#< in response to previous tags

[aslyran]

Visions

[456x001]

i dislike it when people assume shippers have a lower understanding of the show just because they enjoy indulging in the potential dynamic of a romantic relationship between two characters.

in fact i’d very much argue the opposite. i’d argue that being invested in analyzing the complex dynamic between gi hun and in ho alongside their intricacies as individual characters gives us a much deeper understanding of the show than most.

through these deep analyses we are able to grasp why and how things play out the way they do on screen in a way that a lot of people would miss. we see things that would be very hard to pick on without having put in the work of really sitting with these characters and figuring out what makes them tick.

[somegrumpynerd]

A bunch of doodles inspired by @wickjump saying Cross has an eternal kicked puppy look (and steadily devolving into dadmare because y'know. My Brand)

[aliusfrater]

similar cinematographic choices to portray the same imagery with insanely different circumstantial contexts

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

(DATV thoughts with spoilers ahead; i think my tags will keep it filtered but just in case it doesn't since i dont want this in the actual game tags)

i just... man. i don't have a well formulated thought for this yet (and its my PERSONAL OPINION and other people can feel as different as they want, this is not an attack) but it keeps bouncing around my head, so. i know the popular thing right now is coming up with in-universe justifications for The Pantry Almost-Kiss Scene in ways that imply Lucanis didn't mean it/it doesn't represent him as a person/he was Faking It.

and i just don't like any of them. they make me sad!!!!!! i don't like the idea that one of the like 4 romance scenes we get in this game is him Pretending in some way, even if he does at that point like Rook back at least somewhat. None of the justifications i've seen make me feel Better about that being the point where we declare him as a romantic interest, which is what it is in the game, functionally. It doesn't lock you in yet but that point IS where the game says "they will take your flirting more seriously now". I did those same scenes for Davrin, Emmrich, and Taash and this is the formula the game uses (the "interrupted almost-kiss/confession" happens for almost all of the companions).

so if the answer for Lucanis' is "actually he stopped because he Didn't like what he was doing/feel that way yet" or that he felt he had to pretend for Rook's sake... it's kind of a letdown you know? esspecially when it comes right after what seems like an actually authentic moment (dispelling his "perfectly gathered clouds of doom"). Because, at that point in the game from my/Rook's perspective, it was like he finally was reciprocating. It made me hope that he'd acknowledge whatever was between him & Rook more in future scenes, especially because you get so little else from him at any other point, in terms of flirting back/showing you he IS interested. like up to that point I felt kind of bad for continuing to flirt at him, when he'd just change the subject right after! if someone did that in real life i would take it as a hint to stop. This is pixels and not real people so I didn't but they have done "reluctant/fearful interest" better in other characters if that's truly what they were going for in this one.

so after finishing the romance and getting the rest of content... idk. I don't like saying "one of the major chunks of characterization we get needs to be Thrown Out Actually because he was Pretending". because it's not like he or Rook ever actually address it in game--you just don't get to talk about feelings until some dialogue choices only in the act 3 romance scene, and then his speech at endgame (not even a full conversation, so much as his personal declaration). like it takes until the VERY end of the game for him to say the thing about "he was afraid to want you", but that comes after you've already hooked up, even.

I think truly what annoys me is that it's a story choice that can only make sense in HINDSIGHT not AS PLAYING. Only once you have all the scenes can you say "this one is out of character" and then you either have to accept it as bad writing, or come up with some in-universe justification to explain it... and so far none of the in universe ones feel good to me. i wish they did because maybe then I'd be less annoyed, rip. but at the end of the day i think even if there was some intent there, it was a poor choice for his story arc, because it doesn't effectively convey anything... and the reason why we can project a lot of different explanations onto it is simply because it is never addressed again (and again, Lucanis Dellamorte is NOT A PERSON he is a CHARACTER used to further a story for you the player, and so the reasons I don't like this choice are story-level and not a dig at how real life people feel or act).

So yeah at the end of the day. that is simply not a narrative device I would ever personally use in this way on a player/reader. certain kinds of hindsight revelations have their place (see: what the devs tried to do with Varric though I also think that falls apart on close inspection, but at least it has justification in-universe), but for a romance it just makes me embarrassed for Rook. In a game where you don't have nearly as many back-and-forth conversations with characters and have to resort to eavesdropping on them talking to each other, it's sad that one of the like 5 times you actually get to talk to Lucanis one on one we're maybe supposed to believe he wasn't being authentic, and also that Rook can't respond to this ever. It would be different if it had any kind of follow up, imo. or honestly as i've said before i would rather it have been swapped out with something entirely different or where we get to talk about their feelings instead, before i get labeled as one of the "people mad he's not Zevran 2.0/a sexy latin sterotype".

But having to step back to player-level analysis versus in-character analysis when looking at his whole romance arc just feels sloppy. but i'd much rather stick to "bad writing" than "intentional character choice" in terms of how to interpret the scene I guess, at this point, for poor Rook's sake. and i know people disagree with when I've said that before bc as much as I love Mary Kirby in other areas, she has said many times that she doesn't like writing romance, and I think it really does show here. As much as I love Lucanis and the scraps we got I wish I didn't have to do so much filling-in-the-blanks on our own.

[mat-neptune]

art of a fic I'm writing with Darius and the prev Golden Guard (I named him Curt) feat. Lilith

[sunfloweraro]

Stormy Nights

Wind and Bunny both hate storms. Tonight, Wind’s overprotective older brother instincts (mostly) win out.

Tagging: @thatonecrazysidekick @tiredgaytheatrekid <3

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .

Once he had shucked his sopping wet day clothes, strung them out to dry, and thrown on his comfortable pyjamas, Wind settled by the fire, inching a little closer when lightning lit up the room. Maybe, if he pushed himself close enough, the crackle and warmth and light of the fire would banish the storm from where it crawled over his shoulders and pierced his memories.

Another boom. Wind flinched, squeezing his eyes shut against the painful memories pressing up against the backs of his eyelids. Tried to focus on the warmth and the crackle of the fire washing over him and not the hard wooden floorboards of the ship swaying beneath him and—

A small sound. Wind looked up, curious. At some point, Twilight had dropped Bunny off beside him to dry and settle. Alone, Bunny shook like a leaf in a gale. He had curled up into a tight, likely painful ball, his face pressed down into his front paws and his eyes squeezed shut, just as Wind’s had been seconds ago. Another soft sound—a cry from Bunny, weak and whimpering.

Wind gasped, understanding washing over him.

“Hey,” Wind said, just loud enough to be heard over the storm. “Everything alright, Bunny?”

Bunny’s head whipped up. He stared at Wind with wide violet eyes, glistening with unshed tears, and Wind’s heart twisted. He had never seen an animal cry before.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He shifted closer, but didn’t yet touch Bunny. He had seen the bandages on Warriors’ hand, had seen the nasty wound left behind by Bunny’s teeth. “Are you scared of the storm, little guy?”

Another boom of thunder that Wind barely noticed under his heavy concern for the rabbit. Bunny, however, let out a cry, scurrying closer to Wind and burying his face in Wind’s leg, hiding away.

“Aw, that’s okay,” Wind murmured. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Do you mind if I…” Carefully, he set a hand over Bunny’s shaking back. When Bunny leaned into his touch, he swept the rabbit up into his arms, cradling him close and pressing Bunny’s little face into his shoulder. “There you go. I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe.” Under his comfort, Bunny’s shakes began to settle quickly, and Wind understood Hyrule and Twilight’s infatuation with their newest member—Bunny was so soft and perfect to cuddle, and if his older brother protectiveness was running this high after mere minutes of interacting with the rabbit, then he could only imagine how whipped the other two were. And as Bunny heaved a sigh and relaxed completely into him, Wind knew he could die for this sweet little rabbit.

Lost in soothing Bunny as he was, Wind wasn’t prepared for another booming crack of thunder. He jumped with a soft eep!, head whipping around, wide eyes fixated on the outside world. With no doors in the stable, he could see the pounding rain, the world lit up by strikes of lightning. Fear turned in his chest. His breaths quickened.

Bunny let out a whine.

Immediately, Wind loosened his hold on the poor rabbit. “Sorry, sorry. Guess the storm startled me. Are you alright? That was a big one.”

Bunny was watching him thoughtfully, calm as ever under Wind’s comfort. He had been told Bunny was a little more intelligent that most beasts, but Wind hadn’t expected for the rabbit to be staring at him with genuine concern in his eyes.

That wasn’t any normal animal. Not even Wolfie seemed to understand to this degree, though Wind had his suspicions about the wolf.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Wind said, rather than the millions of questions in the back of his mind. “I’ll keep you safe tonight, okay? I promise. You can always come to me if this happens again—there’s no shame in asking for help.”

Bunny nodded slowly, another pebble on the ever-growing pile of Wind’s questions. But for tonight, with the raging storm outside, he would leave it be. He had a new friend to keep safe.

And if he comforted himself in the process, well then, no one else needed to know.

[ambagel]

I dreamt that deuce died in canon wtf was that about

[robinsversion]

The most ironic thing to come out of having not one but multiple of my posts about the James Somerton situation that’s been blowing up over the past couple weeks, is people plagiarizing the additional commentary I put in the tags of those posts ON THE SAME FUCKING POSTS THEYRE USING THOSE TAGS ON

[unkindcorvid]

[hannah-heartstrings]

It's What I'm Saying Now

For the @tes-summer-fest prompt: Companion

Dragonborn, Anthony, sharing some burdens with his faithful companion, Lydia.

@druidx @babyblueetbaemonster @inkysqueed

---------

            Smoke trailed up into the cold air. The campfire crackled, its orange light wavering over the Imperial’s unsure face.

            “I’m a soldier, I’ve only ever followed orders, but now that I’m this…” Anthony looked confused, unsure himself what the word fully meant, “dragonborn, they look to me to lead, and I don’t know if I can.”

            Lydia sat beside him on the fallen log, watching him.

            His head sunk with a sigh. “I’m sorry to burden you with all of this.”

            “I told you, I don’t mind carrying your burdens.”

            He looked up to her through narrowed eyes. “That’s not exactly what you said.”

            “Well…” she glanced away, something shy in her stoic face, “it’s what I’m saying now.”

            His head lifted, surprised.

            “Maybe I was mad at first,” an edge in her voice began sharpening as it went, “that the gods would choose not a Nord on not the Nord’s side to be the Nordic hero, but…” exhaling, the edge softened, “then you risked your life to save Stormcloak farmers.”

            “Well, of course,” he looked confused, “they were people who needed help, wouldn’t anyone have-?”

            “No,” she turned to him, expression sad but warm, “and that’s why the gods chose well.”

            He stopped, surprised.

            “And you’re doing a good job leading us,” she smiled.

            Touched, he slowly smiled back.

            “Well, except for when you get us ambushed by bandits.”

            The smile dropped into a quick gape. “I knew it probably was an ambush.”

            “Uh huh,” she looked unconvinced.

            “But what if he really needed help? You can’t just walk past someone who might need help!”

            “Even when it’s probably an ambush?”

            “Like I said, it might not have been.” Catching that the fire was dwindling, he faced forward to stoke it. “And if we didn’t fall into the trap then someone else would’ve, and they might not have had weapons or an idea that it was probably an ambush. It’s our duty to protect those who can’t protect themselves, so we have to fall into traps…”

            Lydia smiled fondly as he rambled on.

[seaslimes]

Thinking once more about the F/F AO3 stats issue. Really struggling with the urge to write "issue" there too, LOL.

I know that call-to-action doesn't always go well, and that I exist as a drop in the bucket compared to millions of Tumblrites & AO3 users. But the curse of seeing yet another post which discusses how horri-bad these stats are, when the differences within the individual fandoms is often so manageable. It drives me insane.

There's a couple versions of these "wow, M/M fics are more popular and that's bad because of X issue" posts that have screenshots of laughable disparities. Stuff like 500 more M/Ms than F/Fs. That is a genuinely amusing number, because with the help from a fraction of the thousands who share any post like that, this very scary gap would cease to exist.

So, anyway. I'm considering some sort of fandom roundup wherein I have folks vote on a fandom with F/F to M/M "disparity" which I will then run a "break the ratio" event on. Encouraging people to write fics until the ratio evens. IDK, is that something that people would be interested in? I could be crazy but this rubber room squeaks and I think the rats are talking about me.

[doctahchang]

would like to know the lore of my own oc that i have had for like ten years

edit: found an old sketch of her... i basically drew her for the first time eons ago and haven't changed her design ever since (sad that i won't be able to find those drawing again)

[onlyhereforvividstasis]

Now, Eevees aren't particularly rare species here- Elusive, sure, but not rare. Umbreons, on the other hand?

Well, the only reason they aren't classified as mythicals is because they evolve from Eevees. With only two recorded in history [one of whom has their name up for debate after essentially being lost to the sands of time], it's understandable how they came to hold such a record.

And with there only being one known instance of a lunar ribbon... ever, really, that statistic isn't likely to change soon- the only reason there's more than one in general is because it happened to change owners a couple times.

[thechosenanubis]

Nina is actually a better person than people give her credit for. Like at the beginning of S1, I had the same scenario with Patricia happen to me: new girl at a new school, trying to make friends, and this other girl in my class didn't like my ~vibes~ or whatever and started saying nasty stuff and trying to isolate me. (thankfully in my case no close friends were kidnapped by secret societies in search for eternal life 💀 ) So not only i can sympathize with her situation, but even relate to it.

And what I don't see talked about enough is ( or if people did, I haven't seen those posts) calling out Patricia's behavior for what it really was: bullying. Keep in mind here, that I understand where Patricia's behavior is coming from, since she's being gaslit like crazy. But that still doesn't make her behaviour towards Nina acceptable or excusable.

And I wouldn't have blamed Nina if she refused to accept Patricia's apology, because is not a victim's responsability ( only their choice) to forgive their bully.

Still, Nina forgave Patricia because she's good like that ( and probably didn't want to break the already fragile ecosystem of the house with more hostility even if it was within her right to keep a grudge and refuse Patricia's apology. )

What i'm trying to say, Nina is a good person, flawed but good.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[antiadvil]

more thoughts about photosensitivity and tit,

not the preview showing the tv screen static :(

i forgot about incredibly shaky camerawork. that's also an "unconventional" photophobia trigger for me. though i don't think any of my photophobia triggers are actually unusual lol, from what i can tell, they're very standard, just not well understood by the general public

my head has been hurting pretty bad and i didn't take my adhd meds and i have only a vague list of people who said they could help compile the flash effects for me. my hope is that after people's shows they will reach out to me (preferably via tumblr dm, my messages should be open) so that i don't have to hunt people down and try to keep track of when everyone's shows are. i could also make a post tagged with titspoilers for a more group discussion vibe. idk we'll see how things go after antwerp. problem for later. my head hurts.