, it ultimately had a very upbeat message.

Tomorrow, I’m no longer bound to the clock anymore. In a way, it’s almost freeing for me, too, that the channel is done. I won’t feel obligated to try and get through as many videos as possible before they’re gone. Tomorrow I’ll move on to other things, and make the most of what I can even in the middle of the insanity that is our world today. I’ve got some books I’m looking forward to reading. I’ve been progressing on my new workout routine. Maybe I’ll take a walk, or talk to some family, or work on a new creative project.

Whatever I do, I’ll make sure to make every second count.

Memento Mori.

#Velkynkarma rambles #it's 3:40AM and I'm a little loopy right now haha #unus annus #memento mori

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