#BUT IT WORKS SO WELL FOR TRAGIC OTPS

[minamorsart]

What , And how did you start pairing lotura, And Plance .?

Ooooh boy am I excited to answer this!!! This is going to be a long answer, hope you don't mind! Because I have some specific memories about these two ships, particularly lotura, that I would absolutely love to share with you!

Prepare for a long read! Hehe

Starting with lotura, when season 3 came out and Lotor made his debut, of course I was all 👀👀👀 Because that day something awoke in 19 year old me that I didn't realize could ever be awoken lol. And I wish I could remember exactly what my reaction was to his cat-and-mouse chase with Allura in the episode "The Hunted", but at the time I must not have considered the idea of them ever going in the direction of a romance. Looking back now though, how could I have been so blind??! That chase scene is HOT. I mean just look at them!!! Look at Lotor especially woah mama 😳

Season 4 was mediocre to me at the time, I will confess, for a lot of different reasons. But then season 5, man... SEASON 5!!!! I remember it was March 3rd, 2018. I wasn't keeping up with the show anymore, but I just so happened to see an article online that said season 5 had been released the day before on Netflix. I told my sister and we decided, "eh, let's watch at least the first episode."

And we watched the first episode, alright. And then another, and then another and another until we watched all six episodes in one sitting. We were both blown away! Lotor... Allura... together???? 😲

Their adventures, their chemistry, their clear attraction to one another... I was OBSESSED!!! I shipped them hardcore after that. They were and are still my #1 OTP, and it's because of them that I really tried to work hard and improve my art! I wanted to draw them all the time, making mini comics and AUs, and while their tragic ending actually left me in tears and I was upset for a really long time, I can now say that I have been able to heal and move on from it--eh, mostly anyway, haha.

It still hurts, but 5 years later I feel that I've matured and come to a greater understanding and acceptance. I have come to really appreciate how perfect they are for each other, both aesthetically of course (cuz lookit that sexual dimorphism babeyyy) as well as the many, many things they have in common. I have also come to appreciate their flaws, their imperfections, and the mistakes they made regarding each other and their relationship. They may have gotten a sad ending, but they were still truly equals in every way. It's just beautiful, and my love for them now is stronger than ever :')

For Lance and Pidge on the other hand, it's not quite as clear as when I started shipping them! I remember rolling my eyes at Lance and Allura's first meeting, like "okay Lance is one of THESE guys, here we go 🙄"

Other than that I didn't really ship Lance or Pidge with anyone! If I'm recalling correctly, I don't think it wasn't until after season 6 that I started shipping them together. I remember reading metas and analyses of their relationship that people were making in anticipation for season 7's release, and the more I thought about it, the more I started to really like the idea of Lance and Pidge getting together! And there are definitely subtle hints throughout the earlier seasons of Pidge's feelings for Lance, as well as their fun chemistry with one another, like the episode "Space Mall"!

The hints are not so subtle to me now, but back then it wasn't until I watched season 7 that I actually became hopeful that they could be a couple! I especially loved the moments when Pidge indirectly called Lance "cute, in a creepy, hideous sort of way" lol, and when Lance become very protective over Pidge in such a way that I don't think we ever saw him react before! I was honestly taken aback by that moment!

And again, their ending was definitely less than satisfactory, particularly Lance's ending (still hate it with a passion), but just like with Lotura's relationship, I have also come to appreciate many things about Plance's relationship today. While Lotor and Allura have so much in common and are able to reach an understanding with each other that they can't with anyone else, it would seem at first that Pidge and Lance are far too different to be compatible. And it is true that they are very different, but for one, that can be a good thing! The foundations of some relationships are built off of their differences. It can make someone more compassionate and more open-minded when they have a willingness to accept and appreciate the differences they have with their partner, and a willingness to take a genuine interest in the things that their partner is passionate about, even if they don't completely understand.

And two, at the same time, Pidge and Lance DO have things in common! They both love their families, both have a stronger connection to Earth compared to the other paladins, and they are able to bond with one another over fun pastimes such as video games! How cute is that??!

And just like with Lotor and Allura, I also love Pidge and Lance for their flaws. It did take me a while to come around to Lance, because while he has his funny moments and one-liners, I also found him very annoying at times lol. But I think the fact that he can be really annoying honestly makes him the most realistic character in Voltron. Not necessarily the most relatable, at least not for me, but definitely the most human! Because there are people in our real lives that we love and cherish deeply, but they absolutely have their moments where you go, "ugh, you're so annoying and it really frustrates me when you act this way" but we still wouldn't trade them for the world 🥰

And just to draw one last comparison between Lotura and Plance, I especially LOVE how incredibly different the two pairings are even from each other! To me, Lotor and Allura are sexy and passionate, while Pidge and Lance are pure and fun! They're all so unique and special in their own ways, and they bring so much to the table, both for their characters and for their relationships.

I can't help but write essays every time I get asks, I'm so sorry lol 😭 There's so much more I could say about these guys, but I think I'd better stop here haha! I had a lot of fun writing about Lotura and Plance, and I hope you had just as much fun reading this! I really love these characters a lot. I'm so incredibly grateful that they exist, even if in the form of fiction, and I'm even MORE grateful that my love for them has continued to grow over the years. Thank you so much for the ask!!!! 💖💜💙💚

Oh and one last thing: we were robbed of a lot of different potential interactions with a lot of different characters, but I have to say it would have been fun to see more of Lotor and Lance interacting with each other! Lance was always acting out due to his jealousy, while Lotor on the other hand mostly just ignored him lol.

[corazonette]

They look pretty badass together, rite? Well, unfortunately, in my fictional world, this ship didn't work out so well. I still love it when other artists draw this ship, but in my art, it turned into a tragic hot mess with no chemistry. Let's just say, the ship sunk harder than the Titanic in my world, and still wouldn't be anywhere close to OTP material for me even if it didn't sink. Maybe I'll post those tragic no-chemistry pictures eventually, but idk. You can definitely find them on my DeviantArt if you know where to look.

[maranigai]

Do you still accept characters for that ask meme? I saw you only answered an ask about Messmer so far! How about Morgott for that ask meme? (not sure if asking DS characters counts since like 80% of info about them has to be manually hallucinated by the fan themselves, but I can if that's okay with you!)

Yep, I'm still doing character ask meme, Messmer simply was the only ask for me by now lol Also DS characters are fine too, of course they would be like 95% headcanon based, but that's why we love DS, isn't it?

But anyway, Morgott. My absolutely favourite of favourites of all ER characters...

favorite thing about them

First of all, Morgott is such a beautifully contradictory character. He's a demigod shardbearer and a cursed being, a proud monarch and a monster in his own eyes, a defender of all that is holy and a warlock shrouded in illusions. And all these things are actually logical and completely understandable given his story. Because, above everything else, Morgott is a broken creature, not as a result of his own deeds or guilts, but because of the things beyond his control, some ancient sins and crimes he's not aware of, some old vengeance that existed even before he was born. And this break, this pain, is a spiral, you know? Morgott hates his nature because he was convinced he's a monster, he supports the system that oppresses him because he believes that he's oppressed rightfully and this system is the best remaining option for the world as a whole, even if he and people like him have to suffer for it, and in doing so he causes even more harm, more oppression and misery for himself and everyone around. I love how he's a loyal, determined, faithful person, and this is exactly what makes him a villain in the story. He's an extremely tragic character, but completely consistent in his tragedy, his brokenness, and I have a deep weakness for broken things.

least favorite thing about them

I don't think there's anything I don't like about him as a character, I mean, he's certainly not flawless, but his flaws are what make him so interesting in the first place. So I say that my least favourite thing is his bossfight. Don't get me wrong, Morgott is one of my favourite FromSoft bosses in general, but I have a feeling that they made his moveset (super-complex and interesting) first, then remembered he's a mandatory mid-game boss and panicked to balance him to this level by drastically reducing his damage and hp.

favorite line

May the curse seep to thy very soul.

I just love his spiteful tone in this one, sorry.

brOTP

I could write Mohg or Godwyn here and it would be legit, but allow me to be more exotic this time and mention Malenia. They have many things in common, if you think about it: two cursed, yet somewhat noble beings, bitterly determined and endlessly loyal to their masters of choice. I can absolutely see how they can respect and understand each other, even if not sharing each other's cause. I also love the idea of a young, sick, not-yet-swordmaster Malenia and her Cool Big Brother Morgott, the only person around who takes her seriously.

OTP

Banished knight Oleg. Literally the mix of my favourite tropes of "liege and their a bit too loyal knight" and "my majestic, scheming wife and me, committing whatever crimes she wants me to commit today". Also Oleg dies before Morgott, so my inner angst enjoyer appreciates this as well.

nOTP

Mohg! I just can't see them as a pairing, their sibling relationships is everything to me. I'm also not a fan of Tarnished/Morgott, mainly because most of such arts/fics imply some level of self-indulgence and this just doesn't work for me (though I've seen several very cool works with this pairing too).

random headcanon

Three for the price of one: Morgott's hobby is creating clockwork automatons (a more detailed post about this hc); his favourite half-sibling is Malenia and this is mutual; he also shares Mohg's sense of fashion, but refuses to admit it.

unpopular opinion

While most people hc Morgott to be the elder twin, in my hcs he's the younger one (and the youngest of Godfrey's sons). Ironically enough, this isn't an important headcanon for Morgott himself, but it's an essential part of my perception of Godwyn and (especially) Mohg.

song i associate with them

Мельница - Что ты знаешь

My personal theme song for Morgott as the Veiled Monarch.

favorite picture of them

There're so many cool arts of Morgott that it's really hard to choose the most favourite one lol

So for now I pick this one by Cruentum_Noctis

[archonfurina]

why do you ship neuvifuri? /g this ship is just lost on me because i didn’t read any of their interactions as romantic — i just wanna understand why it’s such a popular ship 😭😭😭

Hii okay so I don't usually like 'defending' my otp but because you seem to genuinely want to know I'll answer. But I'm also curious if you ship anyone in Fontaine because none of them had any romantic interactions. Least of all Neuvillette. But anyway, the following are my own opinions and I can't say if everyone else sees them the same way.

I put off doing Fontaine questline for months, because I had lost interest in Genshin so I missed all fandom reactions etc, I don't know how popular whatever ships are. When I finally played it, I was neutral about things until the final archon quest. When that Focalors cutscene happened with Neuvillette, my eyes kinda opened. I shipped them first before Neuvifuri. His openly shocked/upset/devastated reactions to her were something new, since he hardly emoted before and we hadn't really seen his feelings. And the way he talked about Furina to Focalors, with so much concern and care for her because she's only human with such a huge burden. So then I went on my other account and replayed the whole questline to record it for gifs, because I'd fallen in love with Furina and her story.

They ruled Fontaine together for 400 years. Furina called Neuvillette to serve as the Iudex (though it was Focalors' idea), and Furina taught him to love humanity and open himself up to people. He's like her familiar the way Dvalin is Venti's and Yae Miko is Ei's. Whether it's platonic or romantic, they're each other's most important person and they love and care for each other. In the AQ, Neuvillette becomes increasingly frustrated with Furina because she isn't letting him in and is being secretive. Yet he keeps closing his eyes (literally, in some cases) to Furina's pain, like he's done for hundreds of years.

Neuvillette is enchanted by Furina's performances on stage, and wanted her to return there in Furina's story quest, and said his appreciation of her was always genuine and he wishes she knew that. Even in his voice line about her he says if she were to return to the stage, he would attend the performance and give her his heartfelt applause.

He gave her a special vision, possibly the first vision since he gained his full powers. If you look closer, it has dragon claws on it.

In the AQ, Furina fooling the heavenly principles wouldn't have worked without Neuvillette. He forgave the people of Fontaine and together they prevented the prophecy. Even though it was all Focalor's plan, and Furina did the hardest part, if Furina hadn't made Neuvillette care for the people it wouldn't have worked.

Immediately after the AQ when Furina had to leave Palais Mermonia, he got her a new apartment, and he said he will provide her with food, clothing, travel, whatever she wants. Meanwhile Furina's voice lines say it's been a while since she went to the Palais and that she thinks it's better for the both of them. Ouch. She's even avoiding him in Liyue.

There's insane angst and potential for a tragic ship. Furina lied to him for centuries, and now thinks it's better if they don't meet. She was incredibly lonely yet she couldn't confide in him, her closest friend. She's now mortal as well, whereas Neuvillette is a dragon. So she can actually get hurt, and die.

Plus they're beautiful together. They have matching color schemes, height difference, they have amazing synergy in combat. Their in-game abilities complement each other. Like they were made for each other.

[laufire]

august reading meme!

BOOKS

Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter. I got through this collection of short stories slowly but surely, and it cemented Angela Carter as one of my favourite authors. The Bloody Chamber will always have a special place in my heart, but each collection had stories that made my imagination run wild and enthralled me with their prose. Some of my favourites were "The Loves of Lady Purple," "Impressions: The Wrightsman Magdalene," or "The Scarlet House."

Olvidado Rey Gudú by Ana María Matute. This is my ASOIAF. What a long, meaty, enchanting tale, seriously. This book is the magnus opus of one of my favourite Spanish authors, and tells the story of the Kingdom of Olar from its birth to its end, over five tumultuous generations. It mixes the grounded medieval setting and outlandish fantastical elements in a very fluid prose, and following the tragic tale of woe in its pages over the last couple of months was a delight.

COMICS

The Cheshire Contract (Action Comics #613-618). I wanted to read the story of Lian going to live with Roy, for Reasons. It's good and fun and short (it occupies a small part of a larger issue, 8 pages each), so if it interests you, go for it.

Batman & Spiderman. This is part of a bunch of crossovers I haven't read, and don't plan to for now, so I was mixing some context, but I read it because Talia was there lol. I don't think DC and Marvel mix well, most of the time, but this little one-shot makes it work.

Jason Todd: Rebirth (2016-2020ish). It... had its moments. Waaaaay too much Lobdell, just as the New 52, but now that I've started the next phase to fall face-first into Cheer, of all arcs... yeah, neither is good lol. But one thing that really appealed to me was the dynamic between Jason and Bizarro; hence the cover. The other highlight was the (tragically few) interactions between Jason and Duke, especially in New Talent Showcase 2017. Give me mooooore, DC!! Other than that... well, there were many things that annoyed the hell out of me (Black Mask's writing, Bruce's EVERYTHING), but let's not get into it lol.

Green Arrow (2001). What a run. I've loved it from beginning to end, really (though a bit through the middle the art horrified me xD). It turned Mia into one of my favourite characters (and in reread, elevated a rareship into an OTP, because it really works for her character :P), which is not rare given that this is clearly where here best arcs are :D. Connor didn't have enough to do, tragically, but he's a great character and I look forward to read more about him; about Dinah&Ollie as well.

Batman: Bane of the Demon. Hi yeah just mentioning this arc to tell you guys about how Ra's apparently keeps cameras in Talia's bedroom :))) he might've been watching as she hooked up with Bane (who he unceremoneously decides she must marry to advance his plans). Let's all kill Ra's.

Batman: Death and the Maidens. A Rucka story, so you know it's good (though not particularly good to Talia lbr... I'm not bothered by *what* happens, I just wish we'd seen more of her perspective, during and especially after -though that's not a mmater of *this* run of course). Bruce's dream journey/possible visions of his parents's ghost were a highlight. Do recommend.

Truth & Justice: Hunted by the Past (#4). Way better than similar "Jason fears becoming the Joker!!!" stories, though that interpretation of the character is never going to be one I agree with. I liked seeing him with the helmet again, and the art is fun. The story gave Jason yet another pre-Robin childhood friend (this one got killed

Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelling Heroes. A fascinating read, especially taking it in its context and comparing it to how timid DC is about politics in current comics, IMO. This run was messy and didn't always seem to know what it was doing, and some of what it included or argued feels wrong from a modern perspective, but it dared to take risks and that's always appreciated on my part. My favourite story was the one introducing John Stewart; both for John himself, of course, but also because it was unafraid to write Hal as someone that despite good intentions and despite being a ~heroic character, had racist biases he needed to face and overcome.

Kingdom Come. This is one of those ~iconic comics that feels like a must-read; it's meaty and it raises questions and it's a run you could really sink your teeth into. And I didn't like it at all LOL. It's so... nostalgic and regressive and downright reactionary. Its fluffy epilogue does it no favours, too (other than prompting this post of mine, ig).

No Man's Land. I finally read the whole thing!!!!!! It took me SIX MONTHS!!!!!!!! And speaking of reactionary beliefs añdslfkjasf. But I did like it and enjoyed it far more than Kingdom Come, tbf (except Dixon's issues omg whyyyyy is he everywheeeeere he's so boriiiiiing). Helena Bertinelli is the uncontested star of this event AFAIC, and I won't hear otherwise. Well, Leslie, Barbara and Cass definitely shined too. And Montoya and Essen. Aaaand Harley Quinn has her introduction. And Selina has a lot of fun stealing things and screwing with everyone!!! And Talia gets Bruce to get his head out of his ass!!! Ugh, there's so much I could say about this run. The Renee & Two-Face issue. Alfred's tale of himself as Bruce's squire. Lynx and Batman's brief team-up. The Secret Files and Origins tale about a man named Jason who thinks Gotham is speaking to him, and who thanks Barbara for her service to the city. There is a lot in this arc that I'd gladly rotate in my mind forever. But Helena is my darling and THEE best Bat(man). That is all.

[coldsaturn]

I read your tw list for icos and oh gosh. That's one heavy book. I'm not even sure it's for me. Is there, like SOMETHING that is not terrible in these books? A good msg or a happy ending? Anything that would make me want to live and not put me in a depression?

I think the best thing I can do is tell you that I don't do tragic endings. I'll swim in whump superhell and like it, but the end has to be pointing up. 99.99% of the stories I rec end pointing up, with the OTP still together. Sometimes I just enjoy seeing them hurt a bit or a lot before they get to that point lol

ICoS is a very long (especially if you go for the original version) story, and it gets so dark in such vivid and extensive details that it can be very uncomfortable, but all the characters are incredible survivors. Even the ones that are straight up antagonists. It ends up being a story of resilience, survivors, hope, finding meaning and connections even when every single odd is stacked against them, choosing to put one foot in front of the other again and again. You have a hopeless post-WWIII nuclear dystopia, and still characters fall in love, despair, try to protect one another, laugh, mourn, get hurt, hurt others, hurt themselves, live.

I didn't have the word for it back when I read it the first time, but ICoS shares quite a few traits with the grimdark genre, only to thread it together with the slowburn + angst-with-happy-for-now-ending* tags. And it works. It worked so well ICoS still comes to mind whenever I think about masterclass examples of dystopian worldbuilding.

*Happy-for-now because it's still a dystopia at the end of the day

[optiwashere]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Aww, thank you, mormo! What a fun lil game 💜

My favorite of my Asheera (Tav)/Shadowheart stories:

I have to start with the first fic of my Shadowheart/Asheera series, of course. It Is the Wound She Gave Me is a rather dark place to start off this story, but I think it makes the sweetness later taste all the better. Note: heed the tags!

The follow-up (with a breather between now!) to that first fic in the series, Like I Am Safe Again, is one of my favorite things I've written for the fandom, for sure! Using lost time and dissociation to explore some of Shadowheart's memory issues combined with what happens in Wound was just so... fun is not the right word, but as a writer I enjoyed digging deep into Shadowheart's brain here. Also, having the fic before this from Asheera's POV makes Shadowheart's misunderstanding of her own recent memories that much more tragic.

OK, so there's a theme here. Quelle surprise. After focusing mostly on Shadowheart and her memories, To Sever the Thread is a fic that I adored writing to more deeply explore Asheera's POV this early on. The Gauntlet is an event in canon that is super important in my interpretations of both the relationship between Asheera and Shadowheart as well as the way that Asheera's oath permeates so much of her life. One day I'll write that alternate ending...

I do have to recommend my currently ongoing multichapter fic for Asheera/Shadowheart, Blades in the Night. It's one of the more action-heavy things I've written for the fandom. Honestly, it's basically a full fantasy novel written as a sorta road trip that gets interrupted by Sharran assassins. It's also quite smutty, extremely introspective—my favorite!—and stitches together what post-canon life is like for these two. Even after the Netherbrain is defeated, there's still a few hanging threads (more Asheera backstory stuff throughout, as well)

My completed modern/band AU, Nightsongs. What if Shar was Shadowheart's abusive ex, and what if they were in a metal band together? What if their van breaks down in some shitty little town outside of a big city, and what if Shadowheart finds more than what she expected in some random mechanic working on their van?

I wanna cheat a little bit, so here's my favorite non-Asheera/Shadowheart stories under the break...

The Wind Blows So Light is an epistolary between Aylin and Isobel while they both assume the other one is dead. A sort of call-and-response letter exchange where neither writer ever expects a response. There is a happy ending.

I don't think I've written a Karlach/Shadowheart fic as good as Burning Hands. Writing Karlach's POV is not my usual, and couching it in T4T smut that explores bodies in an affirming, loving way was a completely unique thing that I'll likely never replicate.

I have a habit of being mean to Nocturne in my Nocturne/Shadowheart fics, but I really love how Fragrant is My Many Flower'd Crown turned out! Unrequited love and pining, my beloathed and beloved in equal miseries.

That Minthara/Karlach smut fic I wrote after seeing some amazing fanart is one of my favorites! I was really happy to see that so many people enjoyed the candle imagery in it as well. Link to fic here (fanart link inside!)

Writing a Minthara/Lae'zel fic for Kinktober on a whim turned me into a fiend for that rarepair. Honestly, they might be my canon/canon OTP, and that's a crying shame considering how few fics there are of the two of them. Link to the fic (heed the tags!)

[searchingforatrail]

complex megop opinions below!

Not necessarily positive or negative, just a very objective view of it and how fandom sees it vs. other ships with a similar dynamic. 

This isn’t ship hate, because it’s my OTP. It’s just a realistic look at MegOp spurred on by the fact that I tend to see people overlook the obvious issues for moral points. Meaning, I’ve run upon some sort of hate towards megastar shippers from  some megop shippers, usually with people accusing the former of being unhealthy and abusive, and i’m like, the latter isn’t? 

And not just the ship, but people too. 

I credit most of the great development and realistic approach towards a positive MegOp portrayal to fans, given that in most media we have of them, their relationship starts out great and disintegrates into one of the most tragic relationships of all time. Not only because they fall out, but because they hurt each other, drastically. Megatron, arguably more. Not only does he hurt Optimus, he targets him by harming those close to him. Whether it’s children or his closest friends, he personally hurts those around Optimus.  

In Prime, it’s arguably worse. Because it’s not just physical, but it’s psychological too. Especially during the Orion Pax saga. 

And the same could be said about Optimus to Megatron as well. Initially. Just in a different light. Optimus, a privilege mech, using his position and power to speak over Megatron, to dismiss his want to use violence and overthrow a government who abused him, etc., is a great example of an abuse of power. 

And I always stand by the fact that Megatron was 100% within his rights to want to use violence to hurt those who hurt him. 

In IDW both have an entire conversation about how badly they’ve hurt each other, Megatron flat out admits to wanting to hurt Optimus by hurting people around him. He knows what emotionally fucks with his closest friend, and proceeds to do it on a galactic level. Repeatedly. 

But people aren’t supposed to interact with megop shippers because they ship megastar? On the basis of abuse and/or an unhealthy relationship? 

What makes them different? A lot, i’m sure. There’s an arguably closer work relationship with Megatron and Starscream, the abuse is physical and psychological. There’s a larger power imbalance, and it’s over the span of a longer time. Starscream has less of a chance to fight back as opposed to Optimus, and the relationship between Megatron and Starscream is not always as equal as Megatron and Optimus’s. 

So it’s much easier to say “This is an unhealthy relationship”. 

But that’s canon. Shippers and artist work very diligently to change it, fix it, and write happy endings to it that end pretty well. They’ve worked to create complex endings to an abusive ship, very similar to how canon and fanon writers have done the exact same thing to Megatron and Optimus. 

But the bottom line is that both ships are very unhealthy. At least a a point. They don’t start that way, and they might not end that way, but a significant chunk of time, they are very, very unhealthy. And the even bottomer line is that fans work very hard to give it a healthier ending--both ships. 

And that said, I don’t understand the vitriol that comes from MegOp shippers to Megastar shippers, especially when both ships have similar dynamics. 

I guess the argument is that “well, one ship is more abusive/unhealthy than the other”, but you get in a weird space when you start to say one version of abuse is more valid than the other. 

And don’t get me wrong, there are stark differences between both ships. I do think Starscream is in a place where he experiences abuse more, but that doesn’t make Megop unhealthy or a morally superior ship. It doesn’t it any less hypocritical to add  “megastars dni/megastars get hit by trucks/i hate megastar shippers” on your profile on the basis of abuse or unhealthy relationships if you ship MegOP. 

I think it’s just dismissive of what both megatron and optimus go through during their time together, because their unhealthiness is acceptable. And that leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. 

So yeah, those are just my thoughts. I welcome another perspective, just be kind about it. 

And I love MegOp. Megatron and Optimus are my favorite characters. but I also know the ship is the most complex ship, imo, to date in transformers. and it’s not without it’s fair share of pain and agony. But why is their dynamic okay. why does it give is the right to be crappy towards other shippers who ship a similar dynamic to ours? 

[jakowskis]

30 Torchwood Questions!

Can be used as an ask game, or as a 30 Days of Torchwood challenge! I’m doing the latter (more on that later) and created this for that purpose, but then I realized it would work as an ask game as well, so here you go!�� Gwen bashers DNI!!! Everybody else, enjoy! 

1. How did you first get into Torchwood?

2. Who’s your favorite Torchwood member? (And if it’s not one of them, who’s your favorite character?) Why are they your favorite? Do you have any secondary favorites (maybe a one-off or minor character that really stuck with you)?

3. What’s your favorite episode(s)?

4. What’s your least favorite episode(s)?

5. What do you think, objectively, is the best episode of the show?

6. Favorite season/series? 

7. Do you have any all-time favorite scenes? You can bring up multiple - a well-written scene, a silly scene that makes you smile, a sad scene that makes you cry, maybe a scene that just sort of stuck with you… your choice!

8. Are there any scenes (or even full episodes) that you can’t stand? If yes, and you could go back in time and rewrite them, how would you fix them?

9. Are there any characters you dislike? Do you legitimately hate them, or do they just kind of irritate you? What would it take to make you like them?

10. Do you have a favorite cast member? If you’ve gotten into the behind the scenes end of the show at all, do you have a favorite cast moment or story (from bloopers, TW Declassified, convention panels, etc)?

11. Do you have a favorite track from the score? Maybe the soundtrack?

12. Favorite location in the Hub? 

13. Favorite ship(s)? Any Torchwood OTPs? Go ahead, gush about them!

14. Favorite friendship(s)?

15. Are there any ships you dislike?

16. Have you read Torchwood fic? If so, any all-time favorites?

17. Favorite kiss in the show? What was so special about it? If kisses don’t do it for you, were there any other scenes that stood out as particularly sexy and/or romantic?

18. Who would you say had the best character development? Who do you wish got more? 

19. Would you recommend the show to people? If you would, would you feel the need to include disclaimers in your pitch? Any particular scenes you’d want to warn them about first? 

20. Discuss Jack. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

21. Discuss Gwen. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons? 

22. Discuss Owen. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

23. Discuss Tosh. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

24. Discuss Ianto. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

25. Now that we know how you feel; shag, marry, cliff / fuck, marry, kill the team! (If you feel comfortable doing so, of course.)

26. Do you have a favorite antagonist? 

27. This is a sci-fi show, after all… any favorite aliens? Favorite gadgets, maybe? 

28. Do you like how tragic Torchwood is, or do you wish it was more light-hearted? Do you think the ‘dark and adult themes’ were explored sufficiently? 

29. Do you have a favorite quote? Serious or silly, or both! Maybe a favorite quip / exchange?

30. Why, overall, do you love Torchwood?

[voloslobotomyservice]

thank you @necroticyuzu for the tag! 💫 and thank you everyone who participated in my poll! I love talking about my little Tavs and I can’t stop making them so I’m always down to be tagged in these sorta things!

no pressure tags: @beesht @grandmother-goblin @auspex-author (yk I’m always down for Shior lore)

Name: Saoirse Nic’Phaid

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: mostly straight (but she’s working on defining it)

OTHER

Family: A complicated conversation. Older human father who’s unable to work, younger wood elf mother who abandons the family often, and an older brother Arthur who was tragically murdered five years before the events of BG3 took place.

Birthplace: Lower City of Baldur’s Gate.

Job: Criminal, I suppose? She doesn’t really have a traditional job. Instead, she’s spent most of her life stealing and then selling items to make a living. It even brought in more money than Arthur was making when he was alive and working.

Phobia: Thalassaphobia. She never learned how to swim.

Guilty Pleasure: Hooking up with problematic men. They oh-so-bad but oh-so-good in bed. Her own ex-boyfriend was a member of the Zhentarim, after all.

MORALS

Alignment: Neutral Evil - rather selfish in her actions, yet will help others who are similar her.

Sins: Theft. Lots of it. Jealousy, coveting what others may have knowing she could never have it. Will usually say whatever pops in her head without thinking it through first, which gets her in trouble. Can be very self-centered in different situations (ex. she refused to take poison from Nettie at the Grove after she didn’t help the party cure their tadpole)

Virtues: Loyal to those she loves, almost to a fault. When able to, very much a “steal from the rich to give to the poor” type. Believes honesty is the best policy (unless your life is at risk, then lying to save yourself is acceptable). Family is also very important to her, especially her father, and she tried to make sure he had well over a years worth of gold before going on the run.

THIS OR THAT

Introvert/Extrovert/Ambivert - Likes to be social but also enjoys time to herself. Tries to keep a healthy balance of both.

Organized/Disorganized - in some aspects of her life, at least. When it comes to her money, she’s very organized.

Close Minded/Open Minded - No defining reason. She just is.

Calm/Anxious/Restless - Being on the run for a crime she may (or may not) have committed, she is constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure she and her companions are safe (but mostly her).

Disagreeable/Agreeable - That is, if you see eye to eye with her.

Cautious/Reckless/In Between - After the loss of her brother, she was very reckless in her crimes and overall behavior, but she has calmed down a bit. She will still do risky things for the fun of it, though.

Patient/Impatient/In Between - Do not test her.

Outspoken/Reserved - Almost too outspoken for her own good.

Leader/Follower/Flexible - Because she’s very headstrong, she easily fell into the leader position of the party.

Empathetic/Unemphathetic - To those that are like her: who’ve struggled, who understand how hard life can be. Won’t listen to the sob story of some upper class elitist.

Optimistic/Pessimistic/Realist

Traditional/Modern/In Between

Hardworking/Lazy - But hardworking in the way that she’s taking from others… yeah I don’t like to think about the logistics of it too much.

RELATIONSHIPS

OTP: Don’t hate me. But. Saoirse is absolutely crushing on Aradin, despite how much of an ass he is. She thinks she can fix him. Maybe she can.

Other Ships: Hooks up with Rugan after rescuing him from the gnolls, which leads to an interesting throuple dynamic when they’re all in Baldur’s Gate.

BroTP: Surprisingly, she and Lae’zel get along swimmingly. Maybe it’s because they have similar personalities. She and Astarion also gossip about the drama between their camp companions, as well as tease each other over their romantic pursuits. Also apparently she and Shadowheart get along very well!

NoTP: Gale annoys her, but she also sees him as a powerful ally and a good companion. Thoroughly rejects any of his advances.

[visualtaehyun]

9 People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

I've been up since like 3 am because of jetlag so I thought I might as well answer one of the thingies I've been tagged in, thank you @airenyah ✨️

3 ships

1) Scallisaac - Scott, Allison and Isaac (Teen Wolf)

A perfect triad that first opened my eyes to poly ships and triads in particular! I gotta rec this one fic here that's been percolating in my brain for, oh, just- you know, a decade 🙂

2) River/Doctor - River Song and the 11th doctor (Doctor Who), or as I used to tag them- OTP: Whoney I'm home :D

They were arguably my first major OTP after I first learned what that means lol I love a flirty dynamic, bickering, tragic fated lovers, and time travel! My time in the Doctor Who fandom was when I first taught myself how to gif and use photoshop (back when I still had it...) so there's a bunch of gifsets and edits still on my blog from around then, at least one of which I remember featuring this ship!

3) To no one's surprise, I gotta nod along to one of @airenyah 's choices: Destiel - Dean and Castiel (Supernatural)

The amount of fics I read...! I even still have a 9 year old inactive sideblog that I made, posted a lot on, and then abandoned all within the span of one year lmao

First ship

I honestly don't remember but since one of my earliest fandoms was W.i.t.c.h., I'm just gonna say it was one of the canon relationships, like Will x Matt or either of Cornelia's romances

Last song

Spotify tells me it's Blooming Just For You (꽃이 피는데 필요한 몇 가지) by NuNew and Paul Kim but that's kind of cheating since I've been using it as an alarm recently lol

So, checking my recently played, the next one down is จังหวะตกหลุมรัก (Magic Moment) by DIDIxDADA ✨️

Currently reading

I'm still reading เจ้าชายน้อย /jao chaai naawy/, The Little Prince in Thai, because I tend to read a chapter while marking unfamiliar words as I go but then the looking up of them all afterwards takes me forever so I'm kinda lazy about reading it 😂

Last movie

The Lost Lotteries, or in Thai: ปฏิบัติการกู้หวย (/bpa dti bat gaan guu huay/ = Operation Recovering Lotteries)

It's a Thai comedy from 2022 that's basically about a heist but since I know folks here love First Kanaphan, here's my tumblr pitch: he stars as a spoiled rich kid, has a neck tattoo, and is in all of two scenes lol Also- not related to First anymore but- the characters are all nicely color-coded 🌈

Currently craving

Sleep 🤓 No but for real, jetlag is a bitch and it always only hits me after traveling back west which, like- usually people find it to be worse when traveling east so what the fuck is up with my inner clock hm????

No pressure tags: @zimmbzon @thegalwhorants @twig-tea @rocketturtle4 @sunshinechay @khaostache @slayerkitty @bruisingknees @berestweys - if y'all've already played this tag, please do point me towards it 💕

[blackrevell]

// WIP WHENEVER AND FOREVER

Been tagged by @ouroboros-hideout, @olath124 and @wanderingaldecaldo recently, thank you!

2D | 3D | Writing | VP

The last several days over here were quite turbulent and I suppose I gulped a bit too much of negativity, as nothing I did so far felt right or decent. That's why this journal will re-cap everything that's piled up in my project files since the previous WIP Whenever post: (x)

// Digital Art Still thinking of So Mi x Myers painting, the sneak peek of which you saw the last time. I think of it daily, I promise. Some day I will finish it.

Beyond that one, there's also a Myers' study that I'd want to complete. Been a while, but who knows.

// 3D

Modelling felt much more dynamic lately. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Blender is awesome, and I've had a blast working in it again.

For starters, I embarked on an endless highway of finally fleshing out my OC. The progress on the character herself is slow (well, at least there's no deadline and no rush). In terms of looks, she is a connoisseur of sunglasses and gathered quite a wide collection over the years. Here is one design out of the 4 planned:

Planning is not my natural forte, though, which often produces unexpected results. Had a night when I went too hard on caffeine and couldn't sleep, decided to spend the extra brain-overdrive time modelling a dress I saw on Pinterest. It's not even within my character's usual clothing style, but who's gonna stop me? Me? :pain:

What you see above is a low-poly preview, there's still lots of work to be done even in terms of mesh, much less texturing and weight painting (which is going to be a total horror).

Last, but not least — one of my frens on Discord was looking for sock garters to port for a character, so I thought I could help out a bit. Currently testing it for mesh clipping; texturing here is a "demo" solely for preview purposes.

// Writing

My friends and co-brainrotters somehow pulled me into writing, even though I've been notoriously bad with it my entire life.

At the moment, there's one ficlet in progress focused on character exploration for my OTP Nightwing (OC x Kurt). It is a wild mix of text with bits being deleted, and changed, and added, so I'll keep it under wraps for now.

The sad sack days did lure me into writing out small shards of feelings, which I have no idea how to classify. Vesna and I have a terminal disease called "Rosalind Myers and Kurt Hansen are bitter exes", and their tragic relationship just doesn't let me go:

Lies, lies, lies, how have I been blind to The knives cutting my sanity That you brought with you And I thought would only undo The enemies we could Conquer together and Share their bones and Share our hearts Too bad the taste of my blood Was your favorite hue In the palette of what I could Ever bring you

There's been a couple of other small writings that I won't dare to post (cause extra cringe)

// Virtual Photography Not much to report here, just want to say that it's been a pleasure to finally try my hand at proper VP with Kurt and his peachbutt (x).

I hope I'm capable of learning better and better, because photography has been a tempting idea for me since I was a kid, and I have already got concepts for several photo sets to do in Cyberpunk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not tagging anyone in particular, my brain is not functioning today. Just wishing everyone a nice day and evening. <3

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Umm the usual assortment of lance allura and kuron for that ask thingy <33(can be all three or just one if you dont feel like it!!!) scurries away

Thank you for asking bestie ❤❤❤. Ngl my brain is baked these days so I'll be only one this time

Kuron-

three facts about them from my personal headcanons-

Huge ass nerd. Especially about classic lit but he's also this pic about it-

2. Enters 'Shiro look-a-like Cosplay' competition specifically to do the Worst Most Awful impression of Shiro, he also got the scar on the wrong side through makeup (its a coping mechanism leave him alone) If he and Shiro had a better relationship (and Shiro stopped being a bitch about the clone thing) they both would enter that competition and Kuron will win while Shiro will get last and Kuron doesn't know whether to laugh or cry or curl up in a corner and die

3. Fighting for his life anytime he gets a headache or a migraine. Constantly swinging between "it's just a headache! Haggar's dead! It's just a headache! Haggar's dead! It's just-" And "I am going to die"

a reason they suck-

Babygirl I know you are going Through it but you got to stop going behind your teams back and yell at them, Lotor was so not worth it.

Also is just so focused on being The Leader he forgot being Team Member

a reason they are great-

He's just trying so much???!?! Like he is doomed no matter what happened and he didn't even know it but he was still trying his best and he fought and tried to survive till his very last breath 🥺🥺🥺🥺 my boy he deserved better

a reason I relate to them-

I kinda don't? Relatability of a character isn't really my priority as much as studying them in a microscope is. If I had to I guess our tendency to not communicate well and be a bit snappish when stressed? The feeling of not being in control about anything in your life? Otherwise I can't think of any

(what I consider to be) the top tier otp/ot3 for that character-

I still think about toxic yaoi Kuron/Lotor that would never work and destroy them both btw if you even care

But also like screw romance give him as many friends as he wants

five things that never happened to that character that I believe should have happened-

Him getting to live

Him getting to live as his own person

Him getting to live as his own person in his own body

Him getting to live as his own person in his own body and not treated as Evil Shiro clone but a friend

Shiro fucking apologises to him (I know there are others who have done far FAR worse things to Kuron and Shiro has his own trauma and I like Shiro! But also listening to him being mean to my son no. 1 WHILE being mean about my tragic son no. 2 and all I could think of was, "Shut the fuck up forever actually bitch")

five people that character never fell in love with and why-

Again do I really have to answer this one?? Like can't we ignore all shipping fandom? Ugh fine

Haggar (for obvious reasons)

Zarkon (stated as above and in fact these two can be interchanged)

Sendak (sure Kuron hasn't actually met Sendak but he does have Shiro's memories and he sucks in all of them)

Iverson (because fuck him)

Slav (I don't hate Slav but I have to agree with people when they say that Slav and Shiro trigger each other's anxieties and trauma and this applies to Kuron as well)

[ashxketchum]

Yesterday I said I won't probably talk about this but you know what fuck it I found the BEST PICREWS EVER!!!

Link: M / F

Regency Romance AU feat. my favourite OTPs:

KaixOC

2. TysonxHilary

3. Mimato

4. Taiora

I am still not sure how much I can explain well but for now the gist is that the girls are all childhood friends, despite having different backgrounds/upbringings.

Charlie (OC)'s father is a solicitor for the royal family which puts her family in the nouveau rich category. Sora's father is a very high ranking military official who doesn't spend much time at home. Both Charlie and Sora are very rebellious (considering the time period lol) and do not get along well with their respective mothers at all. Mimi's father belongs to the nobility but with her mother often falling sick, he lets her run free and act as per her wishes very often. Hilary too has a noble background but both her parents pass away at a very young age without proper heirs assigned so the royalty takes back her property and she grows up with a disinterested grandmother caring for her in a bare minimum fashion.

Save for Mimi, the other three girls are set to debut in the same season. Mimi is not very happy about having to wait a whole year in joining her best friends out in society, so she does attempt to manipulate her father into letting her debut early quite a few times but it just so happens that her mother's health is in a good condition on those days and she doesn't end up succeeding.

Charlie doesn't want to get married, but wants to inherit her father's soliciting business which her mother is against. When she's forced to debut, she decides to create a scandal around herself to get herself out of the marriage race and sort of doom her chances of being courted for a long time so she can focus instead on secretly studying to take over her father's work.

Sora is also not very interested in the idea of marriage and she enjoys designing/stitching clothes. But her mother is against the idea of a military officer's daughter running her own boutique, so she's eager to get Sora married off as soon as possible. Not having the will to drag her own family into a fake scandal like Charlie, she instead decides to chop off all her hair right before her presentation in front of the queen, hoping to seem more tomboyish to keep potential suitors at bay.

Hilary thinks her life couldn't possibly be more tragic but her grandmother too passes away a week before the presentation. Mimi's mother is feeling healthy at the time and offers to sponsor her for the day, and although she's dressed the most plainly, the Queen does praise her appearance which puts her in the spotlight. (Sora's mom thinks that if Sora wouldn't have cut her hair she would be the one to receive the praise and gives her shit about it for quite a few days lol) Hilary is unsure whether she's pleased with this because she does get a lot of attention from suitors and marriage would mean finally leaving behind her financial struggles, her romantic nature makes her keep her hopes up for a love match.

And all you need to know about the boys is THAT THEY'RE 1000% CERTIFIED SIMPS FOR THEIR LADIES, NO PERSONALITY OR DEPTH WHATSOEVER JUST KISSING THE GROUND THE GIRLS WALK ON FOREVER.

Jk, jk but not really, putting the plot details under the cut. Just fyi that the last names will be different, more victorian and this will follow the same logic as most of my crossovers where Tyson (Beyblade) and Tai (Digimon) are brothers.

Charlie, Sora and Hilary make their debut in society together with the spotlight being on Hilary instantly, despite of her being completely unprepared to handle it. Charlie is not looking forward to having to go through a bunch of suitors and maybe find the guy she's looking for after so many attempts. Sora just wants to escape whatever plan her mother has hatched up for her, long enough for her father to come back home so he can support her choices.

Kai, a distant relative of the Queen and Prince in line of whatever kingdom, is in town after some time away and is awarded the title of the most eligible bachelor the minute he sets foot in public. He's not happy with all the people swarming him constantly, and is even more disappointed to find that the Queen is planning to set him up with who she thinks is the best debutante this season, Hilary. He spends his time at parties, skirting the corners and hiding in the shadows where he runs into Charlie. When Charlie finds out about the Queen's plan, she knows that Hilary is too overwhelmed to handle a courtship like this, so she makes a proposal to Kai. The two can fake a courtship for the entirety of this season, after which Kai plans to go back to his travels abroad. When he's leaving they can stage a dramatic break up, where Charlie's reputation can be ruined just enough to keep her out of the running for the next few seasons. Although Kai is reluctant at first, but when he sees that Charlie really doesn't care about scandals and such, he agrees, and the two create a shocking ripple by dancing together at the Queen's ball - which dissuades the Queen and also takes the attention off Hilary so that she can finally breathe.

While Hilary is fully aware that the only way for her to secure a future with money in it is for her to find a decent match, when she's chosen as the Queen's "favourite" of the season, she ends up being tied to the centre of the society with no room for imperfection or mistakes. With only a few decent dress to wear to such fashionable events, she knows she has limited opportunity to find a husband. She does appreciate all the men approaching her without any effort on her behalf, but half of those have not read as much as her and the other half are too old for her liking. She is grateful to Charlie for taking the Prince off the list for her, because she could not imagine faking another conversation that night, when the attention moves on to the latest attractive event, she makes her escape to get home and try and figure out just how she would get money to go on attending these parties. On her way out, she bumps into someone, and the other party ends up spilling wine on her only very good dress. Completely overwhelmed by the events of the night, she goes off on the stranger, not knowing his name or title, even if his face feels oddly familiar, and then stomps out in tears.

The next morning, she is visited by the Dowager Viscountess Godsworth, she shares that when she was younger she used to be very close friends with Hilary's mother, and when she noticed Hilary at the Queen's Ball she wanted to share how much she resembled her mother with her. Hilary hosts her for tea, though embarrassed by the state of her rundown lodgings. Lady Godsworth offers to sponsor Hilary for the season, as a gesture towards her late mother but Hilary is stubborn about accepting charity. It seems that the Viscountess is equally unwilling to accept a refusal, so instead she suggests that Hilary provide guidance to her daughter Kari, for a decent fee. She explains that Kari had always been sick since she was a baby and the doctor advised to not let her travel far, so Kari never got a chance to go to finishing school and was very much unprepared to debut next season. Hilary decides that since she would actually be working for the money, and doing something she's good at, she accepts the offer and the following week she arrives at the Godsworth House.

There she is greeted by the eldest son, Tyson, who also happens to be the same man she shouted at a few days ago. Realising it was too late to back out now, she keeps her head down as the Viscountess introduces the two of them, and pretends to meet him for the first time. While he doesn’t call her out on the lie, she notices the smug look on his face when his mother turns away, and figures out that her job won’t be as easy as she assumed. She is introduced to Kari, and the two get along well, years of experience in trying to keep all her friends in line benefits Hilary and she’s able to connect well with the young girl. Her lessons are supervised by the Viscountess but Tyson often crashes them unannounced, poking at her by raising contradictions against everything she says, arguing with her on the more philosophical part of her lessons. Hilary's glad that sweet little Kari is blessed with such a progressive minded brother, but she does not appreciate him butting heads with her and often ends up arguing in support of notions she herself dislikes, always leaving the Godsworth House more huffier and restless than when she arrived.

With the help of Sora, some of Hilary's mothers older dresses are repurposed for her usage and she spends her nights attending parties and events with her friends. She realises that having Kai next to Charlie gives the girls a chance to relax and have fun talking with each other since most people are too nervous to approach them. The few times she does have a conversation with potential suitors, she finds it completely drab in comparison to her arguments with Tyson, she finds herself often hoping to run into him in the evening, outside from his house, where there would be no familial duty or job requirement binding them and they could freely express their true feelings to each other. But to her disappointment, he rarely attends these events, occasionally stopping by to greet important people briefly, spare a dance with his mother and then leaving without even looking in Hilary’s direction.

Meanwhile, the fake courtship is working out well for Charlie, with Kai’s help she’s able to spend her time studying at the palace library under the ruse of spending quality time with her suitor. When her Aunt Nancy (Matt/Yamato’s mom) is visiting the city for a weekend, she overhears a conversation between her parents and her Aunt about an upcoming two week long reprieve at the Stonefield Manor (Ishi (stone) da (field) = Stonefield GEDDIT?). Her mother suggests to Nancy that they should invite Hilary as a potential match for Matt, so Charlie warns her friend beforehand. Hilary makes up a lie about not being able to travel, and instead Charlie has Sora and Mimi tag along with her.

Since a lot of other young boys and girls have joined the party, Mimi being the oldest out of the lot ends up babysitting most of them throughout the two weeks. She can’t complain to Charlie because it took a lot of convincing on her friend’s behalf to let her parents to allow her to travel so she suffers in silence, until she runs into Matt. Although Matt had visited his cousin Charlie in the city often, he never met her friends in person despite hearing about them, so he doesn’t recognise who Mimi is. Seeing this is an opportunity, Mimi lies about her age to get away from all the boring kids and befriends Matt during her stay at his manor. The two are fans of the same composer so they quickly connect over music, spending a lot of their time hiding inside the manor and playing the piano together.

Charlie and Sora are not so lucky in escaping what is required of them at such an event. But since Kai agreed to join her for the reprieve, Charlie loudly declares that Sora will be their chaperone and the three are able to get out of most activities planned by the parents using this strategy. Because they also spend a lot of time avoiding the main areas of the Stonefield manor, they coincidentally never run into Matt and Mimi hanging out together.

When the hunt is planned, Tai shows up to invite Kai to join and meets Sora for the first time. Sora expresses her wish to join the hunt as well, but Tai just laughs it off saying that with Kai joining they’d have enough men as was the custom. Kai, who has been slightly confused about his feelings towards Charlie recently, thinks that if he helps out Sora, Charlie would surely think highly of him. So he pretends to be a little sick, urging Tai to let Sora join the hunt in his place. Tai finds it hard to argue with him, considering the hierarchy, asking Sora to do some target practice and if she performs well, the hunting party would consider letting her join.

Sora, the daughter of a military man who raised her like a son, obviously outshines everyone at the practice and is allowed to accompany the men for the activity. Tai is awestruck and captivated, and after spending time with her that day, he’s obsessed with making her fall for him. Sora is very flattered but she also knows that her mother would turn up her nose at the idea of her marrying the second son so to say. She’s also afraid that marrying into nobility would only lead to more restrictions and duties, stopping her from pursuing her dream of having her own boutique. She tries to avoid all of Tai’s advances, keeping things friendly between them as much as possible, but he’s persistent with his approach throughout.

When everyone is in the country side enjoying the fresh air, Hilary still continues giving lessons to Kari at the Godsworth House. Happy that her schedule is not running as tight with no evening parties happening for the time being. Since the Viscountess accompanied Tai to the reprieve as well, Tyson is stuck supervising the lessons as the ‘head of the household’ and sweet but not so innocent Kari is very happy with this situation. She was quick to catch on to the tension between her tutor and her brother so she spends a lot of time coming up with ways to make them end up in embarrassing situations with each other. When the two weeks are almost coming to an end, Kari insists that the only way for her to know if she’s good with the piano would be to see if people enjoying dancing to her music. Tyson, unable to turn down a request by his little sister, and Hilary, bound by her duty as a tutor, give in to her demand and end up dancing together for the first time, which ignites a lot of feelings in both of them.

The party at the countryside begins to wrap up and Mimi prepares to tell Matt the truth about her not being out in the society, but that’s exactly when he shares that he has decided to join Charlie in the city for the rest of the season. Their conversation is interrupted and Mimi never gets the chance to tell him the truth. Matt ends up in the city later and attends one of the balls where he’s surprised to find Mimi missing. That’s when Charlie tells him about Mimi still being young, which shocks him. Since he’s hurting and angry over the lie, he goes to Mimi’s house and tells her parents about how she lied while she was away, carefully omitting the part that he was the man she spent so much unsupervised time with. Mimi’s parents are angry of course, and they forbid her from leaving the house for the rest of the season.

After a few days when Matt has calmed down, he regrets his actions but when he goes back to Mimi’s house, he’s not allowed to see her. Mimi is also overtaken by the guilt she feels over lying to Matt so shamelessly, and she ends up writing an apology letter where she pours her heart about feeling left out and just wanting to enjoy this period of her life like her friends were. At the end she requests that if he decides to forgive her, she would be happy to show him around the city next season when she is officially out. Charlie is tasked with delivering the letter to Matt, but is unable to hand it over to him directly. Not thinking too much of it, she hands it to her Aunty Nancy instead, who is aware of the situation.

Nancy opens the letter and reads it before Matt comes home. She knows that if Matt read the letter he would shut himself off in the country again for another year, spoiling her plans to get him married, before next season. So she ends up destroying the letter, and eventually the two head back to their manor to receive another set of guests she has invited, that includes an eligible woman she hopes to set Matt up with. Mimi on the other hand thinks that Matt was too arrogant to accept her apology, and though she is heartbroken, she decides to move on, setting her sights on preparing herself to debut as the Queen’s favourite next year so she could pick anyone she wanted as her husband.

***

So this is all I have for now. I have to think about how to tie all the loose ends.

Tai has to win Sora’s parents over and make her see that a life with him would award her more freedom than she could ever dream of. Tyson and Hilary have to put their stubbornness and their obsession with their duties aside to really talk to each other and understand why they are always so drawn to one another. Kai and Charlie need to figure out if their fake courtship is really as easy and fake as they thought it would be, or if the element of pretence is wearing off and real feelings are starting to seep in. Matt and Mimi need to come face to face next season, and see how much they have changed over the time they’ve spent apart.

If I do end up making a coherent ending, I’ll definitely post an update! If you read it till here, I hope this 2.9k worth of idea dumping was worth your time, thanks for sticking around 😆

[theladyofshalott1989]

Which character should I choose to ask you about for the character game?.. Hmm, I don’t even know… Let me think… SEBASTIAN please! :D

DIANA!!! MY GLORIOUS MOOT (may I call you Diana???), THANK YOU. AHHHHHHHHHHH. (...I'm just a little bit excited. Can you tell? XD)

1. How I feel about this character

Hmmm, well... so, it's complicated. I obviously adore Sebastian, that's a given, but I will say that it took me a while to get past his attitude during my first playthrough because I felt like I was watching teenage me self-combust. In retrospect, that's probably why I wrote my series (and from his POV) because the ending of his storyline felt like a punch to the gut, and I needed to freaking FIX IT.

Besides that whole can of worms, when I can separate the character from teenage me, I think he's the most fleshed out character in the game. He's so well-written and his backstory is so tragic. And the SNARK (especially with Ominis)! I just go absolutely feral over it.

2. All the people I ship romantically with this character

Besides shipping him with my OC, Damien, I ship him with @heyitszev's Charlie (from his series To be Loved is to be Changed). <- READ IT FOLKS. GOOD SOUP!!! I actually ship him with most M!MCs to be honest with you. LMAO. But I do have a hard time reading really dark Sebastian. I like him with a bit of spice, so to speak (not too hot, not too cold vibes), I suppose.

3. My non-romantic OTP for this character

Ominis. I don't know why, but I can't get into Sebinis. I WANT TO LIKE IT SO BAD. (I actually see the dynamic between my husband and me as Ominis/Sebastian, so you'd think I'd like it, but alas.) They are just best buds in my brain. Their personalities are very different, but sometimes that just works, you know? They complement each other in a platonic way. Most importantly, Ominis gets exasperated with Sebastian's antics a lot, but he will always forgive him in due time.

4. My unpopular opinion about this character

I'm actually not sure if this is unpopular, per se, but I'm not into Dark Sebastian, unless he's in "protecc"-mode. It seems unrealistic to me. If MC doesn't send him to Azkaban and MC, Ominis, and Anne are there for him and eventually forgive him (which is what happens in my head canon), I don't think he's physically capable of becoming a Dark Wizard. The events of Hogwarts: Legacy happen when he is 15/16, after all. He is still so young. Teenagers make mistakes. (AND YES, I do realize he made a more egregious mistake than most teenagers... but the point still stands, at least IMO.)

5. One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Two things. I wish we could have given Sebastian some semblance of happiness at the end of the game. A hug would have been a good start. LMAO. But SECONDLY! I wish he didn't freaking ignore us after everything! I'M SO BITTER ABOUT THIS. Avalanche, please change this in the summer update. Pretty please????

[pyro-madder]

So for the ask game, what about Gehrman and Laurence? :D

*already frothing at the mouth* sure thing ! :) gonna try to group them both at once

favorite thing about them :

- G : probably his fight. It looks like a movie ! The beautiful scenery, the mentor and student clashing their weapons in the same fighting style, and of course the MUSIC ! (if i lack sleep and focus too much on the way the voices go down on "misereTE" i WILL cry)

- L : also his fight ! Despite the difficulty it's one of my favorites. Beautiful music as well. I also adore the calm of his english dub, it's one of the few I really prefer over the french one !

least favorite thing about them :

- G : how little we get to actually speak to him. I understand it's on purpose (we're just another hunter, why would he try to bond with us if it's gonna end the same as with the dozens that came before us ?) but it still frustrates me ! X)

- L : hard to say. sometimes i fear i don't see him as terrible as he may have been, but "may" is the key word here - he's nuanced, how much good and bad there was is up to each's interpretation and I consider this question to be canon-only

favorite line :

- G : "The night, and the dream, were long..."

- L : "EEEAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH !!!" (+ "Fear the Old Blood" because his voice combined with Willem's sounds beautiful + "Indeed, Gehrman - it won't be long" because ouch.)

brOTP : I accidentally created a Gehrman/Damian friendship by upgrading the latter as school staff rather than senior student. Think about it : Byrgenwerth's groundskeeper and archivist, each finding themselves babysitting looking after their half of the squad (Laurence + Maria // Micolash + Rom, with Caryll somewhere in the middle), and then meeting again in the Dream ! (dissolving emoji) Gehrman parrying Damian's questions about the Doll ! (emoji dissolves harder) and now they're both sad old men who forgot each other yippie

There's also Oto whom Gehrman knew prior to the Workshop's creation and offered a position in ! And then Izzy :) your friendly neighbourhood craftsmen. And Ludwig probably !

For Laurence, it's Micolash. Two sides of a coin through and through ! Whether they're working together, making out or strangling each other, there's no filter between them, from their meeting to their separation. World's worst dormmates ! <3

OTP : eachother + Maria for Gehrman and Ludwig for Laurence.

gehrence + ludrence* are a hard tie, following a similar dynamic due to the common denominator, but with their distinct flavor since they happen at two distinct points of the timeline. gehrmaria's a bit behind for now but as I've said earlier I'm hoping to bring it to the same level 😁 They're all so beautifully tragic, with a lot of tenderness but also a streak of unhealthy dependance, doomed through and through. basically i wasn't kidding when calling them the World's Worst Polycule(tm)

*i know the fandom has other shipnames but i don't want to use them for several petty reasons, sorry if anyone out there needs to add my names to their blacklist.

nOTP : for both, none that I know of.

random headcanon : let's talk families ! Wolves have been hunted to extinction in Yharnam's region by the time the story begins in Byrgenwerth, and the person who shot the last one is a relative of Gehrman (his dad probably). On Laurence's side, only his mother is "known" (air quotes because he's extremely discreet about her, like everything in his past). Even in their homeland, she stood out, nicknamed La zorra/The vixen, and that reputation extended to Laurence who looks a lot like her. Her death (unsure circumstances yet) was the final thing that drove him to leave his homeland after getting his licence.

unpopular opinion : for Gehrman it's obvious, for Laurence i have no idea. X) i'm a hermit so if discourse doesn't appear directly on my dash i'll have no clue about how is it over there...

song i associate with them :

Gehrman : Old and Wise by Alan Parsons' Project

Laurence : Found God in a Tomato by Psychedelic Prn Crumpets

favorite picture of them : too much choice ! their boss cutscene, lots of beautiful fanart (@/redzombie's portrait of laurence, @/pupspuppet's gehrmans, @/subzeroparade's gehrences, Raquel Cornejo's illustrated lore...) i'm also fond of the pattern in my own art where laurence does his thing and gehrman looks either confused or tired sdfghjklm