#(i also like hector. sue me)

[waterloo-to-anywhere]

imagine being infatuated with a guy for more than half your life. and his name is carl.

[birb-boyo]

APOLLO IS PISSED RIGHT NOW OMG-

I heard that Elon edited Attack on Titan(my favorite anime) and put MAGA hats on the characters and went to fact check because that shit is WILD and I hope BOTH Mappa and WIT sue them or smth

I watch a video and see the movie TROY was ALSO EDITED

YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID

HE EDITED TRUMPS FACE ON ACHILLES

ACHILLES

LIKE FUCKING ACHILLES AND CANNOT LIE TO YOU RN

THATS SUPPOSED TO BE BRAD PITTS FACE

BUT THATS NOT THE ONLY BAD PART

KAMALA’S FACE WAS ON HECTOR’S

APOLLO WAS HECTOR’S PATRON

AND THIS LOOKS LIKE THEIR TREATING HIS DEATH LIKE A JOKE

AND THAT PISSES ME OFF BEYOND COMPREHENSION

LIKE

AS SOON AS I SAW TRUMP ON ACHILLES, I HAD TO PAUSE THE VIDEO

I STARTED PACING AND HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING BECAUSE WTF

BUT WHEN I SAW THAT CLIP THAT ONLY LASTED LIKE TWO SECONDS?

I’VE NEVER BEEN THAT MAD BEFORE

THAT ANGER COULDN’T HAVE ONLY BEEN MY OWN

[beevean]

Thinking again of this post, because I read a Fridge moment on TvTropes that made me think:

Well, to me it was rather obvious that Lenore put on makeup, and took time to brush her hair in that complicated hairdo, and chose the prettiest dresses: she clearly cares about being beautiful. Of course, being just "beautiful" is not the point: it's being humanly beautiful. Carmilla is also an attractive woman if you're into #girlbosses, but she has chalk-white skin, hair that matches, and long claws, so she's very clearly inhuman.

And this all feeds in Lenore imitating humanity. While with this logic it's a bit odd that she doesn't hide her red eyes and pointy ears, otherwise she puts a lot of effort in her appearance, and most importantly to look human and vulnerable. She cuts her claws and puts blush on her cheeks to look more human, less creepy. She says she enjoys eating human food to "live well".

Another underrated line is this:

Lenore: You didn't hear me enter. Hector: No. You have a scent. Like… jasmine and wine.

It's easy to chalk up this as a way to make Lenore even more appealing, in an outstandishly Mary Sue-ish way for a grown professional writer lol. But why would a vampire smell like flowers? What if vampires naturally carried the reek of the dead, but Lenore cannot afford to be anything less than perfectly attractive, so she doused herself in perfume to the point that Hector was able to smell her out as he was engrossed in his book? It's all calculated to the detail.

Everything is, of course, in function of her role as a diplomat. One, she needs to be approachable, and put the other person at ease: basically, she wants to avoid falling into the uncanny valley vampires naturally reside in. Two... well.

Lenore, thematically, goes against Dracula's thesis.

Did you hear Godbrand down there? "Livestock," he said. So many of my kindred are the same. They can no longer conceive of humans as thinking beings. Just livestock. It's the privilege of our condition, I suppose. You can't hate livestock. They are simply what they are. Grazing animals to be slaughtered. But you two are different. You are human. You are not looking at the scouring of humanity from the earth as an opportunity to get the livestock under control and to fill stables, and abattoirs, and pantries. You hate your species. You hate humans. You have a focus and clarity that the others lack. You understand that humans think, and scheme, and betray. You understand why they all must die.

The reason Dracula trusts Hector and Isaac more than his fellow vampires is that, according to him, vampires have essentially blue and orange morality regarding humans, and don't see them as sapient beings. They kill because they feed on them, and that's it, they don't spare much thought about them. The Forgemasters, as humans hurt by humans, understand how they think, and as such empathize with Dracula's plight.

Dracula was right when it came to the other vampires. Carmilla waltzes in and the first thing she asks is why is Dracula mobilitating all vampire forces for what she sees as a pet: in fact, this is more or less the whole reasons she schemes against him. When Hector is dragged to Styria, Striga refers to him as an "it", like a stinking dog. Carmilla herself has to be told that maybe beating a Forgemaster and then expecting him to work for her is not exactly a galaxy brain moment, because well, said Forgemaster may have feelings. You have vampires on one side, and humans on the other side, and they see each other as nothing but beasts for different reasons.

Lenore is, in theory, the exception to the rule.

Yes, at first she also saw Hector as an animal, as some sort of stray dog to domesticate. But unlike the others, she understands how humans think. She knows which buttons to push. She's better than Carmilla at pretending to care about Hector, who only limited herself to some shallow praises and to spin her plan as "it's going to save your life"; no, Lenore asks what Hector wants, she's physically affectionate, she compliments not just his skills but him as a person, she even asks him if she can come visit him again pretending Hector has a choice in the matter, with the purpose of making him feel wanted.

She knows how to talk to a human, like a human, looking human.

And this is what makes her much more terrifying than Dracula or Carmilla, who at the end of the day are only monsters with human feelings.

You're not likely to encounter a genocidial madman who plans to kill all people in the world because wife died, or an insane radfem who wants to conquer the world because men stupid.

You are, however, very much at danger of falling into the trap of a charming sociopath who knows very well how to pretend to love you, and tricks you into loving them, only for them to imprison you in a terrible, humiliating, stifling, toxic relationship - and then they have the balls to pretend they're only acting for your own good, mocking you all the while.

This is how Lenore blurs the line between vampires and humans. This is what made her, despite all the other writing flaws of S3, an interesting character. This is how humanizing a character can be a bad thing. And incidentally, this is how you incarnate the themes of a mask (that really should have gone to Carmilla): Lenore puts on makeup and perfume and acts sweet to hide the monster inside her. (yes i know that actually she sounds smug and condescending af, but i'm going with the intent)

Lenore might not want to target all of Europe which makes her less of a threat than Dracula or Carmilla, but she's the incarnation of human hunger for power, as she clearly enjoys mentally subjugating other people (her "diplomacy" is, after all, nothing but a bunch of lies and gaslighting), and she perfectly looks the part, and it's actually very clever.

She also acts as the perfect foil to Hector, who is a human who doesn't think like a human, doesn't empathize with other humans, and can suggest to enslave other humans without a hint of malice in him - much like vampires feed on humans not out of cruelty, but because it's part of their nature.

And this is one of the infinite reasons the Lenore of S4 offends me. Now her beauty is a sign of her inner goodness. Now her proximity to humanity is used to make her sympathetic, because poor thing she's appalled at Carmilla's insanity, as she wasn't an enthusiastic participant when it was convenient to her. In a frantic quest from the writing to give her "humanity" in the sense of "a good side that makes her deep", she becomes duller, flatter. In her way, S4 Lenore still has potential as an interesting character, as it becomes more obvious that she's the unfavorite of her sisters much like Hector was considered an idiot by Dracula and Isaac, and that could have been used to explain why she seems so famished for control over the one creature weaker than she is. But after the heels of S3, it comes off as whitewashing her for the sake of a ship pandering to the fans who found her hot and nothing more in S3, and it's at the very minimum dishonest. She was much more interesting as a double-faced amoral villain made of nothing but masks.

[desceros]

hi sam!! kind of a different request, but would you list as many of your favorite orchestral pieces as you can? association with turtles v welcome but also optional! i have trouble doing my coursework because i can't listen to anything in the background while doing it (shows, music with lyrics), but i listened to scheherazade because of you and really loved it, plus got some work done to boot!! i'm not sure where to start in looking for more music like that so i thought i'd ask you. :)

oohhhh what a FUN ask, thank you so much!! i promise i am going to TRY to be REASONABLE with how much i talk about this. if i really did mention "as many as i could" i think i'd find out if tumblr has a character limit in text posts, hahaha!

so my favorite symphony of ALL TIME is symphony 9 by dvorak. absolute must-listen. my favorite moment of the entire piece (which you HAVE to listen to the entire thing to get REALLY feral about) is the last huge chord progression in the fourth movement that takes the db major brass chords from the second movement and puts it to the BOMBASTIC TYMPANI EB MINOR EXTRAVAGANZA from the first movement and makes me want to CHEW THROUGH BEDROCK, RAHHH

aside from that, here are a few that i love a lot and totes recommend:

all of scheherezade is, of course, absolutely stunning. it's one of my favorite pieces of all time. if you haven't listened to the other movements, i highly recommend! in this same vein is you liked that are pieces like the stepps by borodin, the polovstian dances (also borodin), marche slav by tchaikovsky, and to some extent saint-saens piano concerto no. 5 has some similar themes, particularly in the absolutely DELICIOUS second movement. it's called "orientalism" and while the, uh, intent has a history of. to say generously. problematic undertones. the pieces themselves are lovely.

russian easter overture by rimsky korsakov. i played this one in high school and man. it's just so FUN and PRETTY.

symphonie fantastique by hector berlioz. it's the story of this dude having a really bad acid trip. no i'm not kidding. also the fifth movement has the dies irie in my favorite iteration ever. eat your heart out, mozart.

...actually just literally anything by tchaikovsky. gun to my head, i'd say he's my favorite classical composer. i'm partial to his ballet work because that's what i played a lot of personally, but his overtures and concertos are quite fun. his romeo and juliet overture is extremely famous (though i personally vastly prefer the opening part over the latter, more famous part). every violinist you ever meet will be traumatized by him, though. so do be careful.

speaking of concertos: my favorite (ugh. i'm a traitor) is probably the barber violin concerto. it just has this. cinematic vibe to it that makes me think of something magical.

(....though the elgar cello concerto and the grieg piano concerto may have something to say about this.)

the planets suite by holst is very fun. you've probably heard mars, and you may recall the romance theme from jupiter if you've seen the movie braveheart. it's one of those mainstream pieces most people have heard. my particular favorite movement is uranus. it's so bouncy and fun!!! classical headbanger music here

beethoven is quite fun to listen to. for his orchestral work, i'm partial to symphony no. 5 since that was the first one i played and the drama of it is enthralling. (yes. i think it's better than nine. sue me.). that said, between you and me, i like the egmont overture better than his symphonies. that low open c on the viola is just so god damned juicy—[door bangs open] OH NO. IT'S THE PRETENTIOUS POLICE. THEY FOUND ME

i'll stop there. these are a few symphonic pieces, since you asked for those specifically. i also really love chamber music (which is just the strings section, sans the woodwinds/brass/percussion/etc), but i find those amazing to listen to as well! anywho i hope you enjoy some slash all of these and good luck with your studies!!

[toontails]

I'm backreading all these mf tumblr asks and I just finished and oh my GOD???? I have so many things to say ogbsjfbs

Firstly, Pib having a pet bunny that Slicer gave to them???? Slicer and Pib matching?? THEY'RE SO CUTE WAAAAA

ALSO I'M FUCKING SOBBING AA WE ALL LOVE YOU AND THE COMMUNITY WE ALL BUILT TOGETHER I LITERALLY CAN'T IMAGINE WHERE I'D BE IN LIFE WITHOUT Y'ALL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE MY EVERYTHING🫶🫶🫶

And womp womp to Felix imagine having daddy issues and (probably) getting jumped by your own dad L bozo (me n Felix both got daddy issues)

I wanna come up with theories so badly but I don't have any theories to craft and it is pissing me OFF

I'm just sayin that reader has so much potential bro like they're genuinely such a good reader insert/main character because they aren't annoying, they aren't THAT embarrassing to read and they aren't a Mary Sue either; they make mistakes and the way they behave and act makes sense for their age. I think reader and her family are such an interesting group of characters (aside from the dad LMAO) and that the Vendolez characters such as Ruck, Hector and reader are just so cool??? Reader being a fast learner is such a GODSENT character trait btw like if reader wasn't able to figure out how to use a bow as quickly as she did the entire cast would probably be SO FUCKKEDDDDD

Btw I know y'all be hatin Bendy for a multitude of reasons (including what Alice Angel said in chapter 4 I believe) but bro is such a mystery despite is seemingly knowing so much about him??? Like yeah bro is way in over his head n allat but he isn't NEARLY as bad as I think he could be- he would be an absolute BEAST if it weren't for Joey/Henry watering the mf down and making him chill tf out💀 it's so clear how much Bendy genuinely likes and cares for reader, seeing as how he's done thing after thing to ensure her safety (ranging from when he saved her from those crocodiles or whatever in that one chapter after reader frolicked off with Cups and Mugs and got kidnapped to cuddling her on the boat while they slept after reader got her ass beat by Pib) like yeah Bendy has his flaws but I do think bro is still a fairly good guy😭 (at least for the time being he is)

Ykw you right you right 😭 he good. A lil bit, But trust. We blaming Joey now for letting him be a little BITCH. Poor Bendy, if only he knew what he was capable of.

[howlingdemon13]

If you're still up to talk about CV, may I ask your thoughts about the two Devil Forgemasters? <3

Oh yes my boys!!!!!!! My sad, angry boys!

This is equally as rambly, but ehhhhh it’s fiiiiiine!

Hector’s struggle with his own humanity and his process of distancing himself from it but then realizing it again is just ahhhhhh! Peak perfection.

To have the whole world against you for such a fundamental part of yourself (ties to dark magic /devil forging in this case) and being promised power and a fix-all by someone who has been there done that is so compelling as a story arc. I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t at least consider that - I feel like many of us have thought about it (though maybe not in that extreme). Then to finally escape only to have his first chance at happiness ripped from him makes my heart ache.

Going off of that, ultimately Dracula got his revenge in Rosaly’s death. Even when all that remained of Dracula was his curse, his influence over Isaac and turning him into a monster is a form of revenge for insubordination (intentional or not) that couldn’t be more twisted (and makes his pursuit of Isaac so desperate because, as far as he knows, the root cause of his wife’s death got pummeled into the ground by the person he was instructed to kill). Poor Hector really cannot catch a break.

That said, Hector’s acceptance of his humanity, his realization that he deserves love, and his nobility are why he’s in my top 5 CV characters. I’m also just a massive sucker for guys who are good with magic and animals. Sue me.

Isaac, Isaac, Isaac.

I love him. I love how twisted and cruel he is. He’s so over the top nutty that you can’t help but love him (and want to see him come out of everything and have a redemption arc). If we go by what Julia says when she meets Hector, I can see his rejection of his humanity and clinging to Dracula as a sort of coping mechanism for a terrible loss (which I assume would be family members). He sees Dracula as his only guidance and salvation and is so sure that he’s not just a tool for Drac’s war on humans that it’s really sad. He does have a tether to humanity in Julia, but ultimately rejects even that because Dracula manipulated him into thinking otherwise. And it’s just how he’s used and doomed by Dracula that makes me wish he was able to be redeemed. Obviously he wasn’t always the self-absorbed, vengeful gremlin he is in CoD and it’s adaptations. I firmly believe he was a kinder person with a normal amount of darkness and trauma and a brain that was just too susceptible to Dracula’s influence. And it’s the culmination of loss and manipulation that leads him to his own demise and I fully understand why Julia is so torn up about him. This is not the brother she knows and she just wants him back.

He’s tragic. Twisted, but tragic.

I just love them. They’re both perfect and compelling. They really are the perfect illustration of extremes.

[beedreamscape]

Zerxus gets caught in morbid conversations.

~ 2.1k words. This takes place pre loquaerryn marriage (yes, they're my measure of time, sue me).

CW for conversation of death and grief.

Zerxus awakes as he feels a stir on the bed. Zerxus calls it instinct, Evandrin calls it a bad habit.

There's an orange glow permeating the darkness and soft grunts from muscles stretching in the air.

He turns to see Evandrin's sitting on the side of the bed with his back to him, still in his sleeping shirt and underwear. Beside where the lampshade sits, on the clock, Zerxus can see it's still a quarter to four.

Zerxus lifts his head from the pillow. "Is there scouting duty today?"

Evandrin turns, face and hair still tousled from sleep. "Morning, darling, go back to sleep, sorry for waking you."

"I would still say good night." Zerxus pulls on the hem of his shirt lazily. "I thought scouting wasn't for another three weeks."

"And you're right, this is something else." Evandrin gets up against his husband's pull and starts putting his trousers on. "One of my soldiers just died, young Hector, and he has no family here in Avalir so I need to sign his death certificate."

"Isn't a cleric that does that?"

He rubs his eye. "Sorry. It's not the certificate, it's a lease for the Conversion."

Zexus sits up. "What conversion?"

Some realization comes Evandrin's eyes before softening. "Oh, I never told you, did I? I don't think you had the chance to see it either... It's how we get rid of bodies in Avalir. Haven't you noticed we have no cemeteries here?"

"Not really. You don't just bury people?"

Evandrin doesn't bother taking his sleeping shirt off, shoving the hem into his pants before taking a dress coat from the rack.

"No, there wouldn't be enough land to bury every dead. And if you consider the funeral rites of the elves who care to perform them, there wouldn't be a need for them anyway. Not to mention they live way too long."

"And what is this conversion?"

"They convert whatever's left of ether inside your body into usable energy. Also from the combustion of it. That's where the name comes from. It feeds the city like a corpse would feed the earth... except way faster and cleaner."

"Sounds very... functional."

"I know." He sits on the bed again and holds Zerxus' hand. "But you can always let someone know if you want it to have it done to your body or not, poor Hector didn't have time or who to tell that so he goes straight into conversion."

With his free hand, Zerxus brushes Evandrin's long hair into better shape. "You can let Tempus eat me before when the time comes."

"Thanks, dear. What if he doesn't find you tasty enough?"

"Tell him to pick me up and drop me in the ocean." He makes the gestures with his hand. "From really high so everyone can see the impact and the sea creatures may eat what's left."

"I'll have it arranged when the time comes. It's more creative than my wish for a pyre on the ocean. It's kinda how my mother chose to go, burnt in a pyre with dragon fire."

"You had a dragon at her funeral?"

He nods. "It was actually a wyvern and it was a trained but it served its purpose. Dad was placed in a burial cave since he had a bit of dwarvish blood, it was what my grandma wanted."

He brings Evandrin's hand to his lips for a kiss. "Thanks for sharing. I wish I could go with you."

"You wouldn't see anything interesting if you did. It all happens in closed chambers bellow city level."

"I don't want to see anything I just didn't want you to go by yourself."

"Don't worry, I've been through my people dying on me before, it's just sad he went so young." He opens a smile and ruffles Zerxus' hair. "Get back to sleep, my lil' paladin."

"I think I'll go check on our tiny little fighter."

"You go do that, just don't scare him this time."

He starts getting up from the bed. "I said it wasn't on purpose."

"I know, but you gotta understand that a six-foot-tall man standing ominously in the dark is terrifying for a little boy."

"I'll turn on the lamp this time."

"Good." He gives Zerxus a little peck. "I won't be long."

"Please don't let them turn you into city juice as well."

He can hear Evandrin's laugh in the corridor. "I won't make any promises."

"Since when has Avalir done this Conversion thing? For the dead?"

He wasn't really interested in getting into this subject, much less with her, he assumes neither is she, but he rarely got the chance to sit down with Laerryn, let alone just the two of them, so he wouldn't get another chance to satiate his curiosity and it's been days since it started plaguing his mind.

A new Marquesian-themed restaurant had opened and they were the only two in their friend group who curiously shared a true appreciation for its foreign cuisine.

She doesn't refrain from shoving a forkful of sillgoat loin chop into her mouth before speaking. "Oh... I guess since the beginning, I'm not sure if we were the ones to come up with it or some other flying city."

"Can't you just disintegrate the body? One spell and poof, it's gone."

"We could but what a waste of precious ether that'd be. You see a single corpse doesn't hold much ether, but when you amount to several deaths a year then it means something. It's not even one and a half percent of the total energy stored in the city but when every drop counts, it's something."

He looks down at his plate, empty with stains of dark red sauce on the perimeter. He always finishes eating first no matter who he's eating with, a mixture of anxiety and hunger only a man his size has. He catches himself staring at her glass of white wine.

"Feels very utilitarian."

"You just haven't been in Avalir long enough. We are a flying city, every handful of resources counts, there are people," she points at herself, "that work to manage that. On top of managing who manages it."

"I know, but it's people we're talking about. Their bodies."

"What do you think I'm talking about? They're just bodies, I've seen them rot before. People are here, living, doing shit. The only person buried in Avalir is our most special boy, Imyr, in his very special mausoleum, which I consider such a waste. Don't tell Patia I said that."

"Why a waste?"

"The older wizards, I'm talking elves, gnomes, dwarves, the big boys, store immense amounts of ether within them. Sorcerers? You could turn the lucky bastards into massive bombs with the right calculations."

"Suddenly I'm more inclined towards it."

She gives him a playful kick under the table.

"But that's necromancers and transmutators playground, minutia and too many physiological factors to take in. I prefer working with big numbers and machines. Despite that, it's a respectable representation of wizards and artificers working together."

"Is that how you want to be taken care of?"

"I think so. However, I would like to be stored into something like a necklace or a sword until someday the yielder has to use me to kill some legendary enemy before floating back into the leylines. But honestly, I'll take what I can get, I'll be dead anyway."

He stares at her chew in amusement, still puzzled at how the woman before him and his husband are the best of friends. "Avalirians have strange death rituals."

"You need to meet the Aeorians then, heard rumors of them preserving the bodies for a really long time."

"For what?"

"How am I supposed to know? Probably something nefarious. As I said, rumours, I'm sure you'll get more from Loquatius or Patia than me."

"I think I've had enough of the subject for now."

She cleans her mouth with a napkin. "I don't personally like talking about death either. Maybe it's an elf thing... but I've had to learn to deal with it since I've befriended so many humans and... other short-living folks."

He never got truly offended by 'human' but something in the way she says it never sat comfortably inside his skull, yet he lets it slip with her. "Who else?"

She thinks for a moment and he can't interpret what passes behind her eyes. "Everyone except Patia."

"Even Van?"

She nods, takes a sip of her wine. "Half-elves don't live a quarter of full elves, some can but most don't. When I think of loss, it's the only time I grow any respect for necromancers, I too have a hard time letting things go."

"I used to think I was very detached from everything, until I got a family. Maybe it'll happen to you as well," he says with a hint of humor.

"I have a family, believe it or not."

"But they're in Cathmoíra. Always seven years away from you."

"Yes... But I do have a version of it here in Avalir, a very busy one that lives in different houses."

He smiles. "We'd kill each otherwise."

She laughs loudly, it always gives him a pang of accomplishment wherever he manages to get it out of her.

"For sure we would. Though I would cut you some slack because of the lil ginger."

"Loquatius would be the first to go."

She takes the last sip with a smile. "Probably, yes."

"First Knight."

The voice is whispery, tiny and soft and as Zerxus turns to its source so is the half-elf woman who owns it. With the cold weather, she's covered by a hooded cape. On her chest, the clasp that closes the cape is a familiar mask.

He had been walking through the city checking for any suspicious behavior and has done it for at least a week since their temporary bridge with Zemnia.

"Hello, miss, how can I help you?"

She keeps her stare fixed on his feet. "Thanks, but I require no assistance. I'm Ivorah Orlan from the Conversion Nucleus."

"Are you a cleric?"

She looks surprised by the question but notices his eyes glancing at her chest. "Yes, cleric of the Matron of Ravens."

He just nods.

"I'm sorry for being forward but there's something I'd like to ask. It's about your late husband."

Zerxus feels a bubbling sickness in his throat, he also feels starved - very few even mention his existence. "Proceed."

"As I said I'm the responsible cleric for the Conversion Nucleus and I was a friend of the First Knight Evandrin. In conversations we had, he had mentioned that when his death came he'd like me to be his sepulchral ritualist, but I never got the chance."

"He didn't want to be Converted."

"I'm aware. He wanted to be burned in a pyre and sent into the Lucidian. But we had that discussion and I never... his body was already dealt with before I had the chance and I feel like I broke a promise," she finishes with a quavering voice.

The memory of the time comes blurry to him, everything around it comes as a big horrifying blur. Loquatius and Patia had dealt with most of the funeral rites, he dealt with Elias, and Nydas dealt with him. Part of the ring had been broken and through fire and violence forced back into shape.

He turns the sickness into a solid mass, a boulder that keeps him from breaking every other hour.

"And you're not the only one." He steels himself. "The nature of his disease, we... we had to let go of many luxuries of honour."

"It still puzzles me what took such a young and strong man..."

"Puzzles me as well."

"Wish I had a chance to..." She closes her eyes, breathes deeply. "At least he was given an honourable funeral march."

"It was the Septarion's making."

She nods with her head down. "I'm sorry bothering you, First Knight."

He places a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. For caring. Perhaps your Matron has him in her company and I envy her for it."

She lifts her eyes at once, then he sees them for what they are - terrible dark circles, perfect eclipses. "I've sought her insight about it... she doesn't have him in her sights."

"What does that mean?"

Her intensity deflates. "I don't know. I like to believe he went to an even higher place of honour for a soul as pure and valiant as his."

He tries smiling but feels tears sting in his eyes, the boulder starting to melt like a stray iceberg. "So do I."

[fefuckability]

The Binding Blade bracket qualifier! Starts November 4th at 3pm EDT!

Here’s how it’s going to work:

There are going to be nine qualifying polls (six for the men, three for the women)

Pick your most bangable favorite from each poll

Polls will run for one week (I’d prefer 3 days but alas Tumblr doesn’t offer the option yet)

The top 32 male characters and the top 16 female characters will qualify for the men’s and women’s brackets

Polls:**

Qualifier 1 (Marcus, Alen, Lance, Bors, Merlinus, Dieck, Wade, Lot)

Qualifier 2 (Rutger, Saul, Zelot, Trec, Noah, Astolfo, Barthe, Ogier, Sin)

Qualifier 3 (Gonzalez, Geese, Klein, Elffin, Bartre, Perceval, Garret, Hugh, Zeiss)

Qualifier 4 (Douglas, Dayan, Yoder, Karel, Narcian, Galle, DILF Hector, DILF Eliwood, Murdock)

Qualifier 5 (Zephiel, Mordred, Jahn, Flaer, Arcard, Roartz, Damas, Rude)

Qualifier 6 (Slater, Dory, Devias, Zinc, Scouran, Ain, Gel)

Qualifier 7 (Elen, Shanna, Dorothy, Sue, Gwendolyn, Fir)

Qualifier 8 (Thea, Larum, Echidna, Cath, Melady, Cecilia, Igrene)

Qualifier 9 (Niime, Juno, Brunnya, Guinivere, Idunn, Sigune)

I am also adding a Google Form to submit characters for an enby bracket so Limstella, Kyza, and Bramimond don’t get left out. These can be characters from any game as long as there is canon basis for them being nonbinary.

Extra notes under the cut

Characters who are excluded from voting:

Anyone who obviously both looks and acts like a literal child. Some characters are borderline so discretion may be used*

Roy, Lilina, Raigh, and Lugh because they're all Confirmed Babies(TM)

Generics and palette swaps (e.g. Scott and Gelero)

Anyone who lacks either a portrait or a unique name in this game (e.g. Athos)

Elimine. She's a weird one because she doesn't have a portrait in this game, but she was given a unique look in later spinoff content (e.g. FEH). I'm excluding her from this bracket and putting her in with Blazing Blade instead. I think it makes more sense to run her and Athos at the same time

*I have not actually played Binding Blade. I know, I know, it's on my list. I'm doing my best here. If there's a character on here who you think should be excluded just shoot me an ask or something with your reasoning and we can DQ them if necessary

**I'm using the localized names because I think after 6 years of FEH they're the more commonly known ones now? Idk. The old games are gonna get weird like that, strap in

[felikatze]

I never thought about it because. Well I haven't played fe6 completely yet. But like What. HUH. I also completely deleted the ninian thing from my brain even though just recently in my randomizer I got annoyed by cutscenes slowing the text down. Oops. Can't eliwood get paired with other people too.

eliwood can also get paired with, iirc, lyn, (cracks open wiki to check which pegasister it was) and fiora. (hector can get paired with farina, and florina is obviously in lesbians with lyn.)

so like, the dragon asthma is 100% because of roy's ambiguously dead mom. gotta get a reason for her to die. if you have eliwood marry lyn or fiora instead? congrats, you've just doomed them.

does any potential hector spouse get this treatment? NO. because lilina's mother simply Does Not Exist (casually pushes aside my "lilina is adopted" conspiracy based on her ogier support chain)

the REAL kicker about elinini though is that. it's sooo canon. it's so canon, but because there's TECHNICALLY other eliwood romance options, intsys can never confirm it for real to keep the shipbait alive (even if the other main eliwood ship is eliwood/hector, lol, and they sure don't have problems pandering to a m/m ship of ANOTHER lord with multiple romantic options.)

like. ninian is in love with eliwood. always. always. no matter who he ends up with. and like. THEY DID MAKE ELININI CANON IN HEROES ONCE?? so i was watching some Forging Bonds at random for fun and stumbled upon base Nils. The way this Nils talks and what he references - this Nils is post canon. He alludes to Ninian dying, his Ninian dying, but how it was her choice that led to it, and he has made peace with that. The Ninian he talks to has not made that choice yet, but Nils can tell she will make the same one his sister has, and he respects it. He grieves his sister, but he respects that she chose her happiness.

Nils' Ninian chose to stay with Eliwood.

Which only happens if you get the Eliwood/Ninian A support. after which they get married.

It actually is interesting that there's no hesitation to push the main ship of Lilina/Roy in fe6 related content, considering that Roy also has variable romance options (Larum, Shanna, Sophia, Sue, and Cecilia. But if you pick Cecilia i'm stealing something from your house. That one's gross.)

I think this is because confirming any one Roy ship has less repurcussion, considering that Roy has no canonical children, unlike Eliwood. Confirming someone to be Eliwood's wife will also confirm her to be Roy's mom, which has far wider reaching repurcussions. Even then, Lilina/Roy are in a perpetual state of "will they won't they", wherein Roy is oblivious to Lilina's feelings, and Lilina refuses to confess.

Honestlyyyyyy it's amazing intsys keeps ALL "non-canon" ships in limbo while also fucking up and making Elinini canon. It's also really frustrating to keep characters in narrative limbo and refuse to let them progress their relationships Ever. You see the worst in this with Engage Corrin, wherein they refuse to canonize a route of Fates, meaning Corrin can only give the vaguest of references and platitudes that make her a nothingburger of a character. Heroes' Corrins tend to be.... slightly less bad, since Heroes has the option of having multiple Corrins for multiple routes, thus having their cake and eating it too - letting Corrin directly reference routes, while canonizing none of them. Coughs. Byleth however.....

TLDR: give me a dragon Roy alt already, you fucking cowards

[caelin-ismycity]

“i draw eliwood too much,” he says as he draws eliwood once more

[beevean]

Annette has metal bending powers that helped her escape her slavery, with said powers are due to her descending from a literal God.

Now I know nothing about her religion so I realize there's a risk of me accidentally saying something offensive but even if we go by the idea that "everyone descends from gods" as she says she's still special because she's the only one who got powers due to her lineage.

I'm pretty sure that's the number 1 thing to avoid when trying NOT to make a Mary Sue

Yeah, it's an... odd thing to insert in this particular setting.

Everyone gets their magic powers from their family: the Belmonts, Alucard, the Speakers. We don't know where Hector got his magic from but it's meant to be a curse anyway. Then Annette waltzes in with powers inherited from gods?? Making her semi-divine??? She sticks out like a sore thumb, and not in a good way.

Like, alright, give representation to the authentic Haitian Vodou if you want to! But now the world building is even more conflicted.

Also I still feel that narrating the most cookie-cutter slave backstory ever, one generally planted into reality, but then making the slave owner a vampire and allowing the Stronk Woman to escape thanks to her godly powers... is a little offensive towards real slaves, who had to fight fellow humans and gain freedom with their human skill. But it may be just me.

[flovey-dovey]

I’ve been tossing this idea around for a long time where I make one o’ them ship lists that folks on here do, but my list is so ridiculously long and I get nervous and constantly forget which ones I’m not actively thinking about, so I never did, but I still kinda really wanna?? If any of these are your jam too let me know in the tags if you like. Some of ‘em have AUs attached, but I’ll leave descriptions of ‘em for later (or never :P).

So here’s a very plain part 1 under the cut! :D (not in any particular order)

Kung Fu Panda - Tai Lung / Po No Straight Roads - DJSS / Neon J, Tatiana / Mayday Sly Cooper - Rajan / Sly Cooper, Panda King / Murray, Mugshot + Don Octavio / Bentley (as in these two big bosses are smitten with the turtle and vice-versa) Toy Story - Buzz Lightyear / Woody Pirates of the Caribbean - Hector Barbossa / Jack Sparrow Epic - Mandrake / Ronin, Mub / MK A Bug’s Life - Hopper / Flik Nightmare Before Christmas - Oogie Boogie / Jack Skellington The Book of Life - Xibalba / Manolo The Great Mouse Detective - Ratigan / Basil Cars - Doc Hudson / Lightning McQueen Hunchback of Notre Dame - Phoebus / Quasimodo Ratatouille - Anton Ego / Linguini Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas - Sinbad / Proteus Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron - Spirit / Little Creek (YES OK I KNOW so sue me) Megamind - Metroman / Megamind Madagascar - Vitaly / Alex, Skipper / Private Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit - Lupin Luminous Wolfgang (OC) / Wallace Tornado Outbreak - Nimbus / Zephyr Jak & Daxter II - Torn / Jak Kingdom Hearts - Axel/Lea / Roxas, Riku / Sora, Xaldin/Dylan / Marluxia/Lauriam, Luxord/’Dolur’ / Demyx/’Dyme’ (NOTE: Luxord and Demyx don’t have official names, so these are the names I’ve come up with after seeing others floating around) Avatar the Last Airbender - Zuko / Sokka One Piece - Shanks / Luffy, Zoro / Sanji, Franky / Usopp, Robin / Nami, Brook / Beck (OC) Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse - Ken / Ryan, Closet / Closette (OC) Code Lyoko - Xana / Jeremy, (OC who I forget the name of) / Odd Crash Bandicoot - Crash Bandicoot / Dr. Neo Cortex, Dingodile / Fake Crash, Crunch Bandicoot / Pinstripe, Ami / Megumi / Liz / Isabella / Tawna Luigi’s Mansion - (OC who I also forget the name of) / Luigi Kim Possible - Shego / Kim Sonic the Hedgehog (ships differ slightly game to game) - Shadow / Sonic, Eggman / Sonic, (etc. I forget about atm) Ace Attorney - Miles Edgeworth / Phoenix Wright, Franziska von Karma / Maya Fey, Godot / Phoenix Wright, Klavier Gavin / Apollo Justice

[beevean]

For instance I am pretty certain that Deats and the gang genuinely don't think that Alucard's threesome is not rape

They don't:

This clarification speaks of a bias that is very wide spread: it's rape only if you suffer during the act. I don't need to explain why it's vile rhetoric. At least I hope not.

Anyway, what you said. And yes, to be fair to Isaac, his skin color doesn't really matter in the plot... which makes me wonder why they apparently insisted so much on raceswapping him. Not in the sense that characters belonging to a minority have to be defined by said minority (that's Annette's case, literally in-universe :P), but again he was a problematic character to make black, and yet they doubled down to the point that honestly, I know that Mary Sue and Gary Stu have lost all meaning, but I really can't call him anything other than a Gary Stu. Like they were so afraid of making him suffer a little beyond his backstory.

Annette is much worse in this regard. I said it and I will say it: Annette smacks me as being discourse bait. Like she was engineered to be as controversial as possible, to attract fans who "stan" stronk women of color who insult white men and automatically assume that all critics are just racist, and genuine bigots who infuriatingly prove the first people right. As a bonus point, her being "inspired" by a game character but being an OC in all but name (even N!Isaac has more in common with Isaac than N!Annette has with Annette) also attracts discourse between game fans who would like a shred of respect for the source material and show fans who look down on the games and see the show as an improvement. And whadja know, Annette ended up being the most controversial aspect of Nocturne, eclipsing (heh) other flaws such as the rushed pacing and terrible worldbuilding.

It's all so blatant, I can't even take it seriously.

(also I find very funny how N!Isaac, as accidentally offensive he is, at least he has a character arc separated from his race and religion... because it was sort of taken from the source material, as he's a very clumsy mix of Hector and Isaac. N!Annette is a fully original character who just happens to share a name with a character from the games, and she literally is representation.chr :P)

As bad as it may sound, it really seems to me that N!Isaac and N!Annette have both been written as Perfect Minorities™.

OG Isaac was the perpetual second one. Not incompetent by any means, but you know the deal, he was salty as hell that Hector was just a tiny bit better :P In the show, the dynamic is flipped: it's Isaac who is Dracula's special babyboy. But he is the special babyboy to such an exaggerated degree that he makes Hector's inclusion not only completely useless, but even detrimental: why would Dracula bother to hire an average Devil Forgemaster, without a shred of physical prowess, who he considers to be "a child in a man's body", and who he had to resort to lie to (Hector literally shouts in the war room that he doesn't enjoy the needless suffering Dracula is causing)... when Isaac by all means is strong, smart (allegedly), much more efficient in Forging, and 100% on board with Dracula's extermination plans to the point of being the only person Dracula can trust?

The story would improve if Hector, again, was the better Devil Forgemaster, even with his pesky morals. But we can't have that, can we? They were absolutely adamant, for whatever reason, that Isaac had to be black, despite him being probably the worst character to make black and Muslim. And black people can't be inferior, right? They can't need the help of a white person lesser POC, right? So Isaac in the show has become literally untouchable by the narrative. He gets everything he wants. He gets all the sympathy, because boohoo don't you feel bad that the guards are a bit mean to him, of course he should kill them all and turn them into monsters. He gets all the badass scenes, hell he literally gets wounded once in the whole show. He gets to be Enlightened.

And Annette... well, we talked about it plenty of times. Annette has Special God Powers. Annette gets coddled by total strangers. Annette has the right to hurt Richter where it stings the most without anyone calling her out. No one dares to point out Annette's genuine mistakes or bad behavior, even the most confrontational character after herself, Maria. Annette gets to make a Rousing Revolutionary Speech to the same French people she looks down upon. Annette gets to have the most prominent character arc, while Richter is left bumbling around and gets one (1) cool scene.

Representation in NFCV seems to be limited to three characters: 1) the narrative's darlingest babies who can do no wrong because they need to be popular on twitblr, 2) cardboard cutouts with barely a speaking line to pretend our world is more complex than it actually is, and 3) jesus christ please think more than three seconds next time.

Let's be perfectly real here:

both Isaac and Annette are the way that they are to appeal to a very specific,wide and vocal crowd on social media, the same crowd who cries for representation, by which they usually mean utterly perfect characters who can do no wrong and can easily vent their frustrations on other cast members because people, through these characters, can feel vindicated for their own frustrations. Frustrations that can be justified in a way, especially where racism is involved, but it essentially means that characters like Annette and Isaac are not really characters, but rather they are meant to be power fantasies of sorts. They're there to be black characters who are very strong and look down on the white oppressors etc. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with power fantasies, but only as long as they're written competently. Otherwise you don't really have a power fantasy. You have a weird amalgamations of Mary Sues mixed with social media discourse

This is especially blatant with Annette since, at least with Isaac, I don't think he ever uses the color of his skin as a justification for his attitude (he uses his religion but that's another can of worms).

I am almost certain that characters like these are inserted partly because it's a no-lose scenario, because you absolutely cannot criticize them without being accused of bigotry. This is made all the worse by many ACTUAL bigots chiming in and making any actual discourse impossible. I'm sure that big corpos like Netflix know this by now: create a character who's a minority who the US public cares about (I need to specify that last part because I get the feeling that people would not get nearly as uppity about, oh I dunno, Roma characters? Native American characters? Because social justice is only about those "cool" minorities that the public has been taught to think are worth it, anyone else barely even registers on the radar), write them in a way that satisfies the social media pseudo activist crowd, wait for the bigots to show up in order to easily paint any detractor as a racist, thus creating a very easy equation of "show has representation= good. Bigotry= Bad. Hate the show= You're a bigot"

I say "almost" because there's always the possibility that the guys behind the wheel genuinely think they're doing a great job

This may sound crazy, but look at all the praise they get, look at how much encouragement they get. And all this goes beyond NFCV, this sort of phenomenon is very widespread so it wouldn't surprise me if even the Deats brothers think they're masters of representation who can do no wrong because if enough people keep saying one thing without pause then you're bound to think it's the truth.

For instance I am pretty certain that Deats and the gang genuinely don't think that Alucard's threesome is not rape, or Lenore's treatment of Hector. Because they're not conventional depictions of rape and if you go ask most people on social media, hell even on the street across your own home, they'll most likely tell you the same.

I hate NFCV but what I think I hate more is the overall social climate that lead to its creation

[voiceswithoutlips]

Calico - Chapter One

— pairing: Hybrid ot7 x Human Reader (Female) — genre: hybrid AU , fluff, angst, slow burn (like real slow), eventual smut — word count: 1.8K — Rating: M — warnings: trauma, mention of past abuse. 

Click for Tag List

— chapter summary: 

Y/N runs a animal shelter, Calico was built on a simple principle, to help those who were in need. What will Y/N do when her sanctuary is threatened by an unexpected hybrid?

— A/N: This is going to be a series, I’m just getting back to writing, so I’d really appreciate your input and feedback <3

Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 3.5 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

“So do you like your new puppy?” I asked the little girl that was trying to hold a squirming golden retriever pup. She frantically nodded her head. How cute!

“Congratulations on the new addition to your family! We’ll send someone for an inspection soon but I don't see how there can be any problems,” I reassured the parents. They were proudly beaming at their daughter, I doubt they even heard what you said. 

“I’m going to name him Bubbles!” Sana squeaked excitedly as the family left with their new pet. I suppressed a giggle, I was a sucker for cuteness. 

Seeing one of our animals get adopted was the best feeling in the world. Running a shelter was not the easiest thing in the world, grumpy animals, grumpy humans and an abundance of body fluids to clean up but it was rewarding. Calico was a no-kill shelter, a privately owned animal shelter. The upside was that we didn’t have to rely on the government for funding, the downside was the paperwork. Every animal that came to the shelter had to be meticulously checked and catalogued. 

The legalities were another headache. Most animals that came to Calico were rescues. We worked with several animal rights organizations that collected evidence and built cases against the owners. Sometimes we got rescues that weren’t exactly legal so we had to get the evidence and build the case ourselves. That’s why Calico had Song Hwa, a badass lawyer. She was just five feet tall but she could stare down men twice her size. 

“One down, two to go,” Jason said as he plopped down on the couch in your office. He was the head veterinarian at Calico, overseeing the health of the animals. He was also my best friend. 

“We have three potential families visiting tomorrow. How’s Hector doing?” I asked as I stretched in your chair. 

“He’s good but I’m still against the name Hector. He looks more like a Raphael,” Jason said with a frown. Last week one of our animal handlers Shownu found a box near the shelter’s gate. There was a small turtle in it, the poor thing was injured. Jason had to amputate his left hind leg because it was infected. 

“I’m not naming him after a mutant turtle. He’s a one legged turtle from the sea, he’s a pirate and nothing you say will change my mind,” I had named him after Hector Barbosa from Pirates of the Carribean movies after I won the rock paper scissors tournament against Jason. 

“Dorks,” Hana scoffed from the corner. She was the one who dealt with the potential families, showing them around the shelter, doing background checks and whatnot. I was the one who sealed the deal and dealt with the paperwork. I was terrible at social niceties, somehow I always ended up saying the wrong thing and had the worst timing in the history of humanity. 

Before Jason and I could retaliate Moonji burst through the door. “He’s back, Yonu is here,” he was breathless. He must’ve ran here all the way from the gates. Moonji was the other animal handler, he was a retired botanist with a wife and two daughters. 

We all collectively sighed. Yonu was a proud member of Animal Liberation Front, an extremist group or as the government would like to call them “animal rights terrorists”. Once in a blue moon Yonu would drop by without a warning to drop off rescued lab animals, he had a thing against scientists. The problem was that they were illegally acquired so we had to lie on the paperwork. Every time Yonu visited Calico, it was a stress fest for everyone, well everyone except Yonu. 

I reluctantly made my way to the exam room. Yonu was standing there bickering with Song Hwa with a box of rabbits. 

“We are NOT taking in the rabbits unless you tell us where you got them!” Song Hwa put her foot down. 

“It's classified,” Yonu said with a grin. 

“Then take them back,” Song Hwa was staring daggers at him.

“Yonu, you know we need to clear the legal side of things,” I shook my head, he knew how things worked. Usually he would brag about his conquest, giving us in depth details about his adventures. Sometimes he brought back research and documents for evidence.Something didn’t sit right with me. Where did he get the rabbits? Why wouldn’t he tell us?

“Sorry sugar, can’t share the details this time,” I sighed at his nickname. One day Yonu discovered that I didn’t like sugar in my coffee and he decided to start calling me Sugar. He was one annoying bastard. 

Jason was already weighing the rabbits and taking their temperature. No matter what methods Yonu used to ‘rescue’ the animals, we always took them in. Song Hwa always said I was too soft, she didn’t know how wrong she was.

There were seven rabbits in total. All white with long ears and pink noses. They were unusually small. “Yonu did you kidnap kittens?” I frowned as I leaned in to take a closer look. 

“No they are all adult males,” Jason interjected. He was checking them one by one, taking their blood to run tests, checking their limbs for any injuries, it was a routine procedure. 

“Aren’t they too small?” they were.

“Maybe they are like those toy poodles… toy bunnies?” Song Hwa suggested. It could be or maybe their growth was stunted. Either way, I didn’t like it, something was off about this, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. 

Jason was running blood panels in the lab as I took over the paperwork. The rabbits were safely left in a hatch outside in the garden. Yonu had miraculously disappeared as soon as we turned our backs and I was starting to get a headache. 

The rabbits barely showed any movement when they were being examined. They were practically limp in Jason’s hands. They had clearly been abused. I didn’t like the blank look in their eyes. Most of the time if the animal was scared it’d get defensive and lash out, it was a good sign, it meant that it still had its faculties. These rabbits didn’t make a squeak as they were moved to a new place, it was worrying. I just hoped they weren’t too far gone. 

“We have a problem,” Jason said as soon as I entered the lab. He was sitting in front of the computer, double checking the results. 

“This day just keeps getting better,” I murmured as I leaned in to see what he was looking at. Not that I could make any sense of it. 

“One of the rabbits is a hybrid,” did I hear that right?

“Come again?” did he just say what I thought he said?

“We have a hybrid in our hatch,” my heart sank.

The presence of a hybrid posed a threat to Calico. Not because he was dangerous, but because he was stolen. The laws regarding hybrids were still primitive in most countries. They were basically slaves to the system, regarded as sub-human. Hybrids were considered as property, something to be owned. Rare animal hybrids were highly sought after by the wealthy to show off their status. So technically the rabbit hybrid in our hatch belonged to someone, we had no right to keep him here. If his owner found out, they would sue us. If the government found that we were keeping a stolen hybrid they’d shut us down. 

“Let’s just send him to a hybrid shelter,” Shownu huffed. The staff was gathered in your office for an emergency meeting.

“Most of those shelters have terrible conditions. Why not just keep him here, we have license to house hybrids, it's not that big of a deal,” Jason said. 

“Might I remind you that he is stolen. We can’t keep him here, we have a shelter inspection next week,” Song Hwa frowned. 

Few months ago we had decided to expand Calico to accommodate hybrids too, we had enough room to do so. We had constructed a hybrid “enclosure” as per the government guidelines. They had sent us the requirements. … they wanted us to put people in cages. We all collectively agreed that no hybrid will ever be housed in that place. No matter what anyone said, they were still human. 

“We can’t just abandon him, who knows what those lab people did to him,” Hana retaliated and an argument broke out. I knew they loved this place, they all wanted what’s good for the shelter. This wasn’t this first time we had to lie but having a hybrid was different. None of us had ever dealt with a hybrid before, even if we decided to keep him, what then? But I knew I couldn’t hand him over. Calico was built on a simple principle, to help those who were in need. And that rabbit hybrid needed our help. 

“Enough. We took in the animals that Yonu had brought before because they needed help. We’ve lied on the documents and it’s no different this time. That hybrid needs our help, we just need to come up with a plan,” I passed the verdict. Not everyone liked it but I knew they’d never let me down. 

After the stressful day all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch with Jason and watch TV. Our house was on the edge of the property, secluded in the forest. It was a country cottage with a private garden. YouI stopped by the rabbit hatch on my way back. The poor bunnies were all squished together in a corner, scared of the new environment and the open space outside. 

I couldn’t tell which one was the hybrid as I leaned in to take a look. Looking for him was no use. Maybe talking would work. I sat down beside the hatch with a sigh.

“I know you’re there,” I said quietly. “It must’ve been scary huh? Being taken from the lab. Yonu, the man who brought you here, he’s a good person. He only wanted to help. His methods aren’t always ….well savory but his heart was in the right place. Do you know what this place is? It's called Calico, it's a shelter for animals. We take care of animals who need help and find them a new home. 

“This is my sanctuary. Nobody will hurt you here. You don’t have to be scared. You are safe here, I’m going to keep you safe, okay?” One of the rabbits was looking at me, he quickly ducked his head as he caught my gaze. I smiled, he was listening. 

“You must be hungry huh? Rabbits only get veggies and greens, don’t you want to eat pizza, and ice cream, and pancakes, maybe some sashimi…” I rambled on about food, about Calico and the staff, inside the hatch a bunny was listening intently to my stories. 

Next

[penname-artist]

Roadmap of Insanity

NOTE: These are all fics that are (to some degree) being worked on. This can mean anything from “I have it 90% of the way done but I accidentally put it down for months on end” to “I wrote two sentences and got stuck, help”. None of them are being done in any order whatsoever! I write what I feel like when I feel like, and sometimes that means I go into my documents, write two more sentences, and then abandon it all over again. Also I REALLY wasn’t kidding when I said I have 30-40 open WIPs at any given time. Also, this does NOT include any of my 5-6 collaborations or gifts with various people. I’d rather leave those as surprises ;P

1. I have ONE Cars fic and it’s about Finn and Leland and it’s legitimately old as shit

2. Smol Cabbie story about how he joined Piston Peak (spoiler: the whole team gets played lol)

3. The rest of ‘Doesn’t Mean Nothin’

4. Familia, a story about Blade’s grandneice I forgot about

5. An Emergency sequel

6. A Cabbie + Smokejumpers series about gambling, drinking, cheating, gangs, and maybe arson

7. Blade/Nick Greek Gods AU I made on a whim (it won’t get done anytime soon I can tell you that)

8. A very...odd AU I made for no reason about Blade and Dusty, living new lives as the world has flooded over. And then getting separated.

9. The last bit of The Little Koi Boi

10. An Unus Annus inspired Smokejumpers story (featuring Dusty and possibly Oscar)

12. Crophopper Family Reunion. I have had it in my WIPs since I STARTED fanfic writing in 2020. It will never get done.

13. A Dusty and Oscar origin story

14. Why Blade is terrified of being on boats and gets seasick on them (featuring *gasp* an OC!?!?)

15. A new whumpfic that decided to affect the entire PPAA team with flu because I am evil

16. I keep starting and scrapping a fic where Nick gets injured, but I might finally have one idea that may stick

17. Blade/Ripslinger non-con smutfic. Nothing more to be said than that.

18. Nick’s backstory series

19. Dusty/Jackson Storm CRACK

20. Blade/Nick/Apollo PWP

21. Blade/Hector/Rotor PWP (part 2)

22. Nick/Dusty PWP

23. Shu/Miguel PWP that I wrote down but I don’t think I ever started???

24. A Prompt of Apollo dealing with Mondays

25. Shu/Miguel gift for Shu

26. ABO series #1 for Ivory

27. ABO series #2 for Ivory

And of course, up and coming is a whole other list of “I really want to start writing this but I need to take care of all of ^^^ this ^^^ first”. Among those other unstarted fics, I am itching to do a Flysenhawk (Flysenhower and Kittyhawk ship name, SUE ME) story with some harrrrd angst in it. But with a fluffy ending. Because Fluffsenhower is buried in there somewhere, and if anybody can pull him out, Kitty can!

[tc-doherty]

Unashamed Adoration Tag

I was tagged by @asher-orion-writes​

Tagging @emilyoracle​ @jess-p-edits​ @bloodlessheirbyjacques​ @bumpyfrog​ if you want to share!

Personally I'm not really attached to a lot of lines in my WIPs because I write very simply, usually, and only clean it up right at the end. I feel like I've already shared a lot of my best ‘in progress’ stuff. So I'm gonna share some fanfiction instead, because I write that with the intention of publishing it right away and therefore try to make it more polished.

These all have to do with Fire Emblem Blazing Sword and Fire Emblem Binding Blade (Elibe, my beloved!), please enjoy some emotions I really loved writing. I think you don't necessarily need to be familiar with the source material to get what's going on.

Under a cut because, as always, most of my stuff doesn't make sense with only 2 or 3 lines.

From Traditions, because writing marriage vows is honestly something that I love doing so much. Also, proving that I can write about straight people lmao

"How did you know?"

"I bullied Guy into telling me. Here." He leaned forward and took the necklace from her hand, undoing the clasp and fastening it around her neck. The large, battle-scarred hands that had helped kill a dragon were delicate as lace against her throat.

There was nothing mocking or serious to say in a moment like this. She only reached over and did the same for him. The golden chain stood out against the dark blue of his tunic, bringing a little decoration to his usually plain style. It fit, as if it had always belonged there, and had only now found its way home.

She understood the ride, now. A Sacaen wedding was always performed under open air, and a Sacaen engagement was usually proceeded by a long ride. Not easy to do here in populous Ostia but, as he so often did, Hector still managed to do and say the right thing at the right time.

"There's words too, I know. I didn't forget. Well….I did forget, but I'll do it anyway."

Lyn could only smile as he did his best to say the marriage vows she grew up hearing. "Your accent is terrible," she said when he was done. But she repeated the words after him, glad to have a chance to speak her own language again, even gladder for a chance to say words she didn't think she ever would, words that, in a language full of grace and beauty, still seemed to stand out.

Hector gazed back at her, smiling slightly, eyes softened with an expression of amused affection that he only shared with her. "When your hand is clasped in mine, I'm stronger," he said, repeating the first line in the common tongue. He held out his hand.

Lyn took it, and took up the verse where he left off. "When your words join mine, I'm wiser."

"When your steps match mine, I'm braver," he said.

"So I'll ride beside you, if you'll have me," Lyn said.

Then Hector joined her, as if they planned it, and they spoke the remaining lines together. "I'll ride beside you, until the rivers run dry, until the moon swallows the sun, until the stars fall from the sky like rain. Not until then will our paths diverge."

They both allowed a natural silence to form after the words, a moment to think about what they had said and what they had learned.

From Melancholy, on a topic that I find myself very preoccupied with.

“My birthday is coming up, in a few weeks. I’ll be turning forty-five.” It was inane, pointless. Of course Sue knew that, how could she not? But Lilina had to say it anyway.

“I just keep thinking…thinking that Uncle Orun died at forty-four, back at the start of the war.”

“I remember,” Sue said, and Lilina knew that she did. She had been staying in Toria with Lord Orun when Bern attacked, had nearly been a casualty herself.

She squeezed Sue’s hand. “I’ll be older than he ever got a chance to be. And…” Lilina faltered for a minute before she plowed forward, resolute. “And my father too, due to that war. He was thirty-seven. My mother, to illness, at thirty-one.”

Lilina gave Sue an imploring look, begging her to understand. She wished she could have stopped there. “My mother’s parents, to bandits, they didn’t reach forty either. My father’s parents to illness, thirty-three and thirty-six. Uncle Uther, at twenty-one. Twenty-one! Madelyn is twenty-one.”

She fell silent for a moment, temporarily overwhelmed by it, as she had been trying to avoid being since the onset of winter.

“They were all so…young.” She said, finally. “Why’d they have to be so young? Is my family cursed? I never…never even got to meet my grandparents. Not them, not my uncle Uther, all dead before I was born. They never got a chance to meet me, you, our children…. None of them could came to our wedding, my coronation, not any of it!”

Lilina found herself crying. She wasn’t a person who grieved easily, but these tears did not want to stop. She didn’t resist when Sue pulled her into a tight hug, giving Lilina her shoulder to cry on.

From Ever Your Companion because honestly…I just like this one. It doesn't get much attention but, I love it.

The change of scenery did him good. The palace at Aquleia wasn’t the same without Mildain there, the silence where he used to be as sharp and dangerous as the head of an arrow.

Prince Mildain was dead, Klein knew this, but he couldn’t help watching the bard anyway, when his back was turned, trying to convince himself that what he thought wasn’t true.

Elphin was different, that was certain. His movements were slower and more languid, not the abrupt confident motions of the prince. Mildain had been hardy and loved the outdoors, while Elphin seemed to struggle when the sun was at its harshest, and spent much of his time in this tent or that one, avoiding the weather. His clothing was less elegant, and he never so much as looked at a weapon, spending most of his free time playing for the soldiers.

Elphin was the same, and that was just as certain. His tactical knowledge was sound, his voice hauntingly familiar. His voice was softer, but its teasing undertone was the same, and his smile was the same, and whenever Elphin jested with Roy, Klein felt something suspiciously like jealousy taking root in his heart.

Prince Mildain was dead.

He would not have faked his own death, would not have twisted General Douglas to lie for him. He would not have abandoned his father to the mercy of the Etrurian court. He would not have spent all this time here, on the Western Isles, and not have let Klein known.

Elphin could not be Mildain.

Klein wrestled with these thoughts on his own. He confided in no one, and he avoided Elphin whenever possible. It was one thing to suspect. But if he were to talk to the bard himself, then he would know the truth. Klein wasn’t sure he wanted to know. If it was a coincidence, it would be as losing Mildain all over again. And if it were not? If it were not, then he would know that Mildain did not trust him. Not knowing was simpler than either alternative.

In the end it wasn’t up to him.