#peak of human interaction imo

[sugar-phoenix]

yeah sex is cool, but have you ever had a conversation with someone about analyzing characters you both love in a piece of media that you are both hyperfixated in that spanned multiple days?

[aventurineswife]

More Iron Warrior reader!

This time with more interactions with the other Hunters and Astral Express (and another bonus).

Reader gets constant shit from Kafka and Silver Wolf. Like, you have this stoic and ancient superhuman who's damn near a demigod (probably is now with the warp), you just know they are going to tease and give the reader shit lol.

But when it matters they pull through for the reader and vice-versa.

Kafka and Wolf are pinned or otherwise trapped? Better watch out for the 8ft-9ft tall heavily armed and armored demigod rocking up to ruin your day. Reader finds himself heavily wounded and still fighting on? Kafka and Silver Wolf are there to help him back up.

But there are gentler moments between the three.

Kafka: "Are you awake, ancient one?" (Let's just say we're 10,000 years past the Horus Heresy)

Reader: "usually am, spider."

Kafka, chuckling softly: "Of course. Thank you again, for your help today. Your presence is an anchor these days."

Reader: "Mhm... thank you for patching me up."

Then there's Silver Wolf who treats the reader more like an older sibling.

Wolf: "You got a minute big man?"

Reader, looking over heavy bolter: "Speak, Punklord."

Wolf: "You should take a break some time you know? Come on, I'm heading out and want some company."

Reader, huffing but not denying: "Very well."

Then there's Blade and reader, who both have this quiet understanding to not intrude on each other. Their interactions are limited but meaningful, with most of them being during a mission where complete carnage is the result. They understand each other, they understand the meaning of the others life and that's all they need.

But then there's the Astral Express.

Oh boy, I truly believe that reader and Himeko would get along great. Both are mechanics at heart and have a great understanding of their respective machines.

Welt and reader probably wouldn't mix imo, mostly due to Welt's over-cautious nature (and maybe being aware of what exactly the reader is).

March would obviously be off-put but not for long. I like to believe March looks past what the person is and focuses on who they are. She probably tries to get past readers walls, to see if there's still a human heart behind all the metal and hate and anger.

Dan Heng would be in the same boat as Welt, but more so because he can just *tell* reader is not someone to be messed with.

Trailblazer I think would focus more of reader being a Stellaron Hunter. Does he know the TB? Did they work together?

TB, nervously: "Do you know me?"

Reader: "Yes."

TB: "Have we worked together?"

Reader: "Yes."

TB, hopeful: "Can you tell me about my past?"

Reader: "Mm... I saw, see you as my child. I am not allowed to say any more on the matter."

TB, near tears: "Thank you..."

And lastly, somehow reader ends up on Amphoreus and now the denizens are trying to fathom who this hulking person in armor is and just how much of a threat they are (spoiler, Amphoreus is in for a bad time).

Just imagine reader somehow intruding on Agleae's interrogation of Dan Heng and TB, seeing TB in danger and nearly shattering all of Agleae's bones as a result.

Agleae is trying to use her golden threads but something sinister, something malevolent (hello warp), is interfering and ruining her mind as this pissed off behemoth ragdolls her like she weighs nothing.

It takes TB begging the reader to stop, and even then there's a heavy bolter still trained on Agleae's bruised and broken body.

Queue Phainon and Castorice in shock over seeing someone manhandle Aglaea so brutally, and are getting ready to attack reader when the TB explains what happened, and why the reader reacted the way they did.

This is obviously (especially the end) extremely self-indulgent and ooc but let me have this lol.

Naaaah, you ate with this one—like absolutely devoured and left no crumbs. The vision, the dynamics, the weight behind every interaction? Peak. This is that ancient demigod energy filtered through pure, unadulterated vibes and I’m here for every second of it.

You absolutely get to be self-indulgent. This is your Iron Warrior Reader saga and honestly? It’s cinema.

Of course they tease the Reader. What else are you supposed to do when your squad includes a towering, warp-touched tank of a man built in the fires of techno-barbaric Mars and 30k grimdark trauma?

Kafka: “Hey, big guy. You always grunt like that when you’re injured or are you just dramatic?”

Reader, mid-limp, missing a chunk of ceramite: “I’m bleeding out.”

Kafka: “And yet somehow still more bearable than most of our contacts.”

(Later that night she's quietly replacing his bandages.)

Silver Wolf, leaning over the reader's shoulder: “How many kills on this one?”

Reader, not looking up from his bolter: “Sixty-seven.”

Silver Wolf: “Tied, then. Guess I need to up my game. Wanna help me cheat?”

(Reader grunts, which she takes as a yes.)

But when push comes to warp-shoved shove, they are ride-or-die. Reader gets blown half to hell holding off a warp-corrupted Abundance cult? Kafka is dragging his arm over her shoulder, teeth gritted, not leaving him behind.

Silver Wolf is over there rerouting life support and warping a Magellan-class dreadnought's system into a medbay.

And the quiet moments?

Kafka, voice soft as silk: “Thank you again, for today.”

Reader, voice like gravel and fire: “I do not regret bleeding for those I trust.”

Kafka: “I know. But I still want to say it.”

That’s a bond that runs deeper than warp-rifts.

She is the tech-goblin little sister Reader never asked for but secretly treasures. She makes up nicknames for him like “Tankbro,” “Iron Lurch,” or “O.G. Doomslayer.”

SW: “C’mon, big guy. You ever not polish your armor? We’re gonna go play games and I need someone to scare the guy at the front desk.”

Reader, sighing: “Very well. But I will not play anything with microtransactions.”

SW: “Please, I hack those out anyway.”

She’s the only one allowed to climb on his back like a tree and install a new system into his power pack mid-fight while chewing gum.

Those two? They’re the storm and the blade of it. They don’t talk much. They don’t need to.

They understand pain, purpose, and the unbearable weight of unkillable legacies.

Missions with them are silent blood ballets.

Blade lunges, Reader fires. Blade clears a corridor, Reader covers the exit.

One nod, and they part ways again.

There’s respect. An understanding.

No war cries. No flair.

Just execution.

Himeko & Reader? Peak synergy. Both hands-on, both precise, both bonded to their ships like extensions of their souls.

They drink together in the engine room. Reader shows her how to re-seal ancient voidcraft armor with carbonite paste. She teaches him how to flavor tea without burning it.

When he mentions his home forge on Olympia, she just quietly says,

“I hope it was warm, at least.”

March 7th? She’s afraid at first. The armor, the aura, the age. But she pushes through.

Brings him snacks. Chats to his silent face until one day…

He replies.

“Your courage is enviable, child.”

She beams. He lets her paint a flower on the inside of his gauntlet. Doesn’t even scowl.

Dan Heng? Cautious. Watchful. Not hostile, but wary. He’s sensed abyssal entities before.

But over time, he begins to see the discipline. The control.

When he sees Reader meditating over the damage he’s caused—not glorifying it—he bows his head in quiet acknowledgment.

Trailblazer? God, that moment?

Chilling. Bittersweet.

TB: “Do you know me?”

Reader: “Yes.”

TB: “Did we fight together?”

Reader: “Many times. You bled well. You inspired more.”

TB: “Can you tell me more?”

Reader, quietly: “You were my child. I am bound by oath not to say more.”

TB, voice breaking: “...Thank you.”

That’s the kind of moment you remember. That hits like a thunder hammer to the heart.

Reader stepping onto that baroque, mind-melting nightmare of a domain is like the grimdark equivalent of Godzilla showing up at your tea party.

Aglaea: “You will break before—”

Reader: grabs her mid-sentence and slams her through a marble pillar

Her threads snap. Her mind fractures. The warp echoes through her synapses like static laced with whispers.

TB is the only thing keeping Reader from outright annihilating her.

TB: “Please. I’m okay. I promise.”

Reader, voice ice-cold: “She touched you.”

The bolter hums.

But… he lowers it.

Phainon and Castorice?

Frozen. Speechless. The expression that says, “This thing? This war engine? Was on your side?!”

That’s not out of character. That’s just beautifully layered.

[mikayuumouse]

hiiii hope your week is going well !!

im curious on who are your favourite characters of all time and and what are your favourite ships of all time? do you have a specific type in characters/ships?

hii! I hope your week is going well too<3

Ooo my favorites of all time? Well, alongside Bsd, I'm in quite a few fandoms. So other than bsd, I absolutely love Supernatural, Hunter x Hunter, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Given, Your Lie in April, Monster High, Tokyo Ghoul, FNAF, Gravity Falls and Artemis Fowl :D

(more series that I like but focus on less would be Seraph of the End, RWBY, Chainsaw Man, Haikyuu!!, Sailor Moon, Spy x Family, Tokyo Revengers, HTTYD, tgcf, and definitely some more that I'm forgetting lmao)

I have a lot of favorites that's for sure lmao but I think if I narrowed down the list to characters I love, it would be;

Atsushi, Akutagawa, Adam, Chuuya, Higuchi, Kyouka, Ranpo, Nikolai, Dazai, Poe, and Bram from Bsd, Kurapika, Gon and Killua from Hunter x Hunter, Jotaro, Kakyoin, Polnareff, Josuke, DIO and Joseph from JoJo's, Dean, Sam, Castiel, Ash and Crowley from Supernatural, Uenoyama from Given, Kaori from YLIA, Lagoona, Rochelle, Catty, Cleo, Robecca, Draculaura, Pharaoh, Deuce, and Skelita from Monster High, Hide and Tsukiyama from Tokyo Ghoul, Sun, Freddy, and Cupcake from FNAF, Dipper, McGucket, Mabel, Soos and Stan from Gravity Falls and Mulch from Artemis Fowl. It's a huge list lmaoo

But if it were to be whittled down to the ✨favorites✨ of the favorites, that would be Atsushi and Akutagawa :>

Now onto favorite ships ehehe,I think you know what it's in very first place :]

It's my beloved and perfect Shin Soukoku ofc 😔 I love them so much it's probably concerning at this point

Other ships that I really, really love are Soukoku, Ranpoe, Kunibram, and Kenjikyou for Bsd (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

Then from other fandoms, Destiel from Spn, Catty x Pharaoh, Draculaura x Clawd, Deuce x Cleo, and Spectra x Porter from Monster High, Killugon and Leopika from HxH, Mafuyama from Given, Hideki and Akira x Amon from Tokyo Ghoul, Kaosei from YLIA, and Jotakak, Caejose, and Josuyasu from JoJo's. Not on my current fandoms list but I love Obamitsu and Giyuushino from Demon Slayer too, it's been years since I finished the series though, haven't really been in the fandom

Bahaha this is ending up really long. I've got too many fandoms 🙏 and that's why I'm only a bsd/sskk blog, keeps things simple 😔 (plus they've crowded up my brain so much who knows if I've got time for other topics LMAO. Although with my art I definitely differentiate with some fandoms :>)

For specific types in characters/ships, I definitely like certain types of both lol. I really love robot/nonhuman characters who are just oblivious about how humans work but try their best anyway to help. I've seen some people really only prefer broken/dark characters, but I love both darker and lighter writing tones. Moral conflict is where I absolutely love writing. I don't know if I have a recurring type of favorite character (although the grumpy/quiet ones are always amazing), I like a lot of different story tones, it's too hard to pick lmao. But I do love when characters complement each other, or were even written for each other

For ships, my ideal ship is the amazing and unique sskk, ofc. It's so complex and layered, perfectly written with two characters who mirror and complete each other. Sskk is honestly, at the end of the day, peak

So I don't know if I have a preference for ships (besides imo sskk being just, the best type of ship), although I don't ship any poly ships (they're weird to me I'm sorry 🙏), and there are some fandoms in in where I don't even ship anything at all haha

Overall, for ships, I look for chemistry. Their interactions together, how deep their relationship goes, what it'd be like if they actually dated, etc. It's a big reason why I don't like rarepairs too. It really matters on what ship with what characters for me lol (I also don't really multi ship. I don't for the Bsd fandom at least)

And thank you for the ask! Sorry this ended up so long whoops, but it was fun to answer (⁠´⁠∩⁠｡⁠•⁠ ⁠ᵕ⁠ ⁠•⁠｡⁠∩⁠`⁠)

[nsuyeula]

A, C, G, T, V

Here we go boi's

A - Ships that you currently like a lot.

Obviously we have Shaunahat right up there at the moment - those two have me in the insanest chokehold known to mankind.

Before that though, I got smacked right in the face with the fact I was sleeping on Renora from RWBY after relistening to the entire soundtrack again when it returned to Spotify. Nora who has always confidently displayed her love growing to hate herself and Ren realises far to late that he loves her for everything she is, is just peak angst potential and I can't believe it took me four-five years after V8 aired to realise it.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

I'm pretty new to Yellowjackets so there isn't any relationship dynamic that is a hard no for me. All have potential to me and have an interesting element that's worth exploring.

Off the top of my head, I think one of the few ships I just never could bring myself to like is Keith and Lance from Voltron. Don't get me wrong, I consume the fanart bc some really great artists I adore made art for them. But to me they were always this really good rivalry to mutual respect to friendship dynamic and I never saw it as more then that, particularly when Lance had a canon romance with Allura and Shiro & Keith had a far more interesting history and dynamic imo. Final nail for me tho was the yelling of queerbating by some fans after the show ended. Obnoxious fans will put me off any ship, especially when they yell queerbating about a show with a canon queer character, because it's not the character or ship they specially wanted.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

This answer makes me cringe in shame, but also, these two are my roman empire. It's just hard to explain to people who've not played the entirety of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy why Hope and Lightning aren't actually super problematic.

Bare with me bc this involves a lot of time travel nonsense.

Game One - Lightning is 21, Hope is 14. Whole mentor and student thing going on, helping one another heal from trauma and breaking out of their shells.

Game Two - Lightning is still 21 because she's trapped in the death realm protecting the goddess of death. Time doesn't exist there. Hope is 27 and is trying to save all of humanity in an attempt to save his friend and, by extension, Lightning.

Game Three - Lightning is still 21, was frozen in crystal for 500 years. Hope is 527 after the death realm and the real world merge, and was tortured for several decades / maybe a century or two by a God who specially makes him hallucinates Lightning to get him to break mentally and physically regress to his teen body in order to become a vessel for said God. In the end, after Lightning saves everyone's soul, Hope saves hers, and they are reborn into the new world, and the creator's confirm Hope gets his adult body back.

CAN YOU SEE WHY THIS GETS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE FRANCHISE! Most these two's interactions happen when Hope is or looks 14. Unlike my teen self who didn't know better, I only ship Game 2 & 3 Hoperai nowadays. But what is even more funny is these two are treated like the offical couple for this entry in the Final Fantasy franchise (there is always one) by JP fans WHEN THERE IS ALREADY AN ACTUAL CANON ONE. That's the power of these two lmao.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

I'll stick to Yellowjackets for this one.

I fully believe that Shauna is suffering from Dissociation - specifically Depersonalization - even before she crashed out in the Wilderness and before she developed postpartum psychosis.

I headcanon she has a warped sense of self, very disconnected from her identity and emotions. Lives in a haze if you will. Her love and obsession with Jackie, her trying to become Jackie, and have what Jackie had was her way of masking her Depersonalization. Unable to connect with any identity of her own, Shauna took Jackie's and plastered it over herself to try and feel complete.

The postpartum psychosis and the rage it brings help Shauna break through the dissociation for a while, but when she returns to society, it takes over again, and that's how she ends up with Jeff.

Is it a little bit of projection bc I have a dissociative disorder? Maybe. But you cannot tell me Shauna wasn't suffering from some kind of complex metal health issue even before the crash, it's ingrained in her even before all the horrible trauma she goes through in the show.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Kinda ties into the last question nicely - but Shauna.

She's someone who has never had no real identity, has suffered so much trauma, and finds herself falling into societal norms in an attempt to keep herself safe and wanted by people. Now, the trauma I've gone through is nothing compared to what's she's gone through, but I relate a lot to this idea of having this internal darkness you have to keep buried for the sake of those around you or for what is 'best'. It took me a long time to accept my Alters, and to accept their purpose in existing, but I have received a lot of pushback for their existance - especially from family - being told I need to manage my episodes better when they only happen when I'm pushed beyond my limit. A little too much TMI maybe, but just sorta offering insight into why I truly resonate with Shauna's character and can never villainse her the way others do.

[fronexus]

Rambling about Mizuki (might have grammar mistakes oopsie)

the way this quest genuinely soloed the entire second/final half of natlan is insane

SOOO. MIZUKI. AMAZING CHARACTER. I study human sciences so it was a nice treat for me. Yummy design ("oh but she's sexualized-" while i do agree the skirt is so incredibly short that's the only problem + her burst isn't that weird imo. I can see why some people think it's meant to be sexual though). I love her voice in english because she sounds mature af and not a whiny shy girl. Great introduction of her, solid foundation, and most importantly PURPLE. Idc that she will be added in the standard, I'm wasting my guaranteed on her

Onto the quest, it was a delight. While i did spam skip here and there, i mostly sat there and read the whole thing. The way some scenes were highly animated (I.E the therapy section with traveler) was such a nice change and i loved how we could interact (clicking, shaking the screen etc.).

Also, judging the fact that they've been hinting at a war or whatever + Ei was seen in the trailer, this was a very good establishment of Mizuki and her future role in the story. Can't wait for my main (Ei) to get therapy THE GIRL NEEDS IT SO BADLY BRO

Traveler getting therapy before me is wild

this image is sososoos fucking pretty bro i love inazuma smmmm as always inazuma is peak and the saving grace of current genshin. Truly a breath of fresh air after all the chaos and negativity of Natlan (i need to log off tiktok istg). Inazuma forever number one nation yes i am biased no i don't care.

[agentisclickbait]

im the interest man...I collect interests /ref

UMM I GOT INTO TROLLHUNTERS woah caps,,,oops. uh I finished the entirety of tales of arcadia, leaving the other spin-offs + movie to watch

spoilers I suppose?

the way I mourned over angor rot's death/sacrifice (again, fr this time) as if I knew him personally,,,,

OFCOURSE I like/latch onto the creepy undead villain like a parasite. OFCOURSE he has a sympathetic and I feel really bad. sighgg I'm so freaking predictable.... #fuckyoumorgana

I do wish some characters (especially side villains like rot and bular, or even morgana) got a little more fleshing out of their characters/generally more character interactions. I know the plot had to keep moving but hey....yeah I wanted to see strickler and angor act like fed up roommates, so what!!! (but fr...where was rot lingering half of the time,,,like did he just do his own thing or what during his free time)

I mayyy or may not enjoy strickler + angor, even if barbra was probably endgame (? also did she not react to him switching to changeling at all or what...mabye i wasnt paying attention idk)...hey strickler has two hands yk /j

BUTTTT yeag!! peak show :0) um I'm also beginning 3below but....its not exactly clicking w me 😮‍💨 like I get it, they're aliens!!! ooo they don't understand human customs!!! (I know its a kids show SHUSH) also whats-his-face, the villain or whatever, is a total downgrade from gunmar....I don't even remember his name, that's how boring he is (imo). only saving grace is those three bounty hunters....alpha 👅 /silly

[amoneki-ramblings]

003 for the ask: which Kaneki is your favorite to ship with Amon?

Oooh that's an interesting ask (I was gonna answer this earlier but I kinda forgot, oop-) let's go !!

Does this one count?? I feel like this could just be categorized under Shironeki; I'm not really sure if this counts as A Kaneki it's just A State he's in sometimes, but I also can't deny how horribly ill any scenario with Amon and Centipede Kakuja Kaneki makes me. Maybe it's because any situation involving this would probably be a given for angst and/or hurt/comfort but like hear me out (about to spew the most Incomprehensible nonsense at you). Something something bringing back someone from the Brink. Something something trusting someone to have not lost himself completely even after he stares you straight in the eye like he doesn't recognize you at all. There's this one detail in the scene at Kanou's lab where you don't see Kaneki's 'human' eye for (i think) the entire time he's on his rampage except for when he tries to remember Amon and when he tries to remember "this world is wrong" and I just think that's a little fucked up (also the way Amon says "yeah" and almost-smiles because he trusted and knew all along when Kaneki admits he doesn't actually want to kill and eat, guh. and-) and Wow I really need to stop before I end up with another hundred word analysis about that scene okay moving on

Shironeki !! - Peak Amoneki era right there. Ironically I don't have a lot to say, they're just Good (also probably because I dumped a lot of my thoughts on them already with one of the previous asks). They're The Classics yknow ?? You can do whatever you want and it's great, guy who's chasing after another guy who's always just out of his reach, guys who are kindred spirits, guys with the Best Dynamic Ever it's hard to go wrong, really

Haise :)) - While they're different I still want to fit Haise on here because God. They should've interacted. I could've been so insane about them if Amon stayed in the CCG In my heart he's tied on this scale with Shironeki but alas canon couldn't even let Haise see Amon. Haise trying to learn about Amon (with the bonus Live Kaneki Reactions) was very interesting though, I think he would've absolutely Loved him if he got to know him as a colleague. I have that whole au just for that. I just think the blend of silliness and them getting to know each other with the pain of. Haise. And the conflict of trying to separate him from Eyepatch/Kaneki just makes it very well-rounded. Wait what do you mean they never Actually interacted and I just made all that up? What do you mean I had to make an au for all that?? (also sidenote but Amonhaise and Amoneki at the same time is also a really funny dynamic imo )

Kuroneki - It's hard to imagine how their dynamic would be before. Everything, though I suppose them seeing each other after their first encounter but pre-torture could be very interesting. Amon sees the ghoul who basically leapt into the air to tear a chunk out of his shoulder and he's just Some Guy. Internally Kuroneki is like "oh God it's the investigator he's going to kill me I'm the reason his partner died this is it" and Amon's just confused like "this is the really the same guy??? but he's??" That actually reminds me I read a really good tumblr drabble once of Kuro-amoneki that's genuinely pretty great I recommend it :)

[sunheart101]

F it 3515 rant (idk if that’s the right word) I posted in my server a while back (putting it here now cause why not)

Apparently the idea was very simple and doesn’t really have that much going on underneath (makes sense it’s an easy to understand SCP, the only possibly confusing part imo is at the very end). Despite being like that it is one of Psul’s best works (overall and in my personal opinion, although in my opinion it is the best that I’ve read). Such a simple idea taken from digging in a garden being turned into that is amazing, Psul excels at horror overall as well.

The horror of it is peak, and while it isn’t personally that scary to me (more sad than scary imo), I can understand why it scared others. A seemingly harmless object hurting you at one of your most vulnerable moments, and not just hurting you, sending you to an extradimensional space where you’re forced to dig your own grave for eternity, surrounded by your corpses. Not only that the fact that it takes a place that is supposed to be a safe and/or nostalgic place, your childhood home, and turning it into a living nightmare only serves to make the situation worse, since until you look outside everything seems pretty normal and like how it was (aside from the drawing being there).

While yes the horror element of it is good I did mention that I think it’s more sad than scary, I nearly cried while reading which barely ever happens. I think it has the best researcher and D class interaction of what I’ve read. The fact that James actually seems to show kindness and compassion for D-6042 is different but absolutely wonderful to see. Seeing a researcher treat a D class as an actual human is so nice😭. The whole thing about him asking what D-6042 would like to eat when he came back, comforting him as he died, stuff like that shows it more directly, but him also letting D-6042 do his own thing if he really didn’t want to do something, and sending a team to try and dig him up also shows it. Also despite both of them only showing up in one SCP and being very simple characters (D-6042 is literally a complete blank slate) I found myself getting attached to them quite easily.

Also while it isn’t said exactly what it is, the absolute mental fuckery that the place makes someone feel is amazing. Seeing D-6042 originally say he can’t go back when the tunnel collapsed broke my heart. His fear of not only the tree but his own house made me feel even more sad.

[dervampireprince]

Hii so after the stream today/yesterday for you I think (congrats again on 10k you deserve every single one💖) I just wanted to pop in and gush about the way you show relationship and character developments through your audios.

(I'll focus mostly on Arden because imo his is the most obvious/explored, but this applies to almost all your ocs with more than one audio lol)

Like, Arden as a character is so fascinating to me because he's just so real? Like all of his actions are so logical for how someone in real life (or as real as vampires and werewolves can get, lol) would be it's amazing. Like the first audio with him where he's wary and skeptical of the listener but also really protective of them because that's just how he is, is so human and well done. And then the next one, where he goes out of his way to answer the listener's questions while also setting realistic and healthy boundaries.

I also really really like how it's implied that Ambrose and Arden talk about the listener to eachother, even Ardens little comment that Ambrose called the listener "Ardens little human", it's those little things that make them seem like they're in an actual world and have interactions outside of the audios to make it feel real, rather than individual scenes floating in a vague story. The love bites audios (and all of yours for that matter, honestly) all read like slice of life stories but in the purest way— it's like a scene opening in the middle of these characters who already live their lives whether we're there to see them or not. Like, knowing that Arden and the listener text a lot but don't talk very much in person at first, knowing that Ambrose asked Arden how much he was comfortable with being shared with the listener, Ambrose keeping first aid supplies for Arden when he shifts, it's these little details that get me.

And gosh, the audio where Arden and the listener properly get together? Chef's kiss. Peak content. The way Arden stumbles his way through like 30 minutes of dancing around the fact that he's poly, that he's a switch, that if the Listener maybe possibly ever wanted something Ambrose couldn't give he's there, its so so so sweet and adorable. and then, when he finally gets enough courage to just kiss the listener instead of dancing around it everything falls into place! It's just. Aaa. It's so real and sweet and I adore this audio fusgau

I started writing this ask because I relistened to the recent wolf audio, where Arden finally feels safe enough with the listener to shift in front of them. I think it hits me so hard because there have been hints about it before— in the sleep aid audio he talks about letting the listener see him shift one day— but he also still sets healthy boundaries!! He's still visibly (or audibly, I guess) nervous about it and getting to see that nervousness fade away is just. So gratifying.

Um. This got long. Tldr, I love Arden SO much and his development as a character has hit me right in the heart. You're amazing prince, please please please keep up this amazing work. You deserve all this good fortune tenfold 💖

- Dahlia 💖

(ps. And this is entirely unrelated to anything, but can Arden eat chocolate? If he can, does he enjoy it?)

aww thank you so much. i always feel a little bad when you guys remember all these moments because i remember.. none of them. i improvise these and then they kinda fly out of my brain. but i do care a lot about making them and about my characters, but the little things i have them say i just forget. but it means a lot that you guys remember that and that you really like amborse and arden, i hope i can

sure arden can eat chocolate, i think he's pretty boring like me when it comes to food, he's not much for fancy food or lots of candy. he'd be fine with chocolate.

[obwjam]

the potential for interactions in atsv w/ the characters and tinies are endless imo. Like imagine Jeff sees a tiyn as a thief at first and is super tough on them until he realizes that they're just trying to get by and live their life. hobie is soooo careless actually but would always make sure to save them from danger if they ever were in trouble. Miguel (fearplay king!) so tough but so protective (love the little mini-series thing you wrote about petra btw!) peter parker w/ mayday would be very caring (his perspective is different now that he has a daughter lol) tbh let's go back to this era i miss it sm. 'pologies for the rambles

no you’re so right because somehow i think spiderverse g/t is underrated on here like 😭 hobie so obviously doesnt care but he does so in a way that still keeps a tiny friend safe??? like he would launch them across the room but also go berserk if they actually got hurt somehow. always yoinking them up and around but also asking if they’re alright.

jeff and rio would be SO CUTE with a tiny bc while jeff would 100% be kinda creeped out by a little tiny person, rio would go full mom mode and make sure they had food, water, clothes, all the comforts. like zero questions asked she would just make sure they’re okay. jeff would ask a billion questions because he just can’t get over the wackiness of tiny people existing but he would be really endearing and awkward about it lmao he would be kind of an asshole if he found them at a crime scene or something but if he found them like in his kitchen he’d be like o_o

god i miss the peter b. craze we went through when ITSV was released because that was so peak 😭 absolute textbook asshole giant with a heart of gold once you get through to him, but post-child peter b. would suddenly find himself baby talking to a tiny friend who is like “please don’t do that” and he genuinely just gets mixed up having to watch out for two tiny humans. he also finds himself so much more protective over the tiny whereas before he kind of just let them do their thing. now he’s like “oh don’t do that jump it’s too far” “don’t climb that you might fall” and the tiny is like ??? bro

[cutepoop]

I love seeing harmless assholery in the wild. I just watched a couple walk past, and the man pointed at an abandoned pacifier on the ground and asked the woman with him, "Is that yours?" She appeared thoroughly done with his shit. Peak human interaction, imo.

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Shadowgast Recs: Pre-Episode 97

This week, we went back before the Essek traitor reveal to look at older characterizations (and spellings) of Essek. Look behind the cut for a dozen stories published before Campaign 2, Episode 97 aired! And if you liked them, don't be afraid to make someone's day by commenting or giving kudos on someone's 3+ years old work!

a study in attraction by invoked_duplicity (1105,Teen) Warnings: none

Caleb asks Beau about how long she's liked women.

Reccer says: It's a sweet interaction between Beau and Caleb, and a very interesting characterization of Caleb as demisexual and attracted to a man for the very first time with Essek.

stay a moment or two by renquise (1999,Teen) Warnings: none

Caleb gives Essek a practical demonstration of Empire spellwork - for haste and slow

Reccer says: The tension is palpable, and I like the Beau interjection in the beginning

call it a human plea by flammablehat (1586,Explicit) Warnings: None

Caleb seeks out Essek to ask about the Volstrucker

Reccer says: It features a very early version of top!Essek and Caleb being turned on by Essek's magic

Dunamancy by jakia (7062,Teen) Warnings: Major character death

Caleb learns a spell from Essek to travel to other timelines, and explores three different versions of "what if?"

Reccer says: Each universe is beautifully realized, but it's Essek's reactions that really make the fic IMO.

components: v, s, m by renquise (2784,Explicit) Warnings: None

Essek is tutoring Caleb in magic again, and asks him to demonstrate some of his skills; the lesson quickly takes a turn for the sexy

Reccer says: If you like your Shadowgast smut to feature heavy doses of the wizards showing off magically, you will like this

ALTER SELF by Mikkeneko (2059,General) Warnings: None

A sweet little fic where Essek is trying his damnedest to hit on Caleb, only to be stymied by Caleb's obliviousness and ignorance of Kryn courting rituals.

Reccer says: A very sweet little fic, and the headcanons on Kryn flirting rituals are fun (pomegranates! blatantly on display! le gasp!)

the risk i took was calculated, but man am i bad at math by the_littlest_goblin (7529,Teen) Warnings: dubious consent

After the Bright Queen forbids Essek from teaching Caleb any more spells, Caleb decides to try to secude Essek instead.

Reccer says: It's cute and fun, and there's a good conversation about how fucked up the premise is (and good characterization on how Caleb goes through with it anyway)

Overheard Conversations by jakia (2674,Teen) Warnings: none

The M9 scry on Essek and learn about his crush on Caleb, the fic

Reccer says: Peak "trying to set your friend up with the hot mysterious guy you all just met" vibes. Also love the original character here.

(Mis)Trust in Me by MoonwalkingCrab (31429,Explicit) Warnings: none

After the failure in the Lotusden, the Nein heads back to Rosohna and Caleb tries to patch things up with Essek.

Reccer says: There's the post-Lotusden mutual manipulation and mutually unsure of their attraction going on, and it's delicious.

A Handful of Possibilities by Tromper (2883,Teen) Warnings: None

Post Episode 79 (the double teleportation request and forearm touch), Essek checks in on the Nein and Caleb

Reccer says: One of the things that first attracted me to this ship was the mutual manipulation and suspicion, and it's definitely on display here! I love how they they're testing each other out.

Two Halves of a Coin by DotyTakeThisDown (7427,Explicit) Warnings: none

A soulmate AU where Caleb and Essek are soulmates, but Caleb had his mark removed by Trent

Reccer says: I like the extended amount of time spent on how Caleb feels about having a soulmate and having it removed - and the evolution of those feelings.

would you stay for just a while by eldritch_beau (3937,Teen) Warnings: none

Essek sees the ocean for the very first time. He and Caleb talk.

Reccer says: It's very tender, and definitely interesting to read in retrospect (as this was clearly written before we knew about the treason)

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. And hey! Don’t forget to leave comments and kudos for the lovely authors!

Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week’s theme is going to be focusing on Eiselcross and Aeor fics, so keep an eye out for that!

[dankxsinatra]

Activists trying to spoil Hogwarts Legacy for people is a clear example that they aren't gamers. They think The Last of Us, Detroit: Become Human, and Life is Strange are the peak of video games because they want interactive movies.

People who actually enjoy games want good gameplay. I don't give a fuck about the story other than a means to feed me stuff to do. The only story elements I care about is adding to the world building, which is, imo, the most underrated aspect of that franchise. If a game can explore an idea in it's story, that's a great cherry on top. But it's not the point of games.

Nostalgia for HP got my attention, but what actually made me want to play the game is the gameplay videos I watched. It legit looks fun to me.

[wearepaladin]

Thoughts on the big five tarnished that get the big announcement in the intro? They are pretty much peak Fromsoft npc writing imo and I was really curious what you thought of each.

Hmm. Alright then, in order of introduction. Be aware of spoilers kids.

1.Horah Loux, AKA Godfrey the First Elden Lord.

Godfrey's shadow is present throughout the entire game, seconded only to Marika herself, as long before we meet him, his name and legacy both to the Demigods and the Tarnished are palpable, as we realize when he reveals his true name, is a father to both societies, divine and human. It makes the confrontation, penultimate with only the final challenge remaining afterwards all the more poignant. Because Elden Ring has a theme of dual identity and the discovery of the truth behind every mask is consistent. To Loux, Godfrey is the mask, a godlike visage from which the true warrior resides. And we, Tarnished as well as he, fight him in that moment truth as we are, connected in our shared ancestry as exiled warriors. I delighted in his challenge and the revelation of our shared ancestry. Because Horah Loux is the first Tarnished introduced, and we are the Last. Alpha and Omega, how else was it going to end?

(It's also interesting to note that Radagon, the 2nd Elden Lord we face immediately after this, proves to be a foil to Horah in his confrontation. Horah kills the beast Serosh that restrains him to be his true self, whilst the Elden Beast that controls him uses Radagon's remains to arm himself. Or, in the case of The Elden Beast and Radagon, The Beast is the true face while Radagon was the mask? Just some thoughts.)

2. The Radiant Goldmask is the 2nd of the Five Tarnished introduced, and the 1st to offer an alternative ending. Ironically, he's probably the easiest to miss among the five, silent as he is and content to do his studies of the Golden Order. A true ascetic, he is disciplined and pacifistic, and will not attempt to recruit anyone. If you wish to follow him, or learn what he seeks, you have to take the initiative on your own. He is silent, but not a void in his quest. He has a purpose,, but he will not impose it on anyone, which is more than can be said for the other two Tarnished who seek to create a Mending Rune.

I favor Goldmask among the Tarnished, sole among them who will not participate in murder and war, seeking a higher truth to aid the world for its own sake.

3. Fia the Deathbed Companion, is probably the most layered among the Five Tarnished. The one woman, no armor or weapons, or odd accoutrement. Her stated purpose is to provide comfort, which she does in her way. She's also comfortable with assassination and murder to achieve her goal, and clearly believes herself an enemy to other Tarnished.

Because Fia speaks for a minority that has no other means of communicating, seeking a freedom and absence of persecution that none appear willing to grant them. The Undead, or more accuractely, those who live in death, seeking to be their champion and creating a god for them, and laws that would defend them.

I just question if her quest is one of misplaced compassion. None of those who live in death have spoken to us, they appear to be either hostile or inert. Is she truly speaking for the dead or not? I'm still not sure beyond her interactions with the soulless remains of Godwyn

4. In contrast, The Loathsome Dung Eater is far less sympathetic and ambiguous that Fia. His isn't a quest to aid a suffering group of people, but to increase suffering. The Omen are unquestionably suffering unjustly, but unlike Fia who has a plan to protect the Undead, The Dung Eater wants to spread suffering through defilement of body and soul. He's horrendous, and even if one takes the time to seek out the eddies of ambiguity and possible alternatives, he still remains loathsome.

5. Gideon Ofnir, the Allknowing first struck me as a deliberate parallel and invocation of Allfather Odin, one ever seeking of knowledge and magic to aid his great quest. But Ofnir, the last Tarnished introduced before our Tarnished, is closer to us in motivation than the Allfather. Because as we grow stronger, for every boss we kill, Ofnir gains knowledge but little wisdom and no courage. Out of all the Tarnished, he's our direct foil, closest on the path and yet farthest away. In our quest for power to become Elden Lord, we inevitably compare ourselves and ask between the two of us who would be the true Elden Lord.

When the cataclysm comes, he is not Odin at Ragnarok, defying fate until the end to face his death, but draws his sword out of fear. He accepts whatever fate he perceives and holds to it, while we push forward to whatever the future truly is.

[punky-blowfish]

OK, I'll try dipping my toes in.

TLDR; given that the series take place on opposite coasts, that the Yeerks are trying to hide and the Gems are not at all paying attention to most human business, and the timing of the respective series-- I honestly think the answer to "how much would these stories impact each other?" is "almost not at all?"

So, first up, let's establish time/place. I'm assuming we are sticking the Yeerk invasion into SU-Earth, given the earth was invaded by Gems sometime in human prehistory and the Yeerks landed in what, the 1980s? The Animorphs series/the Yeerk War takes place in the 1990s, over three years between like 1995-1999. I'm going to assume (based on technological and cultural factors) that SU takes place in 2013-2014/15 or so, based on the series' original release. This will be important.

When the Yeerks landed on Earth, their strategy was already to be as stealthy as possible. This would go double if they were trying to avoid the notice of the Gems, although tbh I'm not sure if they'd be able to tell the Gems are/were present on Earth. Certainly they've left a lot of their junk scattered around (including the Moon Base), but the Crystal Gems have been cut off from Homeworld for millenia, and Homeworld is in another galaxy. I think the Yeerks would be able to tell that other aliens had been present, but were not here anymore. I don't think they'd know what Gems were unless Homeworld has cored out more planets nearby, and given that both species have FTL transport, they're actually unlikely to have intersected.

Now. Steven is 13 at the start of SU, which means he would be born around 2000, and Rose would have been pregnant around 1999/2000 (I assume her pregnancy was human-length). This means that the Yeerk War started and especially ended during peak "Rose is dating Greg" years. The Yeerk War were only public for like, a few months? a year?, right around when Rose would have been deciding to become pregnant. Basically, I think that all the Gems would have been too tied up in interpersonal drama, absolutely nobody in their circle reads the human news, and I 100% believe they might have missed the whole Yeerk War (and its fallout!) without even noticing.

Would living on an abandoned Homeworld colony have impacted the Animorphs plot? Unclear. I absolutely believe the Animorphs would have tried to acquire a corrupted Gem at some point. This wouldn't work-- Gems are hard-light holograms. They have no DNA. They might also go on a mission or two to try and recover alien technology; I don't think they'd find much useful. Gems come with weapons built-in and tend towards melee, and other technology seems to require magic or direct interfacing to use.

(I also don't think Yeerks could infest Gems-- actually, wait. Gems have exactly as many internal organs as they feel like shapeshifting; we know Amethyst enjoys having a fully-functioning digestive system (and Pearl doesn't), and Rose shapeshifted herself a sufficiently functional womb that she was able to carry a half-human baby to term. So actually, I think a Yeerk could infest a Gem who had bothered to shapeshift a brain (altho why she'd bother, given Gems don't need it to think), and could maintain control for as long as they could keep the Gem in that state. So, it would last three days and then all hell would break loose. Bad idea all around, IMO. If you're interested in exploring this AU, this interaction would have the most potential for drama, angst, or cracky chaos, depending on how you played it.)

How about SU? I honestly, genuinely don't think Steven would know about Yeerks. The kid was homeschooled by xenophobic aliens and a guy who ran away from home to live in a van. His education is notably spotty. Connie would know, and would think it's super cool how Gems can shapeshift like Animorphs. Given the time/scale of the series (almost all taking place in rural Beach City, over the course of about two years), I also think that it would slide under the noses of the US government too. Actually, the US at that point would have a decade of exposure to Yeerks, Animorphs, and Hork-Bajir, and related technologies; they would have tried sending some guys in suits to interview the Gems in like, 2004, and Garnet would have opened the door, said "No.", and closed it in their faces, and that would be the end of that. They might try to monitor the situation in Beach City after that, but I don't really think they'd have a lot of success.

(more thoughts in part two)

If not Gravity Falls, have you see Steven Universe? An au between them would be interesting since gems are also aliens.

I have technically seen Steven Universe, but don't feel able to answer this one! Any folks familiar with both willing to weigh in?

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

I read your post about Marianne's characterization and I have to agree, which is saying something since Marianne is one of my top two favorite characters in 3H (the other is Ferdinand). Her writing in the academy phase wasn't too horrible IMO, but it could've been better. At least in the war phase, she does improve. If she had better characterization in the academy phase, she probably would've been an overall better character, maybe even a popular one, but alas. The best we can hope (story-wise anyway) is that during the time skip (if she survives), she realizes that her behavior towards others is wack and tries to do something about it so that by the time the war phase hits, she's grown as a person and doesn't really behave that way anymore.

I dunno, I could just be biased as she's a favorite of mine, but I like to fill in gaps when the writers don't do as well with a character as they should have.

Yeah, I don't think she's a bad character overall and in the second half of the game she was perfectly fine as a character. It's the first half that really hurts her for me. There's a point where it's an understandable character flaw, and then there's a point where it's over the top in almost every interaction and becomes the focal point of her entire character. Unfortunately that focal point is a very negative trait and it makes her situation a lot less sympathetic to me.

Raphael and Bernadetta had similar issues, and it's a shame because the writers can clearly write better than that. Yuri and Hapi, for instance, have more to them than pretty boy assassin and local underground girl who had experiments done to her. Their supports have different topics that they cover to grow them as a character and it's not the same thing in every conversation. Dimitri and Claude were examples of the writing at its peak, so I know they can do better than what we got for a handful of characters.

Marianne gets the worst end of the stick with Bernadetta for being written with the central aspects of their characterizations being all negative. Felix was handled better, but he had similar problems in the first half of the game where half the stuff he said was an eye roll and made me want to smack him. I love Felix and I'm glad they fixed the bullshit around him in Hopes because most of the fandom takes every single thing he's ever said literally ever at complete face value with not a single thought about it.

You should fill in the gaps! It's fun to think about those missing points in canon and reason out why the characters changed as much as they did and what might've happened in that time. For all we know, Marianne could've had a life changing experience with someone or more than one person calling her behavior her, explaining how she's being hurtful to others and not just "protecting" them from her "curse". Maybe someone made her realize all she was doing was trying to make herself feel better at the expense of other people's feelings and it made her change how she interacted with people.

I also think it's a shame that they tried to tackle depression with her and messed up by making her act like that. I wish they'd made her try to interact with people and be more sunny and more willing to be around people, because I feel like depression gets stereotyped as "sad person who wants to be constantly away from the world and looks like they haven't slept in weeks". If they don't also have insomnia, they wouldn't look that ragged, and not every depressed person just doesn't want to interact. Many such people will reach out possibly even more than normal because they want the human interaction.

Marianne is a popular character, but I also definitely don't see the same outpouring of love that many other characters get. I'm not sure if it's because of what we've mentioned, but the fan content in general for her feels less than how she popular she seems to be?