#Mac rambles about game canon

[rp-partnerfinder]

hello! i am a 28 year old trans guy, looking for more 21+ writing partners to write with in a few game fandoms! all i ask is you don’t ghost me, i’m not high maintenance and will not rush you for replies !

i usually can write as much as my RP partner does, ranging from smaller paragraphs to novella. i will try to mirror your length to the best of my abilities. i am generally excited about my characters too so i may ramble on a little about them sometimes. smut of course isn’t a requirement, but i wouldn’t mind it sprinkled in there as long as we both consent to the writing of it.

i’ve set up this system to show my enthusiasm: ( ★★★ = please write this fandom with me. ★★ = medium muse. ★ = less muse but willing to write it. )

fallout ( ★★★ ): i write mac from fallout 4 primarily, and would really like a plot against a male!sole survivor. but being my primary special interest, i am willing to adapt. i have my own sole survivors, couriers, and lone wanderers as well assuming that interests you.

dragon age ( ★★★ ): i would LOVE a dorian pavus to write with my trans man!inky. if not that then a fenris to write with my purple hawke, or i can write fenris and you can write hawke. i’m really not picky with which one because i’m open to both.

detroit: become human ( ★★ ): me writing as connor against a markus (rk1k,) i am also willing to write reed900 where i write gavin. though i’d prefer to keep it within the canon of octopunk’s “detroit evolution” series so gavin isn’t as big of an asshole. if you wish to write a reverse AU for them i’m down too.

hogwarts legacy ( ★★ ): i would love a sebastian sallow or an ominis gaunt to write with my m!hufflepuff mc. we can either write them in canon verse or adapt them into one of the more modern eras. of course they’ll also be aged up to 18 as well.

watch dogs ( ★ ): markus x wrench with me writing wrench, i feel this is pretty self explanatory. i would like them to be written either within watch dogs 2 canon or directly after, because i haven’t played the DLC from Legion.

the elder scrolls ( ★ ): i would be willing to write my thieves guild OC, which whether he’s the dragonborn can be fully determinant. i am fine with your character being the dragonborn if you desire. i also have an OC who is a snow elf that survived along with the two from the game.

i only write over discord because tumblr generally confuses me! but if you are interested in any of these please like this and i will reach out to you !!

.

[prying-pandora666]

Shanoa’s Real Identity and Richter’s Fate

Could Each Lingering Mystery Answer The Other?

Okay this is completely crazy but the more I stare at it, the more sense it makes, and as much as this is highly unlikely, I just have to share it with other fans!

Please bear with my Pepe Silvia-esque ramblings.

Can we talk about Order of Ecclesia, Mac? I’ve been dying to talk about Ecclesia.

So there’s two burning questions that have been bothering me for a long time.

What happened to Richter Belmont?

Who is Shanoa, really?

And the other day I had a revelation that might be able to answer both. However, it’s completely crazy and I was scared to share it in case people hated it. But I just have to talk about it with someone, so here goes, I guess.

Let’s start with question 1.

What happened to Richter?

Missing: Have you seen this man? Responds to “miserable little pile of secrets”.

According to canon, Richter disappeared shortly after SOTN, taking the Belmont bloodline with him. Vampire Killer was instead passed on to the Morris family and another Belmont would not be seen again until Julius Belmont in the 1990s.

Fans have long speculated the reasons why Richter and the Belmont line would simply disappear. There are two prominent fan explanations:

A. He was too ashamed after being possessed and gave up on vampire hunting as penance.

B. He was too afraid for his loved ones after being possessed and nearly losing Annette and decided to retire his family from the job.

He already told her twice! You turn into a vampire, you get the pyre. Turn into a succubus, you get thrown under the bus.

Trouble is, neither is particularly convincing, is it? Belmonts have been dealing with this sort of thing for generations and it hasn’t slowed them down before. Richter is one of the most powerful of all the Belmonts, as well as one of the most confident. It seems unlikely he would be discouraged by standard occupational hazards in the family business.

But what if there was a far more concrete explanation? One that Iga simply never got to elaborate on because his last game was Order of Ecclesia.

Which brings us to…

Who is Shanoa?

Shanoa has amnesia. It’s a significant plot point that she doesn’t know who she really is or where she came from. The true ending implies she gets her memories back, but it’s never revealed to the audience.

She looks awfully happy to have her memories back! Surely Konami will show the audience after we worked so hard to get them for her. Right? Riiiiight? Not like they have something to hide for a sequel they’ll never make!

So what can we determine? Let’s look at what we know.

Shanoa was created to fight Dracula and vampires because the Belmonts disappeared (allegedly. In reality she was being used to revive Dracula).

Shanoa has an adoptive brother named Albus who was supposedly experimenting with Belmont blood taken from distant descendants in Wygol village.

Shanoa works for an older man named Barlowe (who is later revealed to actually be trying to revive Dracula and was planning to sacrifice Shanoa).

Her game takes place sometime in the early 1800s.

Her English voice is Michelle Ruff.

So what can we glean from all this?

Here is my insane crack theory.

Shanoa is Maria Renard

I know, I know, it’s crazy. Hear me out!

How it All Connects

Oh sure. Alucard becomes “Genya Arikado” and no one bats an eye. Maria becomes Shanoa and everyone loses their minds!

It first started with the simple curiosity that Michelle Ruff voiced both Maria and Shanoa in English. Now this isn’t evidence of anything because voice actors play multiple roles all the time. But it did get me thinking.

The Order of Ecclesia was only created because Richter Belmont disappeared. So where did he go? And where did Barlowe come from?

Here’s my speculation: Barlowe either is a successor to, or actually is a new identity for, Shaft himself! I’m going with “successor” since Shaft had all those creepy cultist priests that served him.

“Always two, there are; A master and an apprentice!”

Look at the similarities:

—Wants to revive Dracula through a dark ritual. —Plans to sacrifice a girl to do it by unlocking her magical potential. —Has the exact same attacks as Shaft: Fire orbs, ricochet orbs, lightning orbs, that bouncy ball attack, etc.

And who did Shaft want to sacrifice this way last time he got up to these shenanigans? Maria Renard.

Last time this unlocked her magical potential. It’s no surprise that Shanoa is similarly enhanced. What’s interesting though is that Shanoa is a uniquely qualified candidate, as Barlowe believes that Albus isn’t as suited for the role as Shanoa despite Albus volunteering to take her place. What’s so special about Shanoa anyway?

Could it be because she’s already had part of the ritual performed on her before?

Her name is also interesting. Shanoa is a corruption of the French “Chat Noire” meaning “black cat”. Maria is associated with animals already and her last name is French for “Fox”. Maria is also canonically considered a witch. What do some witches turn into in SOTN when they’re low on health? Black cats.

The Salome Witch’s sprites in SOTN. They turn into cute black kitties when you fight back. Dastardly!

Could it be that Barlowe kidnapped Maria Renard with the intent to finish the job Shaft started? Is this the real purpose behind wiping her memories, and the stated cause of her amnesia merely an excuse?

But let’s put a pin in Shanoa for a moment and look at another suspicious character: Albus.

Albus is the Key

Shanoa about to steal Albus’ sweet vest because that open back dress looks COLD to be standing on misty magical castle steps in the middle of the night.

Maria about to put flowers on Richter’s grave if he keeps flexing on Dracula.

Albus is Shanoa’s adoptive brother.

Not her biological brother.

Not her best friend.

He is specifically her adoptive brother. Why? There’s no mention of either of their families. Why this specific categorization?

Albus cares very deeply for Shanoa. Despite being wrongfully demonized and having Shanoa sent after him, Albus to the end self sacrifices in an attempt to save her. Why does he care about her so much?

Unless of course, we have it backwards. He doesn’t call her his adoptive sister because he wants to save her. He wants to save her because she’s his adoptive sister.

Who has an adoptive brother (or brother-in-law in one weird translation) relationship with Maria?

Richter Belmont.

What is it with you people thinking hair dye makes you unrecognizable?

How does Albus so easily find descendants with Belmont blood when no one can even find Richter?

It’s easy if you are a Belmont and know your family history. (Simon probably left a lot of bastards in Wygol. Gigachad that he was.)

Closer inspection reveals Albus has those Richter Belmont stunning-blue eyes!

Why does having all the villagers saved allow Albus to sacrifice himself to save Shanoa? It’s as if the Belmont blood of the villagers resonated with him at the end. But why would it? Unless he is a Belmont himself.

Could Albus be Richter going undercover to find out what happened to Maria? Only to discover the situation was too dire to easily leave until he stopped Barlowe’s plans? Is this why Albus offers to take Shanoa’s place in the ritual? Was it planned sabotage? And did Barlowe send Albus on a wild goose chase because he was catching on?

Seriously, even their “evil” looks share a resemblance. Too much smudgy eye-liner, for one.

So why did Richter Belmont disappear?

Because Albus died to save Shanoa.

Presumably, he left Annette behind with child and this is the line Julius is descended from. Annette simply went into hiding after Richter didn’t return.

Order of Ecclesia takes place in the early 1800s so it’s well within their lifespans.

If true, I wonder if Maria/Shanoa returned to Alucard after. Perhaps her altered hair inspired Alucard to change his own color to black as well for his Genya alias.

It’s not just a phase, and no you can’t sit with us!

Thank you for reading!

[godfistgonnalive]

please ramble as hard as you can about pruita I need to hear what you have to say about them

grabs you by the shoulders very roughly.

ok. my favorite flavor of pruita is utterly unrequited. cuz its very funny to me. my fav thing to do is listen to music and think about unrequited pruita like L imagine 😹😹but also its kind of sad and i like how its sad but also funny

like think about the prussia cleaning game like omg.... he loves him.... its so silly.......

PRUSSIA STROKED IN HAPPINESS! WHAT THE FUCK! GAY!

and he literally was imaginging them like together on some sort of boat idk what its called like ugh

and the fucking BLOG. ive already posted these before but. my god.

he likes him so much....... its unbelievable........

like are you serious. he so very obviously has a crush on him THERES SO MUCH PROOF OF IT AND [im trying to restrain myself here from being salty about prucan shippers so i will stop myself here.]

ok im racking my brain to try and think of what to say rn cuz as much as i say i wanna talk about my ships i know deep down in my heart i dont have much to say that i can turn into coherent thoughts.

back to my thoughts and not canon content. unrequited pruita. like ok you know that hetalia itself is just gerita fanfiction. like i love gerita. who doesnt. and thats where it comes in in my version of pruita. like prussia is so in love with italy and italys like omggg germanyyyy :3 like. oh my gfod can i talk about the songs i associate with them. the answer is yes i cant be stopped.

ok puppy princess by hot freaks. fucking UGH. unrequited big fat crush ANTHEM right here.

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. prussia is the goofy friend... prussia loves italy...... and italy loves germany........ my goodness.........

NO OTHER HEART BY MAC DEMARCO. THIS IS LITERALLY PRUITA.

i love gerita truth pruita so much but not in the love triangle way like i mean thats what it sounds like but its more like a fucked up triangle like

it doesnt connect all the way... cuz in love triangles dont they usually like compete!>>! like prussia loves italy but in my pruita brain he wouldnt like.. actually really try to get with italy while he knew that germany was trying to get with him.... you know.... he wouldnt do that to his brother..... so he just keeps his crush to himself.... rip.... and thats the fun of it ! ! ! he yearns but he'll never have him... love that

LOVERS ROCK. BY TV GIRL. THIS ONE LYRIC. JESUS CHRIST.

TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE. UGH.

AND LOOKING OUT FOR YOU BY JOY AGAIN. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS.

IM GONNA GO CRAZY!

and peach scone. by hobo johnson.

ltierally every time... prussia calls italy cute.... god......

now. onto requited pruita.

i think theyre silly cute so much so much :3 :3 :3 hold on gotta check pixiv so i can formulate thoughts. ok like i mostly think about prussia's side of things when it comes to required pruita but in my opinion prussia is CRAZY about that man. jesus christ. and italy thinks hes super silly and loves him 🫶🫶🫶 HOLD ON I SHOULD FILL OUT ONE OF THOSE UNDERSTAND NMY SHIP THINGS HOLD ONNNNNN

got a little lazy but you understand.

i think thats all i have to say . i feel like i didnt really say much just put images and then said something along the lines of "jesus christ" or "what the fuck" but i think you undestand. thank you for asking. PEACE AND LOVE!

ALSO WAIT I HAVE MORE. i LOVE gerita marriage. they are so married. and i love thinking about prussia watching the boy hes had a big fat crush on for god knows how long get married to his brother. LMAO! and hes like crying like hes happy for his brother,... but oh man........ LMAOOOOO

i love prussia so much. make him suffer now

ok thanks for reading :heart:

edit:i just realized onm the height thing onm the ship chart i forgot to put 6 CM and instead put 6 M. oops

[depizan]

Game canon is presumably fic canon unless otherwise shown or mentioned, which is fine most of the time...

But kind of frustrating when either there are adjustments you want to make for fic canon that you can't figure out how to write or allude to at some point (Kyrian's so far word of god only celebratory night with Sanju, for instance) or when game canon doesn't entirely make sense but working out what does is a can of worms. (Probably carnivorous worms. It is Star Wars.)

I'd accuse Nar Shaddaa of being the planet (okay, moon) where logic goes to die, but I think it's really only Smuggler!Nar Shaddaa and Agent!Nar Shaddaa that have issues, especially if you start poking at anything. (Or those are just the only two class stories where I have started pulling threads and suddenly I don't have a carpet any more.)

My issues with Smuggler!Nar Shaddaa are at least as much personal preference (I would prefer that Bowdaar not be luggage, thanks) as actual screwy writing. (Or I've forgotten how bad it is, since I'm pulling a whole entire reject your reality and substitute my own with it.) But the more I look at Agent!Nar Shaddaa, the more I find myself going "wait, what!?"

Watcher X's exit is...odd. But there are any number of ways to make it more sensible, from the agent (or Watcher Two) being smart enough to figure out what's going on on their own (if you want to kill Watcher X) to the agent running into bad traffic (if they sympathize with Watcher X but don't want to take his deal).

What's harder to render sensible is, oh, everything else involving Watcher X. Imperial Intelligence thinks this guy's dangerous, but has nooo problem giving him the wherewithal to cook up a drug that mimics the effects of too many stims/questionable enhancements and cybernetic implants that let someone disguise their vital signs (this isn't a concern for a prisoner? sure, he probably can't implant them in himself. probably.). Never mind letting this guy give an active agent both drugs and those highly questionable implants.

(Okay, you can refuse the drugs. Not the implants.)

Sometimes it seems like Intelligence thinks Cipher Nine is awfully expendable. Are we sure they're supposed to be a top agent and not some incredibly lucky/skilled sacrifice?

What the Agent is doing on Nar Shaddaa also gets a little slippery (and is weirdly very directed by Watcher X, which is probably a gameplay thing, never mind that it does slightly odd things to the story). I won't say it doesn't make sense, but it does feel like there's a piece or two missing if you look closely. (Heck, one might be able to nudge it slightly and imply that Watcher X was the actual leader of the Nar Shaddaa terror cell...)

But, even if it were all perfectly smooth, with no nagging questions or unpleasant implications about just how expendable Intelligence considers its agents, I'd still be poking it with a stick both because of those highly questionable implants and because it ends with the agent slaughtering VerveGen's top people. (Who are, yes, evil terrorists producing and distributing a drug that enhances you then melts you. I'm not saying it's not justifiable, just that it's a lot of murder.)

The implant isn't really a character problem. It's an obviously risky move that raises (or should raise) all kinds of questions, but Kyrian (more or less) accepts the risks of his profession...as long as those risks only apply to him. However, it's still a can of worms. As I once noted to @pyr0clast, how does Intelligence know the implant only does what Watcher X says it does, how does the Agent know that, and, most importantly why does it only do what Watcher X tells the Agent it does? Imagine if the Agent goes after Watcher X when he escapes, only to be brought down by the implant when they try.

(Okay, that's not what happens in the game because the players would be pissed. But it'd make a hell of a moment in a story.)

Theoretical impressive exits by Watcher X aside, you'd think Intelligence would want those implants out of their agent ASAP. You'd think the Agent would want those implants out ASAP! Game canon, of course, just forgets they exist, but fic has to deal with these things, whether with a quick trip to an Intelligence post or a back alley doctor recommended by Kaliyo (because why stop at one bad medical decision for the week).

VerveGen, however, is a character problem. Kyrian doesn't like murder as a solution to anything, even people-melting enhancement drugs and intergalactic terror organizations. Arrest by the Empire is out, the local authorities are just murder with more steps and exotic wildlife, so that pretty much leaves some form of sabotage (unless I've overlooked something). Which makes the implants irrelivant, since they're part of the murder plan. (Provided Watcher X doesn't cook up different highly questionable implants for the sabotage plan because, damn it, he wants to do unpleasant elective surgery on some member of Imperial Intelligence and no one from HQ is handy.)

All of which means I need to write or allude to bits of slightly alternate Nar Shaddaa.

At least it's marginally easier to deal with than the problem of Sanju Pine.

[minty-mumbles]

LU Survey Responses Part Three: Favorites and Least Favorties

Part One: Demographics

Part Two: General Questions

~~~

#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

Other Responses: Legend/Ravio/Marin (4), Wind/Tetra (2), Wild/Ravali, Time/Nabooru, Hyrule/Aurora, Four/Dot/Shadow, Every single WLW Zelda ship, Some variation of "I love them all, fuck you" (4), Who cares about ships I want found family

#5:

#6:

#7: An assortment of answers from the free response, under the cut because there are many:

:p

The Snail From the New Update!!!!!!!!!!!

🌹 for you!

I love the Legend of Zelda and Linked Universe! Also I don't dislike any of the Links, and Legend is pretty much tied for favorite with Time for me. Really just depends on my mood or something (or how recently I've played one of their games).

Consider the following: Golden Sword FI

Froggie

i wanna see shadow in the comic so fucking badly jojo please 😭

One time I was playing the og Loz and I couldn't find the second dungeon to go to but I managed to find the second last dungeon or something by running past a horde of lynels and I managed to bs my way through half of it until I got stuck in a room with an enemy I had to kill to leave but wasn't able to kill with my lack of tools and it couldn't kill me so I had to restart the whole game and I haven't played since. Also if you attack a cucco in Twilight Princess, it doesn't attack you; instead you become the cucco for a few seconds and can flap around and scream

Do u like Mac and cheese

yeah twilight princess is my favourite game and i haven’t played it but in my defence i’m a goth

the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DX remake of the song "Sky Tower" bangs and you should check it out (if you want)

Four is all but canonically the spirit of the Four Sword, and there's so much evidence for it in his games and even his personality in LU, but I feel like this is underrepresented in people's headcanons because people don't know as much about Four.

i hope youre having a good day <33 -@soul-of-rei

Fun Fact: The “Ballad Of The Windfish” from Link’s Awakening is in the melody of the Hyrule Castle main theme (outdoors) for some reason snd I noticed it like yesterday and I can’t tell if they did this with consideration for lore or if they just used it because the Ballad Of The Windfish only shows up in one game and is therefore a less well known and less likely to be noticed detail so they reused the song to not have to make a new song. On the other hand, TP and SS were two other games remastered for Switch and beyond simple convenience both games have a lot of interesting details that show up in and add to botws lore so maybe Link’s Awakening has significance to botw or botw 2 too and no one noticed hrmmmmm sorry this became an unintended theory ramble

Why does ganon hate the internet? There are too many links hehehehe

Tell your followers they're amazing!!! - Nayra

I really like linked universe. There’s so much room for creativity in the fandom. I love to see all the different interpretations of Link! :)

Vultures throw up when they feel threatened

We got a new kitten, his name is Maui, and he likes head boops. This has nothing to do with LU but I thought it was important.

the ocean is soup. this is an undeniable fact.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

This section I like to call "gushing over the various Links"

i don't think enough people realize that wind killed a man

I love wind so much he's my little guy I wanna pay for his college tuition

Wind deserves much more attention in the fandom he's my little pirate dude

Shout out to my boy Hyrule for being so cute

#BringSkyBackFromTheGasStation

Wind is best boy

Wolfie is best boy

Wild is my comfort for my mental health. I guess I project?

Grandaddy Wolfie >>>>

The fact I could only choose one favourite hurt, I was here for like 3 minutes deciding who to pick between Sky and Warrior's :'D

spent a solid 10 minutes trying to decide who i could say was my least favourite link because i love them all so much

And I'm not pasting the whole thing in here, but let it be known that the entire bee movie script, the wikipedia page for the chair, and the fitness gram pacer test were submitted

[the-al-chemist]

When Stars Ignite - Author’s Notes (the-al-chemist)

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Don't stop, it'll soon be here

It'll be better than before

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone

Don't you look back

~ Fleetwood Mac - Don’t Stop ~

I am not the sort of person to believe in love at first sight. In fact, I don’t believe in love at first sight. However, there are some moments in life when you connect with a person so quickly that you can almost tell that this first interaction with them is going to be the start of something great.

That’s how it felt when Kaze and I first started talking, and in just a couple of months, we went from strangers living in different countries to fierce friends. When the idea of the Rockstar AU came about, it was just a game - matching the characters we knew and loved to the possible roles they might play in a band or crew (a la Jack Black and his children in School of Rock) - but Kaze, being Kaze, quickly found a story that needed to be told.

Originally, it was going to be a series of 5-10 scenelets, exploring the development of Lizzie and Orion’s relationship in a more mature setting, but if there’s one thing we all know about Kaze, it’s that she does not do concise. And, let’s face it, none of us are complaining about that. Way back at the end of May 2020, Kaze came up with the idea of the showdown between Everett and Artemis. Later that evening, I had the idea of a short story/scene set in the aftermath of Everett’s outburst. I named that short story: “When the Sky is Starless”.

I thought that it was a one off, that my contribution to the Rockstar AU was done. But then, Kaze read the story, and asked me to write the story with her. It would be refreshing to have an outsider’s perspective on the band, she said. And, it would be a great balance (ha!) to have a non-romantic side-plot.

Both good points. Artemis isn’t in An Art of Balance. She is watchful and reserved and generally somewhat unsentimental. She was the perfect counter-perspective. Not only that, but she has shown no interest in forming a lasting romantic attachment with anyone. Despite my best efforts with Charlie, I could not get her to see him as more than a friend. They have this wonderful chemistry, but they are just friends. What a great subplot that would be, I thought, in all my naivety: two people forming a deep, meaningful bond, but instead of falling in love romantically, they do so platonically.

As always, Artemis decided to take my plans, and piss all over them.

Artemis Hexley has been a law unto herself ever since she came into being. Of course, as a Rockstar, she was no different. Kaze and I were nearly done with the planning stages of the story when, one night on my way home from work, Eva Cassidy’s cover of “Songbird” came on the radio, and my Artemis senses pinged.

Artemis: Oh.

Al: What do you want this time?

Artemis: Nothing. I don’t want anything. Rockstar me does though.

Al: What does Rockstar you want?

Artemis: To kiss Charlie, I think. Rockstar Charlie, not regular Charlie.

Al: Well, she can’t. He has a girlfriend, and that’s not part of the plan.

Artemis: You need to change the plan, then. Because Rockstar Me is in love with him.

Al: Are you sure?

Artemis: Positive. Now change everything.

Al: Wait. If Rockstar you is in love with Rockstar Charlie, does that mean that regular you-

Artemis: No.

Al: I’m going to break your heart out of spite.

All jokes aside, breaking Artemis’ heart was hard. Really hard. So hard, in fact, that I had to write a whole other story to balance (!) things out. I took my original idea for Artemis’ story in the Rockstar AU - Charlie Weasley taming a feisty little dragon, as told from the perspective of the dragon - and put it back into my canon universe. Of course, Artemis came along and meddled in that story, too, but I have at least come to expect that of her now.

I’ve rambled on for far too long, but there are two more things I want to include before I leave the Rockstar AU behind for good.

Firstly, I want to thank a few people: Kaze @lifeofkaze for dragging me into this mess, and becoming one of the best friends I’ve ever had in the process. Kate @kc-and-co , JD @that-scouse-wizard , Val @whatwouldvalerydo and Erin @thatravenpuffwitch for letting us borrow their characters. And you. Yes, you, reading this. Thank you for joining us and supporting us.

Secondly, and finally, I want to leave you with this passage from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince:

“If you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat . . ."

The fox gazed at the little prince for a long time.

"Please - tame me!" he said.

…

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near-

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you . . ."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields."

[macandriley]

5x10 – A Very MacRiley "Analysis"

Well, I definitely didn't expect to be making another AVMA post, but I am a woman of my word.

Below the cut, I will be discussing last night's episode of MacGyver (2016) titled "Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower"—particularly in reference to the relationship between Mac and Riley (with mentions of Mac x Desi as well).

So if you haven't seen it yet, do be aware: this post contains spoilers.

Without further adieu, let's get into it.

The Cold Open

Here we see Mad Scientist Mac tooling around in his kitchen, rambling about pressurized carbon and diamonds. I won't bore you by going into details, but I will give a brief rundown:

Bozer walks in.

Bozer is weirded out by Mac's strange behavior.

Mac reveals he intends to propose to Desi with a diamond he cooked up in a box (side note: I am so here for conflict free genius diamonds).

But I digress.

I won't lie and say this entire thing was surprising. The intended proposal was a touch predictable; everyone on Twitter had been hypothesizing about it for weeks before the episode even aired.

Still, when I heard those words come out of Mac's mouth, my heart absolutely shattered.

I pictured a wedding. Having to watch them say I do while Riley stood off to the side.

And then logic set in.

Why on God's green earth would this man want to marry a woman he's only really been on good terms with for a few weeks? Why would he want to take that next step when she's been so hesitant to even call him her boyfriend?

Well, Mac himself said it best. "Ever since I lost my dad and Jack, I've been thinking about the bigger picture. And a commitment to make things work is exactly what Desi and I need."

Problem One

As Mac said, this newfound craving for marriage does not come from a genuine desire to take that next step. It's influenced by loss. By grief.

Which isn't inherently an issue. Mortality is a great motivator for soul-searching and self-discovery.

However, when it comes to matters of the heart, acting out of grief can often be more detrimental than helpful. It can cause you to cling to what you have left, sometimes in ways that are unhealthy.

Which brings me to:

Problem Two

Mac clearly does not view marriage with Desi as something he truly wants. As an act of love or genuine devotion.

To him, it seems more like a desire to force things to work. Like a business contract. "If we're married, we have no choice but to talk it out."

Which makes sense when you consider that, in 4x04, Mac admitted he and Desi were clinging to the familiar instead of actual substance. He wants to make it work because the alternative is being alone.

And to be frank, that doesn't frame MacDesi in a very good light at all.

I Probably Shouldn't Tell You This

Before Mac, Riley, and Desi are sent off on their mission to Mexico City, Bozer pulls Riley aside and, presumably, tells her about Mac's intentions to marry Desi.

I won't go into detail on that here, but it's important to later scenes, so I felt it deserved a mention for that reason alone.

Plus, it only further confirms, at least in my mind, that Riley still has enough feelings for Mac for Bozer would worry about her. So...a win?

Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?

After Mac runs off to play Murdoc's little game, Riley and Desi follow him. One thing leads to another, and the trio winds up on the roof of a skyscraper, unable to unlock the doors and get back inside.

Cornered, they are absolutely at Murdoc's mercy.

So what does this glorious psychopath do?

He tells Mac the one thing he has never been able to figure out on his own. That Riley had feelings for him and buried them deep, deep down. That having to watch him and Desi was genuinely hurting her.

I love this scene for several reasons. The most important of them being: I really don't think either of them would have said anything if Murdoc hadn't done this.

They are both so self-sacrificing. So willing to give up their happiness so that they won't get in the way of other people's' joy.

Getting that little push opened them both up to experiencing feelings they'd previously denied. Which is super important for people like them, who don't have a lot of experience with touchy-feely type situations.

And the best part?

I think Desi truly realized all of that. She wasn't mad. She wasn't bitter. She saw this happen, realized the lengths Riley went to to protect her feelings, and accepted it. She refused to let them be distracted by it, and looked after Ri like a real teammate would.

Her not holding that against them isn't something I would have expected way back when this season first started. But you could really see that, as much as she probably didn't enjoy hearing that, she understood it.

Sidebar - Desi

While I think the shift in Desi's character is abrupt and I would've preferred a more transformative storyline, I'm honestly not mad about how they're writing her.

If this continues to be how she's written, and it all remains consistent, I can personally overlook the sudden shift in behavior for her.

Because honestly, Peter Lenkov was a dick, and I can get not wanting to continue on with the toxicity he injected into D for even a moment.

Hug It Out

When all is said and done, Mac lets Riley know that they don't have to talk about it. Which is super considerate, if a little obnoxious.

She, being the wise and tired babie she is, decides it's best to be honest. So she explains what happened in Germany. And finally, after months of waiting, it's all laid out in the open. Just like that.

There is not much to analyze in this scene other than the hug itself.

Riley shuts her eyes, holding onto him like she can't quite believe he's real and Mac sighs, because god, he did not expect for his day to go like this. And he definitely didn't think he'd feel so oddly satisfied that it did.

So they just stand there, rocking slightly, comforted by each other's embrace.

The only word that came to mind when watching it go down for the first time was: safe. They almost looked like they were at home in each other's arms. At peace.

And as someone who has loved these two deeply since season one, it's so heartwarming to see them have that kind of connection with someone. Even more so to see them find it in each other.

Knock Knock. Who's There?

Mac. That's who.

Late at night, after contemplating his proposal again (boy, why?), we see Mac leave his house. He shows up at an apartment building, knocks on a door, and...

Oh look, it's Riley's place.

She's shocked.

He asks if her feelings are really gone.

And...cut to black.

I am not foolish enough to assume this will be easy. It's entirely possible she'll lie and say she's over him to uncomplicate things.

But this is the closest we have ever been to canonization. And I think it speaks volumes that Mac is the one making the first move.

We don't often get to see the more emotional aspects of this show through his point of view. It's usually the people around him who are allowed to feel things, and him who deals with the aftermath.

Yet here we are. He was the one to seek out Riley. To take the leap.

And I think that speaks a lot to his own emotional growth.

In Conclusion

Monica Macer is the bait and switch queen. 5x10 was an emotional ride I did not ask to go on, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the final destination.

Here's hoping I can write another one of these after 5x11.

[etherealvoidechoes]

XCOM Worldbuilding - Viper Venom and Other Biology ideas

I warn this may still be a scattered brained mess knowing me and how I can ramble. Hope it’s not too messy of a read. Also if there’s info in this that has been confirmed or tossed by Chimera Squad I don’t know it. Still haven’t had the chance to play the game(curse you outdated computer(and it not on Mac yet)) and don’t want to watch a playthrough. Don’t want to spoil everything for myself. Onwards to my nonsense!

Really this whole brain spew started because I was thinking about how the Viper King’s freezing venom works while all the other Vipers, we’ve seen, canonically have poisonous venom. So my brain got to thinking, “What if, a Viper’s venom can be influenced by the environment they’re raised in?”

Now, we don’t know what the Vipers were like, or looked like, before the Elders meet them and heavily genetically altered them and specialized them. Mixing, matching, and pushing what the best of their species had to offer. So “today’s” Earth-specialized occupational force Viper has a carefully selected mish-mash of aspects from all the variations from their homeworld(s) and then other genetics plucked from choice species the Elders deemed would further improve them. And who knows if Vahlen somehow caused the Viper King’s venom to do that. But I like the idea that the environment can influence the venom of a Viper, besides the parents lineage. Different regions can lead to the venom strictly being venomous(at different levels of lethality) or become poisonous(that gas), freezing, burning, hallucinogenic, and etc. The possibilities are endless. I’m already working on the idea of hallucinogenic venom with a Viper I’ve created for my fics. Also playing with the idea that Vipers aren’t fully immune to their species venom is there are variations. Same region Vipers tend to be immune to each others venoms with some exceptions. Since regions could be massive, there could be subtle differences especially if certain foods can affect the venom to make it more potent and/or change its affects. Also again, parent’s lineage can affect the venom of the children and neither parent(and clan) would be fully immune to their children’s venom.

So back to the Viper King. Possibly that long cryostasis heavily affected the his DNA. Also he could originally from a cold region on the Viper home planet or heritage traces back to there. But who knows and Vahlen’s eagerness to experiment… My Commander will have fun talking to her if they ever find her… Also trying to figure out a semi-plausible way his venom works. Probably transfer of thermal energy like liquid nitrogen, but is able to work with a “smaller”, spread out, amount of liquid that transfers heat away from the target at a near instantaneous rate thus flash freezing the target.

Eventually, I got to thinking about how their venom becomes that gaseous cloud when spat out and wondered if it was always like that or not. Possibly one natural variation in their species could naturally spray out venom, like Earth’s spitting cobras, and the Elders mass applied it to the rest with some tweaks. Another possible way the Elder got the idea is when some Vipers were converted into Thin Men and it lead to new discoveries and ideas of further genetic tweaking. Taking this from the autopsy, “A large portion of the specimen's thoracic cavity is devoted to enormous glands capable of producing a toxin that is then expelled via ducts with considerable force.” Just makes me think those glands were under a lot of pressure, constantly.

Then that got me thinking about their venom sacs. How many do they have, where are they placed, and how large are they to able able to produce huge clouds of venom? So I see them having more than one set of venom sacs to account for large amounts of venom production(especially taking part of the Thin Man autopsy into consideration.) One set in their heads like earth snakes have them, mainly feeding the fangs(thank you they don’t bite you soldiers in game). And then two sets in their chest as the upwards action of a contracting diaphragm would aid in squeezing the sacs. So one larger set sits with the lungs and a smaller set sits in those “breast”. And yes, I know the whole “breasts” are a continual point of contention for some people and to me when I look at the finalized art they don’t really look like human breasts(in the sense of fat). They look more muscular to me.

Did Vipers always have “breasts”? Who knows and who cares. They’re aliens and don’t have to follow Earth reptilian rules (As they don’t already do so with their tongues). So it could be natural or could be the Elders’ making them look more appealing to humans and also having it double as venom storage.

Back to the environment shaping ideas. I like the idea of that Vipers can adapt to new environments quickly. Why the Elders like them so much, but also have a tight control on their reproduction so things don’t get out of hand to muddle their fine work. And also keep any future revolts from happening as they don’t like species under them getting too powerful. To focus on the “Earth-Specialized” comment I made earlier, and an angle I’m taking my fics, I’d like to think the Elders aren’t too blinded by their pride to leave zero genetic diversity in the races they’ve enslaved, so there probably are still a decent amount of genetic diversity for the Vipers but the Elders mainly use what they believe works best for the worlds they are enslaving. And going on “what they believe works best” and something else I’m working on in my pics, the one Elder force we see on Earth isn’t all of them. I believe there are several branches to the whole collective spread out across the universe. All have that main collective goal of finding a species that would be best for future host bodies with the “happy” benefit that species can become part of their Empire to fight off what is chasing them. So each branch has their own unique alien forces and sometimes share with each other(I like to imagine they squabble amongst themselves no matter how “above it all” they try to make themselves seem). So that’s something I’ll elaborate on in the future.

Eventually I started thinking about Viper reproduction and how that worked. Had to involve a lot of egg clutches being released as we see with the Viper King and all those children(and concept art for that mission shows lots and lots of eggs) to make the Elders go “Yeah, no. Let’s nip that now.”. Like female had clutches up to 5 eggs and possibly more.

I would say the Elders nipped the clutch sizes into something more manageable, but with the Viper King and the concept art, I don’t think so. Shame the developers didn’t continuously have his spawn appear throughout the game. (At least they’re mods for that!) If the genetic locks are undone, I wonder if the Vipers would operate on temperature-based sex determination or sex chromosome determination. If temperature-based, makes me wonder if they had a “lopsided” sex ratio(depending on region) to boot before the Elders showed up.

I also have my own reasons for my fic that involve a minor revolt for being one of the reason for the Elders locking the Viper population to females, with a few select males being held strictly for breeding. Eventually will elaborate on in the future.

[meerkatbubble]

When we (possibly) can expect canon MacDennis

I don't know if this theory has been talked about yet, but I have yet to see it anywhere, so here I ramble:

I saw that tweet that the Sunny intern put out recently, the one of the blurry picture of Mac and Dennis finding the heart-shaped lock from The Gang Escapes knowing what that would do to us, and I decided to re-watch that episode for fun. What I found out is that I'd completely forgotten what was inside the lock.

When they opened it up, there was a list titled "And so the game begins," which we can likely take to mean as the beginning of the canon MacDennis setup, given the symbolism of the heart shape of the lock.

But what was interesting to me was how Mac asked how many things were left to do to finish the game, and Frank answers, "20...30...?"

Hear me out, but I think that might represent the number of episodes before MacDennis reaches its climax, which leads me to believe that MacDennis will become canon at the end of Season 15.

We know that for like 6 years now, each season has had 10 episodes, so that makes me believe that "20...30...?" was RCG's way of saying "2-3 more seasons," which puts it right about at the end of Season 15. If we start from The Gang Escapes, we're now at 19 episodes/2 seasons since then.

It’s also been said that Rob McElhenney has been asking for more than 10 episodes for Season 15 (based off this tweet of his). Why would he suddenly be asking for them UNLESS he wants MacDennis to happen at a coherent pace, but still become canon at the end of the season?

Season 14 definitely progressed Mac and Dennis’ relationship in a positive direction (Gets Romantic, Chokes, Texts), we’re in the Third Act of the structure that we need to trust. Please RCG I can’t wait until Season 16

[amandagaelic]

Fanfic Tag (bc, Sunday)

I was tagged by @waitingforthestarstofall and @disappearinginq who are two of my favorite enablers over here. And according to at least one of them, there are no rules in this game, which means my replying many moons later is all good (right?). 

Questions:

Ao3 Name: gaelicspirit (same on FF.net)

Fandoms: Supernatural, The Young Riders, White Collar, Hawaii Five-0, Sons of Anarchy (all only on FF.net), The Musketeers, Daredevil, Teen Wolf, Timeless, MacGyver, Magnum, P.I. (on both Ao3 and FF.net)

Number of fics: 75 (+ 1 WIP)

1. Fic you spent the most time on: From Yesterday

2. Fic you spent the least time on: Raincheck

3. Longest Fic:  From Yesterday   (286,050 words)

4. Shortest Fic: Sacrifice (2,315 words)

5. Most hits: Devil to Pay (on Ao3...no clue on FF.net)

6. Most kudos: Devil’s Own (huh, I’ve never compared these stats before...maybe I should write more Daredevil)

7. Most comment threads:  Devil’s Own (on Ao3), Ramble On (on FF.net)

8. Fave Fic you wrote: This is a toughie. I love them all when I’m writing them...I think maybe it’s a 3-way tie between War Scars, From Yesterday, and Conairt. The first two were as AU as I generally get (I’ve a tendency to be a bit canon-bound) and that was fun to explore possibilities with those characters, and the 3rd was basically the story I wanted to read but couldn’t find anywhere...so I wrote it myself. 

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Hmmm. I don’t know that I’d actually rewrite any of them. They exist in my mind the moment they’re being created and then once out there in the world for all to see, that’s who they are, scars and all. I have occasionally thought about expanding on my White Collar story, Fortunate Son to explore what happened next. Though, now that the show has ended, it would be 100% AU. I guess anything I would really want to take further would be a new story in and of itself, so it wouldn’t really count as “expanding” on it. 

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning:

I started another MacGyver fic last weekend called “Hello to the Night.” I’m about 25K-ish words into it and still playing it out. It’s a bit of pandemic therapy for me, to be honest. It’s really hard to get out of my own head these days, it seems.  Premise: Set  around S4 episodes 9 and 10. Turns out emotional trauma + concussions + experimental drugs don’t mix quite as easily as one might think. Mac’s dark side does more than toss him a creepy grin from the other side of a window when getting “lost in his head” is taken up a notch.

Excerpt:

Another streak of light cut like a white-hot tracer bullet across the darkest part of the sky.

“You out here making wishes on shooting stars?” Bozer asked, tapping the back of his fingers into the palm of his opposite hand.

It caught his attention then that Mac was clad only in a T-shirt and shorts; it almost looked like they were the clothes he’d gone to sleep in, not grabbed for a planned midnight run.

“These aren’t stars,” Mac corrected him, his voice sounding strangely detached from the moment. “That light is caused by dust and rock falling through the atmosphere and burning up—happens when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by a comet as it orbits the Sun.”

Bozer felt his mouth tug up in a reflexive grin. “Is that right?”

“My dad gave me my first telescope when I was eight,” Mac continued in the same, oddly modulated tone, as if he were speaking in a dream. “Showed me how to find the constellations, track comets. I took it apart one day and he wouldn’t help me put it back together again. Said I obviously needed to know how it worked, so I should figure it out.”

Bozer remembered that telescope. He remembered James MacGyver’s stern face as Mac worked to rebuild it from the collection of parts scattered around them in piles organized by size and use. He remembered fearing that face.

“I did, too. Figure it out.”

“Yeah, I know, man,” Bozer smiled, watching Mac watch the starts. He frowned a little when he saw a hard shiver chase its way through Mac’s slim frame, though the blond man didn’t seem to notice.

“It’s like they were mine, y’know?”

Bozer’s frown deepened. “What—”

“And for a little bit there, it felt like he gave them to me,” Mac continued as though Bozer hadn’t spoken. “Like the whole universe was mine because he let me see it. But…,” Mac shook his head, his eyes distant as they tracked down from the sky and skimmed the horizon in front of them. “Then he took them away. He took them with him when he left. And I can’t figure out how to get them back. I keep trying, but…they’re just…,” he looked back up at the night sky, “they’re so far away.”

Bozer reached out and rested his fingertips on Mac’s bare arm, flinching back a little when he felt how chilled his friend’s skin was. He couldn’t see it before, but with that touch he realized Mac was shivering consistently now.

“Hey, Mac, you okay, man?”

Mac blinked, looking down at Bozer’s fingers on his arm, then frowned. He glanced around him slowly, tracking over to his left until their eyes met.

“Bozer?”

“Yeah?”

“What…what are you doing here?”

Bozer blinked, his eyebrows climbing his forehead. He tightened his grip on Mac, wrapping his fingers around his friend’s forearm until he felt the other man’s shivers through the bones of his hand.

“I was looking for you,” Bozer said truthfully, trying to keep the worry from his voice as he watched Mac look around him, over his shoulder to where the Griffith’s domed building loomed in the shadows, then back across the dark horizon to the lights of Los Angeles. “You decide to go for a midnight run or something?”

Mac swallowed hard, reaching up with a trembling hand to rub at his forehead. Bozer recalled his tired voice claiming his headache had a headache earlier that day—no, last night—in the lab. He dropped his hand and looked around again and Bozer realized what he was seeing was a growing awareness and recognition—and it frightened him.

“What the hell are we doing out here?” Mac asked, his voice sounding thin, baffled.

“Mac,” Bozer gripped his arm tighter. “I found you out here.”

Mac looked at him, blue eyes cloudy with confusion. “What?”

“I found you, man.”

Mac darted his tongue out, wetting dry lips, his shivering increasing until Bozer saw his teeth start to chatter.

“I don’t…I don’t remember…,” he shook his head. “I don’t remember leaving the house.”

Bozer folded his lower lip against his teeth, biting it to keep whatever noise that wanted to escape a prisoner. “Well, how ‘bout we head back there now?”

Mac nodded shakily and moved to slide off the fence. Bozer saw in a split second the ground was too far below him for Mac to land safely. He thrust out his arm and braced his friend, swinging his leg back over the fence to the paved walkway and pulling Mac backwards with him. Mac scrambled to find his footing, standing on trembling legs as he gripped Bozer’s shoulders.

“Holy shit,” Mac took a stuttering breath as if he’d forgotten that was what his lungs were supposed to do, straightening slowly. “How the hell did I…?”

Bozer shook his head. “How about we don’t worry about that right now, huh?”

Mac nodded, his eyes still on the drop-off on the other side of the fence.

“C’mon, man,” Bozer turned Mac toward the parking lot, keeping one hand on his friend’s arm, the other on his lower back. “It’s late and I’m cold.” He wasn’t, but it was always easier to get Mac to act if he was doing so on behalf of someone else.

“Yeah,” Mac nodded. “Yeah, sure, of course. Boze, I’m—”

“Don’t,” Bozer pushed him gently forward. “Don’t worry about it, man. Yesterday was weird for everybody.”

“Yesterday?” Mac asked, the word tripping out on a faltering breath as his shivers increased.

Bozer pressed his fingertips harder into Mac’s lower back, feeling the corded muscles there tighten against the pressure. “Yeah, y’know…crazy DARPA drug, Tesla weapon….”

“That was yesterday?” Mac asked, blinking owlishly at him.

“Time flies when you’re trippin’, man.”

Mac didn’t reply and didn’t resist as Bozer continued to guide him toward the parking lot. He stumbled over his own feet—any coltish grace that once guided him having vacated in the wake of whatever this was. Bozer steadied him, noting that while Mac didn’t quite lean into him, he needed the support.

“Easy, man,” Bozer wrapped an arm around Mac’s slim waist, pulling him flush against his side. “You’re moving like me after a night of whiskey.”

“That…doesn’t sound good,” Mac returned in the same spacey, confused tone. “You make some pretty bad choices ‘cause of whiskey.”

As they reached the car, Bozer shifted his hip to keep Mac propped up, pulling the passenger door open and maneuvering his friend into the seat.

“Yeah, well,” he reached across Mac’s shivering form to fasten his seat belt, “in whiskey’s defense, I’ve also made some pretty questionable choices completely sober.”

Mac huffed a semi-amused chuckle, his head dropping back against the seat. Bozer jogged around the back of the car to climb behind the wheel.

“Let’s crank that heat up, how ‘bout—” Bozer stopped as he glanced over and saw Mac had quite literally passed out, head tilted against the window.

His hands lay lax in his lap, fingers curled toward his palms, the left one twitching in what looked like an attempt to reach out, but not quite getting there.

“Jesus, Mac,” Bozer breathed, turning up the heat anyway as his friend shivered even in his sleep. He shrugged out of his hoodie, draping it over Mac’s bare arms and t-shirt covered torso.

Tagging: Okay, if you’ve already been tagged--or literally have no interest in this--feel free to ignore. This is a bit of a free-for-all here. @thethistlegirl @impossiblepluto @flowing-river24 @panchostokes @nativestarwrites @beamirang @21forestglades @blazeofobscurity @angus-mac-intosh @purplecolouredglasses @writtenbyblair @dashboardonfire @bands-space-and-monsters-oh-my @macgyverfever @thekristen999

[third-rail-vip]

fic writer interview

Tagged by @adventuresofmeghatron

I’m late so you’ve probably already done this but tagging:  @laurelsofhighever  @tanaleth  @asaara-writes  @allisondraste  @pchberrytea  @red-hot-chili-tiefling

Thank you for tagging me!  Sorry it’s taken me forever, my imposter syndrome has been laughing loudly in my face at the idea of being considered a ‘writer’.  Please, come in, sit down and have a look see at my complete lack of process or general idea of what’s going on :) 

Name:  Ginger

Fandoms:  Fallout 4 currently.  Dragon Age a while back.

Where you post:  I put all my full fics on AO3 and if it’s a shorter one then I post the whole thing here on tumblr too.  If it’s giant then I post a snippet here with a link to AO3.

Most Popular One-shot:  Based on kudos The Wanderers - yeah i’m surprised too.  It was my first venture back into writing after taking time out and it was a whole new fandom and a game I was new to.  It was a fun silly little exercise in me learning my new otp and working out their fairly early days dynamic.

By comments, it’s Complicated.  I’d had that one in mind for a while before writing it (probably why it took 4 rewrites before it felt how I wanted it to).  It’s a good bit of post-feral encounter wound tending and hurt/comfort with some feels starting up (or becoming harder to deny).

Most Popular Multichap:  I don’t have any multichapter fics any more.  Once upon a time I had a Dragon Age Origins one.  I’m not good at the commitment of multichapter.  I made it 14 chapters into that one and it took me so long to drag myself out of Lothering I took it out back and shot it.

My Fallout one shots are part of an ongoing series - Then I Met You - which is a series of snapshots of Ivy and MacCready relationship (it’s still in pre-relationship stages right now).  It’s mostly character driven rather than main plot driven, but it does fit within the fallout 4 canon with some backstory and timeline canon divergence.

Favourite story you’ve written so far:  You know what, it’s my least popular Fallout one, but I have a soft spot for Blood & Rain.  It’s the second one I wrote and it’s Ivy’s pov with a hint at her pre-war life (she’s a non-canon origin sole survivor).  I got to indulge myself in writing descriptions and some action - my old faves from when I used to write (pew pew is way harder to write than stab stab).  It’s also got a really important bonding moment between Ivy and MacCready.

Fic you were nervous to post:  Every damn one.  Sharing anything you’ve made really is putting a little piece of your heart out on a platter for everyone to see and waiting to see what will happen to it.   I guess The Wanderers was extra nerve wracking because it was the first thing I wrote after telling myself I’d never go back to writing, it was kind of a make or break experiment.  Blood & Rain because of the potentially triggering material, hoping I’d touched personal subjects with enough sensitivity but also still telling the story I needed to.  

How do you choose your titles:  hahahaha WELL, I finish faffing with the main story in AO3 and then am outraged that I’m expected to have a name ready before I can post it.  Honestly though, I’ve no formula.  They all have working titles in google docs which tend to be either a vague description of what’s happening, or a song title/lyric that’s running through my head while I write.  Like, the current fic I’m working on is ‘mass pike pt 2’ which is a useless title since the part 1 was actually called Gunners & Grudges.  And I won’t know until posting day what I’m going to call it.  

I did put some serious thought into a title for my series - Then I Met You.  I was cycling through song lyrics or things that might be a general vibe for them but settled back on one line from MacCready’s final affinity chat, “then I met you”. And it just fit so well.  Meeting each other is a turning point for both of them; whether you just look at it as making a friend in the wasteland, or finding some direction after drifting for too long, or there finally being a glimmer of hope after a long time in the dark (this all counts for both of them), something changed when they met.  

Do you outline:  Sort of.  I have a massive ‘fallout notes’ document where i just jot down whenever i have an idea of something i want to write, or just random bits of dialogue that spring into my mind (that may never see the light of day again).  From there, if I want to expand them I tend to bullet point with plot ideas, more dialogue, key backstory or important things I want to cover.  I tend to have multiple fics I’m doing this with at once and I bounce between them depending on where my mind has drifted off to that day.  By the time I actually come to write something, I tend to have a lot of notes to work from, in fact quite often I have to cut back on all the ideas I wanted to cram in and some things get slotted back into the giant fallout doc for future reference.

Complete:  I only have one shots, so technically they’re all complete and can be read, for the most part, individually without you needing to have read the others.  They will make sense, there might just be some context from previous one shots in there.

In progress:  Then I Met You is an ongoing series for my Mac x Ivy one shots.

Prompts?:  I do put prompt list out there for Mac x Ivy when my brain isn’t cooperating and I feel like a need a little extra inspiration.  For the current series I’m hoarding them and working them into the context one shots I have planned.  Pretty much all my Dragon Age Origins one shots over on AO3 were prompt fills.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about:  Ugh guys we’re getting close to them getting together territory and boy do I wish my brain was being cooperative so I could get these couple of stories in between down on the page and could start working in earnest on those ones.  There’s a lazy morning in bed after a big party fic I’m really looking forward to writing (I’m looking forward to both tbh) - any excuse to explore stories behind scars and tattoos and I’m there for it.  I’m even getting a commission from the amazing @tarberrymentats  for it *discord wiggle*, so yeah, I’m excited about getting to that one!

Anyway thank you for reading my ramblings x

[dindjarindatingsim]

finnpoe obviously

who hogs the duvet

finn hogs the blanket but every time poe wakes up all pissed off & cold he doesn’t say anything bc finn is really cute in his sleep

who texts/rings to check how their day is going

POE. this attention starved leo bitch. he sends finn 10+ texts in a row & he asks how he’s doing every time he misses finn

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts

finn is an amazing gift giver for his bf & his friends. he’s really thoughtful about it, almost to the point of overthinking

who gets up first in the morning

finn actually likes mornings. poe will sleep for 12 hours if no one wakes him up

who cries at movies

finn is a babyyyy with movies. he will get emotional over any piece of media

poe: you’re crying from naruto??

finn: naruto’s friendship with sasuke got to me

poe: alright

who gives unprompted massages

poe is one of those people that insists on cracking your back for you or giving you a massage randomly

who fusses over the other when they’re sick

FINN. poe will never admit he’s sick so finn has to forcibly take care of him against his will. it’s like that one episode of parks & rec

poe: if i was sick could i do THIS??

finn: what are you doing?

poe: cartwheels. am i not doing them?

who gets jealous easiest

poeee. have you SEEN the new trilogy that’s already canon

who has the most embarrassing taste in music

finn is the friend that’s entrusted with the aux & likes good music but he has a few weeb songs that pop up on shuffle. suddenly he’s in the car LOSING it to an fma opening & poe is like what the hell is happening

who collects something unusual

FINN!!! omg i can’t stress this enough. being able to hoard anything he wants to has resulted in many collections. he gets very excited about random things & likes to pick up random hobbies

who takes the longest to get ready

poe. he’s changing his outfit for the third time & finn is like poe we NEEDED to go like 20 minutes ago you look fine please im begging you-

who is the most tidy and organised

finn is good at cleaning. poe would not know organization if it killed him. his method is “ah yes i will put this sock on the tv so that i remember where it’s at” and finn is like “how have you stayed alive this long without me”

who gets most excited about the holidays

i imagine that rey & finn are like little children about the holidays. they both get really excited to do traditions together like making gingerbread houses

who is the big spoon/little spoon

finn is best at being the big spoon. he’s good at cuddling

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports

they are both very competitive and it transfers into their relationship. they could be holding hands on a romantic date n finn will suddenly be like “i bet i could beat you in arm wrestling” poe: “you would NOT wrestle me right now”

who starts the most arguments

starting arguments for fun is for straight ppl if that’s what this means. stupid question they argue over who is cutest 5 times a day while rey rolls her eyes

who suggests that they buy a pet

i know this is about finnpoe but this is 100% rey who lives with them probably. she tries to bring home a lizard she found on the side of the road & finn is like we are NOT keeping that. poe is like hold on let’s hear her out

what other couple they hang out with

rey & whatever girl she’s dating at the time (zorii or rose)

who made the first move

poe THINKS he was making the first move by flirting a lot but fails to realize that finn thinks that’s just How He Is. a very flirty person. one day they’re in the middle of some Best Bros™️ shenanigans & poe is rambling and finn just kisses him impulsively bc he was thinking about how hot poe was when he was talking

who brings flowers home

finn really appreciates flowers and their scents and knowing all the types! poe likes to pick random flowers and bring them to finn so that he can figure out what kind they are. he thinks it’s cute

who is the best cook

poe! he’s great at cooking and loves to & meanwhile finn is like hey babe im gonna make us this kraft Mac n cheese & some dinosaur nuggets for dinner sound good? and poe is like *trying not to visibly cry* of course babe. rey finds nothing wrong with finn’s meals. poe cooks for them a lot

[bardic-inspo]

I'm REALLY enjoying Bring the Gasoline, and I'm so very looking forward to sinking my teeth into chapter 3 when I have some time this week! If you don't mind sharing, I'd be curious to know what made you want to write it! Any starting point from which the rest of it grew? :D

Oh hey friend!! :D

It honestly means the world to me that you are enjoying it 💜 this story has come to mean quite a great deal to me, and, I'm really surprised and blessed to have made friends through the process of writing it. I am so so happy to have you along for the ride!

So, part of it was a desperation to break my years-long writing drought. I played Fallout for the first time last August. And I looked at NaNoWriMo coming up that November and just...went for it. Zero to sixty. Just, threw myself at it without a real plan other than "Nat and MacCready". I barely knew Nat back then, too. So I was really following the game script at first, until I took a leap off of canon when it came to the Gunners (something to look forward to, maybe). I somehow managed to hit that goal (which is wild to me now because on a good writing day, I write maybe 700 or so words in a sitting). And I remember thinking, "oh, I'll finish this story in another month or so". That's a funny joke to me now 🙃

I had a small excel spreadsheet with scenes I had dreamed up for them, but not much else to go on. Med Tek sticks out to me. There's a scene there that's been crystal clear to me from day one, but...maybe not for obvious reasons. I think that mission might go much as people would imagine. Except...for one piece.

Nat has evolved so much since then. I stand by my choice to "hermit draft" for a while, I know it was the right move for me personally to grow as a writer and to become comfortable enough to share.

But what REALLY got me wanting to write Mac fic specifically was his romance line: I've never really thought about us that way.

Like. Oh buddy, really? *Nudges him and Nat closer* Really?! *Nudges them even closer* REALLY?!

Thanks for coming on this ride with me and letting me ramble about my favs 💜

[deathvalleyqueen]

Trivia Tuesday

From this post.

Creators: give a “behind the scenes” look at one of your works. This could be things that got removed or changed, the origins of ideas/details, whatever you like!

Fans: share bits of trivia from canon and challenge others to create something based on that trivia - fic, art, or something else!

I was tagged by @kunstpause​ to do this and buckle up... cuz we are getting... like metaish... I think with this... or symbolic... IDK we are talking over arching themes! 

I am putting this under a cut because it’s long... I ramble... but FIRST... tags... 

cuz I think I know some people who would love a reason to lore dump, no obligations as always and I know I waited soooo late but what does things like days of the week matter?

Tags: @lobanhart​ @pd3​ @nightwingshero​ @risenlucifer​ @hopecountyink​ @shallow-gravy​ @tomexraider​ @faithchel​ @clutch-wept​ and anyone else who wants to play along.

The Importance (and hindrance) of Siblings 

So one big thing you will see through out the whole story that I am telling over MJ’s story before the Collapse and Grace’s story after during New Dawn, that the story really centers around the relationships of three sets of siblings and those who are in their lives because of that. I really love Charmed... not gonna lie... so this may be a little heavy on the echos of the Power of Three in places... don’t judge me -.-. 

The Seeds

These three guys are really the glue that holds the plot together really, I mean... hell they are the only Canon characters after all. I was always really fascinated by their particular power dynamics, with Joseph the middle child (and really with the least of offer in way of skills or assets) being the one who really holds control of the other two and the effects that has on their lives. Adding in MJ and the past and history there does add interesting layers but the crooks of it remains the same. Joseph is the one that still hold all the cards for a lot of years. It takes a lot for the other two (and Faith) to break away in the end. Their troubles as a family sets the tone for the whole piece really and I wanted to really build a relationship between Jacob and John (as I feel Jacob would almost relate to John more than Joseph idk... the trauma perhaps?) because I wanted that but never got it *pouts*

The MacKennas 

Now, while all the MacKennas play important roles in the story, the important ones in the long run (besides Colin...he is barely a MacKenna for his betrayals) are Mac, Sean and obviously Mary Jane. They are actually far closer than the Seeds, and this is because they did in fact spend their whole childhood and much of their adulthood with their lives intertwined. Unlike The Seeds, MJ hold all the cards when it comes to power in this sibling group. This comes from one big reason, MJ asserts her dominance over her brothers. While they could all physical take her out, Mary Jane is smarter, faster and holds more power with in the Project than any of them because of the sway she has over John. These three are particularly close because of MJ being tormented by Colin as a child and Mac and Sean were the closest in age to him, so they often protected her. That is role they both still hold. Their relationship is kinda meant to foil the Seeds a bit... 

The Seeds 2.0

Let us take a moment to appreciate the fact that John... has three girls... (and Archer but he is still a wee child) there is some level of karmic justice for John with this... I really feel it lol. 

But Lilith “Lily”, Rosalie “Rose” and Grace Lynn... ah... the babies, the ones who redeem the Seed family... and take out old Hipster Jesus and want to try and help Ethan see the truth. These three girls... and they are really babies come ND. Lily is 24, Rose is 20 and Grace is only just 18, hold their own and take charge in serious ways. Grace grows up away from Lily and Rose so a lot of what is planned at this point is the girls trying to learn about each other and how their strengths really do play off each other and if they worked together they would actually be able to achieve their goals and then some. But they are stubborn girls, very stubborn and have tempers on them something fierce. 

also originally there was only going to be Lily and Grace...and one point in time I had twins planned as well that were going to be named Asher and Archer, but I ended just keeping Archer... cuz poor MJ don’t need more kids. 

These three... more than the others are where I take a lot inspiration from charmed... particularly like early seasons 1-3 charmed..

The New Dawn Story is End Game

In the the way I have things planned, is I want to boil the story down to a story about this family... that has a lot of really wild things happen to them (a lot of it their own doing) and actually see someone from that line try to fix it and bring things full circle. I was so disappointed with the end for the story of New Dawn. It felt hollow and like it gave me no real closure. So that’s really why I ended building on my original plans which was only to really write some kind of semi plotted, not really plotted write this by the seat of my pants thing... into well... this is whole world now with OCS abound and my friend @cornfedcryptid​ ‘s oc Ellie plays a huge part in the world...and we are honestly having a blast plotting this and working on it. 

I mean, for me, coming from someone who has been writing fantasy for some time coming back into more of a real world type story... it’s very freeing creatively (which you would think it would be the other way around) 

[mhaccunoval]

7, 8 and 18 for the iasip ask game 🙂

➣ 7 - Which ep is the most underrated?: 

though i'm not sure how much love it actually gets, probably... hm,,, i kinda wanna say quarantined,,, really anything where the gang is actually being wholesome,,, (because we all love the wholesome moments but i don't think many of the fan favorite episodes actually an abundance of them) 

➣ 8 - Rank all the sunny ships from fave to least fave: 

❤️ charbitch (yes because it's other universe newmann. yes because the potential) ❤️ deetress (lesbians. need i say more) ❤️macdennis (codependent losers... and are practically canon at this point) ❤️charmac (friends to lovers... just very soft) ❤️frank/artemis (they... Work... most of the time) ❤️ch*rdee (yes i'm still hung up on the incident. what of it) 

➣ 18 - What was the most surprising moment for you in Sunny history?: 

 [oops this one turned into a ramble]

to further explain my answers to this question last time, i’ve realized charlie more/less canonically coming out as nonbinary more so than mac coming out,,, because while mac coming out himself was really nice, if you look hard enough (which isn’t too hard truthfully) you can see all the subtext that they’ve littered throughout episodes through the years that can be easily connected to the arc,,, but with charlie, it’s sort of... out of left field,,, sure, he’s not as concerned with hypermasculinity as mac or dennis (unless they get him thinking about it) but still,,, to insert a line into an episode already dealing with one of the big things lgbt folks already have to put up with (gendered bathrooms & accessibility to said bathrooms) and insinuate that two or more members of the gang are (canonically) lgbt is 😳, but a good 😳 ofc,,, then reaffirming it with the “i don’t identify...” line in right to chop,,, i mean, yes, there’s plenty of subtext you can draw from to say charlie isn’t cis but to have basically a verbal confirmation is something i wouldn’t have expected to get out of people like RCG but i will gladly take it (especially because i’m nonbinary & charlie’s my fave)

[this-seems-familiar]

End of the year asks: 2, 12, 25

2. album of the year?

mac miller’s circles

12. talk about a new friend you made this year.

i--am not sure that i even made any new friends this year. :( that’s rather sad to think about. i don’t think 2020 was necessarily the best time for meeting new people. i hope next year is better.

25. did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? describe one.

yes! jane hawkins--also known as elliott mcgrath--is my ouat oc who was technically born way earlier this year back in the spring when i decided to do another rewatch of the series (and started this blog!).

for all the things the creative team did right, there were also several marks they missed, including m a n y different characters that we just never got to see despite the fact they would’ve made better additions to the cast then others (thumbelina, bernard and miss bianca, the kids from the black cauldron, just to name a few).

one of my favorite disney films is treasure planet, which we all know is based off of treasure island. and while we got to see captain silver, we didn’t really see many other allusions to the treasure island story, including jim hawkins.

jane is my answer to that. like her source material, she can be moody, stubborn and emotionally closed-off--but on the whole, is more akin to the jim we see at the end of the film. in jane’s canon, all the events in ouat that she’s involved with like being whisked away to maine happen after she’s graduated from the royal naval academy and is working as a cadet under captain amelia doppler.

she might be a bit rough around the edges, but jane andromeda hawkins has a big heart that you have a permanent place in once she knows she can trust you. she’s a little reckless, has a very sarcastic sense of humor and adores dogs the dalmatian of a certain local therapist is a particular favorite.

sorry if i rambled, i don’t talk about jane much and it probably shows. <3

for the end of the year ask meme here