#and like ... honestly valid

[egophiliac]

2025 is the year of the DRAGON SLIPPERS

[vaguely-concerned]

My two cents on how much of Mind!Varric is Rook’s mind trying to fill the blank space and how much is Solas actively talking through a convenient blood magic paper doll of the mind: I think it's a mix of both, a truly collaborative psychosocial horrorshow if you would, but waaaay more towards the second. It feels too directed and tactical at times to be anything else. Rook's mind is willing to go along with the denial phase as far as it can fucking carry them to not have to face the grief and regret and does its part in papering over details that don’t make any sense, the way brains will strive to create coherent meaning even out of deeply confusing input, but to my understanding it's a collaborateur in how that plays out, not the instigator or control center. Solas is using it as a path to agency and to gather insight into Rook as a person unguarded as he can't count on in his own guise. (That stoic option that leads to him being like 'oh I see you're cautiously denying me access to your inner life. well. at least you still have Varric to talk to. y'know as an outlet :)'. You absolute BITCH Solas! That alone convinced me that he HAS to have an active hand in it on some level.)

My guess is that it takes considerable effort on Solas’ part to make Mind!Varric do anything more involved or complicated than seeming to sit up in bed and give casual commentary, and that’s why he keeps having eerie five minute shallow pep talks with you before he announces he conveniently needs a nap aaanyway good luck kid you got this haha. When he’s just spouting NPC lines from his bedrest, I’m ready to believe that could be Rook’s mind being allowed to improv lines for him more freely because it’s less about Solas trying to get something out of them or working an angle and more ‘Still here! Still totally alive and fine and the mentor figure you know and love and trust :) don’t even worry about it! Thankfully there is no war in Ba Sing Sei, as we all know’ upkeep work lol. Rook’s mind is allowed to set the tone of Varric, the outlines, but not always the content. 

AND, on a (beautifully fucked up) character psychology level, I feel like Solas is indulging in actually getting to be the good supportive mentor figure to Rook with one hand to assuage the guilt he feels about what he's done -- and what he's going to do -- to them with the other. Same internal logic as he uses in Trespasser about the Qun. ‘Almost everyone is going to die from the course of action I’m doggedly pursuing eventually. But at least I can make their last years happier and freer and kinder than they would have been otherwise. and that kind of makes up for it right. a little bit. doesn't it. doesn't that make it better at least. I need that to make it better)'. Did I really take your beloved mentor and friend from you if you don’t know yet that I did? Some philosophers would argue not really! So it’s probably almost ok actually. Isn’t it even a little noble that I’m taking all this grief and guilt on myself and shielding you for now. With undertones that I’m not sure he would realize himself (and might be mortified by if he did) that he is so incredibly lonely, and even a dishonest and indirect emotional connection is more than nothing when you’re that desperate. In this setup he gets idk. Both the control he craves so incredibly badly in relationships and over himself, and the scraps, the fading afterimages, of intimacy and warmth and companionship, even second hand. The one thing Solas and Rook agree on deep deep down is that they really wish Varric weren't gone. They're handshake memeing this in the saddest and most creepy way possible.

I think an important element too is that Solas needs Rook and their team to *succeed* —  up to a certain point. He needs someone to hold the two other elven mean girls off until he can get out of here. Ideally, in a perfect world, even do all the hard work of killing them so he can swoop in at the end and do his thing when both sides are exhausted and out of resources to stop him, and then Bob’s your uncle! Same logic as he was using with Corypheus, and after that worked out so well, too! King of choosing to never learn from a single solitary mistake he’s ever made even though i fully believe he could have the capacity to Fen’Harel <3 The underlying idea isn’t flawed, you see, it was just unforeseen circumstances getting in the way. This time for sure it’ll all work out the way I cleverly imagined it in my head beforehand. Cue By Talos this can’t be happening etc. in the form of a statue almost crushing him like a bug. 

So he's providing guidance and forging Rook into a leader from two angles: one Rook might not trust, and one they probably will. Shaping them into what he needs slowly and carefully. He’s helping you hone your team into their most effective state, as he might have done with his own agents back in the day, setting up his chess pieces even if he has to squint through two glimpsed realities to do it haha. Pincer maneuver of an insidious stealth mentor you never asked for. Also… at one point mind Varric gives you a whole little monologue about how Solas' problem is that he’s always seen his interpersonal connections as flaws and see where it’s landed him, all alone and the worst part? it hasn’t even worked. it’s all been for nothing he’s back where he began with nothing to show for it but his mistakes. Like...that has such strong 'uh okay happy to play your therapist from two rooms away here what the fuck kind of traumadump is this' energy to me, I’m not sure Rook like. Thinks that much about Solas as a private person. So much of Solas' self-loathing and futile insights into his own flaws seem to shine through in Mind!Varric's dialogue all the time — I just can't believe that there's no guiding hand behind it as it were. 

Most of all. I feel like people underestimate the degree to which Solas is incredibly funny. As in, he has a very consistent and recognizable sense of humour. It’s one of my very favourite things about him. We must remember — it is crucial that we always keep in mind — Orlesian accent and wig Solas from May The Dread Wolf Take You (my beloved, the explanation for why I love this dude even with the. All of the everything else. No one does it quite like him). He is not at all above doing things or adding little flourishes for his own obscure amusement, in fact that seems to me to be one of his most consistent traits. The Randy Dowager Quarterly comment Varric has? The ‘Maybe this is the Dread Wolf’s revenge. Forcing us to house sit for him’ thing? To Me this is 100% Solas amusing himself in his boring Fade jail surrounded by the screaming hellscape of all his regrets. Source: it came to me as divine revelation through pure vibes trust me bro 

If nothing else I find it much more narratively interesting personally if the connection between Rook and Solas really is that defenselessly intimate and entwined (and so unbalanced!), and the sense of violation and invasion and betrayal afterwards consequently all the more nauseatingly intense. Even if you kept him at arm’s length in the open, he’s been under your skin the whole time, looking around, gathering what he needs to destroy you, wearing the face of a friend. Regretfully, probably, but choosing to do it every step of the way anyway. (Sound familiar, Inquisitor? Solas doesn’t have that many tricks when you actually look at it, he keeps returning to old tried and true ones like a dog with a bone haha.) Maybe he even genuinely meant some of it as mercy, which only makes it so much worse. It makes his sin against his own core principles of autonomy and the freedom of all beings in mind, spirit and body so much more juicily grave if it’s something he pursues actively and consistently, rather than it half-falling into his lap as a happy accident mainly orchestrated by Rook’s own subconscious. Solas, too, is at his very lowest point, the closest to giving in and becoming his own antithesis fully that he’s ever been, and it makes the choice of whether you still reach out your hand to him one last time or not all the more impactful and difficult.

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

He just wants to be missed

[mr-jammed-toast]

see the reason why solangelo holds a very special place in my heart is actually the fact that they're canonically dating. i think not only because i came from fandoms where queer ships were atmost only implied due to censorship, but because i adore queer couples, especially teenagers (since theyre around my age and it feels more realistic to me) navigating through their relationship.

sure, nico and will havent known each other as long as percabeth, and some might even say that they rushed dating each other too easily. and because of that, maybe nico and will arent on the same level of trust and understanding a couple like percabeth has, maybe they still have a shit ton of issues that they need to deal with, especially those that are obstacles to their relationship.

but does that stop them from loving each other?

tsats shows us that despite the misunderstandings and the conflicts, will and nico are willing to overcome those- to try and understand the other better, to fix the rift between the two of them- because they simply love each other so much. they enjoy being in other's presence, and they embrace their similarities and differences like it's a part of them. that it's never too late to apologize, to give a second chance, and to change, when you know you love someone that deeply.

i never believed in a perfect solangelo, where they are soulmates who automatically understand each and every part of themselves just because fate says so. and although tsats wasn't perfect, i'd honestly rather take a flawed relationship between two deeply traumatized teenagers than the former.

[livinginadumpster]

The way Dead Boy Detectives handles queerness and labeling of sexuality is honestly so refreshing. The way it's handled makes is very obvious that it's not the kind of media in which characters are assumed straight until proven otherwise; the characters' sexualities are left undefined because the focus isn't on specific labels, it's on the relationships between characters.

As the show goes on, it becomes abundantly clear that the characters' sexualities are a non-factor. Sure, Jenny dates women, but a label is never put on that. Same with Edwin - he is clearly interested in men, but not once in the show is he labeled as gay. It's not necessary in either case; labeling these characters wouldn't add anything to their stories or character arcs. The show is completely relaxed about labels because they're almost never a part of or even relevant to the plot.

And so, in a show that is so utterly unconcerned with labels, it would also be exceeding strange to impose the label of "straight" on any character. Characters like Charles and Crystal, who clearly demonstrate attraction to the opposite gender, don't come across as strictly heterosexual, they come across as people experiencing human emotions. And a character like Niko, who never expresses romantic attraction to anyone, really can't be assumed heterosexual either, because it simply wouldn't be in line with what we know about her.

Heterosexuality never comes across as the default in this universe. It never seemed as if the writers automatically assumed any character, no matter how background, to be straight. Queerness is explored not as a defiance of the norm but as just another way of loving someone. In a world where being queer is always viewed as alternate or deviant, and where coming out is a lifelong process that begins again every time you meet someone new because you're always assumed cishet, this kind of complete abolishment of heteronormativity is a breath of fresh air. Seeing queerness handled in such a casual way onscreen honestly feels a little bit revolutionary.

[levemetal]

@sillyxaly suggested Jw adopting SJ and it was too fun to brainrot about with @ace-shenanigans too.

Rest assured, no matter the au variation, as long as SJ is adopted by a tgcf character, he shall be the bane of Jw's existence and make him consider early retirement.

[chaotic-carnifex]

No hold on I'm gonna make an extra post about this:

I wouldn't choose to be alloromantic

If I were given the choice to either remain aro or become alloro again, I would choose aromanticism.

And I think a lot of people need to hear that.

[secretlysimpash]

It's canon that König has severe social anxiety. He's suffered from it throughout his entire life. As someone with severe anxiety (social + generalized), I have some thoughts and headcanons (everything after this lil blurb is not 100% canon).

Okay so I know I said all of these aren't 100% canon but may I draw your attention to this:

"Inability to stay still". Severe anxiety can and will make someone fidgety as fuck (speaking from experience). So he definitely still fidgets when he's not completely in the zone. Leg bouncing, messing with his gloves or the hem of his mask/hood, constant checking of belts and straps, ect. Also, pacing. König paces a lot.

In some cases, even severe social anxiety can lessen with time. This is somewhat the case with König. While it's not as bad as it was during his childhood, he still gets flare-ups that make him feel exactly the way he did back then. He's a 6-foot-whatever giant, but his brain will bring him right back to being that bullied kid again.

From his in-game dialogue, it's kinda shown that he's cocky. It started as a masking tactic at first until he genuinely became cocky...But is also always seeking validation, and realized that confidence is more praised in his field of work.

While anxiety and shyness are normally seen as going hand in hand, this is not the case for König. This man is NOT shy, or timid, or even that much of an introvert (he's an ambivert, imo).

That being said, I do see him as being more reserved outside of missions. Not because he's shy, but just because he's more in his head most of the time.

Back to the fidgeting bit, I see him as having a bit of a skin picking habit. Scarred lips and cuticles for sure. Plus cracking knuckles and cracking his neck.

Has torn up gloves from tearing at frayed bits on them.

Social anxiety will make someone irritable as hell. Anxiety can come out as anger or irritability sometimes, and this is the case for König.

This man bottles his emotions like a fine wine until it culminates into anxiety attacks.

Will come off as not giving a fuck and being confident as hell, but is usually nervous about what people think of him. Internalizes the hell out of it, though.

Can be very dismissive of his own anxiety. Likely grew up around people telling him that he needs to get over it, suck it up, and other similar sentiments.

Does have useful coping mechanisms now, certainly more than he did when he was a kid or when he first joined. And while he probably doesn't keep up with going to therapy now, he was given some coping mechanisms that stuck with him when he did go.

Diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) when he did finally go to a therapist (I feel like his bio describing it as "SEVERE social anxiety" makes this canon in a way, but,,,it's definitely canon to me).

People get shocked when they find out he has anxiety at all, let alone severe social anxiety...Which is fine, understandable even, but hates when anyone makes a big deal out of it and starts prying.

(König x reader headcanons under the cut)

Some people hate being touched while they're going through anxiety attacks or flare-ups. König will unleash the full force of his anxiety-induced anger onto most people that try to touch him when he's going through it. You are not most people.

Let him play with your hair, or play with his. The choice is yours, because he'll be content with either. It soothes him.

Anxiety can be so fucking draining. So when anxiety hits him hard, König is going to be tired. So hypothetically, if he were to pass out after a long day of his brain being the worst liar and he woke up to chores being done/dinner being cooked/sees that you just did something for him...He'd love you so much.

On the other side of that coin, he does have trouble sitting still. So more often than not, rather than staying in bed with you, he'll drag you out of the house for a hike or a walk. Something so you're both moving, focusing on each other and the world around you.

Also, loses sleep from his anxiety. If he's up in the dead of night, he won't wake you up. But if you're awake anyway or wake up and decide to stay up for him, expect to binge watch something mind numbing and/or soothing. Something distracting. Just a casual 3 AM scrolling session through TikTok or YT shorts, watching the most random shit until you both pass back out.

[silverlining-ships]

hey, you. your selfship is valid. it doesn't matter whether it's super fleshed out, or just an idea in your head. it doesn't matter whether the source material is popular or niche. the only thing that matters is that your f/o loves you to death and would do anything for you.

[rinius-lin]

vanilla milkshakers/shadowvanilla shippers rn with the update:

[profoundmakerdreamerss-blog]

I hate, hate golden trio bashing fics. They have such a ride-and-die friendship like bro they raided a bank together then fled on a dragon they stuck together through so much — while having fights like normal friends do, but the best thing about them? They get back together. No matter what. Thus, coming out of a literal war in one piece, together; if that doesn't tell you how much they love each other then I don't know what to tell you.

[egophiliac]

he's coming

I'M NOT READY

[mamawasatesttube]

peak timsteph to me is like, some situation where they are in the heights of their divorce era, but something happens that gets steph real rattled, and tim doesn't want to comfort her himself but he doesn't want her to be completely alone with it either. so she hears a knock at the door and opens it to find a plate full of steaming hot mashed potatoes. he's nowhere to be found but she knows no one else would've known what her number one comfort food is. the presence of the potatoes means something. so does his absence. who else knows her like he does? it haunts her every time she sees the scars on the nape of his neck. (not that she sees those often. there's a reason he keeps the cowl up and his hair long, these days.)

[basket-of-radiants]

In my Rhythm of War rewrite, Odium never switches his attention from Venli to Moash. As a downstream consequence of this, 100% of my complaints for both characters are resolved.

[genderhexed]

If you don't have DID maybe you're not gonna fully get the innie experience, okay?

watching this show as someone who is multiple and then reading y'alls takes about it is so incredibly frustrating like.....many of you can't seem to actually accurately empathize with the innie experience (and I guess that makes sense). the villification of mark and helly in the tag already is making me so sad.

but you don't understand what it's like. to constantly be told you're not important because you're not the one everyone on the outside knows. to be constantly told you're not real. to be condescended to like a child about your interests, your likes, your desires, the ways you show and want love. to be expected to be fine with having less of a life. to have your romantic interests deemed secondary or unimportant, to not be able to pursue the relationships you want.

to be told by people with power over you, over and over again, that you are a problem to be fixed, that smushing yourself into one reintegrated person is the only option, that you have no choice but to give into whatever the "Real One" wants and be banished to the shadows (at least, that's the way we've been treated by mainstream psychology up to current day, except for a small cadre of plural affirming providers who see it differently).

that all being said, i am absolutely fucking gutted for gemma, devastated for her, for where we ended the episode with her and for all her innies who had to experience absolute hell, and I don't want this for her. AND!!! i do not fucking hold it against mark s. and helly, that for once, they got to make their own fucking choice, not have their autonomy and consent stripped away from them, not be second fiddle and unimportant to the life of the outies. is it a good plan? doubtful!! but do i respect their desire to try to exist and be together? yeah. tbh oMark fumbled the fucking ball so hard with that conversation - the condescension, the clear inability to understand and accept that iMark is his own person with desires, needs, interests, relationships, and that maybe an apology isn't enough. (I mean, I think both Marks were sort of fucked by the time constraint and inability to share and obtain more information, but still.)

do hard choices have to be made regardless? yeah, there's not really any way everyone can win here. But still. I don't blame Mark S and Helly. As Helly said, "they give us half a life and expect us not to fight for it." really truly imagine what that must be like. and know that some systems are living it. and that it is deeply unfair.

[trashcanniballecter]

Maomao has gained the favor of the entire imperial family through the power of autism alone. What a queen