#rhys's stuff

[rhysiana]

Here's the truth: if this website collapses too, I will never know when a show has finally come out, because I won't suddenly see new gifs from it.

[rhysiana]

Wishverse Proposal

So... uh, a thing happened yesterday, which I will now cross-post from bsky, because I appear to have accidentally caused the creation of the opposite of omegaverse, and I wish for other people to join me.

It started in my DMs with @kasuchi:

rhysiana: This should be the new trope, the kpop wish pregnancy instead of the wish fully-formed baby kasuchi: ooh ::eyes emoji:: rhysiana: Can you imagine how fast companies would stop sending them on babysitting shows if that was a thing? kasuchi: it would also be sooo funny the most caring person: unpreg maybe the most standoffish or uncertain one: preg standoffish one, watching the baby, internally: waaa i want one universe: bet rhysiana: Perfect I think we just invented the opposite of omegaverse: wishverse It doesn’t matter what gender the person is, pregnancy is granted based on a solo fervent wish

The possibilities for chaos with the existence of never actually accidental but almost always completely unpredictably timed wishpregnancies is just so good, not to mention the complete irrelevancy of gender.

I then noted that in proposing a world where this is actually how the species perpetuates rather than this just happening as one-off magic, I have also opened the door to a WIDE variety of genitalia headcanons. Fandom biologists are welcome to weigh in on canonizing a likely internal set, but also I got a longtime fandom friend who recently graduated from med school to put their degree to use, as one does. (What else were they going to do on that 3hr train ride anyway?)

Here is the summary of our discussion:

-everyone comes equipped with a universal internal pregnancy pocket because "marsupialising the species wouldn't be a very good idea" (and there is a birth canal that develops and resorbs with each pregnancy)

-this means sexual dimorphism is meaningless in this society, so we're just going with the omniscient universe also having insight into everyone's preferred form as they enter maturity (since this is a fic trope proposal & we need to allow for importing existing char designs, but go wild)

-how do people know they've had a wishbaby deposited in their pocket? a mark! would it be called a birthmark? surely there's a better, cuter name. but anyway! a mark! picture the cute parent-child bonding over the child's mark on the parent later!

-going off the proposed wishreabsorption option in the other thread['s discussion of wishbortions and subsequent proposed renaming], there can also be wishsuspension in the case of changed circumstances midway but wish is maintained (mark fades for suspension, disappears for reabsorption) --also proposed that OBs are required to help with these processes

-one of the big medical fields is Mind-Pocket Axis Studies, because while the physical biology of it might seem normal in-world, the understanding of exactly when the universe deems a person ready for a wishbaby is still hazy, making OBs kinda half-doctor/half-priest, interceding w/the universe

-direct quote for the next bit because it was too good:

[friend]: The event itself could be more of a stars align kinda thing that's individual rather than universal Like maybe one person doesn't have enough resources but has the internal courage and resourcefulness to be a parent, but someone else who wants it just as much will be waiting and wishing for longer even if they have better on paper circumstances because the universe knows that someone or something lies down the road that will make it a much better experience for the wishing individual rhysiana: Yessssss Bringing in some of that yearning "will it ever happen for me?" of the soulmate AU

-*proposed addendum 1: option for wishbabies to be self-clones ("I want A baby") vs magical combination ("I want THEIR (our) baby")

This is where the worldbuilding thoughts stand so far, but obviously I want to read everyone else's interpretations.

[rhysiana]

Because we need some good stuff right now, a book rec:

I just finished reading Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto, and if you would like to read a queer Hawaiian diaspora Leverage-style heist on a space station (and why wouldn’t you??), this is the book for you!

[rhysiana]

Posting this list mostly for @cobrilee, but everyone can enjoy it as they like (links point to YT for wider accessibility):

Kpop by and for people no longer in their teens: Solo work first, because that's how I got sucked in: -Key (SHINee): Bad Love, recently seen described as "this song makes me feel like I'm at a gay club in space" -Key (SHINee) (he gets two because he was my gateway drug): Easy, for when you need a break-up song but also want to make it clear you're feeling yourself -Minho (SHINee): Heartbreak, he likes his MVs cinematic -Onew (SHINee): Dice, absurd and with a fun twist at the end -Taemin (SHINee): Move, this isn't his most recent work, but it *is* the reason at least half the next generation of male idols list him as their inspiration -Taeyeon (Girls' Generation): To. X, frankly I could have chosen any song off this or her INVU album -Seulgi (Red Velvet): Los Angeles, I don't know what note to leave about this one, I just stop and enjoy it every time it comes on -Kang Daniel: Paranoia, the song that sent me down a rabbit hole of his stuff in general -Hwasa (Mamamoo): I'm a B, always very unapologetically herself -Jessi: Gum, as as friend noted immediately when sent this MV, she is in fact from New Jersey -Chungha: Eenie Meenie (ft. Hongjoong), I love her -Jongho (ATEEZ): A Day, his solo song for the soundtrack of Lovely Runner, used in all of the angstiest scenes throughout the show -Mingi (ATEEZ): Tunnel, first song out so far for his non-rap personal side project Groups (I restricted myself to one song per group, but it was very hard): -SHINee: Don't Call Me, ostensibly a break-up song, but went viral in Korea as "the song for quitting your job" -Dreamcatcher: Red Sun, who doesn't like a goth witch aesthetic? -Mamamoo: HIP, will get stuck in your head, but will also make you move, so clearly a net win -Le Sserafim: Antifragile, still my favorite -ATEEZ: Turbulence (live band version), listen, yes, Bouncy is the one that tipped me over the edge like so many others, but if you want a song that highlights all their voices without any distraction, this is the one -The Rose (more a band than strictly kpop): Alive, but actually just that whole album -Xdinary Heroes (likewise walking the line between rock band and kpop): Undefined, I had a hard time picking between songs for them, so I'm not going to lie, I mostly picked this one because Jun Han is at peak hair (warning for some flashing lights)

[rhysiana]

Tagged by @hmslusitania to post six non-selfie photos!

Our (recently) late dog Willow, aged 16; rainbow swing chair covered in snow from when we got snowed in an extra day in MI over Thanksgiving; teapot filled with a flower arrangement; folk school fall festival poster featuring a banjo-playing possum; a bunch of keychain freebies I made for the Key concert I just went to last week; Key performing at the concert

Tagging (if you want to play) @fageleh, @annundriel, @roncheg, @cobrilee, and uh... [you], if you're seeing this!

[rhysiana]

Because I saw a post about how modern AU WWX would probably actually be as tall as LWJ, if not taller, since so many modern AUs don't feature him suffering as much childhood privation as canon, which reminded me of another thought I have had, about how an early life period of interrupted growth can in fact just delay a person's growth spurts rather than eliminating them. Thus: WWX who gets confusingly taller after graduating from college.

3 People Wei Ying Talked to About Suddenly Getting Taller and 1 Person Who Definitely Noticed On His Own

[Now also on AO3]

Wen Ning

Wei Ying looked down at his feet, perplexed. "Wen Ning?" he yelled down the hall. "Did something weird happen to the washing machine that you didn't tell me about?"

Wen Ning popped his head around the door to Wei Ying's room. "No? I don't think so."

"Then why are all my pants suddenly too short?" A new thought occurred to him and he looked up, now delighted. "Wen Ning! Are you actually pulling a prank on me? I know I don't have all that many clothes, but still, this must have taken so much work! I respect the dedication." He held out a fist.

Wen Ning just blinked at him. "I think... maybe you got taller, actually?"

Wei Ying scoffed. "I'm way too old for a growth spurt. Seriously, did Nie Huaisang put you up to this?"

Wen Ning gave up arguing and simply produced a tape measure instead.

~*~

Wen Qing

Wei Ying burst into Wen Qing's lab, which he might have felt worse about if she hadn't been babysitting an experiment while no one else was around. He still received an impressive glare, but he didn't have time to worry about that right now.

"Wen Qing, I need you to test me for every weird kind of chemical exposure you can think of!"

She blinked at him, looking remarkably like her brother for a moment. "Wei Ying, you're in computer science. Exactly when do you come in contact with chemicals?"

"Uh. A leak on the science campus somewhere?"

"What is actually wrong with you? Tell me in the next," she glanced at the clock, "three minutes or leave."

"I apparently grew another inch in the last month without noticing. That can't be natural. I'm 23."

She stared at him for a moment, frowned, and then her expression cleared. "You said once that you had a bad time when you were younger. Stopped growing for a while."

"Why do you even remember that?" Wei Ying asked with an uncomfortable laugh, looking away. He must have been drunk; he didn't usually bring that time of his life up in any detail. It just made people sad.

Wen Qing turned away briskly, ignoring his minor display of emotion, and checked some readouts he was pretty sure hadn't actually changed in any way yet. "Well, that's why. Your growth spurts just got delayed, not erased. It's normal. I'll send you some references tomorrow."

He swept her up in a relieved hug. "Thank you, Qing-jie. Even if this does mean I'm not developing some weird superpower mutation."

She poked him cruelly in the ribs to get him to let go. "Go away, you're distracting me."

~*~

Jiang Cheng

"You what?!" Jiang Cheng demanded at full volume. It'd been a while since they'd managed to get together in person--Wei Ying had nearly forgotten how red with frustration Jiang Cheng could get.

Wei Ying grinned and bounced a little on his toes to really rub it in. "Grew another inch."

"No! This isn't allowed! The universe can't do this to me!"

"What's the problem, little brother?" Wei Ying edged closer so he could prop his elbow on Jiang Cheng's shoulder and really lean on him. "I think I should get jiejie to measure me again and mark it on the door frame. Really make it official."

"Don't you dare!"

"Why don't I ask her now, so she'll be all ready when we see her next weekend?" Wei Ying fished out his phone and then held it up over his head, laughing, as Jiang Cheng lunged for it.

Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed. "An inch isn't really that much," he growled, and hooked Wei Ying's leg in a takedown they'd both learned when they were 11.

Wei Ying tossed his phone out of wrestling range and turned his full attention to finding a hold that would make Jiang Cheng tap out.

~*~

Lan Zhan

"Wei Ying."

Most people claimed Lan Zhan's voice (and face) didn't have any expression, but Wei Ying could clearly hear the shock underlying his name.

"Lan Zhan!" he returned brightly. "You're back! Did you have a good trip? You've been gone for months and months!"

Wei Ying was used to the intensity of Lan Zhan's regard under normal circumstances--one of the many things he loved about being friends with him--but he didn't think he was imagining that it was particularly intense today.

"It was as I texted you," Lan Zhan said shortly, and then, surprisingly, continued before Wei Ying could get a teasing reply in. "Wei Ying... did you get taller?"

"Oh, that!" Wei Ying felt himself start to blush, for some reason. "Yeah, I did. It was so weird at first, but Qing-jie assures me it's normal, and I've almost gotten used to it now. It was just an inch but I had to go buy all new... pants..." He trailed off as Lan Zhan pushed into his personal space much closer than he ever had without Wei Ying initiating it first, as far as Wei Ying could recall. "Hi?"

They were nearly chest to chest now, and he could see it when Lan Zhan actually had to tilt his chin up just a bit to meet Wei Ying's eyes.

"Hello," Lan Zhan said, grave and low and very, very focused.

Wei Ying wasn't entirely sure what was happening right now, but he was pretty sure he was into it.

[rhysiana]

For posterity, a somewhat expanded version of me trying to explain to a friend last night why The Devil Judge has taken up permanent residence in my mind:

Listen, I'm still thinking about The Devil Judge and why Gaon and Yohan are so obsessed with each other, and it's like this:

Yohan thinks he's a broken monster because his father told him so and treated him like one for his entire childhood, and then he had to train himself to act like a human by observing others like a scientist, and Gaon is the only person who has ever looked at him and told him he isn't as monstrous as he thinks and there is actually a place for him in the world.

And Gaon has been repressing his rage ever since his parents died, because his best friend and his mentor were constantly sending him the message that it would make him a bad person (implying their love was conditional), and Yohan takes his hand and tells him rage can actually be such a powerful tool if he can just learn to harness it, because there are so many things to be rightfully, righteously angry about.

Essentially:

Gaon: If I succumb to my rage, I'll turn into a monster no one can love.

Yohan: You just told me people can love monsters after all. Were you lying?

[rhysiana]

Things I received today:

1) A stuffed dragon, which my parents found in an 30-year-old unopened box of toys from the top shelf of the front hall coat closet, where it got put when we first moved into that house.

Me: That dragon is so cute! My mom: It’s yours. (implied: don't you remember?) Me: I have genuinely never seen this thing before in my life, but yay!

2) The Wicked + The Divine compendium, which is ENORMOUS, brought to me by my Spouse upon his return from running his game league at the local game/comic store. The checkout person was reportedly very distressed by how much it weighed when they turned to pick it up off the held orders shelf.