#she can't figure out why he's decided that they're SO ALIKE and she kind of pities him

[sebille]

"I accept you" I love how he's like LOL no you DUMB BITCH

[antispopausandstuff]

when you get into a series and then stupid shit happens.

.

so, i got into a podcast from 2019 called 'The Two Princes', and i love it. it's very charming, basically like a show in audio form, and full of queer. listen to it frequently, got into the tags on my socials, found some fanart and fics and a bit of inspiration.

but during my searches of fanart, i came across two things.

people calling the main relationship ( rupert x amir ) an EtL

some people comparing it to c//a

both of these severely bothered me, and i'm gonna explain why.

for the first one, it's very simple. rupert and amir were not really enemies, in terms of their actual dynamic. according to this red herring of a prophecy, though, they are 'meant' to be enemies.

however, rupert lies about not being the prince of the west ( amir is prince of the east ), saying he's a thief, that his name is fitz, and that he wants nothing to do with his kingdom. this isn't because he holds any ill-will to his own kingdom, but because the east and the west are hostile and he didn't wanna get killed by amir leaving him behind in the forest.

so, their actual dynamic was more of 'unfriendly strangers to friends to lovers'. because amir was a bit uppity and micromanaged, while rupert was more soft(?) and tended to overreact // overly panic. that, and the span of the first season is 3 days. you can't really go from being enemies to lovers in 3 days. in most cases, i guess.

anyway, moving onto the even more frustrating point.

the princes are nothing like catra and adora. absolutely nothing alike. not even a little.

i'm guessing part of the reason is because amir asks rupert to stay. but the context of that situation vs catra repeatedly demanding asking adora to stay is entirely different.

amir asks rupert to stay because, despite being prickly, rupert saved his life and continued being kind to him. he doesn't ask him to stay because of any self-importance, or because he wants rupert to do dirty work, or for any other reason but because amir likes him and wants them to be friends.

that is entirely different from why catra kept demanding asking adora to stay. she kept asking because she couldn't take no for an answer. because adora's ideals didn't align with hers. because she wanted adora for herself, and took any other options as a personal attack.

and another reason this comparison exists, i'm guessing, is because of the whole "they saved the world // universe // kingdom // wtv by kissing and being gay", which. that's still. no. but okay.

the prophecy in 'The Two Princes' is a red herring because it's misleading. it's not intending to be, but it is. everyone thought it meant that the two princes would fight to the death and one kingdom would rule over, when it actually meant for one kingdom to unite the east and west.

and amir and rupert figured that out by kissing and later on deciding to get married ( that's a general way of saying it, but it's cute, aight? they're very cute ).

in the final episode of spop, there was no actual reason or explanation for why any of that happened. it just happened because the show wanted it to.

why did a viral infection go away the moment catra kissed adora? THE FUCK IF WE KNOW!

why did that activate she-ra? 'CAUSE- LOVE! EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SISTERS, BUT WHATEVER!

why did the heart get destroyed by that? WHO CARES? WE DON'T!

final assumed reason is, again, because of the whole EtL thing.

like i said, 'The Two Princes' is not an EtL story.

and spop was never supposed to be an EtL story. but it is one, so there's that.

anyway, the writing isn't perfect, but if you like podcasts and wanna hear a cheesy-ass queer show with a disaster gay prince, disaster bi prince, a badass lesbian knight, a bi diva, a feral gay twink, a pathetic flirty gay twink, and a dragon and a dog, then give it a listen.

and there's a goat unicorn.

[felassan]

Some more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah PART 2, from a Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he is livestreaming playing Dragon Age II [link to Part 1] -

These last bits are collected under a cut due to length:

Chat asked "I don't want to know what was decided, but was there ever a decision on WHAT Andraste was in back rooms in DA:O times?" Mark explained that questions like that are intentionally not answered. They're answered when they're needed to be answered but are otherwise left open for as long as possible." A follow up comment in chat said "Is it undisputed fact that Andraste was a historical figure?" Mark replied "I don't know that it is undisputed fact, I mean you only ever hear about her through the writings of everybody else. Basically nothing in DA is ever presented as absolute fact, it's always presented through the eyes of somebody so nothing is actually confirmed unless you as the PC actually met them, pretty much. I think she's presented as probably real with unknown - [something, was cut off by in-game combat]".

A user in chat asked, "So what Solas said, that everyone was able to use magic before the Veil was a thing, could that have been a lie or him just not counting people that couldn't use it as people?" Mark replied that it could be true or could have just been Solas referring only to people who he saw or who were seen as real people. "The Veil was down so magic was a lot more accessible though, so it could be real. Solas would definitely not include dwarves in his assessment of 'everyone could use magic'. Solas is focused on fixing his mistakes, he isn't thinking about any of the other races very much"

Companion armor in DAII not changing was about making the companions visually distinctive. It probably also served to save dev time, as it meant that they didn't need to make elf and dwarf versions of every armor. "It does give up a degree of change. Though I think there's a way to do it so that they could change but still be [visually distinct]"

DA:O was written originally with the assumption that it wasn't going to get sequels, which was a mistake, but that's how it was. By the time it was coming out, the devs knew that it was going to get sequels, but it was a bit late at that point. So it was kind of retrofitted

Morrigan and Varric are pretty iconic, they also have very strong visuals. Alistair is also iconic, "except that he kind of looks like anyone else in full plate mail. He looks like Generic Fantasy Protagonist and then his arc is like 'I don't wanna be this guy'"

During DA:I development, there was a chess-like game that one of the designers made that they talked about implementing

On DAII's repeating environments, they lampshaded this in DA:I when Varric talks about how all caves look alike to him. "Maybe if we had lampshaded it a bit in DAII and had maybe one other cave, and not all caves looking exactly alike, maybe then we would have gotten away with it. If we had thought of it earlier there would have been time to make the cave in question look more generic and less identifiable. But there wasn't really enough time left to make another new cave"

Chat asked about adding polearms to the game. Mark explained that they "are custom animations, you can't really use the normal 1- and 2-handed animations for them, though there is a little bit of staff stuff in DAII. It's been discussed. Polearms also kind of work differently, you need a bit more ground control and Dragon Age has never really been great at letting the player control territory. So polearms couldn't really serve the role people would expect given the limitations of how the combat AIs worked historically. DA:I spent the most amount of time on control of all 3 DA games, it's the one that cared about the topic the most, but it still doesn't quite pull it off. Javelins are not polearms, spears have a throwing animation"

Chat asked ''Why did you switch from the gold silver bronze coins to just a flat 'gold' currency in DAI?'' Mark replied "I think we thought it was just simpler. I think there's a point at which you're simplifying because you aren't really getting anything out of it for your troubles. Moving away from bronze and silver was seen as an accessibility and streamlining thing. Was it a good idea? Probably not. I think you can simplify away your personality. I don't think the gold thing is a big deal, but it is going down that road. For the purposes of buying stuff, a single flat currency I think is easier to wrap your head around as a player. But from the perspective of looting, having a mix is cool and more interesting. I think there's a middle ground for sure"

Chat asked "Was there ever an attempt to make Kirkwall a seamless open-world?" Mark replied "In the early days of DA:I, one of the programmers got Kirkwall running in Frostbite as a seamless open world. But there was never an attempt made in DAII itself to make it that. But all of Kirkwall itself [during this time on DA:I] was running as an open world, unpopulated, single level in Frostbite at one point. The level of density with the clips, you were never doing this as a single level, it would just have had a heart attack"

One of the advantages of first person view while in Anthem's hub area was that it let the devs do really tight streets, which is cool

The lore in Dragon Age isn't always paid off by the gameplay. "This has always been a problem in Dragon Age"

There have been several times where DA has "lored around" its 'No Teleportation' rule to allow for the gameplay of fast movement without actually introducing teleporting into the setting. Characters actually move very fast in a straight line - DA:I has a ton of superfast movement. On mages who teleport or seem to teleport, Mark said that "I think we would probably lore that out, patch over it. Like Fade Step's lore is literally 'you move really fast'. Eluvians are presented in Trespasser as being more like planar travel. The reason for a lot of the magic rules in DA is that problem of D&D, where if you pick at the magic system you realize, you have a first level spell which is mind control and no-one seems to care, or you could literally teleport into the throne room of the king and stab him in the head. So it's trying to 'patch over' the high fantasy issues of magic by either eliminating some things from the lore like teleportation and making others be viewed with a lot more negativity, like mind control in the case of blood magic and peoples' attitudes to this"

Part 1 of this post can be found here. :)

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)

[source]

[incorrectoverthehedge]

How fun it is to write each character!

So I'm doing some a bit different, and I'm going to talk about each Over the Hedge character and how much fun I have writing them.

RJ - RJ by default is a fun character to write because he's super charismatic, but it's also clear he's got a lot of pent-up issues he hides behind the mask. I've always had a love for writing characters who have a lot more problems than one would think, so RJ's immediately up my alley. Plus, we kind of think alike and I like to think out of all the characters, RJ's just naturally easy to imitate if you have confidence. 9/10

Verne - Verne so far is kind of tough to write, and I think it's because I find him kind of boring for the most part. He's not bad at all, but compared to the other characters that I actually have legitimate plans for, he's the one I have the least amount for. 5/10

Hammy - Hammy is a mixed bag for me so far. On one hand, I actually have plans for him to develop into more than just a comic relief character, and I think there is a side of him that I want to explore a bit more. On the other hand, his humor is not one that particularly speaks to me, and thus, it's harder to write out. Maybe it's because I'm too old to really appreciate his style, but I just have a really tough time thinking of jokes that are not only funny and in character for him, but don't come off as random. 7/10

Stella - Stella...might be my favorite to write from a comedy standpoint. I notice that every time there's a snarky one-liner or a fourth-wall break, it's usually Stella doing it, which kind of speaks to how much I enjoy writing her. It also helps that I have plans for her as well, so the future is looking bright for her. What makes her not perfect however is the fact I can't really get her speaking style down. It's a bit weird to write for me. 9/10

Heather - Oh yes. Heather is really fun to write because she's in a way, one of the more normal Hedgies, and that makes her extremely flexible when it comes to not only plots, but also jokes as well. I particularly love writing about her one-sided crush on RJ. She's pretty much head over heels (or tails) for him, but at the end of the day, she considers him a friend above all. Oh yeah, and I adore writing Stella and Heather's friendship. 10/10

Ozzie - Ozzie's someone that I also have plans for, but at the moment they're a lot more...further away. He's kind of used as not only comic relief, but also part of Heather's development. It's not the best, I'm aware, but trust me, Ozzie will start to show his own character soon. 6/10

Lou/Penny - They're both here because for the most part they're exactly the same character. They're somehow simultaneously the most normal of the Hedgies but also one of the most restrictive ones. Their nature makes their plotlines and overall potential for humor really limited. If I were to rank them individually, I'd put Penny above Lou solely because I think Penny has a bit more potential due to being a mother figure of sorts. Lou 4/10, Penny 5/10.

The Triplets - I've never liked writing kids. It's super difficult for me because I have the urge to add on more to them, but then I remember they're kids and that plot goes right out the window. Is there any wonder why they haven't really had that major of a role yet? 2/10

Tiger - The more I think about Tiger the more interest I have in writing him. For a while I forgot about him, but deciding to be one of the voices of reason, yet simultaneously say it in the most sarcastic way possibly makes for some good comedy. Plus I have plans for Tiger that show he's not just a pompous snarker, but an incredibly loyal member of the Hedgies. 8/10.

Dwayne - My problem with writing Dwayne is how can you improve on perfection? He's got such a great sense of humor that, try as I may, I can never replicate. 5/10.

Gladys - She's easy to write, just make her a Karen. But she's in such specific situations that it's not really that fun. 3/10

Vincent - Never was that invested in him in the movie, and bringing him back just feels so contrived. If I were to bring him back, I'd have to do it in a very specific way, and even then, he'd just be coming back for revenge. Not much funny I can do with him. 1/10

[shadowsong26fic]

Random Crossover Notes

I don't intend to actually write this (even as an AU outline; at least not yet; I'm hoping it will either die and/or interest some of the maybe five people who are invested in both fandoms enough to be worth exploring further, lol).

But it came bursting back into my head tonight and in an effort to get it out, going to ramble a bit!

This is a Wheel of Time/Battlestar Galactica crossover. (Of the...it's not a fusion exactly; and it's not a 'the Fleet stumbles across this world' direct crossover; it's 'characters from BSG exist and have always existed on this planet and fit into the fabric of this world'. That kind of crossover. the second kind could Also be interesting but that is another problem I Do Not Need

This includes decisions about:

Baltar

Caprica

Tory

Roslin

Billy

Starbuck (though not much)

Some speculation/vague thoughts about Lee and Zarek

Also includes an OC of mine.

Part of why I don't intend to actually Write It is I don't...really have all that much yet.

This did originally exist 10-15 years ago; back when I wrote a single one-shot and had plans for a much longer AU in WoT and was active in BSG fandom. Accordingly, it's more aligned with book!verse than show!verse, though I'd probably bring in some show!verse stuff I liked if I were actually writing the thing. How many of the original details I'm actually remembering (beyond the First Concept Idea) and how are new as of the past few hours, IDEK. It does also involve an OC of mine because screw it, this is my self-indulgent BS, I wanna.

((She could probably be cut in this case but. Again. Mine. I wanna. XD))

Anyway.

So, as with a lot of my initial Concepts, this starts with Baltar. Obviously, he's a channeler.

He's also Seanchan.

He's da'covale, but da'covale to a Very high-ranking High Lord, meaning he has higher status than some of the Lower Blood. He has yet to be identified as a channeler.

My OC, as usual, is Atia, his daughter. She's marath'damane and is well aware of what she is. She's...been raised in this culture, and wouldn't resist the searchers/sul'dam when they come for her...except she's aware of what her father is. She doesn't like the idea of him being gentled/killed and while there's only so much she can do to help she feels like she has to do Something.

Caprica is a sul'dam, in service to the same High Lord/Lady as Gaius and Atia. She and Gaius meet and fall in love with each other; at some point she twigs onto either him or Atia, and the three of them run away together. Not sure if they manage to find a place in the Return fleet or if they cross the ocean All By Themselves, but.

And then at Some point they run into some subset of the WoT cast but...yeah, this is pretty much as far as I got XD Gaius would probably eventually end up at the Black Tower. He and Caprica would probably be Very Into the idea of Warder-bonding each other when they get there.

...and yeah, that's about as far as I got, lol. Figuring out where other BSG characters might fit into this world is...complicated, lol. Partly because only half-remembering the tapestry of cultures/alliances/etc.; partly because in a couple of cases there are roles that would fit An aspect of a character but Very Much Not others (e.g., I can honestly see Lee aligning himself with Galad's subset of the Whitecloaks except there is zero chance of Bill as a Whitecloak sooooooooo yeah. Athena would be either another sul'dam or Aiel, I can't decide which works better. ...actually, Aiel; she and Boomer are both Shaido but Athena breaks with her clan when the Aiel fracture? Or something...)

Anyway, if anyone else has any thoughts I'd appreciate them XD

ETA: So I myself had some additional thoughts, lol.

First--Starbuck and Mat. They just. They would either be Instant Bros or Thoroughly Despise One Another there is no in between. They're just. Like. If I was doing a Fusion, Starbuck would 100% fill the Mat role, they are so much alike and I love them both for it. Anyway, I lean towards timelining it so they can be Bros because that's way more interesting/fun for me personally. See above re: self-indulgence, lol. (They have also slept together at least twice.)

Second--Zarek might actually be interesting as a Whitecloak. Not in the sense that he fully believes/buys into their rhetoric, but...I don't know, it could fit his blend of 'I believe some of this, but I'm also using it as an avenue to gain Power.' And again with the Lee vibes, especially if Lee starts Considering joining as part of the storyline, even if he doesn't start there? IDK though, I keep going back and forth on this one.

Next, Roslin. I toyed with a few different options for her. She's definitely not an Aes Sedai; initially I was thinking she might be the head of one of the groups like the Kin (if I'm remembering the name right? The women who were rejected by the Tower and formed their own quiet underground networks) or an Aiel Wise One. But then I realized--you know who absolutely is an Aes Sedai?

Tory (probably Grey ajah, maybe White).

So then it all falls into place. We squeeze a little country/principality somewhere onto the map; normally the ruler there wouldn't merit an Aes Sedai advisor, but after a messy/disputed succession, Siuan did agree to send someone, and that someone was Tory. Billy, of course, is Roslin's son/heir.

Still thinking about where anyone/everyone else might fit, but also this line:

Caprica--In the end, we're not much more than thieves. We stole a damane. We stole an a'dam. ...we stole ourselves.

...so yeah. XD And now opening it up for additional thoughts.

[sweetcherrypie1967]

Halloween Gala (pt 1)

Hermione Granger was not going to attend the annual Halloween Party the Ministry threw. At least, that's what she had thought. She wasn't the kind of person to enjoy party's much, she preferred to spend her time reading, working, or spending time with family or those in her circle of friends.

However, this was not what was going to happen.

Why was this? Because one of her best friends came over begging Hermione to go with her.

"Please 'Mione! Dad and Ron both work for the Ministry so we're all expected to go, I don't think I can be around Harry so soon..." Ginny Weasley explained.

"I don't know, Gin.." she said unsure of what to tell her.

Ginny and Harry had broken up a month and a half ago, they both decided they were better off as friends. However, Ginny has taken the breakup really hard and wasn't ready to be around Harry much. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione had become Auror's together, avoiding Harry Potter was not an easy task for the youngest Weasley.

It was easiest for her to be around Hermione. Firstly because they were both girls and Hermione could better understand what she's going through as she had gone through a breakup with Ron a year prior. Secondly because while Hermione was technically an Auror, she worked in the research part of the department while the boys were in all the action.

"Pleeeaaase Mione, we can just hangout the whole time if that's what you want! It's a masquerade so no one will know who we are," The redhead pleaded.

"It's not hard to figure it out, Gin. Plus that's what you said last time you dragged me to a party and you left me by the punch bowl," Hermione pointed out.

"Fine, you can bring a book then! And this year they're putting a charm on everyone at the door so you won't recognize them," Ginny urged. Hermione groaned and her friend smiled, she knew she won.

Now Hermione was standing awkwardly by the punch bowl in an overly fancy dress and uncomfortable masquerade mask. She cursed herself for letting Ginny get her into this because what she assumed to be Harry had come over and wanted to talk to her privately which is a good thing, however, that leaves Hermione all by herself. Ginny and Hermione instantly told each other who they were once the spell was cast on them, Hermione could piece together who Harry was.

When she saw a glimpse of Harry and Ginny through the crowd she knew it was going to take awhile for the Weasley to return as her face was as red as her hair in anger. So Hermione found a place to sit and began to read the book she brought, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

As she was finishing up the chapter she was on, an oddly familiar voice spoke.

"Good choice of book," they said.

"Uh thank you," Hermione said looking up to find a man standing there in an expensive suit and, though it was hard to tell with the dark lighting and mask he wore, blond hair. "You read muggle books?" She asked, while she loved reading them it was rare for her to find a witch or wizard who shared the same interest.

"I do actually," the voice said.

"Do you have a favorite?" She asked to which he thought for a moment.

"While I've read quite a few, the one you're reading would have to top them all," he told her, "any favorites of yours?"

"My favorite has to be Little Women, I do enjoy Pride and Prejudice though I find it difficult to see how Elizabeth could change her mind about Mr. Darcy so quickly," Hermione said.

At that the two, who believed each other to be strangers, chatted away about books wizarding and muggle alike. They debated their thoughts and preferences in each piece of literature brought out, finding they were quite comfortable sharing more and more about themselves, while making sure to keep their identity's secret.

After what felt like a few minute but what in fact much longer, Hermione noticed a change of song that happened to be a favorite of hers. She perked up and lightly swayed to the music, the man seemed to take notice.

"Might I have this dance?" He asked holding his hand out to help her up.

"You may," she said taking his hand and moving to the dance floor with him. "I think it'd be important to warn you that I'm not a very good dancer," Hermione said.

"Don't worry, I happen to be a terrific dancer," he said with a confident smile.

"We'll just see about that," she said smiling back.

"Indeed," he agreed.

The man really was a good dancer, Hermione didn't even step on his foot once throughout their time dancing. It felt natural with him, as if they were two parts of one whole. Their conversations took a deeper turn as they learned more personal things about each other, such as their upbringing or having gone to Hogwarts. This time it was quite difficult to keep who they are a secret, though they somehow managed. The hours flew by and they paid no mind to time and could stayed there dancing throughout the entire night.

But like all good things, it ended too soon.

A small shriek rang through the room, when Hermione looked up she found Ginny storming off away from whom she assumed was Harry, who looked helpless and ashamed. Hermione made a reluctant step towards her friend, the man didn't fail to notice.

"Friend of yours?" He asked.

"Yes actually. I'd better make sure she's alright, it's been wonderful meeting you," Hermione said with apologetic eyes before dashing across the room to the girl in question.

*****

Draco Malfoy stood by the punch hoping the woman he'd just met would return. He found himself charmed by her quick wit and character, not many witches or even wizards he's met have either. Draco watched her hurry off, as he got lost in thought about the last hour. He was interrupted from his thoughts by someone coming up next to him and began talking.

"This party is less lively then my Mum's fifth husband," Draco knew this was none other than his closest friend, Blaise Zabini, whom he brought with him to the party.

"Was he the one with or without the lisp?" Draco asked. Mrs. Zabini has had a long line of ex husbands, all having been "unexplainably" killed soon after marriage, so it was difficult for Draco to keep up with all of them.

"Without, he had more of a drawl," Blaise explained.

"Ah," Draco said without much interest, his mind wandering to who this mystery woman might be and noticed that she was no where in sight.

"What's eating you, Mate?" Blaise asked upon noticing his detached behavior.

"Nothing is "eating" me, Blaise, I'm just trying to figure something out," Draco said with a roll of the eyes. Before the Italian could retort, Draco perked up as his grey eyes found the girl once more. Blaise followed his gaze and a teasing smirk formed on his face.

"Trying to figure out the girl over there I presume?" Blaise said.

"I recognized her voice, I just can't put a finger on it," Draco complained, "stupid bloody spell."

Blaise laughed, "well all will be revealed soon, midnight is in half an hour."

"I suppose.." Draco agreed.

He would much rather have the satisfaction of figuring it out on his own but he knew his friend was right, at Midnight everyone's masks (magical and physical) will be taken off to reveal their true identity. The truth was, Draco was nervous to be around her when it was revealed who he was. While Lucius Malfoy was sent to Azkaban, his wife and son weren't punished except for the harsh treatment of the remaining Wizarding World. This was one reason why Draco had become an Auror, to help rebuild himself and his name.

"Hey," Blaise said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "don't let your fear get in the way, either go over there and sweep her off her feet or you can spend forever wondering what could've happened."

Draco gave him a weak smile, they've been friends their entire lives and Blaise knew Draco sometimes better than Draco knew himself. He was beyond grateful to have a friend like him.

"Thanks Mate," he said before Blaise walked off into the crowd.

As Draco was still getting the nerve, he saw his friend start talking to the mystery woman's friend before they made their way to the dance floor. This was Draco's chance. He walked over there to see her watching his friend dance around.

"Would you be up for another dance?" Draco asked slightly nervous.

The girl grinned when she saw who it was, "I'd love to."

And, they did.

This time, however, they didn't spend much time talking but rather laughing and enjoying the other's company. Draco spinner her in an attempt to dramatically end the dance, however this resulted in her laughing that contagious laugh.

The woman calmed herself and they now had both Grey and brown eyes locked on the other's, all humor forgotten. Draco hadn't even realized he was leaning towards her until she was doing the same. Their lips crashed together and nothing else mattered, they were the only things that existed in that moment.

Not even the loud timer buzzing and streamers being released to announce it was midnight.

Their masks were gone.

They didn't hear the other partygoer's reactions to what they were witnessing. The gasps of their friends and strangers alike.

At least, until they broke apart for air to find the change in appearance.

"Granger?"

"Malfoy?"