#literally fancypants

[traggalicious]

@moiistdirts IT’S HIM ‼️ THE BOY ‼️

[jellitchi]

varigo lovely night animatic

i made this in a sickly haze.... i uploaded her to youtube as well feel free to check it out. under the cut is a Huge Ramble abt sum context / what happens In My Mind... also their Fancy ballroom fits n whatever

yk how theres a ball/fancy party or smth? yeah i needed stupid designs so i cranked these out might return and color them but i basically based varian n hugos design off of these just dressed down...

Anyways.

uhm i might write a Whole fic abt this with Oomf but uhm.

this takes place during the events of vat7k about a year after varian initially left, he returns to corona w his friends to find the library and rapunzel and eugene throw him a surprise birthday party. and in true disney character fashion, something horrible happens on his birthday. the gang gets caught witnessing / overhearing plans to assassinate the princess tonight. or maybe its gonna b a murder mystery party gone awry- havent decided. the group splits into two groups, the detectives and the protectors. yong and nuru are the detectives, theyre looking for evidence they can use to prove this has been planned for a long time. hugo n varian r tasked w making sure rapz n eugene done die sum horrible death as they hang out at the party. did i mention the party is The royal ball. so everyone is in stuffy/fancypants fits.

the whole running gag was gonna b rapunzel and eugene having like fifty near death experiences n its always like, Unknowingly. and hugo and varian r stressed out of their mind.

the reason varian n hugo r on Protector duty is coz theyre like Uhm. we're better at Improvising stuff. We can curve this and try n get the Killer to mess up and leave a trail for nuru n yong to go after.

anyways this animatic takes place a bit after like fifty attempts (cartoon ass flower pot almost crashes on their head, they watch someone spike their drinks and hugo runs over and drinks them both followed by an antidote varian just made, they walk through an archway and just barely miss the guillotine positioned above their head okay you get it just Silly cartoonish methods of assassination)

A Lovely Night takes place after Most of that so theyre very tired, the two get locked onto a balcony and r forced to kinda js Watch rapz n eugene hang out. varian takes a seat n is trying to sleuth out whos tryna kill his sister, he has an imaginary cork board w strings. hugo is kinda like "mann theyre kinda cute tgt. see two ppl locked on a balcony alone under the night sky would consider this romantic, goggles." n then Lovely Night!

uhm and the afterwards i think theres a figure approaching eugene and rapunzel so the two literally make a makeshift rope and throw themselves down the balcony to save them but boom they played into the assassinators plan! they were tired of varian and hugo getting in the way so they were js gonna kill em too. n then this is when rapunzel n eugene step in, n save them yeah and then they tell them everything and all is well and good and the assassins r behind bars...! Segment end....

[rocksibblingsau]

What would branch being captured by the v's look like in the classical branch au

would trollzart and the others have to find his brothers or like how would they react to branch's brothers acting so undignified(by classical troll stantards) especially compared to branch who is literally The etiquette person(having written books and being a etiquette teacher, etc)

- :D

If Classical Branch was captured by Velvet and Veneer, I like to think the two actually have no idea if they actually caught Bitty B.

"Are we sure this is Bitty B?" "The name is 'Branch', my good sir." "Who cares if it is, we'll just lie and tell BroZone we have Bitty B."

John Dory gets the letter and goes to confirm himself, finding Classical Branch. He actually can't tell that Classical Branch is Branch, and Branch doesn't know that John Dory doesn't know.

JD: Hello? Hey! Hey are you okay? Branch: Johnathon Dory? JD: Uh just John Dory. Branch: My apologies. I'm relatively unharmed, though most indisposed. You best leave now, before Madam Velvet and Sir Veneer return. JD: I should get you out- WAIT! Do they have any other trolls here? Branch: No, just myself, thankfully. Though some company would help see me through the nights...

Branch tells JD to find his father, Trollzart, and even gives him directions to both Pop Village/Trollstopia and Symphonyville. JD plans to first stop by Pop Village to find his brothers and then he'll get "this Trollzart dude", as he still believes they are the best shot at the family harmony.

JD interrupts the wedding to ask about Branch like normal, now that the letter was a bust. Poppy tells him Branch just left a bit ago to return home to Symphonyville. JD, at this point, doesn't actually know what Symphonyville is or that it implies Branch is living with a whole other type of Trolls. So he just goes "GREAT! That's where the fancy dude I found also lives. Maybe Branch knows him!" He explains a bit more to Poppy and she has to tell him that WAS Branch he found.

JD insists she's mistaken ("No you didn't see this guy, he was a real fancypants nerd type and Bitty's just a baby") but Branch's friends all confirm that that's what Branch is like now. He still doubts it as he was told to find his 'father' and it's not possible for Branch to mean THEIR dad. Meeting the Classical Trolls he's even more confused because what is UP with these dudes?

Trollzart's instantly worried to hear Branch has been kidnapped, as well as upset with John Dory. "You just LEFT him there? Ah well I suppose the notion isn't foreign to you." But he's willing to do whatever it takes to save his darling boy.

The trip to find Bruce is tense as John Dory had been the patriarch of the family, and now some fancy dressed baby man who talks like he swallowed a dictionary (JD's words, not mine) is trying to claim he's Branch's dad?

When they get to the island, Bruce doesn't want to even listen to John Dory until Trollzart yells out "For heaven's sake, isn't there a single one of you who cares about dearest Branch?!" That gets Bruce's attention and he demands to know what's up. He wants to help but he's still a bit confused on Trollzart's role in this.

Since Branch isn't there, it's slightly thanks to Trollzart they find Clay. Bruce and John Dory are arguing back and forth and Trollzart remarks to Poppy that despite the glass he can "Smell the stench of those foul undergarments just as well as he could from a mile away". Poppy gets the idea to use them for Rhonda and they arrive at the Hole N Fun.

Clay initially is pretty cool with Trollzart, as he's "hardcore serious" but when it's clear that Trollzart has a grudge he gets defensive.

The brothers have no clue how to find Floyd but thankfully they don't need to. Floyd also received the letter and he meets up with them outside of Mount Rageous.

The group attempts to practice, resulting in their fighting. Floyd attempts to break it up, cue the line about going their separate ways. It's Trollzart who gets upset this time. "Ah what a displeasure it is to see the four of you reprising your star roles. Though it is my first time seeing it, my beloved son has described that dreaded day that I myself am experiencing deja vu witnessing this. Truly if the world is a stage you are most befitting of the villainous role. One must wonder what it must be like to care so little about anyone other than oneself, it must surely be quite liberating to not feel the least bit of sorrow at the thought of the infant you left behind."

Trollzart joins the fight, telling the brothers about what a joy Branch is to have as a son and doesn't reveal Branch's trauma but does imply Branch HAS trauma and its their fault. Trollzart tells them they don't deserve the option of a second chance and he leaves and tells Poppy he'll attempt this 'perfect family harmony' his own way.

Trollzart and Branch duet for the perfect family harmony, with Brozone playing more of a supporting role. I'm thinking it'd be sort of a broadway type of song. Kinda like 'Not While I'm Around' from Sweeney Todd or 'Dear Theodosia' from Hamilton, a little bit 'Slipping Through My Fingers' from Mamma Mia, even. If Classical Branch was an actual Trolls movie I'd probably make them hire that Lin Manual guy that @dialga64bitz keeps sending me pictures of in my submissions box to write the song.

And uh, yeah. That's about how it'd go I imagine.

[gigi-the-writer]

Demencia and Flug are literally that tiktok audio

“How the hell you spell showfer”

“Chauffeur”

“Ooh FancyPants Rich McGee over here, fuck you spelling bee ass”

Why are you all so smart. Why can’t I think of stuff like this-

[cassolotl]

Blown Away (Netflix)

This season is HOT and FIERY and DANGEROUS and we have a HUGE HOT SHOP! Our contestants are here to compete for some prize that none of the viewers really understand or care about! This is...

BLOWN AWAY

~

[interview clip, Contestant A:] I'm here to WIN

Judge lady: Hi everyone, here's our guest judge, Dr Sandy McGlass from Fancypants University

[they walk in]

Contestants: WHOAAAAAA *nudge, gasp, knowing nods*

[interview clip with Contestant F:] Dr Sandy McGlass is a LEGEND.

Viewers: I have no idea who this is

Guest judge to the contestants: In my job I like/do things, so you better impress me

Judge lady: Your job is to make a piece based on this theme, and then we're gonna judge you

[interview clip, Contestant B:] I'm gonna take it right to the final

Generic presenter: Your time starts... now!

~

[shots of molten glass getting rolled around in colourful sugar crystals, people breaking up giant crayons, etc]

Contestant D: [drawing on something with chalk] I'm just doing this for my kids, you know?

[interview with contestant E:] I've done a lot of glass and I really like it, so I'm making this cool thing

Contestant A: Blowing guy, blow into the tube

Blowing guy: [blows into the tube]

Contestant A: Stop that

~

Presenter: What's your favourite topical item?

Judge lady: Probably this thing, hahahaha

Guest judge: ????? I guess??

~

Contestant F: [just, putting a stick into a fire hole to scoop up some gloop] I'm in this minority group so I'm making something to represent my culture

No one: The final winner will definitely be a white person though

Contestant C: Making caaaaane~

[interview clip, Contestant D:] I'm clearly the best, but I am worried about [contestant who is clearly the best], though

~

Contestant F: [glass falls off stick and smashes on the floor]

Assistant: [puts on a bomb suit and picks up the smashed thing and runs and puts it very carefully into the magic cupboard]

Presenter on the observation deck: Annealer... isn't that like, a species of mammal that eats insects?

[interview clip, contestant F:] Glass breaks a lot

[interview clip, contestant C:] Glass breaks a lot

Judge lady to presenter: Glass does break a lot, yes

~

Contestant A: [sweating all over the place] I started out doing this other job, but then I started blowing glass and never looked back

Contestant B: [squidging some 1,000ºC molten glass about like it's toffee, you want to eat it] I'm just doing this for my kids, you know?

~

Judges: We're all very concerned, Contestant D is really good at glass but also really bad at it. And Contestant A is really bad at glass, but also really good at it. Do they have what it takes?

[several shots of contestants being really sweaty and sticking glass together with other glass]

[interview clip, Contestant C:] I'm here to win

Contestant B: [bashing glass with hammer] I just really love glass

~

Judge, from observation deck: Contestant A is good, but also bad

[some guy out of shot rolls a die to find out who should shout about time remaining]

Judge/presenter/contestant: X UNITS OF TIME LEFT, PEOPLE!

Contestant (any): What, there is less time left than before?????

[interview with contestant who blatantly displays 3+ ADHD symptoms in one sentence]

Contestant E: Okay, let's put this hot glass thing in a place/position

[it breaks]

[interview with Contestant E:] That was the main part of my piece and there are literally x units of time left, I do not have time to make another, I'm just going to have to wing it

Presenter, from the observation deck: That's tough, man

Judge lady: It is, yes

Random inhabitant on the shop floor: TWO MINUTES LEFT, PUT YOUR GLASS IN THE ANNEALERS!!!

[much running around in bomb suits putting things in magic cupboards]

~

[peaceful twinkly music, and a slow shot of each piece in the gallery with a description/explanation. Contestant E's has a broken item in it.]

[judges look at each piece]

Judge: This is pretty good

Other judge: But is it also bad, though

Judge: I guess, but is it also good though

Presenter: I would eat that

Judges: Lol

Judge/presenter: [pun based on show's theme]

[polite chuckling]

Presenter: Let's go hear from the contestants

~

[cut to clean tidy hot shop. contestants walk in in slow motion and face the row of judges]

Judge: Contestant B, tell us about why you made this sucky choice

Contestant B: [something about their kids and/or how much they love glass, determination, etc.]

Judge: Thank you

Contestant B: *nods*

Other judge: Contestant E, I noticed that part of your piece was broken, talk to us about that

Contestant E: I broke my piece but then I decided that it's meaningful actually

Judges: *nodding*

Judge: Contestant D, do you think your piece is enough to take you to the next round?

Contestant D: I'm just doing it for my kids, you know?

Presenter: Okay, we'll go and talk about you behind your backs now

[cut to interview with Contestant B:] I'm not ready to go home, you know?

[cut to interview with Contestant D:] If I make good glass, I stay. If I make bad glass, I go home.

~

Judges and presenter, hushed voices, in a secret huddle: They all were good, but also they all sucked; but were they actually good, do you think?

[cut to the hot shop face-off again]

Presenter: Just a reminder of the prize that has been repeated 17 times so far and that none of the viewers remember or care about

Judge: Our top best favourite is

.

.

.

.

.

.

Judge: Contestant C.

Presenter: And one guy [gn] is going to be leaving the hot shop today. That person is

.

.

.

.

[shots of individual nervous contestants]

.

.

.

.

.

Presenter: Contestant A

Contestant A: [nods, smiles, hugs everyone on the way out]

Presenter: Everyone else rules. All of you remaining white people will be going on to the next round.

[interview with Contestant A, wearing the same outfit as the interview at the beginning when they said they were here to win:] At the end of the day I came here to have a nice time and/or do it for my kids, and I think I can go home proud, I basically won

[end credits]

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC In Fifteen Tag!

Thanks for the Tag, @kaylinalexanderbooks!

I'll go with some lines from Kyran Mavven (Of Starlight and Beasts), Raiden (Jade Ruins), and Sam Delaways (Enchanted Illusions)!

Kyran Mavven

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me." *death glares at Masen from across the tavern with the wrath of a thousand suns.* [Masen sees him, and strides up to him for the whole tavern to see, speaking with an angry smirk "Hello, brother."]

"If I get to blow something up then... yes. The answer is yes. And it will always be yes."

[To Bastien] "... You're not as wretched as I'd expected, for an Eclipsed soldier, that is. You're... pretty okay." [Cue awkward pat on the shoulder before walking off]

"I haven't worked on a team for a while now. I wasn't expecting my next experience with this to be with this little bunch of dimwits, but I'll take what I can get."

"They're trying to kill us, aren't they." [Corah chuckles awkwardly drily, clearly lying "No, not at all! What made you come up with that?"] "First, most people we meet since you came around are actively trying to kill us. Secondly, and most evident - they've literally just stabbed you!

+ Bonus: "If you touch my glasses or my goggles again I will bite you."

Raiden

6. "Because I know how to put up a show - why do you think my fights in the arena have such a crowded audience? - while you almost stumbled yourself to death twice since we first met. By yourself. That's why I'm in charge of the distraction, and you're in charge of all the rest."

7. "Hold on just a minute! I'm far too glorious to trudge through that muck, oh, no way in the Hells! We're figuring out another way around this or I swear to the Spirits that will leave you behind -" [Gets thrown in the bog regardless, mid-tantrum]

8. "So we're working with the Daggerfangs now? Literal assassins and thugs?" Raiden looks between Solei and Nevan with a bitter laugh "Oh, okay! Here go my hopes at living past 25 then. But carry on, enlighten me with your plans."

9. "Just because I like to annoy you doesn't mean you're not my friend, Solei. Now, can you not be such a killjoy and just let me help you, or is that too difficult for your 'high royalness'?"

10. "Oh, it's not me you've gotta worried about. I'm all tied up!" He smiles, holding up his tied wrists with a near-hysteric laugh and a dangerous tone "You pissed off Jinn - you're more fucked than I could ever make you be. And I suggest you run off now, 'cause she's coming up behind you at a really remarkable speed."

Sam Delaways

11. "That's a good idea alright. If you two intend on being dead in a week that is!"

12. "...Yeah, this city ain't for the faint of heart - you gotta fight through it, or else it will consume you, and that never has a good ending."

13. "You don't say? Here I was thinking the whole 'drenched in blood and viscera, glowing pitch black eyes' was just a style choice of his - of course, I knew he was a necromancer! I just didn't know he was that necromancer, that bit is new."

14. "The constabulary here are more corrupt than the crooks. If you walk up to them with that bunch of evidence against the Mayor, I guarantee ya that you two will be the ones walking out of that station with cuffs and a noose waiting for you in the docks. We need 'ta make an actual plan to go about this."

15. "I want chocolate cake." [Harriet and Augustus turn to him, baffled, given that this is the wreckage of one of their most recent escapades gone wrong. Augustus speaks up "You do know that we almost died just now -"] "That's precisely why I want that cake. Now, shut up, and lemme just enjoy this ride for a while, fancypants, I got a headache."

Tagging (gently, no pressure): @lassiesandiego, @clairelsonao3, @little-peril-stories, @rickie-the-storyteller, @crowandmoonwriting, @sam-gladee, @writernopall, @oh-no-another-ideaa, @hrmkingizzy, @jasperygrace, @tabswrites, @littleladymab, @starlit-hopes-and-dreamss, @tabswrites @i-can-even-burn-salad, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and @blind-the-winds

[20dollarlolita]

Quick tip:

Sometimes you're sewing on a fancy-ass sewing machine, and it will stop and give you a broken thread error. You'll get a pop-up on your screen that says, "check needle thread," or "thread broken," or something. Sometimes, this pops up even when the needle thread isn't broken.

You, having determined that the thread is not broken, close the pop-up and keep sewing. The error comes up again, and again, every time you start sewing.

You now have two options: You can stop sewing, pack your machine up, take it to your local or semi-local sewing machine store that offers service, pay money to have it serviced, wait 3-5 weeks for repair, bring it home, and find that the problem has been solved and that the technicians were not able to replicate the problem in store.

Or you can stop sewing, take the thread all the way out of the machine, thread the machine from the beginning, and see if that solves the problem. It usually does.

It would be dishonest of me to present these two options like they are equal problem solving tasks.

Yes, I know that the thread isn't broken. You know that the thread isn't broken. But your fancypants machine, which has the mental processing power of an infant yet which is absolutely unyielding to anything but its own logic, does not know that the thread isn't broken. Just do what it wants, because it will never decide to see merit in your ideas and attempt to compromise.

I've started seeing this a lot at work, where someone brings the machine in to be troubleshot instead of just fucking taking the thread out and putting it back in. Fun fact, that's the first thing we can do, and also fun fact, gas is $6 a gallon, so not driving the machine 95 minutes to the sewing machine store just so that someone can take the thread out and put it back in is actually pretty damn prudent, fun fact. I don't know why this happens (and I see it most with Tacony machines and Bernina) but the machine literally told you how to solve the problem, so please just do it.

The HV Topaz line sometimes likes to do this thing where it has an error that pops up, where it generates an error report file and tells you to email that to an automated system. This is because the machine is not wifi-enabled, and cannot send that message for you. When someone comes in and says they got that error, I very innocently ask, "and what did they say when you emailed that error file to them?" knowing damn well that they didn't try that, and getting massive enjoyment from watching them admit that they didn't try that. That error file is personalized to the exact fault that made the machine fail, so your sewing machine store can't solve that problem for you apart from just taking the file off your machine and emailing it for you. Your sewing machine store also cannot do anything if, instead of bringing your machine in to be troubleshot, you just took a picture of the screen and asked us what the error means. The error, which says "a error file has been generated. Pleas email this file to <email>," means you should take the error file that has been generated and email it to the email.

Frankly, if your machine was over $1500, it probably really wants to help you solve the problem on your own. It will give you steps to attempt to resolve this problem. If you take it to a service place, the first thing they're going to do is attempt to follow the instructions given by the sewing machine. These very, very frequently solve the problem. No one knows what's going on better than your expensive problem child robot, so listen to it. We have people all the time who say, "I don't get why it didn't work at home, but I bring it here and it stops having the problem!!" I understand that watching that happen is very frustrating. However, you can often save this frustration by rethreading, changing thread, changing needle, looking in your bobbin area for lint or needle strikes, looking at your thread cutter for lint and thread in there, turning the machine off, turning it back on, flossing the thread into the tension discs, and other really basic things that cost you a max of $2 to do at home. A really good portion of the time, the reason it happened all the time and home but doesn't happen during service or pre-service check-in is just because you didn't try hard enough, or didn't try the right steps, to resolve your problem at home. I'm not allowed to say that at work, but I do believe it's the truth.

The other reason why you might take a broken machine to the shop and it works there is because sometimes your broken machine just needs to be put in the car and driven somewhere. I'm not bullshitting you on this; I genuinely believe this to be the truth. So, if your local sewing machine store is 95 minutes away, you can probably save some time by just taking your machine to your local McDonald's drive thru instead.

[chierafied]

December Drabbles Day 13 - The Gingerbread Maestro

Read on AO3.

Banner fan art by the amazing @sayuri-liu

For @kaoruhana08. You are such a sweetheart and you've been such a great support to the fandom. Thank you so much for all that you've done, I really appreciate you! 💖

Prompt by Agustina. Thank you!

Day 13 - The Gingerbread Maestro

As it often was, Sesshoumaru’s mother had been the instigator. She’d given them the idea, quite literally, by handing them a gift card for Sesshoumaru’s birthday. A tell-tale smirk had played on her red lips as she’d done it. But in the end, the joke was on her: The couple’s cooking class had become a Saturday tradition that Kagome and Sesshoumaru both enjoyed. 

So much so that they’d continued with it, even after the gift card had run out. 

Sesshoumaru, in particular, had started to spend a lot more time in the kitchen back home. It had become his domain. But he gracefully tolerated Kagome’s occasional — and messy — forays in it.  

Today was their last cooking class of the year, and they'd be making gingerbread cookies. It was both a topical theme and something easier and more relaxing to end their year of lessons on. Sesshoumaru studied the recipe intently as if he were cramming for the university entrance exams. Meanwhile, Kagome gathered up all their supplies and ingredients and switched on the oven.

By now, they worked as a seamless unit, each comfortable in their role. Once Sesshoumaru had finished poring over the recipe, Kagome gave it a quick skim. She started grating the ginger while Sesshoumaru measured their ingredients and added them into a mixing bowl. Done with the ginger, Kagome took over the mixing bowl. She stirred the ingredients into a dough enthusiastically, humming to herself as she worked. Sesshoumaru kept measuring this and pouring in that. He worked in silence, but the smile on his face was genuine.  

And so it went, this coordinated dance until their dough was ready and left to cool in the freezer. They gathered around their instructor, as she guided them through different piping techniques.  

“You can use many different food colourings with your icing. But there’s also the option of using melted white chocolate if you want a shortcut.” 

“Mmmh, chocolate,” Kagome hummed.  

Sesshoumaru chuckled. “Shortcut sounds like your speed, anyway.” 

“Oh, I’ll leave all the chef snobbery to you,” Kagome agreed.  

Kagome was all ready to brandish the rolling pin when they were finally ready to get down to business, but Sesshoumaru snatched it out of her hand. 

“We’ll need the sheet to be even.” 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Would you like me to get you a ruler?” 

Sesshoumaru seemed to consider the suggestion, before finally shaking his head. Kagome bit her lip to keep from laughing at his concentrated frown as he rolled the dough thinner with excessive care. He actually bent to take a closer look at the edge of the dough, before he nodded in satisfaction. 

“Now it’s your turn.” 

Kagome grinned. Armed with the cookie cutters, she stamped away, punching out a cavalcade of different shapes. Then, she got the baking sheets ready while Sesshoumaru painstakingly peeled off the edges of the dough and lifted the cookies onto the pan.  

Kagome did opt for the shortcut. She melted the white chocolate and snacked on the leftover gingerbread dough. Sesshoumaru, of course, opted for the traditional icing in various colours. Like a proper little Chef Fancypants. 

When the time came, Kagome embraced her artistic side, drawing small lopsided hearts and giving her gingerbread men cutesy faces. She was particularly proud of that even row of buttons on the last one and turned to Sesshoumaru to brag.  

Kagome’s jaw dropped open. Her brain tried to register everything her eyes were seeing, but all the flourishing swirls, elaborate patterns and precise latticework patterns defied logic. 

“Oh my god,” Kagome breathed. First of all, Sesshoumaru was looking adorable with his nose all scrunched up like that, but more importantly... “I didn’t know this was an art competition. You’re over here channelling Michelangelo.” 

Sesshoumaru shrugged and brushed back his bangs. “I may have gone a little overboard.” 

“They look absolutely fantastic.” 

“I do admit I’m showing off with these, a little bit.” 

“A little?” Kagome raised her eyebrow. “I’m not sure these can even be eaten. We should just frame them and hang them on the wall.” 

The corner of Sesshoumaru’s lips twitched. “I thought we should give these cookies to my mother.” 

Kagome burst into laughter. “Oh, we totally should! I can’t wait to see her face.” 

“Speaking of faces, you have icing on yours.” 

And as he leaned in to lick icing off her cheek, Kagome vowed that they’d had to come back to the cooking classes for next year. 

[sophiamcdougall]

It is so weird how Americans will gawp at a fellow-American introducing himself as Whatchamacallums Fancypants The Third and conclude he sounds so British when literally only Americans have names like that.

[atsadi-shenanigans]

Feeding Alligators 17 - Panties!

You and Gale chat about linguistics. Astarion has elf ears and thus, elf hearing. Ruh-roh.

Rated M for language and violence. Still not for smut, because when I said this was a slow burn, I meant it and also Eleanor is demisexual, so does not compute for her (yet).

On AO3.

You don’t make it much further before calling quits. Between your horror vomiting, Lae’zel’s brush with acid, and the rest of the party being generally wrung out from killing a wholeass owlbear, y’all are beat.

Camp is in a pretty, little clearing just off the trail. The grass is soft—and joyously free of ticks—with patches of pretty, yellow flowers. It’s a clear night; the moon is a great, big silver plate, and the spray of unfamiliar stars overhead shine bright and crystalline.

While Lae’zel scrapes the brains out of the skull of the owlbear, the others hunker down for a good and proper soup. It’s mostly vegetables, with sliced sausages, and you’re so, so fucking thankful Gale kept spices in his magical go bag. More than salt and pepper, too. You’re picking up traces of chili powder, paprika, and even a taste of cumin, you think. Not bad at all.

After your meal, y’all sit around for a bit. Astarion returns from scouting and takes his bowl back to his tent. Mr. Fancypants doesn’t like eating with commoners. It’s the first night everyone’s free, not working on spells or meditating or sulking alone. But the mood is still heavy and subdued.

Fucking cults will do that.

You wonder if your group’d listen to White people ghost stories—the Cherokee ones you do not tell at night out in the open.

You kick back and stare at the red line dancing around the edges of the embers.

Your stomach is still sore; throat still scratchy. And your headache is a constant grind. Must be the brainworm chewing on your gray-meats. The others hide their own discomfort pretty good—though that might just be the whole “not human” thing. Except Gale is human. Does he have wizard ibuprofen?

You stare into the fire some more and resist the urge to palm your right eye and press until you see sparkles.

The next thing you know, everyone has moved around the fire.

You sit up. Look around. Shadowheart and Lae’zel are arguing over the importance of keeping trophies (which Shadowheart dismisses as barbaric nonsense). Astarion is now standing outside his tent with a book propped open on one arm. You literally blinked and they all moved. What the fu—

“Are you alright?” Gale says. He was opposite you on the whole other side of the fire. Now he leans on the same fallen log you rest against with his own book sitting in his lap.

“I,” you say. You lost time. You completely lost, at minimum, several minutes. You try to breathe normal, instead of panting like a sick dog. “Yeah. I just…zoned out pretty good right there.”

Gale frowns. “’Zone?’ How would you use area as a verb?”

God, your head hurts.

You flap a hand. “Means I wasn’t paying attention, is all. D’you, you got anything for a headache? The stress has got my neck wound so tight it could crack a walnut.”

“Mmm, I don’t think so. Shadowheart may have an easier time of it. Are you…?”

He pauses. There’s more than confusion etched into his brow. It looks suspiciously like concern.

“Are you having any other symptoms?” he says in a low voice.

You look at him until it clicks. The whole face melting thing. All the stuff he’s described.

“No, no,” you say. “I don’t think it’s any of that. I woke up with this back on the butthole—I mean, the nautiloid.”

But his eyebrows have already shot up to his hairline. “The what? I’m not sure that translated accurately.”

Oh shit.

You groan. “No, it probably did. It’s what I been calling the nautiloid, before I learned its name. The doors on there looked like, well, buttholes. So I just went with it.”

His mouth opens. No words come out. You’ve shocked Mr. Verbose into silence. You almost give yourself a high five.

“I named all you’uns,” you continue, a bit more of Uncle Randy’s vernacular slipping in. It feels nice, letting your tongue slide back into that cadence. Feels like relaxing. Once you’d moved away, you tried to soften your country accent, fold it up into neat, shortened northern.

“I can only hope it was more sophisticated than your naming convention for the ship,” Gale says.

“You were mumu.” You wait. His expression doesn’t change, so the dirt potion must not’ve had a decent replacement for that. So you explain it, and by the end, he’s got a wry sort of smile.

“I can state with full confidence I’ve been called much worse,” Gale says. “Though it is a slight blow to my ego that I couldn’t impress any of my more noteworthy traits over my wardrobe.”

“It was either that or mullet.”

Having explained that, he proceeds to quiz you on the others, stumbling only over “goth.” But educated on that, he agrees with you on all counts.

“We’d been calling you Tav,” he says. At your blank face, “It’s a name used for orphans or someone whose name isn’t known, usually due to illness or injury. Quite common.”

Tav. It’s…their version of Jane Doe?

Then Gale’s face twists up. You can’t tell if it’s some flavor of perplexed, or if there’s a hint of amusement around his eyes. “Though I am curious how you’d gotten a glimpse at Astarion’s pants?”

You stare. Twist to find Astarion lounging on a nest of pillows he’s somehow managed to collect—he stole them from the tieflings, didn’t he.

“He’s wearing them?” you say and gesture with your thumb.

Gale’s whole face opens in surprise (relief?). “Ah! Another translation quirk. We call the outer garments trousers. The inner clothing is called pants, or smallclothes.”

You sit there. He’s definitely amused, now. Because you’ve been calling Astarion ‘Fancy Underwear.’ Good god. You’re so glad you figured that one out with Gale.

“Right,” you say. Your face definitely doesn’t feel warm. Not at all.

“Apologies for the distraction, and back to your headache. So you have no other symptoms.”

“I mean.” You gesture to your face, which as far as you can tell by touch is still your face. Goddamn, you haven’t had a proper bath in days. At least y’all are camped next to a stream; you can keep on dunking yourself as best you can. Still, no moisturizer or shampoo. Your elbows are getting rough.

“It’s all rather odd,” Gale says. “We should be halfway through the gestational process, yet none of us—aside from possibly you—have shown any sign of it. Either your being from a different plane has made you more susceptible, or our own physiology has shielded the rest of us. But Lae’zel isn’t a local, either, and even you aren’t following the standard process, as I understand it.”

He studies you a long moment. His lips press thin. But then he sighs and shakes his head.

“No, I don’t think you alone are going through the melt-change-condition.” You catch the vague shape of the actual word he uses behind the magical translation, but can’t suss it out. “I think it safe to assume this is merely the stress from all of this. I would suggest you find a way to relax, but, well.”

Lae’zel has finished both her scraping and her argument. She settles down next to a big, stone wheel that starts to spin as her foot taps a pedal. You watch, curiously, until she lifts her brains-scraping knife and you realize that sumbitch is a fucking grinder.

The noise shoots right through your eyeball to lodge deep in your aching brain.

“Nice talk, Gale, I’m getting out of here,” you say.

He winces next to you. Nods. “I’ll retire to my tent and see if I can’t come up with something in my stores to help with that ache of yours. In your head. That you mentioned.”

He rolls to his feet super spry for someone with gray streaks in his hair. He gives a little bow with his head, which you return with a nod as you make your way to the opposite side of the camp from Lae’zel.

Which happens to be where Astarion has set himself up for the night. Almost like he didn’t want to be around someone scooping out a dead owlbear head.

He glances up as you near. Watches you sink down into the grass nearby. You pause for a moment, considering, and flop onto your back in a full sprawl beneath the stars.

You don’t say anything. Neither does he, for a long moment. He flips a page. The pounding in your brain begins to unclench. Turns another page.

“So,” he says in a fucking tone.

“Oh god,” you say preemptively.

“You think my pants are fancy?”

Fucking elf ears. Of course he fucking heard you. Of fucking course.

You cover your face with one arm. “Would you stop if I said it was a mistranslation and I meant your trousers?”

“Whyever would I do that?”

Whyever would he. The man is a fucking menace.

Thing is, you’ve been so polite and quiet this whole time (until today, really). But Mother and the other leadership saw something in you, even as a child. And they weren’t exactly wrong about it (just the part where it was bad bad sinful bad the devil shame shame bad).

You turn to squint at him through the throbbing in your skull. “Are they?”

“Are what, dear?”

“Your underwear. Are they fancy?”

Bitch doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. He wants to give some, he better be able to take some.

You almost miss his hesitation, it’s so fast. Then his malicious smirk is back on and he snaps his book shut. Spins to face you. “They are, actually. I would ask the same of you, but I’m rather sure you’re not wearing any.”

“Nope,” you say, popping the “p” and waggling your legs back and forth in the grass. Outbrazen that, chucklefuck.

His mask doesn’t even crack. Not a flinch, not a micro expression; the man is stone cold fucking with you. “Are those not a norm in your realm, either?”

“Oh, they are, I just didn’t have them on me when I got grabbed.” Let him wonder about that. Dare him to fucking ask. The reason is you were asleep, but he doesn’t know that. “Unless we find some kinda clothing store soon, I think I’m gonna have to make some myself.”

He leans forward to rest an elbow on his bent knee. “I could help you with that, you know.”

You…can’t tell if he’s being serious.

“I ain’t wearing your drawers, fancy man. You only got the one pair anyway, unless you’re walk around with spares in your pockets.”

To this, he grimaces. “I didn’t need the reminder. All the material we’ve come across has been roughspun, mildewed, or both. Not a scrap of silk to be seen anywhere.”

You turn your head to frown at him for a long moment. Because yeah, that tracks. Of course this floof-haired, ridiculous city man wears silk drawers. You should not be so surprised at this. But also…

“You expecting to find you some silk out here in the boonies?” you say.

Now it’s his turn to frown. You watch his lips form the word “boonies.”

“Outside the city,” you say. “Back woods, back water, the sticks, wilderness, middle of fucking nowhere.”

“Hmm. No, I suppose I didn’t. People travel through here, but not the sort to own any apparel worth salvaging, would they? No, you’re correct.”

You say nothing to that. Content to lie beneath the moon and let the conversation about y’all’s panties die a quiet, natural death.

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch his head tilt. He’s watching you.

“That was a clever little plan, back there,” he says after a moment. “I dare say, you thought further ahead than any of the others regarding those cultists. And regarding how to deal with them. It was very clean—efficient, even if their deaths were very much not. It’s a shame you had to leave us so quickly back in that den.”

To vomit.

You’re not gonna out-edgey the edgelord here. Simpler to go for the boring answers. “Ain’t used to seeing something like that. Horror is a normal response to people getting torn up back where I come from.”

“Mmm. Sounds terribly dull. And yet, for someone so inexperienced,” he makes some gesture that either their version of air quotes or him just being a theater kid, “you came to that conclusion quickly and you saw it through. Against some objections, even.”

Objections from half of them. Or only Gale, really, as the only part Lae’zel hadn’t liked was the sneak factor. She seemed pleased as punch when then owlbear turned on y’all and she got to hack it to pieces.

And Gale got over it all well enough to come hang out with you at camp.

These fucking people.

And goddamnit, you’re fitting in.

You find him with his chin propped up, his gaze fixed on you.

“I have never, in my life, had to deal with this kinda shit before,” you say. “I’m just…getting ideas as we go along and trying not to die.”

“Quite vicious ideas.”

Your neck is hot. You turn away, point your face at the sky as if the cold starlight will chill the head building over your cheeks.

He’s not wrong. You have a ruthless streak, you know. Part of your whole healing process was recognizing and accepting that part of yourself. And you had. And now, you wonder if that is part of the problem. If you hadn’t just gone down into your mental basement to feed the monsters there, but you’d pulled up that cellar door and leapt in yourself.

You feel guilt, for sure. But you already know you’d do it again. You’d put up that ruthless streak in a shoebox and set it up on a tall shelf in a back closet in your brain. But now you went and you opened that up, and it’s working for you. It’s a tool and a weapon, and it might be your best shot at surviving all this.

“Your ideas got you out of that crash,” Astarion says. “They kept you with all of us, saved you from that bandit, and effectively took control of our little band of miscreants.”

“What? I’m not—”

You didn’t take control. Did you? They went along with one horrible idea. Or two, actually, with Kahga. Except there were several ideas involved in that—

You’re not the leader.

You’re not.

“And even now, that mind of yours is plotting out our continued survival, isn’t it?” he says. “You might be a useful person to know.”

“Well thank you, darlin,’” you drawl.

He makes a sound that forces your attention back to him. You catch his eyebrows raised, eyes round. The laugh is more of a snort, and he seems as surprised at it as he does at…whatever caused it.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

“That’s just a saying,” you start.

But he’s already waving it off. “Not to worry. I believe I’ll leave you to your little respite away from that cacophony. Take a walk and get some air, myself.”

Oh shit, you weirded him out. It’s just a phrase. Old, southern ladies you’ve never met call you “sugar” and “honey” all the time.

He stands. Sweeps the wrinkles out of his clothes—mostly his silly, frilly shirt. Then he gives you some ridiculous, over-the-top, one-arm-in-the-air courtly bow. “Do sleep tight, darling.”

He wanders off. The wind hisses in the trees. Lae’zel’s grinder screeches like a thousand souls of the damned, and your brain worm nibbles contentedly at a piece of your pre-frontal cortex.

“Jesus christ,” you say and roll over to lie face down in the grass.

[sarasa-cat]

Have been reading a lot of conflicting info on the various Dragon Age games on Steamdeck (which I prefer these days because of its cozy portability but, yeah, my cozy little deck is definitely underpowered compared to my slightly-aging gaming machine or my PS5).

I have less than zero interest in installing Windows (bluggghhhhchhhch) on my steamdeck and linux-only solutions for really old games can be messy if you don't want to use a KBM with the deck (and I do indeed use a KBM with the deck when literally using it as my ultra portable linux PC that actually has my dev environment set up on it for on-the-go dev and I really am not joking-- this is part of the reasons why I bought the fancypants maxed out deck last November ahahaha, but KBM is not preferred for gaming on the deck although I will if I must).

!!! BUT !!!

It seems that some kind souls in the community have created a work around for Inquisition on the steam deck such that the hardware game pad sticks and buttons can be used just like a normal game pad/controller.

Here is the required file: DAI-Proton-1.0.4.tar.gz <- https://github.com/cammoore1/DAI-proton-ge-custom/releases

And here is a YouTube showing someone installing it and setting it up on the deck and in game so all is good to go:

Time for me to go find my KBM for my deck and give this a whirl!

[nerdyqueerr]

part 2 of introducing my mechs oc is to make a bunch of fake posts

1 billion notes

🌟Silvertongue Follow 🔁💃Dame-fancypants

🌚Starmapper-deactivated11502

"What's your favorite thing about King Louis?" His wife prochaine question

💃Dame-fancypants Follow

Lmaooo didn't this post get op executed???

🌟Silvertongue Follow

Fucking the king's wife got me executed. But dw mesdames i got better

11,562 notes

🧪cold-cruel-science Follow 🔁🌟Silvertongue

🧪cold-cruel-science Follow

I gotta hand it to that King Louis guy, acid swallowing as an execution method is pretty fun. 8/10

🌟Silvertongue Follow

You're only saying this because my mechanism gets you off and you never had to drink the acid. Personally rate it 2/10

🧪cold-cruel-science

First of all I drink acid all the time

17 notes

🌟Silvertongue Follow 🔁🖕guy-o-tine

🌟Silvertongue Follow

told someone i'm spFrench today and they said "why"

🖕guy-o-tine Follow

well, why are you spFrench?

🌟Silvertongue

they haven't managed to get rid of me yet

1,203 notes

🌟Silvertongue Follow 🔁🖕guy-o-tine

💃Dame-fancypants Follow

CALLOUT POST FOR THE COURT ASTRONOMER

I dont want to encourage anyone to harass the Vicomte, but I feel like someone needs to warn the community about this. The court astronomer (@Starmapper) is a silver-tongued, reputation-ruining coureur de jupons and should be avoided by respectable ladies AT ALL COST. Proof under the cut

Read more

🌚Starmapper-deactivated11502

It's an honor mesdames

🎩marquis-dandy

Good news tout le monde, the Vicomte deactivated today and was publicly executed!

🌟Silvertongue

#this is so fucked up #that vicomte should be considered a revolutionary hero #fuck the monarchy #literally

that's so sad i heard the Vicomte was a really great guy. i heard they had a six pack

15,398 notes

🌟Silvertongue Follow 🔁🧠thearchivist

👑normal-noble Follow ☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️

🌚Starmapper-deactivated11502

What the fuck y'all

🌟Silvertongue Follow

Nevermind lmao

20,000 notes

🚀i-prefer-machines Follow 🔁🌟Silvertongue

🧠thearchivist

SOMEONE has been doing acid shots in my fucking library

🚀i-prefer-machines

@cold-cruel-science @silvertongue

🌟Silvertongue

Nastya what the fuck

🚀i-prefer-machines

Try not to spill as much on Aurora next time

22 notes

🚀i-prefer-machines Follow🔁💃Dame-fancypants

💃Dame-fancypants Follow

Court astronomer and Vicomte Sirius Estoile spotted in a gay bar

🚀i-prefer-machines Follow

okay? fork spotted in kitchen come on now

782 notes

😈 cowboycaptain Follow 🔁🧪cold-cruel-science

😈 cowboycaptain Follow

Does anyone actually find the spFrench accent hot

🧪cold-cruel-science Follow

@/thearchivist and i are conducting a study on this at the moment but some more research is needed

😈 cowboycaptain

ew

13 notes

thank you for coming to sptumblr with me. these fake posts, like all art in the beautiful star system of spFrance, were brought to you by our glorious solar monarch King Louis

[bleachbleachbleach]

I'm curious, what are both of your thoughts on Eikichiro Saido? He's such a minor character, and yet he was added in to one of the most pivotal arcs/moments in the series for Ichigo and Rukia, and gets a cameo in the Fake Karakura Town Arc.

Were it not for the fact that Bleach has so many wonderful characters, Joe Shinigami would be our favorite character. (“Joe Shinigami” being the gender-inclusive catchall for any unnamed or functionally unnamed shinigami doing whatever or, usually, dying however.) But Joe Shinigami’s beauty lies in his placement in the frame—which is to say, not at the center of it. His is the beauty of the margin, doing things the audience usually doesn’t see, or isn’t focused on; the beauty of NPCitude. I love Joe Shinigami who have their own lives to live, and that tell us more about what it’s like to live and die as a normal shinigami; or more about who our fancypants shinigami are, or how they come across to people they either don’t know well or who just occupy a completely different positionality within the world than they do.

When we got this ask I texted my coblogger like, “Is that that freakin’ third wheel guy.”

Yes. Yes, it is that third-wheel guy!

Sorry if you’re a fan, OP, we are not. XD

Ungenerous reading of this man below the cut:

He doesn’t really do any of the aforementioned things, and seems aggressively committed to in fact existing as the opposite. Whenever we watch those episodes, we’re always like, SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE. Why is he here? How is this improving things?

Does he:

… provide the shinigami perspective? I mean, I guess, but Rukia’s right there. She’s doing that.

… a different shinigami perspective, though? Byakuya and Renji will do a pretty good job of that, imminently! Also, we have plenty of perspective at home??? Ichigo’s and Rukia’s are the only ones that matter in this scene??

Plus we’re already offered POVs of the world around this moment with the Grand Fisher in such trenchant, beautiful ways! Via the frame of the Kurosaki family grave visit, re: Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu; and via Orihime and Tatsuki, elsewhere. Heck, even in Kon. We do not need this man.

…is he practically useful, though? No! He is useless!

…does he change the relational landscape of the original scene in interesting ways? No! He is in the way! How do these scenes benefit from Mr. Third Wheel? Ichigo and Rukia and the Grand Fisher are having a moment. If there are elephants in the room, its name is Grief, not Eikichirou. Or Masaki or Kaien.

We’re just like… why is he here... Our best guess is that this whole narrative arc was too good and the anime fears perfection. (Or, more diplomatically, it felt too heavy and someone decided it needed “comic relief,” here synonymous with That One Key That’s Out of Tune on this Piano Haha Guys I’m Quirky Right?)

We’re not interested in having Ekichirou recuperated for us. There’s literally so many other things that are already cooler than him, and not world enough nor time for them. Like New Third Captain Amagai! Or my best Playing Card Man, Inaba! Or Nagakiso Shuutetsu! Or any actual, bonafide Joe Shinigami!

[artsyneurotic]

I don’t want to take away people’s excitement for the next Dragon Age, but I was supremely irked that the teaser that was shown was called an “in-game cinematic.”  That is... being INCREDIBLY generous calling it that, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think they’d call it that rather than, say, a story teaser or something like that so that it’d sound more substantial than it is.

I’m also not just talking out of my ass, I’ve literally made in-game cinematics for AAA videogames for 10 years now.  Generally speaking, in-game cinematics are more referring to IN GAME cinematics, like scenes in the game’s engine.  For example, something that was pre-rendered outside of the engine (like the fancypants ones that are outsourced to Blur or some other production house) are not called IGCs, and similarly, you usually wouldn’t call the motion graphic story teaser they showed yesterday an IGC.  Yes, technically you could call it an in-game cinematic if this narrative scene was basically made into a bink video and triggered at a point in the game, but we all really know what an “in-game cinematic” is really supposed to be: a scene from inside the game itself. 

The bigger question to ask is why they didn’t have an actual in-game cinematic of any kind/length to show at this point?  Even if it was as short as this clip was and had Solas walking into frame or walking through an environment with the same Varric voiceover, that still would’ve been more interesting that what we got. If anything, this “cinematic” is just making me think that they really don’t have anything polished to show, which is a little troubling at this point. Even the cinematic trailer (with actual 3d characters/environments!) they showed a couple years ago was far more substantial than this... which makes me wonder what setbacks or delays might be contributing to this lack of substance?   

Did EA put pressure on them to show something, and this is all they could scrape together before the end of the year and the game awards?  

...I’ll still forgive all this subterfuge if they end up bringing back Fenris as a playable character in this one though.

[gorgojijijijito]

thoughts on daughter of discord?

oh boy do i have thoughts

i only watched the full thing once with a friend so i dont remember all of it, but of what i do remember, 1. rarity was done even dirtier than BOD; 2. they were so mean to rarity's daughter for literally no reason???? she literally didnt do anything and they always called her a spoiled brat or smth??? i feel so bad for her; 3. yes most of my problems have to do with rarity - i hate that shes encouraged to stay with fancypants bc it was changelings making him look like he was cheating on rarity. like yeah girl you should talk to him abt it like an adult but YOU CAN STILL LEAVE HIM FOR BEING A SHITTY DAD TO JEWEL 😭; 4. hey dick cordddd ur still manipulative af; 5. YOURE TELLING ME THERES ONE QUEER RELATIONSHIP IN THE ENTIRE SERIES AND THEY DIDNT EVEN GET TOGETHER??? FOR A SUPER SMALL REASON COMPARED TO WHY OTHERS SHOULDNT BE TOGETHER???????? come on now; 6. get all the baby filler away from me rn why the FUCK did literally ALL of them have to bang except for ONE; 7. fuck outta here applespike

i think thats mostly all of my qualms with it, but other than that i think it was a good watch. it doesnt stay with me as long as BOD did (prob bc i wasnt able to watch all of it as a child) but i think romance-wise, this love story was LEAGUES better than the last one. also i like how it kind of repeats the same moral of the last one, but in a different circumstance that poses new pros and cons.

with BOD, discord was only one person. he was an all-powerful, godly person, but he was still one mind. the changelings in DOD, on the other hand, are an entire nation. this isnt the same "misunderstood outsider" trope that we see with zecora or discord, this is an entire species; one that even themselves believe is physically incapable of loving.

mothball(which is literally the cutest name for a bug-themed character ever) is first in line to lead his species, so you can imagine the expectations and resentment that come with that; he has barely any real support on either side, queen chrysalis being the only adult he can really emotionally rely on. this is what makes his inner conflict so interesting, his empathy constantly at odds with his mother's ideology and his own biological needs.

screwball is also interesting, considering her dad is the lord of chaos and ex-tyrant, and her mom is an element of harmony, kindness incarnate. it's a classic nature/nuture debate kind of plot, but with a twist in that both sides are her nature AND nurture, the only turmulous factor in her life being her environment only percieving the chaotic side; some of it isn’t unfounded either, as she obviously tends to gravitate towards discord more (which is normal, considering most kids tend to have a favorite parent anyway). even if i really dont like the enabling nature of dick cord and how fluttershy is a punching bag again, i find screwball’s concept endearing.

also she and mothball are like, actually adorable. i find it ironic that the canon characters were altered to make an insufferable couple and the basically OCs were the outstanding romance. unlike fluttercord’s REALLY disturbing power dynamic and coercion, screw and moth managed to balance each other out, and (lemme yell it for the ponies in the back) WERE BOTH WILLING TO BE TOGETHER 💥💥💥💥

theres also smth strangely nostalgic about their dynamic. screwball has been the outcast her entire life, her lineage and connection to discord subjecting her to a lot of emotional turmoil. the only reason she has a group of friends is because of her mom’s rank and social circle as well, i dont think she’s had very much room for change or fantasy when her parents were trying to heal the damage the circumstance of their meeting caused for equestria. falling in love with the prince of an enemy nation is cliche and basically copied off of the lion king 2, but i love it in that sense because its probably one of her first instances of living through what seems to be a fairytale. it’s a kind of yearn for teenage rebellion and unpredictability that she’s had to keep trapped within a swamp in the everfree for most of her life, but even though it brings her so much happiness to be with mothball, it also leads her into great danger that her upbringing didn’t prepare her for. she’s scolded for standing up to her bullies and scrutinized for the nature of her character, so what can she do when faced with her very own romeo & juliet tale while entire nations seethe above them?

oh also i love how they incorporated the changelings’ presences in the story before the mane six are aware of their threat, even calling back to mentioned conflicts in BOD. they really use their shapeshifting powers to the most in this installment, and i think the instance that hit me in the gut most is the romantic isolation of twilight. especially with the context that this series was created specifically for shipping; what an insidious thing to keep her from finding love along with her friends to keep her alone as everyone else creates families. i, as an aromantic person, also feel a form of anxiety knowing most of the important people in my life may drift away in the event of marriage and forming roots while i probably wont. so yeah imagine that but with a newly-immortal princess who actually WANTS a romantic relationship, with people who are revealed to be actively keeping one from her - thats gut wrenching for me to think about.

when it comes to the music, i appreciate the effort they put into making original songs, but i also am just. unable to appreciate them bc the changelings voice filter just diesnt translate well to music at aaaaaaallllll. which is a shame bc it stood out so much that i cant remember anything ABOUT the original music. im prob gonna try to see if theres any normal renditions of the ost after i post this but yeah

[earhartsease]

I'm about to start using a fancypants medication for terrible headaches and it's called Fremanezumab and at this point I'm just like "you're making these names up now" and of course they literally are doing that but also "the spice must flow" because Freman