#because I want History to be more dynamic and unstable

[rawliverandcigarettes]

(sort-of) finished my espionage research and immediately slam-dunked 6500 words worth of STG lore and history into a blank document, which is more words in a row than anything I managed in literal years. And it's not even over yet.

[noxturnalpascal]

Devotion 🖤 Masterlist

Series Summary: When is it enough? When is it too much? When does Devotion become Obsession?

I. Stronger Together CH 1 CH 2 CH 3

II. Predator or Prey? CH 4 CH 5 CH 6 CH 7 CH 8

III. Path to the Future CH 9 CH 10 CH 11 CH 12

Epilogue Some Summer Sunday

Series Warnings: 18+ MDNI, canon-typical violence/death, death of clickers, guns, blood/injury, references to previous SAs (not described), Reader has low self worth & trauma, this group/cult is not feminist - women aren’t treated as equals, Joel has sexual relationships with other characters (not described in detail), possessiveness, manipulation, stalking/spying on, Joel gets mean, DubCon Oral, Joel gets abusive (verbally, mentally, physically (he hits, throws, and bites), thoughts of self-harm and suicide, talk of periods & pregnancy, unprotected PiV, oral sex (m & f receiving), come eating, DIRTY TALK, brief reference to breeding kink and creampie kink (but reader does NOT get pregnant in this story).

A/N: OBVIOUSLY this is canon-divergent, but it is post-outbreak. The events of outbreak day have not changed (sorry Sarah). Reader does have a developed background that plays heavily in her character arc, so in that sense she is very much an OC. Reader has a nickname and some minor physical descriptions.

LAYOUT OF JOEL'S HOUSE

AO3 LINK

MOODBOARD BY @strang3lov3 MOODBOARD BY @beefrobeefcal

*🖤*NOTES ABOUT THE CULT & JOEL BELOW*🖤*

ABOUT THE CULT

The Cult's Core Ideology

Build up a community (and supplies) to return to a thriving society that can keep people safe & find a cure.

The Cult Operates by its 3 Tenants:

How Joel does it (what he "preaches")

I. Build Trust (We are Stronger Together)

Makes people feel beautiful, important, HEARD

Shares the wealth (food, shelter, women)

Seeks Power & Control to get others to help him

II. Us vs Them (The Predator Vs The Prey)

FEDRA is the enemy, do not trust them

Assimilate or Destroy all other people/groups

Attack them before they attack you

III. Gather & Prepare (Create a Path to the Future)

You can never have enough, always take take take take

The community you create now will determine future society (fair, honest, hardworking)

Once you are well-prepared and rebuild, you can work on finding a cure

🖤

Notes about Joel and the Cult:

He and Tess began this community together in 2010 after they met Bill and Frank and they felt that the QZ was becoming too dangerous and unstable. They settled in a small, remote town in the mountains of Vermont. Tess helps him "run" the community but she has a submissive role. (Their dynamic here is different from canon.) Tess has his respect probably more than anyone else does but she is not looked upon like an equal by anyone in the community.

Timeline/Ages:

This takes place in the fall of 2012, so It’s been 9 years since outbreak day. Joel is 45, my HC for Reader is Early 30's (Tess is 39/40). Reader's exact age isn't given, but she was in her early 20's on outbreak day and I wanted her to have experienced a fair taste of an adult life before the world ended. I didn't want to write the reader as inexperienced or with too large of an age-gap, although I think 11-14 years is still pretty significant. She has a history that plays a significant role in her personality (wary, untrusting). She has been hurt/abused by men - both those that took advantage of her when she was young, as well as by those that she trusted/loved. There are very few physical descriptions but she is very much an OC. Note that her age is not something that's explicitly mentioned because I did want to keep it inclusive. I hope everyone who wants to read this can use their imagination to fit themselves into the story in a meaningful way.🖤

[bitterrobin]

regarding Chris and Damian as foils... I'm always peeved when some people minimize what could be interesting about their relationship to "a child who only values his biological family and hates his adoptive family vs a child who renounces his bio family and embraces an adoptive family." This brief summary/discussion always tends to boil down to Damian is an evil child who must learn to appreciate his adoptive siblings from Chris, who's a perfect boy who loves his adoptive parents and hates his abusive bio parents. When really, that screws both of their characters.

Damian has a complicated relationship to say the least with Bruce and Talia, but neither of them taught him that blood is everything. When written well, Bruce should be stressed and neglectful but deeply loving and Talia shouldn't be an abuser but a sorrowful mother who wasn't able to give him a free life that she wanted for herself.

I should stress that the "blood son" rhetoric that pops up around Damian existed only in his first appearance and the animated movies. In pretty much all of the comics afterwards, Damian was disparaging of Dick, Tim and Cassandra, but he didn't point out his "biological superiority" unless it was specifically in service to Tim's own storylines. His character evolved from an annoying brat that exists to challenge Bruce and Tim for a couple issues to a full child character whose insecurity within a family leads to him lashing out at everyone he deems closer to Bruce than he could ever be. Moving on to Chris Kent, his entire first storyline revolves around building a relationship with Clark and Lois and finding the resolve to fight back against Zod and Ursa. In the end he makes the sacrifice to return to the Phantom Zone in order to ensure that his bio parents can't return to Earth. But in the end, he's just a kid. He struggled with fitting in on Earth. Unlike Clark, he didn't understand why he had to hide his powers. Had he not been sent back to the Phantom Zone to wrap up the story arc, I would've really liked to see Chris struggle with pretending to be a human kid after so long being taught the opposite by his bio parents. Later on when Chris reappears aged-up (deja vu) he's still pretty much the same character but notably more cocky and impulsive to contrast against Thara Ak-Var.

Damian and Chris's potential interactions should be preceded on how similar they are - not on how superior Chris is because he's a loving kid, and Damian is too traumatized to express the same kind of trust and affection that people expect from child characters. Besides, they have entirely different situations. Damian is a child suddenly being dropped into a large and well established family with complicated inner dynamics and rituals, while Chris is a child being brought into a small and simple family structure consisting of Clark/Lois, Kara and Clark's parents. (Pointing out here that Jon didn't exist and Kon-El was killed in Infinite Crisis months prior to Chris's appearance). Chris's bio parents are cut and dry neglectful and abusive, and Damian's parents are a complicated jumble of neglect, ooc abuse, angst, and love. Damian had to contend with the frankly insane plots and history of all the Bat-characters while Chris was confined to one plot line in a fairly consistent Superman run. I don't think I have to spell out how mentally unstable and grief-stricken a lot of the Bats were when Damian became Robin versus the relatively normal lives of Ma, Pa, Clark and Lois when Chris showed up. When exploring what their interaction could've been, I think Damian would one-sidedly hate Chris, who would try to avoid him. Damian would resent Chris for being everything he isn't: a child whose flaws are accepted and embraced, a child with a complete loving family and support, and a child that allowed to be a child. Chris probably wouldn't like Damian at first for being Robin when he got used to Tim being Robin, and he'd be discouraged at how snappy and anti-social Damian is. He's a kind child, but he's not a saint. Chris would have the usual child hang-ups about interacting with mean kids and socializing outside his family. They'd accept each other the way that they are, but I don't think they'd become friends until Damian matures and Chris acclimates to human society as his own individual. Maybe eventually they grow to trust/confide in each other like Bruce and Clark - but until then it'd probably a lot of Damian making rude comments and Chris going :/

[swordsandarms]

how would you describe the dynamic between aerys and rhaegar?? no matter what rhaegar was aerys's first and only child for a long time, and tbh i kinda love to delude myself thinking aerys loved him almost as much as he hated? him.....

Wrote about this before, but of course I can't find it, but since it's rarely given enough complexity anyways, might as well do it again.

This is the endless problem of not allowing Targaryens the right to be more than one dimensional and have complicated human feelings and Aerys is probably the sorest spot for it. A lot of people are finally backing down on the weird dehumanisation of Rhaegar, thankfully, but Aerys less so, as he is a big problem even for "Targaryen fans" - he is the sole Targaryen called fully "mad" - that can be acknowledged as that absolute sort of mentally unstable, and in a violent way that can be fully antagonistic, too - bringing that whole can of worms used against a whole 300 years worth of generations of a family, so everyone stays away.

Here comes the tired disclaimer that of course I've got to put out over and over before writing of Aerys as a mere person instead of a fairytale boogieman: he wasn't a good guy with particular virtues; he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed; he wasn't a proactive, great King, and although he spoke of great plans that sounded sound didn't put in the effort to accomplish anything; he wasn't a good father and least of all husband for most of his life, even in his better days with less excuses (well, explanation) to it. Etc etc

But he had the complexity of feelings and behaviour of a whole person! I've said it before but Aerys is one of these background characters dead before the story starts that gets TONS of interiority that adds so much nuance to this otherwise muddled portion of history, but he's not a "nice dead victim" and hence gets little attention while less "lesser" background characters get essays of made up fanon.

Aerys' desire for both successful lineage and grandeur for his House clashing with his deep personal insecurities is more of a downward spiral than his actual mental illness. (Again, something I touched on in a different post that Tumblr won't let me find) Aerys wants and fails to be anything grand, and Rhaegar being seen as great while being nothing like him is a sour spot, because if greatness is his opposition what does that mean? Of course he latches onto Viserys when it's clear he's got his character.

But what about Rhaegar? Did Aerys love him? Did Rhaegar love his father once? He was his prized heir in a positive sense for the longest of their relationship. He kept him close in detriment of his mother's claim on him (took him to Casterly Rock for a year when Joanna died). But does that necessarily say anything about love?

This is the man who would end up hurting his sister, who would be open about the intention to wish bad things upon his child, but he's also grieved these children with his sister once, he's turned to the gods humbled despite his self righteous arrogance, asking if it's him, if he can do anything to make it better.

And, in his madness, Aerys kills Brandon and Rickard for "threatening Rhaegar". Which is fascinating. I've been trying to think of whether he is trying to put Rhaegar in a worse position by it, but it doesn't work. If it were the case, he'd be glad to latch onto the accusations and make the best of it, instead of becoming the bad guy further by "protecting Rhaegar". If he weren't able to think that straight, at least his advisors would (he's got plenty of "whisperers" in his ears, we are told, and they are against Rhaegar's faction). But if they tried, but if they tried it's clear the "he threatened Rhaegar" convoluted thought won.

And I joke about the Rhaenys moment supposedly being the breaking point in Aerys and Rhaegar's relationship from his point of view (of all things) but... With these powerful families, the personal and political are in a constant clash. Yet it is quite something that political tensions are all high ("like before the Dance"), Aerys' undermining and threatening Rhaegar's position is open knowledge, and yet, what gets to Rhaegar finally is his father rejects his child - rejects family.

Was there only honour and "doing things right" in lieu of kinslaying? Was there a reason why it was hard to give up on his father and admit to himself he wasn't salvageable in any lesser ways until it's too late?

And oh, he was ever so aggravated by Rhaegar being so good at things and admired for it, but when he dies in battle... There surely must be some conspiracy, some betrayal for his shining son to be gone. Rhaegar himself wouldn't just be bested without a better explanation! Someone ought to answer for it, damnit!

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Mind telling us how the dynamics of duos within teen Sector V are? Like 1/2, 3/4, 2/5, 1/3, 2/4 and so on lol. Just to get to know them and how they are as teens a bit better!

AHHHH SO!!!

There's a lot to say here, so I'll start with Nigel and go on until everything is explained?? Before reading, I don't want hate or anything plz, this is what works for this AU but I pretty much can ship anyone with anyone!

Let's go!

#1/#2

Nigel and Hoagie like to work in tandem on new 2x4 tech for teen operatives to use. Hoagie has the ideas, Nigel refines them (and avoids Hoagie from making them too dangerous or unstable) and they build them together. Nigel hasn't always been one for manual work but lately he found out it helps him not to think too much. And Hoagie's more than happy to help "Big Boss" relax!

---

#1/#3

Kuki is Nigel's personal ray of sunshine (that's also why the whole school calls her that). She helps him to cheer up and see life in a different way, a more colorful and positive one. They don't even have to talk, Nigel just needs to sit next to her and plop his head on her shoulder and she knows it's time to work her magic on him! Also she somehow convinced him to have her test her "make up skills" on him. Don't ask why, that's how they roll. AND! Kuki's been in charge of taking care of Nigel's rainbow monkey plush since he left for GKND.

---

#1/#4

Because of something that happen to Wally years before (which, don't ask, none of them want to talk about it), these two are now really close. Especially Wally found a good friend he can talk to when life gets too hard on him, he knows Nigel will be more than happy to listen to him go off without judging or forcing a solution on him. Basically Nigel KNOWS the root of all of Wally's problems and understands his feelings. They don't like to show how close they are around, but if they find each other alone, it's feeling time.

---

#1/#5

They know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE around the school, no one is safe, not even professors or the principal himself. They could crush everyone in one move... but choose not too because were would the fun be? Sill best friends, if you didn't know their history you could easily mistake them for a couple. Well, they are in fact planning their wedding, been doing that for 2 years now, but it always gets delayed because one of them changes his mind about a minor detail. Do they even argue? Are they actually together?? What is going on??? Only they know.

---

#2/#3

Just a quick note: Numbuh 6 is still there and they still keep an eye on him, but he's been moved to another sector when they all turned 13. Because of his love for anime and manga, Hoagie is actually learning Japanese with her, because he thinks it would be cool to be able to watch anime without subtitles or worse, the... dub... EWW! Also they like to watch stuff together that Wally refuses to because it has romance in it, like Toradora! or even Sword Art Online.

---

#2/#4

Best friends forever. Kinda gay, but not all the way? Like IRL JD and Turk basically. They're so into anime and manga and videogames, they're NERDS but Wally usually hides it around people, Hoagie can't be bothered and you can spot him reading some manga no one even knew existed. They have a lot of inside jokes not even the others understand, especially the "chicken" one they've been keep going since they were 7. Also, they're meme masters.

---

#2/#5

How the heck are they even dating? Like, he's an OTAKU and she's the QUEEN of the school??? But it works apparently, and everyone is jealous and MAD at Hoagie because really, he's one of the LAMEST LOSERS in the school, just... how... WHY?? No one knows. But them. He makes her laugh and she keeps him with his feet on the ground. Been going for *looks at smudged note on the hand* 7 YEARS????

---

#3/#4

A ray of sunshine and the prince of darkness. Happiness and rage, rainbow and clouds, colorful and black. They seem like opposite worlds colliding, but the whole school knows they're dating now. Took a bit of time tbh, it has its ups and downs, but they look happy together, so, what else could they want? 2 years down, their whole life to go.

---

#3/#5

They have the love for make-up and fashion in common. Kuki likes to test her make-up skills on Abby, who's more than willing to let her go for it because she's actually good! They like to hang out at the mall, sometimes they drag Nigel with them for reasons (the boy needs some good clothes).

---

#4/#5

If Nigel's the one Wally can go to without expecting judging or answers, Abby's the one who can give Wally a solution for a problem he has. She loves the boy, wants all the best for him, it's just that sometimes... he's... really something to work with. Actually turns out these two are the best ones to put on a mission together. They know how to work things out.

---

Sorry I have no energy to do all the drawings for all dynamics, so I did the ones that inspired me the most.

Hope you liked it!

[thevulturesquadron]

Potential explanation as to why Erik went from having a strained relationship with Wanda to Pietro despite getting along reasonably better with the latter:

Wanda subconsciously/intentionally made it that way.

Writers try to paint Pietro as the only one with mental instability, but Wanda very clearly has a history of her own issues that show she is not nearly the more sane and emotionally mature twin she is recently made out to be.

In my opinion, despite Wanda occasionally making a show of demonstrating how she does not need Pietro as much as he needs her, and how much she hated Magneto for all that he put them through, I think there was a part of her deep inside that was envious of how Erik and Pietro made efforts to get along better and strengthen their relationship.

I know that writing wise, the editorial and writers have their own reasons for making the choices I don’t agree with, but here’s my take.

Wanda subconsciously hexed both her and her twin so that their blood ties with Magneto would be severed because she couldn’t stand how Pietro was always willing to try to make things work with the latter because he was their “father.”

Because the familial relationship was gone and now she and Pietro were “no longer” mutants, it became easier to subconsciously manipulate her brother’s mind and Magneto’s against each other so that they would appear in their lives less.

Oh, but relationships/hex doesn’t easily create/destroy. It relocates and replaces. So where does that father/child bond now go?

It goes to her. Because despite resenting him for the majority of knowing him, I think there was a part of Wanda that did want that emotional connection with him. But instead of bringing herself to forgive him and easing up on her pride, it was easier to switch her antagonistic relationship with her father’s with that of her “beloved” brother’s to elevate herself up and bring her brother down.

Again, not consciously on her part, and definitely not intentional on that of the writers, but given Wanda’s track record of handling her emotional repressions and outbursts, that would make more sense as to why the dynamic has changed.

I.LOVE.THIS!!! I love this and ever since it landed in my asks my mind has been here.

I am a sucker for finding explanations/reason in things that don’t work or make little sense in what I am watching/reading/playing. I am a sucker for analyzing character’s choices or behaviors even if they are something I don’t agree with. And this!! Honestly I just want your interpretation to be out there because it’s so complex and tasteful.

Wanda has a HISTORY of emotional instability and I say that not as a complaint but in a way that acknowledges the complexity her character can have. It has been a bit of a frustration of mine in how Marvel has handled her in recent years (either as a villain in Dr Strange or infantilizing her in comics). I hated that they took away her agency and responsibility for the events in House of M and redconned it as Doom’s doing. I hate how they portrayed her ‘sacrifice’ in the Trials of Magneto because it was cheap and void of meaning for her redemption. Marvel stripped her of the importance of her emotions and chaos; took away the responsibility of her rage and the consequences of her unstable emotions because she needed to be pure and good, effectively telling women that your raw emotions are evil and only villains can own them. Fuck that noise! Her powers are chaos! Let her mind and feelings claim that as well, and let her explore that instead of forcing her into a maturity and wisdom she has never earned. 

Once again, I love what you're proposing. It justifies so many of the weird exchanges, it adds layers to her and it has a fantastic potential to explore some strong themes.

[bunchofstraydogs]

@nihilo-sensei Sorry for the late response, i gave up on writing lmao.

I see where you’re coming from, but to be honest, I don’t see BEAST!Atsushi and Kyōka joining canon verse ADA. B!Atsushi is, at best, unhinged. Far more than canon Atsushi ever was. Some things in our lives get so deeply engraved into our souls, that it becomes our nature. Beast Atsushi isn’t good, nor inherently evil, he’s just wild. Feral, actually, would be the perfect word to describe him. You can’t have someone as bloodthirsty, terrified, and unstable in ADA. They’re a detective agency that first and foremost have a duty to protect the public, not a sanctuary for the mistreated. While they comprise of such people, Beast Atsushi would be more of a liability, despite him being a far better and more competent fighter than canon Atsushi.

And where Atsushi goes, so does Kyoka, and that hasn’t changed.

For canon and beast SSKK meeting, i will remove everyone else from the equation and focus on these chuckleheads.

Beast SSKK doesn’t have the same dynamic and connection canon SSKK does. This fact mainly affects how Chuuyas would perceive the other two. And among the four of them, only B!Dazai would have a clear understanding of the situation.

Let’s start with Dazai. Beast Dazai is vastly different than canon Dazai. In canon, Dazai was set off on a better path by Odasaku. He’s also grown to care about people and doing relatively right by them. He also lives because he doesn’t want his death to hurt others. He has a goal, he has done good (he’s far from being good, though), and people depend on him.

Beast Dazai, on the other hand, while knowing the other side of things, is entirely whacked in the head and selfish. Obsessed, even. He also never had Oda in his life, only knew him from memories that weren’t even his. He is far colder than canon Dazai (not that the canon one is a ray of sunshine). While he did steer the mafia to protect people from the shadows, his only goal was to make certain that Oda lives and becomes the author he wanted. That, and to be friends with Odasaku, something that seems to be impossible for him. He never truly cared much about the rest.

Dazais wouldn’t take well to each other. I am certain Beast Dazai would actually hate canon Dazai on some level for getting to experience friendship with Oda and for “letting” Oda die. Canon Dazai, on the other hand, would at first look at his parallel self notice the sheer difference, the emptiness and darkness, and would see him as the biggest threat, actually. Because it’s true, his greatest enemy is, and always will be, himself. In this situation for a different reason other than his inner demons. Because who else can pose the intellectual challenge to Dazai better than Dazai. And this one in particular has the upper hand, knowing what he does.

Neither of them would concern much with Chuuya of either world, as they pose larger threat to each other.

Chuuyas, on the other hand, well. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Beast Chuuya, so I don’t know how different he is not having the history with Dazai he does in canon. Nor do we know how he joined. But he appears to be the same spicy, loyal Chuuya as he is in canon. His disdain for Dazai is larger than in canon, but his loyalty is holding him in place and is aware that Dazai is above him. Canon SSKK are a duo, partners, equals, whatever have you. So the power dynamic is different.

That said, the difference in the Dazais is obvious at first glance, and both notice it.

I think that, the more those two talk and provoke each other, the more they realize how unlike the state of things are between them. That gets them even more confused and weary.

But to cut it short, Chuuyas would be able to coexist with each other.

Beast Chuuya would be annoyed with canon Dazai at most, but loyal to his Dazai and serve him in the end.

Canon Chuuya would fall into a familiar tandem with his Dazai to resolve the very big problem that Beast Dazai poses.

Beast Dazai wouldn’t care much about the situation. He’s not looking to cause a ruckus in the canon world or any tangible trouble for the other two (besides just mind fucking with them for his own amusement), as Oda is already dead in their world so any effort on his part is wasted.

And canon Dazai would hyper focus on Beast Dazai, of course not leaving Beast Chuuya out of the equation. But given the chance, he may try to play things off and annoy Beast Chuuya by “ordering” him around as he is his “boss” and tell canon Chuuya to be more like Beast one.

———

I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this text. It’s been years since I read BEAST and I definitely forgot things. It’s also been a hot moment since i last immersed myself in the franchise, so ya. Don’t take it to heart. Hope you liked it.

[nerdylilpeebee]

nevermind! have just seen your stance on gazan genocide. racial conflict and racial power dynamics are above you, white supremacy eludes and/or invisibly benefits you, you have no qualms depicting palestinians as barbaric terrorists colluding to lie about thousands upon thousands of civilian casualties and deliberate famine reported straight from the strip by independent journalists watching their native communities being blown apart by fascists simply because theyre arabic, you have no grasp of israel's/the idf's continued bloody history of settler violence for generations before you and i were born, the humanity of gazans who have lived their whole lives enduring this deep suffering and humiliation, this soul-deep degradation, is just drivel and sob stories to you, and most crucially,

you lack the conceptualization to engage in discourse beyond fandom. so dont.

human lives arent 'discourse'. this isnt online drama. its not trendy, its not mascot horror, its not problematic fanfic, its not animation, its not a trope, its not a callout post. you cant understand the human elements of the palestinian genocide, you just see your gracious, god-sent mighty white murderers exterminating the brown vermin in a faraway land. my inlaws who have their house shot at every other day arent human to you. my fiance who shakes uncontrollably when they hear thunder isnt human to you. they are not afraid of hamas bombing their apartment. hamas flies no planes over their building, hamas sets off no raid sirens, hamas deprives them of no aid. the dignity of protest and resistance is not afforded to the average palestinian because the moment they speak out theyre threatened with loss of jobs, scholarships, expulsions from their schools. theyre immediately branded as unstable terrorists, dangers to society- that is, their israeli, white supremacist society. consider who benefits from you believing that ONLY a babykilling jewhating subhuman psychopath could ever POSSIBLY oppose and protest palestinians being sexually assaulted and humiliated in detention centers, murdered and treated as second class citizens in their own homes. it was never about religion (let me ask you if you have found it in your hollow heart to even read this far: do you truly think it is impossible for jewishness, for jewish joy and community to flourish without the blood of arabs on their hands? is that so outlandish to you, that you are so hellbent on seeing a word where jewish people are constantly that unsafe, that they lack homes, communities, safe havens, or the basic ability or agency to reach out for help and connection? do they really need to be sealed away in israel to shelter them from the rest of the nations where millions have already established meaningful lives? do you really think all jews are zionists and those who dont want to see palestinians killed for simply being born here are selfhating and deluded? do you think that zionists really care about holocaust survivors and nonwhite jews? again, please research before speaking on matters that may be out of your usual scope of fandom content...). it was just about eliminating as many palestinians as possible while the world turned a blind eye. israel was built on the mass killing and exodus of palestinians and the sustained oppression of the native population, and youll probably never understand this. but we can see. more than ever, we can see. if you did actually manage to read this youve already done more than most zionists ever have to understand how the average innocent palestinian suffers. i dont expect to have changed your mind on the conflict at all, really, but i do hope youll at least stop trying to tackle global conflicts the same way you post about media consumption. this is inconceivably real blood being shed, lives being ruined, and youre posting about it like youre giving your take on a cartoon or videogame. you dont even have to respond to this ask. just please consider stopping and sticking to fandom.

That is one HELL of an essay that I have no intention of reading given you started it talking about the "Gazan genocide" (a genocide is not happening) and tried to say I painted all Palestinians as barbaric terrorists who colluded to lie about thousands of civilian deaths.

You literally ignored what I actually said to create a straw man that supported your idea that I don't understand racial conflict and racial power dynamics (Israel vs Palestine is not a race issue, you freak, they're literally two groups of POC, their race means nothing, at MOST their nationality is the issue. XD) so yeah, fuck off. :P I'm not wasting my time on a straw-manner who is also a big fucking racist. :P deny that if you want, but you wouldn't be trying to argue "power dynamics" if it was someone being racist to black people, even if it was taking place in Africa.

[wildissylupus]

I, for one, would like to see how you'd make Emily into a chatacter both in canon and in Mirrorwatch, both in terms of lore for why she's fighting and her abilities.

In regards to canon I would keep her as a civilian, in the data logs it's very obvious that her character was being set up to be a window into civilian life during the invasion, which is good because we need that connection to the publics reactions. How human and Omnic relations are affected by the Invasion. There is also the obvious of making her and Moira related, add some complexity and knowledge to her character that not a lot of the characters wouldn't have. I would mainly characterize this as a dislike of her aunt but having more complicated feelings about the situation, possibly even make her entire family situation complicated? It would kinda explain her lack of connection outside of Tracer. Speaking of which, I would also have her have connections to other OW members that are not reliant on her being Lena's girlfriend (like her and Genji being friends cause I find their dynamic cute).

Another thing I would do is make her a very artsy person, not only because it opens the door to her character outside of Tracer, but it furthers the parallels between her and Amelie. Speaking of which, I would have history repeat itself here, I would have Emily be kidnapped by Talon at some point, I would have her put up a pretty good fight, and I would have her be rescued before Talon could even try to brainwash her, mainly because Widow wouldn't want someone else to go through that pain.

Also she's an absolute dork and is in a bunch of fandom spaces.

As for MW!Emily I'd keep all of what I just wrote the same, only changing when the accident with Lena happens. After Lena disappears and then reappears as a Talon agent, Emily is devastated. She's also angry, angry that Overwatch didn't try more, angry that they aren't even trying to help her now even though what's happening is their fault. So she steals some Overwatch tech, mainly some of her Aunt Moira's tech. She then goes on the hunt, both for Lena herself and a way to fully help her with her chronal dissociation. I like to think she's more of a neutral force.

Not on Talon or Overwatch's side, sometimes her motivations align more with one side or the other but she's usually on her own. Though as a future plot point I could see her being directed to MW!Junkertown by either MW!Sombra or MW!Cassidy, where she meets MW!Winston and finally gets not only the chronal accelerator (my hc is that MW!Tracer is using a modified chronal anchor, which was a prototype of the chronal accelerator in canon, which also makes MW!Lena's state a lot more unstable) but also that separate chronal accelerator that allows Lena to remain in the present with her being physically separate from her accelerator.

[laylawatermelon]

The Tennis Throuple Is A Triangle

(a slightly unstable one but one nonetheless)

Spoilers below (first watch)

Tashi is the top at the center.

She is the love of their lives. In a way both of them end up for her.

Art exists for serving her (as seen as he wasn't on her level in the bed scene).

Patrick exists for challenging her. She hates him for viewing himself as her peer (when you get two dominant personality types...) but respects and lusts after him nonetheless.

Art is loved by both of them.

As Art is more of a submissive kind of personality type (granted very manipulative he is still a wealthy white boy) it displays in different ways.

Patrick's love is fine and soft, due to their shared history. His dynamic is similar to Art and Tashi's.

In return Art is then soft for both of them due to his nature. He is also incredibly selfish at times but then again he's human🤷🏾‍♀️.

Tashi allows herself to be vulnerable with Art unlike Patrick because she feels safe/comfortable with him because he isn't a challenger.

He usually does what she wants and worships her.

(ah yes this is reminiscent of Japanese shows about love and obsession... My beautiful man I'm looking at you another toxic ish worship dynamic)

This is evident of him acknowledging her as Jesus. He literally views her as his diety that he's lucky enough to obtain (god this really resembles that dynamic in my beautiful man).

Meanwhile the two more dominant personality types clean constantly.

It's say Patrick's dominance towards him it's more caring and soft like you can rely on me, while Tashi's is you better really on yourself but I do love you. Sometimes (🤣)

I love her she's a savage.

Tashi and Patrick reflect each other in the best and worst ways. They understand each other as passionate to get what you want and keep moving forward.

Art had always persued love, shown in his focus on Tashi and Patrick on the championship she'd won.

It was kind of obvious who'd end up with what in the end.

Patrick will fight with fried teeth until the end to get what he wants. Fire.

Art will do anything for the one he loves. Ice.

And Tashi will do both.

She will achieve the best in both love and work as that's what she's always wanted.

Tennis is the most important thing to her yes, but she also has the capacity to use it as a communication tool.

She even said it herself that it's a relationship that everything falls away. In the last match she feel in love with made them special in the first place.

Fire and Ice working in harmony.

I honestly smiled at the end as they got into the relationship and she got into the the game.

She was interested in both at the beginning as she recognized them as they were able to give her a good game of tennis.

Now I'm the present that they're all together they now have the same dynamic as the beginning.

She enjoys a good match (heehee voyeuristic Queen love that for you) that she sets up and seeing a game play out in front of her eyes.

Patrick wants to connect (and dominate) and Challenge Art like they used to.

And Art just wants to be Loved. He wants to love and be loved. He'll follow them both to the ends of the earth because he believes in them.

And in return they believe in him. Both on different levels/avenues on life but their relationship is unstable without three of them present.

They've been constant in each other's conversations, both metaphorically and literally.

They're obsessed with each other and that's why they work.

They're messy but at least they challenge each other to be better.

Whichever form that takes.

[hyperactivewhore]

Hello, so a couple of things I wanted to address regarding your takes on Hope and the Mikaelson family. So, I don't take anything from TO or Legacies as face value. I didn't even watch Legacies, because I was over TVD universe by that point. And I didn't even finish TVD or TO, because of how unbearingly bad they got. But I know enough about how the rest of the show turned out to give my take on things too. 

For a show that was supposed to be centered around redeeming Klaus and Hope being the source of redemption for the Mikaelson family, the writers failed miserably in that aspect. For one, they rewrote history, retconned their entire backstory, and made the characters incredibly out of character. Worst thing the writers could've done. There was no redemption or character development whatsoever for anyone. In fact, everyone got worse and became more unlikable as the seasons went on. 

You're saying Rebekah and Freya would've been terrible mothers and claiming that they were bitter, jealous, and resentful of Hope or even of their own kids, when we never saw anything that supports that notion. And it's unfair you single out the women in the Mikaelson family, but say nothing whatsoever about the Mikaelson men, who were just as unfit and unstable to be a parent or have any child under their care. How do you justify saying Rebekah and Freya would've been bad mothers, but justify Klaus and Hayley's shitty parenting? 

If we're gonna call a spade a spade, Hayley was the very definition of a terrible mother. She constantly endangered herself and Hope while she was pregnant and even after she gave birth and just pawned her kid off to Eve or whoever else to involve herself in dangerous situations she really had no business getting involved in, when she could've been there with Hope. Same with Klaus, he most definitely wasn't father of the year. And there's also all the times they neglected Hope as a baby countless times and would often leave her alone during the most dangerous situations too.

If Rebekah and Freya didn't deserve to be mothers or to have a chance at a normal human life, Hayley and Klaus deserved it even less. Overall, I don't get why you or anyone else are so surprised at the Mikaelsons turning out to be deadbeats and abandoning Hope, when their entire family history and dysfunctional family dynamic speaks for itself. You even pointed it out yourself, that the Mikaelson family are unstable. So, why so surprised at this outcome? What else did you expect? And that's the epitome of why having a spinoff about the Mikaelsons centered around a baby of all things failed miserably. It was the worst mistake the writers could've made and the worst route the writers could've gone.

I'll make sure to let this clear for anyone who decides to read through: I didn't finish The Vampire Diaries, I only got to watch season five before the plot bored me and I just watched season one and half of season two of Legacies, but I have read enough over the years and I know all that happens in the three shows, what characters appear and etc.

Is funny how you complain about the Mikaelson and company being "out of character" as if they hadn't been already ooc in season three. Klaus loved witches and the writers completely erased that from his character because recognizing it would mean having him go for Bonnie. Caroline was mean before turning into a vampire, and if they had followed the established lore and canon of vampirism, she would have been just worse than she was as a human instead of the preppy girl she turned into. They completely trashed Elena's character to have her fall for Damon and forget about Stefan, so the fact that you're complaining about this sounds like just an excuse to shit on both shows.

I don't know why you're so pressed about Hope's existence. I have never said she was her family's redemption, I have always said she wasn't and that it was completely unfair of Elijah to put that burden on a baby. She was a plothole and I have stated that her character shouldn't have been made no matter how loved she is. But saying she had no impact on her family is stupid: Hope didn't made them stop being monsters, that's true, but she played a big part on making them change themselves.

Her existence forced her father to stop seeing only for himself, she united Klaus and Rebekah after they literally tried to kill each other by making Bex look after her when she was only a baby, Elijah finally stopped taking his brother's side in everything and she made their toxic codependent relationships slightly better. But at the end of the day, Hope was just a kid and a kid would never erase a thousand years of trauma, abuse and toxicity. It's true, she wasn't her family's redemption but she's the only reason why they stopped being shitty to each other.

There is evidence of why Rebekah would be a bad mother, just see how she behaves around children/teenagers. Marcel was ten and she groomed him, the moment her niece grew up and she couldn't play house with her any longer she left her in the dust, all while remembering how she spent "glorious months covered in dirt" because she spent less than a year with her as a baby and that is what she wanted, a baby, not a child, and just look at how she acted with Elena and Caroline. Rebekah was jealous of both of them, she was jealous of Hayley and Freya herself even made a joke about how she would be jealous of their own niece - it was about how she would stay nineteen forever hence beauty forever, but my point remains.

Rebekah would be a bad mother as far as we know in canon because everything suggests that. She's a child herself, just seventeen and her brain isn't even fully developed yet: she's easily jealous, tends to have emotional issues and has a low self esteem. What would be weird is that she wouldn't be jealous and a bad mother to her child, not otherwise. I love her, but she is a bad person and doesn't deserve to be a mom.

Freya is literally the same. She was traumatized with the child she lost and she viewed him/her on Hope, but she never gave a damn about making sure her seven years old niece didn't grow up traumatized and she completely forgot about her the moment Nik was born so yes, this information is enough for me to think she would be a bad mother. And look at what she did to Davina, who was barely eighteen.

The Mikaelson didn't and still don't deserve a normal happy life simply because they aren't good persons. They would be shitty parents, the two canon parents we have (Klaus and Freya) are bad parents and they don't even know how to behave around teenagers.

Saying Hayley is a bad mother is wild. Did you want her to stay home with Jackson while her daughter's family was being attacked every time they breathed? Hayley never put herself in a dangerous situation while pregnant willingly, it was always people coming after her and their child because she was carrying a Mikaelson kid. I don't know how she "pawned" her kid to somebody else to go help the Mikaelson, she was fighting with them because once again, they were Hope's family. She made some shitty choices, yes, but she was stuck in the most dangerous family to ever exist and the only way out was death: she never had the chance to decide if she actually wanted to have Hope. Both Elijah and Klaus forced it on her, they never asked her if she wanted an abortion and it was quite clear she would have died if she tried getting one.

I guess you pulled all of this information from your ass, because I never justified Klaus’s shitty parenting; I've always said time and time again he was a bad father, and I never said I was surprised at the Mikaelson being deadbeats when they already were in The Originals.

I don't know why you say the show "failed miserably" when it didn't: the rankings are good, it was nominated for awards a plenty of times and it is the favorite show of more than half of the fandom.

[pacific-rimbaud]

Thank you SO MUCH for your panville works. I find it therapeutic to read the caring and deeply loving dynamic you embed in them. Also love how you deal with Pansy's background and trauma. While she is by no means unprivileged, I think her wounds resonate deeply with anyone for whom parental love was unstable in childhood. Your writing inspires me so much. I hope you know the positive impact you have on fellow internet strangers. Fr I've reread a dress with pockets more times I care to admit and RoT is on its 3rd re read because it helps me deal with shitty days.

I have two questions regarding your own visualization of the characters in RoT that may fall out of the scope of the actual story (I imagine you might not delve into these too much even if you do have an idea of them in your head)

1. Do you imagine Pansy's mother's own trauma too, when you write? Like what are the wounds that made her such a cold/unloving parent to Pansy?

Ive been thinking of it as being classic objectification of pureblood women for future marriage. Like Pansy's mother never wanted to have a child but was forced to because she's a woman and that's her duty. Would you agree with this or is she a much more sinister character?

2. In what concrete ways would you say Pansy's strengths complemented Neville's weaknesses when they began dating? We see their relationship in a super specific context where they are in their late 20s but Pansy's growth got somewhat reverted to her teenage/younger years (so it makes complete sense we see her mostly being taken care of by Neville!!). But I ask because Harry's witty response to Pansy regarding Neville "deserving what he wants" made me feel a bit sad.

Like I get that Neville's a lot more emotionally sound than she is, but I guess it made me think about whether Pansy's life is "earned" beyond her trying to be better just for Neville's sake.

I imagine her fierce protectiveness of those she loves and her ability to set boundaries without taking people's shit must have been very attractive to a younger Neville?

Sorry if this question is too obvious. I think it hits close. I relate with Pansy's trauma and waking up one day as Neville's wife would indeed feel like heaven (thank you again Harry!). But I could not imagine being able to correspond to a love like that in ways that society traditionally categorizes as love.

Much love. Thank you again for sharing your beautiful brain with us xx

Thank you so much for reading! Truly so appreciative that anyone takes the time to follow a novel-length rare pair fic.

Answers under the cut!

Pansy's mother did not want kids. Full stop. Her father was indifferent to the idea, but definitely didn't want to marry Pansy's mother. My headcanon is that Pansy's mother had an ill-advised fling with Pansy's entitled rake of a father as a young woman, became pregnant, and was compelled to enter into a miserable, lonely marriage and raise a child she had absolutely no affection for. Pansy's father was interested when he chose to be, which wasn't often. Nonexistent or unreliable attachment all around. And so it's clear, this characterization isn't an excuse or attempted explanation for Pansy's cruelty as a child. I've known many casually cruel children over the years. It's not at all unusual. Heartbreaking and yet garden variety example: a few socioeconomically privileged kids in my son's class recently approached another group of children, some of whom have serious challenges at home, and told them that their mothers didn't love them as much as their mothers. Kids can be mind-bogglingly vicious people, even with the "right" parenting. They're kids! Their brains aren't fully cooked yet. Moving the empathy needle and fostering healthy culture in a school requires skillful adult intervention, which obviously was not happening at Hogwarts. Pansy's upbringing in this story is an explanation for why she struggles to be vulnerable, why she's so deeply haunted by a history of feeling unlovable, and why the prospect of motherhood in general and an unplanned pregnancy in particular carries a special horror for her. Basically what makes your second question a little tricky to answer....

...because she's such an unreliable witness to her own life in this. I love fanon Pansy more than anything. She's abrasive, sometimes filterless, terrifyingly perceptive, doesn't suffer fools. Which I just love so much. She's someone who cannot be other than herself, and that self is often pretty spiky. But if someone can get inside, she's also unrestrained in her tenderness. Once Pansy is on your side, you're ride or die. She'd do anything for you. Definitely would help you bury a body. And what I deeply love about Panville is that Neville gets to go further: he gets the innermost parts of her, which truly are so, so sweet and open and loving. She's an incredible partner. Neville has it made and knows it. And to try to answer your question, I don't tend to think about what they bring to the table, or whether anyone "deserves" anything, which is the error Pansy keeps making. I see them very much in the vein of, "I was in the middle before I knew I that I had begun." They're the catching feelings pair, whether it's friends to lovers or casual hook up to something more, because absolutely no way does she ever go into anything at all intending to be vulnerable. But he has the intuition of someone used to paying attention from the sidelines. He's curious. There's something there. He doesn't know what it is, but he'd like to. With enough patience, she unfurls. It's about the power of attentiveness and the inexplicable magic of deep connection. The payoff for Neville risking getting close enough to Pansy to peek inside is a spiky little wife who can't get enough of him in bed, has a full life of her own with passions and interests and relationships and is also deeply invested in their domestic happiness. She is profoundly, unswervingly in his corner. She sees and knows him. The payoff for Pansy risking her heart is this beautiful, kind, loyal man who adores her and whose sensibilities and preferences perfectly align with her own practical nature. He also happens to make great scones. Neither of them grew up understanding what they have was even possible, and I hope it's clear in the story that they both deserve every minute of it. 💜

[leprosycock]

If I’m trying to dip my toes into writing jlud fics, is there anything you think should be highlighted in their dynamic, I’ve never written real people before, so I’m worried they may come off as OOC

i think having a history of writing rpf in general does help you portray real people a little better, but even if you've only written fic based on movies or tv, then you really just have to study and think about the way real people talk. none of it is carefully orchestrated or prewritten or flowery or anything like that. real people use lots of filler words and phrases like "uh", "ah", "um", "like", "yeah", "i mean", "you know", so on and so forth. they stutter. they fumble. j stutters a lot, usually because he talks very quickly and his mouth can't keep up with his brain and he short-circuits when he's placed into unfamiliar situations.

a lot of people make the mistake that lud is inherently domineering and suave and super alpha and he always knows what he's doing, which isn't true. he's able to fake confidence VERY well and he tries to make up a lot of his personality so he can mask his vulnerability and sell himself as a product to others, but he's easily broken through because he wants SO badly to be loved and praised and coddled. at the same time, he also has the capacity to be very cruel and snide and shitty on purpose and he doesn't really care about hurting people's feelings. all of these spawn from him being a miserable, unstable, spoiled manchild. he's very mean to jrma in between glorifying him, constantly diving between these two extremes depending on his mood and what his current perception of jrma is. he acts out and expects everyone to put up with it and doesn't care when people don't. j usually puts up with it no matter what because he hates himself and needs so badly to stay in lud's good graces. unless he sees lud being mean to somebody else. then he'll scold him for it.

they absolutely and thoroughly adore each other and they've been following each other's exploits closely for years. lud has been watching jrma ever since he was at asu and jrma has been watching lud from a similar timeframe. the first time j ever shouted him out and thanked him for raids was all the way back in 2018. they're VERY familiar with each other from a voyeuristic standpoint; j listens to the yard and watches a fuckton of his streams and lud regularly looks up and watches jrma clips along with a bunch of his streams too. they both look up to each other so much. lud looks up to j because he sees him as a mentor, an artist, and a father/teacher figure, and j looks up to lud because he also sees him as an artist and so fucking cool and slick and handsome and he's awed by and jealous of the success he's achieved at such a young age. they both want very, very badly to be liked by each other but their own mental blocks that they have put in place makes it so that they can't see how crazy the other one is about them. j because he can't stand himself, and lud because he's constantly playing 4d chess with everyone in his life.

j is VERY needy, physically and emotionally, when they interact with each other in real life. he doesn't feel the need to interact with others or make more friends. he wants lud to be around him and talk to him and hype him up. and once they do find each other again, they talk easily and comfortably for ages and ages because they have a ton in common. they both seem to ignore the strange obstacles that both of them tend to throw up around each other because it's so much easier to be the best of friends than it is to talk about their feelings at all. they don't admit things to each other. they don't talk about things deeper. they just exist in each other's vicinities and grab at each other and try to steal pieces for themselves.

all in all, watch their streams and see how their relationship has developed over time and listen well. some key streams to watch are the replacement stream, bro v bro, name your price, juiced, beerio kart, and risk, because they're all wildly different and they all uniquely showcase aspects of their relationship that you can pull from.

[hell-heron]

One of my stupid little creation history theories is that GRRM had some sort of wildly different plan for Theon's mom which he scrapped because

1) Mellario and Alannys both are to me laughably obviously cases of 'theres no room for another player in this dysfunctional dynamic nor for any safe and loving figure, but ugh the amount of moms killed in childbirth is getting ridiculous so more or less exiled and more or less unstable it is'. One wonders if that was the plan from the start though given that he committed himself to Alannys being alive much earlier in the game when he might still have chosen to idk, kill her off and keep Brienne's mom instead assuming thats the reasoning

2) Only with her sister, no Rodrik mentioned, in fact the ACOK appendix mentions a lord Harlaw but does not say what the relation with Alannys is... Wonder if Gwynesse was supposed to be the figure that would be a supporting important-ish character but GRRM then chose to make it Rodrik bc he felt it wouldn't be realistic for Asha to have the support of an intellectual aunt with serious influence, in light of her power struggles against sexism... To this I say boooo

3) even if (as we can interpret her words in light of what the situation shown in AFFC is, seriously girl why) Asha Is doing some concealing of her mother's state to Theon for pride/shame/pettiness of wanting to test if Theon will spontaneously go visit her etc, this is kind of a wild extent to take it to. I'm sure admitting she has some grief for her two dead children wouldn't be outlandish and revealing. I don't know if GRRM was here implying she doesn't and thus suggesting her also being a player of the Greyjoy little circus of horror VS an ex safe and loving figure, but that would have been so interesting to me :(

[wyluvbot]

ok so having just finished Sword Catcher…here are some of my random thoughts or things I want for book 2! *spoilers may be ahead* first and foremost. i loved this book so much!! the plot and characters were all really well done and i can’t wait for book 2!

now…

- the king. he’s presented as being mentally unstable??? like he’s just in his tower all day w the stars and his advisor, but is he actually? bc during some interactions w kel and later in the story he seems perfectly lucid. or at least less unstable w some possible anger issues? he has a lot of strength, he’s flinging people around and stuff so. idk. he’s a bit of a mystery to me. and also, was he even into the astronomy stuff and was he seeing true visions from the stars? or was it just BS being fed by fausten? (was fausten telling the truth or was he an imposter? and for what?) i also want more background of the king and andreyen, how did they even connect?

- i loved ji-an, merren, and andreyen’s dynamic so much and i want to know more!! how did andreyen save ji-an? what’s their history? i just really want to know more about those two and i want more merren content in general bc i really liked his character.

- i saw a theory saying andreyen could be the exiled son of the maharam and i really like that idea.

- jerrod. along w the theory of andreyen I saw someone saying that Kel’s friend Cas from the orphanage could be jerrod and that’s why Jerrod didn’t kill Kel when he had the chance and also why he wears a mask. I think there could be some merit to it, but idk…wouldn’t Kel recognize Jerrod if he was Cas? I know it’s been years and people change but idk. If they were truly best friends in their early years you’d think he’d know him. But I like the theory!

- more on Jerrod. I really liked him from what I read and I want to know more about him and Ji-an. It’s kinda hinted they know each other pretty well? Merren was even teasing Ji-an about knowing Jerrod’s preferred meeting places (tho I could be wrong) so it makes me think they have a past. I want to know if Jerrod ever went to the Ragpicker King to see about a job, if he’s part of the crew in book 2 I would really like to see the changed dynamic.

- I totally thought Mayesh would die. I don’t know why but I felt like something was gonna happen to him after he was interested in showing Lin the ropes…I can still see it happening tbh.

- Conor and Lin. I was thinking Kel/Lin was gonna happen and then she and Conor interacted and I was obsessed w them. The dynamic, the scenes, it was all great and I want to see more of them. The way people kept mentioning Story-Spinner tales of princes falling for girls like her (not Ashkar but still) and then she kept saying she wouldn’t marry him and stuff. It just all made me think that yes she will? Like he’s gonna do something and marry an Ashkar to show everyone they are human beings and worthy of respect? Idk how but I’d be interested in seeing that journey.

- Kel and Antonetta. Kel and Vienne? Kel and Merren? He had chemistry with everyone and I want to see his relationships develop. I want to know if Ana will betray him bc it’s been established that the charter families can’t be trusted and she’s obviously secretive. Vienne was really interesting and I don’t 100% think she’s dead because that was super sudden, and she had a character fanart which multiple others didn’t when they had bigger roles. (Poor Luisa 💔).

- Conor and Kel. Ok so what will Conor think about Kel’s connection to Andreyen? To Prosper Beck? Idk I want to know why whoever said that Conor will loathe Kel eventually bc Kel does/has something Conor wants. I really want to know about that. Maybe related to Lin?

- Merren reminded me a lot of Wylan Van Eck, so I do want to see more of merren being that mixture of innocent looking/dangerous.

- The whole “this is the start of the end of House Aurelian” thing was so good, I need to know what it means … what did they get themselves into

- the whole war with Sarthe, will there actually be a war? who’s gonna die 😭😭 and along those lines, how is Lin gonna pull off being adassa’s reincarnation? I think she totally will be in the end but as of right now she’s not…so…

- Is Lin being the Goddess returned going to bring her into the spotlight and in the palace’s attention now? Maybe more scenes of her and Conor being forced together? I’d be into that ngl

[beneathsilverstars]

3 and 11 for the ISAT ask game

3- favorite soundtrack?

"It's Finally Over..."! It's 100% the track that stuck out to me the most while playing. That little bit of uncanniness... I can't tell if it's actually a teensy bit out-of-tune in that music box way or just using unexpected note combos or what, but it's obvious that something is ever-so-slightly off.

I almost chose "Isn't It Over?" but no — It's true that "It's Finally Over" wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't building up to the subsequent track, but it's specifically the build-up that I love. The absolute dread of knowing exactly what comes next and that there is nothing you can do to avoid it. You've already spoken to each companion, and again for the this-npc-is-out-of-dialogue line, and again for good measure. You've already sat on the bench, looked out the window. You've already desperately checked the exit one last time. You're just standing there listening to that horribly sweet little song and you just want it to be over already but you don't want to end it. you don't want to end it. you don't want to end it. but that's the only thing left that you can do.

It is such a well-done part of the game and the music is so perfect and makes it all the more powerful! Plus I just love pluck-y instruments like music boxes and harps haha.

11- any character headcanons?

Hmm... I headcanon that Pétronille is bipolar with psychotic symptoms! The other day I joked that I could knock out two post-canon birds with one stone by making Nille a licensed psychotherapist, but it was definitely a joke. Buut... if she's got some kinda shit going on, then she can still bring another perspective on mental health to the post-canon table, which is so useful, esp if it's a very different experience from Mirabelle's. I still haven't decided exactly what I want to give Siffrin, but definitely something with an element of psychosis, so with this Nille hc there will be someone in the party who gets the psychotic side, along with Mirabelle who gets the social anxiety.

Since Nille's nearly a blank slate, I went with bipolar because it's something I'm more familiar with (though I don't have it myself, I'm just a depressanxiety bitch). Being able to clearly picture the things she'd struggle with made her suddenly feel like a full-fledged character in my mind that I could have opinions on and make plans for! I'm particularly invested in the dynamic of her being a solo caretaker and having to get up each morning and keep being a stable presence for her sibling no matter how unstable she's feeling herself. It's fucking hard, but she had help, and you don't have to be perfect to do well enough, and she did quite well enough in the end!

I haven't decided my exact headcanons here yet, but since mood disorders can be hereditary, there's also a chance that a family history of mental health struggles contributed to the toxic household she ran away from. Breaking the cycle or whatever! I imagine she might get psychotically fixated on not fucking up the way her parents fucked up, worried that running away wasn't enough and the rot will follow their family forever. 😔 And then there's also a chance that Bonnie would have inherited it as well, and I love the idea of Bonnie growing up familiar with all of this mental health shit and by the time their own disorder starts manifesting they know exactly what it is and a variety of techniques for managing it. It's still difficult, but they have a much easier time than Nille did, and everyone is so fucking grateful that they're able to be there for Bonnie (and Nille) and help them live their best lives! And it turns out, Nille being mentally ill didn't prevent her from being a good caretaker for Bonnie - it actually made her the best possible caretaker for this child in particular.