#and he who hesitates is lost

[aquamarineglow]

It's a miracle that I've had this blog nearly ten years, and never ran out of Rook and Bishop content to make. Amazing.

Hypothetically of course. We know their fights are exclusively verbal.

[andmineisyellow]

Legally, I simply can not discuss the parallel of Garcia comforting Tyler after he betrays her and Luke comforting Garcia after she betrays him (and the rest of the team).

[kittykatninja321]

fics that villainize Talia are obsessed with having Jason bad mouth her. I think Jason should be the #1 Talia apologist actually. To a toxic degree even. You tell Jason about the weird cloning shit and he’s like “well I’m sure she had her reasons 🤷🏻‍♂️”

[tacogoats]

Thinking about a Durge who has rejected Bhaal, and whatever person they used to be, but still secretly longs for their lost memories. A Durge that, despite the answers the man could give them, would never re-ignite that strange passion they were shown they once had for Gortash. A Durge that has, for all purposes to the others in their party, moved on. A Durge that, six months after that day atop the Netherbrain, at a party celebrating their new life, receives a strange letter with an even stranger gadget hidden inside.

The meeting at the inauguration was a strange one. Despite Gortash's very obvious elation at seeing what he'd called his 'dearest friend', the man had no hesitation very proudly detailing the Dark Urge's grand scheme; their grand design for the world to be.

In front of all their friends and 'new' lover, of course.

They were furious, and rightly so. Gortash must have known what he was doing. To isolate them, to bring them back to him. The person who accepted them for all they were, all they are, and all they could be - together.

It wasn't enough to win the Dark Urge back to him, and although they'd tentatively teamed up in the end - he had died. Not by the Urge's hand, but in some ways, his own. The group had left Gortash's body within the Prism, and simply moved on. There were bigger problems, and no one really was sad to see him go. Right?

The Urge remembers a letter found in Moonrise Towers. Gortash liked gadgets, according to Ketheric. Evidence was abundant enough with the Steel Watchers, among other things. The item is strangely shaped, entirely too small, and with a simple touch, comes to life.

It reminds them of the strange picture they had seen at the Iron Throne. Gortash's visage shone through a glass, moving, talking - warning them to leave. Answering them, praising them for listening.

What a strange contraption, they'd thought all those months ago.

And then, now, there he was again. A picture, in their hand. A moving picture. Speaking with his voice, wearing his weary face - so, so weary - but not the same as before.

This had passed already. The voice did not answer them this time. It was simply impossible - the man was dead, but not quite gone in this moment.

He speaks of the inauguration like it had just happened. His joy at seeing his favourite 'assassin' again, which he says with a sad smile and a moment of silence. A heavy sigh follows, rubbing at his eyes - which they can see are so much darker than they last remember.

He is tired.

Gortash speaks of their time together, before Orin - and how Orin torments him day and night now that they had both confirmed the Urge's return. She appears with their face, taunting him some days. Other days she sends assassins that wear the same, and he simply cannot let his guard down anymore. But he knew it was them that day.

They can see the exhaustion that pulls down his features, makes his words heavier. This is not the Archduke speaking to him in this moment - it is a tired, broken down man that has just seen a ghost.

Yet they cling to every word anyway, because even though this is a broken down man who is terrified of the ghost - the man still hopes the ghost will remember him, too.

They don't. But he doesn't know that, not this little picture of him, anyway.

The picture says that if they are seeing this recording, it means he is already dead - and although he had planned to sway them back to his side, he may not have been given the chance, and refuses to allow the opportunity to share what the two of them once had slip away.

He would gift unto them the memories that he could, even beyond death. The bloody ones, the happy ones, the painful ones.

And he talks, he smiles, he even cries.

And so do they.

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[mismefancy]

He suggested pancakes in the finale, so I'll draw pancakes for the father and daughter. : )

I'm not really in the Hazbin/Helluva fandom nor do I consume their content as often. There is also the fact the fact their type of content isn't my usual content...

But you know the drill: Family stuff convinces me of anything, lol. Lucifer became an instant favourite character of mine. He was absolutely hilarious to watch, his relationship with his daughter made me emotional, and his song "More than anything" absolutely wrecked me gosh darn it! :'D

And with the implication that he might become part of the main cast gives me so much excitement for season 2.

[sysig]

I wasn’t using that heart anyway it’s fine (Patreon)

[thatgirlonstage]

Thinks about arms outstretched and has to lie facedown on the ground for nine hours again

[arsonmurderandjaywalking]

this might just be me, but it kinda seems like Haejin is starting to like genuinely care about Nagyunn? like. he's still suspicious of him, but it's decreased a decent amount. Nagyunn's been presenting himself as an earnest kid to him because genuine seeming displays of emotion are the best way to convince him of something, but I think Nagyunn's reaction to the crystal sea was what really started to convince him of it. Haejin very clearly only jumped in because Nagyunn couldn't hide how awestruck he was. And even before they saw it, Haejin had been acting very like. kind with him. that doesn't feel like the right word for it but you get it. he offered to carry Nagyunn on his back when he was struggling up the cliff and told him well done when he got to the top.

and now, when he thinks Nagyunn is taking too long getting food so he goes after him, it feels a lot less like he's worried about him trying to intercept the message and more like he's worried something's happened to him.

[kaerinio]

i’ll write a full headcanon/meta about the fact that daenerys is very much a feeler, but due to the abuse she suffered during her childhood, leading into her adolescence, she has learned to cope with her feelings by repressing them —  —  — and, later, as queen, she often tells herself that her feelings do not matter so long as her people are safe, prosperous, and thriving.

daenerys does feel. god, she feels very strongly, and she is fully aware of this, which is why she is constantly reminding herself that “the dragon does not weep” and that she is a queen who cannot appear too emotional ( or weak ) in front of her people, her council, her handmaids, everyone. she must be strong for everyone, must carry them all, allowing no burden to befall them. and much of this responsibility is born out of daenerys' transformation in the eyes of her people.

daenerys is deified by her people the moment they name her mother of dragons, breaker of chains, mother, mhysa, etc. these moments, which take place over the span of a couple years solidify this stripping away of her status as simply human. that first shift from khaleesi to mother of dragons signals a transformation to daenerys, and this is the moment where she is reborn, not only in her sense of self, but she is reborn for her people, going from a young woman to a legendary figure. and daenerys both recognizes this . . . and chooses to honor it.

additionally, there is a split for daenerys between all of her titles that signal who she is in the PUBLIC ( where she is the dragon queen, the mother of dragons, the strong leader, the conqueror, the nurturer ) and in the PRIVATE ( where we see her smiling, laughing, allowing herself to be herself, reading childhood stories that enable her to reclaim the youth that is so distant, so robbed ). everyone has their public and private ways of being, and they have the ability to live within these spaces in harmony. this is the case for daenerys, but something that has always struck me is how she utilizes her PUBLIC SPACE self in order to create emotional distance when she feels HURT. not only does she “dragons don’t feel” herself, but we also see her use her public self as a means of shoving her feelings down. 

to those close to her, dany isn't particularly strict about titles. for instance, jorah refers to her interchangeably as “daenerys” and “your grace”. daario does the same. however, in moments where she feels particularly sensitive to what they are saying, feels too exposed/too seen, she corrects them, tosses her title at them, retreats into untouchable space because she knows that her public space self is, in a way, untouchable. and she believes this space must be void of her own personal feelings ; thus, in these moments, she shifts her self in order to protect her feelings and create distance between herself, these emotions, and the person who is stirring the emotions. 

[zappedbyzabka]

Kreerence <3 (gnaws on ceiling fan)

[ozlices]

im like sincerely so sorry bc my most shameful flaw is that envy is one of my favorite characters in the entirety of fma which is like. listen it's genuinely irredeemable but she knew exactly what she was doing when she made envy the pinnacle of gender envy bc my non-binary ass is NOT immune to feeling the gender envy to the highest degree for that little freak

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

sometimes I think about The Last and want to scream

[incoherent-orca]

💭

🐳

[bakurapika]

im extremely literal and i don't want to take anything away from the people who find it helpful, but. "do it scared" to me always has the same vibes as that shia labeouf "JUST DO IT" meme.

which is to say, im always like, IT ? DEPENDS ON WHAT "IT" IS??

[dirt-str1der]

Cant stop thinking of the bitter way majima says “shimano no oyaji”