#I don't know. I guess I am kinda fond of the characters

[kurczeno]

besides: i agree with everything you said, including the tags (though I'd go deeper than the protagonist, we barely ever get to make the choice - the first real one is treviso or minrathous and it happens around 30 hours into the game! And I rushed it bcs its boring as shit)

Yeah, the elves are awful. Removing Southern city elves might make sense if we replace them with the appropriate depiction of elves in Tevinter and other places we go to, which I am pretty sure was one of the reasons people were excited about seeing Tevinter (me at least)- to see how the reign of mages looks in reality and the monstrosities we've been told about. Yet, we barely see any elves on the streets - sometimes they throw a slave at us, to remind you the Venatori are evil. As if we didn't know. And they don't really matter after all - city elves from the South had their own set of beliefs, they are completely different than the Dalish. Here the Dalish are the only elves that matter. Sure, we have some elven characters in other places, but their race isn't all that important in a game that should focus on elves.

And I was quite pissed at the whole elves thing - sure, we're 10 years after the Inquisition, the word must have spread to some people, but almost every elf in the game is like "oh yeah, the gods were evil". So I guess the thing that literally shattered dalish inquisitor's world (and her companions kinda too, no matter their beliefs) is now just common knowledge, despite the fact most people assumed the Inquisition's claim were just bullshit. In the South. Where people are significantly more fond of it, because they saw it save their arses.

Also I played the elven, necro rook and god, it's executed so badly. Many elven dialogue options are written as if my character was a Dalish, a Veiljumper or something. Although the extra dialogue options are another issue - other games had this problem too, but here they are so rare I am surprised whenever I see them. + badly written but i guess that's just veilguard for you.

And it's funny, because before they released this poor excuse for a dragon age most people were interested in the elves, rightfully so, since that was the main focus of the Trespasser - the secret army Solas was gathering (what army?), the reaction of other elves, both the Dalish (who love it when you challenge their beliefs) and the city elves, for me maybe Brialla's involvement. But alas, no. That'd require more than 10 minutes of thinking.

"the elves needed a win so we made them a monolith by erasing city elves from the narrative so that only the dalish matter & also had them embrace the Ultimate Truth of their deities being evil mages so that none of them are swayed because certainly nobody would want to follow an evil person" is not the good idea these execs thought it was

[longagoitwastuesday]

Waiting for JJK leaks with my heart beating fast. As if I were caught up with the manga. As if I were invested in this at all!

[wishfulsketching]

wow your comics are stunning! the vanco especially is so effortlessly beautiful and well structured. Do you have a tutorial on how you make comics? Your panel work and composition is especially great, would love to know more about the process

THANK YOUUU. I am not really good with tutorials, hah. My comic process is also very much "I want to do this NOW!" and then I do it. I don't do any script, I sketch full sized thumbnails and write the "kind like this" versions of the dialogue into the thumbnails (or I won't and after I'll be like hmm I wonder what I wanted to do here).

Here's the steps of my latest little comic:

These are my thumbnails. My main goal when I start a page is to do a simple 1. Establish where we are 2. Establish who are there

I am not good with establishing shots tbh. They kill me every time. With fancomics it's easier because I don't even have to show The Last Drop because of course these idiots would be there :D

After the rough idea I do the actual sketch that I will use to help me do lineart. Just very simple and usually the characters are just their most important features. Sometimes you can barely recognize them.

Here's the final one just for comparison.

With the bigger comic I posted yesterday, I just love making movement that carries through the panels. When I know I have to add lots of dialogue to explain things, I'll make the characters do something at the same time

I just wanted to make this casual/domestic moment of bitching about life while Vander is being caring and Silco accepts it.

With composition and panel work, idk, it usually comes down to what mood I want/what I want to show (expressions usually) OR. What I don't want to show :D When you want to be lazy, you will become creative! And nobody will know!

I am very fond of breaking the panels to kinda showcase change, I guess. I do it a lot. With like the effect of the next panel entering the previous one or with speech bubbles.

With this one I had to come up with ways to transition to all the scenes within the "memory" and it was pretty fun yet also made me anxious because I also had to keep the pace up.

I draw quick and I am pretty confident with my control over my lines, so I don't really have any tips for lineart. One thing I do wanna say is that you have to learn to let go. I want to fix so much from the headcanon comic I did. I won't. It's not bad, it's just not perfect. It wouldn't be perfect even if I would fix it.

[your-unfriendlyghost]

Johnny cade for the "give me a character" thingy cuz I love him :3

How I feel about this character

  I love Johnny, man. Very simple feelings ‘bout him, but yk, I love him. I don’t often…spin him ‘round in my brain like I do with some of the others, but I have a lot of strong opinions abt him and I love him lol

All the people I ship romantically with this character

  I occasionally ship him with Dally, but only occasionally. Idk they’ve got something goin on but idk what lol. I definitely don’t see them as an older brother and little brother, although I get where people are coming from- idk though, that’s like the least interesting take on their whole…deal for me I guess? I (personally) don’t think Dally and Johnny are brotherly/parental at all, and reducing them to that means losing out on the much more interesting (I think) dynamic that they do have- like Dally can’t be vulnerable with anyone BUT Johnny, and Johnny is at his most confident with Dally. And he has power over Dally that no one else does. It could be romantic or platonic for me, but the important thing is that they’re equals imo. I mean c’mon, only one of them’s canonically stabbed a guy to death, and it ain’t Dally. They’re tied together somehow idk man

  I sorta like the idea of Johnny and Sylvia being something tho. I don't think abt it much, but it adds something morally bad to a character that’s supposed to be purely good that I find fascinating. Not the sorta ship I ship per se, but one I like toying with sometimes because there’s so much to unpack there ig. I don’t usually see it as canon but I sometimes like it.

  Finally, I read this GUT WRENCHING fic one time where Johnny was who Sandy cheated on Soda with. I…really liked that fic. The ship hits a lotta the same notes as Johnny/Sylvia but explores Johnny and Soda…idk man again not the sorta thing I usually see as canon but holy shit the fic kinda blew my mind lol. It’s here if y’all wanna check it out- mind the tags and all. It’s a rarepair but it KILLS me man. It ain’t…canon to me, but I think abt it sometimes (the ship and the fic) and just feel things idk. (Part of that is probably b/c I love Soda, but yk)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

  Uhh Dally also honestly

  I mean Johnny and Pony are close too, but I really don’t see them as BEST friends. Ik a lotta people do which is perfectly valid, but in my head they’re…not? I dunno. They’re definitely friends, but TO ME it’s in the way that I’m friends with kids who I’ve grown up with who are like cousins to me now- we’re close, and I know they have my back, and I could tell them anything if I really wanted to, but I probably won’t unless we’re alone together in a church for a week. (@veggiesforpresident just talked abt them earlier today here, and she put it into words a helluva lot better than I am rn- definitely check that out)

My unpopular opinion about this character

He’s tough. I mean everyone knows that, but I’m not massively fond of fics/art that portray him as small and soft. Like sure, Pony sees him that way, but to the rest of the world Johnny is a hood. He may be small, but he can fight. He loves drag races, man!

  Idk, Ralph Macchio put it best in this behind the scenes book I own: 

  “Johnny was always described as the runt of the greaser litter- the one they all protected. However, as the story unfolded he became the most level-headed and clear-minded in the face of adversity. I always recognized that in him even from the first reading of the book at age twelve. I am biased, but he is one of the richest and fully drawn characters in the ensemble.”

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

  I’m biased b/c I love Soda but I woulda loved to see him hanging with Soda. Really the rest of the gang in general (not that there was time for that lol), but it’s canon to me that Johnny was friends with Soda first. Eventually they diverged and became close to Dally and Steve respectively, but in elementary school it was Johnny and Soda. 

  (On the other side of the coin, I like the idea of Dally and Steve having had a bit of a fling that they don’t talk about as a way of repressing their romantic feelings for Soda and Johnny respectively. But that’s not always canon to me lol.)

[abitterberryblog]

TWOTM Emissa Corenius : An Over-Analyzation

Major The Will of the Many spoilers and random theories ahead !!

Okay, so when I first read The Will of the Many, I wasn’t reading properly, and I just kinda assumed that Emissa was just a kinda blandly written character in such a well-written world. That was, of course, until the whole twist thing. What I liked was that it wasn’t a complete 360, and that she didn’t end up as extremely bad, but flawed enough for me not to be annoyed with her existence, and for her to not seem like only a Mary Sue 'love interest' character.

The thing is, I don't think she is at all.

First of all, I’m starting this with an analyzation of her relationship with Vis, and her not-so-role as a ‘love interest’. Was it real? Was it fake? I think she eventually did grow to be fond over him after a while, but I’ve always known she was going to betray him somehow. Something about the vibes.

It all started with the glass of water at the infirmary. I know there’s a chance that maybe she’s just, idk, kind or whatever, but after the ending, I’m not so 100% sure.

Not only that, but Ulciscor  constantly nagging about how suspicious he was of her. (Normally I'd pass it off as Ulciscor  being obsessed and hyper-anxious about the mission thing, but this was Emissa, and that caught my interest.)

There’s a really fat chance that she was, somehow, working with Veridius. This does not mean that she’s evil or whatever, and I'm still trying to figure out of Veridius is good or not, but it does make her a lot more interesting and complex.

Towards the end of the Iudicium, Emissa uses Will. You can’t use Will during academy stuff without some sort of source, or somebody allowing to use it. It's simply not possible?? Veridius? He’s literally the Principalis of the academy, after all, and during the infirminary scene at the end of the book, its implied that the Principalis spoke with Emissa beforehand, when he says to Vis that ‘she’s distraught’ and tries convincing Vis to talk to her.

What I noticed in this book is that the author, James Islington, is very careful in what he keeps in the book. Details. Hints. No matter how small or useless they seem. There are MAJOR spoilers, but : Here's a funny example I found.

See? Everything is littered in little details to be explored upon later. Even something as simple as a background detail of Aequa flipping coins.

ALSO, and something that I don’t see talked about for some reason, is the fact that Emissa knows that Indol was planning to deflect from Military to Religion. Indol never told her this. He’s shocked that she knows. Guess who may know??? Veridius???? That's right!!!

The question is, why would Veridius tell Emissa this? No idea from me here. But something else during the Iudicium arc catches my attention, and it’s the fact that Veridius PRIVATELY tells everybody what prize they would get if they won the whole thing. As implied by Eidhin (after he cancels on the Iudicium thing for Vis’ sake), Veridius often tempts them with something they really, really badly want,  and something that would drive them to want to win. 

I’m surprised not many people talk about that scene where Emissa asks Vis for the Heart of Jovan in the Iudicium, so she could win. She’s upset by this, obviously, since she cries and stuff, but I notice that she says “I can’t let us get separated.”

When I first read, I assumed she was talking about Vis, but that wouldn’t make sense, since she basically stabbed him as he fell off a tower (?) like, five seconds later. And also, her and Vis being separated wouldn't be related to her winning the Iudicium, (unless she's in a scenario where she'll have to leave forever or something if she doesn't win, which isn't really likely), Which makes me wonder, who was she really talking about?

Hopefully, we’re find out in the next book. Someone she really cared about? Relative? Family member? Am I missing something? Will this be important?

After all, we don’t exactly 100% know why Veridius planted Vis near the Callidus-Eidhin punchy debacle. He obviously knew Vis would step in.

At first I wondered if he was trying to kick Vis out and expel him, which is probably more likely, but right now I’m running on four hours of sleep and I am high on theories.

I think I’ve read this theory somewhere on the Hierarchy subreddit, too, but what if Veridius planned this whole thing, not to expel Vis, but to plant Vis near the stables as his punishment, maybe for Emissa to keep an eye on him? Or woo him for secrets or whatever the fuck? 

At the very least, whether Veridius did purposely plant Vis there for that sole reason, or as an afterthought after Vis worms himself out with the Threefold Apology, I do think that Veridius did make Emissa watch over Vis on purpose.

Otherwise, I think it’ll be a little random with Emissa just casually joining Vis to scoop horse dung, and I do not care how cool or attractive or fascinating he may appear, I still think it’s important. Hopefully? And why do I think so, you may ask?

I do not really think Islington deliberately wanted Emissa and Vis to be like, endgame, endgame. Like, The EndgameTM.  Maybe Emissa was trying to get more information on him. I don't know. It’s plausible. Emissa is top of the academy after Indol, and besides Indol being of course the smartest (as told by Vis), Emissa is FAR smarter than most readers deem her to be. I don't think everything as simple as this. Emissa simply cannot be this blind and radiant and carefree. She isn't in a perfume ad. We've established, from the book itself, that twotm is LAYERS upon LAYERS and twist after twist.

First of all, I’m so sorry, but Emissa and Vis have like no chemistry (imo). They do have maybe like a teeny, tiny bit, but the thing is that Vis has more chemistry with LITERALLY every other character his age BESIDES Emissa. I know, I know, every writer isn’t perfect, but there’s something so suspicious about Emissa and Vis’ dynamic.

As mentioned once on a Hierarchy Series subreddit post, Emissa and Vis have a strange dynamic that is unlike the others characters. With literally every single other character/friendship/relationship that Vis is in, there are details of each interaction, each feeling Vis has with them, what they do, bla bla bla, snippets of the scene, dialogue, ect.

But with Emissa, it’s sort of just…speedran? Like, besides the whole Suus island romance debacle and theatrics, their interactions just sort of go…

“Emissa visited me in the stables and we talked. For a long time. She helped me. She's nice. Also, her eyes are really green.” 

“Emissa sometimes studied with Callidus and I in the morning, sometimes not. Blablabla, she’s great and funny.”

“Emissa talked with me during Suus after noticing that I was uncomfortable with the politician people, blabla. ”

“Emissa and I trained together. In Three. Emissa helped me study. In Three. Wow, she makes me smile. Haha.”

Obviously, I'm exaggerating, but I'm definitely NOT wrong. Open the book and reread it. I DARE you to tell me I'm wrong.

See, there’s no real scene with them. Is it just me who noticed this? Just a time jump where Vis summarizes everything he did with her and how awesome and fun it was. There’s no way an author, writing a book with this much description and detail, just fumbles a romance by writing it like this.

NOT ONLY THAT, but even the CONFESSION scene isn’t anything as theatric as the rest of the book. Not even a SMIDGEN. Even the whole kiss can be easily forgotten. It’s not some dramatic confession. It's not romantic. It's not even sweet and heart-warming in that subtle, simple way. It's just a really lukewarm 'maybe i like you' and then boom, and it's over in an instant.

Vis mentions Indol and the secret that Emissa accidentally exposes of Indol, and then Emissa (suspiciously) changes the topic to how much she likes Vis and kisses Vis. And then boom, romance. A quick end scene, as if it wasn't ever important.

Isn’t it like, hella SUSPICIOUS? She changed the topic. Kissed him. Distracted him. And then the scene ended like it wasn't a whole Vis-Developing, Emissa-Developing, HUGE relationship moment.

Which, yeah, maybe she did like him at some point, but it sure as hell is convenient, isn’t it? I’m super invested in her character now, which is ironic because I used to not be able to STAND her because I just thought her character was just a really poorly written love interest.

I’m convinced Islington has the writer ability to write a confession/kiss scene much better, and much less random than that. Which means that I really don’t think he INTENDED to make hearts swoon. Just to distract.

Emissa is very fascinating, and few people acknowledge that, and I am EXTREMELY excited for The Strength of the Few to release.

[corviiids]

If possible, could you talk about your favorite lines from either telltale or call me by? Or just about the little bits and pieces behind either in general? Because I'd love to hear about it! :D

[No pressure though! Feel free to ignore this ask if it bothers you ^^;]

you are VERY kind thank you so much. people taking the time to ask me about my words is never a bother i am very honoured!!!

from telltale - a few random ones:

The amount of agency he has during these dreams fluctuates, but the awareness is—more frustratingly—pretty stagnant: it's there, oh yes, but it's there in the way your keys are there when you've dropped them in the drain.

pretty straightforward line but i like finding fun ways to describe the unique weirdness of dreams. the idea of reality being very visible to you but frustratingly out of reach is just fun to me

“What normally happens when you're feeling guilty about something?” L finally swivels to eye him. “I already told you that you can have it,” he says. “If you're feeling guilty, just go buy me more right now.” “That's not what I meant,” says Light. Then: “Is that why you offered it to me? So I'd feel bad and buy you more?”

L and light's dream interactions were super fun to write, because of this need to balance light's ordinary sharpness and focus with the fact that he's in a dream and that your agency in dreams wavers. so he keeps buying into these misdirecting bits of dialogue from L even if he's not strictly falling for them. also, funawa propaganda (pastry shop in jp) it got mentioned in L change the world and rightly so because the youkan and sweet potato cheese puffs literally haunt me every day i miss them so fucking much

“I didn't think so,” says L, nodding with some solemnity. “Domestic life, it's more a matter of going through the motions, isn't it?”

me trying desperately to force my agenda that lawlight aren't really in love per se and that the domesticity is sort of a function of something else, no less intimate, but not traditionally romantic. i just think they're so interesting when they're not "dating" but they are, like, eternal soulmates obsessed with each other forever. in the same vein:

“Do I love you?” Light asks. “It doesn't really matter to me,” says L. “Do you love me?” “That doesn't really matter to me, either,” says L.

ok last one

Light knows the layout of the apartment he shares with L by heart. So well, in fact, that when he falls out of bed in the middle of the night to stumble gagging to the bathroom, he'll smack into the east wall feeling for a door that isn't there.

MAN i just really like playing with dreams that fuck you up so bad they bleed into reality. i have nothing deep to say about this i just like fucking with light yagami and ruining his life

ok heres some from call me by im putting them under the cut

i think my favourite recurring idea is light's thing about friendship and loneliness:

I don't mind talking to my classmates, but feeling lonely isn't just about having people around you. Well, how do I put it? I guess talking to them doesn't make me feel less lonely.

light is a very isolated character to me. this is a pretty simple line but it happens surprisingly early on for being a fairly vulnerable confession, given how guarded light is. i think the unique situation of the bodyswap makes L a more intimate confidant. anyway later in the fic L says he considers light a friend

at this point in time, i already consider asahi-kun a friend. . Really? Okay. Then I'm glad you're my friend. :)

after that, light repeats the point a couple more times

I can't let you die. You're my friend. [...] You’re my friend.

i know these aren't like poetic lines or anything lol but i am fond of them because i like the idea of light, like... getting permission to consider L a friend and then kinda labouring the point after that, worried about L but also just like "wow! i have a friend!"

[prince-liest]

Hi! About your staticradio series (which is PHENOMENAL omg😍) - I know you said Vox is kinda falling in love while Al will remain aro. Which is awesome, we love to see rep! But I'm wondering if they will end up as QPPs (who fuck, lol)? Or it'll strictly be FWBs? Gah it's diffifult to describe it bc labels are so subjective and often too limiting, but I guess what I'm asking is whether they'll have an emotional relationship too, however it might look with their orientations? Will Al in particular have any soft feels for Vox & be fond of their unique bond? Even if Vox is in love with him when Al himself isn't? (I worry that would scare Al away😭) An intimate emotional closeness regardless of the specifics?

Thank you so much!! I've been enjoying writing it enormously so it always brings me a lot of joy that other folks are, too. >:D Just a heads up, this post has turned a little long because it got me talking about Alastor and the way he handles his feelings vs his ego in general.

First: I think the answer to this depends fully on how you personally define a queerplatonic partnership! I don't think Alastor would ever go for, like, a committed relationship with Vox in any form, but I also don't think that this would necessarily be a sad state of affairs for Vox, who I obviously write as poly as fuck with his toxic yaoi husband. Maybe it's because I'm aro af, but I feel like from Vox's end, "Yeah, I get to fuck around with the guy I'm obsessed with and he's not, like, nice, but I think I Stockholmed him into giving a shit about me!" is not actually a state of affairs he'd dislike! Especially since it's got that shiny "I'm special!" vibe in the sense that Nobody Else Gets To Get This Far With Alastor.

As for Alastor's side of things...

I think that so much of their dynamic dynamic isn't just set by Alastor being aroace, it's also set by him being a fucking sadist and a narcissist, HAHA. Like, he is very much in the middle of developing feelings about Vox, which (if my favorite interpretation of his little breakdown in the finale is correct) is also where his character arc is heading with regards to the hotel crew in canon, too, but his friendship-and-trust arc is slowburn as all hell and not entirely linear.

Part of the fun in writing Alastor is the process of qualifying all of his feelings with his sense of superiority in a way that is protective of his ego. He is freely and openly fond of people when that fondness doesn't expose any kind of emotional vulnerability in him. For example: He feels a condescending but genuine fondness for Niffty and Mimzy, whom he protects, and that's safe! He's quirky friends with Rosy, who is a benevolent semi-equal who uplifts his ego, and that's safe! He... may or may not have started caring enough about the hotel crew to have put himself at risk for them, and that is not only dangerous to his physical well-being but also massively humiliating, which is arguably worse to someone like Alastor.

He has SO many ego-prioritizing defense mechanisms and it's fun for me to pay attention to because I, too, am someone whose cardinal sin is probably pride. Anything is permissible only as long as it can be framed in a way that doesn't insult his ego.

Anyway, the point is: I don't think "soft feels and fondness for their unique bond" is on the list of ways that Alastor is able to find himself feeling about someone like Vox. The whole reason their whole situation in 666: Live on Air! started is thanks to Alastor's awareness and amusement at how obsessed Vox is with him. He sees himself as above Vox, and knowing that Vox is more emotionally invested than he is is part of the appeal. It's just gone from (derogatory) to (fond). (Which is, guess what? Safe!)

(It also means realizing that Vox is falling madly in love or whatever just nets a reaction somewhere in the region of, "Wait, is that significantly different from what you were already doing?", lol, because the only thing that's changed is the flavor of feeling, not the level of exposed emotional underbelly that he thinks Vox is showing him.)

TL;DR: He likes Vox like a cat likes a favorite mouse.

[2tyongs]

[3:45 AM] stars . . .

bf!doyoung x gn!reader

genre: fluff, established relationship,

warnings: none other than it's not really proofread!

a.n. first post oh em gee kinda nervousss! i don't see a lot of 127 fluff on here anymore so i guess i gotta do it myself 😒/hj. requests are open and feedback is always appreciated! i hope you enjoy <3 happy halloween btw 🙏🏾

doyoung never knew what love was supposed to feel like until he met you.

you were like a breath of fresh air in his life. taking his normal, mundane tasks like going grocery shopping and transforming them into something more thrilling, or making him experience new things that he would never do on his own. you had made his daily routine into something new, something beautiful.

he will always love learning more about you no matter how long you have been together; your hobbies, your favorite places, and what your favorite shows are. everything about you intrigues him and compels him to familiarize himself more and more with everything you consider to be part of yourself — past and present.

he will always listen to what you have to say, holding onto every word. even the little things that you thought never mattered or were worth remembering yourself, he remembers. he remembers the names that you had wanted to name your pet years ago, the way you don't care for certain holidays like valentine's day (he will always still make the effort to show that he loves you on these days anyway; bringing you flowers and cooking your favorite dishes so you have something to look forward to, even on the days you typically hadn't expected to before.), and the books you said you wanted to read but never got the chance to purchase. he notices when your gaze lingers on an item for too long when you're out shopping together, making a note to himself to come back and buy it for you for a special occasion coming up.

one night while the two of you were lying on the couch, you mentioned that you had always loved going stargazing when you were younger after seeing the two main characters of the movie you're watching sitting under the stars, sharing their dreams.

doyoung had made a mental note of this former interest of yours, which led the two of you to where you are right now: sitting on a soft blanket and staring at the warm night sky. you were seated in front of him, resting your back on his chest with your head on his shoulder, enthusiastically guiding his vision to all of the constellations and stars you could remember as you pointed them out the best you could.

“...that's the big dipper, but if you look closer you'll see that it's part of a constellation called the great bear," you point to the left, tracing out the pattern with your finger. "not many people know that the big dipper isn't considered a constellation." you explain softly, never taking your eyes off of the view.

doyoung doesn't mean to get distracted from your explanation, but he can't help it when you look so excited. reliving your childhood with the stars above brings you so much joy that a smile makes its way onto your face as you share your knowledge with him. he admires your beauty as you talk about the things you're passionate about, trying to etch the sight of you into his memory forever. looking at you is something that he will never get tired of. the soft curve of your lips, the way your lashes cast shadows onto your face, the beauty marks that adorn your complexion.

you start to talk again until you feel his eyes gazing at you instead of the stars above. you turn to him, momentarily dazed by the amount of fondness that you can see in his eyes as he looks down at you. you smile softly, “what? why are you looking at me like that?”

doyoung smiles back, “no reason. i'm just happy.” he can tell you're not exactly pleased with his answer if the way that you raise your eyebrow at him is anything to go by.

"'just happy?' i need you to elaborate a little more, doyoung." you tease, nudging him, and glance back up at the sky.

he rolls his eyes with a smile still gracing his features, holding you closer, "i just really love being with you, hearing you talk about the things that you love, that's all." you turn to him again. you can hear the sincerity in his voice and see it in his eyes and it makes your heart melt. you're too flustered by the love you can almost see and feel exuding from him to say anything back, so you decide to continue looking at the view ahead of you instead, tracing patterns on the back of his hand.

there's a short silence until you finally break it, staring up at the sky, "i love you." you tell him, leaning your head onto his shoulder once again.

he knows that you love him. you show it every single day in the way that you make time for him and the way that you've let him become a part of your life in a way that no one else has, letting him see parts of yourself that no one else could.

"i love you too. so much." he replies, kissing the crown of your head and rubbing your waist with his thumbs.

he always thinks to himself that even if he were dealt a different set of cards in his life, the stars would always align to give him the grace of being here with you. and he's more than certain that no matter what those cards looked like, there's no way he could love you any more than he does now.

doyoung knows that no amount of words or physical affection could ever be enough to express the love he feels for you. but for now, you just being there with him, letting him hold you, this will suffice just fine.

[babiebom]

Would I give them head?

A/N: I am so sorry for this I'm writing it at 3 am and I couldn't get it out of my head. I've been giggling for the past 10 minutes like a 7th grader. Also if you are reading this let me know if I should do something special for 50 followers. I know it's not a lot but I am so grateful! If yes let me know what I should do!

Tw: sexual content. Not explicit but it like look at the title. Cursing.

Genre: headcanons nsfw

Wc: idk it depends on which person. Probably 2+ for each.

This is including almost every male stardew character(obviously no kids) plus ridgeside plus expanded but not all because I cannot remember every single character and I don't wanna research rn.

Masterlist

Sebastian

Duh no doubt about it

He is the love of my life (well one of them)

I would give him the best head wymmmmm

Sam

Yes boy deserves it

Golden retriever coded guys deserve good head idc

Shane

Love sad men it's a yes

Kinda wanna make him cry because it's so good.

Maybe I can cure him

Elliott

No

Sorry it's not that I dislike him he's just not my favorite?

Maybe once as a treat but no other time than that

Harvey

Yeah he's the doctor for a small town

I gotta

Maybe he will stop billing me everytime I die

Alex

No

I am not attracted to this man he is more bestie coded to me

If he asked i would allow him a handjob I guess

Gus

Nope

Maybe he gets a Lil handjob as a treat because his food is good

Gunther

Maybe?

He kinda-

But not enough idk....

George

The reason I am writing this r n

The answer is no but the thought of doing it made me cackle

Lewis

Absolutely not

Fuck you old man

Pierre

NO

I hate this lying ass bitch I give you a kick

Willy

No sorry

He prolly smells like fish and salt and I am not fond

Love him tho stinky man

Kent

YES

would give him the sloppiest toppy known to man

He deserves it he needs it i want it pls bless me

I could beat Jodi's ass if it comes to it idc

Victor

Yes

I find him quite cute overlooking his slight classism.

Also for standing up to his mom for himself love that him

Demetrius

No

I'd rather give Robin head

He deserves no head for being crappy stepdad

Marlon

No

As much as I like him he probably does not shower

Also he is for the marnie's only

Clint

No

I wanna punch him so bad

Mr Qi

Maybe?

I don't find him attractive

But at the same time I find him mysterious and the might just be enough to convince me

Grandpa

HA

HAAAAAAA

no what is wrong with you

Andy

No

Prolly tastes like battery acid

He also gives off racist vibes

Wizard

Yeah

He's chill he can get some head

Morris

Maybe for a discount

Im equating Joja to Coke and I like coke

So only if he promises to give me a discount on stuff I want

Phillip

YES

Another love of my life

It was unexpected for me to love him but he is so cute to me

June

Yuperoni pepperoni

We love a man who is talented

Could easily convince me to give him head if he plays the piano for me ngl

Jeric

Maybe

I love but also hate him

He also gives off bestie vibes

Shiro

Yeah

I feel like he needs it:(

Ezekiel

No

I do however wanna smack his bald head

Not in a mean hateful kid of way I just wanna smack it

Lorenzo

Dilf Ngl

Maybe its because of his name idk

Answer is yes

Kimpoi

It was here where I started looking up characters bc i felt bad for leaving them out

No thank you I will not

Lance

Don't know much about him but I think hes cute so yes

His hair is cool

Isaac

Again don't know much about him hopefully he is not a child

But yeah he's cute so he gets a Lil head from me

Ian

If he takes a shower yes

Otherwise no

Kenneth

Yeah

I like his hair and I think he's cool for being an electrician

I know nothing else about him

Sean

Yeah he's cute so he can have some head

Im so sorry for not knowing im too busy simping over Seb and Phillip ngl

Anton

Uhhhhhh

Uhhhhhhhhhmaybe?

Im not attracted but unattracted to him so sure

Bryle

No

He reminds me of family

Like his face

Jio

Yea

As I have said before I love a mysterious man

Love a man with a sword

Zayne

I have no idea what this is

But I guess??

Have no reason to hate him so sure

Bert

No

He looks stinky :((

I also feel like his wife would beat my ass

Freddie

No

He is for the Lola's only

I also feel like he wouldn't be able to feel it

Mr Aguar

No

I do not enjoy his face

Pika

Simply because im assuming his food is good

I'll say sure simply for free food

Richard

No

So sorry

But no

Sonny

I will give him a platonic handjob

He deserves it bc he's a butler and probably does not get a day off with this family

[ampleappleamble]

It's not even that their romances aren't intimate. Obisidian's romances just lack in quality because they aren't interested in writing them, and I support them on this. I've played numerous games and mods with romances within them that have nothing sexual and they were well written as well as some that did include explicit content and were also well written. Obsidian's issue? They clearly do not like the idea of romances and have had plenty of years to demonstrate their ideas on the matter in their games. Some studios just shouldn't have romances in their games and I'm completely fine with that, I play a game for its story and romances tend to be a tiny plus if my character is interested and if those romances are actually well written and aren't buggy. The issue that comes when speaking about this topic is that people tend to have extreme feelings on the matter and tend to throw insults and fairly moralistic opinions on those who enjoy romances within games, particularly the more erotic ones. I'm assuming you didn't meant to be a puritan and am not deeming you to be bigoted or assessing you, just pointing out that you said some charged things about people who consume content you don't like and generalizing them as well. There's much more on this topic I could say, but I'll leave it at that.

fair point, i can admit to getting a little too fired up about all this. to be clear: my problem isn't with people who want or like romances, explicit or otherwise– hell i basically got into Pillars because my husband was playing it and i saw a hot elf and learned that you could maybe kiss him– my beef is with the folks who insist that obsidian must hate money because the game Will Definitely Flop if it has no romances, or who say they've lost all interest in the game and everyone who still wants to play it is an idiot because what's the point of it has no romances, or worst of all, who think it's cool to antagonize the devs for their decision not to include romances or try to bully them into adding romances. the first crowd makes me especially suspicious, because a certain subset of loud gamer types have really been trying to push this idea that Avowed will definitely absolutely flop and crash and burn and sometimes they say it's because no romances, but other times they say it's because it's "woke" and we all know what that means. that's where my brain is maybe trying to make a connection that probably isn't actually there between "wants romance badly enough to be a little bit annoying about it" and "demands explicit romance because they feel that everything in their world must cater to them exclusively and that includes game studios providing them with jackoff material". i need to keep in mind that although those two types of people do both exist, they are not necessarily the same thing, and more often than not they're not even close. i'm not particularly fond of either, but while one is just irritating, the other is offensive and perhaps a symptom of larger systemic problems in our world. i'm probably a little extra paranoid and sensitive about that kind of thing at the moment because. well. the way the world is right now. it's got me on edge. still, that's no excuse to make sweeping generalizations about romance fans, including those who like explicit romance or erotica or even straight up porn. so i apologize for going a bit too far there.

the romances in Deadfire were enforced by figstarter decree, so the writers at obsidian kinda had to add them, but i'm guessing the ones who did volunteered to do so. maybe they shouldn't have, and Deadfire should have remained canonically romanceless. lots of people hold that opinion, and i can respect it. i think the romances in Deadfire are just fine, but i can see where people are coming from when they say they were underwhelming. i agree with you that romances are like a little extra fun thing to do if i like the love interest/s and they're decently written and not buggy (early versions of Deadfire with Aloth the Implacable.....) but that the world and the story are much much much more important. i apologize for any discomfort i may have caused to anyone who likes romances, explicit or otherwise. if a video game writer wants to write a romance where the player and the character get their fuck on, good for them and good for the players who party down with that! but if a writer doesn't want to do that, they shouldn't have to, and people shouldn't harangue them about it. again: my problem is not with romance/erotica in games, it's with people being weird and rude to devs and demanding it or insisting that an existing romance wasn't good enough because it wasn't explicit enough or that a game isn't worth playing if there's no romance in it.

[artsyaech]

the finale of what we do in the shadows was... a lot - A Very Long Textpost

[PT: the finale of what we do in the shadows was... a lot: A Very Long Textpost. end PT]

now, i'll be completely honest; i had pretty low expectations going in, and now, after watching it, i have thoughts.

first, i'll go over why i had low expectations. while a lot of season 6 was pretty good, it didn't feel like a final season at all. yes, a part of the show's charm is how it's not as structured as other tv shows, with it being in a mockumentary format, but i feel like they definitely should have done more here.

a lot of s6 was just uneventful, honestly. i feel like more stuff happened in s4 and s5. a lot of the episodes felt more... episodic, i guess is the word? very little of s6 feels like an overarching plot, very few episodes had even the slightest bit of connection, it was all over the place.

so, already, before i even watched the finale, i didn't have high hopes, but my hope was definitely there. "maybe they'll turn it around. maybe the finale will be a banger", i thought to myself, and well... i wasn't exactly.... wrong???

the finale is very focused on guillermo and nandor, and while i am definitely very fond of those two, i feel like they should've also focused on nadja, laszlo, colin, and honestly, even the guide.

i feel like the show wants us to think that the guide is a main character, but, to me she feels like a semi-important supporting character. we barely know anything about her life's story, what she does for fun, what her opinions are. she basically just exists when she's in the presence of the other vampires. they did her so dirty in this show, honestly, i love her to death and she deserved much more in the show overall, but especially s6.

while not done as dirty as the guide, i feel like colin had so much missed potential. like, when he started caring deeply for the monster, because he feels like he doesn't get enough appreciation in the house, i was like "okay, i see, this could be interesting" and it kinda just... went nowhere. i understand that he feels out of place because he's an energy vampire and doesn't actually enjoy the fact that everyone hates him, but we barely get a glimpse of that.

literally, the last we see of colin is him draining the other household members by telling a really bad joke and it's like... that's it??? oh, well.

nadja feels like a relatively rounded out character and her relationship with laszlo has got to be my favorite fictional relationship. but also, think about this: what did she actually do of any importance in s6? i mean, she did get a job at the same company as guillermo, but other than that, i don't really know. i still love her to death, but i feel like her most memorable moment in this season was when her and laszlo were arguing and he said that really cute line, but that was a shared moment, not one exclusive to her character.

speaking of laszlo, while matt berry's performance in this role is perfect, no notes, i feel like his character became increasingly one-note throughout the series. his line delivery gives us some of my personal favorite moments in the entire show (namely, the iconic "nyew yark citayyy" and me and my dad's favorite: "nandor! i've been double crrrossed by the devILL!". but like, while his character is great from an acting and a comedic standpoint, they didn't do much with him either in the later seasons. well, they did something, namely when his daddy issues were revealed, but, he's still just a silly british guy and not much more.

now, i am aware that a single episode couldn't have fixed all of those problems, but it is a little sad that they didn't even really... attempt to???

now, about the nandermo thing. i have a pretty hot take about that: i actually like that they were shrodinger's confirmed. like, yeah, they "only" hinted at it, but like, c'mon, they hinted at it so heavily that it wouldn't go over even a straight person with a bad case of heteronormative thinking.

it was obvious, so i think that they are confirmed. calling it "queercoding" or worse "queerbaiting" is just objectively not true. nandor is achillean, guillermo is gay, there are no ifs ands or buts about that. they are both queer characters, so the fact that they are having a relationship behind the scenes is not only entirely plausible, but heavily implied.

and for me, that's why i'm personally okay with this confirmation. because, for me, the implications of them having a behind the scenes relationship is more fun than just to have them share a lip-to-lip kiss on-screen. not only does that allow fanfic writers to have endless amounts of fun, but even a relatively casual fan could make up some fun scenarios and speculations. but idk that's just my opinion.

i'm just happy we got to see domestic nandermo, regardless of it being in an AU.

i should go to bed…

[lucky38-2077]

OC Interview: Vincent Ibarra & Naota Vasile

Tagged by @dreamskug It was really fun to do this and thank you for tagging!🖤🖤

NICKNAME

V: Most people call me V. Some people I've known since I was little still call me kid, but I guess I'm not a kid anymore, am I? Naota: My family and friends often call me Nao.

GENDER

V: Male. Naota: I am a demiguy.

STAR SIGNS

V: Don't know my exact birth date but I heard it was middle of December. So the thing with the archer? Sagutti...something. Naota: It's Sagittarius, V. (yeah that it!) Mine is Capricorn.

HEIGHTS

V: Why do people even care about the height? I don't know, haven't checked since teenager. Naota: I'm about 5′ 7″ and V is a little taller than me. I think... he could be around 5′ 9″. V: WOW. I'm learning about myself here.

ORIENTATION

V: I like men. Naota: I... I think the closest one should be Pansexual. Do you have preference? If you don't mind talking about. Naota: I really don't know, and it doesn't matter to me anymore.

NATIONALITY / ETHNICITY

V: Nobody knows who my parents were at all. Valentino is my thing. Naota: My father was Italian and mother was Japanese. I feel close to both. V, have you ever tried to look for your biological parents? V: Nah, have my family already. I've got old man Padre and Mama Welles. But don't you even think about a thing between them. They are good friends, nothing more.

FAVE FRUIT & FAVE SEASON

V: Green grapes and lemons. Well I don't enjoy eating lemons, but love lemonade. Naota: It's hard to choose... apples, oranges, cherries... V: And season? Summer. Not because of the weather, because I can play in water a lot. Naota: I like winter. I feel cold easily but it's still my favorite. Warm clothes, soft blankets and hot... Wait we have another question for that, please save it! Naota: Oh.

FAVE FLOWER

V: Not really interested in, but red or yellow ones are pretty. Naota: I do love flowers. Peony and hibiscus are my favorite. V: Don't forget a desert rose, D-rose. Desert rose- Adenium? Is there a story about it? I'd like to hear. Naota: Um... my partner gave it to me as a gift before. I still have the pot and it means a lot to me. And D-rose? V: The whole family calls him D-rose because of it. (Looking at Naota) You're blushed, amigo. Naota: ....

FAVE SCENT

V: Hmm never really thought about that. I think my man uses kinda perfume. No clue what it is, but he smells good. Naota: Fresh ones such as herbs. I like the smell of flowers, too.

COFFEE, TEA, HOT CHOCOLATE

V: Soda. But coffee is also good. Naota: Hot chocolate... oh this is why you stopped me earlier. Yes, I like winter and I like hot chocolate.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP

V: 6 or 7? I'm not a morning dude so probably wake up later than most people. Naota: I used to have a sleeping problem but it's getting better. V: Thanks to the biiiiig cuddly teddy bear. I have some plushies on my bed too. How big is it? Naota: No! It's... not... a plush. Let's move on.

DOG OR CAT PERSON

V: I like both, but with my baby Nibbles I'm currently a cat person. Naota: I've been always fond of cats.

DREAM TRIP

V: I want to go to the most beautiful, clean beaches in the world, not ones that are full of trash. Not sure if there is any left. Naota: I haven't thought about it. But with my family now, wherever will be great.

FAVE FICTIONAL CHARACTER

V: Rocky Balboa. If you want to talk about this with me, we should make another schedule. Naota: Unico. He's a baby unicorn who has a power making people happy. He's also very cute.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH

V: Do you need more than one?? Naota: Yes, V. I usually have two blankets, more in winter. V: What? I mean. WHY? Naota: It's warm, comfortable... V: Man. I don't get it.

RANDOM FACT

V: I can hold my breath pretty long in water. Without any gear or cyberware. My record is 6 minutes 28 sec. Naota: That's amazing, V. Indeed. Do you train for it? V: Maybe a little? Think I was born with it. I just feel comfortable in water. How about you? Naota: I can't think of anything... I'll pass. OH.

I think most of people I know have already been tagged, but if there's anyone interested please go ahead!🤗

And this is Unico Naota mentioned, in case anyone was wondering. The idea just came up with when I saw the question. It was pure coincidence Naota has pink hair like Unico and I like it🤣

[sunfloo-wers]

four for the character questions?

OK OK OK OK FOUR

(I'm so tempted to make this about the Colors too, and do like 5 different ones (one for Four, one for each Color, but we'll see how it goes)

favorite thing about them

I can't pick between character design and personality sooooo

I really like the tunic, I know it's a color pallet nightmare and shouldn't work, but it makes him visually stand out against the greens and blues of most of the chain, which I think is fun! (also pretty colors) (and smol)

From a personality/characteristics view point, I really like the complexities with his character! It's really difficult to see him as a 2d character, because of the Colors, which I think is really fun! Stick four different, but still somewhat flat sometimes (as is their point kinda), characters together and you get the real humanity of a fully fleshed out person unavoidable in the character!

least favorite thing about them

Hmmmmm, this is difficult because I love the little guy, but I'd have to sayyyyyyyy... drawing the bangs/headband thingey? from a purely selfish point of view, because I do like how they look, and it's a fun way to differentiate character designs, they're just so hard to drawwwww

favorite line

Not really a line, but when he just fucking cackles in Dawn pt4 when Wars says "I think you ought to practice some teamwork. It could use some improvement."

brOTP

hmmmmmm, I'm very fond of Four and Dot's platonic relationship, but I'll get into that more in a later section soooooooo

In the chain at least I think Four and Wind are cool because of the underestimation bondings be it because of age, or babyface/height, or just being the small ones! Although, Four and Sky is also a really nice dynamic... AND the Four and Legend one is real fun, both because their personalities work very well together, and the whole Palace of the Four Sword angst potential >:3

Honestly I could speak towards any sort of within the chain relationship and can't pick just one :(((((

OTP

Four and Shadow, I am nothing if not predictable (more specifically Vidow because of the manga, but BlackSmith (or whatever the Four and Shadow ship name is) is fun too!). They're just adorable and horrible okie? :3

nOTP

I'm just generally not a big fan of romantic Four and Dot, no disrespect to people who do like it, but I think they're better as besties! Like, I think MC!Link at least was very young (and FS(A)!Link was also fairly young I think, but more of an early-middle teen than like 8 or 9), so romance was probably the last thing on his mind, just "I gotta save my best friend!"

And! They've known each other since they were children because their parents were friends and Hyrule Town is a fairly small town, no? This could be argued towards a friends-to-lovers plot line technically, but I just automatically file "known each other as kids" under "a subsection of siblings" because of my own experiences (and the aroaceness) sooooooooooo... yeah...

random headcanon

Colors: I think Red and Blue bake stuff together a lot and give it out to the rest of the people of Hyrule Town for fun, or maybe they open a bakery! (this is all after the events of lu, or before I guess)

Four specifically: I really like the idea that he keeps a journal/diary. Writes down everything type journal. This is a fairly popular head cannon I think (maybe????) so for an out of left field one have... uhhhh...

He goes crazy for raspberries. Sure why not, that feels like it weirdly works for some reason

unpopular opinion

I don't think I really have that many unpopular opinions (unless something else here is that) buuuuuuut, maybe something about him being at least a little morally grey? Like, I get heros and all that jazz, but like... let him be at least a little morally grey hmmm?

I guess that's not really unpopular, I just see "hero character is good' and think, how about no, not exactly, and for him it works!

song i associate with them

Okay, I don't have one for Four, couldn't find one in the "all o' it" playlist, but I did find one for Vidow so I hope this suffices:

Little Soldiers by The Crane Wives

(I am nothing if not a puppet for the Little Soldiers Renchantyn propaganda, and it has only made me realise it kinda works for these two as well)

favorite picture of them

As you've probably assumed by now, I cannot pick just one sooooo:

He's so little, so very smol, and the overhead pov just makes It so much more apparent hehhe (also angy little guy)

This one is just hilarious due to the context, another iteration of little guy

and these two because they are new and we all love them :P

(all art credit to Jojo over at @/linkeduniverse of course)

--------------------

This was really fun thank you so much for sending it in! :D

[moongothic]

Okay, here goes. What's your ultimate Crocodad timeline? You can go as wild or as believable as you want.

I mean I made this timeline chart/post/thing.

But if you meant it in a more "how do you think things actually went down" specific kinda way, uhhhhh. Great question, not sure I know how to answer. Like. The possibilities on what could've happened and how are nearly endless and all those options are so interesting to me. Even if there's ideas I feel like might be more likely than others, or I find myself more invested in some ideas, I can't fully like, dedicate myself to any specific idea for a plot point or a storybeat or anything, especially if there's nothing to suggest if anything even remotely similar could've happened.

Like, say for example, how did Crocodile and Dragon meet? There's literally infinite ways they could've met, to the point I'm not even really that interested in speculating on it, because more likely than not, any guess I make will probably be wrong. Like speculating about something like that feels almost pointless. Compare that to say, how did Luffy end up in Garp's care? While we know like nothing about what exactly happened, we do have any theoretical information (ex: Garp and Croc should not know about each other, meaning there must've been a third party to deliver the baby, and it's more than likely that was Dragon) that we can get to much more specific when speculating about what might've happened. Like there's still plenty of options, but the options are far fewer, which makes the speculation so much more interesting, for me at least

But at the same time, I don't want to get too fond of any idea in because Oda could still prove me wrong and debunk it and I'd be sad if I got like fond of a concept and I ended up being dead wrong lmao

Mind you, for me, a big part of the reason I'm invested in the theory to begin with IS the possibility of it being canon. Like yes Crocodad would and always will make for fun AU fanfics regardless of if it's canon or not. But I am here to more or less speculate about canon.

So between my brain treating Crocodad as this monstrous, gigantic flow chart, and me not wanting to get too attached to any potential path on the chart... Yeah I don't know what to tell you anon, I'm sorry

Like. Just as an example. On how my brain processes this shit.

(Sidenote, this chart is like under the assumption that Croc and Dragon had mutually agreed that their child would be put in the care of Dragon's father. And while that makes the most sense to me by a long shot, technically it's totally possible Luffy was taken away from Crocodile by force by Dragon or something else) (THERE'S SO MANY POTENTIAL THINGS THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED, AHHHHHHH)

Like here, I think the most likely canon scenarios would be the "Respectful Rejection" followed by "Too Stunned To Speak -> It's Bad" routes, though personally I might be most interested in the "It Was Really Bad" route because it'd be really fucked up and sad

So like. Yeah. I have no idea what my "ultimate Crocodad timeline" would be, there's too much room for speculation to the point anything specific would leave the room of Neutral Canon Speculation and just turn into a plain old fanfic, and I'm just here for theorizing

But hey if you wanted a fanfic, here's a TL:DR;

(You know I say this is a TL:DR; but this got so fucking long it almost broke this post. Like Tumblr would not let me save the draft or post it anymore because there's a 4k character limit to "blocks", I had to break this into chunks man)

If Crocodile was betrayed by his crew after losing to Whitebeard and had to kill them himself in self-defence;

Who the fuck knows, maybe by some twist of fate our wounded/dying, exhausted and traumatized Crocodile drifted in the sea and his ship ran into Dragon, the man rescuing Crocodile from the kindness of his heart or something IDK

If the dude had to kill his own crew immidiately after Whitebeard crushed his hopes and dreams, Crocodile must've been just absolutely shell shocked. Depressed and withdrawn, just out of it. So maybe Dragon being there could've been great for Croc's mental state. Maybe. Big maybe.

If Crocodile did turn out to be the Rev Army's Secret Sugar Daddy then perhaps this is how that relationship kind of started: Crocodile could've paid Dragon in cash money as thanks for saving his life, and then just kept the money coming since Dragon had an army to run and needed the funds

(Like we don't know why Crocodile joined the Shichibukai anyways, but if it was only ever for The Benefits of not having to deal with the Marines chasing his ass anymore and if he didn't give a rat's ass about the Government... Like yeah, why not fund the Revolutionary Army, give money to the people trying to directly take down the fuckers while right under their noses.) (Who knows maybe Croc does have his own reasons for hating the WG and had like a genuine reason beyond just being a petty king and/or having basic human decency in understanding why the WG was corrupt and needed to be overthrown)

Thus begins a secret comradery where Crocodile every now and then goes and drops off some money to Dragon to help fund the Army, nobody on either side of the war any wiser (except maybe Iva-chan, they're allowed to be in on the secret, as a treat). It's their secret that they keep for years

Time passes

Whoopsie poopsie Crocodile's prégónánté

The two realize that their kid is going to be in so much danger for a pletora of reasons and that neither can raise the baby. Dragon knows his father would keep their baby safe and they both agree to leaving the child to him (not a happy decision, it's just for the best, for everyone's sake)

Anyway Crocodile's gender dysphoria goes into turbo mode during pregnancy. Maybe he never really realized it was there and/or what it was, but boy howdy, it's there now and it's really really bad. Like, if it wasn't for the baby he might just kill himself (and god knows once the kid is out and taken away, there's not going to be anything to stop him from doing just that)

Crocodile must've gone into hiding during the latter half of his pregnancy to keep it a secret from the Government, and I could totally imagine him being hellbent on being completely isolated. He is a Shichibukai, everybody knows him, he can't risk having even some random doctor recognize him and find out about the baby. Besides, it's not like he can do much while hiding anyways, like he might as well read 150 medical books to ensure he can deliver his baby by himself

(Sidenote but the narrator in OP has called Fuusha Village Luffy's "birth place" (think the term he used was "umereta machi", lit. "town he was born in"), and if that's true, then. Croc should've been hiding in and/or near Fuusha Village in Goa Kingdom. Additional sidenote, there are wild crocodiles in Goa, which are the Sir's favorite food.)

To avoid suspicion and the risk of being found out, Dragon might've agreed to not go see Crocodile during this time, only agreeing to see his significant other after the child was born so he could then deliver the baby to Garp (after not just leaving the Marines but also starting a fucking revolutionary army, the dude probably didn't want his father to find out he had been dating a fucking WARLORD)

But surely he'd think Crocodile was insane if he thought he'd let Crocodile deliver the baby alone. Like no, somebody needs to be there by his side. Someone Dragon could trust, a fellow Revolutionary perhaps. Oh yeah, just send Ivankov, what could possibly go wrong

(Personal headcanon but since we don't know when Ivankov got their Fruit, I kind of want to imagine they ate it just a short time ago at this point and that they hadn't fully realized the potential of the Hormone Fruit yet. Like their genderfluid ass may not have understood the power they now held)

Iva-chan did not know Croc was prénánté, whether Dragon told Ivankov ahead of time why they were being sent to check on Croc is up or debate (if Iva-chan was aware of Croc being their Secret Sugar Daddy though then I'm sure they understood why Dragon wanted and was willing to help out Crocodile in this situation). Croc and/or Dragon probably lied through their teeth about the father of the child if Iva-chan ever asked about it, and whatever Iva-chan was told they clearly bought it since they never knew about Dragon having a kid.

When Iva gets there though they can see right away that something is fucking wrong with Crocodile, in ways even he can't understand. He is so uncomfortable 24/7 for seemingly no reason. So naturally Iva-chan pokes and prods at the dumbass until Croc has a break down and explains his weird feelings he can't even word properly and this is how Emporio Ivankov discovered transgenderism

What's that? You don't like what pregnancy has done to your body, doesn't feel like it's yours anymore? You feel love for your child but don't want to be its mother? Good news, you can be its father instead. Bad news, gotta wait until the baby is farted out. Aren't sure about it? No worries, there's time to think about it, and shit's 100% reversible anyways. Just hang in there for a little bit longer, you may feel god awful rn but that too shall pass

(Maybe this is how Iva-chan starts calling Crocodile "Crocoboy", just to get him to warm up to the idea that he could be(come) a man, get used to it etc)

Crocodile has an identity crisis of a lifetime. Like either he knew since he was a small child that something was fucky wucky, or he never realized it until now, either way, he must not have even been aware of the idea that he could trans his gender (which would make sense if Ivankov only recently got their Fruit just sayin'). So yeah. Enjoy that gender crisis, dumbass

Like he straight up just goes through the five stages of grief before he's like "god dammit if it'll make me feel less like I'll kill myself then it's worth a shot, don't care what Dragon ends up thinking"

At some point Croc must've contacted Dragon at least one final time just so they can agree on when and where they'll meet to hand over the baby once it's born (if Croc doesn't die at child birth. I mean they both know he'll be fine, Croc's survived worse. But if something did happen, Iva-chan will take care of the baby until Dragon arrives)

This is One Piece. Luffy was born at dawn.

Crocodile probably insists on getting the T literally immidiately after the baby is out. If he doesn't just pass out immidiately after giving birth. But like within 24 hours of giving birth. Iva-chan is probably like "Crocoboy you're exhausted, chill, your cooch needs to recover" and he's just like "why wait for it to recover when you're going to get rid of it, just do it"

(Iva-chan probably goes and gets Croc some emergency clothes and like bottles and baby food etc because god knows he's going to burst out of his old clothes and he ain't gonna have the tiddies to breastfeed that baby either)

Anyway he gets the rones and gets to enjoy gender euphoria for the first time in his life. Happy times, happy tears, a happy croc

Dude probably nearly shits himself when he tries to speak as he is now voiced by Ryuuzaburo Fucking Ootomo (even Iva-chan is like "HOLY SHIT your voice dropped") (like they probably agressively try to encourage Crocodile to speak more and let them hear that voice and Croc is like "ssssshhhhhhhhh stop yelling you'll wake up the baby!!")

Anyway he finally gets to fucking rest and relax and enjoy the sheer relief of not just being free of his dysphoria but also his baby boy being born and looking all healthy and happy. A happy dad

(If Crocodile was the first person Iva-chan helped transition, and under these circumstances specifically. I think seeing the guy and his sheer relief would give like Iva-chan a new mission in life. To help people like Croc)

(Ivankov: "It's like a great weight has been lifted off your chest... GET IT, 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TITS ANYMORE! HEEHAW!!" / 🐊: "If you wake up the baby I will skewer you")

Anyway if the Rev Army member stays with Crocodile for too long there's a risk of them getting found out and that'd be bad, so Iva-chan needs to GTFO (they have better things to do, like overthrow some governments and stuff). Also Crocodile needs to prepare because he can't have the Government wondering where the fuck he's been all these months much longer (god knows explaining his sudden manliness is going to be enough to deal with) and the kid needs to go into hiding. If Iva-chan asks where the child is going, Croc probably won't give a straight answer, just that there's a plan and he needs Ivankov to keep the baby a secret etc (perhaps that could be the blackmail Iva-chan brought up in Impel Down 🤔)

Crocodile gets to spend a little time with his baby boy (before and/or after Iva-chan leaves). Crocodiles (the animals) look after their babies for three months before they're on their own, so at most he stayed with his baby for three months, though I'd argue just 3 weeks, simply because that'd a painfully short amount of time that's just perfect for tragic storytelling

Perhaps that was the happiest time of Croc's life. No stupid Government to deal with, no pirates to fight, no villages to pillage. Just him and his beautiful baby boy. Not even the knowledge of knowing he'd have to say goodbye to his son forever would get in the way of his happiness at that moment.

(Did he ever think about what to name the child? Maybe Dragon had wanted Crocodile to name their child and Crocodile was supposed to think of something while expecting, before the baby was born. Or maybe, knowing he would never see that child again (until the Government blows up) he could not bring himself to think of a name. It'd be Dragon's father who'd look after the baby anyways, Dragon should name him)

Dragon comes. Either exactly at the agreed upon time, or perhaps a day early (dude was too excited and wanted to be with his wife and child, together as a family, even if it was for a day). Whenever he arrives;

See the chart earlier in the post

However things go down, Dragon and Crocodile go their separate ways. Crocodile leaves the island immidiately.

Well. I certainly became absolutely deranged writing this.

HOPE YOU FOUND THAT ENTERTAINING

[psychopomp-namine]

Can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them? Thanks 🌻

okay, finally answering this. this made me realize I have 39 fics on my AO3 already. how time flies...

gonna go with a 5+1 trope here. 5 favorite fics I've written + 1 that hasn't been posted

staccato (twewy) - sometimes there are themes, motifs, tropes, etc. that a writer will come back to over and over again. if you're lucky, you can pinpoint which piece of writing started all of this, and what every other piece of writing written since then is responding to or conversing with. this is that fic for me. this is old. it's from 2012. it's what got me started writing more experimentally. yeah I can write a straightforward story, but I also really like writing non-linear stories with unreliable narrators and ambiguous elements (either something to do with identity/memory/time messing up the narrative; for staccato's case, it's memory). it took me a while since writing this to actually understand that's what I like writing though, but this is definitely the seed from which my current writing style sprung from. for that reason, it's a very special fic to me. it's formative to my writing journey.

[h]eretic (nier automata) - (david lynch voice) "the film is the talking" but apply it to fic. it's 374 words. someone commented, "I like it when a work is short but gets to the point. This was powerful." so I accomplished what I wanted. this is my hemingway six-word story flash fiction moment 👍

time is a vinyl record (genshin impact) - I haven't continued this because it's a high effort fic to write and I just don't have the writing stamina for it right now. you can see how I'm very excited about it though. I like it because I get to play around with formatting a lot, to the point where I now maintain a separate workskin demo for formatting fics. so I enjoyed that process of it. it's also got time travel shenanigans, science is magic is science stuff. it's easier to show you pictures of why this fic is so high effort for me (see below). it's a "mixed media" fic, and requires three levels of research (travel research, because the characters travel the world. science research, because it's got spacetime shenanigans. and archival research, as in "what do archivists do and how do they archive"). so yeah. high concept, don't have the brain space for it yet to continue, but I'm very fond of it.

the gardener who only collects seeds (genshin impact) - another time travel fic. time loop one, to be precise. this is the fic where, as I was writing it, I realized, oh. this is staccato all over again. the plot is different, the fandom is different, but stylistically and thematically, it's staccato in a different font. or rather, the refinement of the je ne sais quois that staccato started. this will keep happening in other fics, such as in re:flect. re/fract. (which uses identity issues instead of time travel as the ambiguous narrative element). everything goes back to staccato. that said, a longer postscript of gardener can be found here if you want to know how it was written/conceptualized/etc.

AZAZEL (danganronpa V3) - I usually write for small fandoms or rare(ish) pairs (relatively speaking), so this is the first time I posted a fic where it got so many comments and kudos so fast (relative to my other fics). I didn't think people still regularly check the saiouma tag in 2024? so the response just blew me away. I enjoyed writing a casefic from my experience writing another fic that's not on this list, so that's what compels me about writing azazel. the mystery writing. but also! I am a huge fan of role reversal fics because it really pushes the envelope with character arcs, and this is kinda like that. I'm a slow writer, but I'm still writing the second chapter. additional thoughts on themes, etc can be found here. also, I guess this fic felt like a milestone for me, because I finally got over my word count worries. it's my fic, so I get to say it's totally okay to post 20k words for one chapter. and I'm currently of the mindset that each chapter of this fic will probably have around the same word count. if anyone reading this is a reader of azazel, uhhhhh. that's partially why I'm slow to update, but I'm also just slow in general.

+1: The Halting Problem (sgdlr): you said "written" and technically I have a WIP that's partially written (16k words and counting). it's just not posted. that counts, right? this is my favorite fic to write atm. the halting problem is a set of two fics (RE:cursion and async/await) that make up one whole story. they're being written in such a way that you need one to understand the other. I think I can't really post either of them until they're both finished/complete. moreover, I decided to use both fics as my testing ground to see if I can write interactive, choose-your-own-adventure stories. I just think those are neat! so I wanted to try them myself!! and I think lc is perfect for that kind of story. if you've played a cyoa game before, you know how this goes. and yes, you can do this on AO3 (with limitations)! it's been really fun seeing the many ways you can use "choices" as a storytelling device, aside from just making branching paths in a narrative. I feel like, in spirit, this belongs to this list, although yeah it's not posted yet. I cannot promise that it will be. I highly doubt that it will be finished, in all honesty. it's kinda ambitious lmao, and waaay above my skill level. but! in the moment, I am having so so so much fun with it. and that's what matters in the end. the conceptualization and writing process for this fic just feels really different from the others because of it's narrative structure, and I'm kinda learning a lot about my own writing process along the way.

[heatherthetiredwriter]

20 Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tag @autumnwoodsdreamer <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently just one! I've got two others sitting around in drafts but I've not published them

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

8,742

3. What fandoms do you write for?

My one fic I've published is a crossover for three fandoms, Big Hero 6, Tangled: the Series, and Tales of Arcadia: 3 Below. So I guess I write for those three. And my other two unpublished fics are for Frozen and How to Train Your Dragon. DC as well kinda.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Well I've only got one so the list is just

A Game of Keep Away

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I love comments and try to respond to them as soon as I get them! They make me so happy! Though... I do have a problem with... comments.... that I know come from a specific person being on multiple accounts that I try not to engage with too much.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

So A Game of Keep Away is again the only one I've published and its got a LOT of angst and much more to come-- but my unpublished Frozen fanfic probably has the angstiest ending of them all

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

It's not really spoilers, especially since I haven't written it all yet, but A Game of Keep Away will have a happy ending! My unpublished, unfinished httyd fic probably has the happiest ending, but that fic is like never ending I swear---

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Never hate, which I'm glad for. I've had grammar police. But I don't mind them cos "dang it, how didn't I catch that?" My problem, again is mostly with the one specific person who comes and finds my fic no matter where I post it and comes at it with this energy that I do not enjoy. I am glad this person likes my fic but my goodness I don't need that energy in my space when I'm trying to write 😭

9. Do you write smut?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yes! I already mentioned my only published fic right now is a crossover! I love writing crossovers!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had so many things stolen off of Wattpad. So. Many. Stories. Oh my goodness.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I am currently co-writing a fic with my boyfriend and our other friend, its called The Last Bat and I am just remembering its also on AO3 I think and that means some of my answers might be incorrect bc I didn't take into account that fic but I don't care cos its not on my account its on his

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

How could you ask me to choose between my favorites like that??? But it might have to be one from How to Train Your Dragon? It was the first thing I really got into. I remember shipping Hiccup and Astrid so hard. And Heather and Fishlegs as well. So maybe one of those two.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My httyd fic... It's too big of a fic to actually write I'm pretty sure. I might could make it smaller, but I'm certain it would take years to actually write out. I think currently it sits at seventy-five chapters? or something like that? But those were twelve year old me chapters and so I would want to re-write them and make them better.... and then I'd have to continue the story.... Like in my head, I'm fond of the story because it was my first ever fic, and because it was a way I connected with my now dead great-grandmother when she lived so far away from me (yes, I did get my great-grandma to sign up for a wattpad account when I was 12), but I don't know if I have the stamina to keep that up again. Plus this was the fic that kept getting stolen. I'm sure its floating around the internet somewhere, despite the fact that I took it down from all my platforms.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm really good at getting into a characters head. And I'd like to agree. Once I'm in, I know their everything. What they eat for breakfast. What color their socks are. How they'd react to the stupid trolley problem. So I never have any problems showing how a character reacts to something. How it makes them feel.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I definitely could be more descriptive. I've noticed I've only ever been descriptive with a character once and that was just because I was so into her head and I knew that instead of focusing on the dangerous missions she was on, realistically she'd be like "Oh I wonder what kind of fertilizer they are using for their poppies? They are beautiful!" So since then I've been trying to paint a visual picture better. Something that I am finding to help is figuring out my setting beforehand and like mixing ambiance players to give the right vibes. Then it tends to come easier. But its something I need to work on for sure.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

In the wise words of @autumnwoodsdreamer "One word: italicise." But also yeah I'll mix in other words. I've done a lot of dragonese for different httyd things. Elvish too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

How to Train Your Dragon

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Its not published anymore, it didn't survive my personal purge, but it was a crossover between httyd and the hobbit movies. One of my ocs antagonists from my httyd fic got teleported into the hobbit movies and fell in love with Kili. Who then of course dies at the end of the movie and she steals his body and does the whole viking burning boat funeral to try and send him to Valhalla. And then she comes back to her world and the main fic and is like "Imma be a better person so I can be with Kili in the afterlife :)" It was so cringe, but I was free and innocent and thought it was the coolest thing ever and I wrote like I was the most talented person in the world and honestly 12 year old Heather was onto something bc I'd like half of her confidence

No pressure tagging: @susanshinning @rachelbethhines shooot im trying to think of people I know that post on ao3........ if you post on ao3 then please feel free to join!!!!!