#i am not into it nor do ship them but i am like “oh okay sure!”. and. huh. i literally drew them too. because it was fun.

[erabu-san]

What ships with Tighnari would you consider?

i won't tell anything because I am scared of being cooked

[writing-for-life]

Ok, I’m not going to get involved in a certain thread because I don’t want any drama and the line of argumentation leans too much to one side already (the views of the vocal majority in this fandom) for it to make much sense to contribute, but I had a few thoughts today:

In a fandom where people write AUs full of cows and merpeople and other shenanigans that have nothing to do with canon (or the actual characters, to be frank), they can’t do that for Calliope (or any other female character, for that matter)?

She doesn’t get to play in the sandbox?

We don’t have the imagination to turn her into one of the two dolls that kiss?

We have to keep her in character while everyone else can be turned into… whatever person (certainly neither the one of the comics nor the show)?

We constantly have to remember her strife and trauma and can’t invent (!, that’s what writing is about!) a different or new side to her? Or a better future? One in which she gets to be happy?

Or we can’t turn her into someone she canonically isn’t?

While all of this always, always works for Dream? Or the hairy guy?

And speaking of said guy: Do we have any reason to think Dream would treat him better than Nada? We’re automatically assuming he’d do the same thing to Calliope, but not to him? Or: Why do we assume he would do what he did to Nada to any other love interest, because canonically, there’s no evidence for that (we wrote about this on here before)? So no, that line of argument just doesn’t fly in my view.

If Calliope and Dream have chemistry and people are able to acknowledge it (which most do), that on its own is enough to ship them. The chemistry argument works with every M/M ship. Why doesn’t it work with her?

Oh, she is allowed in gen fics (and I am a fan of those btw, but that’s past the point), or as a character with very little agency, or any personal or sexual desires. Even better if she serves the ship. That’s okay of course, I forgot. Reminds me of most of the women of the Sandman—I wonder why.

I just wish people would give the honest reason without going through all the mental gymnastics of why Dreamuse is not an interesting (or even bad or problematic) ship, and the other one is the best invention since sliced bread:

They want to see/imagine two guys together.

There, I said it, it wasn’t hard. It’s really as simple as that in fandom, it’s a predictable fantasy, and it’s the same in every fandom. The Sandman isn’t any different.

M/F ships are frowned upon because they’re “heteronormative”, and yet, (mostly) women proceed to project (mostly) heteronormative relationship dynamics on two guys of which they fancy at least one and use the other to project themselves on. Sometimes, they fancy both of them and get more of what they have the hots for. Good for them, there’s nothing wrong with it. We have oodles of research by now why some women prefer M/M porn; it’s not earth-shattering, groundbreaking or “queer-positive” (it sometimes fetishises homosexuality though, but that’s a different topic). It’s been like that since at least the times of Spirk, and probably longer. It’s actually a fairly (dare I utter the word on here?) straight female sexual fantasy. The queer-positivity everyone is so enamoured with is more than, and not singularly limited to, shipping M/M—as a bisexual woman, I personally can’t identify with that line of thinking at all, but other people’s mileage might vary…

If people are into smutty/explicit fanfic , that’s just how it works: Some women project on a female body while imagining to get railed by a guy, others prefer to imagine two guys because they fancy men. Again: Nothing wrong with it, but it’s also not as deep as people often pretend it is.

Yes, I wrote about that one before as well. That’s why I can do it again—“once your reputation is ruined” and all that 🤣

It’s ok to be horny for two guys without turning it into a brain-contorting statement every time.

It’s also okay to reflect on the wider implications of completely erasing women from EVERY fandom, especially if you identify as one.

Edited on May 27 since it’s obviously necessary:

If people’s main takeaway from this post is that it’s about criticising fetishising homosexuality, they clearly have a reading comprehension problem and should read it again. “Sometimes” doesn’t mean “always”, plus it wasn’t even a main point. I even said that fancying m/m is a fairly middle-of-the-road-fantasy, and that there’s nothing wrong with it. The internalised misogyny that shows in people who think they are “saving women from men” by completely erasing them from the narrative and only centering men is a different topic, but these two things aren’t the same.

If people’s main response to this post is, “Then write your own stuff,” they also have a reading comprehension problem and did not get at all what this is about. It’s also the slightly old getting standard response to anything that invites critical thinking, but that one isn’t all that surprising anymore. The assumption people aren’t writing their own stuff is also a bit… silly? But I imagine that misconception is down to the fact that those people never check any tags beyond one or two, and certainly never any that involve female characters. [And to say it quite frankly: That some people wrote verbatim, “If you want Dream and Calliope to fuck so badly, write it yourself,” just shows me that they’re incapable of viewing anything but through a sex/smut lens. Good for you, kids, your world sounds so exciting *slow clap*. But maybe don’t project your thirst on everyone else.]

Some people in the OP this was about even made good points, and I didn’t criticise any of those because they are true.

This post is about the double standards people apply when they say why one ship (m/m) is more successful than the other (m/f):

Trauma? Never a problem when it’s Dream.

Relationship that somehow “shouldn’t work”? Never a problem in tropes like enemies to lovers and many others that are totally used for thee ship. Or with two people (read: men) they really want to see together.

Bending a character beyond recognition or giving them a totally different backstory, because that would solve the “relationship has run its course”-issue? Never a problem with the two guys who can be anything from a cow to a mafia boss. But the women? Nope, we have to remember their trauma and strife, keep them exactly as in the source material and protect their sacredness by completely ignoring them.

Still don’t get that this is not about a ship per se but the erasure of all women from stories bar being cheerleaders for thee m/m ship in some way? Okay, then that one’s really beyond anything I can explain, although I think some people just like to consciously misrepresent stuff or really don’t do anything but skim-read. That’s not on me I guess…

[piracytheorist]

Episode 35 screaming notes!

So what if I'm emotional over a fictional, fake family spending one day of vacations together?

I love Twilight's comment about how he's glad the SSS is looking out for the bombing threat (and we know it's in vain), but it still puts him on edge to be stared at like this. He trusts them to protect civilian life (and Ostania's pride and joy of a ship) but he doesn't trust trust them, you get what I mean?

We shan't forget. The one thing this man can't pretend to be is someone who is having genuine fun and we'll drag his ass about it and then cry because this is a direct result of his traumatic childhood

Loid blushing when he spots Yor is so precious. I think it might be him blushing half because she saw his dorky skipping and half because… well. He might be falling in love :)

He notices the swelling on Yor's face, but I think he wouldn't even suspect her at this point. He sounded mostly worried about her.

And of course, Anya wasn't plaguing her with questions because she knows all, but it's funny that neither went like "Isn't our super curious five six-year-old going to ask where this bruise and swelling is from?"

SCREAMS

The following montage was absolutely adorable, and the insert song just made it even cuter. I love how it was Anya who lead them to each activity; neither Loid nor Yor had to drag her around anywhere, their attention was on her and on what she wanted. They even explored a cave! She was their priority, she truly must have had an amazing time and this is such a sweet way to end this cruise!

I mean, look. One of the ways Twilight learns how to parent is by fearing 24/7 that his daughter may fall. Very normal things.

Maybe it's because I'm the youngest child, so whenever we were out as a family and I asked to do something my parents would usually decline, because they had two more kids to look after and a place to go, but I have a lot of appreciation for the Forgers going around the resort and stopping to do whatever and anything Anya asked to do.

Very normal man who is definitely not an elite-trained spy trying to fit in. Normal things.

And like. Okay. Yor looking at Anya with such a soft face as Anya is having pure unrestrained fun is one thing.

BUT THEN THEY HIT US WITH THIS???

OH MY GOD. MY GOD. THIS MAN IS IN LOVE AND HE HAS NO FUCKING CLUE.

Like, for real. I can't stop looking at this. It's just his eyes but there's so much longing and yearning in them and also some sadness because deep down he thinks that what he wants is something he'll never get but this is really deep because it'll take him about three to five business years to accept he's grown feelings.

Like. It's not just "growing feelings" anymore. You don't look at someone like THIS when you're just "warming up" to them. He'd grown so accustomed to life with the Forgers that after Yor was away - though in the very same ship as them - for a couple of days he went all yearning looks and doe-y eyes at her when he met with her again. He's in LOVE.

I am so excited to see how their dynamic will develop from now on! It's gone on an entirely new page!

Anyway. I love how Yor went like "Oh they might see the wound on my chest" for the snorkeling but when she saw they could wear wetsuits she went like oh that's okay then and DIDN'T WORRY AT ALL ABOUT THE FACT THAT SHE'D GET SALTWATER ON HER WOUNDS. THIS WOMAN EATS HOT COALS FOR BREAKFAST AND WHITE HOT IRONS FOR LUNCH.

I mean, I'm guessing she is a fast healer and her wounds are not openly bleeding anymore but still. Hardcore.

And of course she'd beat the shit out of sharks. It's funny seeing the trio try to come up with excuses now but I think it's going to be a different type of good post-reveal, cause they'll be like "I have nothing to hide" and act on their abilities without a single moment of hesitation. Imagine Yor beating up sharks and Loid and Anya looking at her with heart eyes.

Aw, but look at them snorkeling. It's Yor who is holding Anya. I wonder what Yor's thinking is on that since she thinks that Loid is Anya's biological father and has been longer in her life. I doubt she thinks anything bad about Loid, but it is something that would make someone wonder.

I was so impressed by everything in the episode up until that point that I completely missed what the dialogue there was XD I only had more thoughts after I rewatched it.

Anya is having fun looking at the colourful fish. Yor has hunting in mind. Loid is… not impressed XD

Though very light, this could be a reflection of their characters. Anya is a child full of curiosity for the world, easily impressed by new stuff; she loved the aquarium, and she loved seeing new fish from up close.

Yor's encounters with animals were either for hunting (for food) or with guard dogs from people she was sent to kill. She understands the concept of pet animals, of course, but it seems to be a "secret third option", as tumblr would say. Her first instincts are either hunting or fighting, and since those fish were too small to be any threat (I mean, she's confident about fighting sharks), her mind went to food.

And then you have Loid. His wide knowledge of the world has rendered him almost incapable of getting impressed. There's nothing new for him to learn in anything… except for child rearing, of course. And maybe human connection. And so, he seems to be looking at those two in the last shot.

Just like Gram, Anya gets thrown around by a professional, super strong assassin and she just goes like "Again!" And Loid doesn't even make a comment about Yor pushing Anya too strong. He really took to heart and meant it when he told Yor that her being strong is one of the things that make her an amazing mother.

AND THEN THAT SCENE

I had guessed right, as Yor had indeed not rested at all for the entire three days of the cruise and had a long and intense fight the night before. AND THUS FANSERVICE HAPPENS <3 <3 <3

DON'T MIND IF I DO <3

ENDO KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING <3

No but seriously, there's a lot to love about this moment. Apart from how cute it is, Twilight at first only seems annoyed by how this attracts attention to them. He was already alert from how the SSS was looking at everyone, this would only add to his uneasiness.

But it doesn't take long for him to find an excuse for his wife. Blaming all her exhaustion on her work, being thankful for her going along with everything Anya asked to do, and smiling at her!! Bruh!! And he STILL can't see it, this man is such a good liar he can even lie to himself!!

Seriously the way Eguchi delivered those lines? Superb <3

AND THEN THE FAMILY THEME PLAYED AND I WAS LOSING MY MIND.

They didn't have to go so hard T_T It was a relaxing (and quite prolonged!) chapter to wrap up the cruise arc, but it was wonderful T_T

Even the Handler is up to him, though. Fullmetal Lady won't fall for his emotionally constipated bullshit.

AND I THOUGHT IT COULDN'T GET ANY CUTER!

She even drew the family in their colours! Yor in red, herself in pink, and Loid in a muted green! I can see Yor holding one of her stilettos, but what is the other thing? A rose? I don't think I can tell what Anya is doing in the drawing, but Loid looks like he's holding a bomb? Or a surfboard?

AAAAAHHH It was wonderful!! T_T

The parts with Yor and her coworkers and Yuri and Lieutenant Guy were actually added by the anime! I feel Yor about the gifts. I'm so bad at gifts you have no idea. And Yuri is on another level, he doesn't stop talking about his sister and he tells Lieutenant Guy "Are you psychic or something" and he's like "Sure sure". And this being this kind of show I was like "MAYBE???" but yeah no he was just messing with Yuri XD

Hey psst. You know what will look even more convincing? If you both slept on those pillows 👀👀 next to each other 👀👀

I was cringing so hard at the scene in the school! Anya! We love you as you are, you don't need to go embarrass yourself!

It was interesting, though, to see that Damian stayed out of it all. It's proof that he can mind his business and keep his opinion to himself. I hope he learns to do that more often.

Becky continues being best friend material <3 Anya is so lucky for real

It's been less than a week

It's so funny to me that the anime added the detail that it was Loid who picked the snacks for Yuri. I wonder how quickly Yuri would spit them out upon learning that XD

My mans tired. I felt kinda sad for him ngl XD

Okay, this was hilarious. His paternal instincts are starting to kick in to the point where he imagines teaching Anya the proper methods of deception. It was also funny that as Yuri was imagining his speech, I went like "Uhm you lie to your sister no?" and before I got to finish that thought, the excuses kicked in.

And Anya is starting to learn that actions have consequences.

This isn't what she manipulated two enemies of the state into adopting her for.

TWO EPISODES LEFT T_T I might have to pick up making crack recaps again for however long the next hiatus will last :'D

[bluerose5]

Hmm how about Halsin and Iron Bull (in whatever relationship dynamic you like!) commiserating after a fight with some goblins?

The kind of ship that snuck up on me out of nowhere. These two 100% took control of the fic and made it longer than what I intended, although I'm not complaining. 😌

...

One thing the Iron Bull never expected was for Halsin to admit to being a lightweight of all things.

While the tieflings' party was in full swing, he made his rounds throughout camp, took note of where everyone else's minds were at, his companions' especially, and he drank.

That was, until Bull realized the liquor on hand was some of the weakest shit compared to back home.

Still, it was a celebration, so he accepted drinks when offered, disgruntled by the fact that he was barely breaking a sweat over it.

Sobriety aside, he waited to speak with Halsin last, mostly because he wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet.

For one, he was big. Probably a little shorter than your average Qunari, but bigger than any elf Bull encountered in Thedas at least.

Secondly, he wielded magic different from most that Bull was familiar with, and the fact that majority of spellcasters in Faerûn didn't have to struggle against demons and possession in order to control their power...

Strange. Reassuring in a sense, but very strange.

When all was said and done, Bull figured no harm could come from getting to know the newcomer. This esteemed, knowledgeable "Archdruid" of theirs.

Who happened to be easy on the eyes —well, eye, singular— as well, but that was neither here nor there.

The Iron Bull sauntered up to him with a friendly smile, his head held high in a show of confidence.

"Well, it looks like I saved the best for last!" Bull greeted. "Settling in okay?" Before Halsin could answer, Bull interrupted. "Wait! Wait." He gave a dramatic pause. "I couldn't bear it if you said 'no.' Haha!"

He beamed at Halsin, who couldn't resist a snort of amusement, the corners of his eyes crinkled in delight.

Bull could practically hear Krem grumbling from there.

"Do not concern yourself with me. I am settling in just fine," Halsin assured him. "Of course, it always helps to have a host as gracious as yourself."

"Let's see if you still think that by the end of the night," the Iron Bull joked. He stood at Halsin's side, giving him a playful nudge with his elbow. "Seriously, though, that fight at that temple was great, yeah?" His heart raced at the memory. He leaned in, his voice low, appreciative. "You were incredible."

"Oh, come now," Halsin said, brushing off the compliment. "I don't know about that. You and your companions did most of the heavy lifting, after all."

"Don't downplay your role in our victory," Bull told him. "The sheer amount of goblins alone would have proved a challenge for anyone, but you cut through them like it was nothing." Try as he may, Bull couldn't help it, his eye trailing up and down Halsin's body. "All of that fury and rage, unleashed, directed at our enemies. You were a sight to behold, but tell the truth. You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Halsin glanced at him, not even bothering to hide how his eyes raked over his frame in return.

"Perhaps," he allowed, taking a second to clear his throat. "I must admit, I have come to expect at least a hint of fear from outsiders in response to my wild shape."

"Heh," Bull chuckled. "I fought dragons before, pal. It's gonna take more than a big teddy bear like you to scare me away."

"Is that so?" Halsin raised an eyebrow at him, surveying the area around them. "Maybe I should work on that then. Everyone should maintain a healthy balance of fear and respect for nature."

"Trust me, I respect it plenty," Bull said, "but by all means, do your worst."

Halsin shook his head, smiling to himself.

"Tempting as that is, you surely have others to go mingle with. Don't let me keep you."

"Nah." Bull waved off that concern without second thought. "I've done more than my fair share of mingling for tonight. I want to get to know you better."

He gave him a playful poke to the arm.

"Hmm..." Halsin hummed in contemplation. "I wouldn't want to be selfish and rob others here of your company. I can wait until morning to speak with you at the very least."

"Which is fine, if that's what you want," the Iron Bull whispered, "but what if I want you to be selfish?"

Halsin searched his expression for any sign of deceit.

When such scrutiny proved fruitless, his entire demeanor shifted, more open to the idea compared to before.

"In that case," he responded, "will you tell me about one of your dragon hunts then?"

"Fuck yeah, I will!" Bull exclaimed, his excitement radiant like a flame.

He clasped a hand onto Halsin's shoulder, giving it a warm, companionable squeeze.

A small shiver shot down his spine, one that Bull was quick to watch with keen interest.

The Iron Bull reckoned that Halsin didn't know many people who towered over him. It was almost funny how often his gaze would level with Bull's pecs or wander farther below before darting up to his face yet again, as if he had to constantly remind himself that he was the shorter one for once.

Then again, maybe he just liked the sight of his chest. Bull couldn't fault him for that.

"Let's see. Let's see," Bull said, rubbing at his chin while he thought it over. "I could go simple. The first dragon I ever hunted alongside the Inquisitor was terrorizing the countryside we were in at the time. It was a Fereldan Frostback."

Already, his eye was glazing over at the tale, his voice taking on a tinge of admiration that bordered on reverence. Or as close to it as he could get.

"Extremely territorial, those ones, and damn if she wasn't a beauty. All of that raw, untamed power, but unfortunately for her, her territory happened to include a few defenseless villages that couldn't ward her off on their own. That's where we came in."

He wrapped his arm around Halsin's shoulders, drawing him in closer as he spoke, staring off towards a faraway land that was well beyond their reach for now.

"That sharp burst of air that rushed past as she swiped her tail at us. That loud ringing in our ears when she screeched at the skies. That molten heat that radiated in the air when she snapped her teeth at us, so close that we would have been her next meal, had we not rolled out of reach in time."

He bared his teeth into a grin.

"That was a good day," he all but growled. "A good day, indeed!"

Halsin shifted in place. Of course, it didn't escape Bull's notice how he eased closer to him in the process.

He stared at the Iron Bull with a mixture of heat and shock.

"You almost sound excited," he said, hesitant, not wanting to overstep his bounds.

Not that it deterred Bull in the slightest.

"That's because I am," Bull stated, unashamed. "Even now, something about it gets my blood pumping and my heart racing, more so than any other fight." He grunted loudly as he lingered on the memory. "Maybe it's in my blood."

"Your blood?"

"Yeah," he said, "rumor has it that there might have been some dragon's blood mixed into the Qunari's somewhere along the way." He shrugged. "No one knows for certain. Would be pretty badass, though, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, now it's your turn."

"My turn?" Halsin questioned.

"To share. Come on," Bull encouraged. "You can't tell me that you don't have some wild stories stashed away."

"Well," Halsin launched into his tale without missing a beat, "it's not too different from yours. Back in my youth—"

"Nuh-uh, none of that," Bull interrupted. "You're not that old."

"I'll have you know that I am three hundred and fifty years young."

"Hot."

Bull smirked when that got a laugh out of him.

"I can admire anyone who is so open with their desires," Halsin said, "but shall I continue the story?"

"Oh, alright, I'll behave."

"Somehow I doubt that," Halsin teased, "but as I was saying, I was young and impulsive at the time, traveling and exploring the world to my heart's content. After indulging in nature's gifts on land for so long, life led me to the sea. Throughout my journey, I heard about a string of pirate attacks, led by a rogue band of water genasi. Their greed had already impacted several coastal villages by the time I caught wind of it."

Bull made a mental note to ask more about the race later, too intent on listening to the current story to venture off on another tangent.

"People were being taken from their homes, everyone from their children to the elderly. Those who relied heavily on fish as a staple found themselves on the brink of starvation. Resources were being drained. Their valuables were looted. Any who fought against the genasi were executed or enslaved, made an example of."

"But you stopped them?"

"Eventually," Halsin sighed, it obviously taking a toll on him that he couldn't save more than what he did. "I studied their movements, their tactics. At first, I would rally others behind me, wait until the genasi tried for an ambush, and attack then. But there were still too many deaths for my liking, so I went on the offensive. The locals provided me with a vessel of my own, and I sailed out into the open waters. I took the fight to them, grew more and more cocky with each ship I took down. I believed myself to be invincible, and that made me reckless."

"What happened next?" Bull asked, although he already had an idea.

"You clearly survived, though."

"I was taken prisoner. One of my attacks went exactly as I planned, but I didn't know that the genasi had others lying in wait, holding back until they saw the perfect opportunity to strike. They outnumbered me, enough so that they were able to overpower me, and that was that."

"That, I did. With me as their trophy, the band that captured me left the coastland for quite some time. About a year and a half passed, give or take a few months, but I forced myself to be patient throughout that time of servitude, difficult as it was. I earned the trust of the crew. And later, the captain.

"Then one day, I felt it. There was something stirring in the water, restless, massive in size. I could sense it, and part of me knew that it was my time to act.

"I convinced the crew that there was treasure, worthy of the gods, in some nearby wreckage. I made up a lie, said I recalled the area from my studies, and they believed me."

"You led them right into a trap," Bull said, impressed.

Halsin nodded.

"It was a kraken's territory," he explained. "A sea monster of great power and might. It rose up from its dark depths to confront us. The waters turned rough and formed a large, gaping vortex that threatened to consume us all. The winds whipped at blinding speeds. Storms formed that spewed lightning everywhere you looked. The kraken even managed to charm some of the crew into fighting under its thrall, so you can imagine how everything turned into a bloodbath from there."

"Damn." Bull released a low whistle, recalling a few stories he heard of dreadnoughts encountering an aban-ataashi —a sea dragon— while out on their patrols.

He imagined this creature must have been similar to cause so much destruction.

"Nothing against you or your skills, but I'm surprised you survived."

"You and me both," Halsin agreed. "I was so weak that I couldn't switch forms all that much at the time, but I managed to rely on some basic spells to keep me safe long enough to escape. I fought alongside the crew for a while to discourage any suspicion, but I stole one of the ship's work boats the second it was clear that the crew and the kraken were going to go down destroying each other. Through the gods' mercy alone, I managed to make it out of there. I watched both ship and kraken sink into the sea from afar, and I somehow survived until I found land once again."

"Okay, now that story deserves a drink," Bull said. "Or several. Care to share one with me?"

"In truth, I rarely imbibe," Halsin answered. "The stuff goes right to my head."

The sounds of the party returned to them then. Voices rose and fell. Squeals of delight and the clink of tankards greeted their ears.

People danced and swayed, stumbling around without a care in the world.

"Wait, really?" Bull asked, incredulous. "You're telling me that you can't hold your liquor?"

Somehow, that was even more unbelievable than him fighting a kraken.

Halsin laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.

"All I'm saying is that it won't take long before I'm breaking into song or declaring love to the first person I lay eyes on."

"Well, I mean, if you need a target to focus that energy on..." Squeezing him up against his side, Bull flexed his free arm, waggling his eyebrows at him. "I'm your guy."

"A tempting offer, I'll admit," Halsin said, admiring him openly.

"Plus, I've also been known to break into song here and there."

"Now, that, I have to see."

"Find me something stronger than the swill they serve around here," Bull challenged, "and you're on."

"Ah." As understanding dawned on him, Halsin flashed Bull a secretive smirk. "You thought that I meant that I can't handle the spirits such as those at this party." At Bull's confused look, Halsin clarified. "I keep a, uh, personal flask on hand for special occasions."

"No shit," Bull said, watching him closely, unable to keep his curiosity at bay. "You have your own recipe or what?"

"Something like that, and I have my pipe on me too, if you're interested."

"Don't have to tell me twice. Let's go make a little music, yeah?"

Amused, Halsin readily agreed.

They didn't even try to hide it as they ditched the party in favor of the surrounding forests, neither of them the type to sneak about in such a manner anyways.

They spent the rest of the night in high spirits under the stars, drinking, smoking, trading stories. And yes, singing rather terribly as well.

They fell asleep bathed in moonlight, and only when the rising sun bid them to wake did they return to camp together to discuss their next move.

[irish-urn]

I’ve been reading Dasey fics and theres always this conflict about how Casey is scared to reveal her feelings because of her morals and what family and friends are going to think but then like a couple chapters later, they get together and it’s never brought up again. So my question is, how do you think the family would navigate through this? I can imagine Nora and George being confused and surprised in the beginning but I don’t know. I always love to hear your thoughts.

OH BOY MY FAVOURITE KIND OF QUESTION. Thank you sooooo much for hitting me up!! I love chatting!!! <3 <3 <3

Okay, so. SO. I think in EVERY universe I am working in (with the exception of the Hades AU), I have George and Nora reacting poorly. I genuinely believe with ALL MY HEART that they would be completely blind-sided by Derek and Casey getting together. We see this in my main college series kick at the darkness 'till it bleeds daylight, but I stand by this for... pretty much every version of Derek and Casey. Even the AUs where they aren't stepsiblings, I imagine George and Nora are just totally befuddled by them.

BUT, for the sake of this ask, let's look at canon. I believe that Nora has this idea in her head of a perfect family -- and she failed the first time with Dennis. Dennis was, in theory, the perfect man, the kind of man everyone expected her to marry. And that marriage failed. So now she's trying again with George, and it's messy and complicated, but dammit if she isn't going to do her best to make it seem like they are the perfect blended family. There's also all the pressure she puts on Casey -- while I don't believe Nora intends to do this, the fact is that likely after the divorce, Nora was overwhelmed and Casey saw this and, being who she is, just stepped up to the plate and took on extra responsibilities. Nora was grateful (obviously) and so proud that her daughter(s) are young women she can depend upon, and so she just... keeps leaning and trusting Casey to be the perfect Grade A daughter.

When it comes to George: I think he loves his kids. I think he's tried to be a good dad for them. I think they were fed, sheltered, and had a lot of fun with him, and very little discipline. I think, as a result, Marti and Derek are brats -- and the only reason Edwin is less of one is because DEREK keeps him in line. But Edwin can be pretty bratty too. What does this mean? It means that when Derek does reach out for help or does do something mature and right, it's usually either ignored or seen as "too little too late". I think that Derek and George have a lot of the same flaws, and George sees a lot of his younger self in Derek. And, as we see in LWL, neither George nor Nora view Derek as having grown up at all, despite the fact that his life is arguably in better shape than Casey's and he's far more mature than George.

What does this mean for them being faced with Dasey? I think Nora would FREAK and I think George would follow her lead. From my re-watch of the show, Nora spends a lot of time correcting George's parenting techniques; sometimes George convinces her to relax because it's not a big deal, and sometimes Nora convinces George to take things more seriously. But I do SERIOUSLY think that Nora would see her perfect, good daughter claiming to be in love WITH HER STEPBROTHER, the young man that Nora sees as a SON; and I think Nora would immediately refuse it. Because Nora has spent so much time trying to fix what she broke before; and I think she would see this relationship as, like, a cannonball aimed at her McTuri ship. I think George would see his wife incredibly upset and, judging by how he treats and views Derek, would take her side.

I think, at best, both parents would see this as a temporary rebellion on Casey's side, and just an impulsive move from Derek. I can just imagine George reminding Nora that Casey is a very attractive girl and Derek LIKES girls; of course he'd go after her if he had a shot. I think then there would be lots of mumbles of, "But he should know better than to go after his sister; I guess we expected too much from him; it'll blow over, he never commits to anything for long." (which is not true, btw. Look at hockey, look at film, look at his best friends (from his CHILDHOOD), look at his family. When Derek loves, he COMMITS.)

That being said, I think that, if Casey and Derek stuck to their guns and held their ground, Nora and George would eventually cave because, and I do stress this, they love their children. Nora loves Casey; George loves Derek. Neither wants to disown them or push them away. So, I think they would, after a lot of talking and Dasey determination, try to be okay with it.

I think, for a long time, it would be a "fake it until you make it" kind of thing. I think they would pretend to be okay with it because the other option is Derek and Casey not being around, and that's going to break up the family as much as (if not more so) them breaking up would. I think Nora makes contingency plans for when they break up. I think Nora has a lot of talks with Casey to check in; I think Casey is very private about her relationship with Derek and has been hurt by the reaction, and so is hesitant to divulge much information. I think this doesn't help calm Nora down whatsoever. I think George probably talks to the other kids (who I will get to in a minute) to try to understand. I think he kind of does, but doesn't trust his son enough not to screw it up.

I think it's years before George and Nora would actually be okay with it; and I think it would be one of those things where they pretended for so long eventually it became real. One day, Nora realized that when she said, "How sweet!" about something Derek did for Casey, she meant it. I suspect that this realization makes her sit down and think about her choices for a long time; and then I think she might apologize to Casey and finally start mending their relationship.

THE KIDS: I think they KNOW that Derek and Casey do not view each other as siblings. I think, especially as Edwin and Lizzie get older, they recognize UST for what it is. I think they love their siblings very much and recognize that the best thing for all of them is for them to be together.

THAT BEING SAID: I don't think it's a smooth transition for them. I think they probably find it SUPER weird at first. I think they told themselves for MONTHS that they would be supportive; and then they see Casey give Derek a kiss, and their brains explode a little. I think Marti is more okay with it than Edwin and Lizzie, but that's because she knows how much her Smerek loves Casey, and all kissing is gross, they're not special. I think Edwin and Lizzie try SO HARD to be cool about it, but it takes time. But I think both Derek and Casey, although hurt about their discomfort, understand that it's not disapproval, it's just growing pains and the awkwardness of seeing your sibling being sappy and in love. I think they'd adapt MUCH quicker than Genora, but would probably take more time than they thought, and I think Edwin and Lizzie would be disappointed in themselves.

Simon? I have NO idea. It depends on how old he is when they get together and the circumstances around it. Honestly, if you want, I can give you my HC on how everyone handles Derek and Casey getting together after LWL if you want, as opposed to as young adults.

This was a really long answer, but it's a complicated situation. I promise you that in any fic I have that has Derek and Casey getting together and the family involved, I wouldn't just brush over the family reaction. I love the fact that it would be dramatic, because it allows for conflict and relationship growth that isn't cheating or miscommunication or all those other tropes I dislike so much. This is a real and heartbreaking conflict that could make or break Dasey; and I love playing with the complications of family.

Please, please, reach out if you want any more of my thoughts or if you want me to expand on any of this. I looooooove talking about this stuff. Makes me cackle like a little gremlin.

[starboy-acer]

“i’m so obsessed with your ‘ex’” (FnC With More Fish)

[chip and gill take a break and caspian talks to chip about it…]

“i don’t know, we just got in a fight and decided we needed to spend a little time apart. being on a ship together all the time can strain a relationship, that’s what jay said at least.” chip told caspian after caspian had asked him what happened. part of him was curious but part of him had some sort of ulterior motive. he wanted to know if they were going to get back together. he had no intentions of driving them apart, if so, but if they weren’t getting back together then he wanted to shoot his shot with gillion tidestrider.

“ah, i see.” caspian soaked in this information. they’re not exactly together but they’re not exactly broken up. he had some choices laid out in front of him. he could either go speak to gillion and see what happens or he could stay with chip and keep out of it OR he could talk to both of them and see what happens. he knows that neither gillion nor chip are precise with their attractions. they’ve both expressed that if they both ended up loving someone else, the same person as the other, then they would be willing to add on to their relationship. the more the merrier is what gillion would say. the universe is love is what a high-as-a-kite chip would say (truth btw. ep 92 intro).

“god, i need another drink. and to go find ollie. ill see you later, cas.” chip said and he reluctantly stood. once he was out of view, caspian tracked down gillion. it wasn’t hard, there’s not any other fish men around this town.

gillion was standing on the deck of the albatross, which wasn’t like him at all. usually, he would try to get off the boat as much as possible whether it was swimming or going with the rest of the crew. caspian approached gillion quiet enough not to startle him but loud enough to not sneak up on him.

“caspian! how are you?” gillion smiles. it seems genuine to caspian, but he knew there was something wrong.

“i’m okay, gill. i just talked to chip.” caspian mentioned chip to test the waters. he wanted to see gillion’s reaction to hearing his lover’s name. every move and word gillion said was being analyzed by caspian.

gillion looked back out to the water with a slight smile. “i suppose you know that me and chip are taking some space right now.”

“of course, it’s all chip would talk about. he really seems to love you.”

gillion’s eyes widen, almost as if he wasn’t expecting that. “oh.”

“oh?”

“i just… i am aware that chip loves me. and i love chip! don’t get me wrong. but being in the same small area together all the time just puts a strain on things sometimes.”

caspian nods as gillion pours his heart out. he heard most of this from chip first. he knew absolutely that they weren’t over. he simply just didn’t know whether he should confess or not. he felt like he should, he knew that he should, but he didn’t know if this was the right time.

eventually, gillion pauses and looks at caspian. “cas. captain lizzie told me something earlier. she came to see me after she noticed i was the only one left on the ship.”

caspian’s heart almost stops. he had told lizzie about his feelings before. he didn’t know whether or not she would tell gillion, but he knew that she always encouraged him to tell gillion next time they met. maybe she knew caspian would chicken out and did it for him.

“what exactly did she tell you?” caspian tries not to make his voice shake.

“she told me about your feelings for me.” gillion says calmly as he turns to caspian and takes a step forward.

caspian nods. “i see…”

gillion steps closer to caspian. “i’m not going to tell you that i don’t feel the same. i’m not the best with feelings, but i would be open to the idea.” he stops in front of caspian, not too close at all. “however, i do want to—“

“GILL!”

gillion turns as he sees chip run up to the boat, clearly under the influence. he looks confused, but happy to see him.

chip runs up and holds gillion’s hands as he talks. “listen, i know im not the best boyfriend in the world. i know that sometimes i can get annoying. and i fully respect you if you ever need a moment of space. but i want— no. i need you to know that i love you always. i love you so much. you’re my everything. i don’t know what i would’ve done with my life if i hadn’t pulled you out of the ocean and i’ve been so so so interested in you since. i love you, gilly.”

gillion smiles widely as he pulls chip into a deep kiss. caspian stands there awkwardly. he doesn’t want to speak up and interrupt but he also does not want to watch. gillion then pulls away and snaps back to reality.

“right. right, i was talking to caspian about something important. im glad you’re here for this conversation.” gillion then explains what lizzie told him about caspian’s feelings. she was vague about it, which caspian was eternally thankful for. he had spent too many nights gushing about gillion and he did not want lizzie to tell gillion about that.

chip nodded and looked caspian up and down then smiled. “hey man, i know he’s great. i don’t care to share him. especially when im more confident in where we stand.” he looks at gillion and smiles wider.

caspian looks around and then back at them. “wait, what?”

“we’re saying that you can… join? our relationship.” gillion says, not knowing exactly what to call this. “since you like me and not chip, i can just date both of you. the more the merrier!”

“gillion tidestrider, boyfriend collector.” chip laughs. gillion then pulls out a notebook and begins to scribble something in it. caspian can see that the notebook is titled “Complete Collection of Gillion Tidestrider’s Titles”.

“of course, that’s if you’re okay with that caspian.” gillion says after putting the notebook away.

“oh, i’m absolutely okay with that. i’ve had a girlfriend and boyfriend at the same time. this is not new to me.”

chip’s jaw drops. “new caspian lore just dropped??” he questioned loudly.

caspian laughed at chip, one of the first times he’s ever laughed at a chip joke.

the boys spent the rest of the night between the ship and the tavern. there were plenty of comments, of course, whenever people would see chip kiss gillion and the gillion kissed caspian or any combination of the throuple’s affections. jay and lizzie were practically cheering whenever they heard. jay loved to see chip and gillion happy and lizzie was just grateful that she wouldn’t have to suffer through listening to caspian complain about gillion and gush about him in the same sentence. of course, she still had some of that in her future, but she doesn’t know that right now.

eventually, caspian had to leave with lizzie and her crew, but he and gillion promised to call every night and check in with each other. they also promised to meet each other whenever they have the chance.

chip spent multiple days joking about how he has a fish boyfriend and his fish boyfriend has a fish boyfriend. gryffon got so tired of hearing about it that he fully pushed chip off of the ship one time. nobody saved him and they just waited until gillion came back. but it’s okay, he’s okay, because he can swim. ollie also pushed him over the ship. and so did jay. throughout that week, he ended up soaked more often than he would like.

(not as proud of this as the others, but i hope you guys still like it 🫶)

[ineffable-sideburns]

Okay, so I’ve seen a few comments about how it took Gabriel and Beelzebub only 4 years to choose their own sides but 6,000 years after the garden wall where Aziraphale lied to God, he’s somehow still right where he started when it comes to breaking out of the terrible institution he’s a part of (I disagree there but that’s a different conversation and I just wanted to focus on Gabriel and Beelzebub for a second.) This is half baked and I’m not looking to prove anyone wrong because I don’t think anyone is necessarily wrong. It just got me thinking and I thought this context might be important as to why it was so “easy” for Gabriel and Beelzebub.

First of all, I think that Gabriel (and likely Beelzebub) are different from Aziraphale in a few ways, so imo it’s hard to directly compare their journeys. Gabriel in particular, doesn’t really think about things too deeply. His thought process after Armageddon’t was (reductively): what the fuck am I going to do now > oh hi beelzebub you’re tired of your job too? > okay I like the fly demon now they gave me a gift no one has done that > I’m just gonna tell my people “no Armageddon sequel” > now I’m on trial and I’m ready to be sent to hell, see ya soon babe! 🫶 > oh fuck he’s not going to send me to hell 🙄 > time to get naked and hide my memories before I’m erased as Gabriel

And the fact that Gabriel went about things the way he did, with the simplest plan and outlook, and it almost ended in him getting his current identity erased, shows that he either just doesn’t think about or worry about things the way Aziraphale and Crowley have had to, or he just doesn’t care. A bit of both, I think. This is me reading between the lines, but after season 2, Beelzebub and Gabriel come off as the kind of people who do their jobs out of necessity, not passion: “this is just what we do (follow the great plan), this is how the world is and it’s what I’ve always known”, and most importantly “what option do I have other than to keep doing this?”

I think you can certainly read the tarmac scene after Armageddon’t as the catalyst for them first questioning the purpose of it all, but it’s also where they see that doing something other than the Great Plan (or what they’ve been doing) is an option.

…I’d also argue that there’s a difference between reciting the company policy and feeding that as ambrosia to your underlings (season 1 Gabriel reads this way to me in hindsight), and believing it and caring about it yourself. Like I said above, Gabriel and Beelzebub are not very passionate, nor do they think about things in the way of “what does all of this mean about me?” They’re out of touch, they don’t interact with humans in ways to see them as people which might cause them to question their actions and their self-concept: this is just a job for them, they pull in the numbers, and they know what they’re meant to be doing, and do it. Even after they realize that it’s all pointless and they choose “their side”, neither of them really comes off as someone who thinks like someone like Aziraphale or Crowley. Beelzebub shows a desire for praise for all the work they’ve done for hell — the opposite of Crowley, who cares about how his actions affect humans, and avoids doing his real job as much as possible in order to minimize harm to them. Aziraphale is someone that believes in the company policy, and the message, to the point that it’s become the crux of his whole identity, even if he also thinks the company is going against its own preachings. This is part of what makes it harder for him to leave. Whereas Beelzebub and Gabriel, who have not internalized their actions, or self-identified with the company in the same way, can jump ship quite easily.

There’s also another reason Gabriel and Beelzebub could “work it all out” and leave so easily: they were in the highest positions possible aside from being the Metatron/God or Satan, and that comes with the vantage point to see more of the whole forest and not just the trees. Maybe enough to know that changing a corrupt institution from the inside is impossible, or at least certainly enough to know that their position isn’t as powerful as someone like Aziraphale might think it is. You could also argue falling and going to hell is an easier solution than fixing heaven so that Beelzebub can come up to join, and Gabriel went for the method with the quickest results.

Aziraphale both has a natural inclination (as evidenced as far back as the garden wall) to internalize his actions (not everyone does that, and there’s different degrees of doing so), and he then is left to experience humanity while heaven and hell do terrible things to it. Other than earth being a way for Gabriel and Beelzebub to meet up, and their affinity for Buddy Holly, they don’t really care about or understand humans…that’s ironically what makes their jobs just jobs and so easy to leave. This difference in perspective is why for them it’s like leaving a dead end job where they aren’t appreciated enough, when for Aziraphale it’s like leaving a cult.

[sailorgundam308]

On another unpopular take - as it seems I have so many -, I am half through Act 3 as Durge and I am NOT impressed with the writing of Durge itself. Nor the Durge x Astarion combo that everyone shits themselves about (it's okay, but Durge and Karlach is also okay and maybe even more interesting).

My "meh" impression might have to do with the way Durge was written, too. I'm a HUGE (frR) gore, dark, horror, morbid, macabre, weird kink/sex freak and have been since I was a preteen. Durge comes across to me as compiled by someone who came across all these themes yesterday and shoved them all together like a 4chan incel edgelord. Just... nope. It's just a flat dish full of entrails and shit and... didn't tickle me as this OH SO AMAZING AND SHOCKING story at all. Which is concerning, since I am an absolute horror and murder whore, it's hard to not be entertained by explicit bloody shit. But I guess I like my bloody horrible shit to have DEPTH. So. Also, to further solidify my unpopular take on Durge, let me say that CANON is Durge x Gortash and we all know it. And THAT gives me much more fulfillment because THEN, holy shit, the amound of DISGUSTING fucked uppery the two of them together amount to is unbeatable. This might be unironically coming in as my second best ship, and it is ALL SORTS of fucked up. Incredible. Love it. 10/10 would throw up.

[tired-reader-writer]

OH, I realised I forgot to respond to the last part of your ask before, so... Ranfarid OTP! If you do have any thoughts about them to share I'm listening.

And also I was thinking about Winds of Wolfsong chapter 2 again and while at first I was floored by the shock of Kazai's arrival on the scene, now I've calmed down about it a bit I'm also a little worried about Areyan? Hopefully he didn't get too much water in his lungs and will recover okay, I worry there might be some ill effects (and I know that would make Isfan and Shapur feel even worse about what happened and will totally not help matters with Kazai either).

Ranfarīd! Such a lovely ship name! So much so that I'm now questioning my decision to rename Ranna, lol 😭

As for the feels... here's the gist/base of it:

Ranna saying something along the lines of “I've never once thought it was a good thing to be born. I mean, look around us. The world is a shit pit on fire and everyone's convinced it's just fine.” to Alfarīd one time and then much later, in a different context perhaps, Alfarīd calls back to it with a “One day I'll make you say ‘I'm glad I was born’, just you wait!”

Also something like: “I'm not Sherine. Sherine is dead. Sherine was unwanted. Sherine was hated. Sherine was abandoned. Nobody came looking for Sherine. But Ashaya has big sis and Areyan and everyone.” “And Ashaya has me.” (Ashaya being a name I'm contemplating making Ranna's permanent name in the fic!)

As for some less shippy Ranna things:

“Who am I, you ask?” the wily miscreant says with a mocking lilt. They push their hair back, and suddenly realization hits Hilmes like a sack of rocks.

They look exactly like—

“Well, it should be obvious with a glance, don't you think?”

:D

And as for poor Areyan at the end of chapter 2... boy will feel the effects of this incident for Quite A Bit™.

BUT. Not to spoil chapter 3 but. Grandmama Eihon makes an entry and so while he'll suffer a bit, it's nowhere near the level he would go through without Eihon, nor his life be in as dire of a danger.

Isfan will also start learning to heal.

Areyan here will be always frailer than canon Arslan though, their circumstances are just too different— he'll have bouts of being down bad, but he'll always have his family by his side.

As for the drama between Shapur and Kazai though... stay tuned!

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Neither SEBASTIAN nor your master were due home for a couple of weeks, so needless to say, you’re surprised to feel someone slipping into bed beside you only a few days after they’d supposedly set sail.

“Don’t be frightened, my dear.” It’s whispered against your skin with a kiss, unmistakably your beloved’s voice. “It’s just me. My apologies; the young lord and I are home rather a bit early.”

That’s an understatement. They were supposed to be away for three weeks, and here he is after three days. You roll over to face him immediately, though. You’ve missed him even for that short time. “That’s not something to be sorry for,” you chuckle.

When you kiss him, his lips rise to meet yours, and he seems so... tired. That’s not an adjective you’ve ever used to describe him before... that it’s been called to mind now is strange. “I missed you. Is everything alright?”

He murmurs into the kiss, “We had a bit of an incident aboard the ship. Unfortunately, it ran into an iceberg.”

“An iceberg?! Oh, my God, are you and Lord Phantomhive okay?” Though he doesn’t seem worried, that news is troubling at best.

“Shh, shh. We’re fine, my darling.” He kisses you again, as if for reassurance that he’s here. “Our master simply thought it... wise... to return rather than book another cruise.”

Well, that’s Ciel. Pragmatic as always. “Thank God. Although,” you tease, “now that you’ve told me that, I’ll never let you go again.” You circle your arms round his waist, pulling him in against you.

When he lets out a groan of discomfort, you know something isn’t quite right here. “... Sebastian? You’re hurt, aren’t you?”

The look in his eyes suggests that he knows there’s no sense trying to lie, even though he considers it. “Regrettably... I was injured helping the young lord escape. You needn’t worry... the worst of it was quickly patched up before we got back to town. It’s just a bit tender, is all.”

“No, no, let me see, sweetheart.” Thankfully he gives no real protest, so you carefully undo the buttons of his shirt. It reveals an angry-looking wound on his side, somewhere between his stomach and chest. It’s been stitched up and cleaned, but it’s still very red and irritated, likely just because it’s a new injury.

You brush the tips of your fingers against it as if inspecting the handiwork of whoever did it. The gesture earns a quiet gasp and a wince from your beloved, prompting you to pull your hand away. “Oh, Sebastian, look at you! Oh, you poor thing. What on Earth happened?”

When you look into his eyes, he’s staring at you with a kind of wonder in them. It seems as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with all the concern you’re giving him. Like he’s surprised to be treated gently. “It doesn’t matter. Please don’t worry. The master has been rather generous; he’s instructed me to simply rest for a week. I’m sure this will heal well in that time.”

“Aaah. I can’t believe... oh, God, my poor dear.” You’re kissing him again in an instant, cupping his cheek with your hand and pressing against him as firmly as you dare. “You don’t worry, alright? I’m going to take good care of you. You’re going to stay in bed and not lift a finger, am I clear?”

A low chuckle reverberates from his chest. “Crystal, my darling. You’re far too kind to me. I suppose some sleep is in order, then... would it be alright for me to be so selfish as to ask if I might lie in your arms?”

You smile and kiss his forehead, guiding his head down toward your chest. One hand stays there, running gingerly through his locks, and the other stays round his waist, being cautious in the way you hold him. “That isn’t selfish... poor love. You just get some rest... I’m right here if you need anything, okay?”

His eyes go wide for a second at the contact, then he seems to settle. “Ah... if you insist. Thank you.” After that, his eyes flutter closed. “I do believe... I have never needed your care before, have I? It might be an interesting experience.”

“Silly boy.” You let your lips come down atop his head, and with your arm around his waist, you begin to run your fingers half-curled up and down his spine. “Get some sleep, sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything at all.”

Within a few minutes, you manage to fall back asleep, and Sebastian is left with little but his thoughts.

Well, his thoughts, and your heartbeat.

Steady against his ear, it’s something he’s never heard before. Not this close. None of his former masters or lovers ever offered him something so... incredibly... soft. He’s never laid with his head upon someone’s chest, listening and feeling their heartbeat.

It’s a beautiful thrum, so strong and so fragile. That duality is something he’s always lived for.

... And you. You.

He lets his eyes remain closed, and for the first time in hundreds of years, burdened by pain and love, the demon sleeps.

[broodwolf221]

Happy Friday friend!! I hope it’s okay for me to send you a Varric/Solas prompt? 👉👈 you’ve got me hooked on this ship I swear 🤣🤣 the prompt: ❛ spare me the ‘i’ve come to slay you’ speech and let’s get on with it. ❜  (I just know you’ll do something awesome with this one!) 💚

oh it is more than okay >:3 this was so fun omg. what a good juicy prompt for them <3 and hehehehe.... i am spreading the good word of solarric uwu @dadrunkwriting 989 words cws: vague death mention

“Solas,” he said dryly, staring at the elf. He looked so different… his armor was more like what those elves had worn in Mythal’s Temple, although he had added a fur cloak. Wolf fur, if he wasn’t entirely mistaken. “You never were as subtle as you thought,” he observed idly, just thinking aloud, but Solas smiled a little at it.

“Perhaps not.” He strode towards Varric, hands clasped behind his back, and that was achingly familiar. He was dressed different, he held himself a little different, with a boldness that had only rarely slipped through. But so much remained the same. The slight tilt of his head as he stared at Varric, the furrow between his brows as he considered something, his faint sigh.

“So, what? You come to finish the job?” He felt disoriented and couldn’t place why, mostly focused on Solas. Solas, who frowned; Solas, who shook his head.

“That is not—”

“Spare me the speech,” he interjected. “You’ve come to kill me? You’ll have to work for it.”

“Varric,” Solas began again, but he shook his head, frustrated now.

“Let’s just get on with it, then! Kill me, end the world, do what you’re going to do!” He took a few steps closer, his anger surprising him. But not surprising Solas, who simply looked resigned. “Don’t you care? You’re going to destroy everything!”

“As I have before.” His voice was soft, distant, even as he met Varric’s eyes. “However… I have not come to kill you. Do you know where we are?”

That gave Varric pause. What did it matter? But then he looked around and…

“How’d I… get here?” He asked, cursing internally at the faint tremor in his voice, his uncertainty bleeding through.

“I had wondered that as well. We are in the Fade. You, my friend, are dreaming.”

“Yeah,” Varric said slowly, nodding. “Okay. That makes sense.”

“Does it?” That head tilt again. “Dwarves do not dream. Why is it that you do?”

“What?” He still felt a little foggy, disoriented. Things were sharper and duller here at once. “I— I don’t know. I just dream, sometimes.” He shrugged. Of course he’d heard people talk about how dwarves don’t dream—his people have no access to magic. But he’d been through enough shit that a few dreams didn’t bother him. “I just do.”

“Curious.” Solas approached, then walked around him, observing him from all angles as if he could discover the source of Varric’s dreaming in the folds of his clothing or something. It was hard to hold still for the observation, but he managed.

“So… you didn’t come to kill me?” Solas had stopped before him again and frowned, shaking his head.

“I have no desire to kill you. Nor anyone else. But you must stop tracking me. This is difficult enough without such distractions.”

“I’m not going to stop,” he pointed out firmly. Stubbornly. Something. Solas sighed, staring at him for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was strange, distant and hard:

“I can make you stop.”

“You can’t kill me,” he protested, gesturing around them. “We’re in the Fade. Dreaming! I can’t die here.” Solas was already nodding.

“That much is true. But I can trap your mind here. I can summon spirits—demons, you would call them—to contain you.”

That made his blood run cold. Solas’ eyes were hard, his jaw was set, his posture firm.

It was frightening.

And it was a goddamn lie.

“You wouldn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re acting real tough, Chuckles, but I know you. You’re all bark. You wouldn’t do that to me. You wouldn’t do that to anyone.”

“You have no idea what I’m capable of,” Solas pointed out in that same voice, but Varric wasn’t having any of it.

“You’re wounded, desperate, and trying to fix everything. I get it. And maybe that can drive you to extremes—maybe it already has, maybe it will, I don’t know. But I do know that you can’t look me in the eye and condemn me to being a prisoner of the Fade. Even if you can destroy this world, I don't believe for a minute that you can destroy me like this.”

“I could leave,” he observed in that same cold tone. “If you believe me incapable of looking you in the eye as I destroy you, you should know that's not the only option. I need not suffer your distractions or your demise.”

“Right,” he drawled. “Of course. You'll just summon one of your friends to do your dirty work for you.” There—a frisson of emotion crossed Solas' face. “And you'll leave me doomed with a clear conscience. Is that it?”

“I have killed many—”

“And you didn't want to—”

“—including those I called friend!” Solas finished, voice raised and breathing hard. He seemed to realize his mistake and looked away with a hiss.

Varric wondered about that. Wondered who Solas had killed, wondered how. By guiding them into battles that had been lost? Or had they died by his own hand, turning on them in his desperation? Had they betrayed him? Or had he betrayed them?

“Maybe so,” he began, voice soft now. Imploring. “But it's pretty obvious you didn't want to. And you don't have to do this. Any of this.”

“You have no idea—”

“Then tell me!” That startled Solas, forced his gaze back to Varric, eyes wide. “Tell me what the problem is, tell me your secrets! I'll help, damn you! We can figure something out together.”

Solas stared at him, expression more open than Varric had ever seen before. Fear and desire warred openly in him. At last he laughed, shaking his head as he stepped away. “You are dreaming, Varric. It is a good dream. I will not condemn you to my nightmare.”

“Solas—” but just like that, he was gone. And Varric was alone, cursing up a storm in the fucking Fade of all places.

[dustrose]

In Regards to the Final Bracket

Hey, all.

I'm what many would describe as a "lurker." I'm quite shy when it comes to things like this, that is, posting my opinion on the internet. It's not something I ever planned to do, nor something I'm confident in, but it is something I've been meaning to do for a few days now.

So why am I writing this? It's simple, really, I voted for SuleMio in the poll.

First of all, I want to get some disclaimers and the like out of the way, along with a TL:DR.

Destiel is absolutely sacred history, and it always will be. I do not mean to downplay its significance. It is important to not only lgbtq+ but also fandoms as a whole. Without Destiel, I doubt the internet would have developed in the same way, for better or worse. (I mean, we wouldn't have Tumblr, would we?)

With that being said, it is also important to mention that Destiel isn't the only history. History is ever-changing, there's always more being added, and in this case, that is SuleMio. While Destiel changed the course of the internet when it was popular, SuleMio is changing it now.

Okay, now for a quick TL:DR

Destiel is important for history, but SuleMio is important for the future. Neither is better than the other; they're amazing in their own ways. We really shouldn't be fighting over something we can easily agree on. They are both ships that revolutionized in their times, and they are both ships that deserve to be respected, as do the people supporting them.

-----

Now to start the rambling!

So, I created a Tumblr to vote in this bracket. When I first stumbled upon it and voted, I actually had no idea what Destiel was (later looked it up, and I've seen Supernatural, so y'know, "oh, neat.") More than that, I was only introduced to Gundam as a franchise in late March, being through a friend who recommended G_Witch to me (which I am ever-grateful for).

In a way, I'm absolutely an outsider. I haven't been with either ship for very long and haven't experienced the same things others have experienced. I haven't even finished Supernatural, nor was I there when Bandai said SuleMio was "up for interpretation."

And yet, I'm here, putting my thoughts on paper because I think this is important.

That is, respecting what came before and respecting what will come after.

Destiel and SuleMio are two sides of the same coin. We can sit here and whine about the little things...

But Destiel isn't canon!

But Sulemio didn't kiss!

Don't care, that's not the point here. The point is that both of these ships, these relationships, have affected many communities and have touched many hearts. There's no right or wrong, no "mine's better" or "yours is stupid," they're just ships, but more than that, they are history.

Let's start with one of the biggest things. Destiel is Tumblr, isn't it? I was too young when all of that happened to be on Tumblr, so frankly, I didn't know until recently that it was history, but even so, I can appreciate it. I never went on Tumblr, but I did like a lot of stuff on it (you guys are really funny.) What I mean is, I have no history with Tumblr, yet I can still appreciate what has happened.

Not to say that you have to, of course. I get being tired of Destiel, feeling like its beating a dead horse. But let's stop and imagine for a moment, heck, maybe even two moments, that in twenty years when SuleMio is old news, and there's a new, big queer ship on the table, there will be some people clinging onto what came before. In this case, I'm certain I'll still have a soft spot for SuleMio; I'll probably hang onto it until I die (24 fanfictions on AO3 doesn't go away that easily, y'know), but I'm also certain that the new ship would probably win.

It's as I mentioned earlier. History is ever-changing, ever being built upon. There's always something new, something someone begins with, and there's also something old and something someone has always been with, if that makes any sense?

Destiel is that something old; it's what came before, but just because it's not the present anymore doesn't mean its accomplishments should be overlooked. Furthermore, SuleMio isn't even a year old yet. It's fresh off the press, fresh in our minds, and it's definitely one of the most important pieces of media to be released in the 2020s. It's new, but like Destiel, its accomplishments shouldn't be overlooked because of how old it is.

In the end, this poll was just something silly to get our little gremlin minds going. I mean, we all knew it would end like this, didn't we? In discourse--when it comes to ships, it's always discourse.

Y'know, I was there for bmblb vs blacksun, and yikes.

Anyway, as I was saying, this isn't something we should be fighting about. Especially not calling people names, as I've seen a few people do. No matter what the case, insulting others for disagreeing with you will never do anything but make you look immature.

Ah, side tangent, my bad.

This is getting long, oopsies, but I thought it was important to get some of this on paper... er, computer? Because I hate to see a community in disarray when we should be celebrating both of these ships for what they've done and what they could do.

I think that's everything, yeah. Stay safe, drink water, consume lots of queer media, and have some fun. :3

-Rose

[hyperactive-cowboy]

So that's the second chapter of the landoscar christmas series, I have literally no idea of how to make a link between this chapter and the first one, so if you want to read it then you'll have to search it yourself, but it is my last post so no big problem. You have probably realized it, but I got inspired to write this story by "All I want for Christmas", so the titles of the chapters are part of the lyrics. As always if you have suggestions or there are issues with the story don't be shy kidsss. Oh and if someone can tell me how to make the link I'd be grateful for my life. ENJOYYYY

Make my wish come true

Warnings: like one curse word at the start and one at the end (I don't even know if those are considered curse words), the littlest angst and fluff. Some words are translated with google because english is not my first lenguage. It's not beta read because I don't have the energy to do it right now as I had planned on finishing the series in 2023 but here I am.

Ship: F1 involved!Lando Norris × not F1 involved!Oscar Piastri (established relationship)

Wc: 3.3k

Chapter 1, 2, 3

Summary: Max and Logan help Lando in his little gremlin plan to propose to Oscar during their christmas party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max's phone rang in the exact moment his dream was at its climax, waking him up without letting him know the finale of it.

Max looked at who was calling at such an hour in the morning.

It was Lando. Then probably it wasn't important.

Max deactivated the sound and left the vibration on, trying to fall asleep again just to see the end of his dream, but the buzzing wouldn't stop.

With a mix of frustration and malcontent for his not-well-started Wednesday morning, Max took the phone and answered his best friend.

"What do you want" he asked abruptly

"'Morning sunshine, I also miss my best friend so much" Lando answered sarcastically and Max could perfectly picture in his head the wide tooth-gaped smile his best friend almost certainly had on his face. 

"It's not a good morning when it starts like this" Max returned. 

Lando, on the other hand, laughed at his friend's distress. Max knew that, sooner or later, he would've killed his best friend.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for your pain, but I've just got an idea" it surely wasn't a good start. Every time Lando said stuff like that, it didn't end well.

"Oh god"

"I want to propose to Oscar"

"OH GOD" 

Suddenly Max was sitting on the bed, totally awake and vigile.

He didn't know what to say. Well actually there were too many things he wanted to say but couldn't choose which one to say first. Between the "when?" The"where?" and the "Why?"s. 

Instead, his mouth (apparently not connected with his brain) deliberately and on its own expressed all his emotions at once.

"What the fuck"

"Yep it was pretty explanatory" 

Neither of them knew how to behave. Obviously some people they both knew have got married before, but neither Lando nor Max have ever experienced a crazy idea like that. 

"So… when?" The moment Max started to metabolize the news, he also began to like it in some weird way. 

He knew the two have been together for some time and (at least for Lando) have also been pining over each other for even longer, so it was logical that one of them would've done the big step in a short time.

"Okay, well, that's my plan…" 

Lando started to explain The Big Plan to his best friend, who was more excited every new sentence he heard. 

Max had known him for so many years and has always thought of him as more immature and childish than other people their age, but he was sure Lando would've made the perfect husband to Oscar.

This train of thoughts continued and extended in every direction that included memories of Lando, the emotions took over him and made his eyes water a bit. But thinking about it, those words were good, he should've taken notes for his best man's speech.

"Let's recap it from the start once again" Max read on his phone. It was at least the 25th time Lando had asked him to repeat The Plan. He was sure he could've acted even other people's parts in the show. 

"Dear god I only have to say yes when he asks me about the party" Max texted back.

"It's not difficult" then he added just to emphasize the pointlessness of Lando's worries.

"Don't you dare make fun of me I'm just anxious, it's normal I guess" Lando's answer arrived in no time

Max smiled to himself shaking his head. Some things never change, he thought while unfolding all the memories with his best friend and rewatching every time Lando acted anxious. There were a few.

"If your calculus are right, he's calling me in ten minutes, so maybe I should get ready to answer him?" Max asked, trying to find an excuse to not leave his friend on seen in this particular situation.

Lando texted just a "yeah you're right" and then left the chat.

Max sighed and closed his phone, just to get his hands on his face and rub his eyes.

"Hey Osc, long time no see" is the sentence Max and Lando have accorded for him to say, and he did it spectacularly. As if he hasn't repeated it for the past twenty minutes without a single stop.

"Yeah it has been a tough period. We were planning a christmas party at our place on wednesday, are you in?" Oscar asked him.

"But isn't Lando away?" He was trying really, really hard not to abruptly laugh and scream at Oscar's ear.

"Yeah, in fact we wanted to do this thing together, but then he was called away and we can't postpone it anymore" Max thought he sounded a little exasperated.

He felt his lungs expand and contract without an order, his cheeks had become red and swollen, in his eyes there were tears for holding it back, but then he couldn't take it anymore. 

Max let out a soft giggle, but that giggle meant to him like the most powerful and exorbitant laughter he had ever had, mostly because he felt (he could literally touch it) the importance of his position in there.

"Yeah I think I'll be there" 

"K, thanks mate" Oscar sounded pretty hesitant with his answer. "And you can come with who you want" he then added.

"Great, thanks. Bye" Max hung up just right before exploding in what he thought was one of the biggest laughs of his life.

He didn't know the cause of this, but that situation was so funny to him. Maybe it was just the stress. Most probably it was just the stress. But why should he be stressed? It wasn't even his proposal. What would have happened when it was HIS time to take the big step? Max didn't even want to think about it for a minute.

He jumped back to reality and immediately opened his and Lando's chat to update him.

Max rang the doorbell of his best friend's house and waited for his best friend's boyfriend (and next-to-be fiance) to open the door.

"Never saw you awake this early" 

Oh right! Oscar's humor was something he could never forget about.

"I'm happy to see you too" Max stated with the biggest smile stamped on his face. He patted the boy's shoulders with both his hands and looked him down, trying to imagine the guy with a different surname (something like Norris) and a different look (a smoking might be ideal, and maybe a golden ring on that finger could be even better).

"Yeah" Oscar mouthed with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression.

 Max entered the house without needing a welcome. He treated it like it was his, he didn't care if the actual owner was okay with it. At least he could say the same happened every time Lando and Oscar were at his place.

"What are you doing here?" 

If there was another person in the room, they could've heard three voices ask the same question at the same time.

"No no no. I asked you first" Logan yelled at Max getting up pretty fast from the couch he was previously lying on.

"Well yes man, but really why are YOU here" he repeated.

"I'm here to help Oscar. And you?"

"I'm too" 

Max and Logan looked at each other with a slightly confused stare, narrowing their gazes and tilting their head to one side or the other.

Oscar cleared his voice behind them and just then he realized he couldn't tell Logan what he was about to. ("Well, actually I'm here to help Lando" would've been his response).

"Max, can I ask you to get away from my home? I already have enough help" The youngest boy looked exhausted. It must be tiring to project an event like this almost alone and with his boyfriend hundred of miles away from him. 

He could not understand, but he surely could pity him.

"I'm very sorry Oscar, but I'm not leaving this house until tonight" 

"Okay then" he looked more exasperated every sentence. 

"Don't worry. This will be the best party you've ever been to" 

"Do I have to remind you this is MY house? Maybe I should be the one preparing it" Oscar pointed out almost ironically.

"We will be better than you, trust me" Logan, who has been silent the entirety of the time, had stepped in the conversation to support him, and Max couldn't be more grateful.

With all due care, Oscar left his house in his friend's hands and headed to work. 

Max and Logan had only six hours and a half to transform that house into a HOUSE.

"So why are you here really?" Logan broke the silence, leaning on the shopping cart as he pushed it.

The two were at the mall searching for cute items and classic christmas stuff to hang here and there in the house to make it look more comfortable.

They have given themselves a specific and perfectly timed list to follow religiously: the times were calculated per second and the both of them had certain works to complete.

"Lando wants to propose Oscar tonight" Max let out.

"LANDO WANTS TO WHAT?'' Logan cried out in the middle of the cheese island, standing up like he was electrocuted and launching three slices of gruyere into the cart.

"SHHH why are you screaming?" Max whisper-yelled at him.

"Oh ya know? It's just my best friend getting married to yours, why aren't YOU screaming?" Logan replied in the same voice tone.

"I've already had my screaming session a week ago" he explained.

Max looked at his clock and calculated there were two minutes of delay in their schedule.

Logan looked around himself in disbelief, pinching his own cheeks to make sure he was not living a dream. 

He looked at Max right in his eyes for the first time in their entire lives. 

"Then we have to make sure we do the best of it" Logan stated resolutely, speeding even more than before, driving his shopping cart like a formula 1 car.

"You go bake the cookies, I'll get the house aesthetically ready" 

Max nodded at his newfound friend and sprinted into the kitchen to prepare all the ingredients he needed.

Right after putting on his freshly-bought apron, his phone started vibrating.

Max boringly looked at the screen and would've even hung up, but noticing Lando's nickname on it, he thought it was preferible answering, after all that work.

He accepted the call and put on the speaker while calling Logan to make him participate at the "meeting".

"Everything's okay?" Lando's altered voice sounded more worried than Max had ever heard him.

He took a moment to appreciate the fact that his best friend was giving this plan all his soul. You could know how much he cared about Oscar (or generally about his loved ones, even if he didn't show it that much) just by hearing his preoccupied voice.

"Yep, we're almost ready" Logan answered, just as joyful as Max.

"Wait, who was that?"

"It's Logan. I know everything and I couldn't agree more with you on this decision" his face was stamped with a smile from ear to ear and his eyes shone brighter than the stars.

"Oh hey Log sorry, didn't know you were there too. Does he suspect anything?"

"There is absolutely no way he could. We were silent as a grave" Max answered, almost kicking his feet like a schoolgirl.

"Well then-" Lando's sentence start was interrupted by a not a little hasty Max, who was sure he was about to scream.

"Now that you have secured yours and our wellbeing, can we finish our work? We have a pretty full agenda to follow" 

"Oh okay then, I'm halfway there anyways" 

"Yeah yeah, you know where I keep my second set of keys" and without another word, he hung up the phone just as fast as they both came back to their respective jobs in the house.

"Hey that chocolate dough looks fantastic" Logan laughed entering the kitchen, looking at a totally covered in chocolate dough Max.

"Where? I thought I cleaned everything" Max responded. 

Logan sighed and continued his laugh, then threw a clean kitchen towel at him, telling him where he was still dirty while taking a seat to taste what they had prepared during the evening.

"It's not that bad" he exclaimed, chewing the biggest bite of cheese and ham toast Max had ever seen.

Logan raised the volume of his phone when he heard the first bits of  "Last Christmas" were playing.

By then, the trust between the two was near to the one in a years-long friendship, after all those hours spent together and a common goal in mind. For this sole reason, Logan felt confident enough to start singing his favorite Christmas song.

Max turned around with a shocked look. Not because Logan's singing skills were terrible, well not only because of this, but because he didn't think Logan was one to start singing around what was a stranger until a few hours before. 

And again his emotions changed, his heart melting a little. Logan singing like this in front of him meant that he trusted him enough to show him his silly side.

Max decided to match his energy and start wiggling his hips and dancing a little around the room.

The two were so lost in the moment they couldn't hear the owner of the house entering firstly the place, and then the kitchen.

"What in the world you two?" Oscar looked totally agape.

 Max and Logan fastly looked at each other and the american jumped between his best friend and his new one to try protecting him from any crazy action the Aussie could have done.

Max and Logan both knew Oscar wasn't one for physical contact, (everybody around him knew it) and because of it they were used to him never touching them. This was why, when they saw him coming this close so fastly, they were scared Oscar was about to stab one or both of them with a random pointy ornament found in the home.

It must've been a particularly shocking period for Max.

First Lando's announcement, then Logan's new friendship, and now a hug from Oscar.

"Thank you for everything" Max and Logan heard Oscar's muffled voice buried in their clothes and both moved a little because of the little gesture.

"That's no problem mate, really" Max assured him.

"C'mon now, there's people arriving here to party" Logan tried to lighten up the mood, receiving the tiniest and cutest laugh from Oscar.

"I don't think it's the worst idea you've had until now" Max whisper-screamed at his phone in his best friend's kitchen while everybody else, including Oscar, in the living room was living their best life.

It was at least the fourth phrase he had heard from Lando about what he thought could be the best starter of his proposal-speech.

"Well, at least not the weirdest" he continued.

"Ehy!" Lando laughed at him, but still his stress wasn't relieved, not even a bit.

Max, for the fiftieth time, didn't know how to act.

Like, what did he have to say? Something funny to let the pressure decrease? Or something meaningful to be That One friend for once?

He decided that saying nothing was the best option. For both, him and his friend. He was, actually, not a hundred percent sure about it, but on the spot he failed to think about anything better.

"I think it's better if I go now" Max admitted after a few moments of silence.

He received a "yeah" as an answer and immediately hung up.

Max was totally sure there were more mature things to do than he, seconds after, did. But, unfortunately, less mature things are usually the more spontaneous ones.

This is why, when his phone turned on again, seeing the new message from Lando and texted him back, the only natural thing to do that came to his mind was to start jumping and giggling, just like a schoolgirl.

He got only one thing not calculated in his mind: the fact that Oscar might be keen on entering his own kitchen for whatever reason. 

So when he turned around to face the exit, he found there on the door an astonished Oscar staring at him.

Max couldn't tell what was open wider: Oscar's eyes or his mouth.

Anyway, he had to think about a not-too-much- suspicious reaction on the spot. And surely he had never been good at thinking on the spot.

That's the reason why the first thing Max did was rebuking him, closing the door on his face.

Just a single moment after he thought that maybe his actions were more suspicious than anything else he could have done. 

With a worried expression folding his eyebrows, Max took his phone from the marble table's surface again and fastly texted to his friend he might have done something wrong.

"I'm here"

This was the message he had been waiting for the entire time, but now that Lando had sent it to him, Max was starting to get agitated again, knowing exactly what it meant.

"Is everything ready?" Was the following text he received, to which he answered with a "gimme 5 mins" 

The only three things he had to do were: inform Logan, inform every other guest and prepare Oscar.

The guests heard the news with surprise and loving eyes, while Logan started to sweat a bit.

Last point on his list was to take Oscar in front of the entrance and then his work would be done perfectly. 

But where the hell was Oscar? He had asked Liam, Max (the other one) and even Niran, but they knew less than him. So he searched in every room of the house, even the bathroom, but when he had knocked on the bathroom door, Logan's voice had answered him.

Max asked his and Lando's long time friend to text the next-to-be fiance and tell him to wait.

He tried to think about what could have happened: Lando would have rang the doorbell and Max would've opened the door instead of Oscar and Lando would've found his best friend instead of the love of his life in front of him (already on one knee and with the ring box open and about to repeat the speech he had been talking about for weeks) and then Lando would've asked him "what the hell?" and then he should have answered him with something like "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we have lost your future husband, we apologize for the unease" and what could've been Lando's reaction to it all?

Max's morbius thoughts were taking such a part of his brain, he didn't realize Logan had taken Oscar all the way in the living room, just right before entering the entrance.

When Max turned around and saw him, immediately looked at his friend Niran, winking at him as a way to give him the signal for Lando to ring.

All the guests were ready with their phones in their hands, faking sending and receiving messages or searching for something on google. Actually they were all about to flash the lights of their phones to make the atmosphere, using the devices just like in the 70s they used lighters.

Except for Charles: he was the one in charge of recording the video, in fact he had the best position of sight.

Max got out of the kitchen as the doorbell rang and Oscar (in a new outfit) rushed to open the door.

"My guest must've arrived" he announced looking at the young Aussie.

From his point of view, Max couldn't properly see all the scene, so he moved through the tangle of guests to crouch down one step away from Charles.

From there, Max could see everything perfectly: Oscar's (flabbergasted, he might add) expression, the fabulous ring, and most importantly his kneeling best friend and the biggest smile he had ever seen on his face.

[alpaca-clouds]

Okay, let me talk about the Maria/Alucard thing

You know, I am gonna add my two cents to this topic, because the discussion is rather... weird, if you ask me. Because game fans kinda misrepresent the games.

Here is the thing: Within the game canon never is Alucard ever officially in a relationship with Maria. She is in love with him, but the last we see of them by the end of the audio drama - Nocturne of Recollection - is Alucard opening up to her a bit. But... We never see them in a relationship.

There is no doubt that Maria is infatuated with him. She totally is. In SotN and then, of course, in NoR, where she has gotten him to come with her, to stay rather than doing his whole "sleep until the world needs me again" stick. But that... does not make a relationship. That does not mean they are never going to be in a relationship - but technically they never were confirmed to be in a relationship in the game canon.

So, yeah. No. their relationship is not canon to the games. Alucard never is in a canonical relationship with Maria. Portraying it as if it was is just misleading.

When it comes to whether or not they might be canon in Nocturne?

I personally do not think so, mostly for the reason that Nocturne went and tried to make the teenagers... well, teenagers. Maria is 16 here and she acts like a 16yo kid in the real world would act, while in games she is 17yo and acts like a 17yo anime character (aka, like an adult).

Which is what makes it a lot more uncomfortable to imagine her in a relationship with the very much adult Alucard.

Of course, there might be a chance that she will act a lot more grown up in season 2, after the trauma she went through, given she can no longer rely on her mother. But given that the show does not seem to go the anime route from all we can tell (aka the "oh, yeah, leave those kids all on their own, they'll figure it out"), instead giving them adult characters to go along (Alucard, Mizrak, possibly Juste, too).

By the way, I also saw the weird argument that "but Alucard is shipped with Trevor and Sypha and he is only a teenager". To which I just stand here and stare in confusion. Because for one: We do not know how old Alucard is. He technically can be 19 or 20 years old. But it does not even matter, because the text of the show clearly says, that no matter how old he is, he is an adult, because dhampirs age differently. And he acts like it. He acts like an adult. An emotionally stunted adult - but like an adult.

But most importantly: Trevor and Sypha are in their early to mid 20s. So probably within a couple of years agewise of Alucard.

Of course, technically speaking the entire age difference thing tends to be moot when you are talking about immortal beings like Alucard. Like, technically speaking the difference in age and experience between Alucard and even someone like Mizrak, who is probably in his 30s, is going to be immense.

But... Nocturne's Maria very much is still a kid. She acts like a kid. Really, she has enough stuff to worry about without worrying about romance.

Could some romance happen between the two at some point in the future, when she is an adult? Sure. Why not. But within the realm of the show? It would probably just feel weird. Because, again. Maria is a kid.

[asherlockstudy]

HEY FRIENDS

Literally one year ago I made a vague post and a few people asked me what I meant, but I felt a little drained at the time and never explained but as GME3 is fast approaching, I am re-emerging with the questionable decision to write my thoughts on GME2. 

Bear in mind that some of the points might be negative as I have explained my conflicted feelings about this show before however don't let that discourage you from reading it because there's more to it than the negative points, trust me. Also, the post is GIF heavy so I put the rest of it under the cut.

GME2 thoughts: 

Rhett and Link can’t tell the difference between an evening show and a soft Only Fans account. I didn’t mind anything in the show (except for that sex doll with the fucked up eyes that creep me out),  I just...don’t understand completely: who came up with this project, how genuinely RandL like it and how it relates to their occasional irritation against shippers. 

In other words, for people who proclaim they don’t understand why people ship them, acting out explicit fanfics is a bold decision to say the least.

Like, the whole concept of the show is for them to drink so their boundaries go down and then when somebody goes a bit off the rails, everyone is like “oh no” and facepalming. What’s up with that? Either embrace the concept of your show or don’t do it at all. I mean, nothing was truly much except for the fanfic enactment which was a bit much, if you ask me, perhaps mostly because I can’t tell how comfortable they are with it. Sometimes, especially Rhett just doesn’t look totally okay with it. So why do it? For the extra fee? Really? Wow. As an example, neither Rhett nor Link felt okay with sucking Chase’s toes and, guess what, Chase didn’t want it either. Who’s the mastermind behind all that... And has Chase gotten his raise yet?

Let’s go to Rhett. I might be wrong but I have noticed that for his size, Rhett is kinda a lightweight. One beer and his eyes are glassy, his cheeks round and red. In the last GME, he had refrained from drinking because he wanted to handle the situation in case Link lost it. This time, 7 shots and a few more drinks during the show weren’t enough to make him drunk, or as drunk as Link, or make him lose himself into the moment and have fun. Conclusion: Rhett is not very comfortable with this project. Rhett is afraid of Link being unhinged. Why is he afraid of an unhinged Link? What can Link say or do that Stevie wouldn’t be able to handle and he would have to step in? It’s plain throughout the show that Rhett is constantly concerned about what Link might say next. What on earth can a Southern ex-hardcore Evangelist married at 20 say that is giving Rhett nightmares?

 Rhett confirming that Link does the fibonacci when he shaves his face lol Do they often talk about fibonacci shaving? Does he remember it from 20 years ago? How often does Link shave in the creative house? Questions, questions, questions...

Rhett fully knowing that Link had a story about hurting his dick. Link clarifying he meant one when he was alone. Rhett warning him “I am just looking out for you”. Thus, Rhett knowing Link hurt his dick when he was with somebody else and considered it a story that Link would regret revealing. So, is Rhett having nightmares because Link hurt his dick when he was with Christy and if so, why? No??? Notice Rhett getting lowkey tortured until Link finally wraps up his silly harmless story. He lost five years of life there. 

Link saying he wishes his Christy buttcheek tattoo faded away... because “this would symbolise the long time they have been together”. Okay... all right.

 Rhett confirmed as an ass man besides a vagina man. Like, just as he was saying he was always so fascinated by vaginas he almost gave them supernatural qualities, he now pretty much said the asshole is divine design! Link bumped Rhett’s shoulder at the mention of anal preference, pointing at him, once more giving Rhett a scare. (BTW the truth is Rhett is an #anything_goes man let’s be real XD)

Link non-verbally proclaimed them both “team ass” but not with Rhett’s consent. 

Link said at two points in the aftershow that Rhett made him uncomfortable but I can’t for the life of me understand what he was talking about and it seems Rhett did neither. There was probably something that flew over my head entirely...

That’s just funny but Link in the end saying “After fucking all these years, we’re still surprising your ass”. This is not even a Freudian slip, this is a Freudian syntax! Next level shit XD Meanwhile Rhett: 

#When ten drinks are not enough to save you from Link's syntax

And now let’s go to the sequence I was referring to in the previous (one year old) vague post:

The Bean daddy fic enactment was initially a thing of cuteness, indeed, but I have the suspicion there was more going on. Let’s see it step by step.

The cute thing started because Link somehow played the role of tentative Link shyly revealing his deeper feelings with exceptional skill. It was also cute when Rhett, while still impersonating fic!Rhett basically implored Link to not drop chocolate syrup on his clothes, hair and beard. He was having fun with it and he was being flirtatious and affectionate towards Link, though, again he was still supposedly imitating his fic version.

Link received passively Rhett’s flirty show, with moderate amusement. However, it is very important to note that he was nodding affirmatively throughout Rhett’s flirty request. He had a face saying “okay, I understand, I am not gonna drop the chocolate all over you”. That's important to keep in mind.

Notice how Rhett asks Link to take care how he'll pour the syrup in character while Link is amused but also nods affirmatively that he does not intent to screw Rhett's outfit.

As soon as Rhett trusts Link won’t screw him like that, he drops his head back and opens his mouth waiting for the chocolate syrup. Then Link tells him seriously to hold on, he immediately changes to a sexy imitation of Rhett’s open mouth, saying something like “I just want to acknowledge…” Rhett raises his head, “Yess???”, still in the flirty silly mood, probably believing Link is improvising within the fic’s context. But Link says: “Don’t assume the position just yet, because I would like to respond to that”. At this point, clearly Link doesn't follow the script. Rhett waits but he is still in the flirty amused mode. Link does this characteristic hand motion which means something very clear “All jokes aside, I want to talk about something serious now”. Rhett takes note of Link’s hand gesture but he still doesn’t drop his flirty persona. Link announces to Rhett: “This is a test.” Rhett is clearly too far gone enjoying the fic enactment. He nods without clearly understanding. “This is a test…”, he agrees, nodding, until finally his brain catches up. “………of whaaaaat?”, he asks half-fic like, half-suspicious.

Notice Link's serious gesture and Rhett becoming suspicious literally mid-sentence after Link says "this is a test".

Link starts to mouth something but immediately changes it and says slowly and cautiously: “Of my ability to be your true friend”. Rhett’s amusement is gone. He dismisses Link hastily, mumbling “I believe it” and assumes the position again. Link insists though, inching closer. “Because…”, he starts. Rhett immediately closes his mouth and turns to face Link alarmed. It seemed to me he felt vulnerable to wait there with an open mouth and Link so close.

Notice Rhett dismissing Link and how quickly he closes his mouth once Link gets closer.

Link continued slowly, trying to fill the lack of words with facial expressions translatable only to Rhett and not us. “Because… the most entertaining thing to do… would be…”. “No, no it actually wouldn’t be”, Rhett countered quickly and still somewhat softly but there was fear and panic in his eyes in that moment. My assumption is that he was still being soft in order to not rile up the mildly inebriated Link too much. Rhett continued: "It would be the opposite of what you're actually thinking".

Link tries to communicate with faces (including puckered lips) instead of fully formed sentences but Rhett understands. He's neither flirty nor amused anymore. He asserts what Link thought to do - the test, "the abilty of being his true friend", would have the exact opposite result from entertainement.

Link doesn't drop it just yet. He asks Rhett if he really knows what Link is thinking about. Rhett hums affirmatively. But Link says: "Cause I was thinking about being the hero by just putting it in your mouth and not getting it all over you. But now you are just telling me to get it all over you." Of course this is a lie. Rhett spent so much time making it clear he does not want syrup all over himself. Link nodded so many times, making it clear he understood and agreed. He made the gesture meaning "I am gonna talk about something different and more important". So, the test that he wanted to acknowledge that this whole skit was about was something different. But in the end he saw how negative Rhett was to the idea and quickly twisted his statements, now saying it was all about whether he would drop the chocolate on his...true friend or not, which makes no sense whatsoever as statements go and it is redundant, since it was established and agreed upon literally seconds before that he would not do it.. Rhett says something I can't catch, like "no, I know what you were thinking" or "no, you won't do what you're thinking" or something similar. Link then repeats in his twist of words that Rhett essentially urges him to drop the chocolate all over him and he has that rabid look he sometimes has near Rhett. Rhett then, again with his mouth open, says: "Okay, it's time. We've milked this moment enough". Rhett clearly tries to bring Link to his senses and avoid this moment lingering too much in people's memory.

Link is bummed at Rhett's refusal however not "wounded type" of bummed. I guess it was more like, tipsy Link threw an idea out there, Rhett reacted poorly to it and Link was done like "okay it's on you that this test won't happen" but then got on with everything without more drama.

What was that test?

Well, repeating Link's words:

I would just like to acknowledge... This is a test. Of my ability to be your true friend. The most entertaining thing to do... would be...

Does anyone know whether there was more in this fic? Perhaps something more in it that Link wanted to acknowledge but Rhett didn't want enacted?

Maybe what Link wanted to test as "potentially the most entertaining thng to do" was his initiative alone? And it would be proof of Link being Rhett's true... friend. And Rhett knew what Link had in mind but he was adamant that it would have the exact opposite effect on the audience than what Link expected.

Hmm. I leave you to your thoughts and your mental preparation for GME3.

[zalrb]

the summer i turned pretty ... review ... lord give me strength

I am already crying in frustration just looking at the recap, guys, this acting is BAD.

This is going to be a mean review. Like me and initiumseries watching Shadowhunters sober mean. You've been warned.

"Belly, I think about you. I do. You know I do." CAN YOU HAVE SOME EMOTION IN YOUR VOICE PLEASE?

"How am I supposed to jump into things with Jeremiah when a piece of my heart still beats for his brother." WHO. SPEAKS THIS WAY. WHO? Even in your most angsty, teenage-y, write bad poetry phase who SAYS that? YOU WRITE THAT IN YOUR JOURNAL OR YOUR BAD POETRY.

Y'all, this is JUST me reacting to the recap. I don't know if I can survive this.

Do I hate something more than Bridgerton? Is that possible?

I was about to be like is a voiceover necessary for this show but considering how horrible the acting is, they need the voiceover to communicate the emotions to the audience because the actors sure as hell aren't.

"Escaping to your dreams is easier than living with your memories" we don't need voiceover for everything though. Oh my god, I hate this show.

OK here is the thing with Conrad and Belly? is that it? She's trying way too hard to perform that giddy can't stop smiling, twirly feeling that it just looks like fidgeting because they don't ACTUALLY vibe

He looks like he's reaching for an emotion and she looks like Robert Pattinson on the set of Twilight, she's not even going to try, she's checked out

This is why I didn't want to do this review because I was like, it seems like anons love this show and I really, really, really won't. And of course there's nothing wrong with loving this show and loving this ship or whatever else ship there is, like do your thing absolutely, but like faaaaaaaam, this is BAD for me.

"You're it for me, Belly" jesus christ you're like 12.

"I don't want to hurt Jere" "Me neither!" Really? Because you seem PERFECTLY okay with doing so. HAHAHA is this going to be another edwina thing?

Y'all can't even SNEAK properly, like have any of them acted before this?

Like she keeps doing little head movements to show how giddy and swirly she's feeling

and I get it because that's what you do when you feel that way but if there was actual chemistry here, it would be natural

like even when they're "caught"

Dawson and Joey did that better (and I'm using them specifically because lou sent me an article I did not read that said this show was the best teen show since Dawson's Creek and I had to laugh)

like this is the this-is-really-funny-but-we're-nervous twirly behaviour and they vibe.

Like I should be getting this kind of energy

Are there any young dark-skinned boys on this show? What's going on?

I can't deal with the combination overacting and underacting.

It's summer, why is the guidance counsellor JUST having this conversation with her?

LMAO I don't know the circumstances because I didn't watch season 1 but for real Belly looks shitty here.

BUT I SHOULD BE GETTING DAWSON AND JOEY ANGST HERE, MAN. Like, it's clearly supposed to be that kind of scene because they say the same type of things that Dawson and Joey say to each other when he finds out about Pacey but Dawson and Joey are MESSY, it's DRAMA

I can't deal with the contained, neat, manufactured, non-emoting yet somehow over-acting yet somehow monotonous, sluggishly paced gen z teen dramas. I CAN'T DO IT.

I'm just wondering if that anon is reading this ... how is Conrad the best actor exactly?

Like no one is, but why him? "No matter what happens, we'll still be infinite" in the FLATTEST voice with the FLATTEST expression?

it's not Lucas confidence

or Stefan sincerity

or Seth desperation

or Chuck conviction

it's just this

hard. pass.

y'all it's been 15 minutes.

her brother's valedictorian speech is neither funny nor clever, I don't know if I can make it through an entire episode, this show makes me violent.

I'm skipping this speech.

Now I'm suddenly thinking of Rory's valedictorian speech, I don't remember it but I feel like rather than it being a speech to uplift her fellow graduates it was just about her and her life in Stars Hollow.

They're supposed to be SO CLOSE that they call each other family and EVERYONE IS SO AWKWARD and STIFF.

At the very least one of them should be painting the other's toenails or she should be stroking Belly's hair or SOMETHING to show that they're like family.

I'm tired of hearing extra being used because no one uses it properly but ANYWAY, moving on.

like I can't be expected to take this seriously

that's just like going THERE. THERE.

like I believe the excitement in her face more than I have believed ANYTHING ELSE that has happened so far but I mean ...

Like are you two siblings? Like what's going ON here, man.

He did not deserve to go viral.

Are the parents divorced or are they just devoid of looking like they know each other like everyone else on this show?

The mother's views on not promoting her book don't make sense, then she shouldn't have published it. Also how long ago did Susannah die? Like a year ago? Because it takes, at minimum, two years to traditionally publish a book, you have to write it, you have to do at the very least three rounds of edits with the editor then at least a couple of rounds with the copy editor then it needs to be formatted, then there's the cover, then there's sending ARCs to other authors for blurbs, then if there's an audiobook there' auditions for actors, like there's a whole process but anyway.

OK can we drop the whole "I don't snore" banter -- and I use that word so loosely -- is there nothing else to banter about?

They are so boring to listen to.

I don't know how it is in the States but if you're taking trig in the 11th grade/junior year then you chose to take trig so you would be good at trig.

"You know every time I think of him I still get this, like, pain in my chest" she said, dully.

Milo looks like wannabe Dylan O'Brien being wannabe Machine Gun Kelly

So. Boring. To listen to. It also doesn't help that Belly sucks at telling a story. Why do I care about the guy Katie was seeing? You barely seem to care ma'am.

YOU'RE MY SOBER DRIVER. Do cabs not exist here?

This blow up with her brother should be LOUD and PAINFUL, there should be SCREAMING and BASS in their voices

like i know they can't all be JAW but SOMETHING my GOD

BITCH WERE YOU?

For the way they're talking, she should be Buffy about Angel

she should be Willow about Oz

she should be Caroline about Tyler

those phone conversations should be kdrama shit

like this is ALL SO BLAND and I just want Belly to shut up, she's insufferable, man.

are you sure?

Oh thank god it's over.