#otp: let's grow old together

[thesleepypuffin]

college miles and gwen pt. 2!

they’d 100% be the cute couple in the library that everyone hates

[rageserenity]

It's 2024. Are you still thinking about movieverse!Cherik? Because I am.

For the past several months, there's only been a very slow trickle of posts/fics in the xmcu cherik tag. Let's try to breathe some life back into this incredible pairing!

With one clear winner of my poll, here's thirty prompts for the thirty days of April. (This is a super chill, laid-back event---do these in any order, interpret them as loosely as you like! Create in any medium! Fic, art, gifs, meta, incoherent screaming about the otp…all winners in my book.)

The only rule here is to cherik too close to the sun. Alright. Here are the prompts.

Mutual Pining

Doesn't really even need elaboration! Write that horrifically slow slow-burn. Gif every time McAvoy made insane fuck me eyes on screen. Make a playlist of songs about impossible love.

2. Alternate Meetings

There are endless quotes about how these two complete each other in a way no one they'd met before or after ever did. How else could they have met?

3. Erik Has A Telepathy Kink

This is basically canon. Let my boy get freaky!

4. Canon Fix-It

All the times Fox fucked it up. There are endless options.

5. Hurt/Comfort

Put them in that Situation. Put them in that Blender. Break them apart and put them back together ❤️‍🩹

6. Canon Compliant

Draw that missing scene! Gif your favourite cherik moment!

7. Beach Divorce

Make it worse. Make it better. Show it to us exactly how it was. Break it down in a 3,000 word meta. Go wild!

8. Domestics

Sometimes you just want to see them doing normal couple things. Erik put the gun down.

9. Found Family

The real heart of x-men!

10. Time Travel

There are SO many possibilities here. Stick them in a time loop. Give them a chance to change their past.

11. AU

Love a good AU!

12. There Is Only One Bed

Had to get this one in here. What better way to amp up the tension?

13. Genosha

By some miracle, cherik actually did end up together at the end of 2019s trash bag disaster Dark Phoenix. We aren’t making a big enough deal about this.

14. Declaration(s) of Love

Who says it first? How do they say it and when? Have they said it…without saying it?

15. Jealousy

Need I say more.

16. Reunion

These two have absolutely no chill.

17. Soulmates

Classic prompt, had to get this in here too.

18. The DOFP Aircraft

The TENSION here. Break it down for me. How does Charles feel about his injury? How does Erik feel about his injury?

19. Gay Mutant Road Trip

You already know.

20. Body Swap

SO fun when people have superpowers.

21. First Kiss

When? How? Who initiated it?

22. The Mansion

Mansion!content is a genre of its own.

23. Conflicting Ideology

Give me your theses. Who’s right? Can they ever reconcile completely? Write a fic where it drives them apart.

24. Sebastian Shaw

A trope unto himself.

25. Team As Matchmaker

They had to have known something was going on, didn’t they?

26. Cooking

Charles deserves a good meal. Also, imagine Erik using his powers in the kitchen. The sheer domesticity…

27. Hurt No Comfort

Plenty of scope with these two 🥲

28. Growing Old Together

Giving Sirs Ian Mckellan and Patrick Stewart their props as well!

29. Making Up

*pushes chess board across the table* sorry babe

30. Charles Xavier Did More For Mutants Than You'll Ever Know

Rising to each other’s defense. Only I can insult this man.

I will be tracking #revivecherik to reblog stuff! Here’s a fic collection for the same. Let’s get this ball rolling! Please feel free to send me an ask if you’ve got anything to say! And most importantly, let’s all have fun 😁

*I know a few of you preferred something like a gift exchange because of the commitment factor—I’m super down to organise a tiny one for the handful of us! If this promptathon doesn’t flop horribly, we can hopefully do a whole bunch of stuff :)

If you read this post all the way through, please reblog for reach! Thank you! Hoping you participate come April.

Shoutout to @inmymagnetoera for reaching out and helping with this!

[ominus-potato]

Genuine question, how do you make the dynamics for ships such as TrashCube, Chris x Swag, SMG34, Marware Etc

You mean like how do I see them? Ooo I love this question!!

Trashcube:

I haven’t entirely nailed down their dynamic yet. They’re old man Yaoi tho. I can see them balancing each other out. Bob helping SMG1 live on the edge a little and SMG1 encouraging Bob to do less illegal stuff.

When they started hanging out, Bob probably found SMG1 boring at first but then after living in the chaos that is his daily life, coming back to SMG1 at the end of the day to just relax and read or spend time together would be really nice.

I also love the idea that they just hang out bc they enjoy each other’s company and I could see something growing from that. We’re apparently gonna get a Medi fan episode about the two tho so we’ll see what their dynamic is really like in the show.

Chris x Swag:

Ohhhh boy I love this one!! I thought for a while about what their dynamic could be. I thought that maybe Chris is Swag’s side piece since he’s married to Sonic but after seeing Swag and Sonic’s relationship, I’ve come to accept that Swag would never leave nor cheat on Sonic. He loves him too much.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that Chagmaster is one sided!

Chris has harboured feelings for his best friend for the past few years but since he doesn’t want to mess with Swag’s current relationship, he’s learnt to live with them and not let them show.

I think that’s why Chris is often threatening Sonic with a sniper when he’s on dates with Swag. Like a “you’d better treat him right” kinda thing. He just wants Swag to be happy, even if he’s not the one who’s able to do it.

SMG34:

I think their dynamic is pretty cut and dry. Enemies to lovers. Petty rivals with feelings. Enemies with benefits. Take your pick.

I love them as a ship and would love to see them be canon however due to the homophobic fan base I doubt we’ll get that anytime soon.

Their dynamic changes every time I write/draw them tbh. It can fit whatever narrative I need it to.

Hopelessly in love? Easy. Flirting? Alrighty. Shit talking each other and then proceeding to make out? Can do!

Depending on the story they can fit any dynamic which I do I like about them however it does make them feel very vanilla.

Marware:

They are my OTP. I love them. My faves.

Their dynamic is very much just YouTube Arc SMG34 atm but they have great potential to be a funny one sided rivalry type of thing.

Mario couldn’t really care less about how Puzzles feels about him. He just wants to watch tv, eat spaghetti and spend time with his friends.

Puzzles on the other hand is absolutely seething at the mere thought of Mario. He hates him so much. Almost a little… too much yk? 😏

I can see their dynamic shifting from what it is now to Mario just mildly annoying Puzzles and Puzzles just having to put up with it.

They’re a really funny ship to me and I love that bc that means I’m able to make jokes about them and come up with fun ideas for their relationship!

But yeah I love them.

Thise are all of my main ships. I also have others like Mar34, Mar4 and Mar3 and I’m always open to hearing new rarepairs like Bob x Shroomy (bad boy and good kid. COME ON HEAR ME OUT!)

But yeah! This is how I see the dynamics of the ships you’ve listed.

[writingisartdarling]

I have a serious obsession with older couples, as my followers already know. This inspired me to list the MANY things that make me go all swoon when I see two people so much as look at each other...Let's just say these old couples have gotten my expectations for love so high that I'll end up being single my whole life.

So here we have...

"I love you" - otp prompts

buying the other a whole *** house for Christmas (iykyk)

using pet names

hands on the other's waist

awkward giggles after a kiss

smiling into a kiss or right after it

walking hand in hand/arm in arm

giving the other flowers when they come home from town

playing with the other's hair

"text me when you get home"

exchanging looks across the room

gentleman manners, etc. holding out a door for the other or letting the lady walk furthest from the road and walking between her and the cars

forehead kisses

bathing the other especially if they're sick

slow dancing while the other hums

having no friends other than their significant other

sitting on the other's lap

complimenting the other's looks and them blushing

fidgeting with ring(s) they've been gifted from the other

late night talks

brushing the other's hair for them

smiling when their significant other is so much as mentioned

legs touching under a table

teasing

making the other's drink or meal just like they like it

husbands doting on their wives

hugs from behind

sharing things about their day with the other

working together

searching for them in a room full of people

helping the other shave their beard

mistletoe kisses

being protective over the other

cooking together

communicating without words

reading together

making the other breakfast in bed to surprise them in the morning

having a late-night meal together

the other having cold toes and the other having to warm them up in bed

getting jealous

inside jokes

love letters/messages

not being able to take their eyes off of their significant other

braiding the other's hair

cuddles after sex

marrying one's best friend

growing old together

taking a bath/shower together

making up by making out after a fight

putting a blanket over the other when they fall asleep on the couch

having a song that always reminds them of the other

welcome home kisses

having the same last name (as in changing their last name when getting married)

helping the other undress

staying home to look after the other when they're sick

whispering sweet nothings to the other's ear

carrying an umbrella for the other when it rains

Look, the list could on and on...Perhaps that gives you an idea, though. Feel free to share your own if you made it this far. I hope you have a lovely rest of the week <3

[eddieshellscape]

i just wanted to go on a fandom rant bc i'm tired and I love analyzing media.

So i've been a huge fan of x-men since like middle school and my otp in the fandom has and always will be scogan. It started off as me being like "oooh enemies to lovers they hate each other but they also kinda are into it" to like actually growing to appreciate the nuances of the characters and how they can bring out the best in each other. Like Scott is such a leader who feels like he needs the be the responsible one all the time. He's like that one person who always feels like they need to be stable all the time because if they aren't then they think everyone else will fall apart. There are many interpretations of the character, but that's how I view him. LOGAN on the other hand is like short little angry bastard man who likes pushing peoples buttons because he's afraid of getting attached to anyone bc he could hurt them or just outlive them since he's like freaking 100 something years old atp. He also has an insane healing factor so he's like practically immortal (i refuse to watch the logan movie bc i know he dies in it) so I like to headcannnon that he doesn't often take basic care of himself. Like he probably is like out in freezing temps and doesn't bundle up bc he won't get sick/die from it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to take care of himself.

And then together you get Logan who helps Scott loosen up and be less uptight and worried about being super perfect around him, because logan's never the type of guy you have to be super presentable around. And scott cares so much about everyone he helps logan remember to take care of himself and I just bet they find so much comfort in each other and like oererfhhhhhhh. Marvel let me make an x-men movie i will be so normal about it I swearrrr.

Also, in most of the x-men media i've watched/read, Jean has like no personality or like,,, isn't relevant to what I'm talking about, but i think a scott/logan/jean polycule could be cute if someone actually gave that girl a personality (i'm looking at you, movies)

wahoo rant over

[autumnslance]

Year of the OTP - November 2023 - Missing Scars

(An unusual look at the "De-aging" prompt, perhaps, but Shadowbringers' resolution for the Scions sits with me. 980 words.)

The differences were so subtle, it was difficult to explain. Six years all told had passed, which was not many, but just enough.

In six years in the First, he had watched children and adolescents grow up—had watched Ryne grow up, most importantly. Yet now, looking out over the Toll, local children exactly as he remembered them played in the yards and through the streets of their small frontier town.

Animals too; six years could be quite some time for many a beloved pet or farm animal. In dangerous lands and uncertain areas, six years was an entire lifetime for many. Yet the same dogs and cats scampered through the Toll after their masters.

The external similarities, where he expected changes, were not the only ones, of course. He turned back to the hand mirror and inspected his eye once more.

After his misadventure in the Lifestream, and all that had followed in Coerthas, and then their participation in liberating Ala Mhigo, he just hadn’t taken the time to let it rest and heal. The best he had done, that he could do, for so long was to keep it covered and unused, or at least as little as possible. His depth perception had suffered, and even now he had to practice to get back to using both his eyes, instead of compensating for missing one.

His body’s enforced slumber, tended to by their excellent healing staff, had finally allowed the aetheric damage time to heal. He didn’t see so much as a wisp of aetheric underlay, there was no eye strain, no clouded vision. He had been concerned about that, returning from the First to his own body once again. But the damage was finally healed.

A few other aches and pains he thought he ought to have seemed to have vanished as well; he couldn’t be certain if it was due to the rest, or if their healer team had taken advantage of his soul’s absence to repair some old damages.

Not to mention missing scars; he knew when he had arrived in the First, his mental image of his Self had neglected a few minor ones, or those he did not see and think about often.

Aeryn had noticed. The first time they were together as lovers again, she had noted the differences in his scars; some missing, some new—to her anyroad, there in Norvrandt, and his misadventures over the years he had spent caring for Ryne while missing Aeryn.

He had not asked yet about the changes to his scars again now. The ones they had forgotten, the ones that were now missing—all the evidence of his time in that other realm. Scars were stories, and so he had always been proud of his. Evidence of times he had survived, his years of experiences.

Six years wiped away and lost forever.

He finished shaving, cleaning and packing away his kit, tossing the soapy water. “You look years younger, clean-shaven and with your hair cut” more than one person had told him, in more or less those words. He had, perhaps, let himself go a bit, after Dravania.

After the Antitower.

Aeryn had never minded the stubble and long hair, but Ryne had quietly bullied him into shaving and trimming up. And it had made him look more fitting to be her guardian in the First, rather than a rough wilderness scout.

He turned, and found Aeryn silently watching him now, arms crossed, leaning on the doorway as he stood on the small balcony. “The washroom not bright enough?” she asked.

He shrugged. “That, and I didn’t want to disturb you, sleepyhead.”

“As if I ever mind being woken by you,” she pouted.

“Oh, you mind. I simply know best how to distract you from your ire,” he teased.

She blushed, as he knew she would, tracing her finger down an old scar on his bare chest. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Fit as a fiddle—though we shall see if Krile agrees, and allows me to train with Radovan yet.”

“Just don’t overdo it, old man,” she joked.

“Oh, don’t you start that again,” he grumbled as she giggled. He frowned, looking down and away in thought. “I do keep forgetting how old I am now. I have to think about it.”

Her fingertip hooked under his chin, turning his gaze back to her lovely gray eyes. “Old enough,” she said gently, pulling him in for a kiss.

He hummed thoughtfully as they broke, leaning his forehead on hers. “There is some time before I’m due to see our healers,” he noted. “Perhaps a private demonstration of just how young and healthy I feel right now is in order.”

“You’re incorrigible,” she murmured, blush tinging her ears now. She traced another scar, still reacquainting herself with his reset appearance.

“That isn’t a no,” he pointed out, slipping his hand under her shirt to touch her skin, fingertips finding a scar that she had earned in the First, that she got to keep, having been there in both body and soul, only five physical years between them now instead of six. It wasn’t much time at all really, and yet—

His thoughts came to a stop as she pulled away, clasping his hand to draw him after her. Her face was very red now, the ease with which her blush appeared ever endearing. “It wasn’t, and there is time,” she said.

Five of those years had been spent missing her. There had been an underlying fear of growing old—worse, growing old without her.

But only a handful of moons had passed in the Source, those years he spent in the First reset, only the memories good and bad remaining. And here she yet was, here they both were, finding what had changed and what remained the same for all those years that had passed in no time at all.

[wulvercazz]

grimmichigrimmichigrimmichi >:3333 (pairing meme)

heheh okay- so shiP IT ofc 😂 .. but here's the answers;

What made you ship it?

so... I have a very specific list of qualities I look for when it comes to my favorite male characters. And Grimmjow fit them all 😂💕

When I first watched Bleach the only thing I shipped was IchiRuki, bc naturally that was the only way to go for me tbh, but then Grimm appeared and I was obsessed. When it comes to otps for me, first I find a fave character, then I consider the possible pairings. Not any other way. And with Grimmjow... well the only option for me was Ichigo tbh.

Not to discredit any other Grimmjow ships, I've done a few of them myself, but with how passionately these two throw themselves at each other I truly couldn't look any other way. Lol

So tldr; Grimmjow's got slut potential and I dig that, and they're too into each other for me not to see "gay" plastered all over them 💫

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Hmmm 🤔maybe how inherently feral it is, canon-wise. Also how harmonious their overall designs are together, there's nothing nicer than a pair that looks good together, at least as an artist. Also how easy they are (for me at least) to write/draw; I have a hard time focusing on one thing for long enough to get good at things (hence the many AUs lol!) so for me to have a ship I draw constantly for more than four years now... is truly astounding lmao. They helped me grow soooo much so they hold a dear dear place in my heart just bc of that alone.

And because of that last one: how easy it is to apply AUs to themmmm ;w;<33333 I can legit think of anything and make an AU out of it and not struggle too much to find the perfect place for them in it.

And also,, sort of fave sort of least fave- that it's not an overly popular ship in general (ik it's popular in the Bleach fandom itself, but rather; not popular like a ship from BNHA or JJK). Why; bc I get to have my quiet space where I draw all the ideas I want and yet have had verY few people throw insults at me for some of my darker stuff 😂 Bigger fandoms I've interacted with (as a viewer mostly) have had issues popping up left and right, people getting upset over dumb shit and letting that grow to huge proportions, "antis" everywhere... yeahhhh no thanks 😖

but also-- it gets verY quiet at times specially for someone who's so picky. Like, if I could find a fandom space like the exclusive bottom Bakugo enthusiasts I followed on twt (and even bought a whole zine about) but for GriMMJOW??? WOOF😭💕 so yeah,,, love-hate situation on this last bit lmaooo

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

A few 😂😭 everyone who's followed my art for a certain amount of time can probs tell how the 'tism really affects how I enjoy ships lmaoooo I have to enjoy them a very specific certain way so... that means I don't partake at all on a good few of the popular tropes for the ship. Some I can think of rn; damsel-in-distress!Ichigo, overly hurtful!Grimm (although this one is more old fandom I think 🤔? I remember, in a lot of fics back then, Grimmjow was portrayed a lot as this violent rapist adgdfddfdff not for me lmaoo), ofc top!Grimm, Grimmjow acting all macho relationship wise, and too much angst (I think this ship (and Ichigo in general lets be honest) can call for a lot of angst in fic so I totally get it- but ...meh, if it's not romaticized/sexualized angst, idc for it adgdfgf I don't like it when they actually suffer 😭)

OOH OH! ALSO --- making them OOC in AUs CAN be great actually (to me at least). I know a lot of people (not just here, but in any ship/fandom/etc) don't love OOC characterizations of their fave characters/ships (hence why it's a tag we use tbh) but I personally love that at times??? I won't do it all the time and all over the place... but AUs where there's space to make Grimm less violent? or Ichigo less friendly/loving??? While still within their canon character potentials--- hecC yes. >:)ccc

Also ofc; that I wish it was still common to tag ships as top-bottom like it is with HoEn/EnHo (bnha), VK/KV /trigun, KRBK/BKKR (bnha) etc or at least tag it some other way along the ship.... it would be sO much easier to filter out stuff i don't want to see instead of having to mute/block a whole person I would still love to see stuff from.

BuT I am aware most have no preference whatsoever lmaO so... yeah nothing I can do there except not follow people pfFFF 😂😭 (and wait until I find peeps with similar tastes aasdfs)

[bluedalahorse]

Nils (for your character ask)

NILSSSS MY GUY. Ok!

How I feel about this character: I enjoy Nils! I’ve said this to a few people, and maybe I’ve said this publicly on my blog, but Nils is fascinating to me because he’s not terribly earnest or romantic or effusive in a show where many characters are earnest. He has his earnest moments—especially in season three—but there’s also a practicality to a lot of what he does. Nils comes across as a little 18 going on 45 but still secretly 18. And I find that refreshing and interesting, in a show where all the characters are very teenagery teenagers. In addition, I think the intersections of Nils’s identity open up a lot of avenues for exploration in fic. Nils could potentially be richer than August and Vincent combined, but he’s also brown and gay and closeted. I’m sort of fascinated by characters who play up their privilege while downplaying the ways in which they are marginalized (to be fair that is almost the entire cast of YR) and this is definitely something I see coming up in how Nils goes about the world. How much internal conflict does that bring up for him? To what extent is he aware of it even, or to what extent is he becoming aware of it as a young adult who’s coming to understand his identity? I also just want to know more about Nils’s sense of South Asian identity, as someone who grew up in an area with a lot of South Asian diaspora. Like, I’m curious about how recently his family immigrated to Sweden, what specific part of the subcontinent they come from, what the family history related to Partition might be, whether it’s just Swedish spoken at home or whether Nils is more bilingual like Simon and Sara, etc. (Also, as someone who watched Sholay with a friend for the first time yesterday, I am wondering how many times small Nils has watched Sholay with aunties and uncles.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Okay first and foremost, August. It is extremely confusing to me that fandom seems to be so largely against shipping them after them having more than one vulnerable moment in season three, especially after that conversation they had about the initiations in August’s room. I swear, y’all decided they were illegal to ship on a secret group chat you didn’t invite me to. It just feels extremely obvious to imagine a first year scenario where they’re in a state of pining and repression that could put EM Forster’s Maurice or John Knowles’s A Separate Peace (shout out to @whambamglambam) to shame. And then if you really want to let the characters grow and end up on a journey, they could get back together as adults in like a second chance kinda way. Or they could be disasters as adults, dealer’s choice. Outside of August, I think Wille and Nils could be a great disaster ship and I would like to see more of that. For a time I kind of shipped Nils and Marcus, but now that I have the full shape of the series in my head, it’s not as interesting to me. I think long-term I ship Nils with whichever OC or OCs (not gonna rule out polyamorous Nils) allow him to feel a sense of growth and safety. I created an OC boyfriend for him in Swell the Numbers, and I think I’m going to have them stay together.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Vincent and Nils does zero things for me as a romantic pairing, but I really enjoy thinking about them as friends. I think there’s probably some things that bond them pretty strongly, like rolling their eyes at August being extra (but also maybe worrying about him a little bit.) But there’s also going to be points of tension, like the old money-new money thing, the differences they have around identifiers like race and neurotype, etc. I also think a lot about how Nils is frustrated that Vincent becomes prefect and rowing captain in season 2, and how Nils seems to take rowing pretty seriously and would have liked to be captain himself. There’s a lot underneath that line and I think we should dig out a little more behind it. Outside of Vincent, I like to think that Maddie and Nils have some kind of secret oddball friendship that began when they agreed to lie about hooking up at the opening party. It’s weird and consists a lot of the two of them texting memes to one another and neither of them knows why it works but it works. Maybe someday I’ll include this in a fic.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I’m pretty sure adamantly shipping Nils romantically with August but not with Vincent is an unpopular opinion. Outside of that… okay well, I don’t know if this is unpopular opinion, but I kind of enjoy having a headcanon where Nils’s parents aren’t homophobic and super traditionalist about gender roles or whatever, and are okay with him dating a boy. They just don’t want him dating an actor or an artist or something.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: YR didn’t really start explicitly addressing race as much until season 3, but now that we’ve seen how Felice thinking about race, it’d be interesting to see a similar storyline with Nils.

Thank you for sending in the ask! It was good to get a chance to ramble.

[spidermanifested]

Greed or Bido for the give me character thing so you can ramble for 3 hours straight grins

okay well i uave to do both of them now. you understand this.

GREED

how i feel about this character:

he is the perfect man. i want to lick him. no further comment

all the people i ship romantically with this character:

BIDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you know this. bido is such important representation as the first ever Fridged-For-A-Guys-Character-Development Barely-On-Screen Love Interest to be a middle aged bald man. every day i lose my marbles about how im cursed to carry this torch all by myself. four foot something homeless guy says fuck it ill do anything to save this person magnitudes stronger than myself, after ive already lost everything we built together. ill follow him into hell for the faintest chance of saving him. because hes my friend. and then he dies in his arms. abd a flashback of him looking lovingly into his eyes is the last straw to make greed accept friendship into his life again. royai WHO

i went into greed/scar in my scar post so im not typing all that out again but its also so good. extremely potent character development to be had. somebody validate me here im right

my goofy one is greed/madame christmas "married for tax benefits and also every couple years they meet up and have crazy sex" style. only a little bit because i thought about greed getting to say i fucked your mom shitlips to roy mustang.

is there ajybody else. im thinking. Uhhhhh. honestly i dont think so dvdggxf im too committed to the ones ive got and i have to put all my energy into those because NOBODY ELSE IS DOING IT!!! whole fma fandom spinning a roulette wheel to find a new random man they think is hot to ship him with every so often. when they could instead be sipping from my font of boundless wisdom.

my non-romantic otp for this character

the devils nest gang will never die. in our hearts and souls. also i need him and mei to be friends IMMEDIATELY

i DO appreciate the friendship between him and ling, but im not as nuts about it as a lot of people (i say with fondness). they can do bros attacks it is true. but they also knew each other less than a year, and sometimes it feels like people tend to. overstate i guess? the impact of ling and ed vs the whole, One Hundred Years Of Living In Human Society thing. i promise a couple of 15 year olds did not give him all that character development okay he was already basically there he just got set back a LOT because of the-- see now youve really got me rambling for 3 straight hours this wasnt even what the question was about

my unpopular opinion about this character:

wow i could have literally just waited one question to say all that. now i have to find a new one

uhhh "hes openly 200 years old and solidly established as an adult man from his very first appearance and the fact that his soul later gets a timeshare in a 15 year olds body does not change that fact and its alarming to stick your fingers in your ears and pretend that it does". is that unpopular. bbecause sometimes im so scared it is

one thing i wish had happened with this character

@catenation

okay now BIDO

how i feel about this character

would that i could simply transmit my feelings through a less uncertain interface than words. words alone cannot do them justice. look at my blog i guess

all the people i ship romantically with this character

greed and scar ive gone into already so now we can get into the even nicher stuff. Awesome

not quite romantic but i tjink he and ulchi had a fwb thing going on. bidos into hunks with sharp teeth we already know this

hmm i think theres a lot of guys in the series hed be INTO/would be into him to some degree or another, but i dont know if itd be romantic per se? like. theres only so romantic you can get with barry the chopper even if it would be really funny. "please please please let me chop up your tail it looks so juicy. itll grow back anyway right. ive never asked before"

also for catenation i thought itd be really funny to make him and greed and yoki into an extremely lopsided love triangle, where yoki develops a weird crush on bido which manifests in very odd ways that bido cant make heads or tails of and doesnt really care to because he doesnt like him at all. does that count.

i also have. a handful of crossover ships, which grew out of roleplays with friends. bidos boytoy and boytoy-adjacent collection includes

psycho mantis from your playstation

the bad guy in the harley quinn movie but not that version of him

KING MORGOTT, LAST OF ALL KINGS

and yes. they do smoke weed.

my non-romantic otp for this character

once again the devils nest gang at large has me in a vice. i care about greed and bidos friendship as well as the romantic aspect but the fact that bido doesnt really interact with any of the gang aside from greed SUCKS and i wish we could have seen some of that

however we do at least get a flashback of bido Standing Next to blondie and one of the bouncers. which in true "desperate enjoyer of a very minor character" fashion ive extrapolated into him having been good friends with that bouncer, because from what little pagetime he gets he seems levelheaded enough to win bidos trust. at a baseline i think bido would be wary around most humans and especially just after escaping, so knowing one reliably-decent human would have probably helped a lot with readjusting to the outside. & then i think out of the chimeras he was probably on the best terms with martel and ulchi, both from Reptile Solidarity and those two being more outgoing and upbeat than average

i ALSO WISH he got to meet mei because i think theyre really similar in a lot of ways. he would relate very heavily to being small and disregarded and saddled with the responsibility of helping so many people survive by whatever means necessary. they also both love yelling indignantly at rude people which is awesome. i think theyd yell at each other like that Once and then shake hands out of respect

my unpopular opinion about this character

all my opinions about him are unpopular babey Nobody is tjinking about him as much as me!!! he is important and memorable for one. and he is so brave and he loves his friends so much. he deserves as much focus as the rest of the gang if not more. he is the gayest fma character. and his face is HANDSOME he looks like an awesome muppet and if you cant handle that then get your ass off sesame street........

one thing i wish had happened with this character:

the chaptwr after greed gets introduced should have been just 43 solid pages of bido and greed making out rapturously, with the rest of the gang doing various tasks in the background. for flavor

[4getfulimaginator2022]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I haven't been tagged, but I saw @fandomsbyladymelodrama do one of these a few months back - so of course, I wanted to give it a try. 🙃 Also, I haven't done any personal posts on here in forever. Time for a change!

How many works do you have on AO3? I have 18 works so far. And when it comes to ships, it looks like I have a "type." 😉

What's your total AO3 word count? Oh boy. 660K+ right now and growing all the time because when stories speak, I write.

What fandoms do you write for? Mainly Once Upon a Time (starting in 2013), followed by Game of Thrones (2024, baby!) and then that 1 Greek myth collection thingy. I was a die-hard Once fan back in the day and watched episodes religiously, so all the canon lore was seared into my brain until season 6 (when I dropped the show because the writing was so off the rails). Surprise, surprise - I haven't watched GoT in its entirety. Everything I know is through my own research, watching videos, reading, reading, reading, and the contributions of the wonderful Jorleesi fandom.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? All Captain Swan fics, in order from the most to the least: 1) Heart Bound 2) Only the Beginning 3) A Cobbler's Life For Me 4) Be My Angel, Be My Demon 5) Nevermore

Do you respond to comments? I try! I used to be less strict about replying to comments, but with my resurgence in fanfic after years of absence, I have replied to each and every one. Currently, I am behind on replies, but I will get around to it again. Soon.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oof. I don't do angsty endings because I will die on the hill that is Jane Austen: “My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.” Probably my angstiest ending is in Trader of Hearts, which is a really dark fic. I do have a one-shot that is semi-angsty, though: Thinking of You.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? *deer in headlights look* I make it my business to give my beloved characters the happiest endings I can. Seriously. I don't know how to rank endings against each other, since the characters always end up together. I currently think my happiest ending is for The Old Curiosity Shop, my Jorleesi fic.

Do you get hate on fics? I have, but these were readers telling me how I should write my stories "the right way." I also have gotten spam comments. Overall, people are pretty nice.

Do you write smut? Hoo-hah! 😏 Let's count: I have 3 fics rated Mature and 5 fics rated Explicit. That's half of my fic repertoire. And when I do Explicit, it's ❤️‍🔥. Enough said.

Do you write crossovers? No. Not happening, cannot do, end of discussion.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Well... There was a scandal back on FF.net in 2014 or 2015? Websites were copying all fanfics to scammy websites or selling fanfics as ebooks. Not cool. I used to have all my content on FF.net, but now only my in-progress fics are there. All my fics are up on AO3.

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, not that I know of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Hey, if someone is offering... But again, no. No one ever wanted to co-write with me. 🥺 But maybe it's because I'm sooooooooo bossy!

What's your all-time favorite ship? Oh crap. All-time favorite?! WHAT. I have to cheat here and say there's a tie: Captain Swan and Jorleesi. Emma Swan and Killian Jones had a long journey to love and happiness, both in terms of their individual character growth and their relationship as a couple. The more I learned about them, the harder I fell in love with them. It helped that the CS fandom was HUGE as the ship became canon, and Tumblr was so active then that #captainswan was all over the place. We were one of the largest canon ships for that show. Now, as for Jorleesi... Jorah Mormont's loyalty and devotion earned my attention and respect from the first, and then when I found out about his love for Daenerys and her repressed love affection for him, I was a goner. My 2 OTPs: both women are BAMFs who are survivors and warriors, while their guys value love above all and are willing to die to protect them (*sobbing for Jorah because noooooooo* 😭)

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Heart Bound. This fic... I love this fic. This is my Jane Eyre/Jane Austen fix. It's my 2nd period piece and I adore some of my prose in this one. It. Needs. 4. Chapters. To. Be. Complete. Can I do it? Yes. Do I want to do it? *cries* Of course I do but it's hard...

What are your writing strengths? Hmm. Some would say it's my prose, while others would say that I know how to channel emotion into my writing. I like to incorporate literature and historical references into my fics (historical AUs or not), so I think I've done well with that. I've also been told that my characterizations are fantastic and unique. You do notice that I'm not claiming credit for any of these observations, right? Usually, I believe my writing is awful and I could have done so much better. I have a hard time acknowledging my strengths. You could hand me an Olympic gold medal for Writing and I would still insist that it's all lies. My self-belief and confidence have not improved over the years.

What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue. It's always dialogue. I want it to be realistic but my vocab gets in the way and it starts sounding like prose. Not good. But I am getting better! No way to go but up.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Maybe I'd do it, but it would have to be necessary for me to put in the effort. I don't purposely bamboozle my readers. 🤣

First fandom you wrote for? Once Upon a Time (of course *rolls eyes*). One Against the Wind is my ultimate period fic - pirates, the Caribbean, my tribute to PotC and pirate novels I've read. I created character backstory when there was no canon backstory. It's also my longest fic at 147K words. So proud of it and it still holds a special place in my heart. 😍

Favorite fic you've written? Ugh, no no no! I always, always say I cannot have one favorite because that is BORING. But okay, I will say that at the moment, it's The Old Curiosity Shop. I just did a full read of the entire fic and my heart absolutely melted. Adorable, heartbreaking, angsty, and so romantic. Jorleesi, I love you and I will die for you. You own my heart a thousand times over. ❤️

Fineeeee, I'll tag 5 people (no worries if you don't want to do this - completely voluntary fun and games here 💕): @ser-jorah-the-andal, @rileypotter17, @houseofthebear, @clarasimone, @thank-god-and-you

[moistvonlipwig]

salty asks: 4 and 21 FOR BTVS. swear to god I thought really hard about writing that the first time

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

Yes and it's Bangel...sorry to my Bangel followers but I must speak my truth. There are many reasons I dislike that relationship but honestly my biggest reason is that I just don't think they're good scene partners. I don't like watching their scenes unless Angel is evil in them and with rare exception I don't like thinking about potential scenes they could have together. They bore me.

I also dislike...um...all of Willow's romances? I never cared for Willow/Oz, primarily because I knew Willow was a lesbian going in so I had zero patience for her dating a guy but also because (a) I find Oz terminally dull and (b) I hate when shows try to sell you on a ship by making them deliberately and artificially cutesy, it grinds my gears like little else.

Willow/Xander is bad but it's supposed to be bad, so, that's fine I suppose.

Tara and Willow have some cute scenes in S4 but even by S5 Willow is twisting Tara's words to make her the bad guy whenever Tara expresses mild concern about Willow's growing magical power. Even more than the bury-your-gays of it all, the thing that angers me the most about Tara's death is how it renders her a voiceless love interest for Willow to grieve instead of the actual person she was who objected to the way Willow treated her.

I also hate Willow/Kennedy which is not an unpopular opinion at all but I feel like my reasons are unpopular??? Like, most people hate the ship because they hate Kennedy, which, meh, I don't particularly care for her either, but let's be clear, when a 22 year old is dating a 15 year old, the 15 year old is not the bad guy in that relationship!!!

(Really the only person who should date Willow is Anya, because Anya would actually call her on her bullshit, and also because it would be very funny.)

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

Hm, no real thoughts I guess. They can be funny but I'm not a big crackshipper myself. I will say I dislike the recent trend of using "crackship" to refer to any noncanon ship or even to noncanon ships that don't have a lot of basis. A TRUE crackship is pure nonsense that the crackshipper in question nonetheless nobly defends against such nasty opponents as "logic" and "reason".

[e-wills-afterhours]

Heeey. I have a request, Hiccup having phantom pains and Astrid taking care of him? Thanks!

A/N: Sure thing, Nonny. I think I wrote this very oneshot years ago, but I cannot find it, for the life of me. Might as well do an updated version!

And who doesn't love a little Hiccstrid tenderness, amirite?

Our beloved OTP is 17 here. I also seem to be writing a lot of Hiccstrid from the 5-year gap between HTTYD 1 and 2 lately minus RTTE...

Aaaaaand, I'm kind of okay with that right now. I hope you are too.

Rating: T (all of my work pretty much is unless I rate it otherwise)

Just One of Many Things

-------

If Astrid was asked to list all of the things she appreciated about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, it would be long. Perhaps, equal in length to all of the things that aggravated her about him. Some qualities even held spots in both categories. His stubbornness, for example, could be quite the asset when he was in the right; but just as much a headache when he got stuck on some new harebrained idea.

She loved him, regardless.

Growing up amid dragon raids, she did not understand the old adage "opposites attract." It seemed counterintuitive. What held two people together who could not see eye-to-eye on anything? In those days, there was no one more unsuited for each other's company than she and Hiccup.

But then the fog of war lifted, and she finally saw him for who he was. She came to realize that they had more in common than she dared to imagine. They wanted the same things, from the world and each other; albeit their approaches were drastically different. Therein lied their beautiful counterbalance. Everything she needed was within his capacity to give.

He was patient and kind, slow to anger, and remarkably intelligent--almost frighteningly so. Generous with his resources and abilities, she seldom had to ask him for anything he hadn't already thought to provide. He was the calm to her storm.

But true to form, some of his other admirable qualities irked her as much as they endeared him to her--and in that moment, his fierce independence was the bane of her existence. He had a pesky habit of refusing to ask for help, even if he needed it.

The more she pressed him for the truth, the more he denied the extent of the problem.

"Just because you can suffer in silence, doesn't mean you have to," she huffed, arms folded. "You're not winning any prizes."

"I'm fine," he insisted, through gritted teeth as he limped toward the hearth, all but dragging his prosthetic along.

His gait was always the slightest bit uneven, ever since the Red Death took his left leg. One needed a keen eye to notice it; he had adapted so quickly. It made his exaggerated lurches all the more pronounced and worrisome as he braced himself against the mantle.

"You're in pain," she said, frowning deeply.

"It's just a little burning," he replied with a feeble smile, the faintest edge in his voice.

Astrid could make out the beads of sweat glistening on his brow and upper lip from across the room. The crackling fire illuminated them clearly.

"Hiccup, there's nothing there to burn," she retorted, pointing to his metal appendage.

He let out a dry laugh. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Astrid clicked her tongue. Unlike him, she was prone to impatience. She strode across the room and grabbed him by the shoulders. With a sweep of a well-placed boot to the ankle, she kicked his good and steady leg out from underneath him. Looping one arm beneath his, she guided his fall and avoided further injury as he crumpled to the floor.

"Frigg og Eir!" Astrid, he hissed when he landed. "You don't have to kick my leg out from underneath me! I only have just the one!"

She crouched down in front of him, her expression flat. "At least your sense of humor's still intact."

"Are you going to be kicking that out from me next?" he asked, indignant.

She sighed and sat back on her knees. Her face softened when she considered his labored breathing and clenched fists. His mouth was a tight, thin line as he tried to force the pain down where she wouldn't see. But the suffering was plain in his eyes.

"Please, let me help you," she murmured, placing a hand on his knee. "I want to do this. Just...tell me how."

He paused for a beat, then said, "You really don't have to--"

"Hiccup...," and his name was a soft plea on her lips; one he never could resist.

A drop of sweat trickled down from his temple. He stared at her. There was obvious tension in his neck and shoulders. His left leg jutted out stiffly in front of him while he leaned back. It was as if he thought distance from his metal leg my improve things.

He finally relented with a shuddering exhale.

"Okay." He sat up a little straighter and repeated with more conviction, "Okay."

Astrid gently unfastened his prosthetic and set it aside. Not too long ago, he would have never allowed such a thing--to spare her from his indignity, or some such nonsense. But she never cared, and he had come to accept that. A quarter or more of the adults on Berk had some sort of fake extremity: battle scares of a bygone era. Nothing about Hiccup could ever repulse her. After all, she had grown up alongside Snotlout and the twins; and nothing was sacred anymore.

"When was the last time this happened?" she asked as she rolled his pantleg up over his knee.

"Months ago," he replied, teeth clenched. He breathed through the pain, nostrils flaring. "I don't remember. It's been that long."

"What now?" she asked, holding what remained of his lower leg in her hands.

He betrayed himself with a small whimper, then gestured vaguely at the kitchen. "There's a cloth or a rag. Boiled water on the pot on the table. Should just be warm now."

Astrid filled in the blanks, which wasn't difficult. She got up at once to fetch the rag and took it over to the pot of water that had more than likely been boiled for tea, or some other herbal concoction. With caution, she tested the temperature of the water with the knuckle of her pinky finger. Deciding it was no longer scalding, as Hiccup had said, she dunked the rag in. The excess water, she wrung back into the pot.

"Do I lay it on, or do I wrap it?" she asked, returning to where her boyfriend sat on the floor.

"Wrap it," he replied. Then, with a weak grin, he added, "Please."

Astrid nodded and wrapped the warm rag around the stump of his leg with great care, covering as much of the residual calf muscle as possible. She gave his leg the tenderest squeeze.

He let out a groan, head falling back as he supported his weight on his hands.

"No good?" Astrid asked in alarm. "Is it too hot?"

"It hurts, but it's perfect."

She wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Do...that again," he said, making a kneading motion in the air with his hands.

"Massage?"

"Yes. But it sounds better when you say it."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "You're such a dork. I mean, truly-- the smartest dumbass I've ever known."

He flashed her a genuine smile then laid all the way back on the floor. She settled in a crossed-legged position and massaged the length of his lower leg, up to the knee, over the warm rag.

They stayed in comfortable silence apart from the occasional pop and hiss from the fire. Hiccup, lying down with his eyes closed, and Astrid, tending to the stump in her lap. It was peaceful and uniquely intimate. She'd keep at it all night to take his pain away, if he only asked, but she knew he never would. So, she did what she could for him in that late hour, running her thumbs to the bend of his knee with steady pressure. Followed by long, kneading strokes back down to the end of his limb, where thick ribbons of scar tissue and mangled remnants of flesh all came together, long stitched off. She wondered how much of her touch he could still feel. He had never told her.

She wondered vaguely if her parents were expecting her home. Time was of little consequence whenever they were alone together. The minutes either crawled or flew by; it didn't really matter either way. All Astrid cared about was easing some of the burden he carried. To help, to do something for him, was all she ever wanted.

Hiccup's breathing eventually evened out. His skin was no longer adorned with sweat, and all the tension had left his body. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was asleep.

"Hiccup?" she asked, cutting through silence, and it was almost jarring.

"Hm?" he replied, opening his eyes to meet her gaze.

"Does the pain always feel the same? Like your leg's on fire, I mean."

He thought for a moment, staring at the ceiling, then answered, "Yes. It happens far less often now than it did in the beginning. But the feeling is always the same. Maybe slightly less intense, but I can't recall."

Astrid shook her head. To imagine a sudden and unexpected sensation of one's own flesh burning was horrific.

"Well, that's awful," she muttered.

He shrugged. "Gobber told me this 'phantom pain' happens more often in the first few years. I might get to a point where it doesn't happen anymore. Or it could happen randomly and infrequently for the rest of my life. Who knows."

"I just...hate that it has to be you."

A silence fell over them again, much heavier than the last. He studied her all the while, his eyes appearing impossibly warmer in the firelight.

He sat up slowly. "I'm alright now. You can stop." When she shot him a skeptical look, he insisted, "Honestly, it's passed. These episodes don't last forever."

She sighed and handed him his metal leg, which he took after rolling his pantleg back down. The speed and finesse with which he reattached was always interesting--but what was more remarkable was that he never complained. Not once, that she had ever heard. Yet, he had brought peace to their island, and he saved the people that had chided him for years--but no one else lost limbs in that fight. Just one boy and his dragon, against an ancient monster, risking everything to stop the cycle of fire and death that plagued their people for centuries. The exchange seemed one-sided; that he should still experience echos of pain from that day, was a terrible injustice in her eyes.

"Do you ever regret it?" she asked.

He glanced up, brow furrowed, as if the question itself was confusing.

"The Red Death is gone. The dragons are free. Berk is safer for our people and our dragons. You're safer." He took her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. With the utmost assuredness, he answered, "No. I don't regret it. Not for a moment."

She closed her eyes and leaned forward until their foreheads touched.

"You're unbelievable, Hiccup Haddock," she said. "Completely unbelievable."

"I thought that's what you love about me."

"Just one of many things," she murmured against his lips, and he smiled.

[etaindelaserna]

Hi, so as Dramione shipper have you ever ship Drarry? Now, I don't mean any negative thing like "this ship ia better ans you're wrong because" or "how can you ship this when that....."

See, when I was younger, I already like shipping characters from what I watch or read and all of them are m/f ships. As I grow older and consume more media, made me realized that I love m/m & f/f ships way more than m/f ships. And now, most of my otps (85% of them) are m/m and f/f. Sorry is it weird?

But somehow I can't unship m/f that I used to love. One of my moot asked me, why did I love dramione and not drarry when most of my fav ships are m/m. And I can't answer them, that m/f ships that are dear to me, I can't see them as m/m or f/f. What do you think?

Hey, no worries! I didn't think anything of the question.

Drarry actually does make sense given that Draco and Harry share similar dynamics, tensions and story building questions as Draco and Hermione do. But I've never shipped them. Not even tried.

I have two thoughts on this since I do feel mostly the same as you do but never thought about it before: if the m/f shipping in a certain fandom developed when I was a teenager, then I stayed with that ship and didn't start to suddenly ship m/m or f/f, even though I had started to like more m/m or f/f ships when I was in my early twenties. I'm still more into the f/m than I'm into m/m or f/f ships but every now and then they jump on me and most of the time it is because the characters and their chemestry together just makes sense. They're just meant to be. But it's also the same with m/m and f/f ships: if I liked them back then, then I'm still into them now. And no it's not weird that you are now more into the m/m and f/f ships: I think, our taste, or let's say, what we need from our ships develops alongside our life experiences -- both with media and reality. What we want from ships is allowed to change or stay the same depending on our needs. I don't know if or how unshipping really is a thing that can happen because it never happened to me. Sounds brutal. I could never abandon my OGs.

(1) Probably due to nostalgia. I don't know about you but I have fond memories of reading Dramione fanfics from dusk till dawn, basically satisfying the "What if"-impulse set by certain canon moments in the book and especially in the movies. Also Tom and Emma's crazy chemistry contributed a lot to cement Dramione as my old time favourite ship. I don't know if I had started shipping them as much as I did if the movies had never happened. Drarry is just not as appealing to me as Dramione. I can't see Draco with another man or Hermione with another girl. I can't explain it any better than that for me their characters just don't feel coded in that way. Same with Harry.

(2) I don't think the shipping process is a conscious desicion. Sometimes we just look at two characters and we feel a spark (because they look nice together or they banter like an old married couple or because they are two sides of the same coin) and that's it. But it seems to be linked to what we needed or wanted during the time when we encountered that particular fandom for the first time and then it just became a part of how we engaged with the story. A habit hard to shake. Maybe it also depends on with what expectations we approached the story.

I don't think I can give you a definitive answer as to why it is like that. Maybe it's all of what I've just said or none of it. I do think that in our head we've shaped the story and how we feel about it in a particular way and now it's very hard to shake that perspective. Might have been different if I had read Harry Potter as an adult instead of growing up with it.

The most important rule about shipping is that no one can tell you what you can or cannot ship. If Drarry isn't doing it for you although you like m/m ships then that doesn't negate your other m/m ships and it certainly doesn't make you a hypocrite. Just because I like m/f doesn't mean I'm going to like it in every story in the whole solar system.

I'm ranting. I hope I could give you somewhat help or ideas.

[lewis-winters]

22, 25, and 40 for Winnix? - Nathan

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Nix sees anything or anyone ginger and he's like a puppy like Oh!! Dick!! Richard!! I must tell my favorite red head that I saw another red head today!! be it a fox or a red panda or somebody else or, hell, Nix will be reading Anne of Green Gables and calling Dick carrots for weeks because he thinks he's funny. And also ice cream. He'll see an ice cream shop and wonder if maybe they'll let him buy a pint and some ice so he can bring it home to Dick. Sometimes, he'll hear a joke that's just the right amount of dry that he'll remember Dick instantly, and vow to tell him, because maybe he'd get a good laugh out of it.

Dick, on the other hand, has a myriad of things that remind him of Lew. Chocolate, because it's the color of Lew's eyes. A tie in a particular material, because Lew loves the texture. This particular color, because that's the most prevalent color in Lew's wardrobe. This song, because every time it came on the radio, Lew would turn the volume up and listen to it all the way through. He hums it sometimes. The cold, because it reminds him of their time in Bastogne. The smell of whiskey. The smell of nicotine. So many things!

25. Do they have any hobbies they share?

Hmmmm... I dunno, ya know? They're the kind of couple to value their alone time away from each other? It's my headcanon that Lew went back into model ship building as a hobby, that later turned into miniature making/tiny doll making. Dick thinks this hobby is adorable, but I don't think he himself participates in it.

Similarly, Dick, in my mind, has old man hobbies. He fishes. He bird watches. He would be the kind to whittle, but maybe not as much, since he does a lot of repairs around their farm house so I think he'd look at any kind of wordworking as more an extension of his typical job than a relaxing hobby. I do think, at one point, he learns how to knit! He's not good at it, but Lew wears his shoddy creations anyway.

40. Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help?

They're BOTH absolutely insatiable. Dick, with his all American, Central Pennsylvanian stomach that loves anything dairy or fried in pork fat; and Lew, who grew up eating gormand and the finest dishes his family private chef has to offer? Please, they're growing boys. They must eat!

But neither of them know how to cook, so there WAS a period in time where they just ate out a lot. But after leaving New Jersey for the farmhouse, they had less options to eat out and had to learn to fend for themselves. Author BristlingBassoon in one of their fics on ao3 (oh please read their fics, guys, they're so good) has this really sweet image of Dick collecting sears catalogues and trying out the recipes there. I think he'd do that, then Lew would be interested in it too and start trying the recipes on the back of boxes and cans?

Oh, look at that, I just answered the last question. Cooking. I think they both take up cooking as a hobby together.

Obligatory OTP Asks

[siennadraws]

3, 14, 22 for the otp asks?

Hi Ronnie!!

You know this, but for anyone reading, I'm answering with Terys and Solas in mind! For obvious reasons jdjsjs

Do they wear the other’s clothes? (sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

Probably not clothes, but definitely things like jewelry, cloaks/shawls/scarves etc.

Actually, back in Inquisition, Terys did give her spare scarf to Solas. Whether he chose to keep it this past decade is a mystery ;). But the old sap probably did. It's in the same memento box as his Orlesian bard wig.

How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?

Well, first off: they're very stubborn in their own ways.

Terys is definitely more of a team player, having grown up dalish, but also, while there was room for disagreements (they where even encouraged), her beliefs never ended up drifting far away from her clan's.

It makes them clash a lot (mostly at the beginning) but it's also what allows them to grow. Anyone else would have a hard time changing either of their minds about something. But since they respect one another a lot, and have the mental stamina to just die on their hills, eventually they do yield to each other.

Solas' lone wolf shtick, however, does annoy the living shit out of Terys.

Disclaimer: she is a master of pushing people away when she thinks it's necessary, so she is an hypocrite.

But Solas is the one person she'll never be capable of pushing away (especially because he does that with her already), and when he's around she softens up and stops needing to push people away.

Regardless, it annoys her a lot when he... how do I say this? Because he doesn't mistrust her, it's just that he walks the Dinan'shiral alone... when he doesn't trust her with uh... information.

If after Inquisition (ok, maybe some months afterwards, to give her a breather) he turned to her and explained everything and asked for her help, she'd definitely go: "Ok, I'm 100% with you, lethallin. But let's do this in the most careful way possible, together. We can find a middle ground."

She just thinks it would be easier for everyone if they just worked as a team, instead of two people who sometimes have the same goals goals.

Terys is also very thirsty for knowledge (insert pun about drinking from the Well of Sorrows here) and Solas is always happy to either try to explain how his magic works, or telling about this or that vision in the Beyond. Teaching anything really.

But Solas does love how much Terys loves and is fascinated by magic. It of course saddens him a lot too. Magic should be her birthright, by all means- not a silly little childhood dream she could never quite shake off.

What reminds each of their partner?

Everything.

When Terys goes to sleep and dreams as a Dreamer. When she hears any story about Elvhenan. When she sees magic, or a mirror. When she looks at her arm that's no longer there. When she sees a elvhen painting blending with the nature, or against an Alienage wall. When she smells something just like the oil he massaged into his locs. When she sees something as violet as his eyes.

When Solas is sheltered by the shadows that hid her oh-so-well. When he walks by a forest, reminding himself of all the stories about her life she told him. When he sees a raven, like the one on her face. When he sees any Vallaslin, now, he realizes, more hers than any slave owner before her. When he uses charcoal on his frescoes or when a small detail calls to him, reminding him of the drawings that filled her notebooks. When his magic glitters green, like the Veil, but miraculously, by some trick of fate, the exact color of her eyes.

[invisibleraven]

What I thought was so permanent fades

Written for the Year of the OTP challenge prompt: life changes

On AO3!

This fic went in a bit of a different direction than I planned but I kind of love where it ended? Is it a little bittersweet? Yes. But to quote my absolute favourite song; "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Luke looked at himself in the mirror-it was early and he honestly wanted to go back to bed but they had a band meeting over breakfast and since he was the one that scheduled it, he couldn’t exactly cancel. But the temptation was there.

The steam was clearing, but the bathroom was still warm-a blessing with the cold front moving in and messing up his joints. Luke sighed as he applied shaving cream to his face, he’d rather just stay scruffy, but Julie threatened to withhold kisses if he didn’t shave, and Luke wasn’t willing to give those up. Plus she made Reggie get rid of the awful goatee, so Luke supposed it was only fair.

It was so weird looking in the mirror and seeing himself now-his hair fading to a soft sandy grey, lines mapping his face. Here he was, smack dab in middle age, a place he swore he’d never see.

It wasn’t that he thought he’d be one of those rock stars that burned bright but fast, but when you die at seventeen, you kind of figure you won’t be hitting forty two.

But then again, he never imagined he’d come back as a ghost either, so who can say how fate works?

Then again, fate never accounted for Julie Molina and her capacity for love. A love so strong that she brought three wayward ghosts back to life. Giving them all a second chance at life-to actually grow old.

Plus it didn’t hurt that Julie promised to grow old with them-him and Reggie specifically. She even put it in her wedding vows. It had taken time, and a lot of work to sort themselves out, but they had come together in the end, and had been that way ever since. Sure, a lot of people didn’t get it, their families included, but they supported them, the fans gave them unwavering love, and the three of them were stronger than ever, especially after twenty years together.

“Hurry it up Patterson,” Julie said as she entered the bathroom, playfully swatting his towel clad butt. “You can admire yourself later.”

Luke stuck his tongue out at her as he finished shaving and watched her brush her teeth and twist her hair into a braid. He loved watching her, even if she teased him for being a creeper, who could really blame him when he had Julie to stare at?

Julie had aged as well-she had a large streak of white in her curls, though Reggie claimed it made her look like Rogue instead of old. Her smile lines were more pronounced, her curves a bit softer. But she was still just as gorgeous as the day they literally fell into her life.

There were days that Luke was so overwhelmed by how much they owed Julie. She had handed them so much; her talent, her home, her family. They literally owed her their lives. So he and Reggie had devoted theirs to her. But she had done the same for them-giving them all the love she possessed, bringing their children into the world, and blooming into the wonderful human being she was always meant to be,m nourished by their returned love.

“Where’s Reg?” he asked as he patted his face dry.

“Bringing the kids to school,” Julie supplied. “Danny had that diorama for history class that he didn’t want to chance on the bus. And well if Danny was getting a ride then Luna wasn’t taking the bus.”

“Of course.”

Julie looped her arms around Luke’s neck. Standing on her tiptoes so she could look him right in the eye. “You sure about this?”

He held her hips, skin warm as he wormed his way under her soft shirt. Ignoring how she squirmed since she was notoriously ticklish. “Yeah, it’s time.”

“Okay.” She pressed up to give him a kiss. “Let’s get breakfast on the go, Alex and Willie will be here soon.”

The coffee had just finished brewing when Reggie returned, running his fingers through his still luxuriously thick locks that had been windswept due to his fondness for driving with the top down. Luke wasn’t sure how Reggie avoided aging like the rest of them-his temples were silver but otherwise his hair was just as dark as it had been as a teen, and while he had a few lines, he still maintained his youthful appearance. Some guys had all the luck.

“Hello my loves,” he said, pecking each of their cheeks as he popped some bread into the toaster. “Lex running late?”

“Isla missed the bus,” Julie explained. “So Willie is going to drop them both off.”

That was the other thing-somehow Julie’s magic had extended to Willie. None of them questioned it, but it had allowed Alex more happiness than he ever thought he’d get. He’d even promised Julie to name his first born after her, but she told him since she didn’t know what or how she’d done what she did. But when Alex and Willie adopted Isla, they had given her the middle name Julie-after her godmother.

How much power did Julie even contain? How much love did it take? None of them wanted to look a gift horse in the mouth, and even though Julie hadn’t seen any other ghosts in over twenty years, the fact that she had such power when it came to them was a slightly terrifying and delirious prospect. Maybe Reggie hadn’t been wrong when he called her a witch. A witch without her powers now, but magical nonetheless.

Alex and Willie came rushing in as Reggie finished the toast. “Sorry we’re late!” Alex exclaimed. “I swear that bus driver has it out for Isla, he keeps ‘missing’ her stop.”

“You need to report that dude,” Julie said as she dished up the eggs while Luke finished off the bacon.

Willie plopped himself down on a stool, snagging a piece of toast. “So what’s this meeting about?”

Everyone looked at Luke, even though Julie and Reggie knew what he was going to say, they wanted to give him a moment to collect himself. Finally he spoke.

“I wanna put the band on hiatus. Maybe permanently.”

“What?” Alex all but shrieked. “Who are you and what have you done with Luke?”

Luke grinned despite himself. “I’m not saying I’m giving up music… but I think I want a bit of a break. Spend time with the kids before they get to high school. Maybe write stuff that wouldn’t work for the Phantoms.”

“You’re welcome to help Julie and I with our next country album,” Reggie offered with a wink.

“Maybe,” Luke mused. “I mean the last one won you guys a lot of accolades and acclaim.”

“Okay now I know there’s something up,” Alex said. “You hate country.”

“I’ve acquired a taste for it,” Luke replied. “Look Lex, we’ve played in every stadium and arena I ever dreamed of, we have oodles of platinum records and frankly we’re running out of trophy space. I’ve accomplished every dream I ever had.”

“Except the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Reggie joked, and Luke pointed at him in reply, but they all knew they’d get there one day, just like they talked about all those years ago.

“So you wanna go on hiatus? Instead of just taking a vacation?” Willie clarified.

“I think I need a break,” Luke admitted. “Before I get burnt out or even hate it. I’ve been obsessed with music since the nineties, maybe it’s time for me to find something new. Or at least go back to playing for the sake of it, not doing it as a job.”

“And you guys are okay with this?’ Alex asked Reggie and Julie.

“I mean we’ve had breaks before, for the kids,” Reggie said. “Besides, Julie and I are still doing our country thing. Might be fun to do something musical without labels breathing down on us. Pressure free songwriting? Sign me up. Maybe I’ll even add another instrument to my roster.”

“Because five isn’t enough,” snarked Alex before turning to Julie.

Julie took a moment, then nodded. “I… I’m almost older than my mom ever got to be. Which is making me wonder about what I’m going to do with the half of my life that she didn’t get to have. I love playing with you guys, and maybe we’ll come back to it, maybe we won’t. But I’d like to have the space to explore new things, and take some family time. Maybe write a book or something, I dunno.”

“Well that’s that then,” Willie said, clapping his hands together. “I mean I love your guys stuff, but it sucked when you went on tour when I couldn’t come. Some time together would be great. We could start fostering like we talked about, or I could work on my art. Plus Alex you and Kayla have been aching for a chance to do some choreo together, why not now?”

“You guys know I don’t deal well with change,” Alex said. “But… I could be okay with this one.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Luke said, finally allowing himself to relax for what felt like forever. “I’ll get Flynn to draft up something, and we’ll release it to the press soon.”

The rest of the breakfast was a little bittersweet-the end of an era as it were. But they still spent it catching up with regular life drama, and Willie promised to work with Ray and Victoria to make them all a scrapbook.

“We should mass produce them,” Luke joked. “They’d sell like gangbusters.”

Willie hummed like he was considering it, and Alex rolled his eyes, silently promising the others he’d talk him out of it. Eventually though, they went off home to enjoy the rest of their day, while Luke, Julie, and Reggie flopped onto the couch.

“Feel better?” Reggie asked.

“Yeah, I really do,” Luke replied. “I thought as soon as I said the words the feeling would come over me like ‘oh no, this is a mistake’, but they didn’t. I feel… almost relieved?”

“Makes sense,” Jullie mused. “The Phantoms have been such a big part of our lives, and now that they’ve crossed over in a sense… it feels kind of sad and final?”

“Maybe they’ll be reincarnated, or brought back-someday,” Luke said. “We did, so there’s always hope.”

“Any idea what you wanna do with the rest of our lives?” Reggie asked.

Luke hummed, looking at his spouses, the loves of his life, the reasons for his life and smiled. “I’m not sure, but for right now, how about a nap?”