#← haven't used THAT tag in awhile

[xeneric-shrooms]

YEAH BABYEEEE I GOT FIRECRACKER

[tofixtheshadows]

Hot take: Laios wouldn't actually mind an arranged marriage. Obviously "reluctant royal being pressured into marriage" is very fun for shipping purposes. But I have harlequin blood, so bear with me. Join me on this journey of character theorizing/shipping nonsense that makes it abundantly clear I have a Scrivener document I'm neglecting.

Laios was promised to someone from a young age. He and Falin both were; it's probably how their parents ended up together. They both broke it off by leaving their village, but it didn't seem to be a factor in Laios's own decision. And when Marcille, presumably, asks about his hypothetical love life (bicorn chapter), he not only brings it up readily, but actually seems kind of flattered? lmao

I love when smug Laios comes out. Underrated factor of Laios's personality for me is how much he enjoys being seen as cool. I think you'd expect Laios to be embarrassed or uneasy over this line of questioning, and the fact that he isn't is fun to me.

So when Yaad and his other old advisors bring up his need for a wife, Laios is ready to go along with it. Not necessarily thrilled by the prospect, but he was raised to think of marriage as a business arrangement you do because it's beneficial for your household/bloodline (as was often the case historically). He's already made the big step to claim a throne, and the idea of becoming village chief after his father seemed to have been vaguely in the back of his head all his life. Besides, if he has to do it anyway, I think he'd take comfort that there was a formalized process for an otherwise socially messy undertaking.

This dovetails neatly with my personal headcanon that Laios is gay but unaware of it. He comes from kind of a repressed culture- or at least I can imagine he does based on context clues- and has spent most of his life being ostracized in one way or another, feeling like he's on the outside of humanity. So he doesn't realize that his lack of attraction to women is unusual- he assumes that nobody really enjoys romance that much. It's not like his own parents married for love. It's just something people play up for stories, right?

It's all tangled up with his fraught desire for human connection and platonic companionship anyway. Meanwhile he's blithely unaware that the things he says about Toshiro are not normal bro things. Oh you'd totally marry Toshiro, Laios? Tell me more.

I see this in Marcille too. Firstly due to her unstable development, which has only recently allowed her to reach maturity (I headcanon her as somewhere between 20-22) and secondly due to her being a half-elf (infertile+a too-long lifespan), I think she has the expectation that she's simply not destined for love. The half-elf character she relates to in her favorite books says as much. So she, too, confuses a genuine lack of heterosexual attraction with the belief that this is just because of her half-elf status distancing her from it. Plus, she spent over a decade as a student/researcher in a nice little sheltered academic bubble, at an all-girls academy populated by adolescents. She's the most sheltered of all the characters: she's only spent the past year in the "real world", and she still focuses all her romantic attention on living vicariously through her favorite characters or her friends (except for Falin, conveniently!).

And Marcille would absolutely want to live vicariously through Laios and his future wife. She would not want him to go through a dispassionate formalized process: she wants her bestie to have a fairytale romance! What is the point of being a heroic king in a mythic castle if you can't even get a love story for the ages out of it?

This would result in a lot of Laios meeting with eligible bachelorettes at Marcille's urging, looking to Kabru for help the entire time and being grilled by Marcille afterwards about what he liked best about each girl. "She had nice, um, teeth?" They're both so close to getting it.

Kabru, meanwhile, is agitating for Yaad and the other advisors not lock the country into a hereditary monarchy, they have the chance to do something radical here, to break away from the systems that the elves and dwarves uphold. At the very least, let Laios marry for love, or formally adopt an heir and name them his successor if he wants, he's already sacrificed enough for the sake of Melini. Don't make him jump through these circus hoops for the chance of some trade agreements, we can get those without a royal marriage. And even if Laios was willing to go along with it, he does look at Kabru like he's his hero for sticking up for him.

The vague unhappiness Kabru feels at the idea of Laios being married off is easy for him to ignore. Kabru didn't actually get better at honoring or even recognizing his own wants just because he's moved past the dungeon. And Laios hasn't gotten the hint about his crush on Toshiro and is still 50/50 on saying casually shocking things, so when he remarks that he doesn't need a wife anyway when he has Kabru, he has no idea why that gets him the looks it does. After all, where he's from, men marry women to run their households, but Laios has castle staff for that, and Kabru is handling the rest?

That comment alone ticks one month off their collective gay awakening countdown.

Anyway. How many repressed gays in their twenties does it take to run a country?

Answer: Yaad can tell you.

[christophernolan]

SHARDLAKE Episode 1

[tibby]

YOU ALWAYS HAVE BEEN

[circusgoth-dotcom]

drew this bc gambit's existence makes me happy :] had a bit of trouble conveying the heights, shorter person lifting up taller person... but i think it looks okay!!

❌Reblogs Highly Appreciated!❌

[glorianas]

[ladythot]

What do you think of atsushi? Kiyosumi’s bestie. This is a low-key thirst ask. Do you feel anything horny towards this man? Like how he ventures under the sheets, good or bad in aftercare, possessive or not? Is he confident around the ladies?

First impressions? All muscles, no brain. A swagger, and a humble swank; boasting in heaps of raw confidence for his capabilities. Despite the gloating, what lies under his confident skin is a nervous man without a shadow of doubt. A highly-strung giant. It's giving—massive himbo vibes. Do I feel any horny for him? Buh it's a solid himbo staring back at me. It's the high pride given poorly that easily breaks down to respect once beaten and the mere tsundere-y vibes he gives off, too.

Him? Good with the ladies? He's a panty-dropper alright—but he isn't fond of women. He's all about the gulps and stutters when a woman so confident approaches him. Suedo doesn't know how to girl or woman okay. But me thinks, he's kinda good at performing aftercares. Not the typical aftercare you'd expect but he'll cushion you in his arms before taking the time to wipe your body. He's still gonna be shy about it though but some time after, he'll get comfortable with the essential care in no time and he thinks aftercares are important.

And possessive? I think he's too oblivious to feel a sense of jealousy until he sees you blush tehe

[angelxd-3303]

You are my favorite dhmis artist AND my favorite mario artist!! Just thought you should know <3

[pricemarshfield]

wrote a little fic for @gwynbleidd since they made the loveliest lae'zel gifset for me! so here's a little thing for alistair and your surana. i hope i did her justice <3

The first time Neria fights at the front rather than casting from the back nearly gives Alistair a heart attack.

It’s a little embarrassing. He can’t recall the same blood-curdling terror in any of their other recent fights, even when Morrigan decided to reveal she could shapeshift by turning into a giant, monstrous spider and spitting poison at the darkspawn Alistair had locked swords with, the stench of the thing almost enough to make him miss the weird chittering that he’s certain was her laughing. Sure, that had freaked him out, and it’s an experience he would prefer not to repeat, but it was more an irritation than anything.

When Neria had taken the phylactery and freed the spirit, Alistair had smiled at her. It wasn’t a surprise, exactly, she’s been kind to everyone deserving of it they’ve come across, along with quite a few that weren’t. When she’d been suddenly much more comfortable moving in armor, Alistair had been proud, a little reassured that she’d be alright even if someone managed to slip past him to take out the mage keeping them all up. When she’d started wielding a sword, Alistair couldn’t remember feeling much of anything other than his cheeks being so warm even Shale had noticed.

Somehow, he hadn’t connected that to her joining him at the front, leaving Leliana and Zevran to slip through the weak spots in their enemies' forces and attack them from the back. It’s not that she does badly, or anything. Sure, her fighting style’s a lot less “polished” than his, but she manages to take out a few of the bandits who’d somehow taken their motley crew for easy targets, still managing to spare a quick healing spell for Leliana when one of them smacks her with a shield.

All-in-all, the fight takes maybe two, three minutes, and Leliana’s injury is the worst of it. Still, Alistair’s hands are shaking. He can’t stop replaying the image of the one bandit clearly taking her for the easier target and lunging forward, quick enough that Alistair wouldn’t have been able to stop them, only for the blade to get caught on her armor and for Neria to smack him with the hilt of the sword hard enough for the man to crumble to the ground in an undignified heap.

Neria looks a little shaken, too. “Is everyone alright?”

Leliana smiles at them, already retrieving what arrows she can from the bandits. Zevran, ever-showy, spreads his arms and says, “More than! You would think they would run away once they realize they are hopelessly outmatched by us, no?”

Neria smiles back, just a small one, and says, “Alistair? What about you?”

“I’m fine,” he says, though it comes out all wrong, too shaky and wholly unconvincing. “Didn’t get hit or anything.” He holds up his shield and waves it a bit. “You?”

“Fine,” Neria says, just as quickly. “Still, we should make camp soon. We’re a long way from Denerim yet.”

So they do, the process quick after this many nights travelling with each other. As always, Morrigan’s off in the corner doing her best to ignore them all, Zevran's needling Wynne to see if he can get a reaction from her, and Leliana's half-singing, half-humming Orlesian songs as she works. He can’t see Neria anywhere, though.

Alistair walks a little away from the fire, the noise of camp fading a bit to the noises of the forest. He finds her there, lying back on a little hill facing away from camp, looking up at the stars with an expression he can’t quite read on her face.

He feels like he’s intruding, suddenly, but she turns to him before he can leave and smiles at him. “You can stay. I don’t mind.” She shifts so there’s room to lie next to her.

He does. They don’t talk for a bit, just looking up at the stars. He used to do this, back when he was first made a Warden and shaken by how much freedom he had at last, or even before, when he was still in Redcliffe and spent more time with the dogs than with any actual person. It’s peaceful, and he feels a little of the tension from the battle before finally bleed out of his shoulders.

Maker, he’s exhausted.

But Neria’s been a good friend to him--more than, if he’s being honest--and deserves more from him than just falling asleep here, so he says, “So, uh. You sure you’re okay?”

He expects her to say she’s okay and have to joke his way to them talking about it, but she just sighs and says, “Well. Mostly.”

“That’s something, at least!” Alistair says, trying for his usual cheer.

Neria huffs out a laugh before going quiet again. Alistair doesn’t push; this silence feels more companionable than stifling. Sure enough, a minute or so later and she says, “I was worried you’d get hurt. Earlier.”

“Oh,” Alistair says, because that hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. “Uh. I didn’t.”

“No, I know,” Neria says, turning to look at him. “I just don’t ever want to see you hurt.” Her face goes a little pink. “Or, you know. Any of us getting hurt. I want to keep everyone safe.” There’s a moment of silence; Alistair catches himself holding his breath, not quite sure why. “I want to keep you safe.”

“That’s supposed to be my job,” Alistair says, voice a little croaky.

She elbows him. “Hey, don’t pretend I didn’t do well today.”

“You did,” Alistair says. “It, uh, wasn’t the easiest for me, to see you at the front. But you--I mean, you clearly learned a lot from that spirit.”

“And from you,” she says, like it’s nothing.

“Right.” He should give her the rose. He’d been thinking of her when he picked it, weeks back now, but the urge to is almost overwhelming, suddenly. 

“Anyway,” Neria says, after what could be only a moment or hours, for all Alistair’s paying attention. “We should probably get back to camp before the fire burns out. We should be reaching the city tomorrow.”

Alistair nods, though he’s reluctant to leave this little moment of peace they’ve found. Neria must be, too, because she just lies there with him for a few moments. He feels her hand brush his, and he takes it, their fingers interlocking.

Eventually, they stand up and make their way back to camp, Neria distracting Zevran from where he’s irritating Wynne and Alistair helping Leliana with taking account of what they’d collected today. But when he finally heads to his tent to get some sleep, Neria catches his eye and smiles at him, cheeks still a little pink.

And, like he always does, he smiles back.

[misscrazyfangirl321]

Super excited! New D&D group is starting tomorrow with a few of my coworkers!

.... Also super nervous, because I've had writer's block for MONTHS, and now I'm going to have to think of characters and dialogue and story OUT LOUD and IN FRONT OF PEOPLE and ON THE SPOT.

.... Glad I'm not the DM. Anyway.

I'm really excited, though; it'll be Chaos Friend, her husband (the DM), and Assistant Manager Who Definitely Has A Tumblr.

[aurorae-system]

amnesia and other CDD experiences can be so isolating... I spent a majority of my life convinced that I must've been an awful person (or just not a person at all lol) because I could not at all relate to people discussing their lives and relationships. they'd talk about how they find themselves missing x childhood friend so much, talk about how they've always had a passion/interest in x thing, etc. and I could just not relate. I had no idea what they were talking about. and then other people would chime in and share similar experiences. and I was just so confused!!!!! what are you guys talking about??

I can barely remember my childhood friends. even though I know I had been best friends with some of them my entire elementary and middle school years. I don't feel much of anything when thinking about them. it doesn't feel like I even really knew them. did I never really care for them then...? does not feeling anything about them now make me heartless and cold? I thought those were the only explanations for why I felt this way.

it just doesn't feel like I've lived a life. I just sorta spawned into existence a couple years ago. I've never been a baby, a kid, or a teenager. I've always been an adult. I feel like a 2D, badly-written side character lmao... like, tell me how I'm supposed to feel like a real person when I either can't remember or don't feel any connection to most of my life

[celestieas]

art? on MY Tumblr blog?

Happy October!

doing cringetober for fun this is day 2 :)

[nanyoky]

Six Sentence SuMonday!!!

Tagged by @rzepi ! I've been dragging my feet on a connecting scene for this silly little AU for candela, and I haven't posted a new chapter in a minute, I know. So seems only fair that I do one of these for once. So here's some of that. Guess who's on the way...

"I ain't judging anybody for nothing, man! But look at me! If I go anywhere near that place, they're not gunna let me out!" Sean let out a startled bark of a laugh. "Well, first off it's a women's prison-" "Don't care."

I'm bad at thinking of people to tag, but if you're reading this and working on something, go ahead and consider this me tagging you! (⁠*⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠)⁠/⁠～⁠♡

[commander-diomika]

Having a bad blue day today. That tweet about feeling like you're at that point in a video game where you should have done the stats and skill tree different at the beginning but it's real life and I can't kill myself and start over like in a viddy game. Just have to work with the stats I've got.

[anghraine]

I know they have to do it, but it's always a bit funny when medical professionals ask after my gender identity for clarification/assurance they're being respectful/whatever.

It's not something I've chosen to deal with in my life, so I'm like, oh yes, very woman, while simultaneously baffled by the existence of gender.

(I know it's a thing, intellectually, but I have no internal sense of it myself beyond convenience + being lesbian. So people will be like "as a woman, don't you feel X?" and I'm just "..." on about five levels.)

[happyfunballxd]

This was exactly what i didn't know i wanted to do until @vegalocity suggested it. My absolute favorite parts in the series are the creepy bits, even if this one was more for laughs than like, Empty Man or something. So i tried to make it more creepy than it was, cuz that's my jam. XD