#okay some of the line specific to his friendship route really hit me as a creator

[otome-corner-cafe]

Happy birthday to the director extraordinaire, Llyod Newton!

[protectchara201x]

(ignoring all the other juicy Deltarune 2 stuff to shove Chara Talks into it lololol)

I haven’t been super active on this blog because frankly I have like, three? looong analysis/theorycrafting posts I’ve been putting off working on and it fills me with shame to log in and see them waiting in my drafts.

But.

With the release of Deltarune Chapter 2, I wanted to talk kinda in general about how I thought it could impact the fandom’s perception of Everybody’s Favorite Demon Baby, and also point out something in specific about the Weird Route that might connect back to Undertale.

Putting it under the cut to avoid spoilers and long-winded ramblings for the unwilling. Includes spoilers for the Weird Route.

(NOTE: may update later if I notice more things for to put in section II. I’d like to make a full list of parallels if I can tidy them up.)

I. Pre- vs Post-Release Thoughts (you can skip down to II if you don’t care, it is genuinely Long and Pointless)

Okay, so first off. I got SO worried like, the day before the new chapter dropped? It hit me that whatever new stuff we got out of this, people would connect back to Undertale, and. Honestly, I really do hate connecting everything back to Chara, because I do think of Kris as their own character and I really like them and don’t want to ignore everything they got going on. But, I am first and foremost a shameless Chara stan and they’re very important to me, so I kinda... did spend a few minutes reeling from all the new DR stuff as its own stuff, and then immediately started thinking about how this would reflect back on Chara in Undertale lol.

But that’s ok for me to do here because this is my All Chara, Only Chara, All The Time blog, so I am gonna only really talk about Deltarune here to talk about them lol.

So yeah, I started getting anxious beforehand worrying about how everyone would take any and all implications and apply it to mean “aha, Chara IS evil!” The fakeout with the pie reveal in the anniversary stream was a big relief, but I still got worried leading up to the release about what could be in it.

Because part of why I’ve always thought that “Chara was genuinely evil from the start” and even “ok maybe not TOTALLY evil, but Chara was still a kinda bad person” were unlikely was, even if you throw out all the other popular Chara-sympathetic theories. To me, both these takes just seemed too below TF’s talent and the way he wrote all his other characters with depth and love; a Chara like the one these theories propose just doesn’t belong in a world created by TF, and the way the Dreemurrs talk about them overall, the way TF made a point of having Chara say they were guided and repeatedly, correctly blame you the player for the destruction in Kill-All, I was sure that he never intended them to ever be as bad as the fandom sometimes tried to make them out to be.

... Like, mostly sure. Like, 80% sure? Because he never ever talks about them, so it’s impossible say for sure, and it is still theoretically possible that “Chara was and is bad” was the cold-ass take he’d intended all along. So yeah, leading up to the release, I started getting antsy that whatever new lore came out of it, either he’d directly confirm “Chara was a villain?” “*cocks gun* Always has been” or there’d be something that’d at least heavily implicate them, or could be twisted to implicate them, as a negative force. More ammo to be used against them in the Chara Debate Circles would be a drag, and outright confirmation of them as a villain would honestly break my heart and I’d be forced to disown Toby Fox, My Beloved Cool Dad.

And, right now? Tell the truth, I’m SO relieved and I am SO happy. And not just because of how much depth and characterization it seems Kris is getting! (imo, because rn I just headcanon them as an unhappy teen desperately trying to keep their new friends going on adventures with them and trying to fight back against the player’s control)

I love how this chapter seems to be TF doing course-correcting based on fandom interpretations. Because Kris just isn’t evil, even if they are a knife teen, even if they are the Knight, they’re just NOT evil and that’s canon, baybeeee; it’s made clear in this chapter and the previous one that they love their family even outside of the player’s control, they care about their new friends even outside of the player’s control, they’re established as a weird creepy kid but no one sees them as scary or evil, they’re just Kris, and even in the Weird Route, TF made a point of hammering in the differences between Kris and the player in the Weird Route: Susie and Ralsei notice how distressed Kris seemed after you have Noelle ice Berdly, Noelle heard a voice that she said wasn’t Kris telling her to kill, and the FUCKING Spamton fight: “Kris called for help... but nobody came” again and again, and then “You whispered Noelle’s name”... you, not Kris.

I know TF has never commented much on fans’ perceptions of Frisk and Chara, or who exactly is pulling strings in different routes. But after all this, and especially after seeing all the little winks and nods to fandom jokes in this chapter (what comes to mind: pulling everyone’s leg by seeming to have Kris attack Toriel with a knife only to reveal that pie theory was right, Susie not liking Ralsei’s real face as much as his shadowed one, Ralsei with a gun getting referenced with the ad, Kris getting a joke fixation with knives after the fans made Chara and Kris have knife obsessions as a joke), and seeing what looks like him try to correct some things (what stuck out to me was doubling down on showing that Kris is loved and valued in their family: lots of fans came away from Chapter 1 thinking that Kris was not valued as much as Asriel, but here we see that Toriel is supportive of Kris’ friendship with Susie, and it’s stated that Asriel is the one who used the crappy controller, not Kris) -

I think while he hasn’t commented directly, while he admitted to being overwhelmed by Undertale’s success, while he tends to be pretty tight-lipped about the lore (whether that’s because it’ll be addressed by future chapters or because he prefers to let fans sleuth it out), this chapter convinced me that Toby does keep tabs on fan reactions in Deltarune, so he probably does with Undertale too and would know about all The Discourse surrounding Little Mx Pink Cheeks (and in turn, popular theories like Narrator Chara... Toby if you integrate Narrator Chara into Deltarune being a borderline creepypasta and have the narrator start talking directly to the characters or to the player or the characters start talking to the narrator I will lose my damn B E A N S).

(Kris and Chara not being demonized and the narrator interacting directly with the characters were the only two things on my wishlist going in, I was fine with literally anything else happening lmao)

I even kinda think he’s going out of his way to separate Kris and the player because we didn’t get it before with Undertale, we still insisted that Frisk or Chara was the one doing it, and he’s even using Kris to show that even if this kid can be scary, maybe even mean, and maybe they’re even the Knight (with their reasons unknown), they’re still not a bad kid, they’re still funny and likable, and they still genuinely love their family and friends - which falls in line with Undertale’s cast of complex but likable people who can be antagonists and make mistakes but still aren’t truly bad people, and imo is a direct response to some people fixating on the idea that Chara was always evil because they seem scary/complicated.

... Which is a long way to say that I came out of Deltarune with my confidence fully restored about TF’s intentions with Chara and Kris. Even if he never comments on Chara directly, now I really don’t think TF thinks they’re evil or ever intended for them to be. Deltarune convinced me more than ever that Chara is meant to be complex, yes, and able to be influenced to do horrible things, but they were never intended to be as malicious or shallow as some fans insist.

TLDR:

Toby Fox read your mean fanfiction where Chara is a bad abusive serial killer no one likes, and he made Deltarune in revenge.

... Hm? Ah, you’d like me to get to the point! Right this way!

II. Undertale, Deltarune, and The Point

While no doubt some will still take the voice Noelle hears to be Chara influencing her to turn her into a murderer (I haven’t gone looking for it yet, but I’m sure it’s already a thing because I know this fandom), since it’s made too clear by the game that they can’t blame Kris for this one, I think at this point that’s just being too stubborn to consider other ideas.

If you believe in the totally made up idea used in so many fanfics that Chara is an evil spirit trying to whisper in Frisk’s ear to kill everyone, literally (for some reason) the embodiment of raising stats, and gets more control over people who have increased LV to take over their body... sure. Could be them, they did talk about moving on to the next world and all. I mean, that wouldn’t really make sense because it’s literally never implied in the actual game that Chara encourages you to kill outside of the Kill-All Run or even wants you to, certainly not as the narrator and we get no hint of them doing this as an unseen, unheard third-party either.

Not to mention they’re NOT literally possessing you because of increased LV; they don’t control you even with high LV in any Undertale route other than arguably the Kill-All, and if you fail the Kill-All and it turns into a high-body count Neutral, Chara suddenly stops using first-person narration and showing up in mirrors entirely even though they were showing themself before, the LV remains the same or even can get raised as high as LV 19, nor do they suddenly take over in any other Neutral runs. We can speculate on why (personally, I’d place this either on Chara’s mindset, such as them sinking into shock from the trauma or becoming more assertive as the player feeds their megalomania, or as a sign of Frisk’s withdrawal, leaving Chara alone in the body to take the reins and act out the player’s orders), but canonically, no, Chara does not take over due to high stats.

In fact, there’s even more evidence against this. First-person narration also exists for fleeing your battles in Undertale, even on Pacifist runs with base stats, 0 EXP, and an LV of 1. Since Chara is established to use first-person narration to refer to themself, is the only one who canonically does so, and is confirmed to be present even in all runs through their name and memories always showing up, it seems pretty likely that Chara can take control to flee battle. That means an increase in stats is not a sign of their presence or control, in Undertale or Deltarune.

The most damning blow to the idea that Chara is the voice corrupting Noelle are the lines in the fight with Spamton I mentioned. Kris called for help, but nobody came. You whispered Noelle’s name. Well hold on. If that’s Chara, shouldn’t it be “I whispered Noelle’s name”? As soon as you’ve officially started the Kill-All in Undertale, Chara starts up their “It’s me, Chara” schtick right away, right there in Toriel’s home in the first area, and if they weren’t the narrator before, they’re beginning to speak through the narration now. If the voice was Chara, surely Toby Fox knows it’d be a way bigger “oh shit” moment if the creepy scary hidden route once again switched into first-person, scaring us the same way he did before when we first saw “It’s me, Chara” and knew something was wrong; unfairly or not, their reputation as a villain is still well established and hinting to Chara’s presence with a simple “I” would drive the menace even further, if he intended for them to simply be a demon that possesses player characters when you grind enough. But it’s still just you. The player.

The Weird Route does even more to help Chara’s case than that. Not only is it made pretty clear that Kris and the player are separate, and the player is the one responsible for corrupting Noelle and making her kill... consider how similar Noelle and Chara are, in the Weird Route and the Kill-All Route.

This “voice” that “guides” them in growing strong, compelling them to kill everyone in order to fight for them, eventually driving them to murder people they know. Chara calls themself “the demon that comes when people call its name”, and you whisper Noelle’s name to have her appear to kill Spamton. Noelle’s conflicting emotions towards Kris and the voice as she is manipulated, as she becomes more violent and sadistic, as she goes into shock; does that not sound like Chara, who flipflops between holding you dear as their partner and wanting to move on to the next world together, to be together forever, and them being disgusted by your refusal to accept consequences and the perverse enjoyment you get in killing everyone again and again? Chara, who clings to their quirky narration for much of the Kill-All, but keeps slipping up, who becomes terrifyingly cold, aggressive, power-hungry, and even sadistic, yet still calls Undyne “the heroine”, still seems to still care about their locket, still has moments where they seem to falter?

Noelle does put up significantly more resistance to the voice’s commands than Chara does, and at least much more visibly shows distress and trauma. I don’t think this is a black mark on Chara’s chara-cter either, or an indication of them being more violent or cruel.

For one, while Noelle is still herself with her own soul, it is heavily implied by Chara, Flowey, and Undertale’s lore that Chara was reincarnated without their own soul, at best perhaps attached to Frisk’s (or yours): as I speculate in one of my currently unfinished theories, while monster souls are made up of love, compassion, and hope and thus Asriel was reincarnated without these qualities, it could well be that human souls are correspondingly made up of their own multiple traits, namely determination, patience, bravery, integrity, perseverance, kindness, and justice; if true, a soulless Chara would be lacking these qualities, which would make them less equipped to resist the player’s commands or to feel as torn up about it.

Also, the player has a hold on them both as “party members” to the player’s vessels, but it is also possible that the player naming Chara and having them directly attached to Frisk also gives them a stronger connection to Chara they can abuse, similar to how Kris and Frisk (as the player’s direct vessels) have much less autonomy than Kris’ party members.

(Fun observation: We know that when the thing controlling Kris forced Noelle into becoming a killer and using her to kill Berdly, Kris was horrified and shaken-up according to Susie and Ralsei. How do you think Frisk felt watching Chara be used to slaughter the Underground and then erasing the world when they’re totally corrupted?)

And lastly... look, Noelle and Chara are both minors, but Chara is significantly younger - a small child compared to Noelle’s teen. I know it’s fiction and strong wills and determination and anime is real and all, but a traumatized young child who died two violent and awful deaths back-to-back, may have literally experienced being a corpse in their own coffin/grave for who knows how long, and then came back ”confused” only to immediately start hearing a voice relentlessly commanding them to kill everyone?? I can absolutely see a traumatized kid shutting down and just going with it out of fear at first, before the LV sets in.

TLDR:

What you do to Noelle in the Weird Route is the same fucking thing you do to Chara in the Kill-All Route.

[aricazorel]

"You came back." "I promised, didn't I?" Prompt

Kaidan Alenko x Kori Reese; ME3, post- Citadel II (1465 words)

When the away party departed the shuttle after decommissioning yet another Cerberus base, Major Kaidan Alenko did not count on a personal visit by the Normandy’s XO. Yet there she stood in the docking bay, attempting to disguise her fidgeting with unnecessary fiddling with her Omni-tool. Lieutenant Commander Kora Reese might be able to fool some with her antics but not him. Kori was nervous and worried about something, and he was reasonably sure it had something to do with him.

With a nod to Shepard, the Major made his way over to Reese who stood next to one of the computer stations near the weapons modding table. She glanced up into his whiskey brown eyes and then quickly back at her omni-tool. Maybe nervous wasn't the correct word at all. Worried was but there was something else. Reese wasn't one to avoid eye contact especially with him unless…

Unless she was scared.

That thought set alarm bells off in the Specter’s mind as he came to a stop in front of her. What could have happened while he was on the away mission to cause her to be scared? And what did it have to do with him?

“Hey,” he said quietly, drawing her attention back to him.

“Hey,” she echoed as grey eyes met his again, her omni-tool still open, still running numbers on a simulation for a project she was no doubt working on. She always had multiple projects and sims running, hoping one of her ideas would prove viable enough with EDI’s help to use against the reapers or Cerberus.

Kaidan tilted his head slightly, all too familiar with her tendency to use it as a distraction as well. “What brings the Normandy XO down here? I thought Shepard told you to make sure not to scratch the paint.”

The Lt. Commander made a face at him. “I oversaw the retrofits with Traynor. The only paint that ever got scratched was that ugly-ass Cerberus orange.”

The Major smirked as he said, “Okay. Okay. Fine. But really, why are you down here?”

“Can’t I come down and see how the mission went?”

“Kori, you were listening in on our comms the whole mission. You know exactly how it went and you know that we took out another Cerberus base,” Kaidan said reaching over and switching off her ‘tool.

She opened her mouth to protest but stopped when the rest of the ground team passed them, heading towards the elevator. Shepard called out of his shoulder, “Not a bad ending for your first mission back on the Normandy without your girlfriend along to babysit you, Alenko.”

Kaidan made a face as he waved the first human Specter off. “Laugh it up, Shepard! I'm sure I can ask Liara for some embarrassing stories of her saving your ass.”

“Just because my girlfriend is a Shadow Broker doesn't mean she knows everything I've done or that she’s assed my ass!”

“Are you sure? I seem to remember something about coming back from the dead…”

Shepard scowled as the door shut. The Major just grinned. “You don’t actually babysit me—”

Alenko trailed off when he glanced down and saw the expression on Reese’s face. The same concern laced with what she could only label as fear reflected in her grey eyes. Something definitely wasn't right. Hearing Vega and Cortez banter back and forth as they checked over the shuttle for damage, Kaidan gently ushered Reese to the elevator. “We need to talk, don't we?”

“I don't—"

“Yeah,” he said as he summoned the lift. “We need to talk.”

Reese fidgeted but said nothing in reply. As the elevator doors opened, Kaidan glanced over at the Lieutenant Commander who continued to stare straight ahead. After boarding the lift, the Major said as the doors closed, “EDI, can you give us a few moments alone?”

“Of course, Major Alenko,” the sentient AI replied as she paused the elevator. “I will inform you when the elevator is needed.”

“Thanks, EDI,” he said as he crossed his arms turning to face Reese. “I feel like we've been here before.”

Grey eyes finally met his as she said quietly, “Hopefully less yelling this time.”

Kaidan's eyes went wide at the remark. Two days after he rejoined the SR2 he confronted her about the fact she was ignoring him. Tempers had flared as they discovered they still had unresolved issues even after rekindling the relationship on Earth. “I.. only meant that we talked in the lift. Not the other part.”

“We didn't talk in the elevator. You kissed me and pressed me up against the wall. We actually talked in the engineering sub-deck.”

Kaidan sighed as she once again corrected him. “Do we really have to go down there or—"

“You came back.”

Her words were spoken in a whisper, her eyes flickering between his gaze and his armor’s chest plate. Dawning struck the second human Specter like lightening. She was afraid he wouldn’t return.

He used a gloved hand to tilt her head back up to his level. “Of course, I did. I promised, didn’t I?”

“I just…” Reese began, her expression showing embarrassment at her admission. “It’s stupid but I just had to see you get off that shuttle. I—”

“Oh, hey! It’s okay, sweetheart,” Kaidan said as he drew her into a tender embrace. His Spec Ops armor really wasn’t conducive to it but he managed any way. “I’m here. I’m back with you where I belong.”

A he cradled her head to his chest the best his armor would allow, he realized she had folded her arms in against his chest. He was effectively cocooning her in his embrace. Reese had never been one to show vulnerability in public and it had taken a long time for her to do it with him on the SR1. Now as they struggled to begin again, he was continually surprised when she did so with him. It was especially unexpected considering the issues the incident on Mars had caused between them. The initial confrontation in the very same elevator after he’d joined the crew was a direct result of that.

On Earth before the Reapers invaded, they had begun repairing their relationship. A foundation of friendship had been remade. Slowly, gradually they had worked towards being more. Admittedly even before the arrival of the Reapers, they still had a long way to go.

But maybe there was more to what Kori worried about though. He knew a part of her still harbored a doubt that he might leave again without a proper explanation. And he owned that. He took every opportunity to prove to her through word and deed that he would not repeat past mistakes.

But Mars? That had been something else entirely. It wasn’t like before during the aftermath of the SR1’s destruction, one of them leaving the other because they chose to. Mars involved the possibility of losing each other because of their duty or succumbing to injuries sustained while in the line of duty.

The Major’s mind began putting together the pieces of the puzzle as he continued to hold the woman he loved to his chest.

His headaches. Her reaction in the hospital. Her accusation that he hadn’t been truthful about the severity of his migraines after his injuries on Mars…

The weekly inquiries into his medical records. Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel he expected. But a third party pinged his records on a regular basis as well. One routed through Alliance medical but without a specific name. It had to be Kori. She was that worried about him because of Mars but did not want to tell him. Most likely so he wouldn’t worry.

Kaidan closed his eyes as he continued to hold her close. He wouldn’t tell her he’d figured out her secret. Instead, he would continue to assure her he would always come back. That there was a future for them. That no matter the mission, the injury, or the pain he endured, he would always come back to her.

“Kori, I know things have never been exactly easy for us but I…” he paused as he moved his head to kiss her forehead. “I will always come back to you. Always.”

“You better, Alenko,” she murmured into his armor. “Or I’ll—”

“Kick my ass. I know,” he said with a grin as he hit the button to allow the elevator to resume its journey.

“Damn straight, tech boy,” was her murmured reply as he continued to hold her, not caring if the doors opened to reveal their current state to anyone. He’d spent far too long without her in his life, and he was not going repeat that mistake again.

He’d always come back to her. Always.

[iturbide]

Character Breakdown! - Marianne 💖 and Dorothea

MY GIRLS

How do I feel about this character?

I love her.  I love this gentle girl who has gone through so much pain and hardship, who’s lost her parents to what she believes is a curse that she shares, who is afraid of herself as much as she fears the hatred of those around her.  I can’t tell you how many times I started talking to my screen while going through her supports, because you’re wrong Marianne you do deserve happiness you are good at things I believe in you even if you don’t believe in yourself.  She’s very relatable, honestly, with her shyness coupled with self-deprecation as a defense mechanism to keep people away, not to mention the deep depression; again, mental health issues are generally a taboo thing in media, so I was more than a little shocked when I got her A support and realized just what she’d been praying so fervently to the Goddess for.  But I also love that about her: she held strong, and she made it through to a better place, which is such a wonderfully hopeful story for anyone with similar struggles, showing that things can get better if you just hold on.  

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

I have an answer this time and technically I spoiled it in an earlier character breakdown.  Because it’s Dimitri.  I love these two broken people and the idea of them managing to support each other, using one another as an anchor to keep from falling further and slowly pulling themselves back out of the lonely places they’ve fallen, both with the other’s help and with the other in mind.  I think they would make a wonderful pair since they understand the other’s struggles so deeply, and I’m aiming for their paired endcard in my AM run in progress.

Also, not gonna lie, I do low-key ship her with Hilda because cotton candy girlfriends.  I just think they’re sweet and I love how Marianne laughs in their A support, how bright and open and cheerful it sounds.  It just does my heart good.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Marianne deserves to have so many friends.  Aside from Claude (who is friends with just about everyone, this is non-negotiable with me), I really love her supports with Ignatz, and how he’s so gentle in coaxing her out of her shell and reassuring her that he enjoys sharing time with her.  They’re sweet, and I love their friendship dearly.  Also, surprisingly, Lorenz is another one who comes to mind; their A support was one of those that hit me right in the heart, and the fact that he’s so conscious of her feelings and urges her not to force herself to talk about things that upset her makes me think they would be very close friends, with Lorenz looking out for her and even running casual interference for her when she gets overwhelmed before inviting her to tea so she can calm down.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Okay so I know that Fandom loves the idea that Marianne is Berkut and Rinea’s kid.  And my unpopular opinion is that that is a terrible, terrible thing to do to her.  

It’s not that I don’t find the idea appealing, because in all honesty, I do.  The notion that Berkut and Rinea, or some reinarnations of them, had another chance in Fodlan and fell in love and had a daughter is delightful, and I would love to see it.  But let’s not forget that canonically, Marianne’s parents disappeared and are presumed dead, deeply traumatizing her and leaving her terrified of her own Brand and the monster she might become.  After what happened with Berkut and Rinea in Valentia, having them meet a fate that scars their daughter so utterly in another land and another life is utterly devastating, so I would much, much rather have her parents be anyone else than see these lives destroyed again and in the process destroy their child’s peace of mind.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Okay so this is maybe a weird one but I wish she could appear in every route even if you don’t recruit her.  Because I obsessively collect every student I can recruit in my own runs, I’ve had to do a fairly substantial amount of digging for fic writing purposes, but everywhere I look for non-VW runs...you don’t see Marianne.  She doesn’t appear at Gronder in AM, nor does she appear at Myrddin or Derdriu in CF.  And while it’s entirely possible that her absence has a benign cause...well, if you’ve read her Supports, there’s a far more likely, far more dire explanation -- and that thought breaks my heart like little else.  So I wish she could have appeared somewhere over the course of non-VW routes, just so that we can see she made it through her depression and found something to cling to.  Even if it does open up the possibility that she might fall on the battlefield, the idea that she might have fallen outside it where no one could see or know hurts somehow worse.

and of course the diva herself

How do I feel about this character?

Glorious.  Stunning.  Inspired.  Dorothea is a phenomenal character, someone who I endlessly enjoy seeing and talking to through the game.  She’s cultivated this perfect image of herself for the monastery to see, but as you get to know her the truth is so heartfelt: while she comes across as just a girl looking to find a husband during her time at Garreg Mach, she came from nothing, enduring abuse during her life on the streets of Enbarr before she was found by chance and brought into the Mittelfrank Opera Company; she’s terrified of going back to that when her looks and her voice no longer pass muster, and she’s looking out for her future with a keen and critical eye, even though she has no real expectations of finding love through it.  And this can all come out before the timeskip, no less: afterward it’s...honestly a little heartbreaking, to see how deeply the war has affected her.  

While Marianne has found something to fight for and managed to get her depression in check, Dorothea has gone in the opposite direction, seeming to succumb to depression instead.  The war has had a dire effect on her mentality, such that she feels it’s stripped her of all but the ability to survive (”only thorns left on this rose,”) and so many of her lines and comments just feel bleak and lost.  There aren’t that many characters in 3H who really embody the impact that war can have on people, because so many of the characters are stepping up specifically to fight for what they believe in and holding strong to their resolve for the sake of their loved ones and their homes.  Dorothea is the standout example of someone who’s fighting just to make this all stop, because she can’t take it anymore.  The war affects her so deeply, in ways that it doesn’t seem to hit other students, and I end up feeling like she more than anyone is at risk in the War Phase because of it. 

Her character is just very raw and very powerful in surprising ways and I love her.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

hhhhhh

it’s Lorenz okay

It’s always been Lorenz and you know what I’m already under the cut so just skip to the next header if you don’t want to read my long rambling explanation of where the fuck this comes from.

So in my first playthrough (Golden Deer forever), I spent...roughly 170 hours getting to the end.  This is almost entirely because I played on Normal mode and did an endless number of auxiliary battles grinding supports between all the characters -- and since I did, in fact, go the extra mile of recruiting every single student and professor I could in my first playthrough, I had a lot of characters to work with.  (I actually still missed out on some because I didn’t unlock their C’s soon enough -- Marianne with Ashe and Ingrid with Annette didn’t get unlocked until my next run since I knew what to look out for.)  This is a big part of how I ended up liking Lorenz in the first place: I worked through all his supports this way, and saw the full measure of him rather than just writing him off after how rough his C supports were mostly across the board.

Out of all his different supports, though, there were three in particular that stood out to me: Leonie, Mercedes, and Dorothea.  With Leonie, he learned to relax his strict notions of separation between nobles and commoners and accept the idea of friendship with her as equals.  From Mercedes, he got rightly scolded about treating commoners as beneath his notice and unworthy of consideration where marriage was concerned, and rightly corrected when he floated the idea of marrying her since it continues to fall in line with valuing nobility and Crests over personal character.  And in Dorothea, he absolutely met his match: not only is she someone who has near-identical motives in her quest for a spouse (not necessarily looking for romance so much as the perks that come with an advantageous marriage), but she’s someone capable of playing him directly, playing his emotions to reveal the folly of his mindset.  The way he laughs in their A support...I don’t think he laughs like that anywhere else.  It’s open and it’s earnest and it’s joyous, even as he concedes that she has utterly bested him.

And that, really, is what sold me on them.  Having grown so much over the course of those years, having met so many people who affected him and broadened his view of the world, when Dorothea bested him at his own game, I think he really did fall for her in truth, rather than just admiring her beauty and her craft.  In the end, both of them get everything they wanted and more: Dorothea gets the reassurance that she’ll be taken care of for the rest of her life, Lorenz can boast if he wants about marrying the star diva of the Mittalfrank Opera...but more than that, they’re equally matched as partners, both bringing different strengths to the table to improve conditions in the Alliance for everyone (and especially the commoners), and able to engage in productive back and forth with one another, challenging the other thoughtfully and coming to agreements and compromises on good terms.  I love how well-matched they are and how well their personalities play off each other and I think that they could have an incredibly powerful, productive partnership.

...also I totally ship her with Petra too because their supports are fantastic and also Petra is wonderful and deserves the best.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Ferdinand von Aegir.  I love their supports so much and how he goes out of his way to try to understand her perspective, and changes her understanding of him as a person in the process.  She understandably has things to work through, given their history and her own misconceptions about him back then, but I love the idea of them banding together as dear friends who do their best to support each other as best they can.  Also, Dorothea and Bernie is a delight, and I love the idea of Dorothea keeping in touch and helping to draw Bernie out of her shell bit by tiny bit.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Are.  Are there popular opinions about Dorothea?  I actually don’t see that many character impressions about her: most of what I see is fanart, and it mostly seems to be because she’s pretty.  I guess if I had any unpopular opinion, just based on the way I usually see her on my dash, it’s that she’s a whole heck of a lot more than just a pretty face: she’s cutthroat when she needs to be, incredibly capable as a fighter as much as a singer, and would probably make an excellent spy if the situation called for it.  I don’t think it’s fair that she’s treated mostly as eye candy when the truth is that her character is so much deeper than shallow beauty, both before and after the timeskip.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

This is silly but I wish we could have heard her sing more.  The only real song we hear from her if I’m remembering right is in her supports with Edelgard, where she improvises a few lines about the Empress-to-be.  And her voice is glorious!  I would have loved to hear her sing more, rather than getting so much from Manuela (which was...pretty painful, honestly, I do not care for her singing voice at all).  Especially considering how important singing is to her, not just as a former opera diva but just as a part of her life in general, it feels like a shame that we couldn’t hear her sing more throughout the game, either in her Supports or even in the choir sections at the monastery.

Give Me a Character  

[purple-fireflies]

Hermione for the character ask! 🧙‍♀️

Hi!! Tysm for the ask :)))

Hermione Granger, aka my idol in my teen years.

Favorite thing about Hermione

So, a generic response would be something like "oh her strength" or "oh her brains" and while those things are really great parts about her, the thing that I like most about Hermione is that she's not afraid to stand up for herself when she faced bigotry. If I remember correctly, she had always stood up for herself and never took anyone's crap -- in the same vein, she always called everyone out. I feel like this is a really important and amazing part of her character because it's really hard to always be ready to confront others and stand up for yourself, she makes a really good role model.

Least Favorite thing about Hermione

Oh see, I have two right off the bat answers to that - what least favorite thing? She's great? (Keep in mind I did read the series when I was quite young, everything is put through rose-colored glasses, so to speak). My second answer was her relationship with Ron or in general, the way it developed. From the way I remember it, Ron constantly made fun of Hermione on multiple occasions, this going to a point where Harry was exasperated in having to deal with their drama, and then in the Half-Blood Prince, it turns out she actually has a crush on him? I don't understand it. And honestly, I don't like it.

Favorite Line/Quote

So this took quite a bit of sleuthing but I remembered the general gist of the quote I wanted to use.

“Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have!”

Or something along the lines of this.

Obviously, Hermione's had many more impactful and meaningful lines that I could've chosen - why did I choose this one?

It's just so funny. And like extra points to a person who could slip this quote into a bit of conversation.

BrOTP

I actually don't have a brOTP for Hermione - I love her friendship with the Golden Trio but it just doesn't hit the bar for me: some really good brOTP's I have are Matteo and Gaston, Percy and Grover, Jason and Nico, Meredith and Christina (Soy Luna, PJO, HoO and Grey's Anatomy, for those confused with the refs). If I did have to pick a friendship of Hermione's I liked and wished was explored more it would be Hermione and Luna, Hermione and Ginny, or Hermione and Neville.

OTP

Again, for Hermione, none of her major love interests really stick out to me, but if I did have to choose - Harry.

This, I've learned, is quite an unpopular opinion, so let me explain.

Even as children, Harry respected and thought of Hermione as his equal and friend, and often came to her for advice. He respected her knowledge whereas Ron (I'm not currently counting Krum as a contender, sorry) ridiculed her in the beginning.

But okay, going on - I just loved reading their friendship scenes, and when I watched the movies, again, loved the scenes.

and going on, I feel like (this is movie-specific) that there was always more chemistry with Harry and Hermione, rather than Ron, and again (move specific) the tent dancing scene was so adorable.

nOTP

Dramione.

So this is another two-pronged response.

Draco Malfoy is a horrible person. In the books, he called Hermione slurs, bullied her numerously, and was just horrific to a lot of people. To want Hermione to be with him, with all of this in mind is really hard for me to fathom.

Now for the second prong of the response.

Dramione could've worked, in another world in which the HP books went a different route. If Draco had gone the same way as Sirius Black did - realizing that his family's values were not his, and running away, Dramione would've worked. In this universe, we could've acknowledged Draco's home life and family life, watched him unlearn the bigotry ingrained into his life, and start a friendship with Harry and Hermione. This way, Dramione would've been a good contender for one of my OTP's. Alas, this is not the case, and Draco's storyline went a much different route.

Random Headcanon

Hermione really likes Gilmore Girls & Autumn.

I can't explain why but it just feels right to me.

Unpopular Opinion

See above: I don't like Romione

A song I Associate with Them

Behind these Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson

So, if you've never heard this song before, please go listen to it!!!!

I think this really fits Hermione because she has to always be strong but she is also vulnerable - it also fits her anger that I think she would have.

Also, There Are Worse Things I Could Do - Grease.

I just think it really fits.

Favorite Picture

I don't want to repost any fanart, so I am going to put in a picture from the movie that I really like.

I feel like this is self-explanatory as to why this pic is superior.

*this got so long sorry!!!*

[iamgaryrennells]

LITG Random Questions Tag

Thanks to @kingkassam for the tag and @lilithlibrxa for making this! I had A LOT of fun, as always. ✨✨✨

1. Favorite Girl?

Priya and Chelsea

2. Favorite Boy?

Gary and Lucas and Carl and Bobby

3. Favorite Route/LI and why?

Gary, definitely. He’s a sweetheart but makes mistakes, he’s hot and seems like a lad at times but he has hidden depths, the love that he has for his nan is the cutest thing for me especially because I can relate (and I miss my grandma so much), he’s playful and loyal and amazing and stupid and everything. His route has a little bit of everything: doubt, impatience, angst, drama, love, banter, good times... I just love it tbh.

4. Season 1 or Season 2?

Season 2, somehow I’m not tired of playing it over and over, unlike Season 1. I’ve only played Season 1 twice (the first time I loved it but the second time I only wanted the gems for season 2)

5. Twitter, Tumblr or Reddit?

Reddit and Tumblr. I love both.

6. Try and guess each s2 islanders’ zodiac sign

I have no idea about zodiac signs so I wouldn’t even know where to start 😬😂

7. If you could meet any islander irl, who would it be and why?

To get to know them and develop a relationship (romantic or friendship): Gary, Priya and Chelsea, Jake, Tim, Bobby, Talia, Rohan.

To pick a fight: Lottie, Blake, Felix, Jo, Marisol, R!Hannah and Hope.

8. Do you have an unpopular opinion about the game/characters?

Okay, here we go:

Lottie: I have a love/hate relationship with her, even though Gary is my favorite and she’s a pain in my ass during his route. I really think that the writers did her dirty. She had some character growth. I understand why some people don’t see it as growth, but I really think she’s a great character (in terms of her place in the story, not because I think she’s a good person or anything). She’s easy to judge but there has to be a reason as to why she is the way that she is. And maybe knowing more about her background would’ve helped us to understand her (again, I’m not saying that everything’s forgiven and forgotten).

At first I didn’t think Felix was that bad. Maybe because I was busy getting annoyed with Arjun.

I don’t think Rocco deserved to be treated the way he was treated. It is a game to get to know people and flirt with them. And yeah, he went behind everyone’s back and chatted every girl but the latter is literally the reason why they all are there. Idk, idk.

9. Which islander are you most like?

A weird combination between Gary and Chelsea. And a little bit of Kassam. I enjoy staying at home and chilling but I also get FOMO (even though at the end of the day idc and I still stay at home), I don’t care about drama but sometimes I cause without knowing I’m doing it because I’m a very chill person and most things don’t bother me but bother others... And I’m unbothered by everything, use sarcasm a lot and I’m pretty annoyed about everything all the time.

10. Most and Least favorite islander of all time and why?

Most: Gary; he’s literally the sweetest guy ever and he’s so layered and so amazing and he gets judged by the way he looks or acts at first but then you get to meet him and he’s SO wonderful. I also love Tim, Bobby, Jake, Chelsea, Priya, Rohan, and Talia.

Least: Erikah and Hope, probably.

Erikah; I haven’t played S1 that much and I can’t remember exactly why I don’t like her, but I know that I don’t.

Hope; do I even need to spell it out? She’s the worst. She’s rude, manipulative, toxic and doesn’t care about anyone or anything (this last is not exactly a bad thing imo cause you can car about whatever you want, just don’t try to come across as a good girl when you’re clearly not). The way she treats ANYONE who dares to look at Noah’s direction, even on day one, is just horrendous. You are in a game that invites you to flirt with other people, to get to know other people and change partners if that’s what you want. If you don’t want that, then why participate in it? She only talks about Noah and that’s it; when people try to talk about anything else, she says something rude and kills the conversation dead. The way she treats Priya (or MC or both) at CA is beyond awful; how she says that she and Noah are the ‘only good couple’ is beyond disrespectful; the way she talks about Lucas when Noah is literally by her side and then criticizes Chelsea for saying something along those lines is beyond hypocritical; how she doesn’t let Noah think for himself and manipulates him for her own interests is beyond despicable.

A lot of people are ‘bad’ or ‘do bad things’ in this game, but they’re true to themselves adn others and they show their true colors and accept them and try to develop from them, but these two? They don’t. And we’re supposed to be okay with that. Well, I’m not.

11. Which Islander would hit 1M followers first?

Bobby, definitely Bobby. Or Lucas. And Priya. And MC, obviously.

12. Which Islander would land a major brand deal?

Priya, because duh and Chelsea, because duh, too. Also, Lucas and Bobby and probably Gary.

13. Do you think any of the s2 islanders smoke? If so, who?

I haven’t thought about this, but I think Lottie would. Also Blake. Probably Shannon.

Gary, Carl, Marisol maybe, under specific circumstances.

14. What’s your season 3 bucket list?

MC speaking for herself, defending herself and dragging the people that needs to be dragged

Better challenges! Maybe physical ones

DRAMA, but juicy drama. REAL DRAMA. not who kissed who and petty name calling

MORE TIME WITH YOUR LI

better female LI

People reacting to MC according to their reaction, but really reacting. I can’t have Lottie hating me for taking Gary or Hope hating me for looking at Noah’s direction and then them complimenting my outfit. If i’m gonna have an enemy or a rival, I WANT THEM TO BE MY ENEMY OR MY RIVAL

More friendships, too. I need a combination between the Rap Crew and Priya + Chelsea

Better customization options for MC

female and male and non binary MCs

MORE TIME WITH YOUR LI

MC being the MC

SWEARING, LET ME SWEAR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Less generic, more personalized. Each route has a certain thing that only happens then and there, the characters have unique lines and chats. stuff like that.

MORE TIME WITH YOUR LI

15. Do you read any fanfics?

Yesss. I just wanna say that WE NEED MORE GARY CONTENT OUT THERE BECAUSE OF REASONS. I’ve also read Bobby’s, Lucas’ and Noah’s.

16. If there was a Love Island the Game All Stars with islanders from S1 and S2, who would you choose to go back to the Villa?

S1: Miles, Rohan, Cherry, Levi, Mason...

S2: Shannon, Blake, Noah, Rocco, Arjun...

17. Which Islanders would struggle the most in quarantine and why?

Chelsea and Lottie because of FOMO. Felix, too. Henrik and Rocco would, too, but Rocco would manage with his spiritual travels or something.

[kyurilin]

2010-2019 Or The Overly Non Dramatic Story of How Kyuri's Decade Went

Technically this isn't a part of this decade review but I'm posting this on December 24th specifically because 10 years ago today I spoke to @mist-over-water on the phone for the first time after having known her for three years and I'm pretty sure we both cried

2010

met @mist-over-water for the first time in person. Took her to the beach where she promptly got roasted by the sun. Took her to the mountains. Took her out to practice driving in a local high school parking lot because why not. I cried so hard when she had to go home and God help me I'd only known her four years at that point.

Flunked a math class for the first time. Funny enough, it was because I'd been put in the advanced math courses for years and that was the year I both had a teacher I hated and could no longer reasonably fake my way through understanding math. Don't put your kids in advanced courses unless you're certain they can keep up with it people I only really was an advanced reader.

My dog Scruffy passed away :(

Started my senior year of high school

2011

Managed to graduate high school on time despite having to take 2 whole math courses during senior year (and with @mist-over-water 's who will now be referred to as Gabby because simplicity buddies sending me 'GRADUATE' messages so I'd have the motivation to go see her in person)

Got to go to England to see Gabby which, dream come true. Had a blast. Met the two precious nieces she had, her brother who's accent I couldn't understand, her mom who is one of the sweetest people, and her grandparents who I got to watch a lot of old British gameshows with.

Saw Wicked from second row seats in London.

Saw Cars 2 three times with Gabby which is why I'm still emotionally invested in Cars 2 because boy getting to see the sequel movie to the movie that ended up allowing you to cross paths with someone you really clicked with is AN. EXPERIENCE.

Cried when I finally had to leave because I was 18 and terrified of the future and didn't know when or if I'd ever see my friend in person again.

Started at community college in the film and video program

2012

Finished my first year of community college

Wrote my first original novel that will honestly never see the light of day. It's terrible ya'll

Through circumstances I still regret started losing my friendship with Gabby and boy do I hate who I was a person during that time

Started my second year of community college

2013

Worked on the X Factor as a production assistant.

Probably around this time that Gabby and I stopped talking which was better for us at that point. Still took an emotional toll to lose a friend that I'd known for 7 years at that point but in the long run we did need the distance (and I'm sorry to throw it all out here like this Gabby if you want it edited tell me I'm just putting it all out lmao)

Through a cosmic aligning of the universe by which I mean a special interest in both Minecraft and Achievement Hunter at the same time, I found a small Minecraft server that I could play on and met some really great people

Started my third year of community college

Oh yeah met @inspector-starfish from the Minecraft server for the first time in person, me and my brother stole her from her college and took her to the state fair with us.

2014

Started easing into talking to Gabby again (I remember the message with new baby Imogen!!!) Which was a blessing

I can't remember if it was 2014 or 2015 but at some point Gabby also hung out with me on the Minecraft server with my other buddies

Worked on Catfish as a Production Assistant for like 2 days and I still think I was fired lmao

My dad was arrested. Which is... The hardest thing to type out. Because everything before 2014 feels so distant because of the events.

He got put in jail and we bailed him out, but a month later he got arrested again and we couldn't bail him out this time.

God help me I'm so glad I had gotten back to talking to Gabby at this point I vaguely remember a sobbing Skype call between us.

I don't even remember what classes I was in at community college anymore that's how bad it is.

I basically dropped out though.

I stopped writing, I stopped drawing, I stopped... Being. That's really what it narrows down to. Only one of my real life friends knew what happened and I broke down everytime I thought about it so i'm pretty sure at one point I had a panic attack on my way to hang out with Friend A, who knew, and Friend B, who didn't.

I did start talking to @rhysispiecess that year. Through a post on here actually (we were also on the same Minecraft server but because I didn't really play that much that I remember after this whole thing I kinda forgot who he was).

I think (maybe???) I also met @belle-sourires and @youllthinkofsomething that year.

We moved from the house we'd lived in 13 years to a little rental house where we had the sweetest neighbors

2015

I spent a lot of time reading and crying in 2015 lmao

Also spent a lot of time talking to @rhysispiecess (the FNAF AU years God bless them for being a much needed distraction from real life)

Dad went to actual prison and boy that's an experience having to visit him there every week

We moved again this time to a small apartment

Got my first real job that wasn't being a production assistant (the same job I still have!)

Started to make actual attempts at writing again but struggled with it a lot

2016

For the first time since 2014 I actually wrote more than a simple one off story of the course of a month

Saved up my money and went to California to meet @rhysispiecess and @27thousandlizards.

Confused the shit out of Luke's (@27thousandlizards ) grandma

Was so tired I cried when I saw how little Corgi puppies are

Got to see @inspector-starfish and @youllthinkofsomething in San Diego where they were doing a robot thing as usual

Got to see the end bit of Route 66 cause wouldn't you know Rhys lives right near it (and as a huge Cars fan oh my God FATE)

Had an absolute blast with both Rhys and Luke and cried when I had to leave them because boy do I love friends

2017

Cars 3 came out and I transcended to a higher plane of being

Okay not really but I'm sure ya'll remember the days where I was mostly a Cars blog

100% I know I've said this before but all of the Cars movies have hit with specific messages at exactly the point in my life I needed to hear those messages so like. Poetic cinema.

Made some fantastic friends from those days

After 11 years of attempts at writing a redemption arc for a certain Cars character I finally wrote one and IT WAS GREAT

Cars 3 also managed to make me write again which has continued to be a struggle since 2014

Oh yeah became single again I was in a relationship but that ended TIME FOR ALONE (learned I'm still a terrible person who doesn't handle relationships well so hey not bad I'll leave people out of my overly anxious 'they must hate me' mentality)

2018

Fell out of writing again after the Cars 3 hype died down enough lmao

Got to meet @whipplefilter and @the-kings-tail-fin for a road trip around NC which was fantastic

Played way too much Nintendo Switch

Gabby got engaged and I absolutely cried for like an hour because how the fuck do you not cry when someone you've known for so long gets engaged (I'm still so happy for her @onetruejonsey seems like a really wonderful guy)

Oh yeah we moved again we have a real house now but the neighbors are redneck assholes

2019

Thanks to FNAF Help Wanted, I got whiplashed back into that fandom BUT I did start writing pretty regularly again. In fact I've written more this year than all the years since I stopped COMBINED. Which means I was both in the right headspace to actually want to write again as well as being able to keep myself focused on it.

Met Jodie Benson (ARIEL!!!!!!), Daniel Logan (KID BOBA FETT) and Christopher Sabat at GalaxyCon. Right. I went to my first convention despite being terrified of it

I cried like a bitch meeting Jodie Benson and she hugged me. I told Daniel Logan I'd had a crush on him as a kid and that Attack of the Clones was still my favorite Star Wars (which it is I wasn't lying) and he hugged me. Got to hear Sean Schemmel call Christopher Sabat out for being so friendly that his line was ridiculous which was great because boy did I not have enough money to meet more than three people. Christopher Sabat was fantastic too.

Went to DC with my 3 closest IRL buddies I've known since like 2008 and despite some arguments none of us killed each other. Nearly destroyed my feet from all the walking though. Don't know how we'd survive a trip to Japan which they all want to do.

Started formulating my next novel idea

It's been a long decade. Really the first half feels like it happened to another person.

I want to say, more than anything, if it weren't for Gabby I never would have had the courage to meet so many of my other online friends. She flew over here to meet me when I was 17 and she was 15 going on 16. We were so young and my dad and her mom worked so hard to make sure that we could actually meet each other and I'm forever thankful for that. I went across the ocean by myself at 18, an autistic disaster of a human, and somehow I didn't panic or get lost or anything. Without those experiences I never would have had the courage to do a lot of the things I've done since.

I'm still terrified of the future though. I have no idea if I'll even save enough money to go to England to see Gabby again (and God we actually need to talk more because I feel like a terrible friend ALL I DO IS SEND GIRAFFE PHOTOS). I don't even know what I want out of life.

Here's hoping though that I can continue to have some adventures and meet more of my online buddies in the next decade!

[elan-morin-tedronai]

Rare Pair Fest Letter Thingy

Dear Creator! 

First of all thank you for signing up and creating content for whichever of my ships happens to be your cup of tea so to say. Whoever you are, I’m happy you’re out there, enjoying the same obscure fandom things~

Then, to the point.

AO3 name: Tedronai

General likes & dislikes:

Likes: emotions, epic friendships, complicated dynamics between unlikely allies, politics & court intrigue, complicated relationships, enemies to lovers, aro/ace characters, aro/ace characters navigating romantic/sexual relationships, ships with good communication.

Dislikes: plotless porn, plotless fluff, crack humour, A/B/O dynamics, redemption = death trope, mpreg (of the cis male variety), pregnancy or kid fic in general, most modern AUs for fantasy fandoms, domestic fluff.

I have no triggers nor any serious squicks so you can do basically anything that feels right for the ship without worrying about that.

Then for the fandom-specific stuff...

Fandom #1: Endeavour Ship(s): Joss Bixby/Endeavour Morse

Oh dear. Ride was the first episode of Endeavour that I properly watched, and Morse’s relationship with Bixby just hit all of my buttons at once, I was devastated when it ended the way it did. I just wanted... more. Of anything. Everything.

So that gives you fairly free rein... Which, I understand, may not be super helpful so I’ll try to come up with a few more specific things. Just expanding on any possible stolen moments during the episode would be lovely. 

If you want to go down the angst road and destroy me, which you have my full consent to do, expanding on Morse’s feelings and thoughts from the point on when he hears the gunshot... The heartbreak, the regrets for things that could have been but never quite did. Or maybe something did happen between them and that makes things worse, because obviously Morse hasn’t been through enough.

Or maybe, if you feel like venturing into the AU realm, maybe Bixby didn’t stay behind to be shot, maybe he went home with Morse... And how far you want to take that AU scenario is up to you because if it goes far enough, you’d still have to deal with Bixby’s real identity coming to light and that may be too much of a hassle. But hey, if you feel like it!

Maybe Bixby goes with Morse, they spend the night at Morse’s cabin and Bixby gets shot upon leaving in the morning? I don’t know, I’m just throwing things out here at this point.

But like I said, I’ll be absolutely delighted with anything you come up with, sad or bittersweet or even -- gasp! -- outright happy, though that might take some imagination, considering... Morse and Bixby both. x’)

Fandom #2: Final Fantasy XIV Ship(s): Gaius van Baelsar/Livia sas Junius; Nero tol Scaeva/Livia sas Junius

Look, I’m not gonna say Livia deserved better... but, you know. She did.

I’m gonna be happy with almost anything for Livia/Gaius, but with certain restrictions. Anything sexual between them must be consensual, and my headcanon is that Livia initiated the relationship; she certainly wasn’t coerced into it by the older and more powerful Gaius.

Also for the love of whatever Garleans worship, let’s not do the daddy dom thing here. I mean I absolutely do see dom/sub elements being a thing, and Livia is probably the subbest sub to ever sub (or maybe I’m just projecting here, who even knows), but... daddy kink is personally something I’ve never really understood, and in the context of Livia and Gaius... let’s just not, okay.

As for Livia/Nero, I admit that this is mostly a thing I ship because I (used to?) RP Livia in an AU in which she survived the end of the 2.0 MSQ. But that doesn’t need to restrict your creativity! I’m absolutely fine with pre-Castrums Livia/Nero hookup brought on by frustration or alcohol or both, or whatever you happen to feel like. Just maybe no romantic feelings in that case.

If you do want to go for the AU in which Livia survives... the possibilities are endless. We know Nero ends up in Mor Dhona afterwards; maybe Livia did, too? It’s one place in which it’s easy to blend in, go unnoticed. And from there it can develop into anything at all, including romance if you feel like it.

Fandom #3: Wheel of Time Ship(s): Moridin/Mazrim Taim; Logain Ablar/Mazrim Taim; Min Farshaw/Elan Morin Tedronai

Okay so Taim/Moridin is a ship that just... happened. It started as a crack ship, things happened, now it’s one of my favourite ships in the WoT ‘verse.

It has its own fic ‘verse here. Just in case you’re interested. Though obviously whatever you come up with -- whether fic or art -- doesn’t have to be compatible with my ‘verse.

I’m looking for... anything, really. Maybe Moridin himself recruited Taim and was the main Forsaken contact for the Black Tower stuff. Maybe things happen around when Taim is promoted to the ranks of the Chosen. For this ship I’m totally cool with PWP, too, though if confused emotions are involved, all the better.

Then... Taim/Logain, the tragic love story of our time. (I don’t even know.) I’ll never buy that their relationship truly amounted to mutual hate at first sight. If Taim had hated Logain from the start, nothing would have been easier than to get rid of him before he gained a cult following among the Asha’man. No, Taim must have had a reason for letting Logain live, and to get away with the things he did, and the only explanation that makes any sense is that he wanted Logain on his side. (Or by his side, or in his bed, or whatever.)

Again, I’ll take anything with these two except some wild shit like, I dunno, Taim sexually abusing Logain while the latter is held prisoner. But if you really want my eternal, undying love, give me an AU in which Taim comes back to Light (or never turns to the Shadow) because with Logain, he can actually tell the Forsaken to fuck off and have a fighting chance of survival. 

Or, you know, when the Forsaken demand that Logain be Turned, Taim nopes out because that’s where he draws the line and survival doesn’t even matter anymore. Honestly, in this scenario, feel free to kill him if you like.

And finally Min/Elan. If you got matched for this ship, you’re probably either Lise or offered “any ship” for WoT. (In the case of the former, hi! In the case of the latter... I’m sorry? xD)

So if Taim/Moridin was a crack ship that got out of hand, this is like... this one skipped the crack phase, went straight from a really weird concept into “yes! this is the ship I’ll go down with!” territory. Basically this happened, and the rest... is... history? Not that there’s really anything yet that comes after the thing I linked. but. yeah.

The obvious route is probably to go with the post-AMoL AU, because Elan and Min don’t even exist in the same Age otherwise. Unless you can sell me a Min/Moridin that doesn’t venture into icky darkfic territory, because let’s not do that to Min. If you feel you can do it right, go for it. I have faith in you. But the AU in which Elan lives again is probably easier.

And within that premise... Anything, really? Like I said in the general likes/dislikes section, I appreciate communication in my ships, so honestly I’d be delighted with just them trying to figure out what exactly they want from their relationship. Or uh. You know. Kink negotiation? If you felt like it?? Elan is a sub, for the record. Hell, I’ll even take something vaguely domestic for these two (or three if you want to keep Rand around but he’s optional) because Elan and domesticity is such a strange combination.

Fandom #4: Kushiel’s Legacy Ship(s): Imriel de la Courcel/Lucius Tadius da Lucca; Imriel de la Courcel/Mavros Shahrizai/Lucius Tadius da Lucca; Mavros Shahrizai/Lucius Tadius da Lucca

So basically what I want from any of these is let Lucius be happy and not stuck in a duty marriage because you didn’t want to give Imriel a male love interest, for fuck’s sake.

Any scenario in which Lucius comes to Terre d’Ange is an absolute delight. At the end of Scion? Perfect. For Imriel’s wedding at the end of Mercy? Beautiful. Anywhere in between for whatever reason you come up with? Yes please. I don’t care if you ship him with Imriel or Mavros or both, just let them be happy.

[meeedeee]

Final Fantasy FXV: Thoughts RSS FEED OF POST WRITTEN BY FOZMEADOWS

When I first heard that FFXV was going to break with franchise tradition by having an all-male central team, I was more than a little surprised. Final Fantasy has always been distinguished as much by its memorable – and central – female characters as by any other element; which is why, somewhat paradoxically, I never felt particularly angry about the switch, either. As a whole, video games are still male-dominated in a way that frequently sets my teeth on edge, but Final Fantasy has a strong line of credit with me: whatever my thoughts on the state of gaming as an industry – and while criticism of Square Enix’s decision in this context is nonetheless valid – I felt I could still attempt the game itself.

Thus far, at roughly eight hours in – which is, I’m aware, not very far at all – I’m enjoying myself immensely, though possibly not in a way that was intended. And in order to satisfactorily explain why that is, I first need to say a little about my history with the franchise.

The first Final Fantasy I ever played was VIII, which always made me something of an oddity among my friends: unlike everyone who started the series at VII or earlier, I had no established sense of how the combat system ought to work, and so took the VIII model, which was a widely-hated departure from canon, as my yardstick for the series. This meant I was not only frustrated by the traditional setup used in VII and IX, but irritated by the more cartoonish character designs. Which isn’t to say that I disliked either game, exactly: just that they were always less beloved to me than VIII and, later on, X and XII, whose advanced graphics and combat systems more closely resembled what VIII had been trying – with, admittedly, more ambition than success – to achieve.

Even now, XII remains my favourite Final Fantasy. The writing and voice acting were both incredible, and even though Vaan, rather than Ashe, was the POV character, I loved the departure from canon that made him a non-romantic participant in her narrative. By contrast, XIII was a clusterfuck, so much so that I quickly set it aside as unplayable: the writing was naff, the voice acting melodramatic (with the single exception of Sazh), the premise confused and the combat frustratingly garbled. I couldn’t understand how the best aspects of XII had been so thoroughly disregarded, and as such, I never bothered with the sequel, which makes XV the first new Final Fantasy I’ve played since 2010.

Aesthetically, then, XV is paying a great deal of homage to my favourite games in the series – VIII and XII – which predisposes me to love it. The opening premise of an invading empire and a missing heir to the throne is evocative of both Galbadia and Archadia, with Noctis’s early quest to recover lost weapons from ancient tombs running a close parallel to Ashe’s quest in XII. The fact that Noctis, Prompto, Ignis and Gladio spend the game driving around in a sports car might seem ridiculous on the surface, especially if you’ve got a preference for the airships of VII, IX and XII, but only if you’ve forgotten the convertibles and jeeps of VIII, where driving on the worldmap was also a feature, and where fancy cars were a staple of the more dramatic cutscenes.

In fact, there’s always been something of a roadtrip vibe to a lot of the Final Fantasy games, and not only in terms of the main party journeying thither and yon across multiple fictional worlds. The many flashbacks to Lord Braska’s pilgrimage in X show him broing it up with Auron and Jecht (to whom Gladio bears more than a superficial physical and vocal resemblance), while their decision to sphere-capture their adventures is a clear forerunner to Prompto’s photography. VIII didn’t lack for female characters, but the initial SEED test features a grumpily all-male party, with Squall, Zell and Seifer forced into a temporary alliance. Squall and Zell were always something of an odd pair, but delightfully so, and their dynamic has been revived – and, I’d argue, improved – in the byplay between Noctis and Prompto. Likewise, Ignis’s dry drawl and dryer expression are more than a little reminiscent of Balthier, though his dutiful priorities make him a closer equivalent to Auron and Basch.

In other words, the four protagonists of XV are themselves a homage to the male relationships of previous Final Fantasy games, and quite clearly so. Together, they interact much as you’d expect of a quartet of twentysomething men, joking and snarking at each other in equal measure. The writing and voice acting aren’t as good as XII, but they’re nowhere near the abysmal mess of XIII. I’d peg them as being on par with X: naff at times, but somehow endearingly so, and overall engaging. Granted, the background plot is complex – it helps to have watched the prequel movie, Kingsglaive, and there’s also an accompanying anime series – but part of what makes the quartet watchable is how clearly established their friendship is: we’re getting to know the characters by how they know each other.

As far as the gameplay and levelling systems go, I’ve got no complaints thus far. Even without being able to run through the full tutorial for fighting – my version kept glitching when it came to learning how to warp – I’ve still found it intuitive to use. It’s a dissimilar combat system to most FF games, in that it’s not turn-based, but neither is it as blindingly fast-paced or poorly-designed as the system used in XIII, and the ability to warp to targets makes for some engaging tactical options. It helps that I’ve just come off a huge Dragon Age: Inquisition jag: my preferred approach to combat in both games can best be described as “running in headfirst with a large sword and hitting things until they fall down,” with magic and projectile weapons left on auto until or unless I’m specifically forced to use them. Players who favour different tactics might have more complaints to level here, but for my purposes, it works just fine.

But what I’m really loving about XV is the extent to which – I assume unintentionally – it’s both hilarious and heavily queercoded.

I’ll deal with the latter first, because it’s arguably the more contentious point. Let me be clear: I’m not for one second giving Square Enix props for deliberately creating queer representation here, because I don’t think for a second that it’s what they actually meant to do – or at least, if they’re trying to muddle vaguely in that direction, then they haven’t had the guts to confirm it. Culturally, the lines we draw been homosocial and homosexual behaviour tend to be as historically arbitrary as they are fiercely policed, with any overlap subject to argument on both sides. But cultural differences is, I suspect, a large part of why XV reads the way it does: the game is originally Japanese, and in trying to cater to both Japanese and Western masculine ideals, Square Enix has wandered into what plays as a rather spectacularly queer compromise.

First and most obviously, there’s the wardrobe issue. Clearly, the all-black leather aesthetic is meant to look Manly and Cool and Deeply Heterosexual In A Traditionally Masculine Way, and if the designs were simple, functional and militaristic, then that would probably work, even given the youth and beauty of the characters (more of which shortly). But Final Fantasy, like a great many Japanese properties, is famous for its distinctive clothing designs, which means the characters look less like soldiers and more like scene kids en route to a metal concert. Specifically: Noctis and Prompto look like they shop at Hot Topic, Ignis is wearing Cuban heeled boots, driving gloves and seme glasses (seriously) and Gladio consistently looks like he’s posing for a Grindr photo. Like. I’m aware that he’s meant to be the most hypermasculine  straight male self-identification fantasy of the four, what with the scar and the tattoos and the devastatingly Japanese mullet, but generally speaking, ripped guys in open leather shirts and tight leather pants are more visually reminiscent of Mardi Gras than the military. I’m just saying.

The fact that you can customise their outfits (to a degree), and that picking a new wardrobe changes their stats, isn’t a new development: in fact, it’s something the franchise first introduced with dress spheres in the all-female X-2, which makes its presence in the all-male XV a subtly pleasing symmetry. And yet it runs up against a standard of masculine gaming: changing your armour is one thing, because armour is Manly, but changing your clothes – which, stat bonuses or not, is what we’re functionally talking about – is something else entirely. It’s a truly strange demarcation, because there are plenty of instances where video game characters change outfits of their own accord, in cutscenes or for plot-specific purposes, or where the change represents a specific, all-over upgrade. But the option to alter the appearance of male characters for largely aesthetic reasons – to change how they look to you, the player, in clothes that are recognisably modern and fashionable – is not, I suspect, a common feature of games aimed at heterosexual men, nor is the in-game implication of the characters toting around a bunch of fancy matching outfits a particularly straight-coded thing.

And, okay. Even though we queer folk often telegraph our identities through fashion, there’s a degree of reductive stereotype inherent in judging sexuality on the basis of clothing choice, and if that were the only issue here, I wouldn’t have brought it up. (Except, of course, to point out the truly delightful ridiculousness of watching four goth boys run around the countryside in full club gear, often while complaining about the temperature. It’s like they’re headed for Glastonbury with monsters.) But the queercoding of XV is a package deal: it’s not just the clothes, but the clothes in combination with the characters themselves, the dialogue they’re given, and the way the four of them occupy the game.

Specifically: Final Fantasy is a gaming franchise that’s well aware, historically speaking, of its very large female fanbase. Even though the majority of the games have male protagonists, they’ve traditionally been designed for a straight female gaze – and more, I would argue, a teenage female gaze, given that the characters are usually in their teens or very early twenties – in line with aesthetics more Japanese than Western. Former heroes like Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus and Vaan might be formidable warriors in-game, but they’re never beefed up: they’re overwhelmingly built lean, with much longer, more stylised hair than you typically see on masculine Western characters. They wear jewellery – often visible in their base character designs, and not just as a hidden accessory slot – and offhand, aside from various weird lines around Cloud crossdressing in VII, I can’t think of any real instances of sexism or misogyny from those characters that aren’t actively shut down. In fact, the number of female characters in the earlier games ensures that, in addition to any love interests, the leading men also have platonic female friends – something that’s still damnably unusual in most forms of media, let alone in video games.

All of which, thus far, holds true in XV, too: Princess Lunafreya, Noctis’s intended bride, is his childhood friend, as is Gladio’s sister, Iris. When the game begins, Noctis and his friends are travelling to meet Lunafreya before their (politically arranged) wedding; when everything goes awry because betrayal and empire, they’re forced to regroup and end up hanging out with Iris, who has escaped to the city of Lesallum. That’s where I’m up to so far, and what immediately stands out to me, as someone who spent a not inconsiderable portion of their adolescence and early twenties hanging around single straight guys, is the fact that the quartet barely ever talk about women at all. And the thing is, I can see why it’s been done! Final Fantasy has a heavy female fanbase, and in any case, they’re not the sort of games where the male soldiers sit around reminiscing about sexual conquests. But contextually, because of the way the game is presented – four friends driving and talking shit in real time, mocking each other, while initially on the way to see one of them married – the lack of talk about sex or romance of any kind is jarring.

Which isn’t to say the subject of women never comes up at all; it’s just that, when it does, the overwhelming impression is of dialogue written with a female audience in mind, but without any awareness of the queercoding implications of its delivery by these particular male characters. This means, for instance, that there’s a scene where the boys find a magazine article about Lunafreya’s wedding dress, and all of them start cooing about how beautiful it will be; Ignis notes that the dress is bespoke, designed by Vivienne Westwood, and Prompto starts enthusing about how pretty Lunafreya will look in it. In Hammerhead, the buxom mechanic Cindy, whose character design is clearly meant to please the straight male players, is someone who, in real life, you’d expect a bunch of straight boys on an ostensible stag trip to talk about. Except that they never do; and instead, the one time there’s a reference made to Gladio “chatting someone up,” it turns out to be a grumpily endearing scientist who wants you to go catch some frogs as penance for interrupting her research.

And then there’s Noctis taking a tour of Lestallum with Iris. Throughout this mini-quest, you’re given a set of binary conversational options to either encourage Iris in her enthusiasm for the town, or to disapprove. Then, at the end, she coyly suggests that being on the tour was almost like a date – an assertion you can either play off lightly, or outright deny: pointedly, there is no option to agree. If you deny, she laughs and says “you could at least play along for once,” suggesting that Iris knows Noctis isn’t interested in her and is willing to tease him about it – an odd thing to include, if you don’t want the audience to wonder about his preferences.

A little earlier in the game, Prompto asks Noctis what he ought to take more photos of: apart from declining, the only options are “me” (meaning Noctis), Ignis or Gladio. Again, there’s a gameworld logic to this – the photos are ultimately viewed by the player, who gets to pick which character they want to record the most – but in terms of the impact in setting, this is not an outstandingly heterosexual moment. Very possibly, there exists a group of straight bros whose designated photographer is happy asking, “Hey bro, which of our friends do you want to see more in pictures?” in an established No Homo way, and if so, more power to them. But if you want to find a context where that sort of exchange is an everyday thing, then look no further than the queer regions of Instagram. (Plus, it’s kind of conspicuous how often Prompto, when assessing the day’s photos, comments on how good Gladio the Perpetually Shirtless looks.)

And then there’s the occasional quirks of dialogue and voice acting: choices that, again, would be minor on their own, but which collectively become suggestive of something specific. Early on, Cor sends Gladio, Prompto and Ignis to make a distraction at a military blockade while he and Noctis sneak inside: the gambit is successful, and when the group reunites afterwards, Gladio says cheerfully, “The Niffs couldn’t keep their eyes off us!”. To which Ignis quips, in reference to Noctis and Cor’s arrival, “You spared us their attentions.” Offhand, I can think of about a dozen different ways to word that exchange that don’t remotely brush up against innuendo, and which are far more colloquially and contextually apt besides. The eyes/attentions combo is the kind of thing you’d expect a pair of femme fatales to say after seducing the guards and knocking them out in an action movie. (The fact that we don’t actually witness the initial distraction only adds to its ambiguity.) And yet, this is what they’ve gone with.

Other examples are smaller, but they all add up. Whenever you find new ingredients for Ignis to cook with, he stops to announce, with particular vocal flamboyance, that he’s just thought up a new recipe (exclamation mark!), and whips out a notebook to jot it down. (“I’ll taste test for ya,” Gladio says, in a playfully growling tone that always seems to have one eye on the bedroom.) And then there’s Prompto, who I’m inclined to think of as a confused bisexual puppy, whose voice turns dreamily fanboyish when discussing Cor’s exploits, and who gets just as excited on receiving Cor’s praise as he does at the prospect of seeing Lunafreya in her pretty wedding dress.

Put this all together, then, and what you have are a bunch of young men who are, by Western standards, more pretty than handsome, dressed in fashionable clothes and accessories that are more evocative of queer or queer-friendly subcultures than not, and who care enough about their appearance to have multiple outfits on hand at any given time. (You can, if you’re willing to sacrifice an accessory slot to aesthetics, buy hair gel for them to use.) These men are knowledgeable about fashion, have a platonic concern for the women they encounter, are constantly photographing one another for each other, have zero comments to make about the stupidly hot female mechanic unless they’re praising her competence, and whose idea of “chatting someone up” apparently means “talking to the grumpy frog lady about the local wildlife population”. This isn’t me leaping to conclusions, here: in the immortal words of Buffy Summers, I took a tiny step and there conclusions were.

All of which is a way of saying that, thus far, I’m delighted with Final Fantasy XV, though not in the ways I’d expected. The characters and setting are a homage to my favourite games in the series, and while I worried the absence of female characters would grate on me, our quartet of bumbling chocobros is stupidly endearing. At this point, Noctis is functionally useless as a prince: even when he’s recognised, the local yokels have no qualms about asking him to take their deliveries or run their errands, and while random sidequests are an RPG staple, they’re usually somewhat tailored to the protagonist’s perceived status. In FFXV, everything is rendered hilarious by the fact that Noctis is a prince, and is seen as a prince, and is still being asked to catch frogs in a swamp and grab shit from some random marketeer’s broken van.

(He’s also gloriously introverted: in dealing with people, his responses usually vary from monosyllabic to resigned disinterest, but when you come across a stray cat in need of feeding – a tiny sidequest that’s a deliberate throwback to Squall doing likewise in VIII – he talks to it at greater length and with more enthusiasm than he otherwise displays with anyone.)

As far as I’m concerned, FFXV is a magic road trip with a bunch of queer boys who have their wardrobes together, but not their shit. I can identify. And so, I suspect, can everyone else who’s fallen into the trashpile of this visually beautiful, thematically mishmash game. I honestly don’t care about the random anachronisms, like the fact that they’re carrying smartphones and fighting magic robots, but still using paper maps and newspapers, to say nothing of using a fucking dog as a messenger for vital correspondence through a warzone – or rather, I do care, but only because the clear discontinuity of it somehow plays as a feature instead of a bug. The entire thing ought to be ridiculous, and it kind of is, but pleasingly so, like a cat in a Halloween costume. The characters don’t take each other seriously, which frees the player up to do likewise – to laugh with them, rather than at them. And frankly, I’ll take that over XIII’s self-important melodrama any day of the week.

  from shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows http://ift.tt/2mJ436t via IFTTT

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

19 Feuds that Prove No One Does Drama Better than Celebrities

Don’t you simply dislike drama? It’s so wearying. There are just so many acts you have to deal with. Making the popcorn. Buttering the popcorn. Seeing a good seat. But we do what have to do. Advertisement div > Nobody does drama better than luminaries . b> div > Getty Images So while we know it’s a lot of work, it’s time to get up and start searching the cabinets for the Orville and get poppin.’ Here are 19 of the craziest celebrity feuds of all time. Advertisement div > div > Megyn Kelly vs. Jane Fonda div > via: Getty Images Talk about a face-off between two seriously strong and terrifying alpha-females. It’s a miracle that Megyn Kelly didn’t instantly turn to stone after she received the look of death from Jane Fonda, after asking her about plastic surgery on live television. Jane successfully evaded the issue and redirected those discussions back to the movie but Fonda was nowhere near done talking about the incident. She went on to criticise Kelly in various subsequent interrogations, claiming that Kelly is” not a good examiner” for expecting a question that was ” so inappropriate .” On her see, Megyn Kelly is a response to Fonda’s comments in a highly organized attack. She blamed Jane Fonda for her contentious trip to Vietnam in’ 72 which earned her the unfavorable nickname “Hanoi Jane” and claimed that Fonda” had not yet been business castigating anyone on what prepares as offensive .” Advertisement div > div > Vin Diesel vs. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson div > via: Getty Images Perhaps these two celebs were duelling it out for best baldy in Hollywood. While killing the final representations of Fast and Furious 8 , em> Dwayne’ The Rock’ Johnson posted an likenes hashtagged with the quotation “zero tolerance for candy-asses.” While it was unclear at the time who precisely’ The Rock’ was specific referring to as a candy-ass, another post of Johnson’s would clear up any candy-ass confusion. It was an image of the direct and crew under which he thanked practically everyone from the plane service girlfriend to Fast and Furious Fans, yet nowhere in his affix did he thanks the films co-producer, Vin Diesel. And while’ The Rock’ continued to confirm the squabble on the welcome mat of the film’s debut, Vin Diesel managed to defuse suspected hostilities that same night, by commenting on the closeness of the two’s relationship. It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas. Being an alpha is sometimes a pain in the ass . em> Tell me about it, Vin. But at the end of the day, according to Diesel, the people we consider to be our category are our genealogy, candy-assed or not. At my house,[ Dwayne Johnson] is’ Uncle Dwayne’ and I’m proud of that . em> Oh, gag me with a spoon! This ” duel” between two of the( presumably) “toughest” chaps in Hollywood perfectly epitomizes just how sorry workers are at the skill of drama. Unlike female feuds, where a public oral combat to the death follows, in which no youth, grandmother, pet, or blasphemed secret is off limits. Just look at Megyn Kelly, she had to dig back 40 years to come up with a half-decent clap-back, but she dug in with both paws and did the drudgery, like a real woman. Was it right? Absolutely not. But at the least her backside isn’t eternally sticky, like these candy-ass baldies. Advertisement div > div > Jay-Z vs. Kanye West div > via: Getty Images When the two mega hip-hop masters first worked together, rumors began to run that Jay-Z didn’t want to sign Kanye on with Roc–AFella Registers but claims to have half-heartedly signed him in an attempt to” at the least, keep the trounces in-house .” While the two seemed to develop a friendship despite any past matters, Kanye made it clear in his song about the relations between the two countries( yes, a song about their relationship ), Big Brother, that he was still butthurt. Apparently, Kanye didn’t realize being toldby Jay-Z to start buy tickets to his substantiate after asking his big bro for a duo and expressed this sentiment in his lyrics… Only situation I wanna know is why I get ogled over. I guess I’ll understand when I get more older. Big brother experienced me at the bottom of the totem. Now I’m on the top and everybody on the scrotum . em> When Jay Z didn’t accompanied Kanye and Kim’s wedding nuptials, West replied,” All that, I wouldn’t even speak on. It doesn’t even matter to me whatsoever .” And afterward, after both of their children were born, Kanye greatly carried angst toward his “big brother” where reference is articulated,” Our children ain’t never even played together.” Eventually, Jay Z “ve had enough” of Kanye’s evaluations, and so he announced Kanye out in his line “KILL JAY” for his” f-everybody posture” and continues at, calling West “insane.” Apparently, West had also had enough and made am of the view that TIDAL owed him 3 billion dollars right before officially chipping ties with the streaming service. Jay-Z lately addressed the bro-drama, clarifying,” I enjoy Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated affair with us … But it’s gonna, we gonna ever be good .” Why didn’t these two time get onto over with and debate it out, face-to-face, 8 Mile status? Advertisement div > div > Susan Sarandon vs. Debra Messing div > via: Getty Images Get “re ready for” revenge of the redheads. Things curdled political in a twitter struggle between Susan Sarandon and Debra Messing after Sarandon suggested that she may not backing Hilary Clinton, should Bernie Sanders be booted out of the presidential race. Messing publicly carried the issue as to whether Sarandon would share her same sentiment should she be” poverty-stricken, homosexual, Muslim or an immigrant” in a tweet. Despite Sarandon clarifying that she would not be voting for Donald Trump, the two went back and forth on titter aiming, at least publicly, with Messing announcing Sarandon’s principles “sanctimonious.” Advertisement div > div > Katy Perry vs. Taylor Swift div > via: Getty Images While it seemed as though the two pop-icons were affectionate for some time, that would all change after various of Taylor Swift’s backup dancers unexpectedly cease and were abruptly booked to perform on Katy Perry’s tour. After years of speculation, Swift eventually interpreted the incident that extended her to write her epic-smash-hit “Bad Blood” about Perry, in an interview with Rolling Stone. She claims that Perry” mostly tried to sabotage an part realm expedition of hers by hiring her gang out from under her. In return, Katy alleged Swift of” trying to assassinate her person .” After several years and a few ballads, the popping combat finally came to a shut when Perry literally referred an olive branch to Swift with a tone calling a moratorium and formally rationalizing for her part in the mess. Taylor posted a picture of the notation and olive branch on Instagram with the caption,” Thank you Katy” along with a centre emoji. We’re not sure precisely who was right and who was wrong in this hot mess of a theatre but points to Perry for the elegant gesticulate and same to Swift for knowing when it’s time to let go of “Bad Blood” and just move on. Advertisement div > div > Neil Patrick Harris vs. James Woods div > via: Getty Images In reference to an image of an 8-year-old boy with their own families at Pride, James Woods tweeted a response that is as inappropriate as it is offensive. The actor wrote,” This is sweet. Wait until this poor adolescents grows up, realizes what you’ve done, and materials both of you amputated into a freezer in the garage.” Wait, huh? We’re disorient and James Woods is weird. Neil Patrick Harris fired back at Woods, announcing specific comments, “Utterly ignorant and classless .” Harris continued, lending,” I’m friends with this family. You know not of what you speak, and should be ashamed of yourself .” Amen, Neil Patrick. Urge! Advertisement div > div > Sarah Jessica Parker vs. Kim Cattrall div > via: Getty Images We hate to abound your bubble, but rumors regarding Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall’s strained liaison supported true when, upon the enact of her brother, Cattrall wrote this remorseless call-out on Instagram TAGEND My Mom asked a question today “When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that charlatan, leave you alone? ” Your incessant contacting out is a unpleasant reminder to seeing how brutal “youve been” was later and now. Let me make this Awfully clear.( If I haven’t previously) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last-place time to stop manipulating our tragedy in order to restore your’ neat girl’ persona . em> Yikes, wow, and ouch. Advertisement div > div > Lady Gaga vs. Kelly Osbourne div > via: Getty Images After Lady Gaga wrote an open letter to Kelly Osbourne alleging her of has become a “bully,” Osbourne seemed more than simply a bit confused when Gaga apparently attempted to make peace by referring her a birthday cake. Osbourne tweeted : Not to be ungrateful but why would you move me a birthday cake via MY MOTHER in a country half the world apart? #EatMySh* t Hmmm. Well, we’re not entirely sure why Gaga moved her anything at all, and we’re too not sure she understands the word, “ungrateful.” If Lady Gaga sends you a cake, you eat it, and you like it. Advertisement div > div > Jennifer Lawrence vs. Chloe Sevigny div > via: Getty Images While it seems to be the general consensus that actress Jennifer Lawrence is likable, according to colleague actress, Chloe Sevigny, she’s really not. In an interrogation with V store, Sevigny was explained that while she adoration fellow actresses Angelina Jolie and Emma Stone, “shes not”, I reiterate, NOT, a fan of J-Law. Jennifer Lawrence, I find exasperating. Too indelicate . em> Okay, Chloe, route to tell it like it is. And while Sevigny is certainly entitled to her belief, one might find such an unprompted proclamation, I don’t know, extremely crass? Advertisement div > div > Gwyneth Paltrow vs. Martha Stewart div > via: Getty Images It all began when Martha Stewart was asked her belief on Gwyneth Paltrow’s attempt to break into the “lifestyle” industry with her managerial Goop em> launch. Stewart seemed less than impressed and seemed to question the faithfulnes of Paltrow’s professional pursuits. But Stewart wasn’t done slamming the stellar, going on to eventually articulate that Gwyneth” simply needs to be quiet. She’s a movie star. If she were confident in her play, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart .” Gwyneth responded by recommending she was totally unphased by Stewart’s comments but, if anything, was flattered that Martha considered her as “competition.” Perhaps Martha was merely welcoming Paltrow to the table … in her own, crafty way. After all, the fine art of passive-aggressiveness is prerequisite to lifestyle living. And, apparently, Gwyneth can hold her own just fine. Advertisement div > div > Angelina Jolie vs. Chelsea Handler div > via: Getty Images After news broke of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s divorce, Chelsea Handler did not hesitate to express her thinkings on the divide, calling Jolie a” f *#% ing lunatic” and the divorce” an emancipation” of kinds for Pitt. The explanation behind Handler’s blatant disfavor of Angelina Jolie is an age-old and widely acceptable excuse for disliking a fellow female; She messed around with her friend’s man. That’s right. Handler is good friends with Pitt’s jilted ex, Jennifer Aniston. It all obligates ability now. Advertisement div > div > Kim Kardashian vs. Chloe Grace Moretz div > via: Getty Images As soon as the internet rebooted after Kim Kardashian’s naked selfie briefly break-dance it, Kim was reacted with a fling from actress Chloe Grace Moretz. Moretz replied to Kardashian scant selfie by reminding Kim that she is an example to young girls who need to know that they are” so much more than precisely their own bodies .” However, Moretz’ assault at a feministic reply seemed to backfire when she was immediately flung online for seemingly slut-shaming Kardashian. Kim replied to Chloe Moretz with a classily immature Kardashian tone that one plainly cannot compete with, tweeting,” Let’s all welcome @ ChloeGMoretz to quaver, since no one were aware that she is. Your nylon shield is charming boo .” Not simply did Kim hurl the hypocrisy of the tweet( considering Moretz recent NUDE Nylon periodical cover. Oh sorry, technically I guess she has a cardigan wrap over her shoulders because I know that’s always how I rock my favorite cardigan) but she also insinuated that Chloe Grace Moretz isn’t exactly a household name, to put it gently. In other words, she’s a hypocrite AND a nobody. One can’t deny that Kim can hold her own. Advertisement div > div > Khloe Kardashian vs. Amy Schumer div > via: Getty Images In her SNL monologue, Amy Schumer cracked pranks at Khloe Kardashian’s recent weight loss. We used to have Khloe, you are familiar? Khloe was ours, right? But then Khloe, she lost half their own bodies heavines. She lost a Kendall . em> And considering all the flack Kardashians get for not inevitably being the most culturally persuasive home, Khloe Kardashian’s comments Schumer’s oration were impressively astute. During an impression on The Howard Stern Show , Kardashian pointed out just how sanctimonious Amy Schumer’s comments certainly were. I was more disrupt that someone claims they’re like a girl’s girl and that they’re all about girls empowerment, and then she says that I’m not relatable because I’m not fat anymore … I’m proud, I’ve worked for three [ email kept ] *% ing years to do this. Schumer, who is also commonly criticized for her value, retrospectively seemed to see the double standard she was continuing in her harangue as she promptly apologized to Khloe and agreed that all women, solid and scrawny alike, should lift each other up. Advertisement div > div > Justin Bieber vs. Orlando Bloom div > via: https :// www.gettyimages.com Orlando Bloom and Justin Bieber have a long and even violent biography that revolves around Blooms ex-wife, model Miranda Kerr. It is believed that Justin Bieber made a comment to Bloom at a nightclub that somehow alleged that he and Kerr had been intimate during her marriage to Bloom. As you can imagine, thoughts spiraled downward from there and ended with many gales being thrown, although none landed. Justin Bieber continued to throw punches on Twitter after the physical showdown had ended by affixing an image of Miranda Kerr and soon after, another image of Orlando Bloom apparently visibly psychological over the exchange. Advertisement div > div > Rihanna vs. Ciara div > via: Getty Images On Fashion Police , em> Singer Ciara claimed that Rihanna “wasn’t the nicest” when meeting her in the past. In response to this apparently unsolicited throw, Rihanna tweeted back with a vengeance. My bad Ci, did I 4get to gratuity u ? em> Daaaamn , now that is harsh. And kind of demonstrates Ciara’s comment may not have been that unwarranted after all but it doesn’t seem like Rhianna really is all that concerned with being “the nicest,” anyway. Advertisement div > div > Brooke Shields vs. Tom Cruise div > via: Getty Images In her memoir, Down Came the Rain , Brooke Shields endorsed the use of antidepressants to analyse postpartum recession but Tom Cruise made it clear that he was not in agreeance with Brooke on the issue. In an interview with the Today display, Cruise announced Sheilds ” reckless” for promoting antidepressants without” telling beings the risks .” Brooke responded with what is perhaps the classiest organize of clapping back ever. She wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which she writes,” I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffering from postpartum sadnes .” Cruise was left with no choice but to apologize, which he did, and even departed as far as to invite Shields to his and Kaie Holmes’ upcoming bridal, to which Brooke accepted. Awkward. Advertisement div > div > Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus div > via: Getty Images The fighting paroles at the 2015 VMA’s between the two celebs seemed to have stanch from Miley’s Halloween costume that year … which was ” Nicki Minaj .” Apparently, Minaj was also upset over comments Cyrus had made about Minaj’s reaction to not being nominated for Video of the Year. On stage at the VMA’s, Nicki slammed out at the former Disney star. And now, back to this bitch that had a lot to say about me the other epoch in the press the other daylight ,” she shelled, before delivering one of pop culture’s standout times of 2015, the soon to be shared and memed,” Miley, what’s good ? em> Eek. Can’t answer we didn’t see that coming. Advertisement div > div > Taylor Swift vs. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West div > via: Getty Images It all started with the odious mic swipe onstage by Kanye at the 2009 MTV Music Awards, heightened with Swift’s response to Kayne via her song pick at the 2010 VMA’s. Cue apology from Kayne and all is seemingly well in the world. Until it’s not. Kanye’s release of Famous reignited the drama and deepened tensions to brand-new levels. I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex Why? I started that bitch famous I realized that bitch prominent Taylor Swift was not delighted, to say the least. Swift claimed never to have approved the offensive texts and addressed their misogynistic feeling in her adoption lecture for recording of the year at the Grammys, telling young women never to let anyone to take ascribe for their success. While Kim and Kanye attempted to claim that Taylor did approve the words by exhausting sound recordings of conversations with Swift made by the couple without Swift’s knowledge, the whole shady proposal culminated up backfiring when the strip was outed as being edited. Swift continued to call out Kanye and Kim the best way she knew how, through her music. Her album, Reputation , em> were considered to be riddled with hurls of Kanye West and we can’t say we accuse her. This neverending feud takes the cake for most drawn-out celeb drama to date. Advertisement div > div > And while acts seem to have rectified down for the moment … b> div > You exactly never know when the drama will show itself next. Share this with the spectacular people in your life! Advertisement Read more: http :// twentytwowords.com/ the-craziest-celebrity-feuds-of-all-time / http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/07/25/19-feuds-that-prove-no-one-does-drama-better-than-celebrities/

[suaine]

Yuletide letter 2017

*cracks knuckles* Alright, let's get this party started. At first, there are a few things to know about me, none of them very important:

I will read almost anything if you write it with passion and kindness. That doesn't mean it has to be fluffy and happy all the time, though I do prefer a general trajectory toward happiness. If you can, I would like you to write this story because you believe in it, not because you want to please me. I'm usually easily pleased, and there aren't a lot of things that will turn me off.

That said, please avoid writing about death or rape, graphically or just their impact and aftermath. Both things are hard for me to deal with and even if it's canon I'd rather not have to be exposed to it during the already super emotionally taxing holiday season.

Generally I love all self-indulgent tropes. There is nothing too cliché, no path too well-trodden. I love adcenture stories and cracky fun slices of life and everything in between. I'm equally into swords and sorcery as well as space ships. There isn't a well-crafted AU I don't love if the characters stay true to themselves. Feel free to go a little bit wild.

Fandom: Star Wars: Aftermath - Chuck Wendig

I didn't expect to be able to sign up so I couldn't nominate everyone else on the team, but feel free to include them all or any of them in combination. I just want to hear more stories about these idiots, Sinjir most of all. After Rogue One, I'm full up on tragic heroes, so if you can find hopeful, loving paths to put them on, please do.

Oh, my relationship with this canon is a difficult one. I still haven't dared to read the last book and I'm trying to get to a place where I can forgive fate and Chuck Wendig for personally giving me hope for my fave pairing (Jom/Sinjir) and crushing it under the bootheels of miscommunication. (Basically, we tweeted, he was vague, I misunderstood, I thought Jom/Sinjir was gonna happen, and it really hurt when it didn't) But! I'm absolutely 100% in favor of Sinjir getting a happy ending EVERY WHICH WAY possible, including but not limited to any pairings you might enjoy, and I'm more than happy for you to sell me on them.

I love the team so much, every single damn one of them. I love the snarky bits and the hopeless bits and the resilient bits. I love that this is not the happy ending we expected from Return of the Jedi and I love Rae Sloane.

I honestly don't know what kind of prompt I should give you. I've enjoyed stories of Sinjir showing up in TFA times, I love alternate universes where things played out differently, I love introspective pieces and action-y bits. I love the humor that is always inherent in Wendig's writing.

Fandom: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

I absolutely love and adore this game and I found my perfect route only to realize that in the scope of the game it couldn't happen - Robert needs to take care of himself for a while, a year isn't nearly enough to put him back together. But we can try. The player character can absolutely try. In many, many ways. Also, I love any and all iterations of Amanda and Val interacting and maybe more.

I absolutely enjoy every route in this game, though some characters resonate more with me than others. Robert is the one that I feel closest to, maybe because he's quite damaged in very specific ways. Maybe it's because if you play your cards right you get to fix his relationship with his daughter and I actually have two fathers who will never be as big a person as that.

The core aspect of the game for me is giving Amanda every happiness she desires, she deserves to be loved and appreciated and she deserves to grow into exactly the woman she wants to be. Val and her interaction were my favorite amazing surprise.

I'm actually quite invested in a future where Robert gets better and realizes that the player character (let's call him Jake) has always been there. I'd like to see that recovery, soft, playful, unassuming friend dates, supportive moments, nighttime monster-hunting adventures.

Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF

The last few months I've fallen into an awesome hole: catching up on a 100+ episode webseries that has 4+ hours of footage per. It. Was. Ridiculous. And amazing. And I accidentally once read a comment (on youtube) about how Matt separated Marisha and Taliesin because jealousy. I adore Marisha and Taliesin's friendship but also I can't help but go extra defensive when I read stupid stuff like this: so, tell me about the many ways that Matt and Taliesin love each other, all the bonding, whether bromance or romance. The three of them once went to party in the desert together for a few days. Also, I loved the team playing themselves but d&d style during Liam's one shot - why not put them all into Exandria, but as themselves (and adult)? Adventures!

I mean, what is there to say? I'm really invested in the entire group's happiness and love. It's pretty obvious that they're close and I love that so very, very much. I've been crying like a baby at the latest episode (114) and how much they care about each other and their characters, and the last few minutes of ep 113 were really intense after Laura realized what was happening. I love how sometimes the lines between character and actor get a little bit blurred.

I don't really have a lot to add to the optional details, maybe all I need to say is this: feel free to go anywhere your heart takes you.

Fandom: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic  

I adore Theron Shan and his ridiculous squib/secret agent/mama issue plot. He's everything I ever wanted from a Republic character - pragmatic and still idealistic, hopeful and sarcastic, complex as the force itself. I love stories about his tech abilities, about his smarts and his work ethic, and how deep down he is much more like his mother - and Revan - then he would ever admit. (OMG the Revan connection is such a narrative kink for me. Revan (girl Revan for me, incidentally) is such an influence on how I see the character - grey, but still undeniably good.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that means more to me in TOR than Theron in love with my lightside male Sith Warrior. Obviously, you're in no way obligated to include my player character, but whatever you want to write I would ask you to consider that fact your canon for the story - please don't break them up or write him with other people. You don't have to include this in particular, but please don't negate it.

I haven't played the newest chapters because of time constraints and I don't know a whole lot of spoilers except that... something happens... with betrayal and Theron? I honestly didn't want to read up on it because often experiencing it makes it very different to whatever might show up on a twitter rant. Here's the thing: betrayal and the sith warrior. Theron being a double agent to save the love of his life by breaking his heart. Just saying. That makes one hell of a story.

If you want to write something romance free, how about the early days of Lana and Theron's partnership? The minituae of running the alliance? Theron doing his job because he's a competent, sarcastic assholes. Theron making peace with his mom. Theron making peace with the force.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

I love everything Star Trek and this new thing feels very much in line with everything before even where it's completely out of left field (I mean, the hairless klingons take some getting used to for sure). Michael Burnham is the best, but I would literally love any story about any of the characters, as long as it feels like Star Trek. I missed this world and this universe and this SPACE so much. Tell me everything, anything, DISCOVER.

Okay so obviously this is a developing fandom that's going to fucking explode. This is an amazing thing to be at the start of. I love everything Star Trek and as of today which is just a few days after ep 4, I love everyone on that boat except Lorca who I very much love to loathe.

Michael is amazing. My gay mushroom man is amazing. Tall gangly alien is amazing. Twitchy redhead is amazing. The klingons are super weird cannibals. I want to see exactly where Discovery is going – all the weird alien planets they can explore. There's a war, sure, but that's not a warship, it's a science vessel. Let it do science.

I personally love all the tropes Trek ever gave us and there's basically so many to choose from that it would be too hard to list them all. You want to give an old episode plot a new coat? Go for it! You want to explore some cute character moments? Be my guest! You want to write cute ship fic about mushroom man and doctor snarkadoodle? Please, please do.

Fandom: Folgers "Home for the Holidays" Commercial

Folgers is a yuletide fandom if I've ever seen one. Pretty much all the stories are yuletide stories and I've read them all. I think it's obvious why we're both here and neither of us can pretend that this is wholesome and pure. But here's the thing: just because something is problematic doesn't mean it can't be fun and happy. I mentioned in another request that I'm full up on tragedy, so here's the deal: a Folgers story where they get what they so obviously want and figure out a way to be happy.

Two things: yes, porn is totally acceptable though obviously not required. You can, but you don't gotta. And AUs are also a perfectly lovely way to explore this kinky as hell prompt. I think we're both here for the kink – if not, I'm not sure why you offered this fandom at all and this is your get out of jail free card: just dump this request in a dark hole and never think about it again. Some of my other requests have quite accessible canons and I won't be offended if I show up on the pinch hit list. I've been there, it's not a terrible place to be ;)

If you want to go AU, please keep the delicious and terrible fact that they're siblings who so very obviously want to bone. I'm with you, friend. We're both in this kinky hole together. I'm not into this fandom for realism – angst, sure, that's what makes it great, but that doesn't mean we can't have a totally unrealistic romantic comedy style happy ending. Think Do Começo ao Fim.

[alittlefangirlish]

Dear Chocolatier,

First of all, thank you so much for writing a story just for me!

To start, some of my general likes/dislikes:

What I Like kid!fic (as in, the characters have kids, not the character are kids - toddler age is perfect), crushes/beginning of relationship (the concept of the feelings coming to fruition and both parties going, “WTF is going on? Why am I acting this way around him/her?” is one of my favorite fandom tropes), smut is always good, flirting.

What I Don’t Like Incest, bestiality and molestation are my only three sexual squicks, fandom has desensitized me to everything else. Character bashing. Yes, I’m generally a slasher but that doesn’t mean I hate the female (or in the case of a femslash ship, male) characters (or, if I do, it’s for reasons unrelated to “I ship his/her love interest with his/her best (fe)male friend and s/he gets in the way of the gay sex”). On that note, I also hate when writers completely disregard canon pairings. As much as I don’t want them to, they exist. If you’re gonna break them up, let us know how it happened. Please. And now, my specifics!

Requested Fandom #1: Backstreet Boys, Brian/Nick or Howie/AJ

For either pairing: Backstage hijinks? Tour bus loving? Or maybe a high school, college, or workplace AU?

I love both of these pairings and either would be lovely for me (if you even wanted to include both pairings, that would be amazing but don't feel like you have to do that!) I'm a major sucker for AUs over straight canon, but if you prefer to write canon, please please please do not have any of them cheat on their wives. (And if there is smut, set it when all parties involved are at least 18, thanks.)

Requested Fandom #2: The Sims, Pascal/Nervous

He's always looking toward the stars for love, but the love he needs is right down here on Earth

This is a prompt for these two that has been floating around in my head for quite a long time. Pascal, being the Knowledge Sim that he is, is fascinated with the stars to the point that he hasn't had time to forge many friendships on Earth, Nervous being an exception. And Nervous, wanting to settle down and have a family, as well as Pascal being his only friend, may develop feelings for Pascal and want to be a second father to Tycho (and yes I see Tycho as the "canon" name for Pascal's baby).

Requested Fandom #3: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Hunk/Lance

Anything either set during the Garrison days, or even post S2.

(I know S2 won't release until about a week or so after assignments go out, but I will be watching it very soon after and will definitely have watched it by the time stories are revealed, so if you get a plot bunny from it, go wild!)

I love these two! They are the cutest pair and everything about them hits all of my shipping buttons, because they are good and pure and best friends and that it all I ever want in a ship. Anything you want to do is fine with me. Just please age them up to 18 if there is smut involved.

Requested Fandom #4: Mystic Messenger, 707/MC or Jaehee/MC

For 707/MC: Making their own space station

I have to admit, I hadn't fallen for Seven at first (I was a Yoosung girl!) but the more I learned about him the more he seemed to be right up my alley, so I quickly switched gears and was under Seven's spell. I think his little "Let's get married in the space station!" is cute, but obviously impractical, so instead they decide to build their own little space station here on Earth.

For Jaehee/MC: Love in the coffee shop

Oh, Jaehee, Jaehee, Jaehee. I did not expect her to be my breakout favorite in this game (again, I really wanted Yoosung!) but I ended up playing her route first and was shipping these two almost immediately. I want Jaehee to stop friendzoning MC and give her the romantic ending she deserves with her as much as she deserves with the boys (the Christmas DLC came close, but still not there!)

Requested Fandom #5: Pokémon (Games), Bianca/Hilda, Lillie/Moon, N/Hilda, or Shauna/Serena

For Bianca/Hilda: "Where have you been the last two years?"

The thing that got me about B2W2 is that all the major players from Black and White (Juniper, Bianca, Cheren, N, etc) return except for the player character. Where did she go? What did she do? And what does Bianca do when she finally returns?

For Lillie/Moon: Return to Kanto/Alola

I don't care if it's Lillie returning to Alola, or Moon making a trip to visit her in Kanto, I just want to see these two reunite and have Lillie gush to Moon about all her adventures in Kanto, and how much she missed everyone, especially Moon.

(Also, while I did use "Moon" and the canonical tag is "Lillie/Moon," I prefer the name "Selene" for the player character, but you don't have to call her that if you don't want!)

For N/Hilda: "The Pokémon wanted to see each other again, yeah."

I will admit that I wasn't one of those who was shipping N and Hilda from the get go because I saw N as a villain and my thought was how much of a jerk he was and how could anyone ship them together because he didn't deserve her, etc. etc. And then the end of the game happened and N does his 180 and it was like the heavens parted and shone a spotlight on these two and I saw it and it was good.

Now that that's out of the way, I can see these two definitely not realizing their feelings for each other, and using Reshiram and Zekrom as an excuse to reunite. (N can say that his Pokémon wanted to see hers - I played White and White 2 so N took Reshiram and Hilda took Zekrom, but if you wanna swap them and use Black/Black 2 canon go ahead.)

For Shauna/Serena: Let's go see the fireworks again!

Ah the fireworks scene. The moment of every Boutiqueshipper's (and okay, BrightTomorrowShipper's, for that matter) heart. I know that was the scene was the moment I started shipping them, and maybe they make it an annual thing, seeing the fireworks together and things progress from there. Bonus points if you include the fully evolved starter that she gives you in post game (I started with Chespin so I got Froabble the Froakie - now Greninja, but if you wanna include Chester the Chesnaught or Kinniekins the Delphox instead, feel free to!)

Requested Fandom #6: Osomatsu-san, Choromatsu & Ichimatsu or Jyushimatsu & Osomatsu

For either pairing: Typical hijinks! More along the lines of the show.

One of the things I love about this show is the crazy relationship the brothers have with each other (which is an exaggeration of the typical relationship siblings have: casual teasing with the unspoken brotherly love the six have for each other). I'd love a fic exploring that. And like my Backstreet Boys request above, if you want to include all four of these guys in the fic, go ahead!

Requested Fandom #7: Original Work, Female Boss/Female Secretary, Male Soldier/Male Soldier, or Female Alien/Female Human

For Female Boss/Female Secretary: "I always saw you as an equal and not a subordinate"

I'm not usually a fan of the "boss/subordinate" pairings, but I can definitely get behind two equals meeting in a work situation. I can definitely see the boss character treating her secretary as an equal, and that's where the feelings stem from.

For Male Soldier/Male Soldier: Wanting to reconnect after being discharged. 

When you're in a situation such as wartime, I'm sure you bond with your fellow soldiers. I can definitely see a couple of platoon mates (is that the term? Sorry, I've never served.) wanting to reconnect once they both go back to cilvilian life, and seeing where things go from there.

For Female Alien/Female Human: "How does your anatomy work?"

You could take this one to be just pure PWP, or if it ends up leading to something more than that go for it! One thing that's always got to me about stories involving aliens is that, for simplicity's sake, they have matching anatomy to humans (aside from the skintone being green/blue/gray/what have you). That just seems unrealistic to me, so something where the alien's anatomy is significantly different (to where both parties need to explain how things work) would be fantastic!

Requested Fandom #8: Futurama, Fry/Bender

"No one can love you like I do"

The thing that I've always loved about these two and their relationship is that Fry is always the exception to every rule Bender has about humans. He hates them, except Fry. He wants to kill all of them, except Fry. And it just leads me to believe that, ultimately, they would both realize that there was something special between them all along.