#I'm probably not going to leave DA because it does have some useful parts

[raygirlramblings]

TIL Sheezy art is still a thing, holy cow o_o

Does anyone have an account? Can they recommend it? I would be interested considering DA is sliding quickly down the AI slope and I'd like to have a fresh space to share art and meet new artists :)

[vashtijoy]

Just saw your recent reblog, I'm so sorry if you get asked this a lot--is the cut post-game location where Akechi is not a rehab?

Wow, I've just been through my index and it doesn't seem I've ever posted about this—so thank you for asking! Note that this is (hopefully) PART ONE of a two-part post; this is way overlong without me getting into my thoughts about this scene.

The scene we're talking about is a deleted scene where Akechi (offscreen, and clearly alive) is talking to two employees (onscreen), in what looks like a bathhouse. They gossip about his plans for the future, until he arrives in person to catch them out and put some things on record.

Here's the scene, with my translation. (page down for the text). Pay attention to how the, uh, man standing in the bath knows Akechi is outside all along, while the woman who comes in to gossip does not.

There are a lot of theories about this scene—where is it happening? when does it happen? what purpose does it serve?—not least because there are several different translations floating around. But we can tell quite a bit from the text. Quick summary, since this is a post and a half already:

The place Akechi checks in on 12/24, per this deleted scene, is not a rehab or hotel or hospital, but a type of refuge called a kakekomidera.

This scene takes place (probably) after school on 2/10, as the last of the string of confidant interventions between 2/4 and 2/13. As such, it represents the thing Akechi is doing for Joker to get him out of detention.

Let's take a look.

firstly, what is this place?

People have variously described the bathhouse in this scene as a rehab (no), a hotel or ryokan (no), a hospital (no) and a mental hospital (def Not). So what is it?

The scene tells us exactly what it is:

Gossipy Employee ⋯まあここは、俺らもそうだけど、スネに傷あるモンの駆け込み寺だ。 ... maa koko wa, orera mo sou da kedo, sune ni kizu aru mon no kakekomidera da [lit. well, this place is a kakekomidera for people with a guilty conscience, like us.]

what is a kakekomidera?

A 寺 tera is a Buddhist temple; it's the ji at the end of a lot of temple names. 駆け込む kakekomu means to seek refuge somewhere. So a kakekomidera is a temple where you seek refuge.

And that is the place Akechi has taken himself to: it's a refuge. It's a shelter, like a domestic violence shelter—somewhere you go when you're at the end of your rope, with nowhere to turn; when you're in danger. Somewhere he stayed as a child—with his mother, who was likewise in a perilous and vulnerable situation. Where he knows there are people who will take him in, no questions asked, after everything he's done. Who might even remember him.

Historically, a kakekomidera (like the one in the link) was a place women could go if their husbands were abusive; they entered religious service, and subsequently accessed divorce: "Temple records show that, during the Tokugawa period alone"—that's 1603–1857, often also called the Edo period—"an estimated 2,000 women sought shelter there."

Services called kakekomidera still exist today. They are often in temples—if you can stop by to talk to a monk about your problems and look for solutions, that's a kakekomidera. Online helpdesks are often called kakekomidera—you can look up a "Desktop Publishing kakekomidera" site, for instance.

[more below the cut...]

English sources are usually all referencing the same organisation, Gen Hidemori's Nippon Kakekomidera in Shinjuku:

Gen opens the doors of his organization to all who are in dire straits, regardless of age, gender, income, or social status. Visitors to the office located in Tokyo’s infamous Kabukichō red-light district seek respite from domestic violence, pressing debt, and trouble with organized crime groups. Gen says he even sees gang members looking to make a clean break from the criminal underworld.

Does a kakekomidera do rehab-like things sometimes? Sure. They act as halfway houses for people leaving prison. They help people work through problems in their lives. But in English, a "rehab" is focused on rehabilitating people—after addiction, after illness or injury, after prison, during old age—and that is not what I think we should be picturing here.

I have not been able to track down a residential one like the one in the game, but hey, it's fiction. I wouldn't want to say, though, that they don't exist—don't forget the historical kakekomidera, where you entered service and stayed until you were ready to leave. Though this doesn't appear to be any sort of religious setting, I suspect it's not for nothing that Akechi is doing menial work around the place.

next, when does this scene take place?

The game code allows us to lock this scene almost down to the hour. This will get a little technical at points, so bear with me. You can easily skim past most of this.

Every event in P5 and P5R is numbered. They have two numbers: a major number, identifying the event, and a minor number, identifying part of the event. (You can get more granular than this, identifying individual lines of the script, but that's beyond our scope here.)

This deleted event of Akechi's is numbered E470_810. That is, it has a major number (identifying the event) of 470, and a minor number (identifying part of event 470) of 810.

what is event 470?

Event 470 is the collection of events that happen after Joker enters detention—that is, on 12/24 with Sae in vanilla, or on 2/4 after Maruki's boss fight in Royal.

You can probably see where this is going. Here's the list of events in event 470:

E470_001—[vanilla only] the sad Christmas Day meeting after Joker is arrested, where the PTs determine that this is super unfair and they should do something about it;

E470_101—[vanilla only] Joker's interrogation while detained;

E470_201—Sojiro's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_211—Takemi's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_301—Kawakami's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_311—Iwai's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_401—Mishima's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_411—Chihaya's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_501—Ohya's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_511—Yoshida's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_601—Shinya's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_611—Hifumi's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_701—Makoto's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_711—Sumire's intervention after Joker's arrest;

E470_810—Akechi's intervention after Joker's arrest.

The next event after that is E471_001, which is Sae meeting Joker in detention for his release on 2/13.

What does this list tell us? Well, mainly, this deleted scene of Akechi's, E470_810, was intended to play along with all those others up there; they're the same event, with the same major number, 470. It's not some random scene we can know nothing about; it has a context, and that context is that Akechi, just like the others, is working to get Joker out of detention. If this scene had been left in, it would have played along with all the other max-rank confidant scenes prior to 2/13.

You might have noticed that Akechi's scene is not quite grouped with the others—there is no E470_801, when the other confidant scenes move cleanly through Ex_x01 to Ex_x11 to Ex_x01 and so on. Whether that's because there's a missing event (storyboarded but never written?) or because he's not quite working with the others, or perhaps because it would have played out of sequence, like Makoto's (numbered last, originally, even though it played first)—we can't tell.

I did say we could lock this scene down almost to the hour, and that brings us to something called the scheduler:

where is event 470 in the scheduler? what is the scheduler?

The scheduler is a piece of code that tells the game engine what events to play on what day. If you want to know what triggers an event to play, the scheduler is a good first stop.

It's split into one file per month (SCHEDULER_04.BF through SCHEDULER_03.BF), and each month is split into a number of functions per day. Usually two functions play in the morning (early and mid-morning?) and five in the PM slot, which we can identify from the events that happen during them:

PM slot A—lunchtime. Includes e.g. the deleted lunch events;

PM slot B—midafternoon. Includes e.g. the chat events during the afternoon lesson;

PM slot C—after school. Includes e.g. Mishima's after-school confidant unlock in your homeroom;

PM slot D—evening. Includes e.g. Sae and Makoto's conversation over dinner before the hot pot party;

PM slot E—bed. Includes e.g. Joker's excursions to the Velvet Room.

In vanilla, the clock is visible for these confidant events, so we can see time passing; the events are also spread more widely through the day. In Royal, though, the clock is disabled for them, probably because they're so much closer together. But whether you consider these event times binding or not, we can still see exactly when they are—because the scheduler tells us so:

Makoto (E470_701)—2/5 (Royal), 1/3 (vanilla), midafternoon;

Sojiro (E470_201)—2/5 (Royal), 1/5 (vanilla), midafternoon;

Takemi (E470_211)—2/6 after school (Royal), 1/7 midafternoon (vanilla);

Kawakami (E470_301)—2/6 (Royal), 1/10 (vanilla), after school;

Iwai (E470_315)—2/7 after school (Royal only); Iwai (E470_311)—1/13 after school (vanilla only);

Mishima (E470_401)—2/7 (Royal), 1/14 (vanilla), after school;

Chihaya (E470_411)—2/8 (Royal), 1/16 (vanilla), after school;

Ohya (E470_501)—2/8 after school (Royal), 1/18 evening (vanilla);

Yoshida (E470_511)—2/9 after school (Royal), 1/22 midafternoon (vanilla);

Shinya (E470_601)—2/9 (Royal), 1/28 (vanilla), midafternoon;

Hifumi (E470_611)—2/9 (Royal), 1/31 (vanilla), after school;

Sumire (E470_711)—2/10 after school (Royal only).

Lastly, Sae always breaks Joker out during the midafternoon slot on 2/13, in both Royal and vanilla, just before Valentine's Day.

Is there anything notable in this huge swathe of data?

Three confidants changed their event slot in Royal, presumably to fit multiple events into one function on the same day: Takemi moved from midafternoon in vanilla to after school in Royal, Ohya moved from the evening slot to after school, and Yoshida moved from midafternoon to after school.

Iwai has two minor numbers, because he has two slightly different events—vanilla Iwai says "Make sure the guys in lock-up know not to let anyone lay a damn finger on him", while Royal Iwai does not!

Why was this line cut from Royal? Was Joker somehow in less danger in juvie? Well... vanilla places a lot more emphasis on Joker's detention. Rather than Akechi showing up on 12/24, Sae has a long digression about juvenile hall, and how awful it will be, and the consequences for Joker and his friends. Joker gets interrogated in detention and so on.

So maybe this line was there to build suspense, in vanilla—whereas in Royal, there's just no need, because everything has already happened.

what about akechi

OKAY SO. Getting back to the important stuff, what does all of that tell us about Akechi's deleted scene? Well, it lets us date it.

This scene does not appear to exist in vanilla, when Akechi is pretty definitively ?dead in January and February. It was added with Sumire's, for Royal—and then deleted from the scheduler, so that it's out of game. And in Royal, two events play every day—except on 2/10.

Only Sumire's event plays on 2/10. So we can stake a pretty good guess here that Akechi's event would have been paired with Sumire's event, the other Royal Trio event, in that after school time slot on 2/10.

Maybe it would have played on 2/11 or 2/12. Maybe it would have been like Makoto's event, and jumped out of the list to play elsewhen. But given that it's a reveal, I think it almost certainly would have played last (as its position in the event list suggests)—and 2/10 with Sumire seems like a good place for it.

lastly, what even is this scene

I'm attaching my translation of the scene beneath the cut, since it's been sitting in my Tumblr drafts forever and a day. Obviously this is hugely subject to error and not likely to be entirely correct—nonetheless, enjoy.

* * *

[The Prurient Employee walks in and addresses the Gossipy Employee, who is staring down at the floor.]

Prurient Employee 聞いた? kiita? Did you hear the news?

Gossipy Employee ああ⋯ aa... I did.

[He turns to her, glancing outside at what appears to be nothing in particular.]

Gossipy Employee さっき、本人から聞いたよ。 sakki, honnin kara kiita yo I just got it from him face to face.

Gossipy Employee 来たばっかだってのに、来月で辞めるって話だろう? kita bakka datte no ni, raigetsu de yameru tte hanashi darou? People were saying he's leaving next month, right? Even though he only just got here.

Prurient Employee あの子まだ、ちっちゃかったときよね?お母さんと一緒に出てって何年ぶり⋯? ano ko mada, chicchakatta toki yo ne? okaasan to issho ni dete tte nannen buri...? That kid was tiny when he left with his mother, wasn’t he? How many years has it been?…

Prurient Employee イケメンになって帰ってきた~って、うちら盛り上がってたのに。 ikemen ni natte kaette kita~tte, uchira moriagatteta no ni We were so excited, he'd just come back all grown-up and handsome, and now...

Gossipy Employee ここのこと覚えといてくれてたのは嬉しかったよな。 koko no koto oboetoite kureteta no wa ureshikatta yo na At least he still remembered he could come here, though.

Gossipy Employee ⋯まあここは、俺らもそうだけど、スネに傷あるモンの駆け込み寺だ。 ... maa koko wa, orera mo sou da kedo, sune ni kizu aru mon no kakekomidera da That's what this place is for. To shelter people like us, who have a past they can't forget.

Gossipy Employee それに昔よしみってんなら、困ってたら匿うのは当然だよ。 sore ni mukashi yoshimi tte n nara, komattetara kakumau no wa touzen da yo Especially someone we’ve known for so long. As if we wouldn’t hide him when he needed it.

Prurient Employee 『東京でやり残したことがある』って理由らしいわよ。 "toukyou de yarinokoshita koto ga aru" tte riyuu rashii wa yo I heard he said he has "unfinished business in Tokyo."

Gossipy Employee そんなことまで知ってるの。 sonna koto made shitteru no You really do know it all, don't you.

Prurient Employee ⋯ねえ。 ...nee Tell me, though...

Prurient Employee やり残したことって、やっぱりコレ関係? yarinokoshita koto tte, yappari kore kankei? This "unfinished business" of his—that’s what all this is about, right?

[Akechi speaks, offscreen.]

Young Man's Voice やめてくださいよ。妙な詮索。 yamete kudasai yo. myouna sensaku I wish you’d keep your nose out of my affairs.

[The Prurient Employee goes !, realising he was there all along.]

Prurient Employee いるなら言ってよ⋯~ iru nara itte yo...~ Tell me, then, if you're right there!

Gossipy Employee 東京で世話になったヤツがいるんだと。 toukyou de sewa ni natta yatsu ga iru n da to He did say there was someone who helped him out in Tokyo.

Gossipy Employee そいつに貸しを作りに行くんだ。 soitsu ni kashi o tsukuri ni iku n da So he's going back because he owes him.

Gossipy Employee なあ? naa? Right?

Young Man's Voice 借り返して辞めるつもりですから。 karikaeshite yameru tsumori desu kara Don't worry, I’ll clear my debts here before I leave.

Young Man's Voice 去年の⋯イヴ? アポ無しで来た僕を何も言わず受けれてくれた分と⋯ kyonen no... ibu? aponashi de kita boku o nani mo iwazu ukerete kureta bun to... For taking me in last year… on Christmas Eve, was it? Without an appointment. Without asking questions.

Young Man's Voice それと昔、母がお世話になった分はね。 sore to mukashi, haha ga o-sewa ni natta bun wa ne And for everything you did for my mother.

Prurient Employee それにしても貸しを作りに⋯なんて、あんたらしいね。 sore ni shite mo kashi o tsukuri ni... nante, anta rashii ne Never mind that. To go to these lengths just because you owe somebody… No, I guess that’s you all over, isn’t it.

Young Man's Voice 思ったとおりにいけば、あいつとあいつと仲間⋯ omotta toori ni ikeba, aitsu to aitsu to nakama... If it comes off, then that guy and his friends will live out their lives…

Young Man's Voice 一生、僕に⋯感謝するんです。 issei, boku ni... kansha suru n desu …Well, they’ll owe me their thanks forever.

[The two employees go ?]

Young Man's Voice 軒先、掃除してきますね。 nokisaki, souji shite kimasu ne I’m going to sweep up outside.

* * *

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/12/03)—first posted.

[world-of-warhammer]

So the next part of the lore as I understand it for Warhammer is an interesting bit. The Greenskins faction. Comprised of both Orcs and Goblins in both fantasy settings and 40k, Age of Sigmar adds Ogres to the mix as well (but we will touch on them another time when I can stomach it (hehe)) so we'll kick this off with 40k and work our way backwards to Fantasy before a brief touchstone in Age of Sigmar.

Orks are a sapient fungus that upon reaching maturity forms one of several geno/phenotypes of creature. Bipedal, green, of the mindset that the biggest should be in charge and that fighting is the best thing ever. Primarily heard speaking with what has been (colloquially) called a cockney accent the average Ork sentence is mostly apostrophes and charmingly "misspelled" words.

For a quick example in the written word, "'Ey, da' boss said it needz more dakka, add shootaz." Or somesuch similar phrasing.

Orks in 40k are latently psychic. Their mass belief in something manipulates the warp and reality to make it true. The red ones go faster, literally makes a vehicle move quicker. They saw Imperial Guardsmen wearing splotchy colored clothing that made them harder to see (camoflage) and started painting things with mismatched splotchy coloration and thus became harder to see (regardless of color, pattern, or surrounding environment).

Orks being fungible, means they leave spores everywhere and later on more Orks and Goblins will spawn from the spores that take hold.

They have an obsession with Waaagh (War) and desire to fight so much so that infighting is as common as fighting outside armies or forces.

It takes one particularly tough Ork to grow in size and bash heads together to rally the army to use any real form of tactics. Someone who wins personal fights is worthy to lead armies.

Ork gods are Gork and Mork. One cunningly brutal, the other brutally cunning. Kunning in the Ork spelling. It's part of their Kultur (Culture) to only worship those two gods, whose very fists and feet manifest to smite and smash their foes in battle (probably some Orks too, collateral damage isn't something they avoid much.)

Orks can basically eat anything but love meats.

Orks are large, muscular, and their technology works because they believe it will. Strapping more guns to a thing can make an otherwise broken vehicle repaired enough for an Ork to drive it. Their guns and swords look like they're made to be vicious and cut from every angle.

Goblins are smaller and known mostly from being cunning backstabbers, ranged weaponry, or users of magics. Things that lend themselves well to one not able to swing a huge axe or wield a large gun.

If it seems like I'm mostly focusing on 40k, it's because Games Workshop basically took what they had written for 40k and retconned a lot for Warhammer Fantasy. So it's equally applicable regardless of the setting. They just have fewer machines in fantasy.

Tl:Dr Sapient bipedal fungus folk enjoy war, believe things will work so they do, get bigger when winning fights, and just wanna fight and eat.

Age of Sigmar does do a few things differently. As I understand it, GorkaMorka (Gork and Mork as one entity) Was an ally of Sigmar and helped with repelling Chaos to help dawn the new age of mortals; before switching back to the side of destruction.

This covers the bare-bones basics as I understand them. As in every case, please feel free to reblog, reply, or send an ask if you have questions or if I was inaccurate. Next time I talk about what I like, dislike, and would do differently.

[blankd]

DA: dogguard Veilguard opinion (crossposted + expanded from twitter)

I only know about dragon age through osmosis, my friend is playing it while I sit in, and so far my major criticism of VG is that the game is flanderizing its own characters at breakneck speeds and the banter feels incredibly weak DESPITE that aspect being one of the more signature traits of DA

regardless of how the journey ultimately goes, it's an experience that I'm taking notes on as a game/narrative designer for MushRush since you will be carting around a similar number of fantastical companions

read more has more scattershot, but specific thoughts; contains spoilers up to after having JUST finished recruiting all of the companions

disclaimer: I don't know shit about DA LORE, so I'll probably misspell locations, etc., I don't care enough to correct any of it.

the early game has real "shaky first draft" issues where characters repeat themselves or say nothing insightful or at least entertaining. it's gotten better since after the mayor in d'meta, but there have still been some instances of dialogue triggering that makes rook come across as hilariously unobservant such as them noting there are "a lot of undead" in the necropolis you pick up emmrich in. dead bodies in MY NECROPOLIS???

another part that sticks out to me is that the female characters are getting shafted hard since they are all (mostly) introduced before the male characters, so the "1st draft writing pains" get assigned to them

however, neve is unfortunately the Worst Companion so far, followed by harding (will elaborate on her later).

I still don't have a grasp on what neve's companion hook even is- even AFTER letting minathrous get dragon nuked. all I got was "neve is sarcastic and dry and job-oriented, followed around by sprites???" which is a shame since a mage detective should BE ENOUGH but she doesn't have the GRIT of a noir detective or the clever observations of one who is more holmes-aligned. her room does more to characterize her, which is good for the art team but a shame to the writers (even as they try to pepper in more interesting traits about her through other characters)

so we have to fall back to what the game DOES tell us, such as approval/disapproval, of the 2 instances of her showing disapproval, we couldn't figure out WHY she disapproved. (1st was doubting varric could convince solas to stop fucking up everything, 2nd was for leaving the mayor in his fucked up town)

my friend and I formed several theories for something internally consistent:

-neve doesn't like it when you assume the worst of people (tall ask considering what solas was actively doing, but it's a BELIEF) -neve doesn't like it when you doubt/question authority/authority figures -neve believes the gods truly override people (my friend joked "SECRET CHANTRY GIRLIE??") -neve doesn't like that we are "being mean to a man" (this is a joke I made) -neve is a contrarian because when you only have two characters, someone HAS to have a different opinion (this is purely meta and still poorly executed)

whatever it is that makes neve tick, we're probably not going to find out since she's HARDENED or w/e because we chose birdbatman over her (my friend was aware of the effects of the choice locking out Neve/Lucanis content, but debated over the choice because of the LORE, the tipping point occurred when I asked if they cared about Neve content which was an obvious NO)

TL;DR: we are currently getting more mileage/chuckles out of "NEVE DISAPPROVES" during choices than from anything the game intends, UNFORTUNATELY

----

next up is harding, harding is a perfectly normal character with some obvious insecurities and now having to grapple with magic. unfortunately the writers have tipped their hand that they care more about harding's LORE ties with the titans/gods than as a character

the most awkward handing of this is when we did harding's personal sidequest of trying to get a handle on her powers (perfectly fine!), but then it just abruptly STOPS because we help some random fucking guy in the forest

the real nail in the coffin came when she (essentially) went "solas seems sad tho )8", despite being the same character that hated she didn't shoot him to stop the inciting incident. I personally would have appreciated if she had more doubts/expressed conflicts about her action/inaction, about it but as-is, the exchange feels WAY too much like the writers taking shortcuts to make solas grey (or god forbid, "GOOD", ACTUALLY). varric is already running interference, having harding do it too just tells me they're willing to throw other characters under the bus to accomplish this annoying goal.

as an aside: when this conversation occurred I said something to the effect of "Harding, no!! Don't make us throw you into the basement with Neve!!!"

----

returning back to the point of how the female characters seem to be suffering a lack of writing effort compared to the male ones- bellera is a noticeable example of this.

her characterization is purely fixated on magictech (fine), she gets more character as soon as emmrich gets introduced (not bad in a vacuum), but despite being present with harding and neve, the most conversation she seems to have is that she can cook different foods and neve wants in on some of the cooking. again it could have been "1st draft" pains, but given how fixed the party is at the start, they should have something more going on, ESPECIALLY since harding and bellera disagree with neve on how the mayor and d'meta was handled! bellera supposedly had people she cared about in this town and she glosses over it fairly quickly. also there's a relative lack of reaction to harding (or neve)'s injuries from the solas event.

----

character flanderization as mentioned WAY back at the start, this problem is (too) quickly made apparent with lucanis

I thought the mention of the coffee (WRT to dealing with spite) was intended as a throwaway line and something that would stay confined to the sidequest, instead it comes up in the banter as well, in addition to him being the demon of whatever (and now having a literal demon, har har). the 'most' interesting banter so far is when bellera asks how lucanis's situation even happened, and it's not BAD but I felt there was flavor missing to the exchange

since both characters are noted to be the "good" cooks of the companions, I thought it could hint at how lucanis's favoring of cooking is NOT out of niceness but because he doesn't trust other people to it since he is 1) a fucking assassin ("he stabs people", I don't care, poison exists and he's the grandson of the crow mafia), 2) was force-fed something that saddled him with spite

like I know there's more parts here, but SURELY something spicier and/or more natural than just the point-blank answer, the man was betrayed and landed in prison for a year AND is supposed to be operating on a lack of sleep because of spite, he can be a little snippy about how his bodily autonomy was violated

----

the last recruits:

davrin (at this time) ends up being on the upper end of characters since he's the MOST GROUNDED/NORMAL. he's fine and closest to what neve was probably intended to be, skeptical, has a dry sense of humor, but can trip up rook (our rook didn't recognize that a name davrin held a grudge against is historical). it probably helps he has assan to bounce off of so he can tread closer to have a 3rd dimension of personality (it's TOO early to tell)

emmrich is a professor of necromancy, he's polite/nice but also has no problems with magicking skellieboys into servitude, I'm hoping this old man has some spice going on. also it's a crime he puts on his human face when he has a SKELLIE FACE. COWARDS. I'll forgive it a little since at least he still gets to be OLD, instead of some freakishly smooth bishonen.

taash is a horse girl(TM) but for dragons. they also have hints of relationship with a controlling mother, I have no expectations of this. I'm hoping this isn't another lucanis flanderization situation but that's probably a different game.

the lords of fortune thing is bullshit however, "yeah we steal items but return cultural artifacts" that better be a PR thing purely b/c rook is in the room, otherwise, holy shit I'm dying. like, writers, I could understand some cultural favoritism, but ALL cultural artifacts? what the hell are you talking about??

---

now a main plot writing quibble, just to round it out:

the treviso occupation is driving me insane that they really said with their full narrative mouth that the place with NO military but an ASSASSIN'S GUILD couldn't figure out how to deal with the MOST hierarchy-based military occupying them??? like I get that wouldn't instantly (or permanently) end it, but it just feels absurd!!! what kind of assassin guild doesn't know how to kill ONE GUY, especially when he gives speeches in open areas!

it's just such a HARD SELL that the assassin guild can be so bad at assassination short of some 5d chess backdoor dealings involving the mindrape potions that the antaam were apparently cooking up while avoiding having it traced back to them or something

as for the minrathous/treviso choice, it feels like a missed opportunity to have the macguffin knife be what actually drives the dragon off

like, I KNOW that rook/the player is the center of the world, but you don't LOSE anything by tweaking that detail either, it just comes off as ridiculous that "3" (1) people really would make a difference

anyway, thanks for reading, that was a mountain, we'll see how DA:VG continues

if there's additional DA LORE you think would season my experience (baffled/piss me off/etc.), feel free to comment!

[luddlestons]

So I see Fade Sensitive Carver headcanons here and there, and it makes sense to me! Because he grew up around magic, he also has a higher Stat than the other warriors!

But I also just sit in my chair and think about that and how it's likely because he has a mage parent and that children of mages are taken from their parents and sent to orphanages and made into Templars and do they know??? Does the Chantry know??? I'm very-

*on my hands and knees, shaking my fist*

I love fade-sensitive Carver thoughts! I first heard that as a concept from @miraculan-draws who has some amazing artwork and meta about Carver being fade-sensitive. And a really cool scene in this fic!

All in all, it does seem like people who are related to mages but not mages themselves are best equipped to use Templar abilities, whether or not they use lyrium, and Carver is one of the best examples of that. Even as a Warden, he has the templar abilities in his skill tree. Alistair also continues to use his templar training as a Warden, and ostensibly isn't taking lyrium, given that he mentions briefly that lyrium addiction is one of the major reasons he was glad to leave the templars, iirc. Given that Alistair has a mage parent, it's very likely that his sensitivity to magic is what lets him use those skills, so Carver is probably the same.

You're really getting at the heart of some of the darkest underpinnings of the Circle, which is that yeah, people who are close to mages, and who have mages as family members, are also the people who are best used to subdue them. I think the Chantry absolutely knows, and probably has some convoluted reasoning as to how this is all part of a divine plan. It's right up there with the fact that phylacteries are definitely blood magic when it comes to Circle/Chantry hypocrisy for me. It's a really interesting detail which just makes it so much clearer how twisted this system is, and I hope they go into it more in the future.

Overall, I have a ton of thoughts about how being a mage would be interesting if it was less of a distinct category. I think there's probably people out there who are very magically attuned, but can't cast in a traditional way, so nobody's locking them up in the Circle. I also think there's probably people who are completely harmless in their magic, but because they can do something visibly magical, they are imprisoned (this is what happened to my Warden's oldest sister)

(This is also just my desire for multiclassing in DA)

[rekishi-aka]

Between a rock and a hard place: Adam had no choice, because Leo didn't leave him any

Probably not exactly a hot take, and actually a copy from my DW post the other day. Also, the original post has pictures, but because tumblr doesn't support any proper HTML, I had to skip the majority of them. Which is annoying me.

I think the whole mess is not Adam's fault alone, I actually think Leo has a significant part in it as well. I can't actually blame him, because he's so obviously in love and thought he was so close to getting what he wanted that he probably steamrolled Adam a bit. But Leo, for all that I get him and love him, is very much not blameless here.

Adam has one major raison d'être: Protect Leo. This is his one "this, you protect" thing ever. That was true in the school yard and this is also now true in adulthood with the whole money disaster. Adam wants to keep Leo out of the business with Boris and the money, because this is the best way to protect Leo. That's not exactly a news, this has been true since "Das fleißige Lieschen".

When Leo says, "I sleep better when I know nothing will happen to you", then Adam could have simply said that the same was true for him. He didn't, because Adam represses with the best of them (as you do).

(Rest under the cut, warning it's long an convoluted)

Anyway, between DfL and HdW, Leo didn't really have opportunity to catch some air. There was always something, first Adam comes back out of the blue with exactly no warning that he's still alive or about to become Leo's new partner (which he must have known), then he learns Adam's father has woken up again and the whole angst spiral starts over again. My guess is also that Adam wasn't exactly a happy guy in those two months between the episodes, because he was keeping secrets and had to deal with the emotional fallout of Roland being awake again.

I'm mostly willing to cut Adam slack about that, because he is protective of Leo and had the misguided notion of wanting to fix it himself, but Leo must have been confused. First Adam comes back and downright smoulders at him…and then he probably ran cold, suddenly. Leo is willing to forgive that for the most part because he has Adam back and looking that gift horse in the mouth will probably end with tears. So he doesn't. He should but he doesn't.

After HdW, however, that secret is very well out of the way and they obviously have some time to get used to each other again. The team gels better - probably because with Adam there, who will always have his back, Leo finally has some time to think about what he wants and how he wants to do it and Pia is willing to give the whole thing a go, so Esther is as well. They're so happy and relaxed at the beginning of HdS, flirting like they're about to go home with each other (they might have, had things not happened), it's a joy to see! It's a very bitter moment of what was and what could have been.

After HdS, Adam has more secrets, but all of Leo's secrets and guilt and tragedy has been aired out and gotten out of the way. Yes, he did put Roland in a coma, but he also did that to protect Adam. Really tragic is, I always thought that they could have just said what happened…but after KdE we also know that no one would have believed them. Leo should probably have paid more attention at uni when that topic was on the table, but he probably never thought that was about him - because that's the kind of guy Leo is.

But Leo has no more secrets. And he doesn't want any more secrets. Since DfL, he's always been in some kind of bind and all of that is just gone. And Leo can finally allow himself to actually love Adam the way he wants to.

And I think Leo just said fuck it and doesn't stop to think what that does to Adam. I don't think there was an actual love confession that used the words "I love you" or a variation thereof, but I that whole "I would go to the end of the world with you" wasn't new to Adam. Leo has said that before, in that way or in similar guise and sure, and he's very clearly loved on Adam. Maybe a bit awkwardly, because I don't think Leo is the super expert in relationships either, but I don't think he's been hiding his feelings anymore. He's way too expressive in KdE, he opens the door for Adam way too often, he wants he wants he wants.

Adam, on the other hand, doesn't do emotions - not in the Robert Karow school of thought though; Adam is very aware that they exist and that he has them but he hates it. At best he's rusty at them, at worst he's scared of feeling more than shallowly - scratching a sexual itch isn't the same as feeling something for anyone - because it makes him vulnerable. I don't believe Adam has any kind of relationship experience despite picking up strays and his experience with being loved by anyone (except Leo) is to be hurt. So he panics. And shuts down.

And Leo, who knows enough about Boris and the money and Roland to draw conclusions but not enough to see the whole picture, thinks if he just shows it enough, if he just keeps going and shows Adam how much he loves him, Adam will see it and accept it. Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein. But he gets restless the more Adam fudges and lies and won't open his mouth, because Leo thinks if he can just fix this problem, he can fix Adam and then they will be happy. Unfortunately, that's not how life works and the whole things leads to the mess at the hospital. Because Leo goes after him again and again and is being shut down until finally, he leaves.

Adam, who knows everything and also knows that Leo loves him, finally has the opportunity to protect Leo from himself and from Adam's whole mess. Because the cut-off finger's of his attacker scared him shitless. So did the realization that, apparently, he's the heir to a crime family, but the fingers really showed him how this ripples out. He knows he's too deep into this mess, and finally when Leo steps up to him and says, "I would go to the end of the world with you but not this way", he knows the way to make Leo go away for good and protect him is to walk that path alone (single-plank bridge, anyone?). Because better Leo emotionally hurt than Leo dead for his association with Adam. Because Adam is a self-sacrificing idiot, but he also wants to save Leo from his own choices; he inserted himself way too deeply into the shitshow that is Adam's life (the couch crashing, going to see Boris, trying to get it out of Adam, etc). He doesn't want to, it hurts him a lot, but he needs to get Leo off this track. He knows Leo well and he very deliberately pushes him over the edge; he sticks in the knife and twists it, basically.

Look at it (static pics at the DW post):

And with Leo also physically shoving him (big, big no go with Adam, srsly Leo have you learned nothing), he finally has the momentum to shoot back.

He isn't enjoying hurting Leo, but he finally manages, because this is Leo after Adam leaves:

(It's lucky Vladimir is a good actor, they both are, or this could have ended up being ridiculous)

This is Adam's last ditch effort. After he pushes Leo so far away that he can't even be sure they'll even still be able to work together, he makes a last ditch effort to get rid of the money by threatening Manuela with 'finding' it at the Heimatschänke. But that goes sideways and Adam learns too much about a past he never wanted and…well.

And still Leo isn't really done with him, because we have this image from the last scene:

This is not a man who is done with his friend. And well, neither is Adam, really (because all things being equal, he will forgive Leo most things which...is a whole different can of warm I don't want to go into here).

Leo, meanwhile, knew Adam had the money. He also knew it was in the gym bag, because he tries to get into Adam's locked desk for confirmation. If Leo had gotten that then or at any other point, this would have been salvageable. But the confirmation after the fight with Alina was just too much for him to take.

And the thing is, this was more or less inevitable. Both of them assume too much about the other and talk too little about their own shit. carmenta and I discussed back in summer or early fall already that the only way they could make it work was if they learned to talk. However, that was unlikely enough that the only way it might work was if they got together, crashed and burned the relationship, and then there was some sort of tearful kissing in the rain in the middle of the night. (With a boom box preferably, but I'm old fashioned.)

I'm actually more surprised that they managed to do that before they even have a relationship, that has to be some sort of record. But ideally they'll get this out of the way and then can start again. Dramaturgically, this is really well done, I approve even if it hurts me in my feels.

Bottom line: Adam (thought he) had no choice, because Leo didn't leave him any. This doesn't make anyone the villain in this scenario, but it also doesn't mean anyone is blameless here.

Also, they both need a hug.

[nyoomfruits]

YES baby au director’s commentary on the part where Julie calls Max ‘dad’ I was tearing up tbh

oh my god i'm SO glad you asked that's like one of my favorite scenes

i did some research (aka i scrolled all the way back in my chat with eby to when i first mentioned this fic idea to her) and this was legitimately one of the first things i mentioned wanting to include, and it truly speaks to how much i loved the idea of this scene that it actually ended up making it in because a lot of the early stuff gets left on the cutting room floor (case in point: i have a word document with all the deleted scenes that also has some scenes from max's pov because i did consider in the beginning to do it from his pov instead of charles's)

i also dont think much changed from how we originally imagined it?? eby pretty quickly came up with the neck/jaw grabbing thing (ALL the credit to her for that one) and the rest turned out pretty much how i had it in my head, which once again does't happen very often

(for example: the road trip scene with baby shark was never meant to exist, they were supposed to take the plane, until i got to that scene and realized they were going to monza which is only 4 hours by car so the car made much more sense and the rest is history lmao)

ALSO funny detail about charles's 'what if i'm just a bad dad' speech: originally i had that written (or a form of it at least) for the first time max came over, but that felt almost too intimate for where they were in that point in their relationship and i ended up replacing it with the whole 'fuck you you're good at everything' thing. the bad dad speech ended up in the deleted scenes word document though, and i ended up using a lot of that for this scene :)

alright one last thing about this scene and then i'll shut up about it (listen i wasn't kidding when i said it's one of my favorites): because i knew this was a scene that was going to happen from very early on, there's actually loads of little foreshadowing moments!! for example, max says 'your dad' A LOT (almost every time he speaks to julie. he never says charles, he always says 'your dad'), and my personal favorite, this part:

“Yeah, Julie bug,” Max says, laughter in his voice, “We’re going to hang out for a bit while your dad does some work.”

“Da!” Julie says decisively, and Charles takes that as his que to leave, moving back to his office.

it's the first time julie says 'da', it's right after max says 'your dad' and it's directed at max

no one probably caught that except for me but i had a lot of fun writing it into the fic so that's what counts i guess lmao

but yeah! the dad scene, in all its glory. i'm sorry it made you tear up though but i'm glad you liked it enough to ask me about it <3

[datasoulglitch]

[Introduction]

Okay.. after lengthy discussions with my interests, I finally decided to take another shot at creating an account somewhere other than Pinterest.. (I didn't have the most successful attempt with DeviantArt). It has long been no secret that Pinterest, as one of my friends said, does everything to make uploading art to it as inconvenient as possible. But for me this is not the only reason why I decided to partly “leave” that site.. All this is because of my FNF AU, which I almost abandoned due to some personal events. I had a person thanks to whom this AU was born in the first place. But, we haven’t communicated for a very long time by now, this person no longer needs me, I guess. Due that, my motivation to work on this AU, as well as to draw in general, disappeared for quite a long time. I even had the thoughts of ​​giving this AU into the hands of those whom I relatively can trust it.. Now I understand that this is still a part of me more than I thought. Based on the fact that I already had a not very successful attempt to create an account on DA, I already had the idea to devote myself in more detail to my AU. To do this, I need a site that will not only allow me to upload my art, but also will not limit me in the text. And may finally be able to express my thoughts about something outside the context of drawings, too. Previously, I was simply afraid to do this, which is why Pinterest used to be a more ideal place for me, if, of course, it did not have limitations for description, heh.. So, that's why I'm here now. I think I'll link this blog specifically to my AUs more than just the art that I'm still going to upload on Pinterest.. (at least until this place completely collapses.) This means that I will re-upload my art that I drew a long time ago with more detailed text, as far as possible and what I remember. And I will also upload new art dedicated to my AU, and probably some stories too, if there are any.

Maybe because the person who once inspired me for this AU, and who inspired me to draw, no longer communicates with me and this means that new art will be more rare, but I think I can still find sources of inspiration myself, after as soon as I finish reposting my art here and the text dedicated to them..

I love this AU too much to throw everything away just because of such a serious loss for me. It still helps me not to get completely lost in this meaningless existence.. Oh, I guess I forgot the most important thing for itroduction: my name is SoulGlitch/Glitched Soul, or Guritchi for my friends. Some people know me from my Pinterest page.. I'm an FNF fan, more specifically FNF Corruption. I’ll take this opportunity to also say that I’m very surprised to find out that people know about me outside of Pinterest, and that they like my art or AU.. it’s very nice. Probably, to some extent, this also influenced my decision not to quit completely. First step is to get used to this site..

[theyhaveacavetroll]

What was the first Dragon Age game you played? Origin

Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far? I still prefer Origin I think but I did love DA2.

Do you usually play as a warrior, mage, or rogue? Which class are you planning to try first this time around? Which subclass? I usually play as a mage or a rogue. I honestly never plan my DA characters going in for the first time, just fuck around and find out.

What does your worldstate look like going into DAV? ...do you. Do you want a five page essay? This is a broad question, OP. I guess to explain. No, there is no time, let me sum up. My Warden romanced Zevran, Alistair and Anora are joint rulers in Ferelden, the mages are free and Leliana is Divine, I left Loghain in the Fade, Kieran is very much a thing, Hawke romanced Anders in DA2, Feynriel went to Tevinter, I believe I left Orlais being jointly ruled by a triumvirate, the Inquisition is still around, and I've tried not to let things go to pot generally?

Do you typically use a preset character and name or spend hours in the character creator coming up with a custom one? Hours and hours spent in character creator.

Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have? Nope. They'll be whoever they are when I finally press Accept.

Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV? I'm hoping that Zevran will make an appearance and I'm almost afraid of what they'll do if they have Anders turn up but I still want to see him. I really want to see Dorian and Morrigan and most of all, OP, most of all I want to see my Warden turn up because I miss that stabby ball of chaos.

What faction are you most excited to learn more about? The Mourn Watch. We haven't even heard about them before and I want to know all.

Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first? So help me gods they'd better let me sexualize that old man. I'll leave you to decide which one I mean.

Which location are you most excited/hoping to explore in-game? I've been wanting to get into Tevinter for like two games now so I'm glad we're finally there.

What's one thing you'd really like to see in this next game? Honestly? I'm hoping that we actually do get to knock some sense into Solas instead of having to kill him. I'm done with villains where the only choice is death. Fuck that.

What's one thing you're hoping we DON'T see in this next game? DLC that's the secret real end of the game or so integral to the game that it should have been part of the base release.

What's one thing you've seen confirmed so far that you're a fan of? Varric's new look is great.

What's one thing you've seen confirmed so far that you're NOT a fan of? I don't like the dystopian PA announcements in Minrathous.

Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far? I have no idea what's popular or not but my unpopular opinion is probably that I'm not buying it on release day because I'm waiting to see if it's a buggy clusterfuck or not. I'm not EA's damn beta tester and if they want me to act in that capacity, they can pay me.

What's one crack theory you subscribe to (yours or someone else's)? I don't think I have any as far as I know. I don't actually have any friends in the fandom, I mostly keep to myself.

Are you interested in all the lore and speculation or do you focus more on the games and stories themselves? I focus on the games mostly. I'm fine with lore but speculation I mostly just don't engage with.

Which aspect of fandom are you most looking forward to? (e.g. reading/writing fic, the bounty of gorgeous art, getting to know new people, etc.) I'm looking forward to the inevitable rush of fics and edits.

Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime? I'm currently working my way through my second go of Baldur's Gate 3.

Post a picture or gif that conveys your current level of excitement for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

Dragon Age: The Veilguard HYPE Q&A

What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

Do you usually play as a warrior, mage, or rogue? Which class are you planning to try first this time around? Which subclass?

What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

Do you typically use a preset character and name or spend hours in the character creator coming up with a custom one?

Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV?

What faction are you most excited to learn more about?

Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first?

Which location are you most excited/hoping to explore in-game?

What's one thing you'd really like to see in this next game?

What's one thing you're hoping we DON'T see in this next game?

What's one thing you've seen confirmed so far that you're a fan of?

What's one thing you've seen confirmed so far that you're NOT a fan of?

Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

What's one crack theory you subscribe to (yours or someone else's)?

Are you interested in all the lore and speculation or do you focus more on the games and stories themselves?

Which aspect of fandom are you most looking forward to? (e.g. reading/writing fic, the bounty of gorgeous art, getting to know new people, etc.)

Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime?

Post a picture or gif that conveys your current level of excitement for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

[niicevibe]

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐨 + 𝐘/𝐍 𝐇𝐂𝐬

Aigh't, I'm back with some more headcanons. In the honor of Bleach returning, I'm coming with some for Ichigo! The most underrated of the Big Three (which is devastating bc he's one of the best anime protags there is, dare I say, better than my lovely Naru-bb, but let's not get into that on here and save the drama for anitwit...)

Anyway.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none, just Ichi-bb being a doofus; small scenes + scenarios :)

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Yoruichi called it -- this boy's a prude. Even worse, he's a bit of a "tsundere".

Is it necessarily a bad thing? No... but it just makes dealing with things a little more difficult...

He's notoriously slow on the uptake of romance, so try not to be too disappointed if it takes a while for him to realize you're into him. Hinting at him probably won't do much to help your cause -- he's got "Main Character Syndrome", after all; he's got to have a minimum amount of denseness to survive. His stubborn hardheadedness really leaves much to be desired.

When it comes to friendships, however, they've always taken a certain priority akin to family. The Karakura group, his Soul Society friends, even the few Arrancar he'd gotten acquainted with -- those bonds are guarded and protected with Ichigo Kurosaki's very soul. The one he has with you is no different... if not marred with a certain forwardness.

And that's why it doesn't mean he hasn't noticed you acting "different" around him. Thankfully, he's that observant. He's actually worried about it, but since he's at least narrowed it down to being about him, he's become a little nervous to ask and find out the answer.

Ichigo isn't someone who'd go to others for advice unless it came down to the wire; another part to his stubbornness, he'll try and remain as independent as possible in trying to figure this - you - out. Because you're not giving in, either.

In the meantime, Ichigo has done well to keeping things between you and him and the others as normal as possible, not wanting to change any of his behaviours on the off-chance you'd pick up on them. Surprisingly, he's a good enough actor that you don't.

If the two of you are left alone now, it gets... quiet. A slightly uncomfortable silence that Ichigo does his best to try and think of a way to interrupt, but he's got a social ineptitude in that sense. Plenty of friends, you being one of them, and the amount of one-on-one's he's had with them and had no problems starting a conversation? It never even used to be this hard to start one up with you. So then why the hell am I struggling so much?

You feel it, too. Maybe you're not the best at starting conversations, either, but the silence is making it worse, and the longer it drags on, the more frustrated you find yourself getting. It's overwhelming, most days. Today, especially.

"There's... something you want to tell me, isn't there," Ichigo says quietly.

He thinks it's something bad, you realize, sighing at him. This time, you really don't have a choice but to finally say it.

"I like you," you tell him simply. "Dummy."

You... what? He might need you to repeat that; did he even hear you right? He's already a mess, lips parted to fill the lower half of his face, brown eyes widened in disbelief -- this is why you've been so different around him?! You've been like this for weeks! Because you what!?!

His face is about as red as a strawberry, and for a moment, he can't even look your way, instead turned to the opposite side to give him a second to collect himself, because he'd never really thought of the possibility that you'd liked him, up until now. He never thought about it, and now, it's all he's thinking about. You're all he's thinking about.

And naturally, this just gives his "inner self" something else to give him grief on; it'll be relentless. But he doesn't care. He's just trying to calm himself down enough so he can give you a half-decent response. Considering he'd never gotten good dating advice from his dad, which just makes him wonder how he'd managed to end up with his mom.

"O-Oi," he says at you, his bottom lip quickly dropping into a half-pout, half-scowl. "Y-You can't drop something like that and expect me to come up with something not half as dumb."

His answer after... is a lot more uncouth than he was hoping for. Ichigo tries to play himself off as smooth and uncaring, something his friends tease him about on the daily. You find yourself holding back a laugh, turning away from him this time, hand covering your mouth and puff-out cheeks. You taking the time to humor yourself with his romantic incapacities allows him to take a breath and at the very least, say something.

"I... don't know how to answer your question right now," he tells you, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks still peached with his blush.

His funny little cool guy persona that he maintains -- you're so in love with it. He's worn it for years, refining it and imprinting it with the shape of his soul so he'd never get caught with his pants down for any reason. With you and your confession, though, it's like he's wearing a pair of his signature skinnies that are five sizes bigger; he's struggling to keep his personality whole now as you hide your laughter behind your hand.

But he really likes all this about you, too -- how you don't restrain yourself when you laugh at something, a sound so deep-bellied and melodious and wholesome that it almost always gets a rise of smile onto his face, and everyone else's, for that matter; how when you tease someone, you never manage to insult them or make them feel lesser of a person; how no matter how embarrassed he feels from your confession, he can't deny the happiness he feels, either.

"But I guess I do, too. Dummy," he adds.

Things after that got a little confusing. It'd been a done deal; you guys were going to try out this dating thing. Ichigo was unprepared for how flustered it made him feel. He could barely keep it together long enough to pick out a shirt other than one of his graphic tees and settled on a loose button-up and the one pair of casual slacks he owned that still fit him from his final year of high school.

High school... He's known you for a lot longer than that. Since you'd lived in the same neighbourhood, you'd probably gone to the same junior high; you'd probably saw him get into all those fights that were always over his hair colour or his attitude -- were you the one who'd left those first aid items at the opening of the alleyway that one time?

You'd wondered if he'd remembered that. Some random pharmacy items just sitting on the ground, waiting for him to finish beating on some high school seniors. You walked the same route to get home -- of course you'd seen everything. A little hard not to be drawn to the sound of people getting beat up, isn't it? You could remember being glad that not long after, Ichigo had found a buddy to watch his back -- you were always grateful for Sado.

The same thoughts run through your head when you hear the small knock at your apartment door.

By no means would the Ichigo Kurosaki be some kind of romantic icon, not even if he'd been experienced with relationships. However, he's a soft mama's boy and his father doted on simped for his mama, meaning that Ichigo is very mild-mannered and at least knows dating basics.

So, when he would arrive at your door, he'd be holding some kind of gift -- maybe a flower, or a box of your favourite sweet or snack, like what he would do for the souls he'd find near the telephone poles. Something sweet and in earnest; nothing too overboard or overwhelming -- though in truth, he was the one getting overwhelmed on what to bring you until Karin and Yuzu intervened.

Ichigo is not a man who'd be one-hundred percent comfortable with most forms of personal displays of affection. If you're thinking of giving him a kiss under the public eye? Please don't; the man would have a heart attack and go full strawberry.

At least he'd be able to stop telling people his named didn't directly translate to the fruit...

Hand holding would probably be okay, but it could depend on how new into the relationship you two are together. He'd probably still end up flustered and embarrassed, made even worse when his hand starts sweating like crazy in yours before he's apologizing and rubbing them down his slacks.

He's a gentleman. Chivalrous and doting, he'll make sure that if he's present to open doors for you or carry things for you, he'll do it, even if it frustrates or flusters you, too, because he really doesn't have to, and when you voice this to him, you end up in a small argument walking down a busy street.

"Jeez, kissing you might've been less embarrassing than fighting," you end up grumbling.

And this shuts him up for the rest of the walk.

You've known him long enough to gauge his moods, such as when he needs to be left alone or when all he needs is someone in his presence; maybe someone to rant to. Historically, this last one is rare to happen, something you've presented as an issue to him and basically gave him a pre-ultimatum that that s*** don't sit well with you.

Small gestures you do that involve him might accidentally remind him of his mother, such as wiping something from his face or running your fingers through his rain-soaked hair a certain way. When you're walking down the road, you're always on the inside, furthest away from traffic, just like Masaki had done for him when he was younger. He'll explain this to you, too, after your morbid joke of--

"Hey, if I get hit by a car and die, you can just send me to the Soul Society and visit me there, huh? I'll go stay with Rukia and Renji or something."

-- that it's something that he needs to do, and he doesn't want to hear anything on it.

He also ends up flicking you in the forehead harder than he means to for saying such a stupid set of words, having to run into the nearest convenience store for a cold bottle to press against the growing bump.

"How are you going to survive an accident if you can't even take a finger hitting you in the head?"

"Because a car doesn't have the power of a death god!!"

If you need to reign him in or humble him, just throw some kind of cheesy, teasing remark at him or even go full n/sfw on him, he'll shut up -- guaranteed.

Now, in the rare chance that Ichigo might actually realize his feelings before you, he'll be blunt about it. He's not a guy that likes beating around the bush and is usually extremely straightforward. So, if he's leading the charge, you can bet he's going to take you off-guard with whatever confession he's devised to throw at you.

And if it's anything other than a "yes", he's going to be the biggest grump for the rest of your lives. Please don't even say "no" as a joke, he will not appreciate it; don't torture the man. He gets enough of that from his "inner self", especially if you say "no" and take it back. That's unnecessary fuel to the ever-burning fire inside his soul.

© niicevibe | please don’t repost! reblogs appreciated ♥️

[static-fanatic-1]

I just went through you r blong and it's?? So amazing??? Like omg I wass literally screaming when I read all that glorious stuff, you're doing god's work here love💕 but I would like to know what Kikyo, Illumi, Milluki, Kurapika, Pakunoda, Chrollo and Silva + Shigaraki, Overhaul, Monoma, Chronostasis, Setsuno, Tamaki, Endeavor, Shinsou and Aizawa do for winter and/or Christmas/other religious holidays activities with their darling? Bc I'm ready to sell my vital organs for it ;_;

Thanks you <3

Also, Christmas wit da bois is an amazing idea. (I’ll be doing normal Winter stuff and some religious holidays.)

Kikyo/Illumi/Milluki/Silva:

Since they are a family, I will combine them (and to make this large post a bit shorter and easier haha).

Anyway, they celebrate Christmas more for the gifts and to spoil their kids. You better expect a large, family gathering for the entire two weeks of Christmas and New Years. It doesn’t really matter, you will be forced to celebrate Christmas with them. I mean you are part of the family.

Think of it as a resort holiday, you are treated like a queen/king and anything you want will go. Well, other than freedom of course. Still, you receive many gifts that are beyond your price tag, and the gifts you give them are more decorative to be honest. You don’t have as much money to spend as them, so you decided to make all of your gifts because you hoped the thought would be enough. They might not look the best, but each Zoldyck will treasure it to the end of their days.

They will try to incorporate any traditions as long as they are family oriented, they aren’t monsters. And even if you have other holidays you celebrate, you will still celebrate Christmas with them. With that being said, they will be kind enough to celebrate your own holidays, it will be a smaller scaled thing though.

Kurapika:

He finds it to be a bonding moment, and he doesn’t get enough of those for obvious reasons. He will go above and beyond to please you, simply to get back on your good side a bit.

Cocoa, apple cider, blankets, decorations, traditions, ANYTHING is on. He wants you to relax and feel at home around him. Despite his extremely controlling attitude, he wants you to love him. Sadly he prioritizes your absolute safety over your mental health.

But it’s sweet for the most part, he actually seems to act normal, he doesn’t seem as if he is going to snap and try to force you into anything. But yes, he might try to get things to be hot and heavy, you being relaxed is too perfect of an oppertunity to waste. He still has a clan to rebuild.

Pakunoda:

I wrote chrollo’s before Paku’s, so it’s kinda the same. She will be more active in putting things together and getting into the festivities. She will get really close, using the excuse that she’s cold just to cuddle with you.

Christmas sex? Yeah, probably. She’ll take care of everything, you could sit back and watch her do everything. But it’s more fun together right?

Everyone is invited, so expect the rest of the Troupe and their darlings!

Chrollo:

He doesn’t mind, he’s pretty accommodating too! He’s honestly the most okay with anything. I would think the people of Meteor City look forward to Christmas, there isn’t a lot but people who really care for one another take the time to chill with each other.

With you around, they have a really big excuse to go all out! Chrollo will sit back and relax, having you and the rest of the Troupe decorate and get presents. He will help of course if you ask, but he will mostly be on the side lines.

Anything else is a-okay too! He doesn’t care as long as you are happy, and the Troupe can join in the festivities.

Shigiraki:

Christmas is something he does know! But he knows nothing of any other holiday to be honest. All for One gave him a few gifts in his life time, not much but enough for Shigiraki to develope the concept of Christmas. I mean when he was a kid he loved Christmas with his family. It was one of the happiest times back then.

So he genuinely had a love hate relationship with the holiday. You will ah e to take initiative on this one. Giving a gift, starting decorations, making hot coco or something. Anything to get the ball rolling and he would begrudgingly comply.

Secretly, he is excited to join the holiday festivities with you. Specifically with you, anyone else and they would be dust. He is okay with learning new holiday traditions too, like why do you guys light candles for a holiday? Well oh tell him with a smile and help him light one on fire. He almost burns the whole hideout down. You’ll have to watch him.

Endeavor:

He celebrates Christmas, but he’s more of a grinch. He celebrates it with his kids and wife, just because it’s something families do. Though throughout his life he never found it more than a obligation.

When you come along, he’s on the path of becoming a better person, so he will definantly try harder. One Christmas with all the fun stuff with you, and another one for his family. He kinda lets you take the lead, of course if you really want something you will have to do some sexual trades. Can’t let you get too comfortable right?

Moreover, if you are on good terms with his immediate family, you could probably add more cheer to the holiday. Also if you celebrate another holiday then don’t worry, he’ll accommodate to be nicer.

Overhaul:

Who cares about winter, it’s cold and you are more likely to get sick because of it. Your immune system will be more likely to be compromised so you better expect him to helicopter a bit more.

Warm teas, heavy blankets, vitamins, and supplaments are to be expected. Nothing sugary either, maybe a bit of medical honey in your tea but not much.

Christmas isn’t something he celebrates, but he will make a slight exception if you are good. If you act like a suck up, he’ll be nice and maybe get you Christmas gift. Maybe even a small Christmas tree for moral. I wouldn’t expect too much though.

Chronostasis:

He like winter, he doesn’t know why exactly, but he does. I can easily see him getting into the activities of December. Like the ballets and Christmas lights and other festive things that make you leave your house. Headcannon that he might be a decent ice skater too. He simply enjoys the activities more than the actual holidays.

He won’t mind helping decorate or getting gifts or any other holiday traditions. Actually, if they are fun traditions without much competitive fire, he’ll probably want to do them more.

Although I don’t see him liking the warm ness of cuddling and all that, I can see him enjoying the slight chill in the air. Supportive of any holiday you celebrate, might even try to make more traditions too.

Monoma:

He likes Christmas and the holidays, it’s the perfect time to get the best gifts for his little darling. Oddly enough he loves getting small gifts for you, it makes him feel prideful knowing you like what he got you, so he loves Christmas is general.

As for winter, he likes it! It’s an excuse to get you under the covers and warm you up. That can be taken both ways if ya’ know what I’m saying.

I think he would prefer warm drinks like tea and apple cider over hot chocolate, but hell totally make some for you. Any decorations are also game, just expect some teasing for the childish stuffed animal you keep on the fireplace mantle.

Setstuno:

He is kinda clueless in the sense he just doesn’t know where to start. Like he knows about the basics of holiday traditions, but he doesn’t know if you do those traditions. He’ll be pretty laid back when you get excited about it though. This clingy man will simply sit back and watch the entire time.

Winter isn’t his favorite, but he doesn’t mind being able to hold you close so you won’t be cold. He is very possessive considering what happened to his last lover. He will be perfectly fine with helping with easy things, but when it comes to the more taxing things, he’ll let you take the reins.

He’ll try to buy you a present he thinks you’ll like, but he won’t get too fancy. After all he really just wants to hold you close and soak in your warmth.

Tamaki:

Nervous boy feels most comfortable in winter, at least in his home where he has you to cuddle, bake, and hold. He loves the warmth found in a home, and he will encourage any baking you want to do. It just leaves him with a warm feeling inside when he can bake cookies and brownies with you by his side.

Although he’s all hands on deck when the holidays come along, he’s still nervous about it. He’ll ask questions and make sure everything works how it’s supposed to because he doesn’t want to mess something up for you. Might accidentally go a bit overboard with gifts or other traditional activities.

He just wants to please you though, a real sweetheart when it comes down to it.

Shinsou:

I think Shinsou likes winter because it means spring is on its way. I can see him being a spring loving boy because of all the kittens and flowers blooming. Winter is good though, might be his second favorite season. He loves the blankets and the hot cocoa and the baked goods and the holiday cheer. Especially the gift giving, he likes seeing you happy when he gives you a gift.

He probably won’t be too enthusiastic about any holiday stuff, but he will sure support it and help with anything you need. Need a Christiana’s tree because you can’t have a Christmas without it? You better bet he’ll get it right away.

He loves watching you get excited about the holidays, everything in the house just seems a bit more cheerful because of you. He will wrap you in blankets and jackets and hold you closely in his arms. You also better bet anything you do he will be there to help you. He might not be the most into the holidays, but he surely loves getting ready for the holidays with you.

Aizawa:

Winter is not his favorite season, but I’d say it’s probably second place. He doesn’t do too much, as he simply doesn’t want to put in that much effort in something so minuscule. But, he defiantly encourages his Darling if they want to decorate or bake or something wintery.

Christmas also isn’t really a big thing for him, as he doesn’t usually buy presents for other people. Of course, his Darling is another story. Unlike most people, he buys a few presents for you because you are his special kitten.

He will also help decorate or bake small things if you want to. Hot chocolate is a must, he has a special, bitter hot chocolate just for himself that he loves. You have your sweet beverage and he has his bitter one. Just don’t forget the marshmallows.

Warm cuddles is a blessing to him. When it’s cold he grabs blankets and wraps you up like a baby is a swadle just to hold you close to him. As for other holidays, he will respect them and whatever stuff come with them. Like Hanukkah and the candles for each night. Just don’t expect anything too crazy, he just wants a comfortable holiday evening with you.

Happy Holidays sweethearts!!! I hope you have an amazing whatever you celebrate and if you celebrate nothing, than have a wonderful day!

[benrybenrybenry-chr]

I hope you dont mind but since you've left spaces open for sulu, scotty, uhura, and chapel I figured I'd step in with my own like a nerd

Sulu: dont have any specific sexuality or gender headcanons for the guy but he's gotta be some flavor of queer I fear. used to love going to beaches as a kid and cant stand it anymore, listens to a weirdly varied amount of music genres (like you'd look in his playlist and find top 20 pop list type music and the most niche shit you have EVER heard of. also some shit Chekov snuck in there that he decided he didn't care enough abt to get rid of) also probably the type of guy to just have the One playlist and its just his liked songs and everyone who looks at it is like "dude wtf IS this". he has no explanation. Next to Spock, he's the most heat-resistant of the group, though unlike Spock he actually handles humidity fairly well (cant relate im from the desert I would drown) Oh also you cant tell him shit cuz he's a major gossip sorry

Scotty: probably unlabeled honestly if I had to guess, I don't think he would care too much abt it... or think too much abt it.... busy w/ da ship. honestly this is barely a headcanon but the mf just loves feeling impressive at any given moment. about anything. ever. Also has definitely fallen asleep while working on something and almost wrecked his whole face. oh also he probably had a cat at some point in time that would sit on him as he slept and one night he accidentally like. threw it off in his sleep. and he felt really bad about it. dont ask how I know it was written in the stars shsshhh

Uhura: either lesbian or bi, personally I lean towards lesbian for her. can draw!! really well actually!! does it in her free time and sort of keeps them to herself, I think if she met Data they'd bond over the little art adventures going on there. Also she can only hypothetically cook. like- she knows what needs to go into a dish, and how to make it taste good, and she could instruct someone on what to do? but as soon as she actually physically tries to make a dish just. 🔥 uhhh has a collection of ancient (lol) cassette tapes that she Can Not Play because she couldn't find a working cassette player. Scotty's ended up working on making one as a side project

Chapel: lesbian. that is a lesbian woman with comphet. absolutely. 100%. has some betazoid in her but not enough to show At All (though to be fair, not much to show up anyways. also this is my watsonian explanation for Lwaxana having her exact face, though tbf ig like it could be the other way around but SSSHHHH) and was also raised on Mars for some of her childhood. oh also has just the most insane Bullshit Detector ever, it's very very difficult to get a lie past her. as a child her hair was brunette and got more blonde over time, but her hair in tos is dyed to give it a different tone. also this one goes against canon but ACTUALLY WEARS GLOVES IN SICK BAY AND GETS ANNOYED WHEN BONES DOESNT

ahem- now, I'm going to be very self-indulgent for a moment and, instead of just leaving it there, I'm going to attack one more character with my headcanons because he's my FAVE and NOBODY EVER MAKES HEADCANONS FOR HIM so uhhh. that's my thing rn I'm hijacking your post a bit

Sarek (I love him sm I'm sorry): as a little boy he was probably one of the least well behaved, most rambunctious, and emotional children on the whole of Vulcan, and for the most part was just generally a pain in his parent's asses for a long long time. eventually he became the hyper-strict unemotional logical vulcan he is now, but he definitely wasn't always that way, had to be drilled into him. that's feeds into my headcanon for why he treats Spock the way he does, there's slight fear at him acting human but generally, his fear leans more towards Spock ending up like he was as a child. totally incorrect fear my guy but hey idk what do I know. oh also I think you can't ever show him star wars because he would see Anakin's storyline and have a heart attack spontaneously. OH OH ALSO- this one ISNT a headcanon but I-Chaya was HIS pet first! the headcanon here comes in that I firmly believe when he was like. 6. he picked up little tiny baby I-Chaya and was like "im keeping it. mine now." like a child adopting a stray cat off the street and their parents begrudgingly accepting it.

sorry that's way longer than the other guys' I think abt him a lot

favourite star trek headcanons?

Oh boy I have ALOT hehe (thank you so much for asking :3) (and these are just my silly headcanons and it's totally find if you disagree with them <3)

Id like to hear your favourite headcanons @etherealspacejelly :3

Kirk: Hes trans and pansexual (or bi I like both), that bitch loves to vouge its his favourite dance move hehe, kept the boob window shirt from amok time and wears it just to annoy Spock, is Jewish, (this one is more for AOS kirk but whatever) He LOVES 90s and early 2000s rap and hip hop such as the Beastie Boys.

Spock: Jewish on his mums side, is gay MLM or unlabelled (I like both hc), really likes ambient music and falls asleep to it and white noise.

Bones: Is bisexual (yeah no, no character in TOS is straight sorry) loveeees to sing country songs when no one is around or can hear him even while on duty (Kirk definitely caught him once singing and teased the living fuck out of him), he loves to wear low raise jeans (old man whore), he has anger problems, a chronic smoker (yes yes he's a doctor but come on...he needs to let off some steam man) loves old country music especially from 20th century Earth, a massive fan of Dolly Parton and sings her songs regularly (his singing voice isn't actually that bad either, quite soothing but slightly deep)

Chekov: bi-curious (NO SLAVIC PERSON IS TRULY STRAIGHT...coming from a slav hehe) weed smoker so he probably smells like kush 50% of the time, is eastern orthodox (religion wise) he absolutely adores late 20th century (80s-90s) Russian Post-Punk such as Кино and Nautilus Pompillus, he also listens to Bladee and the drain gang in general (idk man he just seems like the average drainer/Bladee fan) also uses She/Him pronouns...(or that's just me projecting myself onto him)

...yeah you can CLEARLY see which characters are my favorites hehe (also I didn't put on hc for sulu scotty uhura or chapel since I barely have any)

[killmebythebeach]

That one Dream mindreader post by @lilyvines cuz it hasn't left my head (no pun intended)

...

Please. Just. Something.

...

Dream smiled. He had this war in the bag, 100%. Not only was he way more competent than any of them, he also had a traitor planted, and not to mention his mind reading.

He was on top of the black stone wall. It would be impossible for the revolutionaries to not notice him, he definitely saw Tommy and Tubbo look up at him, but they knew it would be futile to chase him out.

Dream peered down, looking into their run down van. He dug into their "president's" mind, hoping to get an edge in the upcoming war.

My... oh gosh I'm tired. I should go talk to Tomm- do I really want to talk to Tommy right now though. I should check up on them though and make sure they don't die. Or fight Dream he'll get all pissy about that. Is... I can't tell if that's new or not and I don't want to ask. Eh. Maybe I will ask just so I can make fun of it-

Dream shook his head, unteathering his mind. YIKES. While learning nothing important, at least whatever that was boosted his confidence. Okay then, he should check Tommy's mind. While loud and annoying, there must be SOME reason he was the "general's" right hand man.

Dream instinctively covered his ears, even if he knew it wouldn't block out a brain's noise, at the sound of some awful "music". He couldn't tell if it was a mix of string instruments of flutes or both but the high notes pierced his ears and the low notes just didn't sound good. Dream gritted his teeth and dug deeper, refusing to leave without SOMETHING.

Oh my gosh I am going to- what am I going to do- I'm going to scam! Oh I need to talk to Wilbur (Wilbur!) Oh and Tubbo! Tubbo Tubbo oh what is he doing I'm going going to go and... gah. Okay who's someone I can antagonize with no consequence uhm Sapnap wouldn't care too much but that's boring hmmmm...

Dream felt his eyes blurring as thoughts whipped around in his head. He was almost in awe of the pace Tommy talked at, he wondered how much got filtered into his mouth not because the boy had a filter, but simply due to the aerodynamics of his brain.

Maybe Fundy had something? Surely Wilbur would tell his own SON something. Anything. Please, just anything.

Dream jumped at the electronic sound of Fundy's brain. Like a TV fizzing out, loud beeping and static. He could almost SEE the white and grey and black fuzz.

Why we're they like this. At least he could see how someone was dumb enough to try and fight him, none of these people have ever had a coherent thought.

I've got my shovel and my trousers and my hat and da- Wilbur's in the van... would he want to see me? Should I tell him about my dream or about my new invention or- no he doesn't want to see me maybe I'll go hang with Eret yeah Wil's busy with planning and stuff-

Ugh. Dream could FEEL the daddy issues leaking off of the tinkerer. The best part to Dream was that Wilbur could DEFINETLY use a break from his own thoughts, and also definetly wasn't doing any war planning.

He peered down at the idiots, and not that he would ever admit it, begging for any valuable information.

There! Eret was over by the lake, laying down in the grass like a corpse. He specifically asked them to gather info, they were his mole, after all. Even if they couldn't root and burrow through minds, Eret must have picked up SOMETHING through their observations or even verbally.

Okay I got to think of something cool to say, do fish spawn in this water? I kind of want to say hi to- what was that song I heard earlier that Fundy showed me... I'll remember it eventually and ooh! Can't wait till I'm king I'm gonna have such a cool outfit and castle and crown and hehe hehe what would I even do as king actually would I have to put it through Dream? Probably. Maybe I should...

Dream groaned. WHY DOES NO ONE IN THIS "COUNTRY" HAVE SECRETS TO EXPLOIT?!?!

Dream paused, considering for the first time that any time they had anything on their minds they WOULD just say it out loud.

The van door creaked as Tubbo went up the rickety steps. Tubbo!

Surely- SURELY- Tubbo knew something. Easily impressionable Tubbo, very clever but never spoke on any of his ideas. Dream might have considered him a threat in another world if he had any motivation to finish projects or didn't just follow around the others like a lost puppy.

Like they said, crouching moron hidden badass. There was no way Tubbo wouldn't have something. Dream leaned forward, digging into Tubbo's mind.

I should make a bee house what's a bee house called... like an aviary but bees and... maybe I should ask Wilbur he knows a lot of words or Eret but how would I make it I need glass and oh my gosh what is Tommy doing! Tommy Tommy Tommy! He's about to do something stupid that's going to be funny- oh gosh what if I'm doing something stupid right now and everyone's thinking the same thing and-

Dream jumped out of the boys mind before he got stuck in the spiraling thoughts.

There was. NO WAY. These were the people he was fighting a whole ass war with. HE ENLISTED one of these guys, and this was their peak performance. Middle of a war. Bees, songs, and executive disfunction on the brain.

Dream spent a good minute up on the wall, contemplating his life, before jumping off and walking home.

Sure he had the war in the bag, but now he was more concerned for the L'manburgians than anything.

Well, at least HE didn't have any planning to do.

[kovjiro]

Out of My League - an Aran Ojiro x chubby female reader SMAU - College!AU

Synopsis: Commitment can be scary, especially when the only taste of actual commitment has come through your three best friends. An absentee father and cruel classmates can do that to you - no foundational trust in men, only sustained by male counterparts continually making fun of you for your size and weight. You’re ready for change, though, and maybe change will come; as you set out for university in a new city miles away from your horrid adolescence, change is inevitable. A chance at growth, at love, and new adventures await you in this new part of your life but, really, you’d never think to find this all with the upperclassmen you’d deemed out of your league.

Warnings(for this chapter): written chapter, self-deprecating thoughts, underage alcohol consumption, explicit depictions of being drunk, very much angst, reader is big sad (Refer to masterlist for complete list of warnings for this SMAU

Masterlist | Prev. | Chapter Four: friend | Next

“It’s Kiyoko and Yachi, right?” you call out over the heavy base and electronic beats blasting throughout the room.

Earlier that evening you made your way to Aran’s dorm, along with Suna, Osamu, and Atsumu. Upon arriving Aran announced to all of you that a few friends would be coming along, two members of his frat and their first-year friend. Aran had seen the worry on your face, however, and didn’t hesitate to come up to you and reassure you of your worries. “They’ll love you, hun, I promise.”

His words eased your nerves a bit but meeting new people isn’t always a fun experience - there is no telling when someone will judge you because of what they see. They had been nice enough at first meet so now, here at the party a couple of shots in and one drink down, you have the confidence to let loose.

“That’s us,” the tall one with black hair says, who you deduce is Kiyoko. She’s insanely attractive in a mature and sophisticated sense, her aura demanding respect yet offering a sense of comfort as well. Beside her stands a small blonde girl, who you’ve been informed is the first-year friend and her underclassmen from high school. Yachi’s demeanor is completely different from that of Kiyoko, looking almost out of place with her uncapped drink in her hand. Regardless, there is no ignoring how breathtaking they both are in their own right.

“Y/n, yeah?” Kiyoko counters before taking a sip of her drink. “Aran has told me a lot about you.”

“Really?” Don’t get your hopes up, for the love of all things sacred and holy, don’t break your own heart. “All good things I hope.” Kiyoko fervently nods as if to relieve you of any fear, saying, “Aran always speaks highly of his friends back home.”

Oh yeah, friend. It’s not like every time he’s come to your aid, every time he’s offered words of praise or encouragement, every time he’s held you close to his chest with your heart beats seemingly syncing together ever meant anything more to him - you’re just his friend, just like the many other friends he apparently talks so highly of. You’ve known this for years so why does it hurt so much?

Just as you’re about to respond, someone comes bounding up to the three of you. “They’re doing jaegerbombs over at the bar, you girls coming?” Speak of the devil… “C’mon, y/n, i know you can down those like a champ,” Aran pushes, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you to his side.

Maybe it’s the atmosphere of the cramped party filled to the brim with sweaty bodies bouncing and yelling, maybe it's the alcohol beginning to get to your head, or maybe it’s both and then some, but Aran’s presence is overwhelming and not in the good way. Where you’d usually feel over the moon to be near him you now find yourself feeling… annoyed? Upset? Absolutely devastated? In reality, though, you brought this on yourself because who could ever like you, the fat friend? Definitely not someone like Aran.

“Yup, that’s right, friend,” you say, mustering as convincing a laugh as you can. Not convincing enough because Aran cautiously chuckles all while squinting questioningly at you. “Yeah… friend.”

An awkward beat passes amongst the four of you but Kiyoko is quick to act, grasping your hand in one of hers and grabbing Yachi with the other. “Let’s get this party rolling, shall we?” she exclaims as she pulls you both to the make-shift bar the frat boys put together. As soon as she’s pulled you out of hearing range, Kiyoko leans closer to ask, “You good?” Her eyes convey just how much she’s gathered - you’re hurting.

What a horrible situation to be in - finding out your long-term crush only thinks of you as a friend in the midst of a night out. How will you get over this hurt, this heartbreak? Probably never. There is no cure for a broken heart.

But wait. There is. And you’re walking towards it right now.

“I will be,” you conclude.

In no time you’re standing in between Kiyoko and Yachi at the bar and what happens after is too much of a blur to make out. The first shot the three of you take together, the mixture of liquor and redbull hitting you in an instant. Your mind is running a mile a minute but it seems to be working - you’re numb. And so you have another, whatever it takes to forget why you were so upset a few moments ago. Two quickly becomes three, the same way three eventually becomes four then five then six.

In the haze that comes with being drunk you live the next moments oblivious to your surroundings. You miss when the twins and Suna join you guys right after Aran, you miss when Aran’s frat brother Sugawara appears and takes a shot with all of you, you miss - or perhaps ignore - when Osamu tells you to chill on the drinking. “You trying to die or something?” is what he says verbatim but his words don’t register in your imbibed brain.

What you don’t miss is Aran talking to a girl at the end of the bar and suddenly everything hits you tenfold - the hurt, the ache, the alcohol. Maybe if you weren’t so inebriated you would have noticed that he was only trying to help her out - apparently you aren’t the only person drunk off their ass at this party, who would have thought? All your mind can comprehend is that Aran is talking to someone other than you, a harsh reminder that you are - and probably always will be - the ‘friend.’

He comes to you then, speaking words you understand yet cannot comprehend, head spinning and vision blurring - maybe you should have listened to Osamu. He leaves you there at the bar and it crushes your heart all over again - didn’t he promise to be there for you? The alcohol has complete control of your body as you take a step in his direction but it’s as if the ground has moved out from underneath you. Two people are quick to your sides though and manage to keep you from hitting the ground. Who is that?

“Samu? Suna?” you manage to gurgle out, tongue feeling heavy and lips completely senseless. “No, honey, it’s Kiyoko and Suga. I think you’ve had enough for tonight, think it’s time to head home. Can you tell me where your dorm is?”

You know what she’s saying but your thoughts are jumbled, your dorm be damned. Where’s Aran? “I-I need to go- go see him,” you blurt out as you attempt to get out of their hold. You lose your balance as you take a step forward but they’re there to keep you from collapsing. They begin to drag you along to who-knows-where and you have no choice but to let yourself be carried, mumbling about how you need to see him and it hurts. It has to be the alcohol that’s making you spew nonsense, more so when you start crying because how could he only think of you as a friend, just a friend? Had it all meant nothing to him? Maybe you just misread everything, but you had been sure there was something there.

Or you’re the one in the wrong this time around, obviously, to even begin thinking Aran would be different. Every person you meet is unable to get past what’s on the exterior so why would this be any different? The idea of Aran reciprocating such feelings is an act of projection, simply put.

Your mind is a dark and negative spiral of harmful thoughts, reminding you of all that you’re not and why that is just not enough for Aran - for anyone, even. Yachi attempts to console you as Kiyoko and Suga place you on your bed? No, definitely not your bed. You may be wasted out of your mind but you’re cognizant to your surroundings that are in no way familiar at the moment. The three of them are able to reduce you from loud cries to soft whimpers in some time and eventually you’re all off to bed but you know deep inside of you everything will be different come tomorrow. How long would you continue being alright with being just a friend?

Credits:

raise your hand if you, too, have drunk your feelings and ended up crying

you've always held on to the hope that aran liked you too

he had always treated you differently than other guys

kiyoko, suga, and yachi>>>

taglist: OPEN! send an ask to be added :) AGE IN BIO PLZ

@szeonn @thatnikkixx @slutkags @roselleviennesstuff @bookiedoll @kris-1 @lucacangettathisass @serostapesweat @kiyokoism @ctrlaprilx @fantasycantasy

a/n: LONG overdue but here it is! i'm finally all moved in and got my wifi setup so ta-da :) i should go back to updating daily like i had been. i'm excited, it's about to get good >:) let me know your thoughts so far!!

[bumblewarden]

Bouncing off my last post of substituting what will probably happen in DA:D with my own stories (not required reading),

I try and fail to keep my tangents contained to the indented sections. If you are reading this and not already familiar with my canon worldstate: Novhen Tabris is the HoF, he underwent the Dark Ritual with a romanced Morrigan, he did not go through the eluvian, and he reunites with Morrigan and Kieran after the main story of Inquisition

By DA:D, Kieran should be somewhere around 20, so imagine him as a companion!

Given, even with the differences between OGB Kieran and human Kieran being rendered mostly null in Inquisition, BioWare would still have to account for world states where he does not exist at all. Companion is a rather big role to leave to chance like that. I cannot see them allotting a different number of companions based on previous worldstate choices like that (Unless that happens in Mass Effect? I’ve only played a few hours of the first one, but based on some spoilers i’ve read, that might be a thing? idk), and even more, i seriously doubt BW would be willing to do a Genealogy of the Holy War-style replacement for him

Now ignoring all that: Companion Kieran. He's a mage, obviously. He could bring back the Shapeshifter specialization, maybe make it worthwhile this time. Since this is [my city now], he can also get some rogue flavorings. Maybe he can't use daggers or a bow with any combat effectiveness, but my boy sure can sneak. He deals full flanking damage too, so if you fail to notice the charging bear on your 6, you're likely to end up on the pyre

In the linked post, i mention how the DA4 protag could possibly be the one to conclude the research for the cure to the Blight and has to decide which of the warring Warden factions to give the cure to. Kieran has a clear side in the conflict and would be heavily gunning for the new protag to give the Blight cure to the Hero of Ferelden and the southern Wardens. He would be open about having spent the past decade or so living at Vigil's Keep. I'm not sure how open he would be about being the son of the HoF himself

I prefer to ignore the canon that the result of unions between humans and elves are always 100% human, biologically or otherwise. Alistair has to be human-passing for his Origins plotline to work as written sure, but that doesn't have to extend to all elf-blooded characters. Yeah sure it’s probably because of the elves being originally spirits or whatever fine, but i’m not compelled.  Kieran specifically would have looked mostly human to have survived the scrutiny of the Orlesian court without being outed during his childhood, but his elven features can become more pronounced as he grows older

In the case of Kieran being visibly elf-blooded, he has little to lose in the racist Thedosian society from revealing his parentage as it was a forgone conclusion, but he might be worried about how it would affect his father's reputation. (As we’ve seen with Soris’s epilogues, the elves of Denerim are likely to take poorly to the news.) After spending so long in Orlais hiding both side of his family tree, i don't know if he'll be able to properly internalize that he's allowed to tell people if he wants

Once Novhen's told the rest of the Tabris family, i don't think he any longer cares about keeping it any tighter than an open secret

If the protag presses, they can find out that Kieran's da father is a Fereldan Warden who is taking part in the rebellion. He won’t say which of his parents is elven, and he won’t spill all the details on his father’s position within the Wardens. It won't be until the party goes to Vigil's Keep that they realize that by a Warden, he meant the Warden. Forget about the advantage this will give HoF's side in the conflict should the player wish to support him; this cure means that Kieran might get decades more to spend with his da. Who would deny a friend that?

If the protag gives the cure to the opposing faction (the First Warden’s) instead anyway, it probably won’t cause him to leave the party. He’ll have his own reasons for following I’m sure. But it will cut off friendship and, if it was on the table, romance alongside a heavy, heavy drop in approval. 

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

okay yeah i have THOUGHTS about this

and they turned out. really long. so i'm gonna have to put them under a cut else everybody will get an essay. it's literally 1500 words i'm so sorry. please bear in mind that i am not in the same city as any of my books right now bc i'm with my family for christmas, so i am relying entirely on notes and texts that have been digitised, and it's possible i will miss things as a result. i'm doing my best

so

as @oddnub-eye observed, fergus is present, which implies it occurs before longes mac nuislenn, since after that he's in exile in connacht. however, longes mac nuislenn is generally problematic in that regard because it says that he was in exile for sixteen years, and, well, cú chulainn is only seventeen and the boyhood deeds part of the táin says that fergus was around for at least some of his childhood, so we ALREADY have problems there, and that's with the text that is supposed to directly related to LmU! goddammit LmU

(the early modern version condenses the timeline and makes an effort to explain why cú chulainn wasn't involved -- bc he would've killed everyone -- but we are focusing on the medieval version here)

another text that is problematic to reconcile with LmU is mesca ulad, since in that text cú chulainn is clearly an adult (has a foster son, furbaide, not something he would be legally eligible to do as a teenager when he's still in fosterage himself, as far as i understand the laws), and yet the sons of uisliu are present, suggesting it happens before LmU, which happens before the táin, which happens when cú chulainn is 17. but sure, whatever, mesca ulad and longes mac nuislenn are pretty separate as stories, so i'm happier to let that one be a garbage pile of chronology. it's the fact that LmU doesn't make sense with TBC that has me tearing my hair out because it SHOULD and it NEEDS TO for TBC to make sense

ahem

so where does this leave serglige con culainn

well. let's set aside the fergus evidence because we have seen that that is deeply unreliable. plus it's entirely possible he could've come back to hang out with cú chulainn much later on when things were less drama, so he's not an accurate temporal marker

who else is present who might allow us to slot this story into a timeline?

obviously the story is in two halves and in the first half, cú chulainn's wife is eithne, and in the second half, it's emer, so we probably have two different traditions we're working with. that complicates things. doesn't help with chronology except that it has to happen after tochmarc emire (at least the second half!), but most things do because cc was weirdly young in that, so that's fine. moving on

NEXT. lugaid of the red stripes. now this is an interesting one. he's cú chulainn's foster son -- again, suggesting adult cú, suggesting post-táin, but we've seen from MU that this is not entirely reliable. lebor gabala erenn claims lugaid is supposedly enough of an adult to become king 5 years after conaire dies (see: togail bruidne da derga) which opens a whole can of chronological worms bc wtf. so. this suggests Properly Grown Up Cú Chulainn Who Has Adult Foster Kids, and like ??? he dies at 33 ?? how does that even work ?? CHRONOLOGICAL PROBLEM ZONE.

BUT LOOK! we don't even need to go to LGE for that detail, because serglige con culainn references the need for a king after the death of conaire! and that they're gonna pick lugaid! wow, is this continuity? ... not quite, since it says it's been 7 years of interregnum, whereas LGE says 5 and the annals of the four masters say 6. BUT STILL. this does tell us one thing for sure: this story is supposed to happen seven years after togail bruidne da derga. this does not help us place it with regard to the táin, particularly, since cú chulainn is Notably Not In TBDD -- it's another one where conall gets to play a more significant role. but we're getting closer i think

who is involved in this kingship process? well, we have a reference here to cú roí, so it must be before the death of cú roí (he also shows up in fled bricrenn and mesca ulad iirc; remember that, it might be useful). we also have a reference to finn mac ross and erc mac caipri. that doesn't tell us too much, but it helps a little, bc cú chulainn kills erc's dad carpri during cath rúis na ríg, which is explicitly positioned as a sequel to táin bó cúailnge. this fact is not referenced in serglige con culainn. since carpre's death is one of the reasons erc allies with medb against cú chulainn to kill him, i feel like it Would Be Mentioned if it had happened and he was pissed about it. so there is a strong chance that CRR hasn't happened yet, and since it follows fairly directly on from TBC, that suggests we are pre-TBC

BUT we are in an alternate timeline where pre-TBC cú chulainn is an adult, and also his wife, for half the story, is eithne

and this, i think, is crucial

because we cannot / should not necessarily understand this story as existing in a timeline where the táin happened at all. perhaps there is more than one ulster cycle timeline: one in which cú chulainn was an adult when conaire mór was killed, has been raising foster sons, and eventually experiences both mesca ulad and serglige con culainn, with fergus and the sons of uisliu still in ulster, and then a separate strand, in which the events of the táin go down when he's 17, followed at various points by cath rúis na ríg, cath findcorad (the second one), and oidheadh con culainn, among others (aided chon roí has to be in here somewhere because his son lugaid is a major player in OCC, i'm just too tired to figure out where)

and possibly infinite other strands

it's not that NONE of these stories join up -- SCC explicitly positions itself in relation to TBDD! CRR is explicitly a sequel to TBC, mentions Cath Findcorad at the end of it, and then OCC starts by referencing both CRR and CF! so there are like, internal threads you can follow from one stories to another. but not EVERY story joins to every other story, and i posit that the reason it's so hard to make SCC fit in with TBC is because it's from a different thread. possibly even two different threads, because i can't stress enough that this story is in two distinct halves and in one of them cú chulainn has a completely different wife whom, iirc, isn't referenced anywhere else, so might point to a completely different tradition that didn't survive, or to this one author's OC

the fact that cú roí shows up in mesca ulad and fled bricrenn is imo another indicator that this story should belong in that thread more than the TBC thread (i think he is also mentioned in TBC though so this is not like. A Diagnostic Criterion, it's just a thing to note), likewise the absence of super animosity from others who hate CC in the TBC-CRR-CF-OCC thread

sorry this is getting really long. but anyway here we have multiple strands:

doomed hero strand. cú chulainn is a teenager/20-something and a glorious hero above all others and is going to die young. tochmarc emire - tain bo cuailnge - cath ruis na rig - cath findcorad (btw this is lost, we just know it existed bc there are refs to it) - brislech mor maige muirthemni / oidheadh con culainn. among others.

just some guy strand. cú chulainn is an adult hero who may or may not have been a king at some point, has foster sons, is a fully integrated member of society. i don't have a proposed chronology for these but it would include mesca ulad, serglige con culainn, and a few other Problematic Tales. this also includes togail bruidne da derga, because it's referenced in SCC, but cú chulainn isn't in that. that's fine, because in this strand, he's just some guy! it's other people's turn! i don't know where i'd put fled bricrenn. probably here? but at the same time it is kinda Special Hero Cú Chulainn so it might need to be in its own strand. would need to look at it again to decide

late adventure tales strand. cú chulainn is our favourite character and we're going to write stories about him :) e.g. toruigheacht gruaidhe griansholus, eachtra na gcuradh etc. these are generally late (17th-18th century) and also don't necessarily map onto the medieval tales at all, chronologically, so they need to be treated separately to some degree

thus i would not say that SCC happens before or after TBC, but in an alternate universe. they're going down a different leg of the ulster cycle trousers.

having said that, if i were trying to unify it, i would probably put it after, simply based on vibes and the fact that CC seems like an adult and not like the disaster murder teen he would be before TBC. but the text itself does not provide solid evidence for this, as far as i can tell

Does anyone have specific ideas as to where they’d put Serglige Con Chulainn in the vague ass ulster cycle timeline?