#OTP :: love me harder

[wistfulwatcher]

1.10 Sic Transit Gloria Mundi | 2.09 Storytelling

[bisexualfemalemess]

BRIDGERTON SPOILERS

Happy father’s day to these bridgerton men. Colin’s sure to distract penelope with a clever word and beguiling smile while Anthony’s sure to be absolutely wearisome to kate. Anyway’s my two favorite ships on that bee show actually deserve the world. I hope they get more marital bliss scenes in season 4

[inacatastrophicmind]

I always read Destiel fics that have a happy ending or at least a bittersweet ending (as long as they end up together, of course), because I can't deal with the pain of Dean and Cas not ending together. But ever since SPN ended, reading Destiel fics in which they end up happy and together breaks my heart, because it hurts to know that in the show, they didn't get to have that. They deserved to get together and find happiness in a life built on their own terms, but they didn't. They took that away from them. And it breaks my heart to see that in so many universes they do get that life, but in the one where everything started, they didn't.

[coridallasmultipass]

I threw this idea around on my Twitter, but I wanna share it here because I'm a big gay nerd.

Post-breakup Dirk sitting his room alone, blasting Three Days Grace.

Dirk stays like that for like, 3 days or something ironic like that, and Big D is sick and tired of hearing cheesey 2000s metal while he's trying to get some work done on that script he's been editing. He deeply regrets getting Dirk that preem sound system as "Pain" assaults his ears for the 20th time.

He manages to lure Dirk out with the promise of orange soda and takeout, and when Dirk finally exits his dark room, he's wearing smudged eyeliner and black nail polish. It's too late, D, the emo has already set in.

Dirk goes back to blasting music, and D is sick of it, but figures he'll get over it soon...

That is, until D hears the opening riff of a whiny grunge song, and that's the last straw. He throws his shit down and bangs on Dirk's door. "DIRK! I swear to fuck, you're a generation too late to be moping to grunge over a breakup, and so help me god, if you make me relive the music of my youth, I am going to break down this door and piss on all your gear."

Dirk doesn't reply, but changes the song.

"Thank you!" D turns to go back to work, but quickly realizes the song Dirk changed it to is "Numb" by Linkin Park. The little shit. "UGHHHH."

[ghoulishcreep]

.

[borealtwilight]

solace

summary: not everyone finds it easy to wake up in the morning. it's definitely made easier with the help of a friend, though.

although at this point, is "friend" even the right term to describe one another with? characters: jerome-092, grace hendricks word count: 902 A/N: for @dancing-coyote :P

"You have bedhead."

Jerome reaches up to pat at his curly hair, puzzled. He's surprised that's the first thing he's greeted with, when Grace stumbles into the rec room at 0900. "And you're up late." he retorts, but there's no heat to it, and he smirks at her as he slides a mug of piping hot coffee across the table to her.

Grace flips him the bird, but shoots him a grateful look as she takes a sip. "Whose fault is that?" He knows exactly how she has her coffee: straight black, nice and fresh and strong.

"Hey, I advised you to go to bed, and that Alice, Douglas, and I had it handled, but you didn't listen..." Jerome shrugs innocently, folding his arms and leaning a hip against the table. Her twin, Killian, had gone to bed an hour or even an hour and a half before she had. But Grace had insisted that she remain, that she would be fine, that she could stay and help finish planning their upcoming mission. Now she was paying for it.

Her response is to reach out and thump him in the shoulder with a fist, hard. He dances out of her reach, yelping, and one hand goes to rub the smarting area gingerly.

"Ow, that's still tender!" he chides with a shake of his head, thinking of how much it had hurt yesterday when he'd sprained it. "Dick move."

She says nothing, but her eyes dance with amusement, and her lips are twitching as she takes another swallow of coffee. He knows she doesn't mean anything by it, though, and that really, he kinda had it coming. He knows full well that Grace has a tendency to be... cranky, first thing in the morning, and it may have become an oddly endearing trait of hers, but really, he shouldn't go poking the bear.

( He doesn't think of the fact that he's probably the only one allowed to gently, teasingly provoke Grace while she's still waking up. Never really occurs to him, but it's definitely A Whole Thing that he'd never hear the end of if anyone else realizes it. )

"I'm not the only one with a severe case of bedhead, though." That smirk is back on his face, and he reaches out to coil a lock of her curly hair around a finger. "What's the term your brother likes to use... Oh yeah, you look like you've been dragged backwards through a bush." The polite way of putting it, at any rate. Killian's exact words are usually more along the lines of "your hair appears to have turned into a nest for a family of rats". "Don't worry, I'll fix it."

Grace, still sleepy, hums wordless assent, and Jerome's quick to dart off to her quarters to raid her bathroom for her hair products.

( He doesn't think about the fact that he knows what kind of supplies are needed to help get Grace's hair under control. It's just something that he'd do for another Spartan, he tells himself. Not that he's ever had the chance to; they all keep their hair shoulder length or shorter. )

"Did you at least get some sleep at all?" he asks, as he gently begins to sort out her frizzy mane.

She mumbles her answer into the mug of coffee. "Probably not much more than you did. But then you're a dirty cheat."

He allows himself a chuckle; she does make a fair point. At least it's a topic he doesn't mind making light fun of, on occasion. "I admit it, my augmented physiology renders me a dirty cheater and I can therefore run on less sleep. Still, don't come cryin' to me when you've overtaxed yourself."

"No, I'll just steal your bunk."

"I don't mind sharing."

"You're a blanket hog."

Jerome sputters. "I am not a blanket hog." As a matter of fact, he really didn't need to use blankets all that often. "I think the blanket hog is you, and you just don't want to admit it, so you pass blame to me."

Because sharing bunks is also a thing they do. It's not even something they put stock into; they just... sometimes happen to fall asleep together. Sometimes it's on purpose, though, like when they need to share quarters because they're planetside. Or when one of them can't sleep because their head is too much, and sharing a bed with your co-worker best friend battle buddy fellow soldier is reassuring: you know you're not the only one who has these nightmares, you've got someone right beside you who's been through similar shitty things, physical contact is grounding, it's fine to share space with someone you're familiar with.

It's just habit, that's all.

He doesn't need to see her face to know that Grace is sticking her tongue out at him, and he swats at her playfully. It's easy, this rhythm they've fallen into; it's become a comfort.

( Grace and Killian are really part of Red Team, at this point. They all look out for each other. They're all under Jerome's command. They're his friends, they belong to him, and he would die for any one of them, just as he knows they would give their lives willingly for him. )

( Sure, he has the tendency to spend more time with Grace than any of the others at this point, but it's mere coincidence. Happenstance, that's all. )

[lover-of-mine]

You know, i think Eddie had his oh! moment already when it comes to Buck, but i don't think Buck had his. I think Buck knows in some level that what he feels for Eddie is different, but i don't think boy did enough soul searching to know why yet.

[dancing-coyote]

3 for Grace & Jerome; 11 for Pyroclast & Predaking

Write about your ship holding hands in a tense moment.

Grace's head pounded.

Her ears were still ringing from the detonation of a fuel rod that hit the ground far too close for comfort, and her chest cavity ached from the force of the blast.

And there was more. Always more. More Covvie artillery, more shrapnel, more suicide Grunts running screaming across the battlefield, more Hunters, more Brutes, more Elites...

She pressed her back to the crumpled shell of a demolished Warthog and reflexively checked her ammunition levels.

Wordlessly, Jerome reached over to catch her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he tugged her closer - close enough to rest his helmet against hers, just for a moment.

And that single moment - a fleeting second of silence amid the shrieking chaos - was all she needed to know that everything would be all right.

-----

Write about your ship waking up together. 

The first thing she was aware of, when she jerked awake from a deep recharge, was how warm she was.

For a nanoklick, her still-half-asleep processor was confused - it wasn't warm in the hold of the Hyperion Sun.

But as more processes spun up, and Pyroclast became aware of a weight across her midsection that pinned her against the warm mass beneath her, the last vestiges of whatever dream had been tormenting her dissolved away; she wasn't shut up in Hecatomb's cargo hold, she was safe at home, in her own berth, with her mate.

...Who was, it seemed, also beginning to stir, a deep rumble rising in his chest as he shifted slightly beneath her, briefly squeezing his arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She murmured drowsily, laying her head back down; Predaking only scoffed softly, repositioning his arm to rest his hand on her back; his thumb-claw brushed a soothing rhythm between her wings.

"You did not, my queen," he replied, "I was already awake, merely enjoying your peace."

[nobleriver]

Hey umm...

do you ship whouffaldi?

just a general question i like to ask...

Oh, I don't mind questions.

Personally, I view 12 and Clara as an extremely codependent, increasingly toxic friendship. Toxic as in destructive, not abusive. 12 and Clara being together in the TARDIS was acidic. And those are some of the most painful relationships. When you love each other so much and you never want to leave the other, but you have to. You have to say goodbye because you're corrosive. You're hurting each other. And as much as you try, you don't know how to stop being corrosive.

I think this take on what would happen if the Doctor/Companion dynamic morphed into something twisted was beautifully written and honestly, executed to perfection. Season 9 is probably my favorite season.

And I really enjoy the comments Moffat made on that being the reason the TARDIS didn't like Clara at first (which implies he had been considering this ending for Clara from the beginning):

“The TARDIS, being aware of all time simultaneously, was also aware that Clara was the precise motivator that would drive the Doctor to an extreme that was dangerous for all time and space.”

“[The TARDIS] knew, that although the Doctor loved her very much, she was bad for him and that the coming of the Hybrid would be the result of their association.” (DWM, I think Issue 502?? Not sure.)

[Side note: This makes me wonder if the TARDIS intentionally crash landed in Amy's backyard. Because Amy and Rory had to become companions, or else Melody would have never been born. And even if she had been, she wouldn't have been River, the time travelling, gun-toting archaeologist. And that would have caused all sorts of paradoxes. And broke time. Again. But back to Clara.]

All the other companions had something or someone to ground them to reality, to life outside of the Doctor. Rose had her mom. Martha had her passion for medicine, her siblings and her quarrelsome parents, four people who relied on and needed her. Donna had Wilfred. And Amy had Rory. And then she and Rory built a life apart from the Doctor, where their daughter would pop in their backyard for a drink and to catch up on life. But Clara...what grounded her?

In S9, we barely visited the school.

We saw her family in present day once in S7, and her grandmother once in S8. And not once in S9, which I believe was intentional (I suspect to further highlight she was losing who she once was and becoming addicted like the Doctor - and to the Doctor). To be honest, I forgot she had a family. They're practically nonexistent.

And who else was there? I mean she had the two kids she babysat in S7, who promptly disappeared into the void of nowhere to be seen or heard of again in S8 and S9. Then, she fell in love with Danny Pink in S8, but that relationship was highly strained and eventually imploded because she was also in love with the Doctor, arguably even more in love with him (Clara confessed Danny and the Doctor were the only two men she ever loved in Last Christmas). Maybe if Danny had lived, Clara's ending might have been different. Only Moffat knows. But Danny didn't. And she was left behind. Without a tether. All she had left was the Doctor. And she was all he had too. She was his tether. And the codependency of their friendship promptly crossed the point of no return.

And the Doctor could see it happening. He tried to protect her:

"This is my own fault...Do you know what you need? You need a hobby! Or even better, another relationship!" (9.03)

He knew she needed something or someone to ground her. A tether to the outside world. Or else, just like him, she would lose herself.

However, all warning signs were ignored. And viewers watched as Clara slowly walked off a cliff. And the Doctor fell right alongside her.

[doyelikehaggis]

Bobby Beale is in love with Freddie Slater. Pass it on.

[tristansarchive]

I-I-I wanna give you One last option I-I-I wanna give you One last chance I-If you're looking for the Main attraction Just hold on tight and Let me do my dance Va Va Voom

[brzatto]

i love f1 i grew up with that dumb silly sport if i didn't limit myself on how many fics im writing i would've been thrown into one by now so im trying to be normal and finish what i have. i always get into rarepairs and write for them but im contributing to the problem too by not posting and staring at my google docs hoping it just finishes itself. whats worse is that carmrich is such a good ship there is so much packed into both their characters that goes together and fits into so many aus i hate their repressed traumatised asses so much (affectionate)

the only knowledge i had about f1 prior to this was basically just being aware of its existence and originally i just thought it’d be hot if carmy were a racecar driver but in his same sad obliviously sexy tormented way plus the basis of his character translates very well into f1verse (growing up with racing instead of cooking and developing his passion for it through mikey, losing mikey to a racing accident and therefore dedicating himself to going pro in mikey’s honor, his one track minded ambition, his passion, his drive, his competitiveness, starting out super young and very quickly being able to accelerate to the top etc etc; these things all make way more sense for him as a racer than as a chef tbh because i’m still trying to figure out when he had time to complete culinary school and establish himself in fine dining before being named food&wine’s best new chef at 21) but then as i started learning more and more about the sport all the pieces just continued to fall into place. in my au sydney is also a racer and her and carmy definitely have a vicious unspoken rivalry going on like everything about their canon relationship meshes so well with the au it’s a little nutty (also richie is carmy’s race engineer LMFAO.) i think my original vision for the au was generally pretty lighthearted but as i started actually writing it it started becoming weirdly angsty? it’s always complicated putting carmrich in aus because the foundation of their dynamic carries over and they’re just two dysfunctional painful men no matter how you look at them. i’ve imagined them in way too many aus to count (f1, pacrim, thg, stargate atlantis, avatar but like the blue people, old western but think more like brokeback mountain vibes rather than your average spaghetti western, etc etc you get the idea) and a lot of them are a little outlandish and suuuper detached from canon but that’s what fanfiction is for that’s what makes it fun!!! especially for a fandom like the bear where most if not all the fic content is still kept pretty close within the limits of the canon universe and doesn’t really stray too far from the canon setting + a ship like carmrich which is already rare and has very little fan content to its name i think we def need more silly little aus that explore their dynamic in new ways apart from canon while keeping the basis of their characters the same. their dynamic is sooo good and layered and deliciously complex whether you interpret them as romantic or not they always deserve to be explored more methinks

it’s also always interesting hearing about what other people’s writing processes are like because for me i can’t ever limit myself to only working on a handful of fics at once because all my ideas/aus come to me in maladaptive daydreams where i literally write out paragraphs word for word in my head so i HAVE to put them down or else i’ll lose them forever. i think people who commit themselves to just one fic/a certain number of fics at a time are super impressive but unfortunately i will always be cursed to cycling between 50 different google docs and creating new ones on a whim each time anything remotely new pops into my head. props to you

[bisexualfemalemess]

BRIDGERTON SPOILERS

Men nowadays will text a simple: hey u up?

But colin bridgerton once said to the love of his life: Pen, ever since i found out you are whistledown, I’ve done everything i can to try to separate you from her. But the other day i went back and read all of the letters you sent me. Your letters have always been the one i am most eager to read. And i realized…you are her. You have always had one voice, there is no separating you from whistledown. And after seeing you speak today, I…Well, I would not want to. Because, forgive me, but that was bloody brilliant. I think, in truth, I…I have been envious of you. Of your success. Of your bravery. And now I simply cannot believe that a woman with such bravery loves me. How lucky i am to stand by your side and soak up even a little bit of your light. If my only purpose in life is to a love a woman as great as you…then i will be a very fulfilled man, indeed.

The only man ever actually! Like that was so colin “my wife” bridgerton of him, I love this confession so much. Men in real life need to up their game. Bye jumping off a cliff now!

[fastandcarlos]

Biggest Fan : ̗̀➛ Lando Norris

summary: lando had never expected to fall in love when he was invited to visit psg…that was until he met you

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by oscarpiastri, danielricciardo and 849,302 others

landonorris: pretending to know what I’m doing 😂 thank you psg for inviting me to watch a game tonight - I loved it ⚽️

73,940 comments

username1: new signing when???

username2: I love that he went to watch the women, I heard he even stayed around to meet the players after too

danielricciardo: not you pretending to be good at another sport

landonorris: @/danielricciardo idk what you’re talking about, ronaldo is quaking in his boots 😂

username3: nobody show this photo to manchester united

oscarpiastri: so this is why you refused to have dinner with me tonight 🙄

username4: footballer lando was an aesthetic I did not prepare myself for

georgerussell63: personally very offended you didn’t invite me to come and enjoy this with you

logansargeant: I thought I taught you better than this…this is what we call soccer 🤦🏼‍♂️

landonorris: @/logansargeant get in the bin 🗑️

username5: I play football too, come and see me play instead 😂

ynusername: thank you for stopping by and seeing us, we had a great time meeting you and learning a bit more about formula 1 ☺️

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by ybffusername, jackie_groenen_14 and 482,050 others

ynusername: quick getaway during the winter break ⛷️❤️

39,583 comments

username6: wait what whose the guy

username7: since when has y/n been in the dating game wtf

ybffusername: excuse me missus, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do

grace_geyoro: you said you were going on a solo ski holiday 🙄

ynusername: @/grace_geyoro whoops 💁🏻‍♀️

landonorris: the question is…are you as good a skier as you are footballer?

ynusername: @/landonorris I’m a woman of many talents 😂

username8: are we watching lando norris shoot his shot with the y/n y/l/n right now

username9: peep how y/n was the only player he followed after visiting psg

username10: can’t be the only thinking they’d make a pretty hot couple 🔥

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by landonorris, danielricciardo and 382,493 others

ynusername: thought I’d repay the favour and see what f1 is really about, thank you for a great day mclaren!! ps am i a papaya girl now?? 🏎️🧡

48,596 comments

mclaren: you’re welcome back anytime y/n 🧡🏎️

username11: how do you look better in papaya than in red and blue 😭

username12: the photo of lando’s garage too 🤔

oscarpiastri: it was lovely to meet you, make sure you come back and visit us soon!!

ynusername: @/oscarpiastri give me a date and time and I’ll be there…I had a blast!!

username13: has lando managed to turn y/n into an f1 girlie?? 😂

landonorris: definitely think you should stick to kicking a football around 😂

ynusername: @/landonorris I’d have been able to drive the car if I didn’t have such a rubbish teacher 👀

username14: something is brewing…trust me

georgerussell63: the mercedes garage is always open fyi 😂

ynusername: @/georgerussell63 lando told me to tell you I’m a mclaren girl now

username15: omg lando told y/n what to say

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by username16, f1source101 and 3,593 others

f1wags: rumour has it around the paddock that y/n and lando aren’t just winning on the pitch and in the car but off them two. our sources have told us that the duo have been spotted throughout the weekend looking very close with each other. maybe not so much friends after all?

695 comments

username17: my heart won’t ha able to take it if these two start dating

username18: officially now my only otp

username19: lando has seemed to be a lot happier recently ☺️

username20: pls don’t break my heart like this lando

username21: they both deserve happiness!! we need confirmation asap

username22: I’ve never shipped two people harder

username23: apparently they were all over each other most of the weekend 🥰

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by psg_feminines, oscarpiastri and 439,103 others

ynusername: huge win in lyon tonight, so proud to be part of this time ❤️💙

38,594 comments

psg_feminines: two goals and an assist…you’re our superstar y/n!

username24: yay y/n!! man of the match for sure tonight!

landonorris: huge win!! smashed it legend 💙❤️

ynusername: @/landonorris I didn’t realise you were watching 🥺

landonorris: @/ynusername ofc I never miss a match ⚽️

username25: it’s not fair how one person can look so good on the football field

oscarpiastri: can confirm that lando was glued to the screen for the entire match 😂

ynusername: @/oscarpiastri I’m so sorry you had to sit through it 😬

username26: lando’s so busy and yet he made time to cheer for y/n

username27: can you two just date…forever??

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liked by landonorris, ybffusername and 593,054 others

ynusername: a well deserved weekend off, with some pretty cool company too 🌊🤍

73,842 comments

username28: LANDO LANDO LANDO AODLDQML

username29: damn I knew it

ybffusername: you’ve got to be kidding me right now omg

username30: my heart has never beated so fast in my life

landonorris: look at you all sunkissed and relaxed 🔥

ynusername: @/landonorris it’s amazing what a holiday - and pretty fun company - can do 🥺

username31: this is everything!!

danielricciardo: I’m guessing my invite just got lost in the post 😔

alex_albon: look at you two 😘☺️

username32: my two favourite people in the world

username33: oh to be on a beach with lando norris

oscarpiastri: make sure you bring him back in one piece y/n

ynusername: @/oscarpiastri 🫡🫡🫡

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by georgerussell63, alex_albon and 583,506 others

ynusername: always an honour to wear the badge of my country, a great weekend of internationals before heading back to paris! merci ⚽️🏆

69,293 comments

landonorris: so glad I could be there to watch 🥺🥰

username34: lando was there that’s so sweet

username35: notice all of lando’s friends in the likes, they adore y/n too

username36: people on social media are saying how loud lando was all night long

username37: @/username36 I was there…he didn’t stop cheering every time y/n touched the ball ☺️

alex_albon: who knew watching football could be so fun 😂

oscarpiastri: even without lando I tuned in…what have you done to me y/n??

ynusername: @/oscarpiastri you’re so sweet, thank you 🥺

username38: y/n has been playing out of this world since she started talking to lando

username39: world cup incoming surely!!

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liked by ynusername, maxverstappen1 and 904,843 others

landonorris: adventuring with my favourite person ❤️💙

104,382 comments

georgerussell63: we get it okay, you’re not single anymore 😂

landonorris: @/georgerussell63 now you know how I’ve felt for all these years

ynusername: I had the best time with you!! thank you for being the best taxi driver 💕

landonorris: @/ynusername it’s an easy job with you as passenger princess

username40: you cannot convince me that these two aren’t just the cutest couple in the world

username41: being driven by lando is the dream, y/n is so lucky damn

danielricciardo: looks like a great adventure!! 🤩

maxverstappen1: love seeing you so happy brother ❤️

username42: wherever they are, I want to go

username43: still managing to get the papaya in too 😂🧡

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by psg_feminines, oscarpiastri and 1,392,906 others

landonorris: champions league final ⚽️ so proud of you and the team my love for getting this far - you’re amazing!! 💙❤️

104,593 comments

alex_albon: good luck y/n, we’re rooting for you!!

oscarpiastri: lily is disapproving but I’m watching too, go y/n go!

georgerussell63: cannot wait to see you at the next race with that winners medal round your neck!

danielricciardo: ik nothing about football but hoping you win y/n ❤️

maxverstappen1: just remember to do what I don’t, aim at the goal 😂 you can do it y/n!

lewishamilton: no doubt in you y/n…victory is yours!!

mclaren: everyone at the mtc is rooting for you y/n 🧡🧡🧡

logansargeant: good luck on the soccer field y/n 🏆

lance_stroll: idk what the champions league is, but judging from your suit I’m guessing it’s serious - good luck y/n

carlossainz55: seeing as madrid aren’t playing I guess I can cheer for psg just for tonight 😂

charles_leclerc: allez y/n allez psg

ynusername: thank you for always supporting me - and everyone else too ❤️💙⚽️

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liked by danielricciardo, landonorris and 593,604 others

ynusername: winning on the field and off the field these days - ily lando 🩷💕

58,704 others

landonorris: if anyone is winning, it’s definitely me 😂 thank you for choosing me 🧡❤️💙

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ´ˎ˗

[blasphemousclaw]

Idk if you plan on doing the "questions-about-character-x" list yet, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on Marika (maybe with a side of Radagon but mostly the golden strumpet).

• favorite thing about them

nothing hits me harder than characters who lash out because of the injustice or suffering they’ve endured… there’s something so cathartic about characters who make their pain and anger felt in the world in a tangible and consequential way. Marika is this character to me!! I think it’s so powerful to introduce her as an all-powerful goddess, keeping her at a distance as this enigmatic figure who shaped the world as it is today and then shattered it, and then to humanize her by showing us where she comes from and what she went through… she was never just a cold, distant, uncaring deity, but a person, with very human motivations and flaws. learning her backstory gives us so much context for why she did the things that she did and gives us the opportunity to feel close to her and empathize with her… I think she was always sympathetic in the base game, but she still felt so distant, so I really love how the dlc fleshed her out and made her character so accessible

• least favorite thing about them

this isn’t even about her, but about how the fanbase has responded to her writing in the dlc because like dear god

it almost makes me want to avoid content of her which sucks because I really like her LOL

• favorite line

“Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...”

absolutely fascinating quote… we don’t really know the context, so there’s many different ways to interpret it… Marika urging her children to become a lord or a god is interesting, because when she deposed the Gloam-Eyed Queen and removed Destined Death from the Elden Ring, it seemed like she was fighting hard to stay in power and to become “Eternal,” but her children succeeding her would necessarily end her reign? This also almost seems like she’s encouraging conflict between her children… there can only be one god and one lord, after all. we don’t know when the quote was spoken, but it almost seems to reference Ranni’s sacrifice of Godwyn on her path to godhood on her own terms? is this a warning? is it a challenge? is it just the words of an extremely jaded and cynical goddess?

• brOTP, ОТР

ok I’m gonna do away with this format here because I just want to list some of her relationships that I really like without having to categorize them:

Marika and Messmer: the dynamic of Marika being a god-queen whose grace is blinding, and her son being born cursed with a serpent of the lightless abyss is so good… him taking up the crusade on her behalf, of his own volition, because he hates how he was born so deeply and will do anything to try to atone for something that isn’t even his fault, committing horrors in her name, is SOOOO

Marika and Radagon: I love pondering where one of them starts and the other begins, how they have opposite goals and worldviews but exist in the same being. really good

Marika and Rennala: I wouldn’t call it an otp but I like it as a ship. Marika being the one to steal away Rennala’s husband, but she actually IS her husband. unparalleled dynamic

• nОТР

there arent any Marika ships I’ve seen that I dislike

• random headcanon

I think she was horrified and disgusted by Morgott and Mohg AND she loved them still. omen babies would have their horns cut off, usually causing them to die, but omen babies born of royalty did not have their horns cut off, so they were allowed to live… I love the idea that Marika couldn’t bear to sentence her children to death, but she also couldn’t bear to look at them because of her past, so they were confined to the Shunning Grounds

• unpopular opinion

*cracks knuckles*

SO MANY people have the wrong idea about her. you’ve got people saying everything she did was justified, she didn’t go far enough, “total hornsent death” etc etc. and on the other hand you’ve got people saying the dlc writing is terrible because it’s excusing Marika for her crimes, it’s baiting you to feel bad for the hornsent and then pulling a plot twist that actually, they were evil and Marika was good the whole time!

both of these interpretations are flawed because the story is not arguing that the hornsent are fundamentally evil people, and it is not arguing that Marika is now blameless because of what she suffered. the story is rife with moments of sympathy for the hornsent’s suffering and examples of the crusade’s inexcusable cruelty, and so much of what’s in the base game showcases the cruelty that Marika’s Order has inflicted. just because the story is giving Marika a sympathetic reason for why she is the way she is does not mean that these facts cease to exist! sympathy for Marika, sympathy for the hornsent, and condemnation for the Golden Order’s and the crusade’s crimes can all exist in the story at the same time!!!!!

• song i associate with them

…how about this: if anyone has a song in mind, leave it in the replies or tags!

• favorite picture of them

Ranni holding her head u_u

[dangermousie]

I can't with them!!! And the perfect tragedy of him having to die just when he discovered he wants to live is JUST AAAAAA AAAAAAAA

He's kissing her hair, isn't he?

You know all the adorable, sweet and romantic times she called his name? IT WOULDN'T BE THIS DRAMA IF THEY DIDN'T TAKE IT AND USED IT IN THE WAY DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM PAIN!!!!

And we end on:

It finally rained. The camellia he gave her finally bloomed.

OOOOOOOF!

Snowfall was a rare drama (or frankly a show from anywhere) that remained perfect from beginning to end and didn't flag or derail by the end. It knew exactly what type of story it wanted to tell and told it utterly unapologetically and I love it for that. Would I recommend it to everyone? No, not at all. You need to have certain narrative and visual preferences. It is very very much a niche drama for a niche audience. But as someone in that niche, I cannot think of a drama that catered harder to my narrative, shippy and visual preferences this year except possibly Eternal Brotherhood (a very different drama but also a passion project with a modest budget.)

Oh, and for those who yearn for a happier ending, the screenwriter posted a coda on weibo. The translation is floating around but the crucial point is that our OTP reunite in the modern day - after she's experienced a lot of life and all the things he wanted for her but still yearned for him. I am very happy with that, but honestly the tragic ending would have worked just as well for me.

10/10 for me.