profile changes as interest changes

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[sadoeuphemist]

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.” 

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.” 

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.” 

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?” 

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”  

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

[rigelslittlelab]

“Harry tucked the Dahlia behind her ear with a grin, obviously guessing its source, and Aldon marveled at how confortable she looked. A far cry from the stiff girl in tight shoes at the Gala, or the done-up doll from the Yule Ball. Perched on a low stool with a rough-cut flower in her hair, she looked at home.”

The Malignant Masquerade, chapter 1.

[rigelslittlelab]

[rigelslittlelab]

[rigelslittlelab]

Collab between Blop and July (aka “Marvin”, aka “the friend”), we had a lot of fun imagining the chinese restaurant in Aroma Alley :)

Background ans colors by Blop, charadesign, animation and soundesign by July (Caelum was voiced by Veager and Harry by July)

[rigelslittlelab]

I’m a bit late sorry, my life is a bit busy this days, but here is my participation for the 2021 Rigel Black BigBang ! .+:｡(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ It’s an illustration based on the lovely fic What Remains, by lar_a

[baggvinshield]

Hey! I love your blog :3 Do you know any good pining fics?

sure! i’m gonna rec some i haven’t seen mentioned/rec’d in a while or ever

A Small Request by serenbach - post botfa everyone lives

Mother-Tongue by northerntrash - one of my faves

we pulled too many false alarms by fideliant - another one of my faves

Losing Myself to Remember You by Chamelaucium - post botfa everyone lives

No Place Like Home by teaDragon - post botfa everyone lives

Favours - modern au

Token of Friendship by squire - post botfa

I Sang In My Chains Like The Sea - the pacific rim au you didn’t know you needed, truly a gift to our fandom

I dream of you, to wake by fideliant - not a fix it

Whispers In The Dark by alkjira - mind the tags

and a little self rec,For Want of Good Soil by baggvinshield, i think this is one of my most popular fics and it’s all about pining!bilbo

another pining rec list i did

more of my recs

[stillparanoidnolongerafridge]

Time Loop Fics

While writing my happyhobbitholiday fic, I did some research on other time loop fics and found the following gems:

Many Paths by flakedice: Bilbo lives through the battle over and over again.

though the stars walk backward by baggvinshield, filikiliheirsofdurin: Bilbo and Kili live through the battle over and over again

the last shot ringing in my ears by fideliant: Thorin lives through the battle again and again.

Round and Round Again by antarctica_or_bust: Ori lives through the quest several times.

The World Spins Madly On by the disgruntledone: Bilbo keeps reliving the entire quest.

The Impossible Quest by MyWritingCabin: Thorin contemplates setting out on the quest for a 10th time.

Once Upon a Loop by QuietShadow: On the 30something-time of relieving the quest, Bilbo greets Thorin with his frying pan.

WWBBD by Moyra: Bilbo lives the quest again and again and finds something better to do.

My additions to that list:

How Shall This Day End? Thorin lives through the battle over and over again.

Groundhog Adventure: Kili lives through the quest again and again.

[baggvinshield]

@anon who was just asking me for time travel fics, this ought to help even tho they aren’t “‘traditional”’ time travel concepts :)

[the-social-recluse]

MDZS link masterpost

Novel: Luoxia - CN raws (revised edition, complete). Note: cannot link to the official page on JJWXC as MXTX’s works remain locked there | CN paperback, vol. 1 currently sold out/TW paperback, special edition reprint (uncensored, 4 volumes - up to ch.122), TW paperback of the extra volume containing the rest of the chapters: book only/Collector’s Edition | English translation by ExR (complete)

Audio drama: MissEvan - S1, S2, S3 (buying guide - now also with PayPal, however its availability depends on your location) | English translation by SuibianSubs (main story complete; working on S3 extras, plus S2 and S3 FTs) Audio drama, JP version (joint production by MaoEr FM and its new branch for JP localisations, MiMi FM): MiMi FM smartphone app (install guide)/MissEvan - S1 (first cour, second cour) | English translation by 3PASubs (currently on S1E7)

Audiobook: Ximalaya - CN edition (complete). Note: if you are on mobile, after installing the app please revoke location access to avoid geo-block. Narrated by Zhang Zhen [audio drama!JFM]

Manhua: Taobao - paperback, limited edition vol.1 | Kuaikanmanhua [interactive edition on Tencent Film - open through the mobile app] | WeComics [expect WeTV’s quality] | MangaDex - unofficial scanlations (done by different translation groups before and after ch.106)

Donghua: Tencent Video | WeTV English (S1: E1-15, S2: E16-23) [Subs’ quality is questionable] | English translation by GuodongSubs (up to date) Chibi shorts aka Q version: Tencent Video | WeTV English

Live action: Tencent Video | WeTV English (WeTV’s exclusive - CQL Special Edition)/Rakuten VIKI [subs are not ideal either way]/Netflix (depends on your region) | English fansubs by SuibianSubs (currently up to ep.30)/Detailed episode comparisons between original CQL and Special Edition by 3PASubs CQL movies: iQiyi - The Living Dead, Fatal Journey | iQiyi International (only through the smartphone app). Note: both versions come with decent subs CQL mobile game (follows novel’s plot despite the branding): NetEase - Official website release date TBA

All streaming platforms require subscriptions for full access at best quality available (although most CQL and donghua content has also been uploaded to Tencent’s YouTube for free), while everything translated by the SuibianSubs (tumblr) and 3PASubs (tumblr) groups is only accessible through their respective Discord channels. Please support the official channels first!

[wangxianficrecs]

Hello! I'm new to the fandom, and I want to start reading fics, could you please let me know which fanfic is THE FANFIC of The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu SHi (MDZS)??? You know, that one fic EVERYONE know and everyone has read

Oh, dear.  I’m really not plugged so much into the fandom, so I miss a lot of that kind of chatter.  Here are a few (completed), favorite stories just off the top of my head.  (The concept of the fandom story to read makes me feel balky, because it’s like being asked to choose your favorite child.  I love all of them, and some just appeal to me more on some days than others.)

modern au:

❤️ The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane (E, 71k, wangxian, my post)

humor & juniors:

❤️The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (T, 20, wangxian, my post)

time travel fix-it:

❤️ Looking at You Always, All Ways by Keysmashed (T, 29k, wangxian, my post)

post cql:

❤️ I hope that you will come and meet me by feyburner (M, 28k, wangxian, my post  here)

canon verse casefic:

❤️a stone to break your soul, a song to save it by rikke (my post here)

students at cloud recesses:

❤️ You Are My Euphoria by tangerinechar (M, 18k, wangxian, my post)

burial mounds life:

❤️The Yiling Wei Clan by scifigeek14 (G, 45k, wangxian, my post here)

Amnesia:

These Things Stay the Same by notevenyou (E, 30k, wangxian, modern au, amnesia, my post here)

~*~

@fanguuuhhhrl said, “imma interpret this question as “must-reads if you’re a part of this fandom” and for me they would be:

pigtail pulling by protos_metazu_ison (G, 4k, wangxian, for one shots, my post)

the vermillion ribbon by unforth E, 233k, wangxian, for novel length alternate canons, my post)

vagabond by xantissa ( E, 66k, wangxian, post canon case fics, my post)

tempo rubato by spodumene (E, 108k, wangxian, for modern au, my bookmark)

and of course everyone knows this, everyone’s favorite post canon series:

❤️Joy In the Midst of These Things by glitterbombshell (T, 51k, wangxian, my post)

like these just scream CLASSSSICCCS to me and based on the number of kudos and hits too i think they are

~*~

@strangelingincarnate suggests: 

Certain Obscure Things by hkafterdark (Modern AU, E, 32k, wangxian)

Lead Me On Through by mrsronweasley (E, 55k, wangxian, arranged marriage)

Lay us down (we're in love) by mme_anxious (T, 5k, wangxian, modern au) 

The Space Between by lazylira (M, 4k, wangxian, WIP, ft. Ace Lan Zhan)

You'd Break Your Heart to Make It Bigger by mrsronweasley (E, 33k, wangxian, post-canon)

~*~

@exo-neukdae-minyeo​ says:

❤️and so my heart beats wildly by lily_winterwood (E, 106k, wangxian, modern au, my post here)

~*~

@mikkeneko reminded me of

And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, wangxian, my bookmark)

~*~

@fairfax-verde adds:

❤️ A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste (T, 31k, background wangxian, humor & juniors, my post)

~*~

@blusocket says, “Gorgeous prose and tenderness abound!”

Linger in the Sun by etymologyplayground (T, 39k, wangxian, post-cql, casefic, my post here)

❤️this river runs to you by sundiscus (T, 53k, wangxian,  modern-with-magic au, my post)

and adds that @littlesmartart has great illustrated fic recs in their drawtober tag!

~*~

Nonny said this one is “different than the rest of recs because it is a canon divergence which happens in the pre-canon times. Wwx & lwj are betrothed at 14 and the story is described from LWJ's perspective as he spends a year in Lotus Pier to get to know his betrothed. It's very sweet, how LWJ's description slowly change and you can experience with him innocently falling in love with WWX.”

sweet chaos by eachandeverydimension (G, 86k, wangxian, arranged marriage)

~*~

@invisible-mirror says this one is a must-read modern au:

Unstrictly Ballroom by Ariaste (T, 48k, wangxian, modern au)

~*~

@parlerenfleurs would like to suggest

the recluse at the end of the moonlit path by b_ofdale ( T, 29k, wangxian)...  Reincarnated Wei WuXian and Immortal Lan WangJi, a delicious read!

~*~

@mondengel would rec:

❤️SanRen by Kyogre (T, 88k, wangxian, my post)

❤️a stone to break your soul, a song to save it by rikke (my post here)

Kiss Me Here, Again, Again by pastelaliens (E, 5k, wangxian)

Six Centimeters by Keysmashed (G, 2k, wangxian)

Breaking Through by Suspicious_Popsicle (E, 34k, wangxian)

two guys r in love thats literally it by victortor (M, 11k, wangxian, my post)

Response by Aki_no_hikari  (G, 12k, wangxian)

Pampering by Aki_no_hikari (E, 5k, wangxian)

Cryptids are not Permitted in the Cloud Recesses by crossdressingdeath (E, 96k, wangxian WIP)

~*~

Nonny wants to recommend authors (I’m not going to link them all, I’ll hit my limit... many are up above^)

etymologyplayground, sarahyyy, chinxe, besanii, malkinmalkout, Attila, catbrainedschemes. Other really great popular authors: fakeplasticlily, occultings, kuro, mrsronweasley, so_shhy, moonsteps, defractum, uchiuchi, pupeez4eva, beeswaxing, and ofc rikke! 

[cardiamachina]

“Love, Time stops, doesn’t it? Are we not testaments to this? Two old, misplaced souls, Asleep for seventy years? So close your eyes, love. Maybe seconds can be minutes and minutes can be hours and hours can be unending eternities Where I don’t have to open my eyes To a reality without you. So, let’s sleep. Let the world go to hell. For we deserve a soft epilogue, my love. We are good people, and we’ve suffered enough.”

— We Sleep, and Maybe We’ll Wake Up. Listen. Seventy Years of Sleep, nikka ursula, others, support my work by helping me grow my IG following here!

[rigelslittlelab]

Harry as I picture her in The Futile Façade, ch14.

[rigelslittlelab]

Poor Harry asleep for one second before her dad barges in

[rigelslittlelab]

The futile facade, chapter 13

[rigelslittlelab]

The futile facade, chapter 13

[elelith]

Another old Snippet

Warning: This is based on Murkybluematter’s series about a genderswapped Harry Potter masquerading as a pureblood boy to be able to study under Master Snape.

The following is a canon divergence I’m thinking of turning into a full chapter in the Rigel Black Chronicles.

A what-if Harry Potter could attend Hogwarts as herself despite the usual prejudices etc - this is how I see it happening. Here’s the very roughly edited beginning.

It happened in Gringotts.

Riddle wasn’t even meant to be there and he resisted tapping his foot impatiently as Lucius finished the signing of the forms to release the Malfoy relic from the bank. It was an annoyingly busy day at Gringotts and the goblins looked even more ill tempered than usual as they dealt with the growing lines of wizards and witches streaming in.

His eyes wandered around the cavernous entrance hall, from the obsidian marble floor to the ancient coats of goblin armour lining the sides of the hall. He had studied goblin-activated magic enough to know the armoured statues were part of the banks inner defence system. It was a strong enchantment that criss crossed the impressively armoured statues of stern faced goblins.

His eyes latched onto movement at the far corner of the hall.

An impressively armoured statue… currently being clambered over by two dark haired children.

He frowned but couldn’t spot any adult nearby they could belong to. Not quite sure why, Riddle drew nearer, a tug on his magic he found intriguing guided him.

As expected the magical statue did not appear to enjoy the child climbing over its helmet and shook him off in one violent motion.

Riddle’s pace quickened, his magic reacting to his stray thoughts of defence but he stilled as the small child did not fall onto the hard marble floor but floated gently with a giggle. His eyebrows rose- that was an impressive bout of accidental magic. He was half curious to which family the child belonged to.

The second boy was not as lucky - the tip of the goblin spear had raked along his arm as he fell off his perch. He looked more shocked than hurt but despite a lack of experience in the matter, Riddle could sense tears were near and he did not approach further.

He watched idly as the more powerful of the two noticed the second one’s tears and with very Gryffindor-like anger, kicked the stone statue’s legs with a small foot.

Riddle ignored Lucius’ questioning glance as he stared, captivated, while cracks ran through the ancient, supposedly impenetrable, goblin armour.

Keep reading

[rigelslittlelab]

Harry in duel outfit.

[theloweralleys]

Awesome!