#I'll try to find the specific interview where they point this out (though I think it probably wasn't just one but several!)

[jokeroutsubs]

ENG Translation of Vecer.com article, translation cr: @kurooscoffee, video transcript: drumbeat

(PHOTO and VIDEO) Joker Out at Lent Festival heated up the Maribor audience: Crowd of teenagers* at Leon Štukelj Square

Last night's highlight of the first Lent Festival weekend

Photo: SAŠO BIZJAK

Maribor was heated up, streets were packed, and there was a crowd full of teenagers* on Leon Štukelj Square. Everything was ready for the concert of the stars, the Joker Out band, who were the highlight of the first weekend of Lent Festival. As we waited to get in and catch the band before the concert, we spoke to Alja from Maribor. "I've been following them since 2018. Back then they had a concert at Lent, and there were ten of us, it was free. It's really good that they managed to do succeed like this now," said the enthusiastic fan*. We caught up with them right after soundcheck and a few other commitments on stage.

Photo: SAŠO BIZJAK

Carpe Diem live in Maribor for the first time

"We have really appeared on stage here in Maribor many times in the last few years, it has been nice to see the crowd getting bigger and louder, we are always very warmly welcomed and we really love coming back here. But in 2018, our first concert at Lent Festival was on the Večer stage, I remember it was raining, there were canopy tents set up, there were just enough people to hide under those four or five tents. Today, I don't think that would be possible anymore," the good-humoured Bojan Cvjetićanin told us. The boys remarked that there would definitely be no rain this evening, because 'we're going all out with partying (1)', and promised to play their entire repertoire for Maribor. "We know both us and them will enjoy it. It will be the first time Carpe Diem will be performed live in Maribor. A premiere," added Cvjetićanin.

(1) T/N this part was said in Maribor dialect

And indeed. There was no rain that evening, and the temperature was very suitable for warming up the enthusiastic crowd. Done as promised. In an hour and a half they provided a medley of songs from the first and second album. They started with Katrina, continued with Ne Bi Smel, Plastika, Dopamin, A Sem Ti Povedal Kdaj, Padam, Demoni, Srce ocena, Metulji, Vse Kar vem, Vem Da Greš… When she discovered the latter song, she started listening to them, the 29-year-old Eva from Maribor told us. "I've been following them for about three years, I've been to their concert in Ptuj, and I've been cheering for them at Eurovision. I like their magnetic energy. Because they are genuine, exactly as they are. They have a special depth in their lyrics that you can find yourself in. They fit Lent, they bring a youthful energy to it. May they come to Maribor many more times," she said. Teja, 17, from Maribor, has been following Joker Out for about a year and her favourite song is Metulji. Her friends Metka and Romina have been following them since Eurovision. They like them because they have a new touch and because the lyrics are a bit different and not so superficial, they told us.

Leon Štukelj Square was full of enthusiastic fans∗. PHOTO: SAŠO BIZJAK

The best concert ever for a Canadian*

Although the concert was, clearly, mostly young people, there were also some older female fans in the crowd. "Our whole family listens to Joker Out. The biggest fan is my granddaughter, who is two years old, but she couldn't come to the concert with us (yet). The rest of us came from Koroška (T.N.: region in northern Slovenia) for the concert," said Andreja from Vuzenica.

PHOTO: SAŠO BIZJAK

As Bojan already noted on stage, it wasn't only the local fans who were listening to them in Maribor. Anna Herran from Canada travelled a lot more kilometres than anyone else to be able to listen to them in Maribor. "I am currently studying in Prague," she explained. She spotted them at Eurovision. "'Well done!' After that I really wanted to go to their concert, I saw their summer tour and I came from Prague yesterday. I've been to Slovenia before, I really like it, but never to Maribor, so it was a great opportunity to combine one with the other. It was the best concert I've been to so far! Everyone is taller than me, so I didn't see some parts, but it was still great, I really want to go to another concert of theirs, I hope that one day they will come to Canada; or Prague, which is closer to them," the smiling 28-year-old told us after the concert. She particularly likes that they sing in Slovenian, and sometimes in Serbian, she added. "When you live in North America, everything is always in English, so it's great to hear other languages. Now that I'm here, I can even say a few things in Slovene. 'Hvala lepa!' That's what I learned from them. And the fans∗ translate the texts online, which I really appreciate," she added.

Anna Herran, Canadian, fan of Joker Out (PHOTO: URŠKA POLANC)

"No, I'm not signing your passport …"

Now that they have already performed abroad, we were curious to see how the band feels standing on Slovenian, home stages. What is the difference? "We like anyone who sings our music in Slovenian," Jan Peteh answered. Kris Guštin added that there is less difference between Slovenian and foreign stages than they thought there would be. "Absolutely, we thought that Slovene would be a really big hurdle between us and the audience, but it turned out that it's not the case. It even turned out that this kind of barrier that the language sets is a very fun challenge for the fans, because they are very relaxed about the concert and they are ready to absorb everything that we give them. On stage we feel very primal, very childlike, and so do the fans∗," explained Cvjetićanin. Are they now more confident on stage after Eurovision? "I think the difference is quite noticeable, especially if we have pink clothes on stage," Peteh added, laughing.

PHOTO: SAŠO BIZJAK

During the concert, many objects flew onto the stage, some of them off it. The singer said that he already has a room full of presents at home, but he is always happy to receive new ones. "That T-shirt I signed was not an invitation to throw all the items of clothing on stage." "No, I'm not signing your passport," the band's singer, among other things, told the audience, from whom they also said goodbye in style. "We've saved it for last because it suitably describes the continuation of the evening … Carpe Diem!"

ENG Translation by @kurooscoffee (jokeroutsubs) DO NOT REPOST!

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @thraaaaaaaanduuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiil  |  AO3: chissprincess

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

ONE WEIRD TRICK FOR MAKING FRIENDS IN THEDAS

Vowelthranduil and Dema talk about that OTHER dragon media, early fandom experiences (fantheater, anyone?), and the supremacy of the Reluctant Hero trope

Dema: So! The collaboration period just began. Has this given you a fresh burst of energy for your fic?

vowelthranduil: It's definitely made me think more about my fic. The timing has been weird though because unfortunately, someone over on the House of the Dragon team also made the decision to cast Ewan Mitchell as Aemond and then made the further decision to allow the man to speak entire sentences in High Valyrian a few weeks ago. Up until that moment I was an entirely casual Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon fan but when that scene happened I could literally feel the casual leaving my body. So good news, I'm definitely in fic writing mode and thinking about fics and that includes my DABB fic! Bad news, it also includes like 3 House of the Dragon fics. My poor poor brain lol.

Dema: Hey. Momentum is momentum 😂For a long fic like this, do you have a full outline, or are you being guided by Vibes?

vowelthranduil: For this particular fic I do have a bit of an outline. There's a timeline I'm following of my character's life that I'm trying to follow. But to be honest a lot of it is also Vibes. I definitely don't look at the timeline or any kind of outline as set in stone. I'll change things as needed or if I feel like I have a better idea or if I feel like something just isn't working out. The nice thing about this fic is I know where my ending point is, which is something I often struggle with in my other longfics.

Dema:  Especially when your attention is divided between two very different fandoms, how do you get in the zone for this fic? Or are you allowing some of that HotD inspiration to infiltrate your DA fic?

vowelthranduil: Nah HotD and DA, despite both involving dragons, are very much in Never the Twain Shall Meet territory. Music is a big thing for me, in any of my fics. I have entire playlists for my HotD fics and my other DA fic. I don't really have a set playlist for this one, but I have lots of music that gives the proper vibes and is already sorted into some other easily accessible playlist so I can just bring that up. Or I'll go back and read what I already have, look at some of the art I have of my OC, or even just do a little DA-based research. I don't have the time to get into a full DAI playthrough right now or I would do that too.

Dema:  Have you done a Big Bang before or is this your first?

vowelthranduil: I've done smaller bangs, and I did try to do the WIP Big Bang a couple of years ago, but I couldn't keep up with it between school and mental health issues. I'm not in school now though. I work, but not having homework is super helpful. I come home and have time to do other stuff instead. Like, you know, write fics for Big Bangs mwahahaha

Dema: Do you try to set aside specific time to write?

vowelthranduil: I have tried in the past but I'm definitely not organized enough for that. Plus when something inevitably happens and I don't write at the appointed time or don't write for the appointed amount of time, I just feel guilty, and guilt is the inspiration and motivation killer.

Dema:  Is there anything that reliably creates a writing-mood? Or do you find the muse strikes randomly?

vowelthranduil: It can be pretty random I find. New music will sometimes do it, but unfortunately, there's no guarantee that the new music will be in any way helpful with creating the muse for a particular project so I can't rely on that. I can sometimes use music I already have to trigger the muse when I sit down to write but like...the general "I want to write now" feeling has to already be there. Otherwise it just turns into a long daydream session and I can lose a whole day to that easily without ever writing a single word if I'm not careful.

Dema:  How long have you been writing, fanfic or otherwise? Have you always been a writer?

vowelthranduil: I mean I can definitely remember writing as a kid, doing creative writing projects in school and stuff. I didn't really like it very much because I felt really confined. Like I remember this one time in Catholic school we were writing stories and I wanted to write something with a lot of magic but this was Catholic school, so I didn't dare do that, I had to turn it into something that would be acceptable to the teachers there. So I felt really stifled. I didn't even find out about fanfiction until I was about 14 or 15, when we finally got internet at my house (and this would have been around...like the late 90s in a pretty rural area). I was in the Star Wars fandom at the time, though of course I wouldn't have described it that way because I had never heard the term "fandom" before and didn't really have access to a broader fan community outside of my immediate friend group (for anything, not just Star Wars). But yeah once we got the internet I found fanfiction pretty quickly. I don't remember how exactly. But it was really cool and to be honest, it was something I was already doing sort of. You know how kids invent their own stories to play out alone or with their friends, that kind of thing. And I had been reading the Star Wars novels at the time, and I wrote these really corny plays that my friends and I actually performed. So I guess it depends on how exactly you want to define "fanfiction." If we go by a strict definition of a story, then the first one was probably when I was 14/15 after I found my first fics on the internet, and it was a self-insert fic of the most obvious caliber. If we include those plays, then a little early, around 13. If we go by the first ones I shared online....probably 16/17? But I legit don't remember for sure on that. And I've been doing academic writing for ages, like all of my degrees are in the humanities and social sciences, really writing-heavy fields, so I legit don't remember a time except my very young years when I haven't been writing SOMETHING regularly. (Hey look at that, I wrote you a novel.)

Dema:  I want to know more about these plays. That is SO cute and so lovely.

vowelthranduil: Oh god. They were like…I'm trying to even remember anything at all about them right now lol

Dema:  What part did you play? Do you remember that?

vowelthranduil: I think I legit wrote them with all of my friends in mind as the characters. Like I was the bounty hunter who was originally working for the Empire (and I was a Falleen, not human, so I was basically covered in green face paint) and....I was hunting Luke Skywalker for some reason. Because this is Star Wars so like, of course. And my best friend/boyfriend (look I wrote a trilogy and we started dating somewhere in this timeline lol) played Luke and wouldn't you know it but my character married Luke somewhere in all of this/ Oh and we defeated the Empire I'm pretty sure. Because...of course we did?

Dema: Incredible. I love it

vowelthranduil: Oh I wrote a play based on a Midsummer Night's Dream at one point too. God when was that? Must have been around the same time.

Dema:  A Star Wars play??

vowelthranduil:  No, this was straight Shakespeare fanfiction

Dema:  Oh, even better

vowelthranduil: We made sets out of cardboard boxes and stuff it was truly wild

Dema: I am delighted. When did you get involved with the DA fandom?

vowelthranduil: I THINK it was around the time DA2 came out? I'm actually not 100% sure except that I know DAI was nowhere near out yet. Like I don't even think it was a rumor. I had a friend who played DAO and was always talking about it and how great the romances were and stuff. I really wanted to play but I was super nervous because up until then I had only ever really played the Sims and like, Oregon Trail (the super old-school one and also Oregon Trail 2 I think). And of course DAO was kind of expensive so I was really nervous to spend the money on something I might hate, especially since I had tried Skyrim and not really gotten into it. But then it went on sale for like $5 around Black Friday (but also that low price is what makes me think this was proooooooooobably right before the DA2 release) so I decided I could take the chance for $5. It's either the best $5 I ever spent or definitely in the top 10 of best $5 I've ever spent.

Dema:  Do you have a favorite game in the franchise?

vowelthranduil: Oh DAI definitely. I'm really attached to my Lavellan.

Dema:  Is it the character-driven plot that made these games feel different than games like Skyrim? I do think it's so interesting how you're very multi-fandom but DA is the only game-fandom you've mentioned.

vowelthranduil: Yeah I don't really know what it is either. Some things just really grab me sometimes but I'm never entirely sure why. Like I've always been really into Star Wars but I never got into Star Trek. I enjoy some of the other big sci-fi franchises like Battlestar Galactica but I wouldn't say I'm "in the fandom." Until very recently the big book/movie/TV-show-based fantasy fandom was Tolkien. I've always kind of assumed that was a right-place-right-time kind of situation, i.e. my first real exposure to it was the Peter Jackson movie in 2001 and it just kind of hit me at juuuuuuuuuuuuust the right point in my life to become a part of me or something. What the hell was it about Ewan Mitchell speaking a few lines of a conlang that dragged me out of 13 years of being a casual into joining the HotD/GoT fandom? Damned if I know. So yeah, I'm not entirely sure what it is about Dragon Age that gets me vs. other games that by all accounts feel like they should be similar. Maybe it's that there's something relatable about them for me? I'm not really sure, kind of thinking out loud here as it were. But like in DAO I think it's kind of easy to relate to someone like Alistair, right? Like he's a nice, kind of goofy guy trying to find his way in the world. In DA2 we've got some real, recognizable struggles happening, and sure they're couched in these very fantasy tropes of "magic" and "elves" but a lot of the basic ideas are very real-world. I suppose in DAI there's something very similar to what's going on in LotR, where you've got some poor unsuspecting little guy who just kind of gets chucked into events whether they want to be there or not but then they get to choose over and over to do the right thing, perhaps even at their own expense, and save everyone in the process. It's an entirely thankless task for them and the world is never going to remember them properly (as we find out in Jaws of Hakkon -- rather painfully if you're playing a Lavellan imo) but someone has to do it and it might as well be you. Er, them....You know what I mean.

Dema:  Yeah! And I get what you mean. Timing has such a big impact and it's fascinating how some media clicks and others don't. Alright we're down to the wire here so if you've read the other interviews, I think you know what I'm about to ask 😂Do you have a misleading clickbait title for your bang fic you could share with me?

Vowelthranduil: lol omg

Dema:  Without giving anything major away that would identify your pitch lol

vowelthranduil: So coming up with titles is literally the worst, hardest, and least-favorite part of writing fics for me. I currently have a doc titled "absolutely the most bizarre fic concept I have ever had" and it's literally just...a romance fic with a slightly odd pairing lol

Dema:  Well. You definitely do not HAVE to do this lol

vowelthranduil: So for this one I guess I might go with something like ONE WEIRD TRICK FOR MAKING FRIENDS IN THEDAS

Dema: Perfect! I don't think we have a one weird trick yet! I honestly love "absolutely the most bizarre fic concept I have ever had," that made me laugh. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today!vowelthranduil: Yeah thanks for interviewing me!

[justchillandshipit]

Let me just pick apart this interview.

It was great to see him smile because my heart has been breaking for him all season. It seems like the priest said what he needed to hear, but why do you think it was a priest who he needed to hear that from rather than Bobby, Buck, or anyone else in his life?

"I think sometimes when you’re too close to the person, the message doesn’t really hold. So it does take a third party to come in and give you some outside influence. What better than a—I mean, we’ve all known that Eddie has Catholic— [Laughs] He likes to be a Catholic, but then he doesn’t, and he kind of goes back and forth. So who better than a priest to come over and save the day?"

---

Hummm. Ok. I think I'm more confused with this answer.

---

And it feels like he needed to be out of the church, though, for that.

Yes, yes, yes. It’s unconventional for a Catholic to obviously get any kind of that outside of the church, which I think we all know Eddie’s unconventional. So it did take the priest coming out and meeting him on his own ground and really just making it a grounded message. It wasn’t like a priest talking to one of his subordinates; it was just a man talking to another man and giving him great advice.

---

Ok. This is a little more clear.

---

When I spoke with Tim yesterday, he said that Eddie has to figure himself out. What do you think Eddie has to figure out now that he is moving forward?

"I think anything that you do in the beginning, you do it really, really bad. So I think finding love for yourself, if you haven’t done it, you’re probably going to be really bad at it. So although I love the scene of him dancing and giving him opportunity to be like, “Here’s the great first step.” After that first step, it’s going to be a little difficult for him. “Now, where do I go? I did the Risky Business. I did my dream, but how do I implement that in my day-to-day life?” So it will be very interesting to see how Eddie is trying to attain this new version of himself."

Yeah, I was going to say, even though there was some joy in that, it doesn’t mean that everything is fixed. Now he knows he can move forward. Are we going to see something in between the heartbreak and the joy going forward?

"I think it’ll be more awkwardness, more like him trying to reach out of his comfort zone and not being great at it, so relying on his teammates, his 118 family, and just kind of bouncing ideas and bouncing personalities, I guess. Trying to figure out himself out. Yeah, it’ll be awkward, funny. It’ll be a bunch of different things. I had fun playing with Eddie."

---

Credit to the interviewer. He tried to nail him with these questions.

---

When you say outside his comfort zone, what do you mean specifically?

Nothing too extreme. More just maybe him being a little happier when he used to be a little sadder or more somber or more quiet and reserved, him being a little bit more outspoken. I can’t really say too much, but I would say that it’s not some extreme change for him. It’s a slow and steady change for him, but he is a semi-control freak, so I would think that any small change feels like a big change to him.

---

Is this what people are worried about? If Eddie had some sort of epiphany with his sexuality, it would be extreme? Maybe? But then he says It's a slow and steady change. Okay. Okay. I'm not going to worry. I've said since last season that if the show is going to reveal Eddie as a gay character, it will be this season so I'm going to stick with that. (Honestly, I'm more concerned about last-minute changes from ABC because there is about to be a strong shift in forcing Americans to live according to Evangelical values.) That is the last I'll say on that for now. I don't want to speculate on my real-world fears. 911 is golden. I'll worry more when the regime changes.

---

Is a relationship or even thinking about one on his radar at this point? It feels like he has a lot to work through before he can even think about that.

"Absolutely not. Yeah. There is not one relationship in his head. I believe that Eddie is just so focused on what he needs to be doing as a good man that before he does anything else with a good woman, he needs to solidify that."

---

Ohhh. I bet this is what has everyone worried. I don't have the confidence that other people have when they say with absolute certainty that the actor is lying. I believe it is possible he is lying, but sometimes a rose is just a rose. I'm sticking with my original statement. I'm giving it this season.

---

What else is coming up for Eddie?

"We have a lot of funny moments with Eddie. I’ve been having a good time playing around with Eddie and allowing him to try and figure—he’s not going to be good at trying to figure out how he loves himself and how to go about it, but just a lot of playful moments, almost childlike moments where Eddie is just kind of reconnecting with himself and in that sense, maybe he’s kind of reconnecting with Christopher without knowing it. So he’s building into this person that I think he could be proud of. And where that leads is something—a new chapter is yet to unfold in the next couple episodes."

---

Okay. Okay. This is promising. This puts us back at possibly a big reveal in episode 8 before hiatus. I've set myself up for a big reveal in 5 and 6. It didn't happen in either, so my track record is not great. At least we will not have to wait long to find out. Also, I'm impressed with how Ryan handled the interview. Usually when he is trying to keep from revealing anything, he goes into this weird place and is completely nonsensical. He held his own in this one.

If you want to skip me and just read the article, here you go.

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi, I have a question, if you are able to answer. Is WWX actually beholden to the Jiang family? I know the whole loyalty to your sect and stuff. I just want to know if he actually owed them such a big debt or if it was a way to ensure his continued servitude? JFM went out of his way to find WWX (which I wonder about sometimes, because 5 years is a long time to find a child), of his own free will and whims. Is charity supposed to incur debt? Or am I putting my modern western thoughts in places it doesn't fit?

A follow-up question that you can answer in my first. Was WWX's father actually a servant? I know YZY called him a 'son of a servant', but she also accused his mother of being unfaithful, so I take her word with a grain of salt. Plus, I can see her thinking everyone below her is a servant. We know he was a cultivator and if I'm not mistaken, he went to the Lan lectures too. So was he just a disciple that was close to JFM or was he a servant in the way that YZY's two hand-maidens were servants. I am asking because I've seen people try to say that WWX took on his dad's servitude for the Jiangs. But, as far as I know, WC left the Jiangs and so was free as a rogue cultivator. Some also say, that even though he left the Jiangs, they would hold authority over WWX because that is the sect his father was a part of at one point. I haven't read the book in a long time and on top of that I binged-read it so it is a mess in my memory. So any insight would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! Thank you for your patience in me getting back to you, I know it was a while there; blame the holidays. Since we have two long questions, I'll cut the post here.

So the short answer is no; Wei Wuxian is not beholden to the Jiang Clan and does have the freedom to leave as he does. It's even pretty clear in universe that leaving your own clan especially to start a sect of your own is not that unusual, Su She does it himself! In addition, taking in orphans to train them as disciples is not that unusual in wuxia/xianxia, and while the closest that we get in Modaozushi of strong confirmation on how it works is Lan Sizhui and Xue Yang, both of whom are directly taken in off screen, but are definitely parts of their clans despite not being born into it.

With Jiang Fengmian, it's tricky because we don't know how much he knew when Wei Changze and Cangse-sanren died. We only know that he found Wei Wuxian later and knew his name and description well enough to recognize him on the street. It's entirely possible that he didn't even hear about his friends dying for a while since Yiling is known to be closed off and suspicious of outsiders, and even then finding where Wei Wuxian was specifically was probably its own challenge. But one of the things not covered in universe but in interviews is that there was a nighthunt that Wei Changze, Jiang Fengmian and Lan Qiren went on that went wrong at least in part due to Lan Qiren being stubborn and rigid, and Cangse-sanren saved all of their lives. So they all owe her a life debt for that and that alone would wipe out any debt Wei Wuxian could owe to the clan.

But Yu Ziyuan is the bigger problem here and Yu Ziyuan very much pushes Wei Wuxian into the idea that he owes them for everything in what we get on screen, something that is reiterated in Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's last scenes where she pushes the idea that he owes them and needs to protect and help Jiang Cheng and whether knowingly or not, here Jiang Fengmian confirms in just telling Wei Wuxian to take care of Jiang Cheng.

Now here's the thing on your question about debts; is that the answer is yes and no. The ideal that MXTX posits forwards is that of course you should actually honor your debts when you have them, but you should not do actions for the sake of gaining debts. "Let the self judge right and wrong, let others decide whether to praise or to blame, let gains and losses go uncommented on." People know when you are someone that can be trusted in the give and take of society. You can't just call debts out, but refuse to pay your own. Eventually no one will deal with you because they know that you can't be trusted solely from your own actions. Charity can incur debts, but in the sense that it is up to the people involved and the actions taken.

When Wen Qing comes to Wei Wuxian for help, it is Jiang Cheng's debt too. The things that she and Wen Ning did for the two of them are not an easy debt to return, and he knows this. He knows that the two of them sheltered Jiang Cheng after the fall of his clan at great personal risk and allowed him to maintain his honor to his family by getting him the ashes of his parents so they could be laid to rest with their parents. This is not a light debt, this is the sort of thing that is remembered and judged at the end of his life. Yet he refuses to pay it when it is his debt and punishes Wei Wuxian for following through.

He knows he owes it, but refuses to pay it, all the while demanding that Wei Wuxian follow through on a debt that he does not have and has more than repaid in full. A golden core for a golden core, one that Jiang Cheng knows he has because of Wei Wuxian, even if he doesn't know that it is Wei Wuxian's own core. A debt repaid in full, yet he keeps demanding it. A debt that he owes, but refuses to pay it.

I hope that clarifies on the charity question. I know I went a little off topic, but it's a lot easier to explain from that side.

As for Wei Changze being a servant, I'm pretty sure he actually was before he left the Jiang Clan. He was a rogue cultivator, but is consistently even by the omniscient narrator referred to as a servant long before Yu Ziyuan was a part of the clan, and while she's certainly the loudest about it, she's far from the only one to call Wei Wuxian son of a servant and he even acknowledges this himself by asking Jiang Cheng what's wrong with being a servant, he's the son of a servant himself. The text is just too consistent on this front to not make it clear that in universe, Wei Changze was a servant who learned to cultivate, left his clan to marry his rogue cultivator wife and died as a rogue cultivator, but due to the classism of society and the Jiang Clan, was always remembered as a servant. I have a whole meta on how the classism was in Yunmeng Jiang long before she ever got there, she just was the loudest one about it.

But he did actually leave and Wei Wuxian was not born in the clan. In addition, the way that the posts that talk about it as if Wei Wuxian is supposed to inherit his position despite neither of them being a part of the clan at the time of his birth makes it sound less like being a servant and more like being a slave. It's not supposed to be a position that's passed down from father to son with no one allowed to ever leave it and the fact that some JC stans act like that's all Wei Wuxian was ever allowed to have... is uncomfortable in many ways.

Does that answer all your questions well enough? Thanks again for your patience in me getting back to you.

[allwaswell16]

✨ Twenty Questions for Fic Writers ✨

I was tagged by @reminiscingintherain to do this (thanks Roni!) and I loved reading her answers to these!

How many works do you have on ao3?

105

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

1,083,820

3. What fandoms do you write for?

One Direction and Harry Potter (Drarry)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I Didn't Fall For You (You Fucking Tripped Me) 3,949 (ooh getting close to the next thousand. I have an anon who comes and asks me for more of this fic every time I get a milestone # on this one, so I'll maybe be talking to you again soon, anon lol)

That's How I Know 3,443

Consequences 2,631

If I Loved You Less 2,387

Waiting 1,803

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I do! Every single one! I get pretty anxious if I don't answer them fairly quickly to be honest. Sometimes I get behind, but not by more than usually a month or so. I really loved getting a response from writers to my comments especially when I first started reading in fandom. To be fair, I left a lot of unhinged comments lol. They probably stood out a little. But I loved having that connection to a writer, so I try to have it in return with anyone reading my fics.

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

For You I'd Bleed Myself Dry

I don't write unhappy endings, so this isn't exactly an unhappy ending. But it's a turning vampire fic so. Becoming the undead is angsty-ish, right?

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

Until (series)

Probably this one because they end up having two weddings in the time stamp lol They're ridiculous and I love them.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not very often that I can think of. I can only think of it happening once off the top of my head and it was someone who hadn't even read the fic so.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I doooo! I wouldn't say I love writing it, but I write it when the story seems to go there. I am not really a pwp writer though, and I haven't written fics where the main point is the smut. And the only reason for that is because I just haven't had an idea that called for that!

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've written a couple of Potter Direction ficlets. But probably the weirder ones are the Louis/Rob Pattinson ones lol. The weirdest of those is probably: Interview with the vampire

I'm also writing a Peaky Blinders crossover right now actually.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have, unfortunately. I ended up making a Wattpad account for the sole purpose of reporting my stolen fics.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I allow translations so there's a bunch out there now.

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

Wine Not?

I have! Once! It was a giant group of us lol I made some great friends from writing that fic! And actually @taggiecb and I just started talking about writing a mystery fic, but who knows if we'll ever write it

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

OOF. I am a great lover of ships hence my running a rare pair fic fest. There's really something about Draco/Harry or Louis/Nick Grimshaw...I guess the enemies to lovers vibes of it all. The bickering. The drama. sighhh so good.

But I don't know that I can really say that I love any more than my OG Louis/Harry.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I am NOT linking it. But I have an unfinished wip out there on ao3 that haunts me. If I ever can figure out what to do with it, I'll finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Maybe humor as evidenced by my more popular fics, I guess. Dialogue maybe just because I find that easy to write. taggiecb is always having to tell me to add more of what the characters are thinking because all I want to write is them talking lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Some of the things I've worked on specifically over the years are: writing meaningful smut, writing more vivid sensory details, and having strong characters.

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

I probably wouldn't. I have a vague memory of using another language once. Italian? I'm pretty sure I set a fic in Rome and had a bit of Italian in it. But I had an Italian friend translate that bit for me. So I'd say have a native speaker help with that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

As Roni said in her answer...technically I wrote Bill/Ted fic with a childhood friend when we were little kids but we had no idea we were writing fanfiction. Purposely written fic would be One Direction.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Hmmm this is hard. It changes on a whim but maybe Consequences because it probably has the best plot I've ever written. But I don't reread this one because it brings back weird memories for me. Like I dreamed up the plot twistyness on the way to my pulmonologist and immunologist appointments FUN TIMES. So in a way it reminds me of when I was very sick. Whomp. Okay now I've brought down the mood. Let me try and steer this in another direction...I love both If I Loved You Less and Ace of Spades because they are set during the Regency era and I have just now realized they both involve a kidnapping. Read the first one if you want Louis to be kidnapped and Ace if you want Harry to be kidnapped. THAT DID NOT HELP THE MOOD IM SORRY

I'll tag: @kingsofeverything @disgruntledkittenface @voulezloux @tommokat @loveislarryislove @alwaysxlarrie @larry-hiatus and anyone else who wants to do this just say I tagged you!

[spagyricqueen]

✨Writing Interview Tag Game✨

Thanks to @kalmiaphlox for the tag! (I'm sorry I've been so quiet lately. Best excuse I've got is 'life happened'... heh)

When did you start writing?

I started my writing journey way back in 1994. I was 12 years old. There was no Fanfiction.net, and certainly no AO3 or Wattpad. We had the good ol' "world wide web" and discussion boards, where there were FTP databases with root and sub folders, and all the fics were in .txt files. Read stories written by fans of my favorite TV show at the time, and thought I'd give it a shot. It was all downhill from there.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I honestly can't say that there are. I write what I like to read.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don't think I've actively been compared to any one writer, nor do I necessarily write like any particular author. I read fantasy novels, for the most part, and if I were to try to emulate anyone (lately, anyway) it's Elaine Cunningham and her work for Forgotten Realms.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

My computer is my space for everything, and I share a desk with my partner. We're both gamers with dual monitors. Occasionally, I'll sequester away in the bedroom with my laptop.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Daydreaming scenarios and writing back-and-forth dialogue for situations (that may or may not end up getting used at all). But that seems to get the flow going most of the time.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Recurring themes? Hmm. Well, I suppose I've written a lot about disability and how it affects the characters, in their lives and interactions with others. Not every story I've written has this theme, but it certainly counts as 'recurring' for many of my works. I can't say it surprises me at all, as I've had great interest in disabilities (respectfully) since I was very young. Not exclusively for the sake of writing angst, though there is some of that too. But mostly for exploring how people can adapt and grow in the most astounding ways, despite what society at large deems a "disadvantage".

What is your reason for writing?

To put it succinctly, I enjoy it. I like having the ability to paint worlds with words, to evoke emotions in written form, and describe action, excitement, and romance. I have stories in my head, and I want to share them. Writing them down is the most accessable way of doing this.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I adore any comments on my stories. The fact that someone takes the time to say even one word to me about my work is monumental. But of course, if I were being honest, the ones that really inspire me is when they engage with what I've written. When questions are asked, details pointed out, or even theories floated about what could possibly happen next... I live for those. They not only make me happy, but they make me want to deliver the goods, you know?

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I'm not sure I want to be dictating or hoping for anything in particular here. People will think what they will. I should hope that, if anything, anyone reading my work would appreciate my effort. I guess I just want to be thought of as a good writer, an entertaining writer. A nice person? A thoughtful person?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I had the benefit of starting very early in learning how to write, and I am by no means perfect at it. I'm always learning new skills, tricks and methods on how to present the story I want to tell. I have consumed a lot of media over my decades, particularly cinema. I think one of my strengths would be visualizing scenes of my story like a movie, with having a good balance of action, introspection, and dialogue. I had a mentor during my early years who was an English teacher, and learned the ins and outs of traditional creative writing.

How do you feel about your own writing?

My writing style has evolved over the years. My early attempts were, naturally, very juvenile, though I tackled themes that I was told were beyond my years. Writing adult male friendships, learning about the psychological impact of diability and how it affects those friendships and the character's personal life... these were not common themes for a thirteen year old to write about. But again, they were attempts.

These days, I have read many books and experienced enough life to be able to convey deeper, more nuanced interactions and situations. Gathering information, learning about fantasy settings, and having a better understanding of emotions have all helped me to get better. I like what I write, and I write what I like. I know I've improved a lot since thirty years ago, and I'm always looking to get better.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

It's only recently that I've catered a bit more to my audience in my work, though the idea starts with something purely for my own enjoyment and interest. That's how it begins. I have an idea for a story I think is interesting, write it, post it, and hope others like it too. For the most part, I try to keep the story as I envisioned it, but having the benefit of live interactions with readers has inspired me to insert little tidbits here and there that I felt would be enjoyed---as a nod to the reader, and because I found it fun to make it work within the context of the narrative. :)

And that's all she wrote! Maybe I have a couple friends who might be interested in joining in. @cassieuncaged @busy-baker @davenswitcher

[gffa]

I'm really not trying to start a problem here but...I'm extremely confused by the hatred you and other pro-Jedi blogs seem to have Dave Filoni and TCW.

I'm an Anakin apologist first and I'll admit that, but I'm also a Jedi fan through and through. I love Anakin, I love Padme, I love Anidala, I love the Jedi, I love the Jedi as a whole and I love pretty much all the individual Jedi.

I just finished my TCW rewatch and to me it seems like something people would enjoy if they're Jedi fans. It's so kind and positive towards the Jedi, it shows them at their best, it shows that Anakin and the Jedi DID love each other (a hill I will die on). We get so many wonderful scenes of the Jedi with each other and with the clones, we just get so much good from this series. And all of that came from Dave Filoni.

I'm going to take this in good faith and point out that I don't hate Dave Filoni and I've said several complimentary things about his work, and any posts where I discuss it specifically as Filoni's work (aside from the asks that were sent to me in bad faith and I didn't take seriously because they didn't deserve it), I talk about specifics of why I dislike things he's said. If you browse my posts, you'll see that I'm pretty complimentary towards The Clone Wars--which, lets be clear, wasn't just Filoni, but that George Lucas created the show himself and he did have final say for the first six seasons, he was very involved in that show--and use examples from it in my meta all the time. I just scrolled through my meta tag and was quickly hit with a ton of TCW gifs and examples! It's not a perfect show and I find anything post-season 6 to be a lot weaker, but even then I discuss the specifics of those things and put in positives as well. What you're picking up on is that Filoni says in interviews some things I strongly disagree with and that contradict what Lucas has said about the Jedi, so once Lucas was no longer involved in Star Wars, I've found Filoni's work to be in steady decline for me. But most Jedi fans--not all, we're not a monolith and shouldn't be treated as one--are extremely reliant on using TCW for our meta and extremely positive towards it, so I'm not sure where you're getting that. Many do generally have the view that the movies are the foundation (or at least that's my outlook), which I think is fair, because that's what Lucas seems to go by when you look at his interviews, and I'm a Lucas Canon fan first and foremost, so it's not that I "hate" Filoni and TCW, it's that I think the movies came first, stand on their own, and TCW enhance them, but don't overwrite them. Others are free to disagree, if you don't take that view. So, I think if you browse around a little through my blog at least, you'll see far more positive content about TCW than you will negative and that much of my meta relies on it being part of Lucas Canon (though not necessarily the foundation of the themes of SW, but they do support it) and that the frustration with Filoni is outside of TCW primarily.

[quendiviner]

👿, 👥, 🧠 - Toby and Klara spill the tea ☕

HELL YEA THANK U

oc duo answers ask game

👿- What's their worst trait?

Klara: "It never plans anything. Always improvises. There are so many things that could have been avoided if it basically remembered to use its planner or journal but no, it uses it for like a few days and forgets about it." (Toby, off screen: "Have you considered that I like it when you send me to do lists instead of making them myself.") "This also leads to Tobias basically doing things in a hurry very often. I mean, it is good at improvising, surprisingly good, but things like getting a presentation ready 15 minutes before the event you're supposed to show it on is, well, not healthy in the long run? At least I think so."

Tobias: "Hmm. Klara's a bit too determined sometimes? I mean, a healthy amount of it definitely helps one reach their goals and all, but, well, I don't know, is it really worth it to try and reach something that's just hard to get and, hell, even makes you suffer? Especially when it's about work, it's not like she's, um, a doctor who has a patient's life at stake-" (Klara, off-screen: "Well, actually, sometimes there are human lifes in danger.") "-like, I do believe she can and should take it easy, take a break and all stuff like that."

rest under cut

👥- What are they to you?

Klara: "Someone whom I'd do anything for because I know he would do the same. Someone I trust more than anyone else, someone who'd happily listen to me complaining about the randomest of things and always knows how to cheer me up. Someone who's very patient and understanding, who respects my thoughts. Someone who sometimes manages to wake up earlier just to make me a nice breakfast I really like, despite not being a morning person. Someone I like to buy expensive chocolate croissants. Someone who isn't afraid to open up about its feelings to me. Someone I love."

Tobias: "Uh. Um. Everything?" (Interviewer behind the screen: "can you elaborate?") "What's there to elaborate in the word 'everything'. It is what it is. Klara's the reason I still get out of bed in the mornings."

🧠- What's your best memory with them? Worst?

Klara: "What do you mean I can't say best memory is every time it smiles at me and looks at me with its cute brown eyes.' Fine. Okay. I'll say this one, though I do want to point out that it's not the only one. We were dating for two years at this point, and went to my brother's farm. He has a big orchard near the beach and I had this idea of proposing there. The problem? I couldn't find the ring I wanted to use, something a family member left, and I thought that hey, maybe Måns has it. Well, he didn't. So I was like, annoyed at myself, which probably looked like I was avoiding it. Well, later that week it basically comes to hang out with me and goes 'hey is everything alright' and I was like, thinking if I should just say something fun, yet ended up actually telling what's wrong. Which then led to Tobias going 'oh that's fine i don't need a ring to say yes'. I don't know, there's something about its ability to be understanding and optimistic and very easygoing about different things that makes me so happy every time."

Tobias: "Hah, um, well. I don't really have a specific best memory, I enjoy all memories about Klara..." (interviewer looking at it like this 😐 emoji off screen) "...Um, hm. Okay. I'll say something, um. I've always wanted to see northern lights on Earth. But every time it just didn't work out because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or it was cloudy and all. One time there was this big solar storm and they were forecasting northern lights where we lived at that moment. And so, we basically thought that hey maybe we should go out and look at them. Well. On that exact day my chronic knee pain decided to flare up. Could barely stand on it. So I, well, called Klara to say that we'll have to cancel it. Um, few hours later she shows up at my apartment with take out food and says that even if we won't be able to go watch anything we can still hang out. And that she can help around with things I need to do. We had this little dinner brunch in bed and talked about stuff. At some point Klara got up to get drinks from my fridge or something. The apartment was dark, not counting the little lights above my bed, it was probably 1 am at that point? Anyway, she returns and says, 'hey you gotta see this', and just as I was going to remind her about my knee she just, well, reaches her hands and picks me up. Carries me to this big window and says, 'we got to see them after all'. There were northern lights there, mostly green but with some purple. I, um, I was so happy - but not because of them, not completely. More like because I don't think anyone has ever done something like that for me. If that makes sense, heh."

Klara: "My worst memory......huh. I can't really come up with anything. Hm. Maybe the way it acted when we first met? I was planning this one event with my friends, when Leon, another friend, brought Tobias with him and sais that it was interested in helping us. So we basically just continue doing our things. At some point we went to have a snack break together and started talking. Everything was okay until someone mentioned how I work for Mackie, and the look on its face basically changed right away. Nothing rude, mind you, a sort of mix of suspicion and mistrust and...fear? I got so upset and thought, 'ugh, another one of these annoying anti-corporates'. Boy, was I wrong. But the whole thing kinda felt bad like, what, are you going to judge me simply based on that? He did apologize later and said that it's due to his previous experiences. And then few weeks later I got to hear what those experiences were."

Tobias: "Worst? Um. I don't see any memories with Klara as bad memories... Unless you mean, like, which one is less enjoyble than the others? Um, let me think. I don't know if this counts because we weren't together back then, but basically, um. Her coworkers somehow got me to help them see if their case and what happened to me are connected. Which, well, technically isn't even Klara's fault. I just didn't want to do anything with that corporation anymore, especially what they were asking me to do? I, um, did agree, anyway. Two days later after I got through everything they gave me I sent Klara a message that I think I found something. Well, um. Instead this guy who killed the victim in their case and who, um, was connected to what happened to me, came to my place. I actually came home only to find that my laptop's broken, and while looking at it he attacked me. That was the worst part of that memory? Because, um, then Klara showed up and basically saved me. That's incredible."

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 10

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community. I’m Malice and I’ll be your host. 

Today we have @suspicious-pools-of-blood joining us to share his whump story!

Tell us a fact or two about yourself!

I'm a butch (he/him) and I enjoy rock climbing, leatherworking, and losing my entire goddamn mind over Xena: Warrior Princess. 

What does whump mean to you? 

To me it can range anywhere from a trope to a vibe involving some kind of hurt. I definitely consider angst to be whump.

How did you find the whump community? 

It was actually very straightforward; I was up one night and the word "whump" kept rattling around my brain, I'd probably seen it tagging a fanfic at some point, but I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up and found a definition followed by the Tumblr community. Specifically, it was albino-whumpee's writing that came up, so I was introduced to whump and box boys and WRU all at once. I stayed up all night reading their stuff and then made a sideblog and dove in, dragging my OCs down with me. 

Do you think your views on whump has changed? Maybe the way you consume whump media?

This community was basically my first foray into reading original fiction online instead of just fanfic, and now that's definitely what I read most.

Favourite whump trope?

One of my favorite tropes is carewhumpers--not of the bad caretaker variety, but more whumpers who don't let whumpee have any caretaker but whumper themself. Relatedly, I like captor bonding (not sure if that's an actual term, but that's what I call it because the term Stockholm syndrome has a super gross history), as well as intimate whumpers, nsfwhump/noncon/dubcon, slavery, power imbalances, etc. Also a big fan of a whumpee who internalizes their hurt hard enough to become a whumper against a new whumpee, continuing the cycle of violence and abuse rather than the typical whumped-turned-whumper trope where the two characters just switch roles. I really like the mental/emotional side of whump, seeing how both whumper and whumpee feel about what's happening, why whumper does what they do, and how the whump changes both of them as people.

And your favourite piece you've written? 

Really hard to pick, but currently I'll have to go with Not You Too and its companion piece Wish . It's more angst than any physical whump, but it's an important piece for developing and understanding the psyche of my main character.

What's your writing style like? 

Oh man, calling myself out here on this one. Don't be like me, kids. Often times I find that not being sober helps me get over mental blocks that prevent me from getting the words onto the page. It depends on what I'm writing, but usually a couple bourbon old fashioneds or an edible get me into the mood to write, night time, lights off, candle lit on my desk, relevant OC or WIP playlist playing. I'm trying to get better about that though because needing to be intoxicated to write is not good. I try to write regularly but usually I just end up sitting in front of my Notion board for hours on end while procrastinating on work I should be doing.

Is there anything you struggle with writing?

Cisheterosexuality is fuckin impossible for me to write.  I have no experience with it so I'm profoundly confused when I have to write about it for plot reasons

Is there anything you're working on at the moment?

The current piece I'm working on is my main character's first time sleeping with another woman. I am, if nothing else, committed to realism in writing, so I did spend more time than I wanted to today remembering my own first time and cringing but hey, at least I got the vibe!

Do you have any writing advice?

Make some lil guys and rotate them in your mind; literally no one can stop you

Shout out time!

@winedark-whumpk-whump has some truly fantastic stories and was really encouraging when I was struggling with engagement and feeling self-conscious about my original content.

Anything you'd like to add? 

Thank you so much for this interview, this was lots of fun!

Thank you for joining us, @suspicious-pools-of-bloodod ! It was great to have you here!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[tothedarkdarkseas]

do you think you can point me towards a compilation of stu's lad moments that we know in canon? i'd like to try my hand at writing, but realize there is a ton of content to go through concerning gorillaz. even just your favorite moments that are... less innocent

Hi there! Ah, I wish I had a link to a good compilation, but Gorillaz lore is so scattered across various mediums that things like video or audio compilations can still miss fantastic written interviews or old website easter eggs, and vice versa archived webpages won't often feature things like radio interviews, so it's tough to ever compile it in one!

Here's a link to an ask from a few years ago where I listed some favorite Stu moments, though it falls far short of capturing them all! It wasn't really lad-specific, so I'd also point out his love of football, his canonical interviews with football websites and promo spots filmed with Chelsea players. Absolute lad behaviour. My dream of Stu recording a proper football anthem grows distant, especially after Baby Queen wound up in FIFA somehow, but I hope against reason regardless...

I'd definitely check out LobotomyPop to read old interviews, though you're right that it is a lot to process, and frankly not always as helpful as one may think (under normal, non-Gorillaz circumstances) if writing is your goal. Picking a year and just reading through some things can be a rewarding experience with hidden gems, but you're also likely to run into some of the inconsistency that muddies the waters. Here are a few I pulled out on a quick look-through!

​The  Eye,  May  2005; features Stu and Murdoc sharing a wavelength on artistic grimness and pointedly recording against mass-market sunshine, a nod to his paternity suits, the iconic "Murdoc thinks he's in control but he's not" quote, as well as another winner, "Friendship... that's a strange word to describe a profound bond of mutual hatred and emnity. Listen, this band came together because of creative differences. We broke up before we started. Between you and me, though, without the other Gorillaz around him Murdoc just falls apart. Everything's always someone else's fault." I suppose I'm conflating laddishness and Stu displaying open hostility or discompassion for Murdoc, haha, but I think they go hand in hand!

​The  Official  Gorillaz  Fansite,  July  2005; features a great quote missing from the list above, "I had a girlfriend but Murdoc took her. Well, tried to. I was going out with Rachel Stevens ex-S Club for a while, but then Murdoc, like, hassled her and hassled her until she got bored and went home. I had a load of girlfriends down in Eastbourne, while we were taking a break. Is your friend eligible? I don’t know. Is she old enough to vote?"

...but I'll tell you, my heart shatters that I can't find the Synths are My Friends interview at the moment. If anyone reading this has a link, please do share, you'll be a lifesaver!

[purplesurveys]

1907

Do you like hot chocolate? Eh, mostly no but there is one kind of hot chocolate that I enjoy and when I do have this drink it has to be that and only that. Otherwise I'm most likely to refuse because all other hot chocos I've tried are either too watery, or not as rich as I would like.

Who was the last person to promise you something, and what was it? Angela promised to send photos from her architect oathtaking ceremony, which she did. She also invited me to come attend the entire thing itself, but I insisted that she let it be a moment between just her and her family, and Hans. We can always celebrate after :)

Who is someone you’ve made a bad first impression on? LOL my first ever job interview. The guy who interviewed me was one of the account directors himself, so pretty high up – and I made the stupid decision to extend my hand to shake his. Problem is that was in September 2020, when touching anyone or just getting too close was one of the most reckless things you can do. Needless to say I was a red flag right off the bat, he probably just proceeded with the interview out of politeness, and they never contacted me after.

Who is your best guy friend? Hans.

Do you think walruses are cute? Yes!

Do you read cereal boxes while you’re eating? Not cereal specifically, but I'll read the nutritional information for other foods or snacks I have just because.

What’s the last thing you accidentally (or purposely) burnt? I've never burned anything.

Have you ever given birth? I most definitely have not.

Do you enjoy making out? It felt nice whenever it happened.

What’s your favorite food to put ketchup on? Just eggs for me. I don't really like ketchup.

Do you know anyone who works in a laboratory? No one I can think of off the top of my head.

What was the very first social media site you signed up for? Either Twitter or Myspace, I can't really remember.

Can you see yourself marrying your current partner? (if you have a partner) I don't have a partner and don't plan on having one.

Do you have commitment issues? I don't at all. I'm just completely checked out of relationships at this point. Once is enough, and I find no point in risking it all for another try round lest I find myself in extreme pain again.

Are there any flowers planted outside your house? My mom has a few flowers and plants, yes. Can't tell you what they are, though.

Does anyone in your family smoke? I know a couple.

What’s an opinion you find impossible to take seriously? Most issues that have to do with people having opinions on bodies that aren't theirs. No uterus, no opinion; not your body, not your tattoos. That kind of stuff.

What is the highest name-brand thing you own? I dunno. Tiffany & Co maybe? It's my mom's but I use her stuff a lot haha. As for my own purchases, nothing. I feel like I don't deserve to spoil myself that much yet.

What are you scared to death of? Plane crashes that will inevitably lead to death. Being caught in a terrorist attack. Being the victim of abduction/rape/trafficking. Getting shot or stabbed.

Where is your favorite place to go out to eat? Mama Lou's is nice because it's never too crowded and the service has been consistent regardless which branch I'm in. I would've gone for Yabu too, but as much as I love their food I don't really like their ambience because they do get a lot of messy and noisy families lol.

What is one thing that you constantly think about (other than material things)? Work. Just always thinking about the next tasks to do, the next milestones to achieve, overthinking about what things I could've done better, etc.

Does your job allow visible tattoos? They do. I have several teammates with tattoos on their arms and it's never been an issue. PIercings and dyed hair, too.

What Hogwarts House are you in? I usually get Ravenclaw from the people I ask.

Do you delete people from Facebook if their views are vastly different than yours? If vastly different means having different values to the point of stepping on other people's freedom or choices, yes, I definitely unfriend.

What are three things you have been a victim of? Catcalling, gaslighting, emotional abuse.

What is your passion? Writing. My favorite thing to say about it is that it's the only thing I know how to do; nothing else can better encapsulate my love for writing than that statement. Like I get burned out often in my work, but I stay because it's given me the most chances to write and keep writing.

Are you dating someone? Nope.

Have you been bullied? I was teased a lot for my name and for my short hair when I was a kid, and while it seems like such a small matter, the teasing was just so relentless that I processed it and now remember it as plain bullying. I honestly blame it as the main reason for my shyness today, and my continued hesitation to introduce myself to people. I also hated my name for a very long time and didn't come to terms with it until college where people were a lot more accepting.

Do you still cross paths with your first crush ever? She's my friend on Facebook but we haven't talked in years. Doesn't help that she's never on social media either.

Who are some of the most selfish people you have ever met? My deadbeat ass uncle. I can't even begin to write half the shit he's known to do and annoyingly gets away with on a daily basis.

Have you ever seen a spirit/ghost/shadowy figure, etc.? No.

Do you have regrets? Sure.

Do you have an ex-friend that you miss? No.

What is something a lot of people like but you don’t? Fruits.

How many people have you kissed? One.

How many of those people are you still friends with? Zero.

Where did you go, the last time you left your house? I went to the pet salon so Agi can get trimmed; while waiting for him I went to the coffee shop next door so I can get some work in.

Who has the nicest singing voice, that you know personally? Maggie.

Are you afraid to sing in front of people? Yes, because I can't!

Do you enjoy the presence of children? I have no patience for them for the most part.

Do you know anyone who has changed their first name? People my age rebrand ALL THE TIME lol. Like there are people from high school who changed their nicknames in college, then by the time they started working I'd find out they've changed the name they prefer to go by again. I don't know anyone who's legally changed their first name, though.

What was the last necklace you wore? Continued last night. Probably one of my mom's Tiffanys. I dunno. I don't wear necklaces much.

What was the last carbonated drink you had? Beer.

Does anyone in your family have schizophrenia? They don't.

What was your favorite book you ever read for a school assignment? Without Seeing the Dawn was one of the VERY few books that did not feel like a chore to read. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was also a lot of fun!

In contrast, even though it wasn't asked, the worst for me was Holes. I despised that book to the ends of the earth.

Have you ever been in an abandoned house? No.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow? Unfortuntely I will have work.

Do you like cucumber? If it's not cucumber kimchi, no.

What’s the last sitcom you watched? I've been rewatching Friends again, which I can say is 100% because of a Friends-themed trivia night I joined a week ago. I wanted to prepare for the trivia night by taking some quizzes here and there, and doing so made me feel like watching the series one more time.

What was the last thing you wrote down in the notes app on your phone? A password.

Do you still have Facebook? If so, how often do you check it? Yeah well it remains very common here, so. I check it 3-5 times a day.

How many times in your life have you been in love? Just once.

Do you like your name? I love it. I'm the only one I know that has my combination of names.

Do you know anyone who had to have tubes put in their ears as a baby? I've never heard of that procedure.

Were either of your parents baptized? Yes, both in the Catholic faith.

The last concert that you were at, was there a mosh pit? Nah but they've got something very similar with the never-ending Aju Nice. That shit WIPED ME OUT lmao we must have done 15 rounds...

Has anyone killed one of your pets before? No. I don't want to know what I'd do if that happened.

Does your bathroom have a theme to it? No, it's just a plain clean bathroom with some accents here and there but no main theme.

Are any rooms in your house themed? Nope.

When you are eating fast food, do you tend to get burgers or chicken? Burgers, much easier to eat. I seldom eat fried chicken because I find it tedious to make my way around the bones and stuff lol.

If you were to join one of the armed forces, which would it be? If they had a PR arm I would go for that as I want to avoid being anywhere near the action lmao.

Have you ever been to see stand up comedy? Yes! It was a lot of fun but I was used as the subject for one of the bits, which I didn't like. I wish comedians didn't do that, or I wish they had at least asked if I was comfy enough with it.

Do you believe there used to be dragons? No.

Who’s your favorite god from ancient history? I like Apollo just because of the way Rick Riordan wrote him out in the Percy Jackson series haha.

What was the last present you received? My aunt, bless her heart, got me a John Cena shirt because she knew I like wrestling. Cena's merch is nowhere near the top 5 merch I'd buy to be very honest, but I still really appreciate the gift and the thought!

Could you ever have an affair with a married person? Never.

When was the last time you climbed a tree? I've never done that. Most trees are have a bunch of red ants crawling on them anyway lol.

Are you cool with swimming in a lake? Theoretically I would be, but our bodies of water here are mostly dirty so I haven't tried doing it.

Do you listen to any talk shows or podcasts? I will tune in if there's a guest I like and would be stoked to hear from for an hour straight, but I don't subscribe to any podcasts on like a per-episode basis. My attention span spaces out after five minutes :/

Are you waiting to have sex until you’re married? I didn't.

Do you believe the Holocaust happened? Yes. It's frustrating enough that this is even a point of contention.

Are you someone who actually likes to babysit children? No.

Are you waiting for something to arrive in the mail? Kind of, yeah.

Do you like coconut flavored things? I only like coconut milk in certain foods but other than I steer away from anything coconut. Tastes terrible.

Have you ever met a famous author before? I'm sure I've met a few local ones; my memory's just failing me at the moment.

Do you know anybody who has been raped before? Yeah.

List all the stores you’ve been in this past month. 7-Eleven and a few groceries.

Does/did either of your parents serve in the military? They don't and never have.

Do you like sour candy? Very selectively.

Do you like McDonalds? I do, but it's just that I've had it so often this year that I haven't really been looking for it these days lol. I'm just waiting for the McSpicy to come back.

Do you have a Steam account? Nope.

What do you think of Fifty Shades of Grey? I'm indifferent.

Do you swear in front of children? I will slip sometimes and feel terrible about it.

Have you ever had an STD? Nope.

What do you hear right now? Just my fan whirring. I also hear an airplane passing by outside, and just a few seconds ago there was the ice cream man and his jingle.

Have you ever been ice skating? Yes. I did it a lot as a kid.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

What’s the worst thing you have ever done? Projecting my personal insecurities toward my ex and treating most things as a competition.

Have you been to an escape room? Was it a success? No, I find the concept boring. I don't really like puzzles heh...

Ever performed on stage? Was it scary or amazing or both? I've done it only because it was mandatory for us to do so lol. I was indifferent towards it and usually couldn't wait until our part was over.

What was the last animal/pet that you met? Max, the puspin that we adopted.

[raffaelamusiker]

For the fic writer asks: 1, 4, 6, 12, 16, 32, 39, 61, 74

I knew I'd get there at some point. Thanks for asking! Questions are here!

Answers below the cut.

Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Mostly one-shots though from time to time these can definitely get to multi-chapter level word counts haha. I think it just depends on the style of fic and the content. Some stories are worth multiple chapters though they take a lot more concentration and energy to finish.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

The content material, talking headcanons and fanon ideas with others, interviews, other media. Anything really. But I really love talking through things with others and seeing new ideas appear.

6. Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

It depends if I feel like I need it to be. Usually on my chaptered fics or bigger one-shots I'll have my bestie Blaine beta for me, especially if it's a fic I feel it super important. (Or when I'm sick and none of what I've written makes sense...thanks bestie).

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

Again it depends on what I'm writing. Recieving any recognition will always make me feel like I'm doing something right haha. I'm lucky to have the perfect little support network. Though there are times I'd hoped certain fics would get a little more recognition in the greater scheme of things but I'm grateful and honoured for anything I get.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Last year I wrote a stupid amount of fics. Granted many were drabbles but it was still awful. This year I've made a list of the main things I want to write/update. A lot of them are longer ideas. But I think there's maybe 6 or 7 main ideas on that list, though I always have many more that I know won't ever make it to the writing stage.

Right now the one I'm trying to get done is Raffi and Michael meeting and it's turning into a big, big one-shot haha.

32. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

Going with AO3 names but Ericine, dolcewrites and alreadyaccepted.

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

‘’I love how bright it is. I should put in a request to Seven that we need better lights on the Enterprise.’’ 

Michael laughed loudly as they reached the short turbolift that will take them to the bridge. ‘’I feel like she’s the sort of Captain who likes the moody lighting.’’ 

‘’Oh she is, for sure. I keep telling her that just because she had perfect vision and can see in the dark doesn’t mean we all can.’’ Raffi grinned. ‘’Though I think she’d be too distracted with the science aboard this ship to care about how bright it is.’’ 

61. Why do you continue writing fics?

I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get at least some of these thoughts out of my head haha. Sometimes it feels like the only way I have purpose write now. I also just want to give something that might mean something to someone.

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

I feel like I have a very specific writing style, i.e I write in a weird way sometimes haha. Quite a few people have already guessed some of my anon fics so I feel like somethings obvious lmao.

[nobigsecrets]

Hi, I just recently started watching Hawaii 5-O and I wanted your thought on something. Even though I'm only on season 2, I do know that Steve gets with Catherine in the end. From what I can tell most people don't like her because she constantly lies and what not. Right now I find her a little on the boring side and her relationship with Steve a little bleh. I know that you are a Mcdanno shipper and ultimately would have like them to get together, which I totally respect that. But if Alex had gotten his way, because I read somewhere that Steve getting back with Catherine would be completely stupid. Who would you like to see Steve with if he couldn't be with Danny?

Hi Anon, thanks so much for your message and for asking my opinion! Wow, that's a tough question! And one with many layers at that! I'm trying to answer this without giving too much away, I don't want to spoil anything for you if you're stil in S2! Bear with me, this has gotten longer than is reasonable! :)

Let's start with Catherine. Yes, she's a very polarizing character in this fandom. Personally, I don't hate her. In fact, I like her just fine. I also like the friendship she and Steve have--or could have had. Her relationship with Steve changes several times throughout the series. At the beginning it's a purely friends-with-benefits thing and there's not much going on between them romantically. Maybe that's why it seems boring to you at the moment? It tends to get a bit unbalanced over time: Steve keeps asking favors from her (which aren't without risk for Cath's career if we're being honest) and he rarely ever reciprocates. He tends to stand her up on promised dinners and it's supposed to be funny I guess, but actually it's him not treating her well. Then throughout S3 and S4, Michelle Borth becomes a permanent cast member and Cath is around much more and she and Steve seem to slip into a more romantic relationship. Which is fine for a while (3x10 is an episode where McRollins works just fine for me, I've written about it here), but ultimately, the writers didn't put any effort into developing the relationship and it shows. Steve keeps taking her for granted, Cath starts lying to him and it becomes apparent that they're both not really great for each other--meanwhile the writers suddenly start to claim their relationship has been seriously romantic from the start. Then Michelle leaves the show and Cath leaves Steve. And she keeps leaving Steve everytime she comes back for a guest visit. As if Steve didn't already have enough abandonement issues.

What Alex said refers to that in the broader sense, I think (more specifically he refers to the fact that Steve intended to propose to Cath--which was such a stupid plot I won't get into it here and now, otherwise I'll never get to to the point of your question). Alex said that "McGarrett would be an idiot to take Catherine back" (x). And in another interview he said "Absolutely not. No f–king way, Catherine is not 'the one who got away' but 'the one who was not meant to be'." (x) But then, in the finale, they made Steve say the complete opposite thing, namely that Cath was the one who got away and that's why many fans got really angry when Cath suddenly appeared out of the blue in literally the last minute of the show. (You can read my personal take on Cath's appearance in the finale here.)

So having said all that, we don't see Steve in romantic situations much. We don't see him flirting much either, or even showing romantic interest (neither in women nor in men, except for Danny if you will). He's a blank slate, kind of, and that makes it really hard to answer your question. It's definitely not Cath for me. It's also not Lynn, who he starts dating in S6 and who we get to see maybe once a season before they break up in S9. Don't get me wrong, there are people I'm on board shipping with Steve (early seasons Cath; Kono; teenaged Steve having a crush on Chin; Steve's best friend and SEAL buddy Freddie who is KIA; later Junior on some level) but someone Steve ends up with happily ever after? There aren't many characters that would work for me.

I think it should be someone who either knows Steve really well OR who is at least able to understand Steve's history and the subsequent troubles that come along with being a SEAL and a cop. People who know Steve are rare, especially since the writers tend to kill off everyone from Steve's past. Among the few characters who'd understand him is profiler Alicia Brown, who we meet in S7 and who's got a great chemistry with Steve. She was never intended to be a love interest and maybe that's why her character is more fleshed out and her interactions with Steve give away much more than any scene between Steve and Lynn ever has. They could have been an interesting couple if they'd gone there. Then in S10 Danny makes Steve go on some dates (which he then crashes by calling and texting Steve) and from the two women we get to meet, I did like Emma, the vet, but it didn't pan out and then the show got cancelled anyway.

So this has been many words and not much of an answer. I'm sorry, Anon, if this wasn't what you were hoping for. Danny is Steve's person for me and even looking at it objectively and without shipping goggles, I have a hard time picturing Steve with anyone else.

But I'm curious: do you already have someone in mind for Steve? Who do you ship him with? Let me know if you like! :)

[swimmingleo]

Changes: or to take the higher ground before it's too late

I'm going to be real here folks, I cry ugly tears to this song. Bad.

Changes is a song on Cam's album "The Otherside". It's country, it's folk and it's an album a bit influenced by changes in Cam's life (a change of label, personal life). She collaborated with Harry on the song Changes, as she opened for him on a venue and was already working with Tyler Johnson.

From what I gathered: Harry sent her the demo of the song, implying he made most of the writing on this one. What I'm basing this claim on is her interview for Rolling Stones (read it here):

I heard [the demo] and was just like, “Oh, this ache to outgrow something that you don’t want to outgrow!” It felt so good. I normally don’t take outside songs [...]

‼️DISCLAIMER‼️when analysing this song, I'm gonna go from the idea of it being written with a queer mindset (how surprising of me). Cam rendered the song beautifully and it is very much her own, but I believe Harry's input is consequential. After all that's his lil whistle and cute fishsona in the MV.

Sad queer analysis ahead.

Let's analyse the lyrics first:

There is a town

Somewhere down a country road

The speaker describes the town to us, from memory, from experience. "There it is, down the road, can you picture it ?"

I see it now

I take it everywhere I go

The speaker doesn't currently live in the town, they're on the move (nice throwback to the coutry road). But despite all the travelling, they realize the sedentary smalltown never leaves them. It's part of them. It left a mark on them.

The river sways, I can almost hear it now

As if to say, "You're not the only one who wants a way out"

The town is so real to the speaker they can sense it, eyes and ears. But it gets a bit dark: the river sways like it's trying to leave its bed. The river is envious of the speaker who managed to leave. The town is so toxic even nature wants to get away from it. Or the speaker resents the town so bad that they project their own resentment on the river.

So, I go

'Cause I don't wanna feel like I don't know you anymore

I memorize those roads

This is the call for the speaker to leave for good. Their motive doesn't seem to be ambitious or anything grand. They leave because they apprehend a feeling. Apprehending a feeling, something that may not even happen, is the way of an anxious person. Anxiety is the motive of their departure. However, they still memorize the roads leading to the town, just in case. Perhaps one day they'll come back.

Somewhere out in the big wild country

Someone's fallin' in love in a backseat

Givin' it away

Like their hearts won't ever break

Suddenly it's about love ! Young love, one that is lived in the small compartment of a car, somewhere hidden and safe in the big wild country. As if the countryside was unexplored and threatening.

God bless the young hearts sippin' cheap wine

Gettin' drunk with their friends for the first time

Thinkin' nothing's gonna change

'Til everything changes

The speaker looks at the youth with tenderness, wishing them the best. But once again, they're not in the town in the present time, they don't see the youngsters fooling around, they can only guess from first-hand experience. And it's very specific: falling in love, getting drunk with friends and thinking everything's gonna be easy like that forever until it's not and heartbreak ensues.

From there I hop in with the raw queer theme of those lyrics. It started by falling in love and it ended up in a heartbreak. In between, the speaker got drunk for the first time with their friends, people they trusted enough to let go a little, but in the end everything changed. Why ? Alcohol makes you forget about code of conduct, how you're supposed to behave. It makes you say or do things you might not have done sober.

We can interprete this chorus as the beginning of the end for the speaker. It's the only part of the song evocating the past, and it's fun and easy, but it's also where things started to get bad the way they are in the present. Something might have happened that first time the speaker got drunk and it marked the end of innocence and careless childhood, and it probably has to do with love as no other factor is provided apart from falling in love and heartbreak.

They never leave

They're all havin' babies now

Watchin' daytime TV

Livin' off the gossip of a cruel small town

They. With Harry, it's always You, Me, and They. They are having babies, all of them, like it's not a very difficult thing to do, it's just natural. They have the leisure of the day, not a thing to worry about, if not gossip. It's not implied anymore, the small town is downright cruel. Gossip fuels it, but on behalf of someone else, and that someone is most definitely the speaker who left and who describes its inhabitants in the most mundane way, perhaps with a hint of contempt. The speaker seems bitter.

So, I go

'Cause I don't wanna feel like you don't know me anymore

Don't recognize my face

Reprise of the pre-chorus except now, the speaker provides another reason for their departure. Not only they feared they wouldn't know the town anymore, they also feared being seen as a stranger. It's not like the speaker actually changed physically: but it might as well feel like it. Again, apprehension, anguish. As implied in the chorus, things changed to the point where the speaker feels they would seem like a whole another person to the rest of the town, a stranger, a threat to the integrity of the conservatives. So they leave before this shift in perception can happen.

There ain't nothing here for me anymore

They say they don't hear from me anymore

And I don't wanna hear it anymore

The town is not outwardly hostile. It's still the town that saw the speaker as a kid. The town doesn't understand why the speaker left, but the speaker won't give in and get in touch. They want to be as far away as possible, until they don't hear the questions, the river, everything. It's almost like the speaker doesn't carry the town in their heart at all. They want to forget it all, and it hurts everytime the town tries to lure them back in. The way Cam sings it is painful to me man

Somewhere out in the big wild country

I was fallin' in love in a backseat

Givin' it away

Like my heart won't ever break

Had such a young heart sippin' cheap wine

Gettin' drunk with my friends for the first time

Thinkin' nothing's gonna change

'Til everything changes

Yeah, just the confirmation of the chorus being the speaker's experience. I went ahead and assumed it was already lol but it's like a plot twist effect. It's dramatic. It's a personal song to someone.

TO MAKE IT SHORT to me this song is intense and very in touch with the queer experience. Though it describes a specific situation, it is surprisingly not that detailed or full of metaphors the way Harry often writes: this town could be literally any smalltown in the countryside. The backseat could be the one of any car, cheap wine is something any teen can afford. I like to think Harry wrote it for himself but is also aware so many people went through the same thing, and still will. I have to admit I'm heavily biased writing this, as the experience of a queer kid struggling to find their place in a well settled smalltown is familiar.

GETTING DRUNK AND QUEER IDENTITY is an analogy Harry already used in Fine Line when he sang "We'll get the drinks in so I'll get to thinking of her". To drink is to let go, to unveil the most subconscious aspects of yourself you might not want to deal with otherwise. You don't care about judgement and you get to explore those parts freely. In Changes, this is the last memory they recall before stating the changes and their departure. Perhaps getting drunk for the first time would be when they realized they're queer. Or acted upon it, causing their little world to shake. They chose to leave before it eventually wouldn't feel like a choice anymore. There is no life for people like them in a cruel smalltown.

SMALLTOWN BOY

This song reminds me an awful lot of Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat. The song is about a queer boy having to leave the smalltown where he grew up because of persecutions and no future prospects.

Mother will never understand why you had to leave, Smalltown Boy

They say they don't hear from me anymore, Changes

But the answers you seek will never be found at home, the love that you need will never be found at home

There is nothing here for me anymore

Other people not understanding why they leave. People who can't truly empathize even when they mean no harm. They would never understand the speaker's departure, because those people get to find love and have babies and live a peaceful life in the countryside.

You were the one that they'd talk about around town as they put you down

Livin' off the gossip of a cruel small town

Yeah yeah. I really struggle with just seeing this song as nostalgia when such harsh words are being used. I do believe there is a part of fondness for that town, that countryside setting and the early days. But it's not all tender memories.

CHANGES AND ERODA

Of couuuurse we all noticed the adorable purple fish with the pearl necklace. It represents Harry, no question, as it whistles Harry's part. And of couuuuurse we all made the link with the erodian fish, and some even noticed they formed the bluegreener pair when their colors are inverted.

It makes sense for those fishes to be connected with this interpretation of Changes. Both works are about a small town, lost in the nature, where the people are watching, aware of everything that isn't normal, that is peculiar. The early life of the peculiar boy is similar in every way to the early life of the speaker in Changes. The fish in Adore You grows too big for the island and has to leave, and though Eroda makes amends with the peculiar boy, he leaves as well because his future, his fulfilment, is somewhere else. So does the speaker in Changes.

IN CONCLUSION

The more I write posts like this, the more endeared I am by Harry's world. How Harry writes for himself, but also for other people with songs like this. How nature finds its way in all that he does. How grounded he is, how he doesn't seem to forget where he came from. It really is such a rare thing to see in a mainstream popstar's writing and art. How can someone say he sold his soul to LA is beyond me

[slashbitch2]

Extra Complications

never expected to be crushing on an animated character but here we are

Next Chapter

It was sneaky. Perhaps cheating by some standards. But from your perspective, it was a damn good plan.

Ironically you'd seen the advertisement for the Alchemax internship right after being flung into a wall by the very same woman who'd likely approved the broadcast. Olivia Octavius, or Doc Ock as you ought to refer to her in costume. Though she'd given you little time to read up on 'how to apply', as moments later a car was thrown in your direction, which was very inconsiderate of her, but was also all the persuasion you needed.

At this point, you'd be willing to do anything if it contributed to thwarting her, surely, very evil plan. Of course you admired the woman for her general genius and eccentricity, but the constant unprovoked conflict was becoming tiresome. It felt as if she were trying to determine how much of a threat you posed, whereas, you liked to think your legacy as 'that Spider-Person who sometimes saves the day' was all the evidence necessary.

Honestly, you weren't certain as to what exactly her, no doubt, villainous plan entailed besides patrolling the streets in green swimming goggles and black spandex with ridiculous plastic tubes jutting out of her back. In fact, it was ridiculous that no one had made any attempt to stop her yet. Unlike your identity, kept secret by a more modest spandex suit, hers was public knowledge.

Sometimes, it seemed as though you were the enemy here.

Which is precisely why infiltrating her team of scientists was more than appropriate. You were about to single handily take down an international threat, one hidden in plain sight, but left untouched due to the company's vast money, leverage and prestige.

Someday the city would thank you for your many sacrifices. Specifically for voluntarily working another job without pay. Y/N Y/L/N, broke intern by day, friendly neighbourhood Spider-Person by night.

"Excuse me?" A voice called from the left, your vision of them obstructed by an inconveniently placed potted plant. "Are you the new intern?" The person stepped closer, briefly glancing up at you, then back down at a sheet of paper. "Y/N Y/L/N?" The woman's timid appearance hardly screamed villainous scientist, but then again, looks can be deceiving.

"Yes, that's me." You stood, reaching out to shake her hand.

She sighed in relief, shaking your hand a tad too enthusiastically. "Lovely to meet you. I'm Marie and I'll be getting you settled in for the first few days."

A spark of disappointment flashed across your mind. Olivia hadn't been there for your interview, nor had any sway in your hiring, and now she wasn't even the person greeting you on your first day. Although you had no right to be, you felt rather offended by the lack of challenge she was providing. It was almost too easy.

---

To be fair, Marie was the perfect candidate to give you a tour of the facility. She was kind and patient, but not condescending. She seldom spoke beyond what was required of her, unless you asked something work related, when her lengthy response would affirm her status as an epicure of scientific knowledge. By midday, you'd decided she was someone to befriend, and subsequently accepted her invitation to have lunch together.

You were also hoping that the team would eat lunch as a group, but alas, more disappointment. Instead, you spent the break sitting in an awkward silence with Marie, who seemed to loose basic communication skills when presented with food. In spite of her lack of engagement, you still took the opportunity to try and ascertain information about the project you'd be working on, though each time she expertly diverted the interrogation, or ignored your question entirely.

Who knew working for an evil, secretive corporation would be so boring?

It was a test of patience to be sitting in the same building as Olivia Octavius, while forced to shadow an incredibly kind, but slow eating woman. Realistically, you knew there'd be plenty of time to investigate, though you were reluctant to end the day without any progress. So, while Marie was still distracted by her lunch, you excused yourself to go to the bathroom.

She dismissively approved with a wave of her hand, allowing you to slip away from the dining hall. You vaguely remembered the location of Olivia's office as being on the top floor, indicated by Marie's imprecise pointing. She'd explained that very few had clearance to get in, but you'd already thought of a way to get passed the security.

Who aside from the highest ranking scientists had access to every room? Janitors, of course. Because, for some reason, cleanliness was more important than security.

It didn't take long to locate a cleaner, or much effort to pickpocket the security card. To be on the safe side, you even had an excuse ready: that the man had dropped it, that you were simply looking for him to return it. And if Olivia caught you in her office, well, she wouldn't (Spider-Senses and all). Again, it was almost too easy.

There was a minatory silence as you walked along the final corridor toward her office. Part of you felt as though this was some kind of elaborate trap, the repeated phrase 'too easy' coming to mind as you reached the door. Though the logical part of you must've known this was a fatuous suggestion, and took control.

With a final pause to confirm nobody was approaching, or was already waiting inside, you scanned the key card. The action was rewarded with a satisfactory beep, followed by the door sliding open so fast it appeared to have vanished.

The office was smaller than you anticipated. Or maybe it was the bareness of the room that caught you off guard. The woman was insane, yet her work area hardly reflected her deranged mental state. Everything was so perfectly neat that you began to wonder if you'd actually walked onto a movie set, or a photoshoot, which would've explained the strange ring lights hanging from the ceiling.

Upon reaching the centre of the room, you were struck by the realisation that you truthfully had no reason to be here. Even if the office had been as messy as you'd expected, it was unlikely that she'd leave her super evil plans lying around. Rather, It'd been some morbid curiosity that had lured you here. To see where The Doc Ock worked, where the alter ego was likely created. The reality was underwhelming to say the least.

Deciding that you'd spent enough time admiring an incredibly bland office, you exited back out into the empty corridor, nonchalantly throwing the security card behind you, certain someone would eventually return it. Then, as if right on cue, you sensed somebody approaching, soon followed by footsteps resonating from around the corner. With no way of avoiding them, you kept your head down with the intention of blending in.

Olivia Octavius rounded the corner, not sparing a glance up. She was frowning at a piece of paper, her full attention directed to it, blissfully unaware of your presence.

Instinctively, your entire body tensed at the sight of her lithe frame and mass of hair spilling out of its messy bun. Any other circumstance and you'd have fled by now, through a vent, out of the window, it didn't matter. Though you had to remind yourself that there was no reason to be afraid now. There was no possible way she could know your identity.

Nonetheless, as you passed her with less than a metre of space, you held your breath. She said nothing and you both kept walking in opposite directions.

It seemed the coast was clear. You released the breath you'd been holding and kept moving until. "Hey, wait a minute."

You froze, aching to ignore her and escape. Her voice was deep, more so than you were prepared for. While fighting, few words were exchanged, and even then they were unintelligible. Although, now was the worst time to be thinking about previous interactions, so with much difficulty, you cleared your mind. As far as anyone knew, including yourself, you were just the intern.

You ran a hand through your hair nervously, straightening out your lab coat and turning to face her. She was stood at the far end of the long white corridor, entirely unthreatening when compared to Doc Ock, who would've loomed over you menacingly.

Remembering the role you were meant to be playing, you choked out a response. "How can I be of assistance?"

"You're the new intern, right?"

"Yeah." You considered approaching to shake her hand, but the idea of awkwardly marching the length of the corridor to greet her was rather unappealing. "That's me." You settled for a polite smile and shoulder shrug instead.

She screwed up her face in consideration before crooking a finger. "Come with me."

Swallowing any concern, you nodded hesitantly. The prospect of returning to the office you'd broken into only moments ago had you dragging your feet.

She waited patiently until you were by her side to continue. "Don't worry." She scanned her key card. "I don't bite." Her tone was playful, her eyes kindly mocking.

"Good to know." You muttered, following her inside. You took a second to look around the room with mock curiosity, feeling her eyes trace your every move. Like a predator, eyeing up its prey, determining your weaknesses. Unlike the encounters with Doc Ock, it was uncertain who had the high ground here. Her gaze was putting you on edge, not dissimilar to how your character of 'the intern' would react.

"So..." She shuffled some papers around on the desk, finding what looked to be your application. "Ms. Y/L/N right?"

You confirmed with a nod, summoning the resolve to amble toward her desk.

"Take a seat." She gestured to the chair opposite, letting you sit before proceeding. "Tell me about yourself, Y/N."

You started to think of an adequate answer, but she interrupted a second later, contradicting her initial inquiry. "Are you okay with me calling you Y/N?" She leant her head on a closed fist, narrowing her eyes.

Although the question sounded considerate, you didn't feel the implied sincerity. Even if you wanted to say no, that didn't feel like a suitable response. "Sure."

Somehow, it felt like she was establishing dominance through the polite act, and combined with being under her scrutinising glare, the performance was working.

"Great." Suddenly, she leant back in her chair, all evidence of the hostile act disappearing instantaneously.

"What'd you want to know?" Mirroring her relaxed posture, you attempted to re-establish some control.

"Oh, anything." A flicker of something passed in her eyes, piqued interest possibly?

You began routinely rattling off some basic facts about yourself, nothing too specific or personal. Facts that would answer any follow up questions she might have, and yet said nothing about you. Surprisingly, she seemed hooked on your every word. The thought crossed your mind that this might be the real interview, that everything else up to this point had been a sham. But you settled on a more unsettling justification. That she was committing everything you said to memory.

Coming to the end of the informative monologue, you decided to take a risk. "Do I get to ask a question?" You raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Inquisitive. I like that." She stated, folding her arms on the desk. "Go ahead."

You decided to see how far you could push your luck. "Tell me about yourself." You smugly repeated her vague first query. It was the Doctor's turn to come up with an answer to the ambiguous demand.

She scoffed, realising your plan to make her struggle. "Touché. But I'm rather busy, so how about you pick a more specific question."

Narrowing it down, there was only one thing you wanted to ask. "Can I see the-" You waved your arms around, imitating tentacles. "the suit?"

She chuckled, slowly standing. Judging from her lack of surprise, this was likely a request she'd heard many times.

First, she removed her glasses. Then slipped out of her lab coat. Next to go was the shirt, which she pulled over her head while maintaining eye contact. You wanted to look away, out of respect, yet you didn't. Without the shirt, you noticed she was already wearing the suit underneath and had the harness strapped to her back, confirming your suspicion that she always had access to the weapon. As she was stepping out of her trousers, the arms (tentacles?) inflated, and within moments were threateningly extending to their full potential.

She smiled proudly, enjoying your stunned expression. "As good as you expected?"

"Better." Unable to resist any longer, you stood to investigate the suit in further detail. You'd never seen it stationary, or had the opportunity to try and gauge the details of how it worked. Although you argued this would be beneficial for your next fight, in reality you just wanted to admire the contraption. You circled round, marvelling at the simplicity of the design. It was convenient, yet elegant. "It's beautiful."

Coming to a stop in front of Olivia, she had an unreadable expression. A mix of emotions, most prominently confusion. To your delight, a faint blush coloured her cheeks. Whatever unspoken game you'd been playing, you were winning, or were until she said. "How'd you like to intern for me?"

You quickly recovered. "I already do."

"No." She sighed. "I mean personally. As my assistant? You'd get your own desk, an almost guaranteed job at the end of it and so much more experience than you'd bargained for." She leant forward, a little too close for comfort. There was an unhinged look in her eyes more reminiscent of Doc Ock that both convinced and deterred you. "So what'd you say?"

She genuinely wanted you to work with her.

This hadn't been part of the plan. You'd expected to spend no longer than a few months working at Alchemax. To uncover their evil scheme, figure out how to stop it and hopefully take down the company. An optimistic plan, sure, but one you'd been assured you'd stick to. Although, the opportunity to work closely with Olivia Octavian, with the Doc Ock, was too good to pass on. Not to mention, infinitely more interesting.

You grinned, embracing the insanity that your answer would incur. "I'd love to."

She clapped her hands together. "Great!" Then offered her hand for you to shake formally. "I'll sort out the paperwork and details this evening, but right now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

She left before you had the chance to say anything else, still in her suit, which left you confused for the following half hour. You finally understood upon catching a glimpse of a news alert on your phone.

Doc Ock Seizes Bank, Has Taken Hostages!

You sighed. Today was going to be a long day, and things were only going to get more complicated.

[buoyfriend]

Headcannnnnooooons, get your headcannnnnons heeeeeeere *:･ﾟ✧(ꈍᴗꈍ)✧･ﾟ:*

Hi everyone! I've been getting more HC requests lately so I wanted to make something official! Want to know your favorite NPC's thoughts on a topic? Send me a message and I will "ask"!

Submission FAQ and headcannon list below the cut!

Submission FAQ

Are submissions open?

Yes! I get a big dopamine rush when y'all send them so please do.

Which characters do you write for?

Any FFXIV character. Though I haven't written for all of them yet, I'm open to trying new characters. There is so much nuance baked into each NPC's story that we can dig into together.

What style do you write in? Do you write NSFW?

Unless asked otherwise, I'll write SFW in a bullet point/interview question and response with said NPC. I think of HC writing as a collaborative thing, so remember to include detail. Do you prefer specific pronouns? Every WoL is unique, and their personality may color how an NPC sees them (are they bold? are they shy? etc!) and that's always fun to work with.

If you'd like a different style or are interested in NSFW, please feel free to ask. On that note, I don't write NSFW for under age characters.

Where can I find existing HC posts?

I'm working on going through my posts and changing the tags for easy searches, but it is no easy task and I am ~quite lazy~ so it may be a while! In the meantime, I will post a masterlist below.

HC Masterlist

The Ascians/Ancients

The WoL's Birthday - Featuring Hades, Venat, and Hythlodaeus

Scions of the Seventh Dawn

The WoL's Birthday - Featuring the Scions in Sharlayan

Ishgardian Elf Husbands

Aymeric's Reaction to the WoL's Echo Abilities

Meeting A Stunning Older Woman or Our Elf Boys Meet A Milf

Parenting Perspectives from Three Very Different Elf Fathers

The Moment I Fell in Love with the WoL from Three Perspectives

The WoL's Birthday - Featuring Ishgard NPCs

A Surprise Birthday Gift ft. Aymeric & Estinien

Zenos

Zenos is A Very Fun Dad

A Surprise Birthday Gift ft. Zenos

Longer Form Stories

Part 3 of 4 is out! Lua is a traveler from another star, arriving in Eorzea with no memory of where she came from or where she is going. Yet, she presses forward to find out whether anyone can really return home or if the present is just enough.

Stranger's Galaxy on Tumblr

Stranger's Galaxy on Ao3

Happy Reading!