#I like having anon enabled and I don't want to have to change that

[deathbxnny]

Alhaitham & Dottore with reader that’s like Ruan Mei

- (●’◡’●)ﾉ

I actually really loved thinking of this dynamic, so thank you for your request, Anon, and I hope you'll enjoy this!!<3

Content: Reader is morally grey and questionable?, established relationship, Dottore is his own warning, mentions of unethical science experiments, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not proofread))

》ALHAITHAM

When he met you, you two immideatly hit it off due to your extremely similar personalities. On the surface, at least. You were both very focused and work driven, as you rarely allow yourself to be distracted from anything. Your equal disinterest in socializing of any kind made you bond as well, as you simply avoided large gatherings or get togethers to spend time with eachother instead. A change that came as a surprise to the both of you.

You enjoy spending your free time simply reading or going over work notes in the others' presence, preferably in silence. Oftentimes, you can also lose yourselves in deep and profound conversations about life and philosophy. He loves how intelligent you are, as it pairs well with his own well-read mind too.

With that said, your main difference definitely lies in your moral ethics regarding projects and your experiments in general. Even if he may be quite emotionless visibly, Alhaitham still believes that your creations deserve proper care and therefore forces you to contemplate your own actions in many self-reflections. Not that you mind. If anything, you found this to be even more helpful to your research.

You two definitely match eachother well and make up for the other persons faults, which always works out perfectly in the end.

》DOTTORE

This man loves the more unsettling side to you more than you'll ever know. You are emotionless naturally and have always felt a certain discomfort at the lack of care for anything or anyone at that in your life. And yet, he finds absolute enjoyment in it. In fact, he enables you to do better, to work harder, to create and research more. He wants you to become the best version of yourself, or whatever he thinks that version may be.

He'll help fund any research or experiment you want to conduct in any form possible. Whether through money or unwilling subjects, as long as you give him front row seats to you working away, he'll be there for it all. His clones are also always at your disposal if you need them. He'll also understand your disinterest for your creations, seeing them as useless himself if they don't serve the purpose you created them for.

You two, however, also have much more calmer and normal moments with eachother, something you actually taught him. You'll drink tea or listen to calming music whilst discussing your latest research with one another rather often. It gives you both the downtime needed to refocus on work later once it's time to get back to the labs.

Your relationship may be unhinged to most, but that doesn't matter to the both of you in the slightest, as long as you're together.

[dykedvonte]

One of my mutuals opinions is the "bro code" thing, that Curly is one of those guys who wouldn't care about the victim because the perpetrator is his friend and I'm really banging my head on the wall like that other anon. I've only played through the game once but Curly's behaviour/reactions etc read completely different from the "bro code" thing and I have to wonder if my mutual and I even played the same game.. like the constant digs at him from Jimmy, his body language in his face reveal and so on like you mentioned in your post. While this game is a little different obviously, it kind of reminded of a point in Alice Madness Returns that makes it very clear that Alice's pain blinded her to the abuse of the other children and her failure to act earlier because of it. Curly is guilty of a similar inaction but it doesn't change the fact he was a victim of Jimmy too. I don't think I can look at it any other way because both of these games have really stuck with me.

I genuinely think it really is the idea that people want a simple easy to blame problem and the idea that the only relatable victims of abuse are those that "surpass" it or do a lot to help others. When it comes to victims, especially those that don't fit the typical demographics, who either accidently perpetuate it, enable it or aren't ideal in some way shape or form, people jump to ignore what they went through as it's easier than dealing with those conflicting sentiments.

The bro-code conversation in Mouthwashing stems from a concept I generally dislike that there had to be something about Curly that made him meet or keep being friends with someone like Jimmy. I think people genuinely underestimate how many like decent and good people just know an asshole or are friends with someone who is really bad outside of their view/established dynamics. The game makes it clear none of the inaction against Jimmy is because of a lack of care, it is a lack of understanding from the privaleged postions they have as men to not have to worry about what Anya does/went through and the type of extremes men like Jimmy will go through to cover it up. They are all too preoccupied in their own strifes.

Another thing I see being oversaturated the idea that you have to be a freak, misanthrope or have a disorder to do the thing Jimmy does. The game is an escalation, it's a spiral that I don't see people comment on that Jimmy was not likely having the mood swings and episodes of rage/frustration we were seeing in the game. This is after they all start experiencing the worst moments in their lives that he got THAT openly bad. Of course, this is just my interpretation but much like in real life, people that go to extremes like that usually live mundane lives. It's a pressure cooker affect to where the stress made them pop. It's self inflicted but still the case.

I really think people need to be more willing to acknowledge that not everything needs to be an extreme or in black and white or easy to understand. It doesn't need to be happy or have an answer or solution, especially in the cases where the abused sadly helps perpetuate what they experience. It's not he should've known better from experience or shouldn't he have known what could've happened because victims tend to not like to think in matters of the worst. Not to mention, especially in cases of abuse where it feels so personally directed that you don't expect to happen to someone else.

[mhsdatgo]

Do you think the show is biased against the Greens vs. Team Black? If so, how should the show have demonstrated that both teams are awful, in your opinion?

Hello anon!

I've got a lot to say on this one.

First of all, yes. I totally think that the show had some obvious kind of bias towards the Blacks. Not necessarily with the way the Greens were treated as devils with no likeable qualities except for Alicent (even if there are several instances of them doing so) but more because of the way the Blacks were whitewashed.

Rhaenyra.

Look, you'll never catch me not expressing my contempt for this woman, no matter the fact she was brought up by a man who did nothing but spoil, enable and indulge her in everything and anything she says and does. I can see the path they're taking in the show by adapting her as an irresponsible woman who flees at the minimal inconvenience and cowers to her dad at any minor inconvenience, but literally everything that makes her Rhaenyra Targaryen, Rhaenyra Targaryen, is removed.

She just looks like the next girlboss Targ Dragonrider queen after Daenerys. They basically made GOT season 8 and sent show!Rhaenyra as an apology. But in doing so they basically made her... Boring. Her and her children, which I don't love or hate. (The closest one I am to "liking" is Jace, I guess, but the leaks are just making me rethink everything again.)

I would've loved it if they had given us ONE pre-Dance book!Rhaenyra scene that would've made her appear more ruthless than what we have on the show, and not just the time when she offered 10 year old Aemond to be tortured. Make her ask Daemon to go after Vaemond (sorry pookie) like she did in the books, make her feed his corpse to her dragon. Sure that wouldn't have made me change my mind about how much I dislike her bUt it WOULD'VE made me go "damn she stands on business."

I wanted her to act out of grief and insist on going to war when she miscarried Visenya and lost her father, because although I don't think that the Greens did kill that poor little girl (she had dragon features and was likely going to die anyway) I do think that Rhaenyra should've been allowed her pain and the irrational and impulsive thinking that comes with it.

Alicent.

OH BOY.

Where do I even begin with this one?

Olivia Cooke SLAYED. Lemme just start with that. She took the whole cake and ate it too and left no crumbs. The direction they've taken with her is a realistic one, at least for the actions and decisions she's taking. Reckless, for sure. Risky, deathly even. Her fear is realistic, even for someone as Alicent Hightower no matter how much determination had protected her from dread.

What I don't like is the way she was treated as everyone's object and her shutting up about it. From Rhaenyra to Larys, everyone uses her for their own disgusting pleasures or outlet of frustration. And she's made to take it without fighting back even once. The one time she does, bless her, she's treated as a woman who's gone mad.

Now, I would've been fine with her taking all these hits if only they knew how to make Alicent change properly and completely from there. If it was me, the incident at Driftmark would be my start to revenge. No longer would I look at Rhaenyra with hope to reconcile with her. No longer would I bear any more of Viserys' shit when it's clear his first daughter (the image of his first wife) bears way more importance to him than me and all the four kids he forced me to have combined.

They'd have to nightly talk me out of suffocating him with my pillow a minute more for every wince and ache my now eyeless son suffers, for a month straight if not more. I wouldn't eagerly stand by his side and listen to his last words only to mistake them for permission to go along with my plans. I'd stand there passively at best, waiting for him to be done, before leaving the room.

Everything else can just be left the same way it was. Her fear when she realizes the effect Viserys' death has on her and her children is realistic. I'd break down for a moment too. I'd act as soon as I could too. I'd cry tears of relief, dread, grief (depends on how you interpret that scene) too. After letting his stinky ass rot for a fortnight. I would've preferred this to be a "there was a plan, but we weren't ready to act it out" situation more than a "what the fuck is going on" situation.

I'd also slap that "you toil in service of other men" dialogue from Rhaenys right back in her face (sorry grandma) since if we're talking about the show, it's literally the only thing she has done throughout the season.

House Velaryon.

HEAVY on this one. They have been done so wrong on so many levels. Every single one of them.

Laena was made to "pursue" Daemon, she changes from a precious, small and shy little girl to a confident, seductive young woman (teenager for fuck's sake, screw everyone who thought making her change this way would've been good) and later on a side piece, "the one Daemon settles for because he can't have Rhaenyra" even if it was known that she was the only one he was never unfaithful to, "she's made her peace" (WTF???????).

It apparently never hits Corlys that the bitch who he believes has made him childless (I AM TALKING ABOUT DAEMON) deserves no support from him and his house or that Luke should actually become a ward there at Driftmark if he's so adamant on keeping this farce that he's a Velaryon and the next Lord of the Tides.

Vaemond is seen as the odd, evil and power hungry one for pointing out that his house is falling into an OBVIOUS bastard's hands whether this kid likes it or not (even as my support for this claim goes as far as questioning Luke's parentage) and to add insult to injury he's made to say Rhaenyra is a whore, which never happened in the books.

The Silent Five are removed completely, Vaemond's sons as well (@redrosesandcharmingsouls knows I was FROTHING at the mouth waiting for Daemion Velaryon to make an appearance but the motherfuckers couldn't even give me that) so that we don't have any kind of reason to believe an execution so brutal and unjust had any repercussions on the support House Velaryon has on the Blacks overall. They are made into Rhaenyra's cheering squad through and thorough, even if they have every reason to be anything but.

The Laenor situation is actually really fucking funny. They made him leave instead of killing him to not bury the gays and they aren't aware that this has totally fucked everything up. Like thanks for telling me ALL of Rhaenyra's children are bastards. Cool, HOW THE FUCK TO YOU HANDLE SEASMOKE NOW?

Aegon II.

No this isn't an apologist post. I'm actually slithering on the ground on my knees for TGC daily but Aegon is a clusterfuck right now, no matter how you look at it. They tell us he's a psycho drunken rapist and he likes to watch children fighting every Sunday and when you actually see his adult version he's a crying love starved bitch of a man and he winces and frowns when Vaemond's head is cut off.

Instead of taking the throne to protect his children, he takes it because he's forced. And that makes Alicent the villain in everything once again. Now it doesn't matter if you look at the book version or what we see of the show version, everywhere you look this is just out of character.

It's inconsistent. He's made the worst thing ever so people can say "See??? They believe a rapist is better to put to the throne than our girlboss virtuous heir!!!" you either make him a psycho or a touch starved baby, why make both?

So yeah, I think this is all. For now. We'll have to see how this show progresses to see if I change my mind in any way.

Thanks for the ask!!!! ^_^

[pistachiozombie]

I don't know if anyone else has felt this way to this extent, but Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Tolkien, and even Bofur in general, have definitely changed my life and only made things better. I love my other hyperfixations too, but this one is hugely different and stands out from the rest. I may moan about the 'half of the fandom' that may not like my OC, or the hundreds of Bofur/Leanna content I have posted since 2019... but the greatness that came from it outshines the haters.

Not only have my mom and I bonded stronger with my love for all things Tolkien, but because I shared with her my embarrassing love for Bofur, we have made a story, which inspired her to finally make an OC - which then inspired my dad to make an OC - and he doesn't even go on the internet! Not to mention she prefers strictly staying with the lore, so adding Leanna, Estilil, Sven and my beorn dad, was surprising!

I have drawn them so many times i have gotten comfortable with drawing unique face structures and natural wrinkles, hands, poses, expressions, because i want to match the love that emits from the films.

I have met some wonderful friends and followers that have definitely enabled and pushed the love even further and motivated me to keep posting. I didn't get as much hate as I first expected to ship an oc as hard as I do with a canon character. Granted I did get some anon hate through the years that hurt, but what can you do. The inspiration I give fellow OC creators gives me a nice boost!!

Anyways, like I said, I know I bitch about the hater side of the fandom, but nobody wants to be hated for doing something they love. In the end, it was all a positive experience. I hope some of you have felt something similar too.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

This is a theory proposed in response to the anon who said, "They’re doing an awful lot to convince people that there is an entire strategy behind why they’re focusing on Harry. "

(and I'm also adding my comments to this same ask that posted earlier)

Remember earlier this year it came out that harry had hired a UK based PR firm, but that news sort of evaporated in the ether later on. However, we did see some trial balloons, mainly articles and polls, suggesting that Harry is an essential cog of the BRF machinary, that it would be nice if he returned and that the BRF would be lucky to have him back.

That turned to "would you like to see Prince Harry back in the UK". Which then turned to "Prince William is the only one blocking Harry's return to the UK", which then turned to "Charles just wants his sons back and loves Harry". Which then turned to "not as working royal but harry would like to be back and work in the UK".

The professional separation hadn't been announced yet, HnM were still doing tours. Yet, we got articles about how good it would be have Harry back in the UK. Harry had been back to see his dad earlier that year after the cancer diagnosis so people assumed that the palace is sending out feelers to see if Harry would be welcome back.

Now, I think those trial balloons were actually Harry's UK PR firm testing the waters to see how he would be recieved back in UK. We actually got palace statements telling us how long he spent in the kings company (12mims?), how he was escorted in and out and how he hadn't met any other family etc etc. The palace made their stand pretty clear pretty quickly. The only one who actually stands to gain anything at all from coming back to the UK is harry.

The only one who is bullheaded enough to force this arrangement and expect his people to make it work for him currently (without putting in any ground work) is Harry.

Obviously, he isn't welcome back as a working royal, it doesn't take a genius to realize that right now he is NFI to anything to do with the BRF on the working front. But remember Harry's most known work front is still based in the UK - Invictus/veteran mental health; Travelyst/climate change activism; Wellchild+Diana award - all 3 have a strong UK connect, either happen there or the organization is primarily based in London. It's the most long standing projects he has been doing /milking. These are also the projects which actually do have some public welfare goals as opposed to the ambiguity that is Archwell.

I think behind the scenes the sussex were looking for a separation of brands for a while because it looked like Harry wasn't doing anything productive since 2020. And that's why Josh Kettler as well as the PR firm were hired. However, the dynamics of the HnM marriage started changing around the same time and it was announced that their brand's were going to separate going forward. I don't think that part was planned, but was a reaction to the marriage being strained. And maybe, Josh Kettler resigning/being fired was a result of the marriage being strained.

Which brings us to the scathing bullying report 2.0 by THR on Meghan. They called her a demon in high heels! Lol... Harry got away pretty much scot free, he was only called her enabler and a silent spectator.

I think that was part 2 of Harry's Pr firm+Josh Kettler plan to rehabilitate Harry's image. And the ball was set rolling when Josh Kettler left (maybe as a response to whatever made him resign in the first place).

I think that article was Harry doing his own version of the "People 5 friends" article a la Meghan. At the time I believe Josh Kettler set this in motion as a start of Harry's revamp, knowing that Harry has been sidelined all these years, that he wanted to actually work on his personal brand and that (maybe) they were trying out a trial separation.

But once Josh K left, there was noone senior enough, the staff was anyway miserable, there was noone besides Meghan they were really answerable to (Holt is more a Harry guy than Meghan guy) and so the bullying report 2.0 happened.

Harry may not have commissioned it but at the very least his team decided to let it run and even contributed to it.

If we just look at the info out in media reports related to Harry in this past year, I'd make the following guesses about Harry :

1. I think we are in the very early stages of "Operation Rehabilitate Harry and move his base to UK". I think there IS a strategy to focus on Harry. But this is the work of the team that works exclusively on Harry and has nothing (or wants nothing) to do with Meghan, their marriage or America.

2. I think this new team is trying to legitimize Harry again and connect him back to the UK workwise (getting him back in royal fold however, would be happy by product that may or maynot happen down line. We'll see).

3. Meghan's recent desparation and her failure to launch ARO may have something to do with the fact that Harry has, probably, noped out of their arrangement and decided to focus on his own brand, which was already semi-established.

4. He took the competent staff, the loyalties and money with him when he decided to "professionally" separate from her. She is now only left with her People mag contacts and roster of sychophantic Twitter mafia. While he has been steadily doing some appearance or the other, no matter how inconsequential. So he has been busy building his body of work at the very least.

I don’t know that Harry took the competent staff…their CA staff never seemed competent to me and the ones who did already left of their own volition.

But that said, I do agree Harry is the better one to work for. He seems like a disconnected boss, where as long as you do the job and make him look good, he doesn’t really care. Meghan has always been the one with the reputation of being a hard-ass, difficult to please, and demanding and exacting. So when the “office” split, the staff went with him because he was easier to work with (much like when William split the office, most of the KP staff chose to stay with him rather than go with the Harkles to the BP pool).

And absolutely, Harry took the donors with him. He’s the one they’re all paying for, because he’s the one with the title, the BRF blood, the Diana connection. Meghan is just a chewed-up Hollywood reject on her own.

In the immortal words of Bob Eisner, Meghan needs Harry more than he needs her, which is why I suspect he’s the one driving the professional split…much like William and Kate drove their split 7 years ago; the Sussexes needed the Cambridges more than the Cambridges needed them.

And why I believe that if they do divorce, Harry will be the one to file. She needs him. He doesn’t. And the more successful the professional split is for him, the closer he inches towards leaving once and for all. (But he’ll never be totally done with her because of those kids and no matter how much he/Charles pays her, she’ll always come back for more.)

[tryan-a-bex]

100 fics

Today I posted my 100th fic on Ao3!

My first was Pottery; or Function, Purpose and Heart on Mar 11, 2023. It was a retired Dreamling fic with Destruction (who I call Joe) as the main character.

I moved fairly quickly into my Spy x Family crossover series. Anya is so cute, and throwing her in with Dreamling and the Endless family led to a lot of fun shenanigans! (Generally you don't need to know Spy x Family canon to follow these.)

Next I started on my Sandman x Scooby Doo shenanigans! I really like the Scooby Gang, and there are definitely some mysteries to solve surrounding the Endless! (With awesome art by @sab-draws!)

Gaulcienne caught my eye next. Lucienne, my beloved librarian, and the shape-changing dream-fairy? Oh yes! A Quiet Love with Wings has most of my commissioned art, with pieces by @athymelyreply for Sometimes when You Fall, You Fly, @ibrithir-was-here for Fireflies and a Missing Person, and @designtheendless for The Dragon Rider!

King of Night and Prince of Day, for @nathanwonderwolf's wonderful art, has the second highest kudos of all my fics.

Then I invented an OC who is the preteen personification of the consciousness of humanity, aka Social Media. I thought this was pure crack but people liked it and now it's a series! Dinner and Play was created with @carnelianmeluha's food ideas in mind!

My Dreamling works tend to be short and sweet, often prompted by something on tumblr or discord, and are collected as Dreamling vignettes.

I have recently written (but not yet posted) my first honest to god smut, but early dabbles in the craft were mostly crack, like my Helm Fucking Crack series. I'm unreasonably proud of how cracked it is, and thank everyone who enabled me (notably @sleepsonfutons, @windsweptinred, @tickldpnk8, @zzoomacroom, read their fics!).

My obsession with Fuckboi Dream (mind the tags) is ongoing, and included creating a chapter index with notes so I can find things, a series about Murphy's childhood (somebody please read these, they are so cute), and others, fanart as well!

In The Dragon's Tongue, Lucienne takes on Titania! I commissioned @lostelfwriting to write the bdsm continuation of the scene, and she did a fantastic job!

A Reunion in the Dreaming (picnic recreated here) was the first fic in Walking with the Walkers, my series about Rose, Jed and Unity. It features Rose and Ara (Barbie transformed in Life is but a Dream), Rose and Jed meeting their Endless family members, Jed and Gault having adventures, and Unity throwing family parties in the Dreaming (with art by @ilya-halfelven).

Trials of a Shapeshifter in Love (in which Gault tries to surprise Lucienne with a romantic dinner) was my favourite fic from October 2023 -- Femslash weekend (by @sandmanfemslashfans ) and Monsterfucktober (by @seiya-starsniper and friends) made it a really fun month! I also wrote Chantal and Zelda, Johanna and Death, and zombie Lyta (my most angsty fic, I believe).

Just Get Me Off the Damn Mountain was written for designtheendless' contest and omg, I won! It is my most popular fic, at 185 kudos!

I also wrote an OG story for NaNoWriMo! At 23k, Wander Witch is by far my longest story (the next longest is under 9k).

After a bit of being stuck, I got started again by writing continuations of @gabessquishytum's asks! Thank you to Gabe and to all the anons and contributors who allowed me to post their parts of the story!

Asmi, @weirdly-specific-but-ok, argued that he does not have a fandom, so (with permission) I proved him wrong by writing fanfic where he meets Crowley and the Maggot Fam. I love you, Asmi and the maggots!

Heading on an Adventure, the story of Rose and Orpheus' road trip, led to a series of library adventures for Lucienne (often featuring Meowpheus), starting with The Library Cat and continuing in the Lucienne my Beloved series.

I wanted more Lucienne and Walkers content, so I started a side blog, @lucienne-my-beloved, and am open to prompts there! On ao3, the series is called ficlets for lucienne.

Hob Meets the Doctor June 7, 2389 and The line I will not cross and the line I will (Gaulcienne) are my space fics, and I am unreasonably happy about them!

I'm now writing for @augustwritingchallenge! (They got me over 100 in my wips a week or two ago!) I combined prompts so you'll see a fic every 2-5 days in various series and fandoms, including Good Omens (Aug 30) and Dead Boy Detectives (soon).

And my 100th fic! Why are you whispering? a Jed and Rose fic for the late night call prompts. Woohoo!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my fandom journey! I'm the least depressed one in my long covid cohort, due to your support and friendship! I cherish every kudo and comment and bookmark and reblog, and the art and fics you all create as well!

[aruanimess]

You should totally do HCs for AOT characters. I know you want to😎

🌟

The gender/sexuality HCs? Oh, anon, you shouldn't be enabling me like that... (pls continue)

Okay, so the reason I was hesitant to do this is that I'm usually a "bi until proven otherwise" type of person, but here we go-

Before I begin, disclaimer 1: I consider pan and bi to be very similar sexualities, being bi doesn't mean you're not attracted to nbs (at least imo). The difference lies in whether or not the gender of your partner factors in the attraction you're experiencing (again imo).

Disclaimer 2: This is all in good fun, not meant to be taken too seriously, and obviously if you disagree that's all right 💕

So without further ado:

Eren (he/him): Heteroflexible, but also demisexual. Boy needs a strong bond to penetrate the wall of tatakae and get him to feel attraction. His implied but not canonically explicit crushes on Annie and Historia, only confirm this for me bc he only became interested in them after he learned more about the way they think. Mikasa is obviously his best friend, and Armin, his other best friend, puts the flexible into the heteroflexible.

Mikasa (she/her): Pansexual, also demisexual. She doesn't care about her partner's gender, only about their heart. She has trouble getting attached, but once she does she's ride or die!

Armin (he/they): Bisexual. You know the meme that goes, "I'm probably nonbinary but I don't have time for that"? Yeah, that's Armin. He do be fighting demons, and the demons are his relationship to masculinity. They like macho dudes (the ones they envy/they eeeenvy 🎶) and people who intimidate them.

Annie (she/they): Bisexual. Unlike Armin her nonbinary inclinations are not over some angst with womanhood, she simply sometimes wishes not to be perceived in any particular way. She likes boys if they're nice, girls if they're cool and nbs... nbs are just hot.

Jean (he/him): Pansexual. I don't think gender matters to him, he judges people through their actions, though, and oh boy... he's a harsh judge!

Connie (he/hee): Pansexual aromantic. Sorry, this boy is all about friendship, the other thing he just doesn't get. His friends will be his family, not his future spouse. He still gets around though 👀

Sasha (she/her): Demisexual, demiromantic, straight. Niccolo. Need I explain more?

Bertolt (he/him): He thinks he's straight but he's actually bi.

Reiner (he/him): Homoflexible. Mainly gay, but an exceptional woman can make him change his mind.

Historia (she/her): GAY, GAY, HOMOSEXUAL, GAY. Les-be-honest this woman is a lesbian.

Ymir (she/they): c'mon, she's a giant lesbian!

Pieck (she/her): okay, I know it's a hot take, but I think she's straight. Like who in their right mind rejects Hange? Clearly straight. (And I don't want to hear about Yelena because, again, who in their right mind rejects Hange but wants Yelena?? NO) She's polyamorous though.

Hange (they/them): Pansexual. Canonical crushes involve Keith Shadis and Pieck. They clearly don't care about their partner's gender, only their levels of weirdness. Their gender is mad scientist.

Levi (he/him): another hot take, I think he's aroace.

[randomfoggytiger]

I don't want to shame or be age-ist, but why did they bring in Mimi Rogers as Diana? She looks so much older than both Scully and Mulder. Was she hot and in the market in the 90s? I can see that her assertiveness and self-assuredness could be attractive, but she just didn't seem to "fit in". It's almost as if Mulder went for her because of mommy issues and looking for an older woman like Scully did with Daniel and her daddy issues.

I don't know anything about the actress. My issue is just with the casting and that she fit more in line with being an older character that came across, to me, more like a wicked step mother than a potential mate.

I don't think the question is ageist. :DDD It's a reality that she does look older than Mulder-- but that really works for canon.

Actually factually, they hired Mimi Rogers because DD acted with her before (The Rapture); and he likes to bring his friends forward into new projects. But her casting also enabled David and Mimi to take their characters' interactions in a slightly different direction than the script dictated.

I get you completely, Anon-- and I agree. That angle worked for me, however: it underlined Mulder's personal growth over the past five years (and showed how glaringly unimportant Diana had become.)

Diana Fowley: the Definition of Manipulative Comfort

(Credit to: @iddoitforfreebaabe)

In the script, CC wrote Diana as a knock-out who subtly wielded her sexual prowess to draw Mulder's attention away from "the truth" (and to make Scully jealous, ahem ahem.) There was a sneering, preening quality to her that isn't present with Mimi Rogers. And I like that difference; because five years and a thriving partnership have changed Mulder as a person-- not completely, but enough. Sneering, preening superficiality would repel, not attract, the person he's become.

Moreover, Mulder is a man so haunted by his past that he sees his sister in every little girl-- or, to the point, he sees the love and security he lost in childhood in every feminine, devoted, almost nurturing brunette. (He's drawn to women who promise love, companionship, and ease up front, only to be duped by their intentions and strung along with breadcrumbs of affection later.) I don't think he's looking for other sisters or other mothers in his selection process; just that their standard of beauty has been normalized since childhood. Importantly, we see his own distinct sexual preferences separate from his traumas: Mulder is attracted to intelligent, outspoken women, be it Pheobe Green or Diana Fowley or Dana Scully (or Bambi Berenbaum, etc.) This trait doesn't define his on-screen interactions with Tena Mulder-- a very passive, emotional woman when around him-- nor distinguish Samantha in his memories. They weren't idiots, certainly; but that's not how he selectively remembers them.

Back to Diana.

THE NATURE OF DIANA AND MULDER'S PAST RELATIONSHIP

Diana Fowley is the perfect archetype of a person who latches onto potential-- for intelligence and companionship-- and stays until she decides to leave (cutting loose ends cleanly, and purposefully parting friends.) Relationships are for advantage, positive or negative.

We know this because of her reappearance: in The End, Diana expects to waltz back in and turn Mulder's affections back to herself with the snap of her fingers; in The Beginning, she chastises Mulder for doubting her dedication and loyalty to the files (read: him); and in One Son, she foists a kiss on Mulder when he is at his lowest point.

She's not a mother figure but a dangerous second thing: a prey animal who locates the wounded boy in the man and weaponizes that to her advantage-- hence, her full name (Diana meaning 'goddess of the hunt'; Fowley, a spin on the word fowler or snare.) (It's not until The Blessing Way that Mulder began to question his own mother's involvement in the conspiracy, posts here and here; which provides ample proof of the lengths his ex would have been able to twist him about without his suspicion.) Diana knows how to mask her control through silky "Fox, I know better; and you know I know better" language that skirts his animosity and detection. While Phoebe is cruel and callous and careless-- getting caught-out both times she and Mulder engaged in a relationship of sorts-- Diana is circumspect and calculating and careful. Diana exploits his weak spot-- self-punishment and a desperate need for love-- by disguising her attentions behind loving, near-maternal guidance and protection... something she would have known he lacked after Mulder unveiled his backstory. While Phoebe is reliant on relationships and adoration and praise to feel superior-- unable to face or accept rejection-- Diana doesn't rely on anyone or anything except herself (hence why CSM came to depend on her, too.)

DIANA, THE (PURPOSEFULLY) NOT-SO RAVISHING

All that logic and canonical consistency aside, the beauty in Mimi Rogers's casting is that she isn't a ravishing beauty to Mulder.

Mulder isn't head-over-heels for her like he was Phoebe Green or Bambi Berenbaum or (later) Scully. In the magazines and tapes that aren't his, in his dreams, in his Kill Switch illusion, Mulder fantasizes about larger-than-life sexuality: the Jersey Devil, Phoebe, Bambi, the blonde bimbo nurses, Jade Afterglow, Scully in sci-fi gear, etc. The exaggeration in their presentation captures his imagination and attention. (We see hints of Diana as a wanton, sexually deviant temptress here and there: namely in Mulder's vision of her in Amor Fati-- post here-- where he is not surprised to see her in aggressive, sexy lingerie-- but is surprised to hear she suddenly wants to settle down and have children, post here. And, again, "settling down" is framed as "It's time to grow up, Fox"-- another maternally slanted manipulation.) In casting Mimi, their dynamic changed from Phoebe-Green-enraptured to old-wound-manipulation.

Mulder himself wasn't gutted over their breakup-- telling Diana, without a shadow in his eyes pointing to past hurts or wounds or pain he'd overcome, "I've done okay without you." It was Diana who walked and Diana who returned; but it's Mulder who didn't ask her to stay either time. She was his partner: not in the "wildly understood definition of that term", but a literal partner who discovered the X-Files alongside him, who spent five years of her life with him, and who left-- without regrets, from either side-- for greener pastures. It had been a comfortable, not passionate, relationship. Afterwards, Mulder was content to burrow down in the basement, alone; and resented any intruder into his sanctum after she left.

And when Diana returns, he's stiff, tense; and takes a while to warm up to her presence. Yes, because of his past with her, yes because he hadn't informed Scully of said past; but mostly because he knows Diana is there for a reason. And, profiler that he is, Mulder suspects he's the reason. And he's right.

DIANA FOWLEY V. DANIEL WATERSTON

How does Mulder's draw to Diana differ from Scully's draw to Daniel?

Well, firstly, we have to discuss the similarities. Both Diana and Daniel are older partners, and both put down the instincts of their lovers (or would-be lovers, in Scully's case) to assert their own interests and end goals. ...The similarities largely end there.

The differences, however, point to the nuance of their situations.

Mulder isn't drawn to Diana because she was "his mother"-- he was attracted to her because his inner porch bug is drawn to the promise of a light at the end of the tunnel; and always coaxes him into the dangerous dark and straight towards the beam of a bug zapper. In this case, he got caught in the window screen, peering into the glow of a house but unable to advance towards or retreat from it. Diana and he had good times, comfortable times that they could remember fondly later; but their reminiscing consists of her helping on the files, not the years of their relationship beforehand. In essence, they have "the work"-- in whatever current form that was-- between them and nothing more (in contrast to his bond with Scully, which transcends Mulder's search for "the truth.")

Scully is drawn to Daniel because he is "other fathers"-- a man who not only understands her expertise and passion but rewards it with devotion and pride. While Diana left Mulder and was, apparently, perfectly content to be single as she carried out the Syndicate's aims (or because she left her options open to exploit CSM's interest), Daniel mourned and pined after his loss, letting his cracked marriage dissolve completely and abandoning his daughter to-- hopefully, maybe-- run into Scully someday. Diana and Mulder coasted five years-- another sign their relationship didn't healthily benefit either person-- before they decidedly separated. Daniel and Scully had a stormy (near) love affair, and split after the tempestuous blowout.

(By the way, Mulder and Scully, carry out those patterns with their ensuing relationships: Scully moving fast and strong with Jack and Jerse before they separate; and Mulder coasting on from case-to-couch, phone to his ear when he gets lonely at nights. Their partnership ultimately breaks each other's pattern, posts here, here, and here.)

Diana does fall in love with Mulder, though: by One Son, we see she truly has lingering feelings for her ex-- that take a backseat to her Consortium calling (and lack of characterization)-- and by Amor Fati, her affection has grown enough to manifest guilt, shame, and change-- that results in her death. However: the series portrays this as new emotional growth, not a symptom of their past relationship. Mulder doesn't expect that depth of feeling from her in The End nor The Beginning; nor even Two Fathers and One Son (hence his consternation with Scully's "jealous" suspicions, post here.) Again, "I've done okay without you" speaks volumes-- especially with the twinkle Mulder sports to show Diana that, for the first time in his life, he's found a spark: that his current "relationship" isn't comfortable or stagnant or in the past. (Which is why she reads between the lines and plans to break apart the partnership as deftly as possible.)

CONCLUSION

Hopefully these thoughts helped in some way or form. :DDDDD But what do you think, Anon?

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

**Note**: Here's the interview mentioned in the tags.

[idlenight]

I'm curios- what are the reasons from the demo that you like hg? It can be under the cut if you want to avoid people getting spoilers!

I will use any excuse to blab about HG, you are an enabler anon.

WARNING: Public Revelations Demo spoilers (for route 4.2) under the cut

Secondary warning of a LOT of text lmao.

hgsib variable.... i am obsessed w/ u.

You are Hollow Ground. You wake up in the middle of the night because you're a little parched. You untangle yourself from your polycule to go to the kitchen and get a drink.

There, sitting on your kitchen counter, is the villain that had previously refused to show up to the meeting you invited them to and send their assistant instead. They are in full armor, you are in your robes (a little underdressed for this meeting).

They offer you a cup of your own coffee that they just made.

Personally? I would be alerting my bodyguards polycule to the intrusion. But no HG just, rolls with the punches. I respect that.

But to get into the actual nitty gritty and the Connections(tm) to sidestep, focusing on the friendly + mind conversation because that's what I saw in my run.

In the friendly conversation where sidestep takes their helm off you get so much insight into HG's relationship with their sibling.

"Believe it or not," you start, *if ((suit_terrifying) or (hgterrified))   realizing how absurd this must sound, "I do believe it will be more advantageous to work together than be enemies." "You have certainly proven that you would be a bad enemy to have," Hollow Ground admits. *if hgreveal   "And I'm glad you're being sensible about this." The smile is real, as is the relief.   *if hgmind     "I wouldn't want us to be at odds. Not now."

a boss or hunter also gets this piece of dialogue that im unwell about:

  "Oh I know exactly who would," Hollow Ground says, voice sharper than it has been so far tonight. "Lord Ember. That San Francisco fuck has been making moves on my territory. I wasn't sure if you were one of his plants until tonight."   *if hgreveal     ${hghis} ${eyes} meet yours. Certainty. You're on ${hghis} side in this.

'Certainty. You're on [their] side in this.' <- homie immediately willing to believe step is on their side because they're probably his sibling, why wouldn't they be?

With a thief step, this dialogue comes up

  "Sometimes I can't be bothered though." You stare ${hghim} down, seeing how much leeway you have with your little stunt. "With the whole research thing. Is that going to be an issue?"   "You..." Hollow Ground groans.   *if hgmind     "You really haven't changed one bit, have you?"   *elseif hgreveal     "This feels far too familiar."

and the mindtalk + being defensive:

    "So what?" Your tone matches ${hghis}, because you have never once backed down from an argument. "Are you seriously surprised?"     "I shouldn't be, you always were a little shit." The words are out, flat on the table between you, coins not heads or tails but on the edge, spinning freely.

HG's youngest sibling confirmed to have been a little shit. (this dynamic was made for River 'born to be a shithead little brother' Becker fr fr)

Although my favorite part of the mind talk is this:

  *selectable_if (protected) #"You saved me," I gasp, focusing on that. "Why?"     "You saved me," you gasp, trying to swallow the taste of blood and drowning. "Why would you do that?" $!{hghe} must have known what you were trying to do. You're not sure if Hollow Ground is a telepath, but there is some form of mental powers at play here, that you could feel. Something...     "Hell if I know," ${hghe} @{hgsv lies|lie} and you know that now. Can taste the lie, not because your minds are entangled but because you can see it in ${hghis} eyes.     *if hg_relationship = "dangerous telepath"       "I should have let you drown like last time."       "But you didn't," you retort, wiping your mouth. "You know something."     *else       "Liar," you retort, wiping your mouth.

"You don't know?" You can sense the disbelief, ${hghis} eyes narrowing. "Fuck. Of course. That makes sense. Too much sense." "No it doesn't," you protest. "Do you remember anything?" Hollow Ground leans forward, too insistent now, almost reaching out to touch. You lean back, putting space between you despite the protection of your armor. "About what?" Why are you the one being interrogated? What did you see in there? What did you feel? "Your childhood." The words land heavily, and you almost laugh. As if you were ever a child.

The way that i am obsessed with ["dialogue" he lied] in texts. ALso ugh, HG leaning forward, wanting to touch sidestep. To make sure they're real? to comfort them? to comfort themself? They want sidestep to be their sibling so bad, need it to be true.

In fact is sidestep dismisses it (our memories got entangled. it's nothing more than that), then HG begs them to answer the question anyway, and are very clearly unwilling to let it go even though they won't force the answer because they're at a disadvantage.

  #"No," I say, which is technically not a lie. "Why?"     "No," you say, which is technically not a lie. No childhood unless you count being newly decanted, fumbling your way through the world before your memory implant. "Why?"     "Because you remind me of someone." Hollow Ground looks directly at you, eyes narrowing. "Someone who I thought I had lost long ago. Someone who should be dead."     "Some people don't stay dead forever," you joke with your grimmest smile, but ${hghe} @{hgsv takes|take} it the wrong way, eagerly leaning forward.     "Could it be...?" A pause, ${hghis} fingers tapping nervously against the table. "You would have been in your early teens. There was an... attack. They called it an accident, but nobody was fooled. You had been arrested, they said you suffered an overdose. They never let us claim the body, so I always figured it was police brutality. Didn't want us to see the evidence. I never thought there was a chance that you were alive?"

You can feel the hope radiating from ${hghim}. An old wound, reopened. Someone who loved ${hghis} *if afab   little sister *elseif amab   little brother *else   younger sibling and is now hoping that ${hghe} had been wrong all along. That there is a chance there had been no death. No body. Just someone disappeared into the system for whatever nefarious purposes. Someone who might be sitting at the table across from ${hghim}. Maybe. Hope. The most powerful and addictive of drugs. *if (((amab) and (gender = "woman")) or ((afab) and (gender = "man")))   You know in your heart that it is wrong. Not just because you are a Re-Gene and never were a child. But because the child you saw in ${hghis} mind had been a @{amab little girl.|little boy.} And you never would have been. Not back then.

Hollow Ground loved their younger sibling, Hollow Ground hopes that they are wrong. They want to be wrong, they need to be. For a chance that their sibling can still be alive, sitting in front of them now, breathing.

I could go on but this is already long enough lmao. Thanks for coming to another one of my TEDtalks ✌️.

[the-real-sasuke-uchiha]

How come you don't like Naruto but you like Itachi??? Itachi literally murdered the clan and ruined Sasuke's life and is the biggest konoha bootlicker????

Hi there, anon.

I don’t know if it is exactly “dislike” what I feel for Naruto. I think it is more like disappointment. I don’t want to bore you, since this has been stated so many times before by people way more eloquent than me. But, in summary, Naruto had the opportunity to meet many victims of the Shinobi system and Konoha in particular, and he merely dismissed them with what turned out to be empty promises in the end. I can’t stand his “friendship will solve everything” approach. Or his strategy of talking people into giving up their very legitimate rage just in exchange of his happy words, while justice is never served and nothing really changes in the end.

I can’t stand that he just expects people to endure, give up and trust him. I don’t hold it against him if he was naïve during his youth, if he couldn’t understand Sasuke’s legit wrath towards Konoha or if he failed to identify his heroes as the genocidal criminals that they were in reality. But I expected more (well, something) from the adult man that became Hokage. You know, it is fine if a child dreams about becoming ninja ruler to gain popularity, but an adult should have deeper goals.

I don’t think Naruto and Itachi are in the same dimension to be fairly compared. You don’t hold a random person to the same standards as a figure of authority. Let alone a powerless child and an adult with political power. You will never see me defending what Itachi did. Yes, he murdered his family, there is no denying that, there is no way we can pretend his decisions were right. He was a 13 year-old child, brainwashed, groomed, burdened with too many responsibilities, traumatized by war and trained only on violence, convinced he could trust nobody. He did not decide to kill his family on a whim, he was threatened with the death of his baby brother. And yes, with a sane mind, from a situation of safety, we might think of other choices he should have followed. Of course. But this was not the case for him.

He was a proud disciple of the will of fire. There is no doubt about that. Still, he was ready to betray Konoha and let hell break lose if something were to happen to his brother. Still, he never idolized the kage or any of Konoha’s leaders the way Naruto did. He was not trying to be popular or gain any position of power or privilege from his actions. In his distorted, disturbed mind, all he wanted to do was to save his brother, to save people, to avoid more violence. Yes, it makes no sense to execute a genocide to avoid casualties. Still, that was, canonically, the way he reasoned. He was used by Konoha and he never got any personal benefit for what he did. It is very different, you know, defending an ideology because it benefits you in your position of privilege, and defending an ideology because you were brainwashed into doing so to facilitate your own oppression. The first one is a perpetrator and the second one is a victim. And I can’t see Itachi as anything other than a victim from the Shinobi system and Konoha. A victim of the people whose paintings are hanging from Naruto’s Hokage office, by the way… How can I blame the child that was coerced into doing the dirty job by the government, instead of the government that ordered him to do so and benefited from it?

What Itachi did was deranged and cruel, and he did that instigated by the government of Konoha. Since this is so obviously monstrous and horrifying, how come this was not acknowledged by dear ball-of-sunshine Hokage, like, ever? How come this was all swept under the rug, how come the enabler of the massacre is still respected and glorified?

I hope this answered your question, anon. Thank you for reaching out and have a nice evening, day, or whatever it is at your end. Take care!

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hello, sorry to bother you. I got some requests if you're comfortable with it of course. It's never mention that MC have a familiar. But imagine this :

MC go to a trip without M6 and when MC come back, they suddenly bring a deer and that deer is actually MC familiar!

How would the M6 react?

The Arcana HCs: When MC shows up with a familiar

~ I've had multiple requests to write for MC with different kinds of familiars, but considering how the type of familiar reflects their master's personality, it's easier to keep it vague. Here's the closest I can get anon, hope you enjoy! - brainrot ~

Julian

Doesn't know what the new animal is until you tell him what the new animal is

Consequently very anxious around the new animal

This is your familiar. From what he knows of magic, familiars are a big deal

Also, the last time he interacted with a magician's familiar, she squeezed him because she thought scaring him was fun

He expects it to judge him as unworthy of you and doesn't want it to hate him

Is completely caught off guard when it reflects your own affectionate feelings for him instead

When he puts two and two together he melts and pledges his protection and doctorly services to it

He still doesn't get that Malak is technically his familiar so he's very confused and slightly intimidated about why they seem to get along so well

Asra

Needs no introduction, it's got you written all over it and is now their second favorite animal after Faust

A very, very close second favorite, according to him they're basically siblings

It's canon that they knit clothes for Faust, now they make matching accessories for your familiar

Teases you about how affectionate it is with him, like Faust doesn't already love you about as much as she loves Asra

Faust is a terrible, terrible influence and he enables it

She can and will find a way to teach it how to hold a knife and takes it on "training" excursions to get familiar with Vesuvia's shortcuts and terrorize a certain doctor

Scolding them does not work, you'll have to put them in time out in separate rooms

Asra sneaks messages back and forth if they can't get you to relent

Nadia

Completely focused on the logistics of making it feel as welcome and cared for as possible

Makes whatever changes it could need so your chambers are an ideal habitat for it to come and go and relax

Ensures access to dietary needs

If the familiar is amenable to the idea, finding a loose collar or ornament that marks it with her seal so it can wander around the palace grounds without interference

Doesn't really consider the possibility of bonding with it until she sees how well it gets along with Chandra

And apparently how friendly it seems to be with her? She's never spoken to it, why would it act so loving - oh. Oh

Goes out of her way to praise and bond with your familiar at least once a day. They're very good friends now

Muriel

Doesn't need to be told who the animal is

Immediately lights up because he's genuinely happy that you've found a companion to go through life with. Inanna pulled him through a lot and he hopes that it will do the same for you

Also because he likes animals, all animals, and this is a new one to study and nurture

Speaks to it like it's a person that he likes

Makes all kinds of thoughtful accommodations for it without ever saying a word or letting on that that's what he's doing

Inanna adopts it

You'll see her full mother wolf instincts come out, this is a creature very new to being a familiar and it doesn't necessarily know all of its responsibilities yet

Don't worry, she'll teach it for you. They go on patrol together and she's very protective

Portia

Oh, cute animal

She's sorry that's your what? That's so cool!!!

Squeals

Tell her all the details. How did you meet? What was the first thing you thought when you saw it? What type of animal is it exactly? Did you know right away, like love at first sight? Describe it for her

Treats it like she does Pepi, it's a pet with extra magic that's mysteriously connected to you and therefore very cute

Over the moon when it acts friendly with her. Holds her breath because she's worried her squealing will scare it off

Makes treats for it like she does for Pepi

If Pepi wasn't already such a beloved cat, she would be jealous

Pepi does go through a phase of bringing her hunting trophies to your familiar instead of Portia as tokens of friendship

Lucio

Does not know what it is until you tell him 2.0

Accepts it into the mini family with no hesitation. He's always had an enthusiastic (though at some points misguided) approach to collecting and caring for animals

It's part of the menagerie now

Very, very proud when it's friendly with him

As limited as his own magical abilities are, he's fascinated by yours and is curious about all the ways a familiar does or doesn't assist you in that

Mercedes and Melchior are extremely enthusiastic in their welcome, to the point that you fear your new familiar might get bitten

Somehow that doesn't happen and they all get along splendidly, if not chaotically

Bonus points if it's white

[majaloveschris]

Is he though? I'm not saying he is perfect, but most people in Hollywood are much more problematic.///

I think this just proved the point of the anon. Yes, Chris is human as we all are, but any time people say anything negative about him, it’s always well there are worse men.

We’re talking about Chris Evans though, not other men, if he was this stand up guy he would NOT be in this situation.

People have and continue to make excuses for him to the point people believe this isn’t him and he’s being forced in this mess, but my question is…..what if this IS him?

His past gfs haven’t been the best either, this current one being the worst due to obvious trolling and racist besties to the point we have to question who he really is to have thought she was the one or publicly have the world believing that’s his wife.

I know many believe due to many things this is fake, but what if it’s not. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Fake or not, he signed off on being associated to her as HUSBAND AND WIFE!

Maybe people simply refuse to accept that the stand up guy many thought really isn’t that stand up.

No mature adult man is going to be in a real or fake relationship with a 26 year old, simple as that. Chris has more control than people realize.

Fandoms get closer and closer to the line of cults because no one can see that these people sell images, matter of fact many will read this ask and try to take one thing and deflect from the bigger issue.

There were people saying Chris doesn’t like women like her because she posted her shower videos and has allegedly been doing videos for pay, yet people forget this man was coddled for posting his own dick pic.

People are going to do as they please, but just be mindful that sometimes your love and infatuation for a person can lead one to becoming very blind.

Chris is going to remain doing crap like this because he makes terrible choices and those choices get enabled or written off with excuses.

I said people, not men. Nobody said he is the best person in Hollywood or that he is the best man in the world. I just said that he doesn't seem a bad person considering what other people do in Hollywood. 

Do we know him? No. He might not be in this because of business but because he loves her. That's a possibility as well. We think it might be fake based on his previous relationships, his previous behavior, his behavior with Alba, and because of the weirdness of this whole relationship. We don't know anything for sure. We just theorize here. 

I do agree that it's dangerous if we put our heads in the sand and act like he is this perfect human being, but the same goes about thinking he is the worst person in this world. I think calling him out is okay, and yeah, he shouldn't be allowed to do whatever he wants, but the line is very thin between healthy and unhealthy fan behavior. Fans shouldn't feel like they can do and say whatever they want either. 

I also think it's really important to not have tunnel vision when it comes to him, because he is still someone we don't fully know. But at the same time, accusing him of crimes isn't right either. Again, the line is very thin. 

But I wouldn't say he doesn't feel the displeasure of the fans when it comes to this situation. Losing followers and fans, getting called out, and getting bullied (which I still don't agree with) shows how unpleasent fans are with his choices. But yeah, there will be people who will always try to find excuses, and they do the same thing with Alba too at this point, but that's how it is. You can go and call those people out too, because we "excusing" him when we say this is PR, and they "excusing" him saying Alba and her fans aren't even that bad, and they must've changed aren't that far from each other. There's always been and will be people who keep excusing someone's behaviors and actions, and he won't be the first counterexample. 

[ask-ganondorf]

Ask Ganondorf!: The "About Page"

[[Welcome to "Ask Ganondorf", a Legend of Zelda-themed askblog formerly exclusive to Cohost! This is the post where I do a little promoting and explain a few things. This is the mod speaking; I hope you enjoy your visit here, and don't forget to leave a message before you go~!]]

[[Continue below the cut for more information...]]

[[This is an old-fashioned character askblog, the kind that was popular on here about a decade ago. Want to ask Ganondorf something? Go right ahead! You don't even need to be a LoZ fan. An askblog lives and dies by audience interaction, so when in doubt... just send whatever ask you want! Don't be scared of the idea that someone else may have already asked what's on your mind, anonymous asks are enabled in case you're feeling shy or private. I don't mind "spam like"s, comments, or reblogs, either. You can ask the mod (me) things as well if you really want! Lore, clarifications, headcanons, boundaries... though some things may be left vague until the point where you can get the information out of Ganondorf himself, heheh...]]

[[This askblog is migrating from Cohost because of Cohost shutting down at the end of 2024. I never got much following there, but Cohost's more lax content/artwork guidelines shall be sorely missed. I am going to gradually cross-post what asks I did manage to answer on the original Cohost edition; I shall also try and go through the unanswered asks I have left over in the Cohost inbox and answer them here, in kindness and sadness...]]

[[The desktop theme of this blog is currently under heavy construction. Be patient, an evil king's castle can't be built overnight~!]]

[[The "timeline" and exact time this blog takes place in is intentionally left vague, but is very much Ocarina of Time-inspired at least in terms of aesthetics. This may change as the blog evolves and builds more interactions. It's also quite headcanon-heavy (as it must be, since Ganondorf gets so little deeper exploration in canon...), so prepare for lots of fun with that! I'm also open to old RP/ask blog community staples such as magic anons, special events, prompts, themed starters, etc... Again, don't be too afraid to try sending messages yourself! One last thing to bear in mind, however...]]

[[I am NOT the character featured on this blog. Views expressed in-character are not necessarily shared or intended to be promotion.]]

[[Some content on this blog may become "dark" given the villainous focus. This askblog is not recommended for children and certain posts may be marked 18+. Please discern fiction from reality and avoid assuming malicious or dangerous authorial intent. Message me directly if you require clarification, triggers tagged, or content warnings applied.]]

[[All that said, have fun! This post may expand in the future to something like a FAQ, and will remain pinned until I create proper subpages.]]

[[As for all that you really need to know about me, the moderator, personally...]]

[howlsmovinglibrary]

You mentioned in the tags of a recent post what you’d change about Funny Story to make it a different book. Would you mind elaborating on what you meant by that? I’m curious!

hey anon, thank you for being a massive enabler bc this has in fact been my special topic for the last 48hrs.

I want to state off the bat that I still gave this book 4.75 stars. I really, really enjoyed it. That being said, I'd literally rewrite the entire thing to get it to 5.

Answer under the cut to avoid spoilers! (also shout out to @eldritchcow bc these ideas are not formed alone but through a series of ranting voice notes lmfao)

The premise of Funny Story is that two exes move in with each other after their partners run away together - the main character, Daphne, has her wedding cancelled as a result, and Miles, the love interest, also gets a pretty crap deal bc his girlfriend literally breaks up with him via A NOTE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP, before running off on holiday with another man (after they hook up AT HIS BACHELOR PARTY. DAPHNE AND MILES DESERVED TO DO VIOLENCE). Miles and Daphne move in together, a series of circumstances means that Daphne tells her ex they are now dating, and that Miles will be her plus to the NEW WEDDING that they have been INVITED TO.

Personally, I think this - two exes move in, fake date, develop feelings - is such a juicy set up for a novel, that it could carry the whole plot. But at about the halfway mark, a bunch of other stuff - family drama, friendship drama - is bought in for the third act conflict. The exes and all their drama fades to the background, and its no longer about this Very Juicy Set Up, which I think is a shame. I think that the premise could've carried the entire plot and that there was no need to bring in additional conflict... except that Emily Henry is known for adding conflicts outside of romance to her novels (creating well-rounded, 'feminist' characters - I'm not being mean, that is just the perception of it and what she is known for) and that this is thus more brand appropriate. By the same logic, it is 'less feminist' of me to argue that the book should've been more about the romance.

But it should've been more about the romance.

If I rewrote/re-edited this book, I would do the following.

Make Daphne and Miles be messier people. These two characters behave like FUCKING SAINTS, while their exes are awfully and affably evil. I've had multiple friends say that Daphne should've hit Peter (her ex) with a car. I don't necessarily think that would've been the way, but I think she should've made much more spiteful decisions. I think Henry is very concerned in stressing that these are Two Very Goody and Utterly Blameless main characters, but I think they should've gotten a little spite as a treat, actually.

And the spite they should've gotten as a treat is - fucking each other.

As is the way with romance books, there are certain 'acceptable thresholds' for smut/romance scenes. So I get it, I really do. But Daphne and Miles only bang once it's a healthy decision... and I'll be honest, it would've been sexier if they had had sex in an unhealthy place. (for the people who've read the book: kiss at the drunk night out with Gil, sex at the truck or before the truck, then Sex With Real Feelings at the point where they actually have sex)

If they had had sex out of spite/petty revenge first, then the entire plot of the book could've been around 'catching feelings' and this would still have been a totally valid character arc. I would've liked to have seen more questionable decisions that are still somewhat about the exes - more of the 'are we doing this for them or for ourselves?' conflict which is microdosed at the midway point - and then feelings developing, and then making the 'no I actually really like you so we can't do this for the wrong reasons anymore' be the final sex scene before the third act conflict

Two things would be vastly improved by this change: 1. a weird scene where Miles sees Daphne in her former wedding dress, and they really should've fucked? but they don't? because that would be the tiniest bit weird??? (like, slightly weird and messy, in such the smallest way, but I think it was sanitised down for that reason) 2. the fact that their exes break up and call-off their wedding off screen. Have them break up at the rehearsal dinner that Miles/Daphne are attending, actually. Then you have your third act conflict.

The third act conflict of Funny Story is insane, convoluted, and unrelated to the story, IMO. Is it still well written? YES. Emily Henry, you will always be famous. But my favourite parts of it were 1. both Miles and Daphne get caught in their exes' orbit as they break up, and this causes them both to doubt their relationship (shout out to Miles having such low self esteem that he automatically thinks they're back together, I understand you king) 2. Daphne fucks up a promise she made to a friend (but bc she's not allowed to be a bad person - see the first point - it's for totally understandable reasons), leading her to wonder if she's just become part of another couple, where she's swapped one man and his house for another man, and his house. I personally think that these VERY MINOR FOOTNOTES in what is ACTUALLY the third act conflict... are a third act conflict in and of themselves. And... if we go back to what I said about Emily Henry being known for Feminism™, the second part of that is a totally valid trope/feminist critique to dig into in depth that would, if given time to breathe, be 'on brand'.

In this book, Miles drives 2hrs to try and get Daphne's shitty dad to come back to her. Where is this energy, for Peter? I think, Miles should've punched Peter, as a treat. And Petra should've had more scenes, so that she actually had a personality beyond 'being hot'.

I think we should've had a messy wedding scene. Daphne and Miles are each others plus ones, but they never get to attend bc the wedding is called off. But that wedding?!!! or that rehearsal dinner?!!! IS THAT NOT THE STUFF THAT THIRD AT CONFLICTS DREAM OF???

TLDR - I think Funny Story should've had more sex, and been more about the romance premise and the kind of fucked up, messy choices and weird feelings that premise engendered. I think the third act should've been connected to pre-existing conflicts, instead of creating new ones. I think Miles and Daphne could've had a little revenge, as a treat. They should've allowed to be sexy and weird about it.

[year-of-whump-tropes]

Year of Whump Tropes Event!

As the name suggests, this is a whump event with a focus on tropes that tend to appear in whump.

Format:

The event will run for a whole year (2025). Each month in that year will have a general theme that appears in whump. Each month will have four weeks with their own sub-theme that falls under the monthly theme. Each week will have seven days, so each month will have 28 event days regardless of how many days are actually in the month. Each day will have a specific whump trope prompt that falls under the week's theme.

An example I gave previously was that a monthly theme could be "nonhuman whump," a weekly theme within that month could be "vampire whump," and a daily trope prompt within that week could be "burned with silver." (These aren't in the final themes list, but I still like it as an example because it's nice and clear.)

Most or all days will also have a second prompt, but what kind of prompt it is will vary from day to day, and I won't be able to fully work out the logistics of this until the event planning is further along. I'd like some days to have a dialogue prompt, some to have a discussion prompt that invites people to talk about whump/writing/preferences etc. instead of being a creative prompt, and maybe some days will have a second trope prompt depending on how many of the different kinds of prompts I come up with.

This event will be very flexible. You can use the monthly theme as a prompt, the weekly theme as a prompt, or one or both of the day's prompts; and you can switch between these at will. You don't have to fill prompts on the specific day/week/month they're listed under; you can do it anytime in the year, in any order. If you wanted to complete the whole event in one week that would be allowed (if inadvisable, lol).

There will be multiple levels of completionist, so you can be recognized for filling a prompt for each month, filling a prompt for each week, or filling a prompt for each day in the event. I'll also make an achievement somewhere along the lines of "fill a different prompt each day for 28 days straight" for people who would like to use this as a 1-month event instead of the whole year.

Participation in any format is allowed, but this is made primarily with writing in mind so prompts will tend to be geared towards writers.

Current stages:

This event will officially start at the beginning of 2025 and run through that year. However, I would like a lot of the event to be driven by participant input and feedback, so I will be providing numerous opportunities for potential participants to participate in the planning stages, which is what's currently happening.

You will be able to submit potential themes and prompts, and to vote on themes via polls. So if you're interested in being a part of that, I suggest you follow this blog so you can see announcements and polls as they come.

I'm also open to hearing any feedback and suggestions you might have. My ask and submission boxes are both open and I have anon enabled. You're also welcome in my dms.

NOTE: The event format is tentative at this time and any aspect of it may be changed if necessary.

[the-way-astray]

It's the Never Change Anon again! Enjoy!

—————

Title: Never Change chapter 2

Pairing: Stria x Keefe

—————

"I'm still waiting for you to tell me who Shannon is."

"Your mind might explode."

Keefe raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely insulted. "I think you'd be surprised what I can handle."

Well, insulting him was the goal, so Stria felt no remorse. "Trust me, you can't handle this. I'm really just protecting you." Stria smiled warmly and sweetly, her face the perfect picture of someone looking out for a friend. Keefe rolled his eyes, and Stria laughed internally. Maybe she should call him sweetie next time. His eyes might pop out of his head.

"Well, most of this is just you being upset about my sense of humor," Keefe said, a very true statement. Stria nodded. "I am quite funny, if I do say so myself."

"Stop saying so yourself. Please. That's, like, half the problem with your humor. Not only are you not funny, but you're vocal about how funny you think you are. It's unbearable."

"That's an opinion," Keefe defended. Somehow, he'd been miffed enough by most of the essay that she hadn't had to endure his ridiculous smirk even once since they'd gotten their smoothies. "One most people disagree with."

"Yeah, because Shannon decided to write that for some reason."

"What the hell does this Shannon person have to do with anything?!"

Stria smiled sweetly again, tilting her head. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

"Excuse me?"

Stria was internally cackling. He looked so frustrated. This was amazing. "You heard me."

"You're a very unpleasant person," Keefe said, crossing his arms.

"I'm not trying to make this date pleasant."

Oh no. Now she was having to deal with the smirk again. Dang it. Could they go back to her needling him? That was fun! "Thought you said it wasn't a date."

"It isn't."

"But you just said it was."

"This date, as in, a day on the calendar," Stria said. Truthfully, it had been a slip of the tongue, and she wasn't sure where it came from. She just hadn't known how else to refer to what they were doing, though she could think of a few better options than date now that she was actually considering it. "It's always a date. You can wipe that smirk off your face."

"I don't think I will." His smirk grew. Ugh. He was the worst.

Well. She'd just have to wipe it off for him, then. "Fine. Guess it's time for us to get back to the things I hate about you. Where were we again? Oh, yes! The way you always push until you get what you want. I'm even enabling you by being here right now, but it's worth it, because I get to rant to you. Why do you not take no for an answer? You help Sophie, not by choice. She thinks it's easier to just tell you what you want to hear than argue with you. There's citations on the sheet!"

"What are you citing?!"

Stria brought back the sweet smile. "None of your concern."

"Will you cut that out?!"

"I don't plan to."

Keefe groaned. "You can at least explain this to me." He was pointing to something on the sheet, and Stria leaned in to see what it said.

“‘Is it okay if I enter your mind?’ Fitz asked. ‘Dude, do you realize how creepy that sounds?’ Keefe interrupted. ‘It’s less creepy than reading her feelings all the time without telling her,’ Fitz argued. ‘Hey, it’s not like I try to do that! You’re just mad that Foster can’t hide things from me.’” (144) Keefe gets bored, so he interrupts Sophie and Fitz’s cognate training for no reason. You know, because he’s incapable of keeping his nose out of others’ business for two seconds. And not only that, he has the audacity to say he doesn’t try to read Sophie’s emotions. Sure, he’s not doing it all the time, every time, but he does it when he feels she’s hiding something.

"I think I explained it pretty well on the paper," Stria said simply, internally cackling at the way he looked genuinely offended.

"Aside from the fact that I have no clue how you're quoting conversations you were not there for and still won't explain what those numbers mean, I don't try to read Sophie's emotions! They're just loud!"

Stria pointed to the last sentence of the section he'd indicated, not about to waste her breath repeating something she'd already said.

"Uh, I feel that she's hiding something the same way I feel all the rest of her feelings: by accident!"

"Sure."

"It's like you're deliberately trying to misunderstand me!" Keefe exclaimed.

"On the contrary. I think I understand you quite well." Stria crossed her arms. "As you can see, I know far more about you than you might anticipate, and suffice to say, I don't like what I know."

"Okay, no. You don't get to just pretend you know me because you've seem some weird written account of all my conversations!" Keefe snapped. "You don't like my personality? Fine! My friends do. Friends being Fitz, Dex, Sophie... yes, they roll their eyes and tease me about it, because we are friends. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't hang out with me!"

"Wow, you really need to believe that, don't you?" Stria remarked.

Keefe grit his teeth. "I don't know how you know these things. I don't know why you're so sure you understand me, when none of these weird quotes are in my perspective."

"Your perspective is worse, trust me."

"My point is, you think you have me all figured out, and you're wrong."

Stria shrugged. "If you're so sure, why should you care?"

"Because you think the worst of everything I do! It isn't fair!"

"I only do that because everyone else thinks the best of everything you do!"

"That isn't even true!" Keefe exclaimed, exasperated. "Look, I'm not about to get into details about my personal relationships to some girl I barely know, but there's a lot more than what you've got written down on this paper. And if you think everyone just loves me and everything I do all the time, you're wrong."

Stria almost retorted, but something about this particular brand of exasperation that he was showing made her stop. There was something oddly vulnerable about it, and she was surprised Keefe wasn't covering it up with atrocious jokes. Or maybe they were past that stage, since he had some idea that she'd a good deal of his life. "Of course your friends love you," she admitted instead. The shock on his face when she admitted it was almost as good as his earlier fury. Not quite. But almost. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?'

"There's people... it doesn't really matter to you, actually." She didn't need to explain to him about the Pinterest KOTLC fandom. Especially since she wasn't telling him who Shannon Messenger was.

"I think it matters a lot, actually."

"Yeah, well, I'm the one who knows it, and you don't, so it's up to me whether or not it matters to you, actually."

"It's my life, you know," Keefe snapped. "If you know all this random stuff about it that I don't, you should probably tell me."

"Trust me—"

"I don't. You sound like the Fork man when he's trying to convince Sophie she doesn't need to know who her parents are."

Stria blinked.

Really? He was going to make that comparison?

"Want to know who your parents are?" Stria offered, deliberately misinterpreting the quesiton. "Their names are—"

"I'm good, thanks."

And... now he really didn't look like himself. Maybe bringing up his parents was a bad idea. Stria didn't like him very much, but she took that particular sore spot of his very seriously. "Sorry."

"For what?"

Nope. He wasn't getting any more of an apology out of her than that. He was really good at getting people to feel bad for him, wasn't he? "We should probably get going," Stria said curtly. "I'm out of smoothie."

Keefe sighed, standing up. "Okay. Want to do this again sometime?"

Stria blinked slowly.

Then again.

Then again.

Then, "I'm sorry, did you just say you want to do this again?"

"Yep."

Okay, Stria was at a complete loss. "Why?!"

"I don't know. I hate talking to you. I hate the way this stupid essay trivializes things I genuinely struggle with." He absentmindedly traced his hand over one of the passages still on the table, and Stria glanced at it, wondering what he was talking about.

“‘And Fitz isn’t perfect, by the way.’ ‘He’s close enough.’” (238) No??? Nobody is. And here’s a fine example of another forced consolation scene. Keefe lathers it up with the self-pity and feeling sorry for himself, and later on down the road, Shannon realizes that and her solution to that particular problem is hilariously atrocious. I’m writing this quote in blue so that it’s easy to come back to later, because I’m going to talk about it once we get there. But for now: Keefe’s personal pity party is clearly only there to make the audience pity him. All he’s doing right now is acting weirdly whiny and jealous of Fitz for . . . being “perfect”? Which again, jealousy is natural. But Keefe has never in his life tried to achieve perfection, and has in fact always tried to do the exact opposite, so why would he be jealous of Fitz for being perfect all of a sudden? It’s completely out of character for him. Shannon. You can’t just make Keefe jealous of Fitz for the sake of being jealous of Fitz because you want a forced consolation scene. It has to make sense. Keefe would never be jealous of Fitz for this particular reason. Keefe doesn’t try to be perfect at all. Why would he care that Fitz is “perfect”?

"I think I make a good point in that passage."

Keefe laughed mirthlessly, shaking his head. "Like I said, you don't know me half as well as you think you do."

Whatever. They didn't need to keep arguing over this. "Okay then. Let's say I don't know you at all and nothing in this essay matters."

"Which is true," Keefe agreed.

"Why on Earth would you want to do this again?"

"You're just..." Keefe pressed his lips together, studying her for a moment. "You're so... different."

Stria barked out a laugh. "Oh. Oh, you did not just say that. You did not just say I'm not like other girls. I can't do this."

"Why do you have a problem with everything I say?"

"Shannon really made you like this, huh? She did. She literally did. I mean, I'm actually not that surprised, but wow. Wow."

Keefe rolled his eyes. "Oh no, me having my own personality. I can practically feel you burning with hatred."

"I am," Stria agreed.

"So are we on for next weekend?"

And for the same inexplicable reason Keefe wanted to see her again despite his fury, Stria agreed. "Fine. But we're getting milkshakes next time."

—————

I'd love to see people's guesses on who I am.

Yours are fascinating. I see an anon is fully convinced that I am Katie. I will admit, I have read fanfiction by Katie before, and Katie's writing style for KOTLC is similar to Shannon's in a lot of ways, so I've consumed a lot of KOTLC in the style in which I write it.

Perhaps I am Katie. Aren't we all Katie?

Sorry for quoting your essay twice, but it seemed like the best way to get into your head for this. I look forward to your response!

not breaking this down like i did with part one, that would simply take far too long. the people have spoken! they want more never change. anon, you're popular lmfao.

and it seems there are some people that are super invested in this, so i can create a taglist, if anyone wants to be added.

you get notes instead of a breakdown this time:

""I'm still waiting for you to tell me who Shannon is." "Your mind might explode."" it's hilarious that i refuse to tell him who shannon is . . . you should make me tell him in a future chapter. that would be so funny

not the condescending sweetie/sweet smiling/"don't worry your pretty little head over it" . . . lmfaooooo i don't do that on principle but it seems like something keefe would do. so i understand where the sentiment comes from

"Stria was internally cackling." WRONG! i was externally cackling. it was a bit concerning if i'm being honest

""I'm not trying to make this date pleasant."" did i just slip . . . i don't slip . . . not like this . . .

"You help Sophie, not by choice. She thinks it's easier to just tell you what you want to hear than argue with you. There's citations on the sheet!" there is in fact citations on the sheet. many, many citations on the sheet. anon, you're doing a fantastic job of reminding me why i hate canon keefe. also sophie exists in this strieefe fic???? where my rant where i criticize sokeefe exists? how does that work? what does she think of me?

ooooooh, you really should've had me bring up the keefe grabbing people's hands to read their emotions, including sophie herself

""It's like you're deliberately trying to misunderstand me!" Keefe exclaimed." you're making me mad at a version of keefe that isn't even technically canon anon you're working magic here

""Wow, you really need to believe that, don't you?" Stria remarked." truly i do believe keefe's friends like him. i just think that was a poor writing choice on shannon's part

""Your perspective is worse, trust me."" very much agreed. the way he thinks of sophie in his head disturbs me a bit. also fitz. but sadly i haven't gotten there yet. anon, does the physical copy i handed keefe contain the part two excerpt i released?

""Because you think the worst of everything I do! It isn't fair!"" that's not true, not that keefe would know that . . .

""Look, I'm not about to get into details about my personal relationships to some girl I barely know, but there's a lot more than what you've got written down on this paper. And if you think everyone just loves me and everything I do all the time, you're wrong."" sir . . . who initiated this again . . . anon, fantastic job making him as annoying as possible. also did keefe read my disclaimers. i specifically stated that i was only listing the bad things about him. tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk keefe. i expect better next time

"Stria almost retorted, but something about this particular brand of exasperation that he was showing made her stop. There was something oddly vulnerable about it [ . . . ]" yeah i would not care. tear the man to shreds. only time i care is when his abusive parents are brought up. i have some decency, i suppose

""Of course your friends love you [ . . . ]"" wait did i contradict myself. didn't i say that keefe needed to believe that before? was i trying to be purposefully mean? doing character analysis on myself like hmmmmm

"She didn't need to explain to him about the Pinterest KOTLC fandom. Especially since she wasn't telling him who Shannon Messenger was." NOT THE KOTLC PINTEREST FANDOM GOODBYE. ANON I'M WHEEZING. also i should tell him who shannon messenger is. i think it would be so funny

""It's my life, you know," Keefe snapped. "If you know all this random stuff about it that I don't, you should probably tell me."" actually it's sophie's life . . . why didn't i tell him that . . . and it's not his entire life it's just the things i hate with a passion :) hope this helps :)

"You sound like the Fork man when he's trying to convince Sophie she doesn't need to know who her parents are."" honestly? fair. i should tell him who shannon messenger is and watch his head explode. it would be funny

"Stria didn't like him very much, but she took that particular sore spot of his very seriously." well, clearly anon knows me decently well. this isn't helping the katie allegations

keefe: want to do this again sometime? also keefe, when he's forced to justify: ""I don't know. I hate talking to you. I hate the way this stupid essay trivializes things I genuinely struggle with."" like, sir???? that's not helping my confusion here. for what and why

wondering how you chose those two passages in particular right now. was there a reason or did you just decide to pick two at random?

""Okay then. Let's say I don't know you at all and nothing in this essay matters."" and then i walked out. the end. just kidding

NOT LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS I'M SCREAMING

""Why do you have a problem with everything I say?"" i don't, but i appreciate the unreliable narration. there are points (in everblaze, mostly) where keefe is genuinely funny

WAIT I JUST REALIZED. my rant is categorized by book. so keefe would be confused about seeing the titles, too, right? unless this canon has the rant not having the titles or something somehow

""Shannon really made you like this, huh? She did. She literally did. I mean, I'm actually not that surprised, but wow. Wow."" me when shannon writes keefe for real

""Oh no, me having my own personality. I can practically feel you burning with hatred."" not the problem. the problem is that his personality is a cringy dumpster fire :) hope this helps, keefe :)

"And for the same inexplicable reason Keefe wanted to see her again despite his fury, Stria agreed." hello i don't like how this is ending in a very unreliable narration implication way again, anon

MILKSHAKES!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

i'm hesitant to say katie is my top suspect anymore, but clearly whoever wrote this knows my brand of keefe haterism pretty well. but also isa, who's katie's best fandom friend, and at least one, possibly two, other anons think it's her. hmm. hmmmmmmm. i honestly have no idea who you could possibly be at this point, but. i guess we'll see . . . assuming you're planning on spilling the beans at some point

@myfairkatiecat tagging you again so you can either defend or implicate yourself, whichever one

the essay quoting was good :) you should keep doing it :)