#also the various relationships here are just the starting point basically

[spiderziege]

haiii!!! ilove your art and ocs :] can you tell us more about them? they seem really cool <33

thank you... i always feel a little bad when i get questions about my ocs cause i dont really know how to answer those all that well, but ill do my best <3 the gist of it is its a story about a group of teens/young adults in some small rural german town, and slowly that town comes alive in a way. as in the streets change over night, windmills and powerlines grow out of nowhere and all the streets that lead away become longer and longer until its basically impossible to leave. its kind of a regular coming of age story about these five people, but set in a small town horror setting i guess? ill put some random stuff about each of them in order under the cut :]

first one is Lucky, she grows up on her families farm on the edge of town, and she's the youngest of five siblings. she's kind of a loner by the start, mostly cause she has this constant need to prove herself to everyone and everything and so she wants to do things on her own, always. she's very intelligent and determined in everything she does and also very interested in everything supernatural. her and louis only somewhat know each other by the start, but they click and become good friends pretty quickly. mostly cause louis is very willing to go along with everything she does. she's very energetic and almost always at 120%, and she does care deeply for the people she ends up close to. she also has a dog who is very mean

Louis grows up with his mother and his brother, his mom owns a small café in town and also does fortune telling and readings (though she might also be scamming people, nobody knows for sure). he works there as a cashier/waiter, but really he wants to get out of the town, even before the weird stuff starts happening. he's quiet and more of a thinker, but very straightforward when necessary. he's had very frequent nightmares since he was a little kid

Maurice is Luckys half-brother. him and Louis were friends when they were young kids, but they grew apart after one of their mutual friends died in an accident that they both witnessed (louis barely remembers it, maurice mostly does). he's only really close with one of his other sisters, and with the local veterinarian Dani. apart from that he avoids most people. he's very good with animals tho. he's also not exactly religious but he is spiritual, if that makes sense

Elias is Louis' best friend since forever and also the most easygoing person in the entire world probably. he works at a local gas station and he can fix your car. he's kind of the opposite to Lucky in the way that she's very intelligent and determined but kind of sucks at connecting with people, and he's a lot less academically gifted but very emotionally intelligent. he's just a very good friend. also he loves skating and is a bit of a theater kid. he's very scared of dogs which is bad for him cause most of his friends are dog people

Henrike is Elias' twin sister. she and Louis dated for a while in high school, which didn't really work out but they're still good friends. she's a lot more reserved than her brother but she's mostly kind. very dry humour. only occasionally has her mean moments (usually when she's with louis, they kind of bring out the worst in each other. they love gossiping and bitching about others every once in a while its very necessary)

[triflesandparsnips]

So I understand that there are Good Omens show fans who have never read Good Omens the book, and that makes me deeply sad because--

Like, there's so much depth to the story being told about humans and humanity and the choice between good and evil -- and how that's actually a false dichotomy whoooops -- WHILE ALSO not really being about Aziraphale and Crowley at all (who are, imo, basically there as embodiments of "Impressive Failures" for the purposes of Theme and also Plot).

BUT IF you want to know why I've shipped them since the book-- here's the moment it happened for wee teenage me:

Wednesday (before the end of the world)

So it's Warlock's birthday party. And there are all these children and security guards and also an angel doing magic tricks while a demon is disguised as a caterer. This bit is basically the same as the show, so hooray.

But as wee me understood the characters up to this point, they were still basically enemies who had been in the field together for way too long and knew each other's moves well enough for the same tempting/thwarting of one another to become kind of boring and repetitive and generally pointless-- particularly once they realized that they could, for instance, just live their (separate!) lives watching humans being weird (Crowley) and seeking various sensory stuff (Aziraphale) while doing the least work necessary to keep their respective bosses off their backs.

The Arrangement was borne not out of hiding a friendship or anything, but instead the realization that sometimes covering for one another would just... cut down on their total overall workload. They were, at best, employees of two different, competitive companies-- though in same kind of department, doing the same kind of work-- who discovered they liked to have lunch at the same deli and that their jobs were sometimes distressingly more similar than either was comfortable with.

SO ANYWAY. BACK TO THAT WEDNESDAY. They're not covering for one another with this whole Antichrist thing-- they're now actively collaborating, and they've acknowledged (mostly) that it's not to cut down on their individual workloads, but rather to preserve their identical-- but not shared (not yet)-- goals of Getting To Continue The Lives On Earth They've Grown To Enjoy.

But like-- still not friends. Not really.

Until Aziraphale fucks up a bit, Warlock accidentally gets hold of a security guard's weapon and starts waving it around, and:

Then someone threw some jelly at Warlock. The boy squeaked, and pulled the trigger of the gun. It was a Magnum .32, CIA issue, gray, mean, heavy, capable of blowing a man away at thirty paces, and leaving nothing more than a red mist, a ghastly mess, and a certain amount of paperwork. Aziraphale blinked. A thin stream of water squirted from the nozzle and soaked Crowley, who had been looking out the window, trying to see if there was a huge black dog in the garden. Aziraphale looked embarrassed. Then a cream cake hit him in the face.

My teenage brain exploded at this moment.

BECAUSE: there is no reason for Aziraphale to do that.

Work-wise: If he got shot, Crowley would get discorporated, but not die-- and anyway, it would happen in such a way that both of them could explain it away easily to their respective sides (and possibly even be commended for it!).

Collaboration-wise: If Crowley had been watching Aziraphale, and if he'd seen Aziraphale have the chance to change the gun but not do it-- then yeah, probably that would've been annoying enough to have warranted some chilly conversations once he came back topside, and therefore, Aziraphale choosing to save Crowley could've been a reasonable, logical choice to keep their working relationship on an even keel until they'd sorted out this Doomsday thing.

But Crowley was looking the other way.

Work-wise, it doesn't make sense-- and secret-collaboration-wise, it doesn't make sense-- and so it is, overall, really weird that Aziraphale saved him.

But his automatic reaction-- in a blink-- is to stop Crowley from getting shot. And he knows it's weird-- he feels embarrassed that his sudden, unthinking reaction is to save his "enemy".

And the final bit is just a couple paragraphs later:

With a gesture, Aziraphale turned the rest of the guns into water pistols as well, and walked out.

SO LOOK: He changed only the pistol about to shoot Crowley. His automatic reaction had nothing to do with saving a party full of humans, many of them children-- nothing to do with Heaven or Hell-- nothing to do with preserving the coworker he needs to stop Armageddon--

It was all to do with saving Crowley. Who may be the enemy, but he's Aziraphale's enemy. And another part of his life on Earth that he's doing all of this just to preserve.

Which may also be, for the first time, the moment he lets himself realize how important Crowley in particular is to him.

...and so anyway, that's how I started shipping these two immortal idiots, and one of many reasons why everyone should read the book.

[veilkeeper]

thoughts on the astarion-halsin polymance

i know some people dont like the halsin polymance specifically if the PC's other partner is astarion but. i want to talk about it. because i think maybe a lot of people have come to conclusions without seeing the scenes in question for themselves. so let me give a different perspective.

disclaimers: *i know a lot of people ship/hc this polymance as a triad, but for the purposes of this post i'm talking specifically about the "hinge" dynamic we see in-game thx. **also i got the halsin romance trigger before completing astarion's personal quest, so this post is talking about that perspective, and all quotes are from those conversations. ***i respect people who dont play this route. you're allowed to play this game however you want. the purpose of this post is to discuss the canon, in-game text and how it supports the astarion-halsin polymance as a viable and healthy path for these relationships, with nuance and respect to astarion's personal issues. this is not meant to convert anyone, but it is meant to clarify and provide additional context that i feel is largely missing from a lot of discussions about how the polymance is "bad", unilaterally.

let's start with halsin, because i think he's the easier perspective to tease out here, given that he really leaves nothing to the imagination. he's incredibly earnest and open, and will happily describe his perspective on non-monogamy right out the gate. as he says...

The wolf mates for life, but the bear roams free and partners as its instinct dictates. I need to stay true to my nature, and you to yours.

now, to get ahead of potential backlash here... if you haven't spent a lot of time with halsin, particularly if you've never flirted with him, that line may imply that he's a "player". he is not. given the context of the PCs interactions with him up to this point (and how he treats the relationship after, if you confirm the romance), halsin is deeply devoted, and has really strong feelings for the PC. it's really sweet, i highly recommend romancing him, either as a polymance or solo.

what he's describing here is a perspective of cultural non-monogamy. that he believes his feelings are not diminished by having multiple relationships at the same time, and he expects that if the PC agrees to a relationship with him that they will respect his freedom to pursue others when/if such feelings arise, just as he will respect the PC's freedom to continue and/or pursue other relationships as well. it's a really succinct and frankly unexpectedly respectful negotiation of the terms of a polyam relationship.

and that respect is evident from the get go. if you've never seen this conversation, it basically opens with him saying "hey, i have these feelings about you, i was wondering if you maybe felt the same," and if the PC says that they do, he immediately acknowledges the existing relationship and tells the PC that they can't move forward without consent. and you cant; speaking to halsin again just has him ask the PC if they've spoken to their other partner yet. at every turn, halsin is incredibly respectful of the PCs other partner, he never diminishes that relationship, nor does he expect the PC to ever place him above that relationship. he even says:

Indeed, I am but one of your lovers. You and I should seek happiness, wherever it lies. You are all I want, but I will not hoard you to myself.

he makes it very clear from the get-go that he has no designs on the PC's other relationship and that he is more than happy to take whatever they want to give him.

which leads me to my overarching point: astarion is consenting to this dynamic specifically because the other person in question is halsin.

and we know this for a few reasons. first, because.... mechanically in game, he's the only person you can romance at the same time as astarion. while astarion mentions at various points that he is fine with "arrangements", generally speaking, every other potential romance partner results in a "you have to choose one of us" conversation. the reason astarion gives for why the PC has to choose varies, i believe, but since i don't have the dialogue on hand (i have been faithful as hell in my playthrough) i won't speculate about those conversations.

however, we also know that astarion is consenting to an arrangement with halsin specifically because of this line:

The druid is unique. He has a lot of experience with this type of arrangement. Thus, I'm sure it would be quite a harmless affair.

which is interesting, isn't it? hold onto this one, we'll circle back to it later. and then of course, the other line we need to discuss from astarion here is the famously controversial...

It's not because… you know… we haven't… in a while?

so this is where i get into the potentially controversial take that i have, because it's more nuanced than arguments i've seen on either side of the pro-/anti- polymance debate. but basically i think that astarion is... insecure. shocker, i know. but unlike some takes i've seen, i dont think this means he can't consent to a polyam relationship, i think it means that he has certain Conditions related to it, that he has decided have been met. and i think those conditions are as follows:

the PC's interest in halsin is not borne out of any deficiency of astarion's.

this is why he asks the famous question. he's insecure, and making sure that the PC's interest in halsin is not because astarion is failing to "satisfy" them, that it's not because he isn't enough. astarion has a lot of self-worth issues that he tries really hard to hide, and i think it would be easy for him to think that the PC starting another relationship could be a result of him being... insufficient.

for people who have never been in a polyam relationship, this is a thing. this is an important thing, and making sure all of your partners feel that they're valued and "enough" is an important part of navigating these relationships. astarion does the right thing here, by expressing his insecurity and asking for reassurance. and when the PC gives it to him, the relief is evident and he gives consent to the dynamic immediately. not because he's been coerced, but because he's been reassured.

PC: Gods, I don't want you to think that for a moment. Astarion: I know I was being foolish. But thank you for saying it.

the second condition is:

that he is still a priority

this is pretty self explanatory but since it's sort of the clincher for my whole argument here, i do have to say the quiet part out loud. i dont think what astarion wants or needs is to be the PC's only partner. he talks about "arrangements" on multiple occasions, i dont think he has a problem with sharing. what i do think he wants is to be the PC's primary partner. what he's consenting to, in my view, is hierarchical polyamory, to use the proper term. as in, the PC can fool around with whoever they want, even have feelings for other people, so long as they always come back to astarion. he needs to feel like he is secure and valued above others as he values them above others. he needs to feel like the PC isn't going anywhere.

and that's why he consents to an arrangement with halsin, but no one else. because all of the other romance options, the origin companions, would want to be equal with astarion, they would want non-hierarchical polyamory. halsin, on the other hand, is all about taking what can be given and having a more fluid understanding of relationships. he doesn't care if he's #1, he cares that the PC cares about him, right now. no formal definitions or obligations required.

that's what astarion means when he says "the druid is unique." that's what he means when he says "he has a lot of experience with this type of arrangement." that's what he means when he says it will be a "harmless affair." because he knows halsin is never going to try to take the PC away from him. he knows halsin isn't going to be a threat to him and his status with his partner. and that's why he's comfortable saying yes, even though he says no to every other possible arrangement.

it's not because he was coerced. it's not because he doesn't know how to say no. it's because he feels safe. and that's what we want.

some additional notes while i'm here...

on jealousy: a lot of people hc astarion as the jealous type, as perhaps a little possessive, and i am also one of those people. it makes sense; he's a guy who hasn't had anything in 200 years, and the PC is the first person he's cared about like this. i can definitely see him being a little possessive and prone to jealousy. but stepping outside of the realm of fiction, jealous/possessive feelings are often the result of insecurity and in real relationships should absolutely not be used as a tool to control the behaviour of another partner. and, crucially, jealous/possessive feelings are a thing to be talked about and worked through, not tip-toed around. the presence of those feelings does not automatically mean that a polyamorous relationship is impossible, it just means there's another thing to talk about, and by astarion consenting to the PC having another relationship, he's pretty clearly saying he's willing to talk through those feelings and work on them.

on the ability to consent: i know that astarion doesn't talk about his feelings enough. but i truly dont think that this is a case of astarion saying yes when he means no. astarion can say no, even in high pressure situations he wasn't expecting. he says no to the astral-touched tadpole (rather firmly, i might add), he says no to sleeping with the drow twins, etc. the scene that most people use as proof that astarion cannot consent happens in a much different emotional context, with a lot of direct coercion, and is followed by astarion taking back personal control and dumping the PC. that is not what happens in this scene, when astarion is consenting to a polyamorous relationship. there is no coercion (in fact the PC can explicitly say "i wouldn't even consider it if it bothered you", and astarion expected the conversation, so he would have been able to prepare his thoughts and feelings ahead of time. at no point does he say no or even imply he's not okay with an arrangement with halsin.

on timing: ive seen some people say that they would be more okay with the astarion-halsin polymance if all of this was not be happening right now. i agree with that. ideally, astarion would have more time to adjust to his relationship before it was opened up at all. but because this is a video game, everything is happening during the events of the game. and because this is a video game, the events of the game are high pressure and wild and everything is happening all at once. i don't blame people who elongate the timeline in fan content, or who turn down halsin because they think its "too soon." thats actually very explicitly something halsin says when he initially propositions the player - that he hopes it isn't "too soon." however, astarion still consents (see point above), and relationships barely ever have good timing. one could argue that even the solomance with astarion does not have good timing, when considering astarion's trauma and recovery. so. we make do. and i think it would be... a disservice? to what is (in my opinion) really good polyam writing to just say "actually it's all terrible and icky because there's a lot going on right now" and dismiss it out of hand.

.......................and i think that's everything. thank you for joining me on this very long (oops) deep dive into this. a double thank you for reading all the way through if you don't like the astarion-halsin polymance. i hope i gave you a different perspective, even if i didn't change your mind. love ya <3

[soleminisanction]

I've always really liked DC's in-house choice of referring to their various superhero groupings as "families," but it has gotten a little frustrating recently with people both in canon and in fandom seeming to forget that families aren't just a parental-unit-and-kids formation. They're complicated, and a lot of the DC families are too messy to fit into that neat little nuclear family mode.

Which is to say... here's some scattered thoughts/summaries about how these families are actually structured in canon, because I think it's interesting:

Supers -- The smaller, more traditional Superfamily (Clark, Lois, Kara, Kon, etc.) is a pretty traditional Midwestern nuclear family, with Jimmy Olsen filling the role of close family friend/goofy neighbor sidekick (in the Silver Age, he was Kara's would-be suitor) and Steel feeling more like part of Clark's personal circle of friends. The recent line up, though, with Jon, the twins, Kong and Nat? Starts to feel more like some old dynasty or noble house, complete with fostered foundlings and the Steels acting almost like knights under a noble's banner, possibly reflective of what the House of El would have been on Krypton.

Arrows -- Might currently be the closet to a traditional nuclear family structure. You've got Ollie and Dinah, their younger sisters, Ollie's adopted and biological children, and Ollie's granddaughter through Roy, plus by some counts Roy's co-parent and her sister as "in-laws." Bonnie and Cissie King-Jones are adjacent to but not technically "part" of the family, though I believe it's implied at one point that Ollie might also be Cissie's bio-dad. Pretty straightforward, these guys are actually family and they act like it, for good and ill.

Shazam Family -- Also a literal, actual family. Not originally, the original golden age "Marvel Family" was considerably more complicated and only Billy and Mary were full siblings, but nowadays the whole point of the modern Shazam family is that they're foster siblings united by familial love and that's fantastic. Meanwhile your average Black Adam story is 75% angsty family drama, 25% Egyptian mythology references.

Flashes -- Technically closer to three nuclear families (the Allens, the Wests and the Garricks; four if you include the Quicks), two of whom are united by marriage and all of whom are bound by the Speedforce, which, given its semi-spiritual connections to things like Speedster afterlives, can act almost like a religious force that connects them to the additional members like Avery, Circuit Breaker and Max as Bart's foster-dad. They're a big, sprawling tree with more cousins than siblings, the kind of family that functionally has a reunion every Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Lanterns -- Now these guys are the exception that proves my point about the whole 'family' thing not being straightforward. The lanterns aren't a family, they're a corps. Soldiers. Space cops. Comrades-in-arms. They respect each other, have each other's backs, might even like or care about each other, but those last two are optional, and they don't have the same kind of assumed obligations towards each other that a family would have. They're friends and co-workers, not family, but that doesn't mean their relationships are less significant, they're just different.

Wonders -- Roughly half of them are either one of Hippolyta's daughters (Diana, Donna, Nubia pre-Crisis) or related to them through the gods (Cassie), and the other half (Artemis, Yara, modern-age Nubia) use sister as a term of endearment more in a utopian lesbian commune kind of way. I think they brought Steve Trevor back recently? He's basically the Ken in this equation and perfectly fine with that role. None of which should be surprising if you've seen Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.

Bats -- This is the one that people get really wrong when they try to force it into a traditional family structure. Don't let WFA fool you, the Bats are and have always been way more a snarled mess of tangled interpersonal relationships than they've ever been a cohesive family. Whether Dick is Bruce's son or his brother depends on what era you're talking about, and the former reading is much more recent than you think -- as in "started cropping up in the early 2000s" recent. Barbara is both Cassandra's sister and her mother. Duke and Steph both have living parents and neither of them want or would ever dream of treating Bruce like their dad; Tim was the same way until his dad died. None of the Robins ever lived in the mansion together, nor did Cass. Babs considered Jean-Paul Valley her brother and Huntress is so close to Tim she once hallucinated him calling her Big Sister. They're a beautiful mess of people finding places where their broken edges fit together into something that works for them and trying to reduce it down to a cozy nuclear family is just so goddamn reductive and lazy.

Blue Beetles -- Are only tangentially related to each other. Seriously, they never even get direct mentoring, each one just takes over when the previous one dies and works on completely different rules from the other two. They're complete strangers bound by a legacy and that's honestly pretty fun.

Zataras -- There's only three of them and they're literally a father, daughter and cousin.

Martians -- Not really a family because there's only the two of them, but an interesting case where the two survivors of what was functionally a war of mutually assured destruction came together in an attempt to find some peace in the aftermath of what they'd lost.

Titans -- The JLA and JSA aren't really in the "family" category, but the Titans lean into it hard, mostly because they're a textbook found family. They don't mirror a nuclear family structure, they're simply a group of people who came together to form a mutual support network. They're the idealized college friends you grew into your own with, some of them childhood companions and others you only met once you leave home for the first time, but all of them friends that you manage to maintain contact with for life, with everyone coming back together even as you scatter and do your own things.

Young Justice -- Meanwhile, this team is the chaotic group of misfits you hung out with when you were a teenager, especially when you were just starting to be allowed to act without adult supervision. You drive each other crazy, none of you know you're all queer as fuck, and you'd fight a bear for any of them even if they asked you not to. They'd probably be insulted if you tried to call them a family. They come out here to get away from their families, thank you very much.

[rubra-wav]

[ Entry #9 ] Various Vox headcanons

A/N I've got a post coming up about what I think it'd be like to actually date him coming up, (alongside Snap part 2 ofc, I'm just taking my time w it to try keep things accurate) so here's some points which will lead into that next post + other misc stuff I've been thinking abt.

Cw: SFW above cut, NSFW below cut - 18+ MDNI, reference to manipulative behaviours

SFW

- While drunk, he's both very affectionate and cute but also gets really sad and clingy. If you stop paying attention to him for even a second while he's gonna start bawling like a giant baby. It's also the only time he's truly 100% honest with how he feels about you.

Basically; the mask falls right off, so he doesn't like to get drunk around people. He will deny all that's been said or done during this.

- He doesn't need to sleep but likes to - when he sleeps tho he doesn't really sleep in the traditional sense but instead goes into a preset 'sleep mode' for a specific set of time. He can also be rebooted remotely if you need him up before he's programmed to wake up again. (I discuss more abt this type stuff in entry #4)

- Follow up point: when he dreams while in sleep mode, his dreams play on his screen. He often dreams about becoming essentially king of hell and having people worship him like a god.

If you bring this up, he will be embarrassed as all fucking hell and will also deny it vehemently.

- He ends up getting water damage fairly often because he really loves swimming and aquatic environments ironically.

He's of course got ways of waterproofing himself properly, but usually he will do it badly or just not give a fuck about it and go swimming impulsively.

Will complain like a bitch after getting water damaged as well, holy shit. Blames everything but himself about it.

- Follow up: if you ever take this man to an aquarium on a date, he's going to be so fucking excited about everything he's seeing.

He will be trying to contain himself, but he may end up letting the mask of calmness slip at points and just start randomly talking a million miles an hour about whatever shark, fish, sea creature, etc. He's seeing. He loves sharks so much.

- Somewhat follow-up point: If you 1. don't tell him to shut up about shit when he starts getting excited and talking really fast and loudly AND 2. Actually listen?

He's gonna be so goddamn happy. Holy shit.

He's used to being told to shut up when he starts talking about ideas he has for a new VoxTek project, so if you give him feedback and your thoughts on it once he's done info dumping? He's gonna start internally screaming because he's so happy about it.

- Follow up follow-up: He doesn't take criticism well though. In fact, he's a baby. If you're in a relationship and you've gotten him out of his bs a bit with his ego being fragile as shit about everything, it'll be better but still pretty bad.

He needs reassurance that just because you disagree or think (y) would be a better alternative than what's his (x), that you still think it's a good idea, lmao.

- If you wear blue light glasses he can't hypnotise you, and he absolutely fucking hates it. In an argument or confronting him, you just put on bluelight glasses and cross your arms, and he's so annoyed about it.

You'd need to start wearing blue light glasses, because this asshole will be trying to hypnotise you into forgetting things if you see something of him that he deems 'undesirable' about himself for you to see.

- He's such a colossal attention whore that the second you are doing something thats not to do with him or talking to someone who isn't him, he's gonna be pissy asf about it.

Think glaring at you while pouting and loudly tapping his foot. He's such a little shit 💀

- He's so intensely touch starved it's not even funny. If you're doing anything his hands are gonna be on your hip, your back or your shoulders.

He desperately wants to be physically close to you but he also will never normally instigate cuddle sessions because he thinks it's embarrassing that he wants them so badly. If you instigate them, he will absolutely love it.

Just not in public, though. If you try to be super affectionate or maybe even affectionate with him at all publicly, he'll be pushing you away telling you to wait until later.

And will get mad if you try get a bit defensive about it with him.

NSFW

- He has barely any self-control and ends up getting unintentionally excited really easily - even in situations where he really shouldn't be. If you as his partner are cuddling him, sitting in his lap, touching his neck, or god forbid the ports, he's gonna get hard so quickly it's not even funny.

Him being touch starved is really a double-edged sword because he wants to be near you, but also he gets unintentionally way too physically excited about it and ends up embarrassed asf most of the time.

- Kinda follow up point: I feel as if he's extremely repressed sexually in general. He works extremely long hours to maintain his control over everything single day, and considering his tendency to start zapping things when he gets closer to finishing / overwhelmed, he'd likely not be taking any chances at all with that.

So when he gets physically near his partner alone (and also not even alone), his body just kinda goes 'time to make up for lost time'. 💀

- Most sensitive erogenous zones on him (outside of his dick obviously) are his neck and ports. I'm not sure if him having ports for nipples is canon or not, but if it still is, those are the more sensitive ones. The ones on the back of his head are still an absolute killer, though.

If you kiss his neck even softly, he'll be tensing up, and if you're kissing him or cuddling him and gently brush up against the ports on the back of his head, or your chest brushes against his and brings him nipple stimulation - he's gonna be getting a boner as quick as it gets.

- He doesn't really care too much about his partner's height, but I get the vibe that he'd have a size difference thing and would love a partner who's smaller than him (but not tiny still)

It would trip his ego so much to be able to physically look down on people in general, but with a partner? He'd be going mildly insane about it but in a different way.

Wear his clothes, and they're massive on you? He's gonna be turned on as absolute hell by that. Especially if it's one of his button ups and its neckline is plunging and giving him an eyeful of your chest.

He can easily pick you up and pull you against him in whatever way? Goes absolutely nuts about it.

I love it when I try to go,'this will only be short', then my brainrot takes hold, and my ideas just keep flowing. 💀

Masterlist

[mtchacffinz]

to be loved for you

prompt!!! Dan Heng never dealt with jealousy. He learns bitterly that sometimes, he can't deal with it rationally!

content!!! SFW, gn! reader, fluff, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, first kiss, clingy! Dan Heng

note!!! I love him too much. So far, all he's been getting from me is fluff 💔 frankly, i cant muster any freaky-freaky stuff with this man 🤔 got anything? my asks are open 🩷

To be someone who relied on relations by circumstance, you would always cherish each and every one of those who cross your path. May they be old and wise, or young and restless— Greeting them with the brightest smile, they'd always find themselves enamoured by your energy. Maybe this is why you attract so many people? Dan Heng was aware of that. He never spoke up about it, though. After all, he was one of the many who was caught bulls eye with each strum of his heart.

He knew you were capable of fending off threats yourself. He knew you were somebody who could defend someone from harms way.. and he especially knew just how gentle and kind you treat everybody.

Oh, what is he doing? Sulking all by himself in the archives. Dan Heng's thoughts ran rampant the past minutes. This happens when he's alone or sitting idly by. The poor man's thoughts catch up to him leaving him disgruntled. The thing is, you could always see it in his face.

You've been out and about for a while. He misses you, you know. Not that he would admit! Dan Heng's stubborn, just like that. He's definitely not mulling over how you're attention has been elsewhere, either. He doesn't mind. You have the freedom to do what you want! Just leave him sulking here in the archives unattended, it's okay.

The teal eyed prince clicks his tongue. That chatty, flirty, touchy writer. At first, Dan Heng thought that he was quite a man. The writer guy was nice and respectful with a golden gaze for things that were held high. That said, the Author quickly took interest in you.

He was never one to be possessive. Why should he? You're not even in a relationship. But sometimes, as soon as the guys hands find their way towards yours, intertwining in a clasp, something in him dims. Suddenly, his eyes can't leave your figure. It was your smile again, and Dan Heng's not at the receiving end of it.

You're not on the express today, either. A shame. Seriously, that guys been hogging you all week! What's up with that? Don't even get him started on "(Y/n), my muse. Accompany me today?" bullcrap! It's nothing but a sappy excuse to get into your pants so bad! Seriously, the absurdity. Dan Heng shakes off the thoughts before they continue. Did you know? Just by his gaze alone, someone could freeze in their place— like daggers against their back.

"Hmm? Mr. Ferr, are you okay?"

"It's nothing, my sweet, I strangely caught a shiver in my spine.." the author, Ferr, replied calmly.

"Okay. So about your first draft.."

Draft this, draft that, can't he got an editor instead?!

Irk marks basically float up his head just thinking about what they're talking about right now. Can you blame him? He's been neglected.

Dan Heng slaps himself, hard.

Woah. He's getting way ahead of himself. Him? Neglected? In what way? Again, it's not like you're both in a relationship. It's not like he's entitled to your affection in any way. Dan Heng really needs to calm down. Lately, all he's been doing is updating the archives. He's also learned of what you will be traveling for next, and added data with a note addressed to you as well. His calloused hands were flipping through various pages all day, pulling apart scrolls and wiping away holograms.

His thoughts become strangely quiet. His presence was like frost.. constant. A little chilly. He starts to fiddle with his fingers, his gloves, and his nails.

He really misses you a lot.

Can you come back soon?

Dan Heng sighs. He stands up with his impeccable posture as usual. Those arms held scrolls and books, and puts them back where he got them from. At this point, he's zoned out. He exits the Archives, strolling near the parlor car. Light footsteps echo throughout the space with Dan Heng taking in the air of tranquility within the express; It seemed like everyone had their own agenda today.

Well, except for one.

"Dan Heng," Himeko's sweet, gentle voice called out for him. The boy turned towards her, a little surprised. She smiles, and beckons him to sit with her. Her silky locks framing perfectly on her face, she put a stray strand behind her ear. "Come, I have coffee to share."

Dan Heng was indeed in dire need of indulgence. Without hesitation, he walked over to the red head and sat down. He forgot how comfortable the sofa was.. his nerves began to relax. Himeko starts to pour the hot beverages into elegant coffee cups, befitting if her style. It was comfortable silence, the stars glistened into glass windows— reflecting the beauty of life. Himeko seems to have noticed his aloof vibe, joining him to stare at the stars. Opening her lips, Himeko starts.

"You've been busy for a while."

"Being an archivist is a lot of work, huh?"

"I have."

"It's fine." The gentle lady can't help but chuckle. He's so dry. This only confirms her hypothesis. That daunting look on his figure may intimidate some, but not Miss Himeko. Never Miss Himeko. She doesn't want to expose her hidden agenda now, but she just can't wait to run her mouth. After all, Dan Heng's been down the weather and it's very obvious as to why.

"(Y/n) wanted me to prepare these for you. Enjoy them." She takes a sip. His expression softened. Dan Heng can't help but think bitterly. It'd be lovely if they were her to prepare these herself, but the teal eyed prince quickly take back the thought.

"I'm thankful.. but why? Is there an occasion? I don't seem to recall any." He speaks in a cautious manner. The woman only sighs, a palm on her cheek.

"Be honest with me, Dan Heng." Her tone quickly changed. Now her eyes are staring into his. Like it was rummaging through his soul. Dan Heng's feet were cold. He couldn't contest her gaze, so he averts his eyes. Himeko frowns at this, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"Your eyes betray you greatly."

He was a little taken aback. His eyes? He was never expressive. He was sure he'd been called at least poker faced and stoic before.. Dan Heng's brows narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

Himeko only chuckles, dismissing her last claim. "I'll tell you what. They'll be here soon.. and they're going to leave just as quickly." She adds the last statement with dramatic disdain before the elegant lady takes a sip once again. Dan Heng's stomach drop. Ah.. he's lost the appetite to even finish his mug. Himeko continues. "Ferr is taking them to a space station for one of his projects. Given the current circumstances, they have no reason to refuse."

His face scrunched in annoyance upon hearing the name again. Mr. Ferr this, Mr. Ferr that! He's getting sick of him. Taking (Y/n) on a space ship? How long will that take? Is it some sort of rendevous? A date?

..will you come back?

"i don't think that decision befalls to us. (Y/n) is capable of making decisions.."

"I don't want them to go."

"..on their own because— wait, what?"

Himeko chuckles dryly. "I don't want (Y/n) to go, you know? It's selfish thought, I know. But, it's good to be selfish once and a while now, right?"

That was a half baked lie. First of all, Himeko fully supports what (Y/n) wants. But Ferr.. isn't exactly known for his patience. Himeko knows full well as soon as (Y/n) steps in the spaceship— he'd pull something like a proposal! A profession, a deal! She's not stupid, Himeko is far from dense. The Scientist knows that the Author has a huge thing for you, and it shows. And knowing Dan Heng? He'd just nod along albeit against it. She can't just stand here and let them distance each other! Himeko's seen it.. that prying gaze of a distraught, pining lover.. the watchful eyes of a lovestruck persona. The only way to get a stubborn man to act, is through tremendous pressure!

Dan Heng's lips pursed.

"And you want me to.."

"You don't have to, really."

"But.. if it will benefit them, should we encourage it? After all, they're energetic and knows their way with words. There must be some sort of good reasoning behind his invitation."

"I don't know. Do you want them to go?"

"I.." Dan Heng couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't form a response at all. Does he want you to go? If you would enjoy yourself, he'd love to allow it.. If you'd return with a smile on your face, tell him all about what happened, he'd love to receive you with utmost sincere..

Even if it took atleast a hundred years for you to return to him.

...Hundred years his ass! You will not spend a hundred years with that man!

"If (Y/n) wants to, I personally don't see why not." Dan Heng's thoughts actively contrasted his responses. A stubborn man.. Himeko sighs, an apologetic smile on her lips. Finally backing away, the lovely lady puts down her mug and sits straight.

"It's okay to be honest. After all, they.. wish for something."

Dan Heng replies quickly in a heart beat. "I will be honest, then. I want their wish fulfilled."

"Then you better greet them in tip-top shape." Himeko winks saying this, standing up to excuse herself. Dan Heng tilts his head in this, not quite sure if what the she's implying. Himeko only had that knowing smirk on her pristine face. The lady excuses herself promptly, leaving Dan Heng all by himself. The man is once again left alone with his thoughts, except this time, he has new material to work with.

"Great..." He huffs bitterly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just.. splendid." God, his head hurts. He's tired and he's drowsy. At this point, he doesn't find anything of urgency at the moment— only thinking about grasping that sudden warmth the sofa beneath him exerts. Dan Heng would like to find peace of mind at least once in a while. Both that in mind, his eyes find their way to the Parlor ceiling, half lidded and tired.

Slowly, his breathing calms down.. and slowly, his eyes drift closed, consciousness slipping away from his grasp.

Slowly.. the darkness embraced him, and his body rested in slumber.

You stand a little surprised.

After all, Dan Heng was casually sitting upright— his eyes closed. Is he napping? Is he okay? You're not sure, and you're concerned. Frankly, you were supposed to be here for him— feeling that he deserves at least an apology that you haven't been getting back to his messages in a while. But looking at the sight.. he looks like he's accompanied at the moment.

Such a hard working guard. The guard of the express, the unmatched Archivist of the Nameless.. the one who would always hold your heart gently. You swore if he blew air on your figure, you'd crumble immediately. The only one who'd sway your heart. That's how much power he holds, his whole fingers wrapped around your being with an invisible string keeping you binded to him.

You curb a grin. Strolling near your quarters, you pick up something warm. A blanket. You envelop his stature in a comfortable tuck, pausing for a moment to take in the melancholic state Dan Heng's exhibiting. The handsome prince's eyes fluttered closed, lips slightly apart. If he's sitting upright sleeping, then he must be atleast tired enough to sleep but still be on his feet.

But he doesn't know that, he doesn't need to.

"Ah.." was all Dan Heng could muster. You look back at him in a awe, but quickly recovered. You didn't remove his hands on your wrist, you held onto them instead. The archivists eyes softened, his brows relaxing. You attempt to give him a smile, defusing the tension.

Your sightseeing was cut short when Dan Heng started to stir, his eyes fluttering open. It was for a short moment, the first those greyish teal eyes found their way towards yours.. and the way they slightly widened upon meeting gazes with you, Dan Heng's slender, warm fingers slowly snuck their way toward your wrist; apprehending their movements further. Dan Heng held onto you like you were unreal, like you were unbelievable. Oh, he looks stricken. He looks.. almost as surprised as you. Dan Heng doesn't say anything yet, the blanket that was once on him fell off just a little while ago.

"Hey. Sorry. It looks like I woke you up.." You offer an apologetic smile. He quickly shakes his head at this, responding to you in haste.

"No.. no. Don't apologize."

"I have a lot of apologizing to do."

"No, you.." before he could finish, he cuts himself off. Why must he be so accepting? He keeps brushing his feelings aside, and before he knows it, he utters something he doesn't even mean. No, he's not okay. No, it's not fine. You upset him greatly. He couldn't focus on anything because you weren't answering his messages. Your phone was unreachable.

You had Dan Heng worried sick. What if something happened to you? You reckless, Trusting, thick skulled—

"Everything good?"

Your voice immediately snaps him out of his thoughts. Dan Heng let's out a small breath, his hands still clutching yours. He was still sitting down, and you were towering over him. God.. just by your gaze alone, he's already so full. If you could just stay with him a little longer, he feels like this churning in his stomach would go away soon. He wants you so bad, he needs you so bad.. he doesn't want you to let go anytime soon.

To your surprise, Dan Heng himself removed his hold on you. His movements were slow and languid, like a flow of water within the rivers. Moving in chorus, mellifluous.. elegantly. You can't take your eyes off him at all. Dan Heng clung to your waist. His warm body enveloped your lower half, nuzzling deep into your stomach. You let out a surprised yelp.

Suddenly, your face is hot. Your stomach was dancing with abundant butterflies, and you don't know where to put your hands. As if the archivist could read your mind, his hands led yours into his head, fingers entangling itself into those dark locks. They were so soft.. so warm and lovely. Your hands run through his hair gently— cherishing just how close he is to you at this moment. What's up with him? He seems to be a little more laid back.

Dan Heng shifts in his place. That's when he finally looks up at you. His arms around you, eyes looking directly at yours. You could see his expression.. eyes soft. Gentle. A slight pout— face flushed. It looks like he wants to say something, and it's still processing in that pretty head of his.

Dan Heng's hold on you tightens, you didn't fail to notice. He wants to be selfish for once. Let him be selfish for once. Just once. With a small breath and a soft tone, he finally utters.

"Don't go."

It was getting harder and harder to calm your heart down, and that didn't get any better.

Your heart immediately melts, and your knees almost gave out. What? Go where? Has the rumours already spread? Whatever it was, it's not happening. Especially if he asked you, it's already set in stone. "I won't. Not anywhere." You respond tenderly. Dan Heng's eyes lit up. You swore his fingers even twitched just a little bit. A little more after, his face suddenly scrunched. The archivists' frame was decorated with blazing hues of red. Whatever he's thinking seems to strain him so. Not even bothering to give you time to further analyze, he stands up from his seat, arms still around you. This time, you have no idea what'll he do. Dan Heng's eyes averted yours, hesitantly taking a step closer. My.. your palms are starting to sweat. This is the effect of anticipation.

When he pulled back from you, Dan Heng quickly analyzed your expression to see even a tinge of displeasure. Now you.. face decorated with the hue of peony, looked awe struck. Absolutely enchanted.. bewildered, blown. Gathering your nerves to work back up again, your eyes slowly trailed back to his nervous ones: awaiting your reaction.

"..You can hit me after this." Dan Heng suddenly says, making you tilt your head in confusion. So carefully, he cupped your cheeks. Whatever that was you were going to say was caught in your throat. There was a bubbling feeling in your chest, waiting to pop open; and as soon as his lips brushed past yours, it popped so beautifully vibrant it blinded your vision for but a moment. As your eyes fluttered closed and his eyes half lidded, he greedily drank the sight of you from his eyes.

Dan Heng's eyes widened once you grabbed his collar— smashing your lips back to his. The kiss you've given him burned with fervor, impatient, like you've been yearning for more. You were starved of his lips— like a lone hawk hunting for aeons.

Now that the opportunity presented itself, might as well make the most of it.

The archivist had a hard time keeping up with you, keeping the both of you straight by holding the small of your back. Your arms were in Dan Heng's chest— eagerly taking him in yours. By the time you both ran out of air, you were standing in amidst the parlor car— with the stars accompanying the moment being the sole witness. You could hear Dan Heng's heartbeat whilst you rest your head on his chest. Clutching his jacket, it was tempting to go for another one again.

There was silence. A lot of words hung out in the air. The first to cut through the already light air around you was you.

"For how long?"

Dan Heng breathed heavily, burying his nose into your hair. He thinks about it for a long time before finally answering.

"Quite a while."

i went a little overboard sorry! (⁠●⁠´⁠⌓⁠`⁠●⁠) edited it a lil bit

[amuseoffyre]

Just had GO s2 on in the background while I was doing some craft and some percolating thoughts came out of the first Maggie and Nina exchange.

Nina: See anything you fancy? Maggie: Oh. Yes. Coffee. Nina: The usual, then? Don't tell me, it's in here. You're a skinny latte. Maggie: You remembered :) Nina: A lot of people in this head, and a lot of coffees, but I only remember the regulars.

Now bear with me on this mental ramble as I try and put these thoughts in order. I'll divide it into three points:

Mind-altering and memory muddles

There's a running motif through the whole season about memory and the loss thereof:

Gabriel removing his memory ("all the bits that make you you")

Crowley forgetting who Furfur was repeatedly

Aziraphale and Crowley's miracle basically casting confusion over the bookshop and muddling everyone's minds

the threat of erasure of memory and demotion (and am still sure Muriel is a previous demotee on account of the 37th level thing. 3s and 12s! Those are the recurring numbers in the book! 37 doesn't make sense! 36, yes! 37, no!)

putting memories somewhere else (Gabriel's fly but also Aziraphale's journals)

Coffee

As with the memory element, coffee is a running theme through the whole show as well.

Crowley chugging espressos like there's no tomorrow

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death - "does anyone ever choose death?" asks the Metatron, when the answer is obvious

Coffee's symbolism in the final 15. Let me yell about the symbolism of Coffee = Crowley and all things mortal and living and human and earthly. OR DEATH. ("I have ingested things, you know")

The flavours in the Metatron's coffee order also having allegorical symbolism - almond branches in various parts of The Book are a reminder that God is Watching.

The human avatars of the angelic and divine

Initially when I started watching S2, I assumed the parallels between Maggie and Nina were obvious: Maggie, the sunshine one, is the Aziraphale, while Nina, the grumpy one, is the Crowley. But I was wrong.

Nina is the human avatar of Aziraphale.

Maggie: how can you think about that after all this? Nina: People need coffee, I sell coffee, it's my coffee shop.

Nina defines herself by the place she works, it is who she is and she does it because people need it (coffee), much like Aziraphale defines himself by the place he worked (Heaven), it's who he is (an angel) and he does it because people need it (goodness).

Likewise, when they go and tell Crowley off for the way he's interfered in their lives, Nina says she's just getting out of a messy relationship and isn't ready for something new yet (again, Aziraphale and Heaven vibes because that fully impacts every decision Aziraphale makes through S2) and if Maggie is around when she's ready, then maybe, they can try. ("If she's there" "I will be :) ")

And then we have Maggie, the Crowley avatar. Useless at saying what she wants to say, tries to express herself and her emotions with gestures and gifts, offers her company and time when Nina needs it, happy to help her despite the way Nina is wary of the kindness being shown.

By the end of the season, Nina is caught behind the bar of her coffee shop, working and serving ungrateful people, while Maggie is alone in her empty shop, asleep on her counter, paralleling Aziraphale going back to work in a place where he will run himself off his feet to do the right thing, while Crowley is left with an empty shop.

But now to spin back to the original quote from 2x01, it feels like all of these motifs are tying together and foreshadowing something, very possibly an Aziraphale who has lost his memory/had his memories stripped away.

Let me rewrite the lines with only a tiny couple of changes:

Aziraphale: See anything you fancy? Crowley: Oh. Ngk. Company? Aziraphale: The usual, then? Don't tell me, it's in here. You're the demon Crowley. Crowley: You remembered :) Aziraphale: A lot of angels in this head, and a lot of demons, but I only remember the regulars.

If I'm right, he remembers Crowley, but only the surface level like Nina remembers Maggie. Nothing about who they were to each other, nothing about what has happened. But have no fear, Muriel has the bookshop and the thousands and thousands of years of Aziraphale's memories bound up in text form.

Especially prescient since Muriel is given a book by the Metatron Crowley which is a novel where a man pieces together a story from documents that have been left behind. Schroedinger's journals will be making a return in S3, I have no doubt.

[lyramundana]

I BASICALLY LOVE MINSUNG X F!READER CAN YOU SAY YOUR HEADCANONS ABOUT IT? I'm so sub for them I swear the god

I can feel your enthusiasm through the comment and I totally relate to it, I'm really a sub for these greek gods too!!

Now I have various headcanons with my oc, Vivi or Violeta, but since you mentioned fem!reader, I'll go with that.

POLY MINSUNG X FEM! READER HEADCANONS

-They're both switches, but Minho tends to take the lead and leans towards dominance more. However, Jisung can be pretty intense too and they can have this battle of pride where they try to manhandle the other into submission. It's fucking hot when it happens because you can't tell which of them is doming here.

-Since Jisung is the younger in the relationship (for a while), he's usually the one being take care of and he LOVES it. Minho, on the other hand, enjoys pampering his jagiya and protect him. The roles outside the bedroom remain the same usually. Minho is the caretaker, with ocasional soft moments when he needs pampering too, and Jisung the babyboy that needs constant affection.

-When you come into their lives, their routine crashes and their entire world perception is turned upside down.

-You meet Jisung first, both of you becoming friends quickly, and you kinda befriend Minho too by association. At first you two only hang out when Jisung is involved and aren't really close, but as time passes and he sees how comfortable his boyfriend is with you, he starts to warm up to you. In return, you see how happy he makes Jisung and the great partner he is, so she start to apreciate him more.

-What started as a friendship with Jisung and a mutual respect with Minho becomes a besties trio. You're younger than them, so they try to look after you out of instinct, but since you're not korean you don't really see the point of this idea of treating people differently by their age.

-More often than not you have arguments because you feel they see you like a kid sometimes and you remind them that you're a fully independent human and you don't need to be treated like a damsel in distress. Jisung is a lot more open minded about it and understands your point of view, but Minho is more conservative and stubborn, so you two argue the most. As your bond progresses, you learnt to let them take care of you sometimes and be vulnerable with them, while they accept to treat you like an equal instead of a "dongsaeng".

-Following this, there are times you decide to take care of them instead and babying them in return, partially for teasing but also because you like it. They're so cute and soft and fluffy when you're alone, you just want to squeeze them in your arms. You reprimand them like they're your children when they do something that bothers you, you bring them clothes and make-up, you fix their hair and clothes when they look messy, you call them stuff like "good boys" "my babies", "my darlings" (the last one is always in a playful tone).

-The position of dominant one in the relationship it's yours now because Minho has found out he loves to be babied and spoiled too, so when you're around he lets you on charge often. In private, they just want to snuggle with you and have you massage their scalps, call them sweet names and cover them in love. Jisung lets out hums of contentment and Minho straight up purrs, curling into a ball against you. At first he fights is off because it hurts his pride as man and the oldest, but it feels way too good.

-Suddenly they bring you to their dates. You become a part of every activity they usually engage in together. You feel weird at first thinking you're intruding in couple activities, but they reassure you constantly that they enjoy your company.

-They're obsessed with hearing you speak in your native language. Even if they don't understand anything, the way your voice shifts and how beautiful you sound makes their brain go brrrr. If used right, you can use this to lull them to sleep.

-From outside, it looks like the typical girl with her gay besties (and you think that's the reality), but some of their acts feel more than platonic. Regardless, you embrace this image and proudly refer to them in the same way, not noticing the uncomfortable frown on their faces.

-They're the type to treat you like their partner before you guys establish it, just to mark territory for other people (and because they really want to live that fantasy). You may not be theirs fully, but they'll be damned if they let someone else get you. They don't get it at first, they fool themselves into thinking they're just being good friends that care for you too much.

-In my au where Minho experiences a bi awakening because of fem!reader or my oc Violeta/Vivi, this is all more intense and chaotic. They have a lot of trouble dealing with it because they don't know what this means for their relationship and, considering the culture they've been raised, the idea of polyamory doesn't instantly pop in their heads. They're confused and scared, because they feel they're emotionally cheating on the other and also ruining their friendship with you. This leads to several misunderstandings because they can't cope healthily, but they still insist on having you close.

-However, once they come to terms with their feelings for you and embrace, they go from shy, awkward boys to possessive, almost toxic men. They were already clingy before, not wanting you to leave them for anything or anyone, but now they don't even hide it. They're determined to have you, to show you belong with them, and can't stand seeing you with other people.

-It starts slow, you can't even notice. They're more physically affectionate, one of them or both is always touching you in some way when you're out, they refer themselves "jokingly" as your boyfriends and that's why you don't need to go on dates with someone else.

-Then it grows. Their hands now drift from their usual places at your shoulders and back to your waist. Their clinginess worsens. They make you sleep with them in the same bed, shower together like "besties" do, dressing you up because "they love seeing you in new clothes", etc. You force yourself to not think much of it because you see how perfect they are for each other and there's just no way they can feel something more for you..right?

-They're frustrated by how blind you are to their advances, but at the same time, they use it to their advantage to get away with it. The only reason you let them go this far is because you're convinced they can't like you that way and you bet they'll take it as an advantage. As long as you think it's all *overly friendly besties", you won't push them away.

-Deep down, you know something is off here but you can't help but enjoy their little acts. You're used to repressing your forbidden feelings for them to not ruin things, but when they treat you like this, you just let yourself get caught in the moment and pretend you're actually dating them.

-It all breaks down by a jealousy fit from them. The mere thought of losing you to another, for you to love someone else and let them touch you drives them mad, so they make a statement.

-By statement means they lock you in their room and spend hours teaching you not to stray away from your partners. By the end of it, your sweating, clothes tore open and there's not a single trace of skin they haven't marked. Bites, hickeys, bruises. They just let out all their anger and frustration on you.

-The aftercare and morning after is immaculate tho. They feel a bit guilty for how rough they were and make sure to treat you like a princess.

NSFW part ahead, beware❗

-They may be switches but with you, oh boy, you don't have any power in it.

-You have a safeword established and they will stop immediately if you don't want it anymore, but that's it. They have full control over you and your body.

-They worship your whole being, but they have their favourite spots. For Minho is your ass, neck and boobs. For Jisung is your hips, boobs and thighs. They have small competitions to see who leaves the most marks or whose mark are bigger. Your body ends up covered in splashes of red, purple and yellowish.

-They only times they let you be on top is to ride one of them when the other is behind you. They still control your moves and you're basically a doll for them to move around.

-Literally. While you guys are fucking, you're treated like a toy by them, a pair of wet, tight holes for them to fill and play with until they get tired of it (they never but you guys needs to rest from time to time).

-Minho is a sucker from going at you from behind while Jisung is underneath you, both thrusting into you from their positions while you're trapped between them, just taking whatever they give you. Their hands are never too long in one place, constantly roaming all over your skin to feel you up. When he's about to cum, Minho grabs into your boobs and hides his face on your neck, getting drunk on your scent, while Jisung hugs your hips and hides his face in your cleavage, licking the traces of swear that run down of it. They love cumming on their preferred spots to see their essence covering your skin, but if you're on birth control, the only way they're cumming is inside you.

-When they heard the concept of "double penetration", they knew they needed to try it, so they spent HOURS prepping you until they knew you could fit them both there. It was the first time the three of you orgasmed at the same time. The pleasure of feeling your walls closing them in and their dicks rubbing against each other with each movement was mind-blowing. It's a bit painful, so you guys only do it on special occasions.

-If they're still idols in this, you bet they have brought you backstage to fuck you in the the private rooms assigned for the group. Dressing rooms? Bathroom? The music station?? Done, done and done. You're their reward for a good performance or a stress reliever of the're not satisfied with the result.

-Mandatories quickies before stage. They say it's their "lucky charm" (which is a lie because there's usually another quicky after stage).

-The couches from the practice room? Jisung's studio? Yes and yes.

-You visited them once during practise to be a good girlfriend and bring them snacks during their break, and they thanked you by fucking you in front of the mirrors and fogging them. It was a sight to see.

-Another recurrent one is going to Jisung's studio and riding him in his seat or give him a blowjob while he works.

-Cockwarming it's not a kink, it's a necessity.

-And it's never just one of them, oh no. You have to keep both of them warm. Let it be each one in a hole or having both in your cunt. It's not always sexual, they're just pussydrunk and can't go a day without playing with it.

-When they feel in a rather possessive mode, they mark you and then you guys go out and you're forbidden from trying to hide it. They make you wear skirts that barely conceal the hickeys on your inner thighs, tops that don't reach your neck, leaving those purple bruises exposed. They get off from people watching them and realising you're taken.

-Outside the bedroom it might seem that you're in charge, since they behave like total babies with you and have to look after them. But if people look closely, they can see Jisung's firm hand on your waist, never letting you go. Or Minho occasionally brushing his hand on the expanse of your neck with a concentrated look in his eyes. They'll notice how you're never by yourself and one of them is always touching you somehow, keeping you glued to their side.

-In short, having Minsung as lovers would be a wild ride, full of passion and intensity. It's not a kid's game, since they're complicated people in their own right and you're still figuring out where this would lead, but one thing is clear.

-They're never letting you go.

If you want something specific or want me to change something, please let me know! I'd love to see more opinions.

[autisticandroids]

broad strokes of my interpretation of 5x04 the end/the overall guidelines i pay attention to when writing endverse fic

it's about sam. in both a positive and a negative sense, all of endverse is built on sam's absence. on the one hand, there is a freedom and joy for dean that comes from being rid of sam. sam and dean don't really... like each other anymore from s4 onwards, and their unbreakable bond becomes more like a curse to both of them. in a way breaking it is a mercy, see: free to be you and me dean sections. sam's absence allows dean to form meaningful relationships in a way he's basically incapable of with sam around. and to dean sam is a ball and chain, he is first and foremost a duty, not a brother or friend. watch out for sammy. without that millstone around his neck dean is free to be his own person in a way he has literally never been in his whole life. on the other hand, there's the horror of it. sam says yes, and that breaks dean. while dean was running around having a grand old time exercising newfound freedom, he was shirking his duty. his personal world was ending, and he didn't even know it. in the end, dean will never escape sam or have an identity outside of him, and with sam gone - not just separate but gone - he is fully and irrevocably broken.

endverse dean and endverse cas are so divorced, but in order to be that divorced you have to have been married first. to circle back to free to be you and me, do you see how happy dean is in that episode? do you see how sweet dean and cas are on each other? that's the starting point for endverse. that's the point of timeline divergence. whether their relationship experienced a gradual souring or a sharp decline when sam dies is unclear, but we know that it wasn't always this way. this is something that changed.

endverse cas probably isn't as pathetic as you think he is. this is a three-pronged point. 3a. when i say pathetic i don't mean miserable i mean pathetic. endverse cas is extremely miserable every day all the time bc of having to live through an apocalypse and being cutoff from heaven. however. compared to canon cas at the same time he is way less pathetic. he's a lot more self-possessed, and feels entitled enough to a good life that the fact that he's miserable makes him bitter. he may be unhappy but he does not have the kind of self-hatred/low self-esteem that canon cas has because that stuff develops later for particular reasons. 3b. dean is not like. the only thing in his life/the only reason he's miserable and he's probably not even the most important. he's literally living through the apocalypse for chrissakes. and also he's cut off from heaven, which he in the text cites as a major source of his misery. i tend to choose to interpret that as like. missing the hivemind of heaven (or even missing his angelic siblings who he cares deeply about) in order to get it to gel more with my interpretations of canon cas. but even just taking at face value that cas feels powerless and debased because of his fall that's still crunchy and like. not about dean really. like yeah the guy he fell for is no longer capable of loving him but also there's bigger problems here. 3c. drug use. obviously endverse cas uses various substances but if we look at the actual text there are three references to drug use across two exchanges. number one is "are you stoned?" "generally, yeah" ok like we are all grownups here and can admit smoking weed is fine right? right? obviously being stoned all the time is a sign that things aren't going super great in your life but that's generally a symptom of something worse. and then "[takes pill bottle] amphetamines?" "it's the perfect antidote to that absinthe" there are two references to drug use here. one is the fact that cas is taking adhd medication. that's addictive and he could be addicted to it, but also it's not exactly unusual for soldiers to take amphetamines before a battle, nor is it unusual for people who have to drive all night to take them to help them stay awake. also, the way cas talks about it, the vibe seems to be that this is one of many substances that cas occasionally partakes in. the other reference here is to the absinthe and that actually is a cut and dried reference to drug abuse. drinking heavily before driving all night and then going into battle is super irresponsible and likely indicative of a problem. and then the other body of evidence we have is that dean seems to consider cas to be absolutely competent and reliable, so if cas is addicted to something, it's definitely what you'd call a functional addiction, something that doesn't interfere with his life too much. so, broad strokes: if endverse cas is gonna be an addict he is actually probably most likely a functional alcoholic. which is also pretty fun because then you can really play in the space of He Learned It From Dean. 3d. endverse cas is textually kind of a sleazebag.

endverse dean is a shithead but not the way most people think. the notable thing about endverse dean is that he doesn't care enough about other people - endverse cas included but not unique. he's a bastard but his bastardry is lack of care, not intentional cruelty. this is, imo, if i may circle back to the first point, a result of sam's death - after that, dean became singleminded, only really interested in killing lucifer. willing to send cas and others he cares about into a meat grinder to chase his white-suited whale. but he's not mean. just cold. there is the festering corpse of a love relation between dean and cas, but it's not a situation where dean is mean to cas in the way like, season fifteen dean is mean to cas. he's not controlling, not using cas as a punching bag or chewtoy. maybe there's some mutual sniping but mostly dean just doesn't care. as a point of interest, one way in which endverse dean is cruel is he appears to be a habitual cheater. just watch cas' reaction when risa accuses dean of cheating on her. that's the face of a man who has been in her position and knows she is a fool to expect better. but again that's kind of more about not caring about the impact of his actions.

[gremoria411]

*This post will contain spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Also, I’ll probably ramble more than usual here, since a lot of my points are interconnected*

Alright then. I was planning on doing a big post breakdown on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury after rewatching it, since I find that my general thoughts on a series typically coalesce around the second viewing. However that probably won’t be for a good while yet, so I figured I’d do a big post now, and I’ll add a few notes if anything jumps out on me on my (eventual) second viewing.

In a nutshell, I found The Witch from Mercury to be really, really good, with an excellent cast and gorgeous action. However, I feel it’s let down by its comparatively low episode count.

And I’d like to stress that that low episode count is basically my only major criticism - I have several smaller ones, but they’re ultimately all extensions of that low episode count.

The Cast.

As above, really good. You’ve got a good selection of characters coming from various strata’s within society - Spacians, Earthians, Mercurians. It’s a good variety of characters and seeing how they interact with each other. They all feel pretty well-rounded as characters honestly.

Like, Suletta’s great, obviously. I feel like you don’t need me to tell you that which is great, because I’m not sure how to put it. I guess I like how emotive she is, how she portrays how she’s feeling so well, but then that might be because we, the audience are close to her as a protagonist (I’d argue that Miorine and Guel could also be counted as protagonists, if you wanted, but Suletta’s the one we spend the most time with). Suletta’s also good because she’s a newcomer to the Asticassia, so not only do we learn things with her but she’s also absolutely primed to upend the status quo there, which she does fantastically. I like the contrast between her doubts and capabilities - she’s not the most social of characters and doubts herself multiple times, but put her in a mobile suit and she is confidence incarnate.

Miorine feels like an extension of Gundam’s “Princess” archetype: your Sayla, your Relena, your Lacus. I really like how proactive she is - we first meet her in the process of attempting to run away from her school, and her arc feels more about her recognising the power she weirds and how to best use it for what she wants, rather than rejecting it outright. She’s in the process of actively cultivating “soft power” (negotiations, word-of-mouth, etc) rather than just having it inherently and -crucially- because the hard power isn’t actually that valuable. Compared to, say, SEED. Lacus has a whole lot of soft power, but it’s Kira and the Freedom that’s the driving force of the plot. Suletta has Hard Power - Aerial, but it’s borrowed power fundamentally, and it’s Miorine’s soft power that ultimately does more good. Actual Diplomacy versus Gunboat Diplomacy, if you will. I also like how Suletta and Miorine’s relationship progresses - they balance out each other - it starts out with Suletta having the power Miorine needs, but as Miorine grows they start relying more on each other. Also their interactions together are really great. They’re compelling because of both who they are in universe - a pilot and a princess, and because of their personalities with each other and how they spur each others development.

I do want to call out Lady Prospera as being amazing. She feels exactly how Char would be as a mother - manipulative and ruthless, but still caring in her own way. I’m given to understand she’s the first female Char Clone in the series, which is neat. Her relationship with Suletta (and Miorine) is just really good. She’s not unpleasant and she’s certainly charming, but she won’t sugarcoat how things are. Miorine knows she’s being manipulated in her interactions with her, but it’s genuinely good advice so she goes along with it, even as she has her own reservations. It’s also rather telling that once Prospera doesn’t need Suletta anymore, she leaves her. While callous and heart-breaking, we know now that Prospera fully believed she was going to die. While this doesn’t exactly forgive her abandoning Suletta, it does cast her interest in Suletta making friends and having relationships outside her in a new light. Prospera wants vengeance for Nadim and the rest of the Vanadis Institute, but she recognises that that is her and Eri’s vengeance, not Suletta’s. And doesn’t that sound similar to Mr Char “I have never once betrayed any one, in my life, ever” Aznable, who just wants his sister to grow up in peace while he avenges their family? It’s a fun relationship dynamic and it’s done well, is what I’m getting at. I also like how unapologetically villainous she is in some of her actions - both the audience and Miorine kinda clock her as a threat immediately, but we can also see why Suletta trusts her so much, even if it’s not the healthiest relationship. I just really like the juxtaposition of her being sweet with Suletta, uncompromising with Miorine, and absolutely brutal with everyone else.

Setting

I find the school setting genuinely fascinating, I don’t have a clever segue so I’m just going to get into it.

Asticassia School of Technology is a school to pilot giant robots. Great, Instantly appealing. However, then you get into all the ways it’s indicative of the wider society. It’s maintained and run by the Benerit Group - a Mega-Corporation that dominates the field of military-use mobile suits, which requires actual military force to be brought to heel and is basically a sovereign nation all its own - it’s rather telling that we never really see any national representatives throughout G-Witch, it’s all about the companies. So it takes this normally aspirational thing “wow, a school to pilot giant robots!” And extrapolates it out to what kind of setting would create that. Giant Robots are used in military applications, so you end up with a facility basically dedicated to the production of child soldiers to serve this military-industrial complex actively profiting from the glaring class inequality present in the setting, as set out in the prologue. And because the characters exist within that system there is no “easy fix”, the story ends with the characters making small progress against those inequalities rather than solving them in one fell swoop because the inequalities are systemic, and you can’t just take out the superweapon and expect everything to work out on its own. The existence of child soldiers is baked into the setting- not as a desperate gamble or as an illustration of the necessities of survival, as in other series. But as an accepted and -crucially- normalised thing. Notably, no-one expresses surprise or horror at Sophie and Norea being pilots - just that they’re a threat and have GUND Format units. We also see several child soldiers in Fold of Dawn in addition to Asticassia itself, so there’s also the angle of generational differences - the children exist in an unfair world built and maintained by the adults, fighting for the causes they are taught to. Many of the Benerit Heirs have unhealthy relationships with their parental figures, typically conflicting over them wanting different things (Guel vs Vim’s expectations, Shaddiq going out from under Sarius and basically everything about the Elan’s). So there’s the angle of the children fighting against the unfair world of adults, tying into the familial relationships in the cast. Which is a theme Gundam’s got a lot out of historically. So the school setting shows to illustrate how Ad Stella is civilised a first glance, but far more beneath the surface, and demonstrates several of the issues inherent in the setting.

I also really love how GUND format is actively debilitating to its pilots and how Suletta, while still a very good pilot, is essentially unbeatable because she has a way around the downsides for most of the series. Because it feels like an examination of “the Gundam is the strongest mobile suit”. G-Witch essentially states that having a stronger or better weapon does not solve these problems, in fact, the various elements of the company all fighting over Aerial gets several people killed, so if anything it feels like a takedown of “Gundam” as a concept (ie This great strong weapon that will win us the war”). It also puts emphasis on themes of dehumanisation - both the Elan’s and Sophie&Norea show that child experimentation, while not exactly common, isn’t unfamiliar ground in Ad Stella, particularly with Elan being replaceable, which again ties into the child soldier angle. I also find it delightfully hypocritical that Benerit, the weapon merchants, have issues with it because of the PR backlash of it killing its pilots, not because of any “moral” reason. It’s a bad look to have a weapon that can harm its user - who’s going to want to pay for that? The militant liquidation of Ochs Earth was essentially a PR stunt to show that Benerit will not make these weapons (not that that stopped Peil). Which is really horrifying to think about, really.

The Space Assembly League, Quiet Zero and the Interplanetary Laser Transmission System (or ITLS, that big gun in the finale) all function as illustrations of the excess of corporate power - a near full-scale war/ large scale destruction is only prevented because of Suletta and Ericht’s intervention. The SAL functions as a regulatory body for the corporations, but while it isn’t exactly lacking in force, it acts far too late to prevent the damage - Benerit has been allowed to run independently for too long, so it’s difficult to pull back even with evidence and force because it’s just so big. Meanwhile, the ITLS was constructed under the guide of a power transmission system, but it’s intended to be fired as a weapon. Furthermore, the destruction it will cause is written off as “Oh, Peil will get the reconstruction contract”, killing hundreds for corporate gain. The fact that it’s Peil specifically is also notable, since they are probably the most ethically bankrupt of the three corporations and were actively involved in the GUND-format technology themselves. But because the corrupt elements of the governing body favour them (and can presumably cut a deal for reconstruction costs), much of their misdeeds would have essentially been swept under the rug. Notably, other than their stock plummeting, we don’t actually see much in the way of consequences for the Peil CEO’s.

Mechanics

A fairly short one here - I’ll admit I’m not crazy about a lot of the mobile suits in Ad Stellar, but I like how each company has a different designer and are different thematically. Jeturk has big, bulky beetle-esque machines - heavily armoured and analogous to Zaku’s and other grunt suits from the series. Peil focuses on mobility - spindly MS with lots of thrusters, and typically deployed with aerial combat in mind. Finally, Grassley tends to lean towards units with exotic systems, such as the Michaelis’ beam bracer and Anti-GUND format and often have monoeyes. It’s a good illustration of the competing philosophies within the group and each one is distinct and easily recognisable (Burion’s utilitarian, I don’t have much more to say on it). It also emphasises what a big shakeup the Gundam’s are, since they look so different, and can put down any of these units with little trouble. I rather wish we saw more of the smaller developers - those units Suletta swatted aside en masse with the Aerial Rebuild, since they seemed to have a greater variety of designs (I particularly liked the little Acguy-looking one - the Hosler II?). Also, really liked the Prodoros used by Dawn of Fold (though that’s likely due to how it moves).

Criticisms

Or rather Criticism. Your typical Gundam series is usually around 40-50 episodes, whereas Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a comparatively paltry 25. Now, one series having a lower episode count than another isn’t inherently a point against it - better a short story well told rather than a long story poorly told, and it’s a new show, and (despite my persistent comparisons with other Gundam shows) should be allowed to stand and be judged on its own merits. But it kinda feels like it was meant to be a 40-50 episode series that was cut-down mid-production and fundamentally, it feels like we could’ve gotten more.

The pacing of the second season ratchets up considerably compared to the first, and I would like to stress that Witch From Mercury is a very-well-paced show - every episode has some sort of plot development, but it feels like that’s because it had to be. And every criticism I have of the show feels like it flows from that cut-down episode count.

It kinda feels like Peil Industries was supposed to be a much bigger player in this, and the Pharact doesn’t really do anything after its opening fight.

Peil’s never brought to justice, and Elan 5 just decides to join Earth House’s move on Quiet Zero. Meanwhile, the real Elan Ceres just resigns from Peil, even though he was presumably in on the Enhanced Person stuff too.

Lauda’s whole subplot about him piloting the Schwarzette had very little foreshadowing - I assume they put just enough of it in that they couldn’t cut it entirely (i.e. the Schwarzette), and it was necessary for Guel’s character arc.

Guel taking over Jeturk Heavy Industries didn’t really go anywhere.

Sophie Pulone and Norea Du Noc are really only there to tick gundam’s “Doomed Child Soldiers” box. Also Dawn of Fold just…… still exists after the events of the series?

The fact that Ochs Earth was still a thing kinda didn’t amount to much did it? Prospera just destroys them and their Gundam Lfrith’s. The ones used by Dawn of Fold might have well been older models, scavenged or bought by them.

Chuatury (Chuchu) Panlunch - great character, great design, excellent illustration of the tensions of the setting, but it feels like she was supposed to have a subplot focused on the people supporting her on Earth.

It just feels like they made the first 12 episodes of a 40-50 episode series, with a bunch of setup that’d pay off later, and then they got cut down to 24 episodes and had to cut a lot of stuff to fit. I’d like to stress I think they made a good compromise - most of my criticisms are minor and the Suletta and Miorine are the heart of the series, and they come out very well. But all the same, I’d rather the compromise didn’t need to be made in the first place, so we could’ve seen the “full thing” as it were.

Even my….. restraint on the mobile suits designs can be pinned on this. My favourite designs are typically Monster of the Week and late-season Weirdo’s - the stuff that’s the purview of your charismatic villain or a specialised grunt. But if you’ve got to cut stuff for space and time, then by their very nature, those designs won’t stick around.

I should however mention that I’ve been unable to find any reputable source as to wether The Witch From Mercury did have its episode count cut, before or during production. My criticism is mostly about the series feeling like it should have had more, not that it was actually cut down. It is possible that Bandai wanted to see if the show could make a comparative return on a smaller budget than usual, especially considering most of their recent Gundam output has been adaptations (IE. Shows that already have a proven audience and prior success, and are consequently a lot less financially risky), like Unicorn or Thunderbolt.

All that said, I do think that the emotional core of the show - Suletta and Miorine was excellently done, and I found the action and themes to be similarly well-done. I’m mostly only complaining we didn’t get to see more of the world, since it has so many interesting concepts that feel like they would’ve been interesting to see.

[best-fictional-cat]

Alright I'm here to abuse my status of having a somewhat decent following of cat appreciators to talk about this nice little browser game

Because they're in beta and usually closed, but they're opening for new players from Fri June 23rd at 18:00 to Sun June 25th at 18:00 server time (which is conveniently displayed right at the top of the page)

Someone might remember this game from the competition, because we had a competitor from there, but ANYWAY I've been playing this game since February and just want to share in case anyone else wants to check it out!!

So, meet Nestor

Nestor is a giant moose with many floating eyes who came to Earth and took not-cats (basically hyper-sentient cats that still very much act like cats) to their home world, and that's where the game starts. You create your own cat (lots of genetics options and various pronouns!) and start your own village!! There's actually some deep and we'll thought-out lore going on, still in development.

Every day there are tasks you may do: check up on Nestor for a free daily gift which might include a cat or a kitten to adopt; feed your cats to increase their stats; make kitties do some jobs like gathering, hunting, even arts and crafts! to get resources; do daily scenarios which are basically very wholesome textual kitty interactions which can go different ways depending on your choice and give you a reward or intercat relationship change (they can have different options available based on the cats personalities!!!); check mail to see if anyone's sent anything; and they're going to implement something with magic at some point because the game is still in development!!!

Some fun scenarios I got just today:

This game also has such mechanics as something like a tabletop rpg adventure you do to get rewards, decorating your village, building stuff that unlocks new jobs and perks, electing a mayor or having your cats bote for one, getting your cats to become friends, enemies, partners and having or adopting little kitties!! Also there's tons of clothes to dress your cats up in.

Like this rainbow mustache I got from Nestor on April Fool's!

A rabbit! Or a whole bunch of pigeons!!!

And there's a whole shop (in-game currency) dedicated to pride-themed clothes!

And other things. I actually probably have no idea about half the things you can do, but there's a lot of guides! The game has so much to it while being super-chill! Perfect for, say, commute, or just taking a break from stuff. Oh, and there are also seasonal events (in-game seasons are shorter than irl ones) which can give you unique stuff and collectables!

Some resources I really like for their cat puns (also each season you can get different resources):

Oh, and also there are forums and an entire extremely friendly community there! There's a thread where you can share pics of your irl cats, and a not-cat roleplay one, and lots of others! And they have very fun emotes, here's some examples:

I'm trying not to go on about it for ages, but stuff just keeps coming to mind! Anyway, it's definitely worth checking out!

[anthurak]

So here’s something interesting I’ve been mulling over lately:

How exactly did Ironwood get TWO council seats? The way several characters make note of it across Volume 7 and the simple fact that the positions of ‘Headmaster of the Academy’ and ‘General of the Army’ are clearly meant to be separate positions imply that this is NOT normal. And that something unorthodox must have happened to land Ironwood in this position.

Now I think it’s easy to imagine that Ironwood didn’t gain both these positions at the same time. Rather, he was appointed through relatively normal means to one of these council seats, and then something happened that lead to him being given, or taking, the other.

So that leads us to one interesting question: Which was Ironwood FIRST? Headmaster or General? Now on the one hand, given how Ironwood seems much more focused on the military by the time we meet him, to the point of more or less viewing the academy as little more than an extension of the military, it’s certainly easy to guess that Ironwood was General first and simply started folding the academy into the military after becoming Headmaster as well.

However, let’s also consider the fact that Ironwood kinda SUCKS at the whole ‘military command’ thing, repeatedly making blunders and being outsmarted and outmaneuvered by others. Remember that as early as Volume 2, he had to be reminded by Ozpin of the value of something as basic as reconnaissance. I imagine it’s just as, if not more likely that being General of the Army was a position that was suddenly dropped on Ironwood, one that he was not actually trained or properly prepared for. And that his putting so much focus on the military is a case of Ironwood overcompensating (something Jimmy is already WELL known for). His way of convincing everyone, especially himself, that ‘Yes, I am definitely deserving and very capable of this job! I’m a GREAT general! Look at all these general-things I’m doing!’

Also note that despite viewing them as part of the military, Ironwood shows clear favoritism to huntsmen and huntresses, viewing and presenting them as the ‘elite’ and ‘best’ of the military. Not to mention he clearly seems to have headquartered the Atlas Military IN Atlas Academy. To me, that all speaks to Ironwood having been Headmaster first.

So that brings us back to the original question: How did this all happen?

Well here’s a little hypothetical scenario I cooked up:

About 20 or so years before the start of the show, the aging general of the Atlas Military dies. Now this is a serious problem because despite being a pretty great and well-liked leader, they never bothered to train a proper replacement. They may have several subordinates running various branches of the military, all capable in their own right, but none with the training, knowledge or experience to really take over. Worse still, everyone quickly notes that this could quite easily lead to a power-struggle and in-fighting between several different factions.

Into this dicey situation steps the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, a longtime friend and confidant (heck maybe even lover) of the late General. Someone who is just as experienced and well-respected as the general, and even has a great deal of experience and knowledge about the Atlas Military, thanks to their long and close relationship with the late general. The Headmaster volunteers to take the council seat of General of the Army, something which basically everyone agrees is the safest option.

However, the Headmaster also believes that it would not be reasonable for them to hold both the position of Headmaster AND General. Thus, they elect to step down as Headmaster. In their place, they appoint their protégé: A young but talented and determined huntsman by the name of James Ironwood.

HOWEVER, just a few years later when Ironwood is just getting used to his new position as headmaster and also being part of the whole ancient conspiracy protecting the world from Actually-Satan Goth Mommy, his mentor and predecessor-now-General ALSO dies suddenly. Perhaps in battle, perhaps in a tragic accident, or perhaps in a… ‘‘tragic accident’’ (pay no attention to the innocently whistling Salem in the corner), and of course they also have no clear successor/replacement (I like to think this General actually WAS smart enough to start training a successor, it’s just that trainee happened to die alongside them).

And so, with uncertainty and potential chaos brewing, Ironwood decides that HE'LL be the one to step up in Atlas's time of need and fill this vital role, just like his mentor did! Buuuuttt he'll also remain as headmaster too. It's no problem! He can handle BOTH jobs! He was hand-picked by his mentor and told he was their best and brightest! (Notice a pattern here?)

And people are... generally okay with this because hey the military and the academy have always been pretty close and Ironwood was hand-picked by the last guy so he has to know what he's doing, right?

With this, Jimmy Ironwood throws himself simultaneously into one job he might not have been the best fit for AND another job he DEFINITELY wasn't a good fit for.

[overshelter]

A very simple explanation of why SV, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, doesn't contain Noncon or any of that shit

WARNING: It's full of SPOILERS, so CAUTION!

I decided to come and waste my time making this thread/post because I've seen a lot of discussions about it. I'm even doing it in English and not in my official language for the simple reason that I've seen more foreigners talking about it than Brazilians.

Well, let's start by making something clear. SV is a BIG, HUGE, SCANDALOUS satire on novels with harem in which EVERYTHING can be solved with SEX.

Did we get that point? Good.

Moving on.

SV, for having this as a central point, often brings criticism and scenes that prove it. I could easily take several, but at the moment I only have the novel in Portuguese with me, and I'm not going to go after the English version just for a thread/post. So you can go and get it for me if you think I'm talking shit. We'll discuss it if necessary.

Back to the point... These parts are scattered throughout the reading and are easily found if you just pay the slightest bit of attention.

Now, you might be asking yourself: "Why the fuck is this crazy woman bringing up all this talk?"

Context, my dear. Context.

Context to talk about the problem I've been seeing: the issue of noncon, lack of consent and 500 other issues.

It's been said that Shen Qingqiu says no and asks Binghe to stop at various points in the novel. And, indeed, he does.

Only he does it at moments that don't involve ANY, I REPEAT, ANY SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP! In fact, if you go back and read it again, and if I'm not remembering wrongly, in their first kiss, he pushes Binghe away and Binghe himself doesn't insist, he just complains a bit, saying that it was unfair that he couldn't do something like that even in a dream. In other words, he basically RESPECTED and didn't FORCE Shen!

Another part to comment on is that, most of the times when Shen scolds or pushes Binghe away, these are times when they are fighting like two primary school children. Their actions, words and everything else carry an incredible childishness.

That scene of them fighting in the demon realm shortly after Binghe finds out that Shen is alive is one of them. (bonus: in it we also have the narrative of Shen UNILATERALLY hitting Binghe, and at NO point does he hit back. He just threatens, trying to scare, but always without actually doing anything.)

The second kiss I honestly don't remember very well when it happened, but I do know that Shen didn't say no or even push Binghe away completely. I vaguely remember him scolding a little, but not explicitly denying it. Which, in my opinion, shows that he himself was perhaps confused by this possible new dynamic in their relationship and was a little afraid of how such uncertain feelings could end up affecting them both.

Now let's move on to the central point: Maigu Mountain.

My novelistic trauma and also SV's most suffocating chapters, where you see just how human, broken and entirely unstable Binghe is. Both thanks to his own mind and Xin Mo's corruption.

The whole Maigu Mountain scene is made to be uncomfortable. It's not supposed to be something nice, something memorable or even enjoyable, whether for Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu or anyone reading.

This scene is the pinnacle of satire and criticism, making it clear how unrealistic it is to expect sex to magically solve all problems. But the important thing here is the fact that Shen Qingqiu KNEW what was going to happen and was WILLING to go through it. Only because he BELIEVED it would work and also because the system pushed the whole situation in that direction.

And please don't even bring Luo Binghe into this discussion. He is one of the biggest victims in this scene. He has NO conscience whatsoever and is completely screwed up and lost in Xin Mo's corruption, even going so far as to ask Shen why he didn't kill him, drive him away or something. In fact, he was completely willing to die, both because of this and because he thought Shen would sacrifice himself for him again.

Apart from that, we also have an extra where the author brings back The Resentments of Spring Mountain and the fanfiction made by the three sisters, making BingQiu read it and bringing us a scene where Luo Binghe himself and Shen Qingqiu themselves read it and say that it's TOTALLY OOC and impossible for Luo Binghe to force Shen Qingqiu to have sex with him. Luo Binghe even makes it clear that he would walk away or kill himself at any sign of discomfort or denial that Shen Qingqiu showed, in whatever form it came.

So, in short... NO NONCON IN SV, RAPE OR ANY OF THAT SHIT! LUO BINGHE IS A CHUNNY WITH TRAUMA AND A BEAUTIFUL CRYING LADY! NOTHING BUT THAT!

I believe we're clear? (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

[catnippackets]

Hello!! Do you have any tips on fully scripting ur comic before drawing it out? (Anything u kept in mind during the process or that stuck out to you!) Im thinking of doing it this way and i think u mentioned somewhere that u scripted the backmaker before starting to draw it?

I think I might! this might be more just general storytelling advice in general rather than specifically scripting, but I find it's a thousand times easier to do it this way, I do this for when I'm writing prose as well. to be perfectly honest I don't know how to plot stories any other way lol

so first of all: everything needs a thesis statement. or rather every scene needs to have a specific reason for existing.

When I wrote TBM I divided it into three acts, and then decided where I needed to be at the beginning and end of each one. So for example, act 1 had to begin with the girls at the creek making a discovery, and it had to end with one of their classmates dying and all of them being left with a feeling of dread and are unsure if they’re responsible for it or not.

Once that was decided, I had to figure out what other things needed to happen in order to carry us there. There’s nine sections in act 1, twelve in act 2, and fifteen in act 3, and each of them have their own little thesis statement as I like to call it. Sometimes they’re specific like “they go to the creek so they can find the body of the first victim and kick off the mystery”, but sometimes they’re simply “establish this dynamic between these characters”, or “set up that this character feels a certain way about this issue” or even “drop foreshadowing here for this other thing so it can pay off later”.

So for act one, the things that needed to happen were: establish that Alice has a reoccurring nightmare, set up all the girls' personalities and relationships with each other, establish that they hang out at the creek regularly, they go to a different part of the creek this time and find something kind of creepy, one of their classmates dies, all of them feel various degrees of fear and guilt over it, and life goes on and they all graduate highschool and aren't sure if they should move on or keep thinking about it.

Some of those things can be done in one single sequence, and others can be drawn out in between a few of them, but as long as those things happen, you’re golden. With certain sections, if the point is simply “these characters talk about this thing”, you aren’t even really locked in to a specific setting, you can put them wherever you want and have them doing whatever you want as long as it works.

And then there’s also the characters!! They each have their own beginning and end as well. I needed to make sure I knew exactly where each of them were, like, mindset-wise, at the beginning and end of each act, and then dedicate scenes within the story to track their progress on it. So characters and scenes and acts are basically all treated the same! Each start in one place and end in another, and I have to figure out how to merge all of them nicely.

I've locked in the full script at this point, it was locked in before I started drawing it really, but I'll occasionally reach a scene and have to rework dialogue a bit cuz ppl are talking too much or whatever and I hadn't realized in the writing stage that drawing it out that way would be tedious or tricky. but it's usually pretty minor, the general ideas are all still there

I hope that's somewhat helpful to you, I never know how to explain what my process is lol but that's basically what I do!

[devotion-that-corrupts]

Some rambles on the ending and the codependent nature of Constantin and De Sardet's relationships. Spoilers for the whole game under the cut.

When I played Greedfall for the first time, I couldn’t stop thinking about Constantin’s corruption arc. It didn’t really make sense to me. Why would he want absolute power over the island? He has plenty of power and probably lives quite a luxurious life already. He also says he finds politics boring if De Sardet asks him, so the desire to rule over the whole island full of people seemed to me very out of character.

I do understand that he went mad and everything, but my brain deemed it a boring explanation and kept searching for something more logical.

So here: I think his actions make more sense if they're driven not by greed but by jealousy, less hunger for power and more hunger for absolute love (either platonic or romantic).

Let me explain.

His family is all kinds of messed up. He thinks his father doesn’t care about him, and although we don’t know if he’s actually abusive, I can’t think of any good reason why Constantin would lie about this. His mother, if DLC is to be believed, is responsible for the death of his brother Laurent — Constantin being an heir is clearly more important to her than his wellbeing & mental health after the literal murder of his brother. We don’t know much about Laurent and Constantin’s relationship (although he doesn’t ever mention him & he says nobody cared for him but De Sardet, so maybe it wasn’t good? Maybe Laurent was better suited for politics? That would explain Prince d’Orsay’s disappointment. That’s just my theory though).

Anyway, what I’m saying is that a child needs unconditional love, and judging by this family and Constantin’s line “You've always been the only one to care for me. Our friendship is the only thing that matters to me”, he has only ever received love from De Sardet, which sounds like quite a fertile ground for unhealthy overly attached relationship.

Then the game starts, and the thing is… Well, they are not each other’s everything anymore. De Sardet goes to various cities & talks to every person imaginable & makes new friends, maybe even falls in love. Constantin meanwhile is chained to a palace, especially after his sickness is revealed. De Sardet's world grows beyond him, and he can’t follow them there.

So what do you do when the only person who matters to you grows apart from you? What do you do when you are driven mad with pain and may die alone, and they have to leave you?

Naturally, you find a way to bind them to you for all eternity, and in doing so alienate them from everyone but you. Constantin's smart enough to realize that if De Sardet's friends and allies fought against him, they would turn away if De Sardet joined him. But even if they wouldn't, they're mortal. Their death is inevitable. The only one who can keep De Sardet company for eternity is Constantin. Everyone but him will eventually leave.

That’s why “For you, for us”, that’s why “together, forever”. Not power over the island or some people, but power to keep the only person who loves him unconditionally close to him.

(Again, I acknowledge that this is extremely, extremely unhealthy. That’s exactly what makes their relationship so interesting.)

Anyway, as I said, it feels very in character for him to basically give up on humanity in favor of De Sardet. I can't look at him in the beginning or in the middle and say, “This character would do anything for power”. But I can look at him at any point of the game, any cutscene, and say, “This character would do anything for his loved one”.

[anonzentimes]

I've read fanfic where Nagito is jealous because he feels that Hajime thinks (remembers) about Chiaki at various times, but the idea that Nagito might feel guilty is new to me.

But it is true that Nagito might feel lonely or inferior, thinking that Hajime's awakening as Ultimate Hope was thanks to Chiaki and not to him. In my opinion, Hajime is likely to be depressed and mentally unstable even after 3, but Nagito might be afraid to see Hajime like that and speak harsh words to Hajime. Then he would think that if Chiaki were here, she would speak kind words to Hajime and regret that he himself couldn't do the same later.

However, in my personal opinion, what Hajime needs in the post-3 world is someone like Nagito rather than Chiaki, because Hajime has too much 'can do' due to the power of Kamukura's talent.

Chiaki has the mindset that if you do it, you can do it, but post-3 Hajime can do too many things, it will cause him to worry about where to start, and he will become impatient and overwhelmed by the need to use his talents.

Nagito has a very pessimistic view of things and (unless the other person is very talented) has no expectations of the people around him. And he might also have pessimistic opinions about Hajime, for example that he is basically an ordinary man, even though he has the power of Kamukura. But without people around him who think like that, Hajime would think that he can do anything he sets his mind to and try too hard at everything, which would probably lead to his self-destruction. So I hope that at some point Hajime will realise that he can control himself thanks to Nagito being there for him, and that by telling Nagito this, Nagito can gain a little confidence that he can support Hajime from a different perspective to Chiaki's.

Hmm, I may have somewhat forced the story into my interpretation 🤔 Well, at least I don't think Hajime would ever actually wish Chiaki had been here instead of Nagito, and he would rather strongly feel that he doesn't want to lose Nagito as well, even though losing Chiaki was sad enough. I hope that Hajime's feelings will be conveyed to Nagito at some point (for example, when Nagito is dying and Hajime is very desperate to help him) and that he will want to do something for Hajime instead of feeling guilty.

oh my word you turned on the stove and COOKED!!!!!!! This is definitely the kind of thing I was talking about!! :)

To be honest I think it'd be really sweet one way it could be resolved is that Hajime has to say that he loves Nagito and that he wouldn't replace him ever. Sure, he misses Chiaki and loved her but his love is with Nagito and he's so happy even if Nagito's beliefs and mindset are troubling to understand or bad for Nagito.

Like Hajime would have to be like, "Hey, I loved Chiaki, yes, but I love you and I wouldn't replace you for anything. You aren't taking her place" just like try to get it through Nagito's head lol. And maybe Hajime would believe that regardless in some way him and Nagito would fall in love and be happy if nothing Despair ever happened.

They definitely both don't want to lose each other, Hajime having already lost Chiaki, and Nagito having barely any reciprocal relationships besides Hajime and everyone dying around him due to his luck gives a lot of "I don't want it to happen again" for the both of them.

They're different people after Dr2 that experience and trauma of a killing game does a lot to you and at that point of growth, Hajime being him and Izuru, and Nagito having grown a bit more they are really perfect for each other imo.