#and half the time it doesn't work for them either lmao not getting involved in that shit

[genericpuff]

Oi, just a heads up for future asks, because I get questions like this several times a week, I'm not gonna be responding to any more asks along the lines of "will [insert character here] be in Rekindled" or "how will you handle [xyz]".

I know, I know, that sounds really personal! But I promise it's not with any ill intent, I can totally understand why many of you are asking them because y'all just want that reassurance in knowing I'm not gonna do whatever Rachel did - and the best way to hear it is often from the horse's mouth - but when it comes right down to it these are often questions I've either already answered or simply CAN'T answer because that would involve me outright spoiling stuff. Like, most of the time I really can't tell you anything beyond "wait and see", and that's not me trying to be a dick holding out on y'all, I just don't want to spoil stuff! What DOES make me feel like a dick is answering with vague half-answers that don't satisfy your questions LOL But telling you outright what my plans are doesn't just run the risk of ruining the experience for readers, it can also ruin it for me because if I told you everything that was gonna happen, then I wouldn't have anything to surprise you with and it would suck all the fun out of it LOL

As a general rule of thumb, if you're asking about something in LO that I've adamantly criticized (especially stuff that's become popular opinion like the problems with the age gap, the SA plotline, the inclusion of Eris, the Eros x Psyche plot, etc.) then the odds are like 99% that I'm either not doing it or changing it LOL

I know it's a big BIG ask to "trust the process" after so much of that trust was burned with LO, but believe me when I say, I was one of y'all who got burned and I don't intend on making the same mistakes Rachel did, for my sake and yours. I'd like to think I've been doing a pretty okay job up until this point, but also much of that job is fairly easy to do when the bar is on the floor LMAO but I've got so much stuff planned that I'm super hyped for and while it may not feasibly satisfy every single person who's reading along - especially when it comes to the things I choose to remove or drastically change - I do hope at the very least it'll be a story worth following along with until the end. It's been an amazing year working on this project and sharing it with you all, so please just hang in there, whatever burning questions you have about the plot and its characters will be answered in due time as we get to them together <3 (and don't worry if I don't respond to any of your "what will you do with xyz" asks, it's not personal I promise, it's just that I've either already answered them or can't answer them fully without spoiling LOL)

[fizzingwizard]

Randomly visited reddit and saw this:

My first thought: it's an incel pretending to be a woman, because what modern woman thinks she's spoiled milk a 30??? (Aside from also trashing her girl friends - girl, get better friends!) But their profile doesn't seem weird in any way, so, I guess there are some people out there who really somehow believe youth ends at 29. Even some who have aged past it.

It's not even true that all 30 year olds are less beautiful than they were at 20. People age in different ways at at different rates: yeah, your likelihood of getting wrinkles and gray hairs is only ever going to go up. But some people don't have their style figured out in their twenties - some people turn thirty and freaking bloom. And you can't call that a late bloomer. 40 isn't a late bloomer either! 20 is nice but it's not the heaven on earth it's cracked up to be, and 30 is just getting started.

Idk about the rest of you but you know those posts about how embarrassing it is to look back on 14? Yeah, related to those when I was 20. Now I've passed the big 3-0, and guess what - I think 20 year old me was so silly lol. So insecure, so afraid to make mistakes, so resistant to change. I enjoyed my twenties, but my early thirties have so far been way better: I'm more confident, less self-involved, and I find happiness so much more easily than I did back when I thought everything I did had to matter So Damn Much. And if you think that doesn't relate to being attractive: confidence is 90% of it. Just walk up and smile. A confident, happy person always attracts others even if they're just average-looking.

Also for people who like men, don't forget: men in their 30s usually aren't quite the energizer bunnies they were in their 20s when it comes to ~sexy times~ The 20-year-old stud who insisted he could go for a roll multiple times a day, every day, is probably much less gung ho at 30. And also more forward-thinking, and less amaaaaazed by omg boobies!!! When you're young, half the excitement is just how new everything is. It gets less intense, thank goodness. (But it's still hot!)

This post just totally rubbed me the wrong way. It read as a still young woman anxiously wringing her hands in apology for having the audacity to be single at... 30?? And apparently not trusting women to have good advice about dating at 30 (so no point in me responding to her, lol), but perfectly comfortable kissing up to incel mindsets such as "women past 25 should accept that they're sloppy seconds" etc. "Value as a partner" do you have intrinsic worth as a human being?? Yes??? Then your value does NOT degrade. Yeah, you might have gray hair, the horror, so unsexy (I've had very visible grays since I was 23 and been dyeing since 26 lmao). Doesn't mean you're less hot than some 20 year old who doesn't know what she's doing. Doesn't mean it'll be at all hard to find a partner who will love you warts and all. Do you have this same expectation of men? Are you gonna start dating a 30 year old dude and then complain that he gets tired more quickly than a 20 year old would?? Is he less sexy just because he doesn't party all night and drink twice his weight without effect? Overrated overrated overrated!

My parents divorced in their 60s. My mom's got a new boyfriend who takes her dancing under the full moon. They're living their best lives way past their so-called "prime" and no, that is not rare - it's just a choice. If you view yourself as having some expiration date, you're not gonna do anything to improve your happiness once you're past it. Don't let incels or misogyny or whatever convince you your perfectly wholesome milk has gone bad, because that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

ETA: Well, while I was working this got 150 notes, and although that's barely a drop in the bucket, it's still a lot more than my rants usually get (about 2 lol). So I just want to clarify a couple things so I stop getting comments about them.

This post was from the askmen subreddit. I left that out, feeling "reddit" was context enough, but I guess the implications may not have been obvious, especially to tumblr users who don't also use reddit. Askmen isn't a horrible place (a number of the responders pointed out why they prefer older women to younger ones), but many of its members have a pretty incel-adjacent vibe. Plus there are a number of women (real or not) who post there, many of whom have a similar brown-nosey "unlike those radical feminists, I'm a woman who knows her place" attitude.

It's fine to suggest the OP may have internalized misogyny from being abused - but it's not a given, as nothing in the post is a definite indication of abuse by itself. Big kudos for the compassion - just keep in mind that my response was about general attitudes towards dating post-twenties and not about abuse victims.

To the person who thinks a relationship of six years makes a difference somehow?: You seem to have interpreted my post as an attack on people who feel insecure about returning to dating after a breakup. But I think it's clearly nothing to do with that. Of course it is natural to have anxieties about being single after so long, but nowhere in this post was that denied or mocked. Whether you've been together one year or six, this post would always be weird - those natural anxieties don't make misogynistic mindsets about decrepit 30-year-old women any less gross. If you had decided to write a reaction to the OP's post, perhaps you would have chosen to center it on the effects of coming off a long term relationship, and I'm sure it'd be insightful. However, I am not you, and I chose to react to the attitudes around aging in relationships reflected in the post.

[terraco-07]

HSBC direction and character writing

So the team has released the writer's commentary early to the public most likely because they know how inflammatory the last update is/has been and wanted to get the reasoning behind it out there. Going to be going through it piece by piece here. Disclaimer: None of my opinions and thoughts are directed at the people as individuals and any criticism is directed at the writing itself. With that said, lets start off. Haven saying “this is the update where we’re gonna see if people are really rockin’ with us or not.” Lmao yep and I can assure you that I'm not one of them. I think we're seeing the end results though of a years bleeding fandom here though. Most people who enjoyed Homestuck either didn't read the epilogues or HS2 because they knew it was something they wouldn't like and didn't care for the direction of taking away the kids victory and giving them some new battle to fight while hurting each character. Those remaining are primarily people who are curious, neutral, or liked the official releases after Homestuck ended. Among them I'm sure a fair amount have liked this because this is already a work catered to them and what they want for better or worse. Anyways, moving on. So the next part just goes over everyone liking Yiffy and her getting a voice and all that, not much to comment on here. Which is a non issue except still making Rose and Jade call their kid a type of porn and keeping that was such a choice, but hey silly candy timeline right? Okay moving on to the conversation that matters. Okay starting with Floral: "Kanaya has long earned this confrontation and she’s not going to accept anything less than the truth." JAMES: This is the funniest line in Homestuck. This is so fucking funny because she gets cut off half way through and then the you fucked my wife being memed to hell in back both took any bite out of it and visibly made me cringe to read. Kanaya is mad here but there are other ways to write it. Would have loved to see a rant about "If you loved me so much Jade why would you betray my trust? Why would you not speak to me. Now you choose to spit in my face like this?" Etc etc. I may genuinely re-write every Kanaya part in this log at some point. I did do an alt version already but that's neither here nor there. Compliments for the art which deserve it! BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP GOING "Pretty art" AND EXCUSE BAD WRITING. I've had to read "I'm just using it as a picture book" and "I skipped through the logs" way too fucking much. JAMES: This one was for the sapphics. The most important demographic that exists. ... saying this while obliterating the biggest endgame sapphic romance? But hey guys!! Kanaya's hot right? This makes it all better :) Especially considering compared to Homestuck proper the epilogues and HS2 have just felt actively hostile towards sapphics FLORAL: This scene is also only one small part of the larger puzzle, bridging between what already existed in HS2 to what we want to do deeper into HS:BC. A puzzle that most of us aren't going to want to figure out. The question of if something is bad for the first 500-1000 pages is it worth consuming will always be no. Also points of expanding the border of Homestuck 1 BUT WE NEVER GET TO SEE THIS. I'm going to hit more on this later but Rose specifically there's so little or no direct foundational build up to her current character choices.

MILES: Yeah, seriously.  I felt viscerally going in that it was really important that Kanaya get some time to just be a stone cold bitch, both in the context of this particular marital fuck-up and in general.  She deserves it. So I'm on my hands and knees begging you guys to learn how to write badass powerful women that doesn't involve them just getting angry because their wife cheated. Hands and fucking knees. This goes for any writing in general but if you have to develop a character through purely negative experiences I'm not sure you should be writing. This whole entire scenario with Rosemary is such a cheap drama soap opera point to begin with (like a lot of HS2). Why can't we let Kanaya be her own fucking person and have shit going on, do something in the war, get to have moments like this in relation to Jane.

FLORAL:  Was so excited for this panel when we were first outlining the update. I had a lot of feelings about how we should move forward from the initial Yiffy reveal, but justification for these narrative choices only matter inside of the text itself, and this is only a tip of a much larger iceberg.

That said, what has always appealed to me the most about Candy in Beyond Canon is that it’s an opportunity to explore alt. selves to the max and start finding the missing “Meat” to Candy’s unbalanced and unsatisfying narrative. The irony for me on this is it was written about the fucking Jojo ass posing Rose which is in my opinion the worst panel in the update. Rose being turned into a comical villain for the sole reason of shaking things up in Candy. Justifications in the text is a great way of putting it and before this we had very very little. The idea of telling us afterwards well it was all apart of the grand plan when barely any time ago we have Rose thanking John for how happy she was to have her life the way it is here. Rose suddenly going ahh apathy my true love and going from a loveable and complex character to this flat cardboard cut out is the biggest crime of this update. The I knew you would forgive me part too. Just. GIRL HOW?? Rose Lalonde who first lost her seer powers in Candy, second the same girl who couldn't even see her friends all dying and her failing in game over. This girl? She saw 15 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE and knew Kanaya would just get it. Roll over like a good wife and be okay. I didn't know she was a seer of time now? This is the worst line in the entire update simply because it implies that Rose has gone off the deep end in the least interesting way and is now an unreliable narrator or that Kanaya is actually going to forgive her and holy fuck that would be the actual worst way to take this. Not beating the NTR kink allegations HS2 writers. Also spoiler alert it's unsatisfying because everyone in it gets fucked over by writing choices as baseless and useless as these. You're perpetuating the problem.

HAVEN: The world hasn't felt real to Rose since she was 16, this life is like a game to her. For her, a war is just “something to do.” Also man while this was a route that I didn't like for the epilogues either there are so many other ways to handle this than the one chosen. But that would require a rewrite from the start of HS2 which already put on this shit show. I still wholeheartedly believe that none of the things listed here justify Rose's behavior to Kanaya. As the one anchor point she's had her entire adult life. FLORAL: It’s a little sad that even during a Rosemary moment, it's never really about Rosemary, huh? Then later- "There really needed to be a joke here, too, to sell the emotional drop the next page brings" Kettle, meet pot. Whatever could be the cause for nothing ever being about them and the pair being relegated to background bullshit? Who's to say indeed. But hey! They're at the forefront now, and only for the most basic and cheap drama ways. Also I loathe this mentality about there needing to be a joke. You're clearly writing this for adults at this point a joke isn't required a real look at the situation is. The gag at the end where the convo gets ended is enough to break the tension for the reader.

FLORAL: There’s catalyst events, sure, but ask a few questions and it becomes apparent everything rides on the history of smaller fights, disappointment, sweeped away passive aggressions, miscommunication and unsaid hurt feelings.

This is why writing characters in their 40’s is great and why there is so much to do in Candy. Behind all the patented Homestuck misdirection and narrative unreliability, you’re left with an offshoot full of alternate selves at their lowest, layered in apathy and evidently not saying what they think Once again we aren't shown this. We just get told about it later and that's incredibly unsatisfying as a reader. Explaining it further down the line and doing more justification later does not help this either. I think also the idea that everyone in their middle aged years is jaded and apathetic is such a lame ass direction to go in. The idea that no one is allowed to be happy after everything they went through in the game is still one of the most frustrating things. I'm asking anyone why would someone want to read that? Why do you think the fandom imploded after this and that the people left mostly enjoy either soap opera trauma or torture porn (which HS2 is both)

like sitting down with a highschool friend you lost touch with 20 years ago and have only known about through concerning Facebook posts. So we're fully aware of the problem and just going this is a feature. Got it. So the commentary ends there and I'm just kind of left feeling as hollow and empty as before. I have zero faith that we can dig into any of these characters in a meaningful way but especially the more complicated women. This reads as coming back to them 20 years later so we can write them how we want or how we envisioned them without having to come up with in text validation. Reminds me of late season Game of Thrones writing. Guys how we got here is important. Anyways in summary HS2 remains a dour, unfun read of characters going through a perpetual state of torture and emotional suffering while we forever get told "Wait but there's more!" But hey. Happy Rosemary, glad they won that poll. Maybe the little thing James is going to do for the fandom is just kill them off to save them from this torment. As a writer myself it's just painful to read and I want to re-write it all times

[cerastes]

You enjoy Tekken a lot, is there any reason you don't stream your Ranked games? Asking out of genuine curiosity.

The first half of the answer is that I play Ranked in short bursts. I'll do 3-5 opponents (rematch or not) and then hit Practice Mode or do something else. I don't really do these long Ranked grind sessions. I think they are detrimental to me. It's how I enjoy the game. I can go for hours if I'm playing a friend, but for Ranked, I enter a different head space, and I really don't feel like entertaining a crowd (chat) or interacting with others while I'm playing Ranked because I play seriously there. I like focusing and playing my heart out without feeling the need or want to talk to anyone at all.

Which leads to the other half of the answer: Competitive/Ranked Fighting Game Dreamer.

If you've been to my streams and if I may say so myself, I can laugh at myself just fine. I don't take being blasted by chat bad, in fact, I go along with it. I died to gravity in Soulsborne after first try beating a notoriously difficult boss? Yeah, that's funny. I hype up a cool trick I wanna do and then fuck it up? Yeah, mockery is the natural result. I'm a good sport about these things, and like to use them as springboards for either an immediate laugh or for the next bit. I'm like that with all games and activities in general.

Except fighting games if I'm at the arcade or in a competitive/ranked setting.

Ranked Dreamer has something to prove, basically, because Ranked Dreamer enjoys and respects competitive/ranked gaming, and the thrill and learning that comes with it. Ranked Dreamer is not really about what I previously mentioned. It's not that I go Mr. Hyde or anything and rage; I have a lot of fun and I'm in a good mood the vast majority of the time! But Ranked Dreamer is raised-in-the-arcade-scene Dreamer, that expects people that cast any sort of judgement to know what they are talking about or shut the hell up, and the vast majority of my usual chat doesn't play or watch fighting games. I did a bit of Ranked on stream after my sets with LC when we played, and when I was downloading an opponent (and thus, getting hit a lot) after beating them and rematching, someone said something to the effect of "well now he's getting his ass kicked wwwwwww", which made me immediately want to say "don't you know anything, you reprobate, shut up", which... Is no way to treat anyone! In the moment, it's a natural thing to say, because that's just how it is when people that take something seriously (not even in a pro way, just seriously) will want to say to someone that's obviously a tourist that doesn't know anything about the scene if they start having opinions... But you think about it rationally after the fact, and it's like... No, dude, even then, don't mistreat people, lmao.

So basically, I don't want to mistreat people in the heat of the moment and regret insulting someone who was just having fun in chat and treating it as if it was another one of my mishaps. It's literally a me thing.

A lot of my good Tekken matches (that being matches I feel like I learned something or enjoyed) look like this:

Spoiler alert, but I get ragdolled the first two rounds badly. And that's because I don't know the King-Lili match-up. When you face a match-up you don't know, you have two options: Try and throw your flowcharts and strings and hope it works, OR you can try and download the opponent. You see what works, what doesn't, their habits, and their behavior in offense and defense. You experiment, and test. This involves a lot of getting hit and losing health or even rounds. But you learn a lot more and it helps you grow as a player, it's better in the long run. After those first two rounds, I gather this:

They duck on reaction when I approach -> To deal with King's dangerous grab game -> Use mids to beat crouch.

They literally only flowchart -> They always use the low after the cartwheel -> Launch it with hop kick (well, knee in King's case).

They are impulsive and will want their turn back -> Their wake-up game is aggressive -> oki with d,b3 counter into Leg Lock or backstep/properly spaced d,b3 counter into Leg Lock, depending on frame advantage and distance from downed Lili after knockdown.

It's Lili -> They'll start using Funny Shit on round start -> backstep, deal with it, punish it.

They are bad at breaking Figure Four Leg Lock -> Keep using Figure Four Leg Lock, it works.

And then I start absolutely booty blasting Lili. That's what downloading is! But non-fighting game players don't know that, so they'll see me get blasted (while I'm trying to learn) or rematching an opponent I lost to and then lose again (to learn the match-up more) and start making those comments that, while they'd usually either get a joke on retaliation or simply get ignored if they are not funny enough, will make Ranked Dreamer want to tell them to shut up and reflect on how ignorant they are if they can't even tell that I'm trying to download/learn here, obviously, are your eyes closed or are you just clinically unfunny and one of those "I just like spreading chaos lol" types. Which will then be something I regret because I feel bad when I actually insult people, especially over games.

So, it's just a me thing, but here it is explained in case you wanted a bit more elaboration.

[apoptoses]

this might be a weird compliment but I love how in a lot of your kink fics, armand just doesn't give daniel a break. like I read a lot of bdsm/bdsm adjacent content and a lot of the time halfway through a scene a dom will say "what's your color baby" or "you're doing so good for me" and I'm not saying that sort of thing never works, just that I love how you write armand as 100% committed to the bit and being unwaveringly cold to daniel. as a part 2 I also love how you always include a form of aftercare or reassurance that go back to being cuddly afterwards, because on the flip side a lot of fics that do nicely on the darker in-scene content just cut it off immediately afterwards, so I think it's really cool how you include both aspects!

that's not a weird thing at all, that's actually a huge compliment to me and i'm so happy!

personally i don't like it when there's the whole 'what's your color' thing in fic (unless the fic is the very specific topic of like, someone visiting a dom sex worker for the very first time). it takes me out of a story that's supposed to be escapism, it lowers the stakes of the scenario. not all bdsm fic *has* to be perfectly safe or follow these scripts - i think for armand/daniel especially, it would be out of character to have it be perfectly scripted lmao

and half the thrill is the fact that armand can read his mind while he's mortal, right? there's such a huge trust/risk factor involved and imo that's what makes having them play these games fun. seeing whether daniel is willing to trust that armand would pick up his genuine distress, and seeing whether armand is able to have him ride the line between discomfort(horny) and discomfort(upsetting).

(and lbr, in real life people aren't always following these perfect scripts- sometimes this stuff is two people stumbling into an activity without a plan, because they're both enjoying it and wanna see what else they'd enjoy. but i digress.)

and thank you for enjoying the aftercare aspect!! because yeah, that also doesn't have to follow some perfect debriefing script either. and it doesn't have to be pure fluff.

because with armand/daniel i always think about whiplash that comes with the aftercare. as much as it's a comfort it would fuck with daniel's head that armand can go from cold to soothing so quickly, and there's also the very real fact that even if armand can pet his head now in a couple hours he'll be gone for the day. so it's a total rollercoaster. he's getting a break but not really getting a break. he did, after all, live in a state of misery and *ecstasy*.

and the other part is that when i write i try to write from the reader's pov, in a way. having a couple paragraphs so that you can come down from the experience with the characters is a relief lol i'm never a fan of a really abrupt ending for smut.

so thank you so much for messaging me, this really made my day 🥹 i love getting to talk the more technical side of writing them in smut/kink!!

[innerchorus]

Arslan Senki Chapter 123

Edit: let me preface this by saying I'm an idiot and didn't realise the simulpub release is split into two parts that you have to buy separately... so I only bought part 2... therefore this post is all about the second half of the chapter and I'm about to go back and purchase the first half now!)

Official chapter title: The Lonely Throne (and just as I suspected this relates to Hilmes, so brace yourselves...)

SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SECOND HALF OF THE CHAPTER from here on...

Team Arslan content at the beginning is more light-hearted in tone (joking about making Azrael a general, what sort of reward he might like, how Kishward would have to be Eran so Azrael doesn't outrank him, it's amusing) and deals with Arslan outlining his next moves. Those match up with the novels, I won't bother outlining them here for now.

Then we change locations to Ecbatana and my heartrate just shot up instantly lmao

Hilmes, inside the city: 30,000 men, versus Andragoras, whose army of 100,000 is outside the walls

PUP SIGHTING

Sad that this is his only panel, my thoughts are still spinning having only just read the chapter but I'm a little concerned that some Team Hilmes scenes were cut, especially the scene between Zandeh and Hilmes and the whole confrontation in the underground waterways that led to what comes next...

There's not even a single panel of Sam this chapter. I want to trust Arakawa and hope that we backtrack a little in the next chapter and see those events, the scene involving Sam in particular because I just can't fathom why that wouldn't be included, I think it's a really important one for his character. I suppose the other option is that it's moved to a little later in the story, and that could work, too! So we'll see.

Anyway, Team Hilmes are facing the inevitable struggles of a closed city running out of food and water, where even loyal soldiers are now worrying about their fates if they lose (or even if they don't win soon enough... the citizens could well turn on them and they know it).

Hilmes... is not having the best of times right now.

And I realised where this was going at this point, and started thinking OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK because I am not ready to see him go through the bombshell that is about to be dropped on him and I didn't even expect to see it yet this chapter either although the title did make me wary

But first we get a little flashback to his interrupted conversation with Ghundi, the sorceror, in which we learn that Hilmes learned... nothing, because their talk was interrupted by word that Andragoras's forces have reached Ecbatana

OH NO OH NO OH NO

FUUUUUUUUUCK

In the end, I was only slightly more prepared for this moment than Hilmes. The chapter ends here. I'm feeling the weirdest mixture of dread and excitement about the next one.

(I haven't counted pages but it felt short? Let me see.)

Edit: okay yeah it was only 16 pages this month OKAY WAIT WAIT THIS IS HILARIOUS but I think I only bought half the chapter lmao, I don't know how KManga works but it looks like the chapter is split into two parts? I think this is the second half???)

[sketching-shark]

do you think the rest of Huaguo (or at least the marshals and generals) have any opinions on their king's "love" life lol

I'm going to be honest anon (and I'm aware this makes me something of an outlier in the jttw-adjacent fandom dsfaewdq) but given how completely and sometimes aggressively uninterested in romance or sex jttw-canon Sun Wukong is I've come to imagine that the Mt. Huaguoshan troop would regard any of the people pining after him with either a "damn that sucks :(" or a "lmao get bent loser >:D" attitude depending on how much they like said piner (X_X). With all the shit that's gone down too I could also see them feeling pretty protective over the Monkey King. That's their communal grandpa, not your love interest!

Getting more into it though, while I unfortunately haven't gotten a chance to see it myself I have heard that the similarly canonically aroace 1996 SWK actually does have a pretty great scene between him and I think one of the spider women yaoguai about how he doesn't return her affections but he still hopes to be her friend, and that this works out well. I could easily see the Mt. Huaguoshan troop having witnessed a number of scenes like that themselves! SWK can be a refreshingly blunt character about what he wants and what he doesn't, and given the multitude of friends and allies that the Monkey King makes wherever he goes I could see him having gotten pretty good at being charismatic, reading people, and at times turning them down gently. That said, I do like the idea that he's usually completely blind to anything but the most explicit forms of flirtation or proclamations of romantic affection, which is something that can be very upset-making until or unless things are cleared up. His marshals and generals have likely gotten pretty good at subtly telling him when he's being flirted with so that he can respond accordingly haha.

All that said, I also do wonder the extent to which perhaps especially the marshals and generals Ma, Liu, Beng, and Ba have a lot of reason to worry about how some of the ultimately tragically messy semi-situationships SWK gets involved in with powerful gods and yaoguai will affect the overall stability of Mt. Huaguoshan. Like of course nothing blatant ever happens with Niu Mowang or Erlang Shen for example, but given how the former appears to have just fucked off after the war with heaven was over and didn't concern himself with what happened to the surviving members of the Monkey King's family while the latter was a major player in getting their king captured and mass murdering half of them AND burning their home to ash & then likewise not concerning himself with what happened afterwards, well you can see how that would stir a lot of bitter feelings towards them among the Mt. Huagoshan troop and maybe even some of the monkeys wondering if these guys would have been so vicious and/or uncaring if they didn't feel snubbed by SWK. They'd probably at least initially formulate a lot of hatred towards Zhu Bajie as well for his role in convincing Tang Sanzang to mistrust the Monkey King numerous times during the journey and occasionally getting him an extra round of headband torture time. And also for them having heard him insult SWK when he though he was out of earshot lol.

So overall I imagine that while the Mt. Huaguoshan troop usually sees their king's nonexistent love life as a point of least concern, when it comes to the intense friendships/rivalries/hatreds/situationships he keeps forming with these ultra-powerful figures it's along the lines of:

"My king you have terrible taste in men."

"I do what now?"

"Never mind."

[tiredassmage]

It's that time again - update rambles time kdfnalsdfnsd. The short version is, overall, I'm really pleased with this update, but there's... at least one thing missing that did sort of derail me in the end and I'll still need to go back and play it pubside on my Trooper, which I think I might enjoy slightly more for... cohesion of a story's sake, but that's. a) getting a bit into the actual ramble and b) getting my personal blorbo feelings involved which is absolutely what I do here but, let me do it in the right place, lmao.

Mechanically, this was. a really sweet update to me. There's lots of doing in progressing through the story part. The fights are engaging, the action is selling. It doesn't play like a bunch of run to checkpoint x, do y, hand in z, which is very nice. There's. actually a few things to consider. Comparing to 7.2 in Showdown, the action isn't just in the cutscenes this time - it's definitely there, too, I have plenty of nice action shots to add to the blasters out collection, lol - but it's also in the gameplay, at least from my take, so! I've really no complaints from a gameplay perspective thus far.

I haven't worked on any of the dailies or done the little follow up with Lane or whatnot yet because I sort of had my fill with the story for the day and I wanted to check out some of the lighting changes in other parts of the game, hehe! So, might run into other things later, but we'll see.

I also love seeing locations from earlier in the game making a comeback. The little hints here and there are enough to be exciting for me - though I see some people saying missed opportunity to do things with Jorgan and Corso and I will more than likely agree with that. I'd always be a sucker for more references.

Petra's really cool. I love her. Loved meeting her and working with her. As a local Imperial Agent enjoyer, I think it's only natural to say I do love the sneak and spy elements of this update, lol.

I got a lot of what I could've ever hoped to ask for out of this update. I'm just... missing the saboteur options? Which... really threw me at the end. There's at least a place or two that it felt exactly where those sort of options should've come up, but there's at least no directly labeled sight of them around, which is... jarring given Tyr's extensive history as a double agent for the Republic.

It's... a really tricky situation to deal with on Ord though, so that's. how I'm choosing to sort of interpret that one. There are some areas that felt a little too tight on strictly Imperial loyalty for how I typically play him, so it's. It's jarring, in short. One of my disappointment areas, I have to admit. I haven't done any of the dailies, but it looks like it'll end up being interpreted as Imperial support either way - which, fair, I'm playing an impside character, I know, but the lines were very clear on Ossus for where that saboteur option was involved and they even appeared on Manaan. I'm still hoping to see that storyline go somewhere even though there feels like there's a lot of moving parts on the board at the moment.

SO. With that said, onto my giggles and other miscellaneous references because it seems the last several story updates have thematically been reflective and reference-pockmarked for me, lol.

I cannot tell you the way I squealed with excitement to see these two in frame and actually doing something like cooperating.

And also the way I am, once again, haunted by being an Imperial Agent girlie. Because all I can think of in this is Double agent. Triple agent. Do you even know whose lies you're telling anymore?

Primarily, of course, my own feelings about blorbo who's been in the spy business for literally about half his lifetime and a double agent for maybe half of that - now he's going to balance being a double for the Republic with working with Sa'har? Ough. Tyr, babe. I hope you know what you're doing.

He wants to help her. He's wanted to from the start. Sa'har's I'm not sure I -want- to leave, speaking to that I'm not sure I can leave a job unfinished that Tyr is so, so painfully familiar with experiencing. Maybe he's got fleece over his eyes because of his own complicated feelings about working in unseen ways, but he does believe her.

ALSO THIS GIRL. NEARLY GIVIN ME A HEART ATTACK. GIRL I LIKED YOU DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT. Anyway. I love her. I love. Again, one of the most hilarious dialogue wheels you could give this man is I'm no traitor (lie, you've been once since you were in your late twenties, and you're like, what 46ish? It's been a long time since Hutta, agent) / I don't work with traitors (another lie, you're still kissing Theron Shan [Tyr. argues that doesn't count which is the only reason this is the option I went with] / and [Attack]

And then I won't be normal about him taking option 2 and dropping "I'd like to believe I've always been fighting for something greater."

I'm fine. I'm sure I'm fine. [Girl who is constantly plagued by the emotional agonies of maining a double agent.]

ANYWAY. Or perhaps also on that note. Krovos getting a little sharp about his misplaced priorities. Nothing comes of it. Yet. But it's enough to keep my brain stew going and bubbling about the weight of it all.

And it's just. so very Tyr to throw himself in the line of fire trying to keep people he meant to keep out of overcomplicating situations safe.

And I am, overall, just a sucker for the way this update brings it back to... I guess grass roots, you could say. Grounding the story in what's actually happening to places like Ord Mantell, brushing with some of the consequences on people in general - the Hidden Chain stealing supplies, possibly moving people, even, or at least their allies might be - sells the big story in the end, I think. Otherwise, the big, vague prophetic 'the fate of the galaxy sets on your shoulder' doesn't really settle as much. This might be what you're fighting for, or it might be what you're costing along the way. And I just like having that connective tissue that is 'they're here for supplies;' they're rebuilding and moving forward with plans after Ruhnuk, and Malgus's threat that all things will still unfold according to a plan is still lingering around.

[Also, Rass people. The flirts. wtf I love it. They're adorable.]

And I really am just. Such a hopeless sucker for scenes like this. A little slice of just being people in between all the galactic turmoil and heroics.

So, I've still got a fair amount of things to be chewing on! Once I'm through this last week of finals stuff, I'll expect I'll hop on TrooperTyr and go. redamage my emotions further and play it pubside and have a whole other whirlwind of emotions about how he handles it too dlfknsadlkf;sld. For now, time to pop some screenshots into the queue! ^.^

OH. ALSO. Kessing's Landing is fucking beautiful.

[chaifootsteps]

Hi, it's Secret Identity!Alastor AU anon again because I really love talking about Alastor potential that I know the real show will never showcase satisfyingly:

I basically just thought, why not let The Radio Demon & Alastor identity dichotomy be a little more Wizard of Oz & Oscar Diggs yanno? While no, he isn't powerless and could still theoretically still punch above his weight class, he wouldn't do so without great risk, and would generally go to great lengths to reduce the risk while maximizing the gains. Less raw power, more tricks, strategies and staging, every trick in his playbook is one he knows how to use well and adapt on the fly. A balancing act on a knife's edge. The Radio Demon would sorta be regarded as kinda like, either the guy that can help you out for a price or the roving boss fight that's gonna bulldoze you hard (sometimes because you pissed him off, sometimes because you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, could be anything for all the public knows), but until you're there in the moment you have No Idea what The Radio Demon's whims or intentions are towards you, and your best hope is to just avoid them, if you can.

Another thing about animal survival strats, is how lots of animals (prey and predator alike) will make themselves look bigger than they really are to discourage and ward off predators from trying anything funny, same concept with Alastor building up the Radio Demon's reputation and legend. The Radio Demon, terrifying, mysterious and untouchable, a voice on the airwaves, a half-remembered song, either your salvation or your doom. Kinda like fae rules in a way or something? Not to muddy the lore, no actual fae stuff, just the metaphor. Less Black and White morality and more Blue and Orange nuanced personal codes that make no sense but to the person themself pls lmao.

Also idk, I saw a post that mentioned that Alastor would've been better suited as a Peryton (a maneating bird-deer monster, even though it was made in 1957) instead of a closed-culture thing. He doesn't need wings either, designwise as to not infringe on Husk's silhouette, maybe he lost them as a result from a injury from an old fight? He's probably had plenty of those and not all of them were winners, he's made mistakes despite his best efforts probably, he could theoretically be hiding whatever's left of them under his jacket with padding and magic, similarly to how people headcanon he hides his tail with his jacket. Like... He's been in hell a while, and was involved and present for a great/relatively long upheaval of Hell's sinner's power structure, and if he's not untouchable, that means he's got the scars to prove it (and the ones that gave them are, probably no longer around). Idk, I could see that his allying with Charlie & her hotel project (and thus by proxy, Hell's Ruling Family, even if Charlie is having some issues with her dad, she's still Lucifer's daughter ffs) works twofold as building up the Radio Demon's mythos more, shooting for the moon, and Alastor trying to get a little more security for himself, some breathing room from something perhaps? Or who knows, maybe he's just actually tired (he wouldn't show it or spin it like that however).

Also, even though I know Alastor is in hell for a reason obviously, but I remember when the 'Day in the Life' comic dropped and I found it interesting that he just kinda, saved that sheep lady just because, no favors or repayment asked either, he just bodies the butcher guy (butchers the butcher) and then walks off. It could be an interesting layer, especially if it was an impulsive spur of the moment thing. Also Charlie & company's limited interactions with The Radio Demon through proxies & the Radio & his broadcast shows, and then a different but still reminiscent regular interactions with Alastor himself and vice versa. And I dunno, maybe it could spin out into something like, Alastor directly interacting more regularly with Radio Demon interests & other people AS HIMSELF while ALSO playing the part of the Radio Demon starts the blur the lines a bit over time.

Alastor doing a lot of this shit in the name of survival and the assurance of security, rather than boredom, could be interesting? Constant state of fight or flight, the stage never ends, maybe this was a mistake. The terrifying ordeal of being known, one of the things that could be called back about the comic but changed, instead of being so known and fear that people flee him on sight, what about Alastor keeping everyone at arm's length unless he's set & planned the scene to a T, usually a fight or a dealmaking or whatever, but would generally keep to himself unless it's Radio Demon business. But with the Hazbin crew, he really doesn't have that option with how it was set up, and now has to play another part he hasn't really played since he died up on Earth, himself (while also playing the Radio Demon in the background). Idk, somethingsomething potential?

An aside thing bc idk where to put it, I kinda like the idea that Sinners are just as mortal as hellborn but with maybe a better wolverine xmen but magic healing factor to keep the stakes of death and fighting in hell an actual threat instead of, 'oh who cares, nobody can really 'die' unless it's 'angel weapons' or dramatic enough.'

Okay this wasn't supposed to be that long but it kept going, and it meandered in even further AU, also like, idk if it's too fuzzy, this ended up being semi-stream of consciousness plot hook/char progression setup practice written at 5am lol.

Definitely love all of this, and I'm super into the idea of Peryton!Alasator because they're incredibly cool and massively underrated, but I've got to throw out the obligatory reminder that Wendigo aren't a closed culture thing. Controversial yes, closed culture no. That said, Vivzie's still full of shit to say "Oh, he's got Wendigo elements!" when she's clearly just latching onto it because Wendigo = spoopy. Man's literally as far as you can get from Wendigo country without standing in the gulf.

Everything else about this? 10/10, good shit.

[tojikai]

everyone is involved in the discourse and i wanna be too lmao. on one hand, i’m rooting for satoru and oc. i really think their relationship was salvageable but when i think about it, this was two people who weren’t super in love from the beginning of their situation but tried to make things work. going from strangers to parents with barely any room to truly get to know each other…the relationship was doomed to be strained. satoru and naomi…she got the version of him i believe oc would have gotten had they had more time to flush out a genuine long-standing relationship before becoming parents. raising a baby while simultaneously trying to continuously assert your own identity within being a new parent is already complicated and leaves a lot of room for poor communication as individuals but factoring in a romantic relationship in there…it at times feels like they weren’t ready for each other. and they weren’t going to be ready until they found ways to be okay with this new self they had to become. a part of me feels like a lot of satoru’s attitude is just resentment. like they both love their child but i don’t know if either of them enjoyed parenthood. and that’s a weird hard thing to have to talk about. and it seems really easy to have either overflowing resentment or a complete withdrawal of yourself. ah, anyway i love the story. i don’t have kids but their dynamic has pushed me into really thinking about these types of nuanced, complicated relationships. like naomi! i personally love[d] her. she’s lost her way now, but i don’t believe it was ever her intent to try and replace oc. also! idk if it was your intention to make naomi out to be a almost villian specifically through oc’s perspective in the beginning but it’s very interesting watching her behavior as told through oc’s perception, feeling like great i’m gonna hate this girl and then her behavior as told through satoru’s which made me like her. the stuff with his mom tho. whew lmao. she really had me in the first half then ran straight off the field all together. like girl! what is you doin! where is you goin! this is assault!

hiiii, i enjoyed reading this, especially the part abt how naomi was written. yn doesn't see her as a 'villain', but she doesn't feel comfortable around her bc of how she is w her ex and her child. yn got insecurities which she thought naomi could easily feel and that's why it's painful for her to be around naomi. as for satoru,(before the SA thing), she's like a safe haven bc of how she was there when he was tired of everything going on between yn and him 🥹 i really like how u explained yn and satoru's rs. it's like they started in the middle part and all of it was overwhelming for them, making everything spin out of control so easily. like they didn't get a proper warm-up 😭 anyways thank u so much for this, it took a long time im sorry, but i truly appreciate it <33 have a nice day/night ~

[twistmusings]

Hi! If you're comfortable, could I request Octavinelle seeing their partner having a wet dream about them, their partner moaning out their name in their sleep? Fiehfiejdi i hope this isn't too much LMAO. Love ur work 💕💕

Thank you so much!

Octavinelle - Their Partner has a Wet Dream

CW: Accidental Voyeurism, partner's gender is unspecified.

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul decides to check on them because he hears them making noises while he's preparing to go to bed himself. At first he assumes it's a nightmare, and he doesn't want them to have to struggle through it so he's going to try and wake them up gently so hopefully they can get actual restful sleep.

He steps into the room and he doesn't turn the light on, though he can see that they're squirming around in their sleep. It's until he gets closer and realizes that the noises he is hearing are not sounds of fear but are sounds of pleasure and that they're trying rubbing their thighs together to try and get friction in their sleep.

He's a little embarrassed-- honestly he imagines how he would feel having someone walk in on him having a wet dream and he decides he will let them ride it out and will occupy himself until they're quite finished. They might be partners, but that doesn't mean he has to involve himself in every aspect of their sex life, even if unconcious.

Or, well, he was going to, but then they tip their head back and the soft, sweet Azul that leaves their mouth makes his brain short circuit a little bit. All of his embarrassment was thrown out the window-- replaced entirely by a mix of smugness and a rush of heat. He freezes in place and can't quite bring himself to leave, instead glancing back at them where they're still squirming and moaning. Ah, fuck.

"Love... My love." Azul speaks, voice only as loud as necessary to try and wake them up. They wake with a little start, blinking up at him with slightly-wide eyes. Even with just the light from the window, he can tell how red their face is.

"'zul?" They murmur, questioning. They rub their eyes a little, and then reach out for him, apparently wanting him to join them in bed. He wonders if they even remember their dream. Still, he can't resist them, and he ends up slipping into the bed next to them so they can wrap their arms around him.

"You seemed to be having quite a... pleasant dream, beloved." Azul hums, carefully setting aside his glasses and adjusting to rest his head atop theirs. "Apologies to have to wake you but you were calling me."

"Mm." They hum against his collarbone, still clearly too sleepy for chatting right now. In spite of this, they slip a leg onto either side of Azul's own, in perfect position to grind against his leg. Azul laughs quietly, but if that's what they need he's more than happy to provide. He'll have to ask what they were dreaming about in the morning.

Jade Leech

Jade notices as soon as they end up squirming enough to wake him up. He's already sleeping next to them, and they're rutting against his leg where he's been spooning them. It takes him no time at all to catch on that they're having a wet dream-- he can smell it on them first thing when he wakes up. Whether or not he wakes them up depends on their relationship and if he thinks they would be upset by it or not. For the rest of the headcanons, we're assuming they wouldn't mind.

Jade is still sort of half asleep himself, but they definitely catch his interest enough that he'll stay awake long enough to see them get themself off on his leg. It's a bit of a turn-on to see them just using him to get off like this, but he wouldn't take it further than that.

And then they moan his name and Jade can't help the wide grin that splits his face hearing his name leave their mouth so prettily. It must be a hell of a dream for them to sound like that. Isn't he lucky?

He wasn't going to wake them up, but he's getting a little excited himself. He will kiss the back of their neck and said their name aloud to wake them.

If they wake up and are in the mood, he'll probably be quite happy to indulge in some sleepy sex. He will also ask them about what he was doing in their dream to make them moan like that and will reward them for telling him.

Floyd Leech

They were taking a nap in his bed while he was in the middle of going through his shoe collection and cleaning them. It was a little boring to most people, so he couldn't blame them, but they sure were making a lot of noise.

And they were squirming. They kept almost knocking into him.

He's so absorbed in what he's doing that he doesn't realize what's going on until he hears them moan aloud. It surprises him, but he grins widely and turns, expecting that he's going to find them touching themself next to him to try and pass the time or something.

He's not expecting to see them asleep, but when he does his grin only widens as he watches them squirm in their sleep. With as much as they're moving, whatever's on their mind must be fun. Floyd's curiosity is piqued. He'll watch a few seconds longer and then wake them up and find out what they were dreaming about.

And then they groan out a broken Floyd, and it snaps his already thin patience and he plants his hands on either side of their head. The movement alone is enough to snap them awake, and they're greeted by his impish, grinning face above him.

"Sounds like you were having a real fun dream, angelfishie." His smile is smug and knowing, and he relishes in the way their face goes red once they piece together what he's talking about.

"It was until you woke me up." They mumble smartly. Floyd leans into their space further, the tips of their noses nearly touching.

"You called my name.~" Floyd sing-songs, watching them fluster further. "So tell me, Angelfish, what was I doing to you? Maybe we could make it a reality."

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

for linxzekou plssss

sfw 3, 4, 5

nswf: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Firstly, thank you so much for asking about my OC! Literally makes my day that you guys care so much🥺🥺

SFW:

3) Arguments headcanon:

I think their arguments often start off with something silly like Lin working too hard or Zek trying to do something nice that inadvertently goes awry. With them, unfortunately, their arguments can make mountains out of molehills, and given the current plot of Soul, Tenzin is a very strong contender in the calamity that's going to turn out of their relationship.

4) Playful/silly headcanon

Zek loves playing with Lin's hair. When she's lying in bed, half asleep, half planning her next day, Zek runs his fingers through her head, petting her slowly into slumber. Lin loves when he does this, but doesn't ever let him know how she tries to resist sleep just to enjoy his touch. He thinks her hair is soft, and he can't stop himself from loving her in his silly little way.

5) Night in headcanon

A night in typically involves cooking together, eating with some spunky jazz music playing in the background followed by dessert while listening to the probending match on the radio. They curl up together on the couch, Zek's fingers threading through her hair until she falls asleep in front of the warmth of the fireplace and the embrace of a firebender. He gives her a soft kiss on her cheek and whispers, "Bed?" and she simply hums in response as he carries her in, and together, they cuddle up under the sheets.

NSFW:

1) Positions/locations headcanon:

Zek absolutely loves holding Lin. His favorite position is sideways, with Lin's back against him so he has all the control in thrusting as well as drawing her closer and closer into his body. Lin likes to get on top of his lap for a ride while he's sitting with the newspaper or so. Naturally, the newspaper ends up on the floor, and Zek, on cloud nine.

Considering they only ever meet after their 50s, they aren't big on exciting locations as such. Between their bedroom, the couch, and the occasional passion-fueled rendezvous on the kitchen counter, they haven't quite had the need to look around for locations.

3) Favourite kinks/fantasies/toys:

Shibari? I'm only saying that because Zek's the captain of the ship and knows all the 1249082034802 different ways of tying a knot lmao. I think the use of bending may be a slightly prevalent feature of their sex life. Warm hands and metallic handcuffs make a good pairing. I'm not sure what kinda toys exist in the atla-verse during this time but I would say the equivalent of a vibrator may be invited to Lin and Zek's private parties.

5) Public play headcanon:

Oh, they're not into any kind of PDA. The last thing Lin wants is attention from the media for the wrong reasons or having her romantic life on full blast again so they keep a low profile. Zek respects this about her and makes sure to ensure privacy anytime they're heading out. With that being said, I doubt they engage in anything salacious in public, unless Lin has done a perimeter check using her seismic sense when the city is evacuated lol. Zek believes that they don't need that kinda excitement because their sex life is great as is, and would rather show her the best time in the privacy of their home than risk something out in the open.

7) Foreplay/turn-ons headcanon:

For Lin, massages are a huge turn-on. When Zek brings his warm hands on her shoulder, it's either going to relax her to sleep or have her fully ravage him in thanks. Zek likes to unravel her slowly: he's a gentleman like that, 'ladies first'. Kissing is a huge part of their foreplay since they're both great kissers and it quickly turns into a competition on who's going to have the other come undone with just their lips. Oral sex is also a huge plus. Zek loves giving more than receiving and Lin, well, Lin doesn't mind his preferences😉. Zek's scent is a huge turn-on for Lin and Lin's bare legs are a huge turn-on for Zek.

9) Who teases the other? Who’s more impatient? Who usually initiates?

Ugh this one's hard. I would say Zek's the one to initiate it with his "Oh honey, you look tired let me give you a little shoulder rub." He knows it's a hit or a miss, even though that's not always his intention. But then again, Lin's the one who turns her massage session into a sex and Zekou is just more than happy to comply. Oftentimes, Zek likes to tease her down there with his tongue, edging her along while she's looking for a release. In this circumstance, Zek's a tease and Lin's impatient, but when she's dressed up all sexy and pristine with buttons and bows and laces galore, Zek is wildly impatient and Lin enjoys watching her man all hot and bothered over lingerie.

Ask me about my headcanons!

[venacoeurva]

19 and 23 for Teldryn/Wren

Long so gonna go under a readmore

19. What values do they not share? How do they reconcile those differences?

There's a lot. But because both are stubborn and opinionated but not forceful in this sense, so this often just involves them shrugging and knowing the other won't compromise certain major things. Neither are great at talking about their feelings until it's extremely necessary or very emotionally charged. I have a feeling that's just what they do in general.

Aside from Teldryn growing up involved in and surrounded by Dunmeri culture, rhetoric, and traditions whereas Wren never really did (aside from Cyrodiilized versions, which he hardly saw anyway), Wren is significantly more jaded with the gods and princes after the events of MW and the whole prophecy thing was a point of anxiety with him, as it always is. Religions differ with them, but are willing to get involved with one thing or another without going full worship or praises and tweak some things for the others' comfort. Wren generally doesn't care what Teldryn does on a religious front, but obviously the werewolf thing is a little more dangerous and risky so he takes extra precautions, if nothing else for Teldryn's peace of mind. While this could be a major dealbreaker for some, I don't see either as being more pious than the average denizen and they know they're definitely not saints and curiosity plays into it, I'm sure.

Generally, they're pretty adaptable but let each other do their own for the most part.

23. What was their first impression of each other?

There's two instances of this, but the first time was very brief. During the fallout of the Red Year, they were both on the mainland of Morrowind with rescue/restoration efforts and mercenary work. Wren was there on a contract as well as acting as a restoration mage. He "coincidentally" ran into Teldryn in a bar one evening and watched some drunk people start beefing, to which Teldryn made some dry remark about them and Wren decided to keep the conversation going...because Teldryn looked extremely similar to his target, so the goal was to get him alone and somewhere private. Fortunately, Wren realized pretty quickly he wasn't the target so Teldryn didn't get a blade through his windpipe, but they were at the getting their clothes off stage so it was a close shave.

Wren thought he was street smart albeit a bit sheltered and a faking til you made it type confidence at the time (though, granted, they were in the middle of a goddamn ecological disaster) and saw no point in going through with the kill to avoid witnesses, and let it just be a hook up. Teldryn thought Wren was intriguing but clearly closed up and reluctant to actually socialize--he did think Wren's throat scar was really cool, though. Other than that I'd imagine they just faded from each other's minds as a random hookup in the middle of some bullshit to get some stress out of their system and have a warm body next to them for a night.

They didn't recognize each other until a bit later after a few "don't I know you?"s back and forth while they went about their business, but in 201 was when they had continuous interaction with each other after Dusk recommended Teldryn to Wren for some quick work of getting Dwemer metal out of a ruin to make his leg with. Wren felt kind of bad because that shit's heavy and his leg was getting worse so he wouldn't be carrying as much as he normally would, so he tripled Teldryn's pay and gave him some strength potions and half of whatever gold they found. Teldryn was, naturally, very happy with this compared to his regular rate lmao. Wren was pretty neutral about him in general with no real strong thoughts about him, but figured he must be cool if Dusk liked him, if a little obnoxious (which he is, but now Wren just finds it endearing). Initial combat impressions was both were impressed with each other and wouldn't mind sparring in their spare time, but Teldryn didn't expect Wren to go full parkour with knives levels of combat later once he got his prosthetic done and on him

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

it frustrates me that the writers did a similar thing with sandor as nine, where the version of them we see outside of their pov backstory novella is a completely different and significantly worse person, and that's the version the rest of their involvement in the series is built on while effectively missing a backstory.

like, sandor in last days of lorien and sandor in nine's legacy are both interesting characters in very different ways. but they are VERY different ways.

[canon-typical child abuse, dehumanization, torture, misogyny, transphobia mention, racism mention, there's a lot here lmao]

[deep breath]

NL!sandor is callous, dehumanizing, and cruel, and absolutely cannot grok that his child is not a belonging and extension of himself, to the point of being shocked when nine gets sick of being treated like a possession and starts really pushing back in a way he can't steamroll over because Hi I am a Fucking Person. he makes use of nine's inheritance to blow on cars and fancy suits and impressing girls, while completely and utterly isolating him and refusing to so much as give him time out of training to read about basic history or literature. when he finally starts half-assedly giving him a little bit of childhood it's because treating nine like a machine wasn't working anymore. he's a misogynistic piece of shit who uses that to emotionally abuse and insult nine and devalue his relationships with other people, while pressuring him to engage those relationships the way sandor would, and telling him that people he wants the respect of will think he's worthless, embarrassing, and a loser if he doesn't go through with it. he belittles nine's choices in presentation and appearance, in ways that are also misogynistic as well as transphobic and frankly pretty racist (hi, shitting on men with long hair). he treats him like a fictional character from comics he likes. it does not cross his mind even slightly to leave after they have LITERALLY BEEN FOUND BY A SCOUT WHO DID NOT REPORT BACK, because it would mean leaving behind his toys and he cares more about those than nine's safety. he guilts nine for supposedly being the one to take away his toys by escaping from the mogs sandor brought down on them, while doing something sandor pressured him relentlessly to do--the dating--and then disparages him for risking everything 'for some girl.' he gaslights him about being 'immature' and 'not thinking straight' when nine won't leave this time. he condemns nine to a year of torture, being forced to watch his girlfriend slaughtered in front of him, having to watch sandor be tortured in front of him, and having to mercy kill him to make it stop. he forces him to kill someone in what is clearly a horrifically traumatic incident, one that leaves him shaking uncontrollably and about to puke, and goes 'get used to it you fuckin pussy there's a war on' before moving right along. after said incident he gleefully beats him bruised and bloody on the regular, to the point where nine starts using his methods to self-harm later, and says 'you're no good to me' when he gets beaten up in the middle of training because he was preoccupied (thinking about the girl sandor pressured him into pursuing). he casually treats him like a servant. he makes him pick out knives to be thrown at him later. he calls his new legacy an upgrade.

like. there's more. there's more! the list is long! holy shit! he is interesting but jesus christ!

......and he is nothing like LDoL!sandor.

i could go on for a long time about this and in a followup i probably will, but like.

[deep breath the second]

LDoL!sandor would doubtlessly not be a great parent either, but it wouldn't be Like That. it would be single teen immigrant parent with zero support whatsoever, and no life experience with a place where there's scarcity and rough weather and shelter isn't always easy to come by and day-to-day life isn't relatively safe. it would be a very very adhd and autistic single teen parent who has never really learned how to cope with that outside specific social context and is very irresponsible because of it, and is also irresponsible as backlash against the authoritarian dystopia he grew up in. who is going to be fighting off the mother of all adhd/autistic burnout after a year and a half bottled up in a tiny space with a bunch of animals and SEVENTEEN OTHER PEOPLE, half of whom are small children, and more specifically has been left in charge of another very neurodivergent small child who is extremely loud and hyperactive and not good at grokking the idea of personal space. LDoL!sandor would be a parent who fiercely, desperately loves and wants the best for his kid, but is also a kid himself who is trapped in an absolute fucking nightmare scenario, and is desperately trying not to drown, and failing.

also a really interesting character! and a really goddamn heartbreaking one at that! and a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ONE from the sandor we got, whose arc and personality have the clearest knock-on effects on NL!nine's characterization, and then (to a lesser extent, for Reasons but that's a whole lot of posts of their own) canon!nine's throughout the series. and it's frustrating because if you try to use LDoL!sandor instead, it completely changes the fundamental themes of NL!nine's character and arc.

namely: pushing back against the idea that because you are a child you are an extension of me, not a person, and i own you. having both childhood and adulthood dangled over your head, to yank you around as a method of control by adults who were never going to treat you as a person either way. trying to become the latter for the agency to scrape together what you can of the former, and only having those last few scraps taken from you too in the process. infantilization vs adultification. That Kind of Thing.

(which, god that would have given him so many fantastic parallels and foils with five, but that is also something for another post or it will derail this train into the next state over. i could go on for So Long about this)

and! none of that would be a thing if he hadn't had the sandor for a guardian who treated him that way. aaaaaaa!!!

anyway there's a lot i could say about this but the long and short of it is that i am confident LDoL!sandor would beat NL!sandor to death with his own pasty little hands

[noxianwilled]

19 . 37 . 12 . yeet

SHIPPING QUESTIONS

— @axewhirl

12. do you ship any rarepair?

what is a rarepair for kat? i'm not sure, i'm not very into the league fandom other than the rpc. does kat//lux count? bc i like it tbh. i like her and darius a lot, and other stuff that i shipped through rping in the past, like with sett and leona and samira. i think? that's it but honestly especially when it comes to rp i'm just open to anything that might seem interesting.

19. is there a ship you used to dislike, but now you like?

that happened in a different blog! there was a canon warcraft ship i wasn't a fan of involving a muse i wrote, and then came along someone writing the other half of the canon ship but with a take that made it make sense to me. for kat, though, none that i can think of.

37. how does your muse handle breakups?

terribly. i've talked about it before, but katarina isn't very open to love. her experiences with letting people get close almost universally ended up bad, and she tends to keep them at a distance, trying to do it even when she starts to get feels. she doesn't want to let herself be in love because she's so afraid she'll end up hurt, because people either betray her or leave.

so regardless of verse, breakups just sort of make that fear into a reality. she isn't the type to openly show she's heartbroken, though, and will do anything she can to hide and just not really deal with those feelings (she feels everything very deeply, imo, and heartbreak is no exception). so she's not the type to hide from the world and cry and mope and such. instead, she's more likely to keep herself busy in any way that'll distract her from her feelings, be it overworking or acting extra reckless bc hey it's better to be concerned about staying alive than her broken heart lmao and i think that applies regardless of verse. she'll be taking more upon herself in canon, she'll prefer the needless risk over the safer options. and in modern verse i feel that'd also apply, but on top of either working more or engaging in risky behavior, she'd likely go out a lot, hang out with friends a lot, and try to never be alone for long enough she has time to think about it.

of course that doesn't work literally all the time, but yeah she'd prefer to be out there doing things and living life instead of taking time for introspection. when she is alone, maybe she'll let herself be sad and cry about it

also 'friendly exes' doesn't exist in her vocabulary. like i said, she doesn't open up for serious things easily (she needs to have serious feelings for someone and know and trust them enough she'd give them a chance), so when she does she doesn't give up on her relationships easily, and if they fail and she ends up hurt and heartbroken, she doesn't wanna be friends with the other person. if she can't pretend they don't exist, she'll be extra mean - especially to them directly.

[sharkface-daydreams]

i don’t know dragon age so give me. either your favorite or most niche dragon age ship

🥺🥹💜 ask dragon age for me.... 💜💜💜💜

well my favorite of all time is a pc/canon ship but not a canon romance but i did think of a niche npc/npc ship that has recently made me feel like eating glass lmao so i did two

i attempted to give some context but not completely infodump >< idk if that was achieved lol

My Grey Warden who has to go save the world after being recruited from a no-caste nothing on the underbelly of dwarven society fell for a guy you can't romance bc his culture is the Qun, which dictates basically your role and existence since you're born. They don't do like romance or marriage or whatever bc genetics are dictated by people who manage that. (Although some people do escape and live outside of that) His name is his job title. But he's a good man, a good soldier and a good friend and Torani Brosca respects the shit out of him so she keeps her feelings to herself. But yes she'll fight by his side and find his missing sword and stay as close as she can 🥺 and she never ever thinks of herself and her wants bc everything went towards her sister's chances of getting the family married up out of poverty so she really doesn't examine the feelings either it's just. I want to be close to you. Always. 😭

Uuuuunfortunately in my canon playthrough she takes the final hit in the last boss fight to kill the big bad and dies :( Beforehand she asked Sten to return her sword to her sister in Orzammar so Rica could have something to remember her by. She technically could have lived but that involves a mage party member fucking someone so she could have a baby and uh. suck the undying soul of the Arch demon into the unborn vessel instead of requiring a Warden to essentially cancel it out by killing it and... i don't actually remember the specific mechanics but a Warden specifically has to die in order for the big bad to STAY dead bc they have a like. half vaccinated version of the blight that kills them extremely slowly. But dorfs have such a low reproduction rate and the only way for them to get out of castelessness was for Rica to have a nobles baby and marry up... so Tor was like no i am not forcing anyone into that I'll just take the hit. 😔 so there's glass snack #1.

glass snack #2 is from the Dragon Age Inquisition DLC The Descent so this'll be spoilery lol but omg Renn and Valta

Ok. Dwarves live underground, are immune to magic and the magic ore only they can dig up bc it kills anyone else. There's a group called Legion of the Dead who are socially dead, they literally have a funeral for them when they leave, and they go into the old deep roads and protect the city from the Dark spawn until they die out there with their boots on. This is what Renn does. Valta is an archivist who's been essentially put on bitch work bc she pissed off a higher-up by not erasing something really trivial from their records. And we're down there helping them figure out why the earthquakes are suddenly nuts. It seems like they've been working side by side for years and Renn either has a specific task or personal obligation to defend her while she's in the dangerous tunnels and old roads, I'm not sure which. But while they bicker a LOT there's soooooo much fondness underneath all that and they care about each other so fiercely and honestly we don't get a whole lot of conversation and banter even but what we do get is just fucking LOADED with meaning and I'm just *eats drywall* about it

ough and when he dies defending us from some threat we've never faced before she's even more determined to figure this out so he hasn't died in vain auuuurghh god so many things ending in tragedy but in the meanwhile.... the meanwhile is so good 😩 and that dichotomy of already being 'dead' but still having reason to live, to fight for and protect someone. ough...