#then he'd still be defined by that trope

[meatballlady]

As much as I love Crowley's genderfuckery, I find myself somewhat iffy about the idea of the she/her angel. Something about femininity being tied to youth and innocence and purity. idk.

[eroguron0nsense]

Perhaps my brain isn't braining or I'm assigning undue significance to this but I kinda feel like One Piece seemed to shift more toward exploring what real familial love means or looks like after the timeskip? We get Ace's death, the postwar arc, and Luffy coming to the conclusion that despite having lost both of his brothers, he's still got the Straw Hats and he can move forward with his ragtag crew of siblings, Team Mom and Dad, and an eccentric skeleton Uncle, and then right after that, we get several arcs defined overwhelmingly by either the destruction or salvation of various families.

One of the main inciting incidents–if not the inciting incident–of all the political intrigue inherent to the Fishman Island arc is the assassination of Otohime and its ramifications for Shirahoshi and the entire Ryugu Kingdom (not to mention Luffy trying really fucking hard to imitate Ace and be a big brother to Shirahoshi and Surume as a means of processing his own loss).

Dressrossa's where we first see a true perversion of all the lovely found family tropes that have long been established in One Piece (villains have destroyed families but few if any are depicted as having one in the same way Luffy does; pre-time skip villains are more likely to be loners or self-interested tyrants and their followers aren't really referred to as "family"), giving us self fashioned patriarch in Doffy who completed the destruction of his bio family and spent the rest of his life building a grotesque, failed imitation of it through manipulating and indoctrinating a group of followers he doesn't truly care for, only to be brought down by a combination of his brother's final actions, the little boy Cora saved and loved, the bonds of the Riku family he brutalized, the brothers of the guy whose devil fruit he acquired and tried to entrap his enemies with, and an actual Found Family Crew who genuinely love each other and are willing to sacrifice for each other in a way Doffy cannot possibly understand.

The entirety of WCI involves almost every conceivable permutation of multiple families plotting against, exploiting, abusing, and defiantly loving each other, from Judge discarding any hope he ever had of having an actual family that could love him by literally stripping away their ability to do so in the name of facism/conquest, to Chiffon betraying her abusive mom for her loving husband and in-laws, to Linlin being failed by every parental figure in her life and constructing the most bizarre, fundamentally horrifying political/military structure out of her army of bio children.

Wano's main villain is also an abusive father and tyrannical crew leader, and that does, in fact, contribute to his eventual downfall, but more to the point, the arc opens and closes with the initial destruction and eventual restoration of the Kozuki family in Momo, Hiyori, and Sukiyaki, Luffy's kinship with Momo and Tama, circling back to reminders of Ace yet again (for the third arc so far) and Hiyori literally closing out the arc mirroring her father's catchphrase/dying words (and to a lesser extent, plot fuelled by the destruction of the Kurozumi clan). By the time we end what I personally consider to be Part 2 of One Piece, Luffy's family has picked up another uncle, he's been confronted repeatedly with the spectre of his brother and come out stronger for it (also filling the big brother role for multiple characters), he's reunited with Sabo, and has confronted and defeated multiple villains who act as the antithesis to everything One Piece has told us so far about the joy and love and unity that the Straw Hats and their friends and true families exemplify. And by the time he tells everyone his real dream and shares what he'd previously only told Ace, Sabo, and Shanks, it feels like we've finally gotten some closure for Marineford

[lookiamnotshameless]

You know, I usually hate the 'really pretty person doesn't realize they're pretty' trope, but there's something about it that works when it happens with Roderich Edelstein, aka the man who spent half a millennium being The Catch of Europe, and knew it. He knew, and despite making rather full use of that and despite looking like that, he vehemently believes that he is plain and uninteresting without his glasses (his music), that he'd instantly become the worst looking person in Europe when you ask him to put on a relatively harmless costume (so, without his veneer of aristocracy).

This isn't your standard garden variety oblivious insecurity; this is some next level denial of self. This man actively, categorically and thoroughly denies any idea that he can possibly be attractive/wanted/needed by himself, as a person, rather than by what he is, the power he can offer, the cultural refinement he possesses. While he isn't repressed about who he is and has no qualms about showing his slovenly/lazy sides, he simply denies that it has any value. It goes beyond ‘I'm worthless', it's more like, ‘there's no value in getting to know any of this, don't bother' matter-of-factly. (I remember that meta that he doesn't even take his glasses off if there's even one person with him, even someone he's more comfortable around like Erzsebet.) There are cases of other characters telling him that he looks just fine or showing him rather personal affection, and he just seems to…shrug it off, like you'd shrug off someone who just stated that the world is flat and lizardmen live on the moon. He's not angsty about it. This is how he prefers it. He prefers that there's nothing to Roderich Edelstein the entity-who-could-conceivably-be-seen-as-a-person, only what Austria the Nation has built over the years.

Couple that with how he embraces his lack of agency and complacency to a degree that nobody else does and is just kind of shrug emoji about it, and he became this sort of undying cockroachlike intrigue that won't leave my brain even after so many years.

At the end of the day this is probably why my endgame Roderich ship in the Year of Our Lord 2024 is still Gilbert, after all this time. Reams of text have been written about how they've been such perfect foils to each other across the centuries, and what could be a more perfect modern-day foil to all that than the character who literally has nothing left but being a person? Someone who lost everything built in his name as an immortal earth-god-parasite-spirit-thing, whose legacy is being slowly forgotten? Someone who, despite shining as bright as Roderich back in his prime, had never defined or presented himself as anything but who he is as a person and expected the same from others? (Gilbert has his own tanks of worms yes but this is a Roderich stan post.)

When you take in the fact that Gilbert was weirdly obsessed with stalking and antagonizing Roderich this entire time, it creates a really nice juicy conflict point for my shipping tastes lol.

[fatuismooches]

ok so I promsi3d brain rot but I forgot . So I saw this tiktok that said

MY Favorite trope is when someone believes they are hard to love and the other loves them like breathing.

This fits so well with fragile reader and dottie . But imagine it flipping when reader gets sick

In the academia zandik believed he was hard to love because of his views , his personality and his upbringing. When his and readers relationship progressed he had always believed in the back of his mind that he was unlovable. While reader had loved him like he was the air they breathed . When reader got sick , fell into a coma and eventually woke up . It switched , now fragile readers feels because of their body they are not good enough and thus unworthy of dottores love for them

LOVE YOU😍

NO MY HEART... I'M SAD NOW 😭🥺 UGH I LOVE THIS!! Because it's so real :(

Convincing Zandik that he was worthy of love, much less of the fact that you loved him, was possibly the hardest task one could be given. To say that it was an arduous, difficult path was an understatement. It was rocky, thorny, tiring, and even painful at times to get him to understand. Understand that there was not one thing about him that you didn't love. That he was the reason why you smiled so much, that your heart beat wildly, that he was your everything. That no, what his home village said doesn't define him. That you only see Zandik, not a monster. You didn't care how much you had to try, you would get through to him no matter what! And you like to think, even if you get through to him only a little bit, it was worth it. Zandik doesn't understand why you try so hard but... perhaps that's something he loves about you. The best scholars always persist. He didn't expect that to change. Until it does. Really, how could he have thought he'd be the one trying to reassure you that he loves you?

Dottore understands a lot of things, but he doesn't understand the situation he finds himself in now. You? Unloveable? Unworthy? Those words simply do not go together. Yes, your illness may have changed you, but that doesn't matter. Don't you see? You're still the same person he fell in love with since centuries ago. But you can't help but hide away from him anyway, since he is such a perfect, intelligent being, rivaling the gods themselves, how could you ever hope to compare much less impress him? It's impossible, it's never going to happen. You're perhaps even more inconsolable than his old self, as you have your illness on top of all your insecurities to deal with. But he'll wait. He'll be patient. He'll wait however long it takes for you to see his love for you.

Dottore can only hope he can convince you, like you convinced him all those years ago.

[katyspersonal]

i saw your post about your predictions for messmer and they're all interesting, so do you think Messmer would be one of those fromsoft "irredeemably villains" or he would have shades of grey like Martin's main characters ? if i am not mistaken Myazaki said something about Messmer being one of the characters GRRM wrote for the game.

Thank you for the compliment @ first anon! And yeah, I assume that Messmer counts as one of the characters that Martin wrote, referring to the bit of interview @val-of-the-north helped me to find just yesterday!

( x )

Miyazaki and Martin really write their 'villains' differently, huh? My observation is, Fromsoft style is more along the lines of "Yeah this character done shit beyond the very scope of how us simple humans can even define a sin or crime, but also allow us to present it all in such a confusing, existential, grand scheme manner that you'll doubt whether character is truly in the wrong. Heck, is ANYONE in the wrong? In fact, what if the worst people are the best? What if no one has the real choice anyways but to pick their own poison? What if the most atrocious decisions are actually the most heroic? What if-

YEAH YEAH whatever shuddup. Martin really feels more common "This character having been a victim doesn't excuse their crimes but also this character's crimes don't make bad things that happen with them right". And so far I've noticed that Elden Ring's writing of the 'bads' falls MORE on Martin's side, even if some previously familiar tropes are there!

I'll use Mohg as volunteer! Mohg is presumably a sex offender, towards his half-sibling too, but you can't help but feel bad for him being raised in the severs and alienated from his family as abomination save for his twin brother that expresses results of such oppression differently, but you can't really excuse anything! If Elden Ring was a pure Miyazaki's creation, no Martin's involvement, execution of his "morality" would go more like: when Mohg was trapped in the severs he saw a dream that actually revealed the true meaning of this world to him and now he knew only one way to end the pain like he and Morgott experienced and fix the world to the better existed, which was to get into a system Greater Will set up and become a consort for the only available Empyrean, was he REALLY in the wrong to choose one crime to end many ooooo something something train dilemma maybe he'd be a way worse person if he learned of the one way to fix the world and still did nothing clinging to a morality that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things OR MAYBE DOES IT OOOOOOHHHH

Basically the latter vibe is not something I am seeing in the big bads of Elden Ring as much! They ARE morally grey, justified or not justified not by some transcendental existential matters but by combination or their very close, very realistic circumstances and how they've reacted to them! The debate on whether character is redeemable boils down to how much agency one can have in this or that situation more than the "horror of knowing your choices"! So, I expect Messmer to be "morally grey"! Maybe whatever he did, under assumption that he DID do something bad, came from his own flaws but he'd have a point in his own way. Or maybe he was done dirty in his life and:

As for whether he'd be worse than Mohg? I think he COULD be! Mohg kidnapped Miquella in his stasis and is now worshipping his "dead" flesh in his madness. The only worse thing to do would be to like, annihilate Miquella, which I CAN see Messmer potentially doing! He spoke with a disdain towards being devoid of Grace from how I've interpreted it, which Miquella did do:

Okay, okay, maybe we will NOT get a dramatic scene of him obliterating Miquella just before we got a chance to do anything, that might be a stretch! Let's HOPE that won't happen! But there could be an attempt, or he could be holding him hostage like @alma-amentet said. AND there could be a general sentiment by Messmer having a very...... awkward position regarding existence of those he deems less worthy or unequal (by being devoid of Grace in this case) that passes beyond the level of simple oppression, let's JUST call it that fsdhfhsd

And, again, there of course would be some "reasoning" behind that attitude that'll leave space for debates! Like maybe Marika herself hardcore trained him to be this way before leaving, and he had no real means to reconsider being in isolation from the 'real' world! Whatever made him this or that way, as a bad/worse person is not a result of Eldrich madness or sense of the world ending anyway, but something very understandable and human. Sympathetic, even! I can already imagine the "he had no chance for a perspective change or more information, but it is still what it is, so he is still terrible even if not willfully" sentiment! Or something close!

_________________

Okay thank you for the asks, but I must admit, it's been 8 years since I touched Martin's writing and my memory might be failing me with some specifics! And, of course, the difference between Miyazaki-only writing and Martin being involved is not that drastic, I've just tried to maximise it to actually make a point! It is still a collab, and I am betting more on Martin-style approach with Messmer; this is just my version of what his critical flaw could be if it WILL happen!

[oh-katsuki]

for the ask game: shoyo + childhood friends to lovers

weeee thank you for playing! this is kinda all over the place bc i have (shockingly) never thought about this trope w hinata 😭😭😭 i always slut him out in my head tee hee. not that i haven't slutted him out here too.

cw: childhood friends to lovers, sexual tension, making out, that's about it

hanging out with hinata at twenty is different than hanging out with him at thirteen. what used to be easy and childlike, now has a deeply rooted tension that places itself in between all of your actions and conversation.

since graduating high school, hinata has grown big. two years in brazil left him broad and tan, with defined thighs and calves, and smooth back muscles that you can see under the thin t-shirt he wears. his arm, muscled and defined, sits around you on the couch and you find yourself strangely aware of his proximity to you.

you'd been feeling it for a while, this new anxious feeling he brings with him. you've started noticing the way people look at him, how girls look at him. the definition of his muscles and the flirtatious way he carries himself has become impossible to ignore and you find that the fire in your belly is alight more often than it is calm. desire makes it's way up your throat, where it lodges itself as it threatens to have you spilling your want into his ear and down his throat.

if hinata notices the change, he's good at hiding it, even going so far as to pull you into his chest while you watch whatever is on the tv. his touches are the same and, while they linger, they've never overstepped. if he wants you the way you want him, you'd never be able to tell. still, desire bites at your stomach and you find it everywhere. it's in the way he looks at you, in the way he touches you, in the lingering glances and insinuating statements. all of it sends you syrupy and leaves you trying to push the familiar feeling of want away.

maybe you're just perverted. maybe you're just letting your mind run wild, thinking about his arm around your shoulder and the way his chest feels against the side of your head. maybe you're the one with the problem, imagining the way his hands would feel running up your sides and the sounds he'd make if you let him.

hinata offers you some of the snacks on the table and then, just before you grab it, he yanks it away. his laugh bubbles up from his chest and you pound it with your fist, rolling your eyes.

"the hell was that for?" you snort.

"dunno," he shrugs, looking at you. "you're being a little weird. i wanted to try and like... fix that?"

"weird how?" you stiffen, distracting yourself by trying to grab the snack which he's holding out of your reach.

he says your name and you ignore him, grasping again at the bag.

"___," he says, grabbing your wrist with his free hand. you turn to face him and he's staring directly at you, his expression serious. "you haven't looked at me once in the last hour."

you feel your face heat, stomach flipping from the tone of his voice and try to wiggle your wrist from his grasp.

"what are you talking about?" you laugh.

"that!" he exclaims, letting go of your hand. "im talking about that! you barely looked at me just now, dude. what's wrong?"

i thought too hard about your penis and now i'm a little embarrassed about it. "literally nothing, i didn't even realize i was doing that."

"liar," he says.

"m'not lying," you push back.

he looks at you for a second and you bite your tongue, glancing back at him and fighting yourself to keep your eyes focused on his. it's hard. hinata has eyes that look directly at you. they're genuine and his gaze, no matter the emotion, feels heavy.

"i like it when you look at me," he says, a little softer this time.

you don't really know what to say, furrowing your eyebrows as he leans forward a bit.

"especially lately," he adds, and you notice the red creeping up onto his face. "kinda like i make you nervous now. do i make you nervous, ___?"

"shoyo...?" you lean back, trying to calm the way your heart hammers in your chest. this is not the boy you knew at thirteen. this is a man.

"you've gotten really pretty," he says softly, desperately. he reaches for you, his fingers trembling slightly. you instantly reach out to steady them.

hinata's face is merely an inch from yours and your chin is tucked down to your chest. his weight is shifted forward against you and he has one hand secured around your wrist with his finger against your palm and the other gripped tightly in your grasp.

"am i about to fuck something up?" he asks softly, uncharacteristically so.

you pause and then shake your head. by the time you've registered your own answer, his mouth is on yours. hinata kisses you hungrily, moving his lips with yours and reaching to tilt your chin up towards him. when he does, you open your mouth and let his tongue in, screwing your eyes shut as he licks into your mouth.

you knot your hands into his shirt and pull him closer, a rush of desire flooding your lower stomach as he pulls himself up and on top of you. you pull at the fabric covering his back, sitting up further to push him back and onto his back. he groans into your mouth when you do and it sets you on fire.

his fingers streak across your back and hips and shoulders. they ignite you and burn, touching all of the places you'd always imagined him touching. you let yourself tilt his head up, biting at his bottom lip while he digs his fingers into the flesh of your ass and eagerly gives whatever you've wanted to take from him.

[duchezss]

Once in four years mcsm hyperfixation is back baby, and on this most recent rewatch some interesting patterns popped up for me. Honestly this might not be a new conversation, but I had no idea the fandom was still so lively. I've loved this game since it first came out and I really love that so many people still talk about it. Anyways, disregarding S2 for a moment (my opp), I think it's so intriguing the way the writers set up S1 and the art of history repeating itself.

The Order of the Stone were (supposedly) the greatest group of heroes that every lived, but they started out as something so much simpler. They were just friends who wanted to go on adventures and maybe make a difference in the world. Of course their trajectory and outcomes were much different from the modern crew, but in many ways they're still similar. I'll get to the in a sec, but I wanna talk about the originals first.

The original Order kinda breaks my heart, because frankly I think their intentions were good, they just lost their way and got caught up in the glory, not the adventure. They all make it seem like they've known each other for a lifetime, so it's easy to assume that even if they hadn't seen each other in like a decade, they had still known one another for practically twenty years. Soren describes their first adventure like a shot in the dark, and how they were so young. So my guess is they met in their late teens/early twenties, the same age I assume the modern crew is when their story starts. Yes they're all bitter in the main story, but their history seeps into every interaction. Magnus called Ellegaard, Ellie, and it might feel malicious at first, but he still uses it after she dies, which leads me to believe it started out with affection. Then there's Soren and Ivor, who were constantly fighting and at each other's throat. This makes me feel like there might've been a point when they were the closest. Magnus and Ellegaard seem almost relieved to see Ivor, even after they know what he'd done. The command block had led them to great success, but it also ruined the one real thing they had, their friendship with each other. Honestly I think the most heartbreaking thing is they were so close to reuniting again, but Magnus or Ellegaard dies, and Gabriel doesn’t have his memory. Then when the dust finally settles, Soren is gone. Ugh just tragic friend group save me, they are the ones that made me realize how much I love the niche trope of a friend group "haunting the narrative". Their friendship and fallout is what causes the events of the entire story, and thus thrusts Jesse into action. If they had never been friends there would've been no Wither storm, their actions led the modern crew to where they are now. Anyway mini rant over my fault, but how does that effect the crew? Well honestly it felt like they were doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

There's Jesse, the fearless leader who always has the answers and a plan for that matter. Caring, direct, and motivated, she begins the story feeling like she is destined for more. She would do anything for her friends and she's a quick learner in a life she doesn't fully understand yet. Soren was likely the same, he was trying to herd three maniacs and a genius together, and something tells me the leader role wasn't his original goal. He thought the command block was helping, when he was really just fighting his friends battles for them. Soren's life became one of solitude and guilt, one I think Jesse was perhaps destined to as well. The courageous leader doomed to isolation and doubt, unable to comprehend the road that led to their downfall.

Petra's pessimistic and sarcastic nature defines her a first, but it's clear that she's so much more than meets the eye. She's determined, chivalrous, and sometimes (overly) reckless too. Above all she strives to be a protector, of people, of her friends, and of her ideals. That's what keeps her from laying down her sword even though she longs for a life without battle. History says Gabriel was the same protector, even if we truly know him to be different, but this isn't about reality right now. Regardless of this they were seen as the fighters, with the only enemy too strong to beat lying in their imagination. The brave warrior doomed to die and lose their self in battle, interpreting life as nothing more than a fight to be won or forever lost.

It's hard to say what else describes Axel but bluntness. He's an out of the box thinker who can perhaps be slow at times, but he makes up for it when it really counts. He holds his friends close, and views others in a hostile matter (for better or for worse), and at the end of the day his hard exterior is easy to see right through to those who matter. Magnus is spunky and edgy, and rolls his eyes at the mere mention of the others, yet like Axel, it's simple to see right through him. His love for the others is something he shields, and it's clear he does this by pretending his life is perfect the way it is. The maverick doomed to surround themselves with a false sense of community and leadership, forever unaware of all that lies out of their reach

Olivia is intelligent, innovative, and practical. She usually prefers a simple solution but that's not to say she can't also have fun. She's compassionate and curious, and enjoys going through hypotheticals just to be extra prepared (or simply for a easy pass time). She's amiable and while her skills aren't exactly adept, it's clear she has a desire to learn. Ellegaard is a similar, and although she's jaded and has far more of an attitude, it's not hard to believe she used to be similar in her youth. It's also very likely they would have the same coping methods, focusing on red stone is far easier than focusing on others. The brilliant engineer doomed to surround themselves with their machines and inventions, who instead distance themselves from any real connections.

And finally there's Lukas. Selfless, kind, and impeccably loyal, in some ways he's the glue that held them all together. His intense desire to meditate got them out of a few fights, even if his presence initially caused them. He's the resident worrier of the group, and his only goal is to make sure his friends are safe and sound. Glory and adventure are the furthest thing from his mind, they're just a welcome bonus. Ivor clearly cared very deeply for the group, because he was the most hurt by Soren's secret. Even after his anger at them, it's evident they were never far from his mind. He tried so much to get them to see reason, but it was all for nothing. The permanent outcast, doomed to try the best they can to save the group, but who will inevitably be the one to ruin them all.

Of course those fates didn't really fall on the old order, that was just what people expected of them. Soren understood very well what he did wrong, Gabriel lived on, Magnus or Ellegaard died, and Ivor didn't ruin them, he just exposed them (even if his wither storm did kill one of them, but that wasn't really the point). Yet what truly happens in history, versus what we've been told or come to expect are quite different. I just think it could've been interesting for the writers to play into this predetermined fate the group already had, perhaps they would accept it, or maybe they would run from it so fiercely that they end up right where they feared. Or maybe their friendship was enough, and they never got wrapped up in the greed or the glory. Obviously that's not where S2 went at all, but it's was just something interesting to think about.

[mangoshorthand]

something you said awhile ago that makes me feel giddy to think about is five loving someone who is a feminist and brings women up. idk why but it makes my stomach turn in the best way possible

Five probably wouldn't have heard of the 'not like other girls' or 'pick me' tropes, but he would definitely recognise them as unattractive character traits. He might not be able to precisely explain it, but if you asked him what he didn't like about one of these girls, he'd say: "she seems like an asshole", "she's up her own ass", or perhaps even: "she's an attention seeker." Say he meets a girl who's like: "I wouldn't be seen dead going for brunch and manicures, I'd rather read this book on computational physics." He'd be outta there like: "Good for you. You want a medal? Sloane, Lila: my cuticles are fucked. Any chance you could fit one more in for the manicure? And can I join you for brunch? I could drink a mimosa or four."

I think most of this is because he can see through conceit easily and has exactly zero patience for it. He's an old man; he's not playing along with that flavor of bullshit. Grow up and get personality that doesn't revolve around defining yourself in the negative.

Five is a judgmental guy, sure, but he judges people on their intelligence and their behaviour, not who they are or what they enjoy.

Now, if he were overhear a woman saying: "Why are you talking about cheerleaders like that? They're athletes with amazing core and thigh-strength. Could you be part of the base of an 11 woman pyramid and still look gorgeous doing it? I sure as fuck couldn't."

Then he's interested. That woman takes no bullshit and he respects that about her, much in the way he respects Lila. Moreover that's a woman who protects her own and is confident enough in her own worth to want to increase the worth of others. It's cool. It's powerful. It's sexy as fuck.

[the-ace-with-spades]

List of Works-In-Progress I'm still intending to write/actively writing 📃✨

or my accountability list to look at in a few months...

last updated: 09/04/24

Fandoms: 🚒 9-1-1 [5-7 works], ✈️ Top Gun (movies) [9 works], 🔪CoD (reboot only for now) [4 works]

Already posted on AO3, ongoing works:

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — (sometimes I feel) like a monkey pilot, trans!Rooster fic with a hangster confrontation (and getting back together), 6 years after Rooster's transition. When recalled to Top Gun. #(sif) lamp tag

✈️ Top Gun, hangster, slow down (you're doing fine) — Rooster-centric/character study fic with Getting Back Together trope and past-hangster flashbacks and icemav as parents #slow down tag

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — just hold my hand, outsider Mav POV, kind TG:M retelling AU

Bradley and Jake are married and have four kids and Mav didn't know about any of it until the special detachment because he and Bradley haven't talked in years. Things happen and Mav gets to be a grandpa. (vague, unspecified kind of mpreg is in this story)

*

Planned out and started sequels/bonuses, not posted yet:

✈️ Top Gun, icemav — bonus for slow down (you're doing fine)

It is the 5+1 icemav prequel from the slow down universe I talked about, I just don't seem to finish it (it's really hard to write Ice POV...)

The 5 times Ice waited for Mav to be ready and 1 time Mav realized he'd been ready for a while.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sequel for slow down (you're doing fine)

The weeks after Bradley and Jake decide to try being together again, mostly trying to figure out how to be together in a way that is healthier and more honest. Including meeting the parents (icemav), meeting the sister (Jake's), and Nat's judgment.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sparks (working title), sequel/bonus for ignition, the firefighter! Bradley AU #ignition tag

Done in snippets/drabbles. The adventures of firefighter!Bradley and still a naval aviator!Jake, which would include the world cockblocking them from finally going on their first date (5 times they had to cancel their date, and 1 time didn't), the awkward first times, as well as Bradley lecturing Jake on safety a little bit too often (and Jake finding it hot...)

*

Started writing, but haven't posted yet and don't know if I'll ever finish it even if I want to:

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — exhumation, different first meeting and (kinda) secret identity AU — overview here, a snippet here

Written in a flashback/present sequence. Soap and Ghost met when they were just Johnny and Simon, starting in the Army. From dates, to sharing a Manchester flat, ending with Simon being MIA in Mexico for months, they'd been together through a lot. But the Christmas Eve Simon's family, bar Johnny, is killed, he chooses to die with them and never put anyone in danger. Years pass, and Soap joins TF-141.

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — don't shoot me, santa, first Christmas Ghost spends with the MacTavish family (and first Christmas he spends with anyone in almost 10 years) and all its troubleshooting — overview here

Johnny takes Ghost to Scotland to spend their first Christmas together. Johnny's family is not too thrilled about Ghost — about the mask he wears, about the job he has, about the family he doesn't have, about how faceless he is, even to Johnny. Ghost decides that Johnny is worth taking the mask off and starting living as Simon again.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — brand new information, the 5+1 jealous!Eddie fic — a snippet here

5 times Eddie found something new about Buck's taste in men (and was ridiculous about it) and 1 time he found out Buck's type (Eddie)

Used to titled in my drafts 'eddie trying to prove he matches bucks taste in men'

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — the cure series, a canon-divergence au after Wrapped in Red with a side of trans!Buck

Part 1, 'cause boys don't cry, a snippet here — Buck decides to leave the 118 after Wrapped In Red in order to stop defining himself by the people he loves and learn to live alone and both succeeds and fails at it. Includes Buck long-distance parenting Chris, Eddie feeling like a long-distance spouse whose husband refuses to stop taking long-distance jobs, jealous!Eddie, Maddie&Eddie bestism, and people all over the States assuming Buck is divorced. Longest part of the series and the most angsty one.

Part 2, like I'm home again, a snippet here [coming soon??] — future fic, Buck is back at 118, he and Eddie are married, Chris is choosing colleges, and Bobby is trying to get Buck into leadership training so he can retire. And then, Eddie enters what Buck and Chris think is a mid-life crisis, but is in reality a baby fever.

Part 3, untitled, a snippet here — future fic, outsider POV from a new probie at the 118. Captain Diaz and Lieutenant Diaz are running the firehouse, but their family, including kids, Buck's not-dad and retired captain Bobby, keep on popping up and confusing the new probie. Buck also pulls a Bobby and 'adopts' the new probie.

Parts probably won't be posted in order.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — accidental trans pregnancy, a short one-shot based on a meme post.

Buck is nauseous, Chim makes a joke (not knowing Buck is trans and have been dating Eddie for a few months now), and Eddie has a metaphorical heart attack at the table.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — Buck wants to be a parent and thanks to Connor, he realizes he can be a parent without finding a partner first — overview here

The most ridiculous fic idea I've had the desire to write. Involves trans Buck, sperm donor arc in reverse, Eddie doing mental summersaults to be said sperm donor.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — AU for the post-lawsuit arc, with buddie already being a couple before the lawsuit — snippet here [coming soon??]

Buck takes the settlement and becomes a (maybe temporary) househusband/stay-at-home-dad. This would be centred on Buck, but would not have the crew bashing, but rather a realistic view on how everyone feels and how the lawsuit and settlement deal would affect the team, etc.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — with arms wide open, omegaverse mpreg that follows the TG:M storyline (kinda) — overview here

(in my head, this fic is very soap opera-like, but I like it this way so...) Bradley and Jake had been together 7 years with no mating, no marriage, and or no even just meeting Jake's family, and Bradley was okay with it. Until he found out he was pregnant. So when Jake doesn't want anything to change, Bradley leaves and seeks help from the only person he can think of — Ice. Cue the wayward son getting reconciled, a few months passing, and by the time Bradley meets Jake again, he's six months pregnant.

*

Drafted only but I still want to write it sometime:

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — Pacific Rim AU — a tag for this fic is #hangster pacific rim au

History repeats itself — Mav loses his drift partner and raises his kid and years later, Bradley loses his drift partner and raises her kid (with a twist). Mav doesn't leave PPDC, but Bradley does — at least until Ice shows up telling him the world is ending, this time for good. Featuring Jake being both Bradley's fanboy and a tsundere (ala Chuck about Raleigh) and weirdly good with kids and the typical mortifying ordeal of being seen during the drift.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sequel for (sometimes I feel), like a monkey pilot, that would dive into the idea of Jake and Bradley starting a family

I'll make a post about this at some point because there are so many ways this could be written. I do think that they're the type that would have an accidental pregnancy, but there are so many ways this could happen (on deployment, right before deployment, cryptic pregnancy, with some miscommunication involved - I think they're dumb enough any of it seems feasible)

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap, possible side gazprice?? — blindsided, tattoo artist/florist au but not really, with a misunderstanding twist

Where Ghost and Soap are both ex-military, Ghost and Price have a tattoo shop, and a street away what they think is a florist shop opens. Totally self-indulgent because I wanted to give Ghost a full-body skeleton tattoo, skull-face tattoo included. I have absolutely no other details besides this, this is slightly recycled from another fandom...

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — with lights off, a longer one-shot about Simon and Johnny still being badass even if retired from the military

Retried, Simon and Johnny move to Glasgow and start a family. While Johnny still craves the adrenaline and works with the Glasgow Organised Crime and Counter Terrorist Unit, Simon rides among the streets as a paramedic in the Motorcycle Response Unit and only shows up when the guns and stabs are done. That is, until the day when Johnny and his team are taken hostage in a terrorist attack and he's the first responder on scene and The Ghost is needed again.

There are probably a few more in this category and in the kinda-abandoned-but-not-really category, I never fully abandon my works but I'll leave it at that for now

[princess-of-the-corner]

Also, I've been given conflicting reports as to how Zhao dies.

YouTubers keep complaining about Iroh murdering him, while TV Tropes claims that Zuko does it by using Zhao's own fire whip to yeet him into a frozen river at the North Pole.

Given that they COMPLETELY changed up Zhao's role in the Fire Nation (he's a glory-seeking no-name who ends up becoming so full of himself that he decides he'll overthrow Ozai and make HIMSELF Fire Lord after he conquers the Northern Water Tribe), neither option really makes much sense on a thematic level. Like, he's so lowly ranked that Zuko, the EXILE, doesn't even show him any respect in their first on screen interaction.

Which I feel kinda makes Zuko LESS sympathetic, given that the entire reason Zhao exists is to constantly put Zuko down and make him more sympathetic in comparison.

(Zhao getting an inflated ego and thinking he can dethrone Ozai after killing the Moon Spirit is a nice touch, though.)

You know this kinda actually swings back to what I was saying on the undermined the propaganda thing a few asks ago? Because yeah in original Canon, Zhao may have a hell of an ego and think he'll be greatly rewarded and given titles like 'Moon Slayer' or whatever and go down in history as incredibly important. But he never really ever thinks of overthrowing Ozai.

Like. It's in character for him to think he'd be so good as to take over as Fire Lord because of his ego. But he never does? He just thinks the Fire Lord will reward him. Which really does kinda hammer in how Above the Fire Lord is supposed to be to people.

But also! Like!

This does undermine some of Zhao as a threat to have him be very no-name insignificant? Like. In the original canon, he was incredibly competent and good at what he did. He might be an arrogant egocentric dick, but he could put his money where his mouth was. He still failed on occasion because of his hubris and his temper, which was ultimately his downfall.

And his death in the original series fit that. An Admiral who did not respect the Ocean and was quite literally taken out by it, and denied any help.

Like seriously on that last note it's a defining moment for Zuko's character in the original series of like. For all that Zhao did, Zuko still tries to save him.

[yunhsuanhuang]

old thing from the Situationship Trenches of 2023. transcript below cut

HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH AN AMERICAN BOY

for AL

So let's define x as falling, as love, as boy. The most important rule of loving an American boy is this: to call what you have anything else but what it is.

2. Think about him in a supermarket aisle, holding a pack of cup noodles in the flavour he likes. Think about him as you're rifling through fifty-dollar sweaters with his college crest on them. Think about him in a Subway, a Safeway, a somewhat-kind of-okay well very obsessive way.

3. Tell him that you're in America for Christmas. Make a joke about Walmart, about the weather. Reread his text back a thousand times. Giggle. Twirl your hair. Kick your legs a little, just because you can. So it feels familiar? Of course it does. That's the whole point. ¹

[1: To fall in love with an American boy you have to first resign yourself to cliché. But that's not really right, is it? Resign's such a funny word: both reluctant compliance and forceful withdrawal. To fall in love with an American boy is to willingly make yourself a cliché. To shrink yourself into something easy to define, easy to swallow, a three-act story with a rise and fall. Maybe that's better for everyone involved, you included. Maybe it's better to be Butterfly. Because Butterfly, despite everything, is still a part people want to play.]

4. Buy an extravagant peppermint-gingerbread-mistletoe concoction at an overpriced hipster cafe, just for the hell of it. When they ask for your name—this is important—don't give them your legal name (they'll butcher it) or your English one (you've always hated it). Instead, give them his nickname for you. Pay attention: you don't want to miss them calling it out. An actress always watches for her cue.

5. On long road trips, draft and redraft lines of poetry in your head. Maybe this time you won't forget them the moment you open your notes app. Maybe this line will finally be The One, whatever The One means. Maybe you'll finally be able to explain yourself to him, autopsy yourself, sell yourself like a story: blurbs and back-flaps and signatures and movie tie-in covers. (Plus a pronunciation guide at the back, just in case.) Good poetry, like everything else, has a little bit of performance to it. A little bit of acting. A little bit of lying. ²

[2: So, okay, fine. Let's say it's not love. Let's say it never was. Let's say you just wanted your own personal Beatrice, the wizened mentor who dies to make way for the second act. So what? You can't write about yourself forever, a snake eating its own tail. You used to have real friends. You used to be a good writer. You used to be a good person. Now the most interesting thing that's ever happened to you is a boy. What happened to the Bechdel test, babe? What happened to being a strong female character? Are you even a character at all?]

6. Try and figure out when you stopped being a person and started being a trope. Give up halfway through, and settle for the small stuff instead: When you overhear snatches of accented conversation in the Target aisle, try not to jump to the conclusion that someone’s turned up their Tiktok a little bit too loud. Walk through streets like movie sets and feel a little bit like you've slipped through a silver screen, an unreal thing in a real place. Try not to think that this is the most real you've felt in the last few years.

7. On the morning of Christmas Day, have a spirited conversation with him about your favourite species of dinosaurs. You didn't even know he knew anything about dinosaurs, but apparently the dream-version of him does. You don't know anything about dinosaurs, either, but you would learn everything about them if it meant he would keep talking to you. You don't know when you started talking to your friends more in dreams than in real life.³

[3: He'd kill you if he knew you were thinking of him like this. He'd kill you if he knew you dreamt of him the way you did, the way you still do. Well. Probably not kill, but something close to it. Maybe one of these days you'll stop. Maybe one of these days your predictive text will forget who he is. Maybe one of these days you'll have something to live for that isn't the fact he knows your name.]

8. Wake. He's gone, of course. You're in a sofa bed in a motel somewhere in San Jose. The morning light’s filtering through the blinds. Look at them and think The morning light’s filtering through the blinds, and think, or maybe not filtering, maybe slicing, maybe leaching— in your head open up your notes app, rifle through Dictionary.com. Try and figure out when you stopped writing for yourself and started writing for him.

9. Your parents are still asleep on separate ends of the big bed. For the first time in a week they're not yelling. The room is quiet. Nobody in the world knows you're awake. Nobody's looking at you. Nobody's watching you. This moment is entirely yours, and yours alone. What do you do with it? ⁴

[4: The world is so vast and so small and none of it is real in any meaningful way except for him. You're twelve hours away from home and still every road leads back to the only person you've ever known how to love. Or at least you think you love him. Probably. If not— if not—

What do you do with it? What a stupid question. Is there anything else you know how to do? Despite all appearances to the contrary, this is a story written in past tense: You rolled over. You checked your phone. He hadn't texted you. Some part of you wasn't surprised. The rest— well, figure that out.]

10. Write him a story. Tell it to him.

[fujowebdev]

✨Spotlight on Localhost HQ✨

Today we're here to tell you all about Localhost HQ, the first setting for the adventures of our protagonist (and fujoshi extraordinaire) Boba-tan.

Follow us under the cut to learn more about the #FujoGuide world and the amazing people that made it happen! And don't forget to back us on Kickstarter (and share this with your friends) so we can make this world a reality!

🏰 Localhost HQ 🏰

So, what is Localhost HQ? Well, we don't have—nor want!—all the details. The vaguer it is, the easier it adapts to any fanfic scenario. On the technical side, computers in a network use "localhost" to refer to themselves, for example to fetch a website they themselves host!

In the #FujoGuide world, Localhost HQ houses all programs that run on a user's own machine as part of the development workflow. Most importantly, the Terminal (a.k.a. Shell), but also programs like Git. In our version, Boba-tan has her very own (relatable) room within it.

🏰 Localhost Character 1: Boba-tan 🏰

Needing no introduction (ok, some introduction), Boba-tan is the author and protagonist of our zine. She was originally designed to serve as @bobaboard's own mascot by @essential-randomness, and brought to life by @ymske.

In our Kickstarter, you can see her all over the place, drawn by many different artists (some of which don't like the spotlight). For our character roster and avatar, she's been brought to life by @ikam177! Witness her in her full glory!

Want to know more about her? Well, she's the blankest slate of them all! Boba-tan is the quintessential fujoshi (or fujin, if you want), meant to embody the best quirks of transformative fandom folks: openness, enthusiasm, creativity, and heaps and heaps of thirst!

🏰 Localhost Character 2: Terminal 🏰

Is it Terminal or is it Shell? You too can now be part of one of programming's most pointless (and thus heated) debates.

Regardless of how you choose to refer to him, we all know who he actually is: the sexy live-in maid-pa of Localhost HQ.

Terminal is a powerful tool in the programming world, used to run other programs and orchestrate complex interactions between them. He also runs the show in the #FujoGuide world, and is able to quickly summon any local program, and to interact directly with the operating system.

(comic by @tempural)

Is there any limit to Terminal's powers? We don't know, actually, and we don’t want to know! Please play around with hi— I mean, it!

If you love his look (a powerful mix of Danny Trejo and Revolver Ocelot), you can thank—and follow—@mappapapa's incredible work! And if you've wondered what's on his apron...well, that's cowsay for you!

(Shhh don’t tell anyone about this still-unused version, with a terminal-looking eyepatch on his eye)

🏰Localhost Character 3: Git🏰

We've already spent a lot of time on our favorite catboy, but that's no reason to ignore him—not that he'd ever let us!

If you haven't yet, see him in action and learn all about him in our demo (link in the Kickstarter).

This time, the hard work of turning our technical and trope guidance into a bona-fide hottie comes from @brokemycrown—the master of sexiness who also helped us with the overall art direction!

(If you're wondering what the lines on his hoodie are, those are “git branches”.)

🏰 Localhost Character 4: GitHub 🏰

☁️ Cloud character 1: GitHub ☁️

Unlike Git, GitHub is not a program that runs in a "local environment"—that is, a developer's own computer. Instead, GitHub is a cloud-based service where programmers can upload their own "Git repositories" to share their code with other developers.

In the #FujoGuide world, characters like Git live in ~the cloud~, a network of data spawning around the world and a place we want to carefully avoid showing. In part, to keep an aura of mystery, and in part because mysterious places not well-defined in canon are fujin catnip.

So why is GitHub at Localhost HQ? Because Git is there, of course! The two share a powerful psychic connection. While Git hasn't yet accepted that they're meant to become one, that is not for lack of trying. Much to Terminal's chagrin, GitHub keeps teleporting to HQ, uninvited.

Once again, the amazing artist behind our favorite tentacled catboy is @brokemycrown. We'll probably keep shouting them out over and over again in these spotlights, so just go right ahead and follow them now.

(I'm sure you can appreciate the subtle character design cues here.)

...and that is all for the Localhost HQ spotlight! If you like the amazing work of our team, you can hire our artists and writers (and help us launch this project) by backing our Git Art/Fic tiers! You can also help us by reblogging this post and sharing our kickstarter link with friends, family, colleagues and Discord servers.

[one-strugling-bean]

A Good Omens S3 predictions list to cope

The obvious one: an apology from Aziraphale, duh

Role reversal~ Have Crowley get himself into trouble and Aziraphale come to the rescue.

(Bonus if Aziraphale has to fight to protect Crowley, or bodily carry him out of danger, because i like damses in distress and its fun.)

God makes an in-the-present appearance! Not physically with a vessel, but as a voice.

Aziraphale and Crowley going apeshit on heaven. Especially Aziraphale. I really wanna see Aziraphale go off. Particularly on heaven.

(Meanwhile Crowley is standing behind him, proudest and biggest in-love grin on his face.)

At least one more kiss. Of reconciliation if they get back together, or longing and sorrow if they're still upset at each other, or grief if one of them is on the verge of death- i could go on. I dont care how, i would just like one more kiss.

Reappearance of Muriel. They were such a sunshine this season, i wanna see them again. Have them make a friend. And i want at least one montage of them taking care of the bookshop. Chaotic good at its best.

Someone give Crowley a pet. A cat, or a lizard, or a goldfish. Idc what kind, i just think itd be neat to see him interact with animals. He'd be a very fun caretaker.

More bits about famous people. The "Jane Austen is a secret world class criminal" bit killed me. More of that please.

A serious threat. Season 2 was very lowkey in terms of threats, and it was a nice change of pace, but now I want the thrill of "oh we might die actually" back.

Flirty husbands. Extra points if Aziraphale flusters Crowley instead of the more obvious opposite.

A new season-defining song! Season 2 had "Everyday". I want a new one next season.

Hurt/comfort. Lots of it. Have the husbands fight. Have them scream at each other, cry, fill them with nightmares. Then give me comfort. A hug after the crying. A sorrowful kiss after the fight is done. A little self-deprecating joke to make the other laugh.

New outfiiiiiiits. Pick different colors, or a very different style. Force Aziraphale to wear black or pink, put Crowley in red tinted, star sunglasses, give them high-heel shoes, i dunno. But surprise the audience and become the main source of endless fanarts to come.

Another dance scene... This is one of my favorite tropes. Ships dancing together, whatever the dance may be, is my drug.

Scenes with wings! I just think they're neat with their wings out.

A. goddman. Happy. Ending! I want to see the cottage! The three cats! The learning-to-cook-breakfast-together-but-they're-actually-really-bad-at-it-and-almost-burn-the-cottage-down scene!

And uh, guess thats it for now. Feel free to add your own to the mix, all delusions are welcomed :')

Also, reblogs are very appreciated....... just sayin

[skayafair]

What is it with me being drawn to the most fucked up personalities ever 🤦‍♀️

Let's talk Hilbert, pt. 1

There was a post where I was totally freaking out in the tags but it's got buried in the drafts, so I'll just go off it here, but hopefully in a more constructive way. I really hope my mind didn't lose its ability to do this yet. Buckle up, this is going to be a long one. (I mean it.)

I want to rant about how wrong the accent sounds and how the character is yet another example of a distasteful trope in north american media, but the fuckheads in the government confirmed this trope in multiples so whatever. Besides, I can't really complain when the character turned out to be compelling and... well. "Complicated" would be a bit of an overstatement I think, but - complicated enough to spur some thoughts.

So my first thought was the one I started the post with, because after the first shock of Hilbert's mutiny settled and future episodes revealed more of his behaviour, backstory and character overall, I had to admit with a certain amount of inner horror (10% to 20%) and frustration (at least 80%) that yes. "Oops, I did it again".

I have a history with such personalities, feel drawn to them and have been really, really trying to stop this nonsense for a year, but. Uh. Looks like this code runs too deep to scoop it all out just like that, huh. Anyway, back to the topic.

Well, this time I at least know exactly why the character compels me so much. "Airlock, please."

I'll start with why I've grown to be okay with "mad evil russian scientist" trope - not because the above mentioned fuckheads in the Gov confirmed it (they did and I hate them and what they're doing but unfortunately can't do anything about it), any generalisation based on a trait like nationality, gender, race and so on is a very bad thing I don't want to participate in no matter the circumstance, - but because Hilbert was given an actual well-rounded personality, and, most of all, I can't help feeling tons of respect to it. He is pretty smart, after all - knows several languages, has a degree in molecular biology, and apparently AI programming is a walk in a park for him, although his skills in this department aren't as great compared to actual specialists (but then again Maxwell is in a league of her own and is far above most of her colleagues even, so everything is relative). Being this well-versed in a field not directly connected to his own and mastering several foreign languages is. Well - wow. I'd respect this alone.

Hm, I'll start again, from the beginning.

Hilbert turned out to be the character I felt more interest towards pretty soon (the other two being Hera and - later - Eiffel), probably after that joke about "people keep saying that, and yet my problems keep going away". There wasn't much time between the moment he stopped being just a comic relief and his betrayal, but that time was enough I guess. Because the very first thing that grabbed my attention and kept it till the end was just how easy he is to understand. Seriously, of all the characters - I can barely trace what they could potentially do or think, they aren't defined enough for me (and that's fine, I feel this way about most people), - but this one is crystal clear.

It's his whole... personality frame? the way he speaks and thinks? It's just very clear. Not always as logical as he'd like to believe, but close. Most things he says are very reasonable, and... ugh. I'll round back to this anyway, so better let the cat out of the bag right away: I'm ND, and I've seen some people headcanon him to be autistic, and I don't really have any better way of describing why he's so understandable to me. It's just the way neurodivergent people think - different for everyone, of course, and NTs can do this like that too (after all, there are SO MANY unintentionally autistic or ADHD characters out there), - but there are still patterns, and I recognize them here.

It's in his reasoning and actions before the Christmas "surprise" - mostly calm, collected, speaks very directly and straight to the point. He mostly keeps up this pattern even when he lies.

And then, once you learn where you stand with him - after the mutiny - you know. Even when he hides something, it's clear that he's keeping things. He has a very distinct moral code and follows it, so when lying has no point anymore, he doesn't. I don't think he lied to the crew after the initial betrayal at all? Idk, I may be forgetting things, listened to it just once yet save for the first 10 eps (because I can't get through the last one and went back to the beginning).

There's a kind of trust in this transparency. Yes, everyone knows that Hilbert knows far more than he tells and if he doesn't see a good reason to, he probably won't say a word he doesn't want to. But the fact is, you still know about that. It's obvious when something's missing, the spaces are glaring. I have a feeling he doesn't like lying all that much, or rather doesn't see the point of it unless it's strictly necessary. Why wasting the resources when you don't have to and can direct them to more pressing matters, like saving the humanity, am I right?

So that's two points. The third - one when I REALLY realized I'm stuck well and deep - was the "Airlock, please". No hesitation, nothing. Just a polite choice. That short line fucked me up well.

Because after his betrayal I was horrified. I like how the podcast doesn't let any terrible moments slip or stay "behind the scenes" - no, if there's a life threatening situation, the audience doesn't have the luxury of sitting it out safely unaware. We're going to experience and hear it all, "present day, present time". So when Minkowski was shut out of the ship in outer space, while Doug was desperately trying to come up with a solution, I obviously empathized with them. And all this time we were listening to the doctor, proceeding with his orders in the most cold-hearted manner possible. He heard it all, too, and didn't waver. This was terrifying and I honestly couldn't imagine how this character was going to be present for the most of the podcast - I wanted him dead, the sooner the better. And - as a parallel line of thinking - couldn't help feeling it was such a waste. I started liking this character, he was goofy but really easy to understand, and it's very nice to have someone like this. Obviously everything was going to change from that point.

But then. The way he went through all the interrogations, all the insults and mocking? And his fucking choice to die right away rather than to give away the information he didn't think was intended for his former crewmates? Before that answer I thought he was keeping his mouth shut because of the company only, fear of the higher-ups or something - he did follow their orders and threw away the lives of two people who weren't strangers to him, so it was a reasonable assumption! Minkowski seemed to think the same, judging by her remarks, but no. And that moment, that single answer turned my understanding of this character upside down. None of that dignity was just a show, he really meant it.

I realized he didn't fear for himself. At all. A complete disregard of self, was it? It seemed so that moment, and yeah, it was fucking compelling - the only thing that mattered was his work and his dedication to it. If it was only that, I wouldn't be typing all this though.

Before I continue, I'll note that even this trait - this dedication - is very relatable and understandable to me. Some years ago the only value I saw in myself was in what I loved to do the most - drawing and translation. I'm very mid level, and even this may very well be an overestimation of my skills, but those were the only things that mattered to me. If I didn't do them, what was even the point of me? I didn't feel I fully lived otherwise. I overcame this way of thinking as it is pretty damaging, but I still remember it perfectly. And I still need for what I do to matter. If I manage to make some positive impact on the world around, however small it may be, that would be enough, and that would be the only thing that matters after I'm gone. Hilbert though makes this approach absolute because of his trauma. So yeah, I have a lot of complicated feelings about this all at once. It's tragic, it's admirable, it's heartbreaking and feels like the only way at times, it should never happen.

I also know very well what it means to be able to disregard pretty much anything if I believe this is the right way or the aim to be important enough. I unintentionally made my friend cry once because of this and keep this memory as a reminder of why I should always try to see other POVs and a broader picture. The absolute, applied to human principles, is a bad idea in most cases.

Also, I like that he has a no-nonsense personality but regularly engages in said nonsense. I know in the first few episodes the creators just didn't understand where to go with the podcast yet and that's why everyone and everything is so different there, but I need for things to make sense in-universe, so I'm partial to the POV that Hilbert just put up an act and dropped it later. But still, he did participate in the crew's shenanigans and didn't seem to complain about it. And Funzo? Please, it was A DELIGHT. There was NOTHING, no reasons to take part in the game but he still did. The doctor is pretty goofy when he lets himself, huh? I like this fun part of his personality. The best sign the personality is still very much present.

[writernopal]

OC Questions Tag

I was tagged by @captain-kraken here, thank you so much!

Just because you tagged me, my dear captain, I will be doing this for resident himbo, Axtapor!

Previous installments include Fay, Lexlar, and Hartim if y'all want to check them out!

5 words to physically describe your OC (do you have a drawing? even better!)

Pirate, Purple, Monitor, Smug, Kickable

Who inspired your OC? (can be your mum to a very famous fungi)

Originally, it was the trope of "quiet, depressed guy falls in love and doesn't know what to do with his feelings" (spoiler, he still doesn't know what to do with them and he's still prone to depressive episodes) but the story between him and Mariel was garbo and it made me sad to write it (she deserves WAY better) so it quickly changed to every himbo under the sun LOL. Kronk and Johnny Bravo are the main ones though!

Give me a song to define your OC (I will listen to it to enter in your WIP mood!)

I'd Do Anything To Make You Smile, Jack Harlow

If I met your OC on the street how would they greet me?

Oh gosh. Oh no. Uh. Okay haha, this answer varies A LOT and mostly on whether or not you pique his interest. If not, then he'd probably just walk by you. He's not the sort to make eye contact or say hello (a mixture of 'the world is my runway', 'ive got places to be', 'you are beneath me'). HOWEVER, if you are interesting to him, then you can expect the charm levels to go through the roof, especially if you give him your attention first. Expect winks, cool guy wall leans, lighting his pipe seductively, and whispering/speaking in a low volume so you have to lean in to hear him.

Can your OC be your best friend? Why?

Honestly yeah. I can vibe with his level of chaos and I think he'd push me out of my comfort zone to try new things! I'd just have to have a spray bottle at the ready because man is unruly AND stupid lol.

1 adjective and 1 noun to describe your OC (blue soul)

Purple fucker (fun fact, this is how @illjustpretend and i refer to him when we're having Internal Discussions lol)

Tagging (gently): @outpost51 @void-botanist @commander-krios @squarebracket-trick @sam-glade @tabswrites @pheita @writingmaidenwarrior

[greenerteacups]

i read the last chapter and it was AMAZING! i love these characters so much. YULE BALL DID NOT COME TO PLAY. it did have me slightly owrried, and u can choose to not answer this, but should we be worried about daphne causing issues between hermione and draco?

Hey, thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!

So, the shortest answer is, I can't tell you that without spoiling the fun. The slightly less short answer is — actually, hang on, I'm going to give you the less short answer under a cut.

Okay, cool, spoiler liability waived. The less short answer is: yeah, probably! I mean, at the risk of being too cheeky, there have to be problems for there to be a story, right?

Long answer, though, because I think I get what you mean: there's this really old cliché where girls in fiction can only be friends if there's no possibility of them being romantic rivals — like, if one or both of them is taken, or if one is the sister of the other's love interest, or if they have different sexual orientations — and it goes hand-in-hand with the classic conflict of "girls are catty to each other because they like the same boy," which is a pretty tired trope, and doesn't terribly interest me. At least, I'm interested in taking it a level deeper than "women be crazy," because usually, when women are romantic rivals, the actual tension isn't even about the man at all, it's about the way women are perceived in perpetual competition for male validation and are encouraged to treat romance as The Defining Quest of female existence.

It's also not how I see Hermione, necessarily. Does she get jealous? Sure, man. Absolutely. She's a teenager. Does she get catty? Yeah, sometimes! Does she have a little bit of difficulty connecting with other women, especially women who are more feminine or less academically oriented than she is? Totally! Is that probably due to some internalized misogyny that she may even be aware of and yet still can't overcome? I think so!! And most of all, I think exploring those ideas is more interesting than yet another story where two girls hate each other for no reason except that they're competing for a boy's attention. Hermione is irritated by Daphne, but on some level, she understands that neither Daphne nor Draco is the reason she's feeling badly; or, rather, they are, but it's not something they're doing on purpose. One of the big things Hermione's taking away from the Yule Ball experience was the realization that if she doesn't ask for what she wants, she can't expect to get it, and that means she's going to have to put on her big girl boots and get better at expressing her desires. We see this in how her attitude towards Draco changes drastically from the start to the end of the chapter — mostly because (a) she had a good night and realized the date thing Wasn't That Deep, but also (b) she might've realized that he does care for her — he dances with her, he helps her to bed — and, crucially, so does Daphne! Who spends Chapter 43 trying to metaphorically windmill her arms and throw out every signal she can, like: Hey, we're not rivals! I know I kind of fucked this up, but I really want to be your friend here, I swear!

At the end of the day, Daphne is a new initiate to a cliquey friendgroup, and she's the first person to join the Gryffindor Four who has a significant amount in common with Draco. Moreover, Draco hasn't really brought anyone into the friendgroup before — he's always been a satellite to the main three, heavily leaning toward Hermione's end (it's kind of hard to imagine that he'd be friends with Harry or Ron if Hermione hadn't been first). So, naturally, she's the most sensitive to it when she feels that balance shifting, and he becomes a more central locus in the group, especially since Daphne shares things with Draco that none of the other Gryffindors do (and that Hermione, in particular, very much does not). Draco doesn't really care about that — I think it's fairly obvious that Draco's feelings for Daphne are totally platonic, even brotherly, if anything — but Hermione is attentive to it, and it plays into her insecurities. So, yeah, it does cause issues, but not the kinds of issues that make everyone act insufferable and OOC. (In my opinion, anyway. You'll have every right to judge for yourself, and I hope you end up agreeing with me.)