#SHE HAS A LOT OF CHARACTERS TO INTERACT WITH AND HER WRITING IS PHENOMENAL}

[camellia-thea]

so @coprinellus-cluster sent me an ask about daniel and armand and why i find them so compelling. that turned into a 2000 word essay. this is very armand focused, but i promise i love daniel too.

anne rice initially wrote armand as an antagonist, and even went into writing qotd with him intended to be part of the antagonistic force, however she found while writing the devil's minion chapter that armand had become someone completely different. i love that. i love that a lot. i have sources for this somewhere but they're buried. i'll add 'em if i find them again.

i love how the chapter takes two characters who had very little identity beyond their interaction with louis and lestat. daniel was functionally exclusively a framing device in the first book. he didn't really have a character, and he literally was not named. armand was defined almost entirely by his relationships, and while his sections have always been my favourite parts of iwtv and tvl, i think there was a lack of depth there that gets discussed so much more in the devil's minion chapter.

armand is a character who has always defined himself by the people around him. from marius, to santino, to the children of darkness, to lestat, to the théâtre des vampires, to louis. each link ushers in a different aspect of himself, and the show deals with the amazingly well. the arun/amadeo/armand, the good nurse or the gremlin, it's phenomenal. daniel in the books is meant to be the next part of the transition. armand goes to both lestat and louis, show me how to live in this modern era.

"We cannot be Marius for you," I said, "or the dark lord, Santino[…]" "You have to suffer through this emptiness," I said, "and find what impels you to continue. If you come with us we will fail you and you will destroy us." "How suffer through it?" [Armand] looked up at me and his eyebrows came together in the most poignant frown. "How do I begin? You move like the right hand of God! But for me the world, the real world in which Marius lived, is beyond reach. I never lived in it. I push against the glass. But how do I get in?" "I can't tell you that," I said. "You have to study this age, " Gabrielle interrupted. Her voice was calm but commanding. He looked towards her as she spoke. "You have to understand the age, " she continued, "through its literature and its music and its art. You have come up out of the earth, as you yourself put it. Now live in the world. " [...] "And what better place is there than the center of things, the boulevard and the theater? " Gabrielle asked. He frowned, his head turning dismissively, but she pressed on. "Your gift is for leading the coven, and your coven is still there."

from the vampire lestat

this conversation you can see is what leads him to approach louis for the same thing.

["]It is through you that I can save myself from the despair which I’ve described to you as our death. It is through you that I must make my link with this nineteenth century and come to understand it in a way that will revitalize me, which I so desperately need. It is for you that I’ve been waiting at the Théâtre des Vampires. If I knew a mortal of that sensitivity, that pain, that focus, I would make him a vampire in an instant. But such can rarely be done. No, I’ve had to wait and watch for you. And now I’ll fight for you. Do you see how ruthless I am in love? Is this what you meant by love?["]

from interview with the vampire

(i do think the little "if i found a mortal with that sensitivity, that pain, that focus, i would make him a vampire in an instant", but that's not the point of this)

armand is a creature of habit, of cycles, and daniel is meant to be the next member of the loop. he uses daniel in the exact same fashion, to usher himself into the new era;

"You are my teacher," Armand told him. "You will tell me everything about this century. I am learning secrets already that have eluded me since the beginning. You'll sleep when the sun rises, if you wish, but the nights are mine."

from queen of the damned

but, something changes with daniel. and i think it is what is missing from louis; daniel has a passion for life and living that louis lacks. he's interviewing people to reveal their lives!

suddenly armand is not being ushered into the new era, he's living it. you get his excitement, his delight, his engagement. he is no longer detached from the world in the way that he is in the first two novels. he is bright and full of life.

daniel remarks a few times about how armand's laughter and delight makes him suddenly look mortal. i find it enthralling. how this one mortal, who's life purpose initially is revealing the lives of people around him to the world, brings the 500 year old vampire joy and delight and that joy stays.

i love that this mortal man could bring anne rice to completely change her perception of armand.

and on daniel's part, he is utterly fascinating. he falls in love with the monster chasing him, for his monstrosity.

Daniel stared hard at the creature before him, this thing that looked human and sounded human but was not. There was a horrid shift in his consciousness; he saw this being like a great insect, a monstrous evil predator who had devoured a million human lives. And yet he loved this thing. He loved its smooth white skin, its great dark brown eyes. He loved it not because it looked like a gentle, thoughtful young man, but because it was ghastly and awful and loathsome, and beautiful all at the same time. He loved it the way people love evil, because it thrills them to the core of their souls. Imagine, killing like that, just taking life any time you want it, just doing it, sinking your teeth into another and taking all that that person can possibly give. Look at the garments he wore. Blue cotton shirt, brass-buttoned denim jacket. Where had he gotten them? Off a victim, yes, like taking out his knife and skinning the kill while it was still warm? No wonder they reeked of salt and blood, though none was visible. And the hair trimmed just as if it weren't going to grow out within twenty-four hours to its regular shoulder length. This is evil. This is illusion. This is what I want to be, which is why I cannot stand to look at him. Armand's lips had moved in a soft, slightly concealed smile. And then his eyes had misted and closed. He had bent close to Daniel, pressed his lips to Daniel's neck.

from queen of the damned

this passage has lived in my mind since i first read queen of the damned. daniel loves armand in spite of his beauty, not because of it. it is the monstrosity that he loves. and it's exactly what armand needs. their relationship has such a push-pull dynamic as well. daniel up and leaving when they have fights, armand waiting him out before reappearing. armand and daniel’s relationship is a direct link to addiction, which i think is really interesting. daniel is quite literally addicted to armand and that’s something i think is really interesting when it comes to mortal relationships with vampires.

there’s also something in the power dynamics between them with armand exerting control over daniel through finances, but it’s really interesting because daniel is rich. he got a lot of money from publishing interview. armand gets him so many things, buys him houses and clothes and a fucking island, and daniel lets him. and i don’t necessarily think daniel has the capacity to really say no here, but it really does make their dynamic super interesting.

i think daniel gives armand the potential to be more than who he was made to be, the roles he was put into. the muse, the protégé, the cult leader, the coven member, he lingers in his own victimhood, and i think it’s a very interesting thing. daniel is an escape from that. daniel loves the vampire, loves the monster, and doesn’t necessarily want something from armand beyond being pulled into vampirism with him. and that is something that armand very distinctly has control to say no to. and i think that’s very important to armand.

"Tell me what you want, Daniel, and I'll get it for you. Why do you keep running away?" "Lies, you bastard. Say that you wanted me. You'll torment me forever, won't you, and then you'll watch me die, and you'll find I that interesting, won't you? It was true what Louis said. You watch them die, your mortal slaves, they mean nothing to you. You'll watch the colors change in my face as I die." "That's Louis's language," Armand said patiently. "Please don't quote that book to me. I'd rather die than see you die, Daniel." "Then give it to me! Damn you! Immortality that close, as close as your arms." "No, Daniel, because I'd rather die than do that, too."

from queen of the damned

this is another moment that lives in my head, i’d rather die than do that too. there is something so electric between them. how willing daniel is to give in to armand, and yet how willing he is to fight for it, for them. i don’t read daniel’s obsession with vampirism being entirely for himself by the end of the era. i truly think that there is an element of it so that he can remain with armand.

but there’s something else there too, that i don’t think the other relationships we see in the vampire chronicles really capture, and that is the mundanity that they relish in together. they go out together, to clubs, to performances, to museums and art galleries, to bars and to rock concerts, but they also experience life together in a way that lestat and louis don’t really convey when narrating their novels. daniel and armand have made a life together, and it’s weird and unconventional but it works. they have houses together, the little villa on night island, it’s just. genuine. it has all the trappings of the unhealthy, awful nature that a mortal and vampire relationship can be, and simultaneously they’ve managed to create something that is domestic. and i don’t think daniel leaving armand, and often the country they were in, necessarily negates it. they’re not good people, it’s not a good relationship, but it’s enough.

and armand does love daniel enough to turn him. that’s a significant part of it. when he is legitimately faced with daniel’s death, he cannot bear the idea of losing him.

and. there’s a bigger part too. daniel is what stops armand from wanting to die.

"Years ago," Armand interrupted, "it wouldn't have mattered to me, all this." "What do you mean?" "But I don't want it to end now. I don't want to continue unless you-" His face changed slightly. Faint look of surprise. "I don't want you to die."

from queen of the damned

daniel has fundamentally changed armand. armand does not want to die. and he does not want to live without daniel.

and it’s awful, and yet it’s enthralling. there was never going to be an outcome in which daniel did not die. it is the fate of any mortal, and most immortals as well. and i think they both knew that. and that’s the tragedy of it too, the beautiful, horrific nature of them both is that armand was always going to be the one who killed daniel, and the only question was whether daniel would remain afterwards.

and i think that armand was never going to let daniel go.

daniel and armand love each other, and i think rice did a disservice to them both by setting them aside in later books, but i won't go into that here.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Intense Subtext in Front of Oblivious Side Characters: "I had no wife in the year six"

There's a thing, I guess it would be considered a trope, that is one of my favorite such things in any form of media but especially any sort of romance-centered story. I don't know of an existing term for this and I'm terrible at being concise so I'm not sure how I could put it briefly. Basically, it's the thing that happens when a larger interaction is happening with a group of people but there's a subtext to it that means something very different--and generally, much more meaningful--to the central characters. You could call it something like Intense Subtext in Front of Oblivious Side Characters.

I've been thinking for a while about possible parallels between BLs and Jane Austen novels and/or adaptations. This is my attempt at taking a small, specific example of a parallel I sometimes notice and talking about it. Austen's novels do a lot of this trope I mentioned. That's in part because of choices Austen made in what she wanted to write about. But it's also because of the social context of her time. There was a lot going on that people couldn't be explicit about, for a variety of reasons. I think one reason why I see similar things happening in some BLs--and maybe one reason for the appeal of certain types of BLs--is the fact that being queer in a homophobic society makes openness complicated in a way that doesn't come up as much for hetero relationships these days. Especially when we get into things like office romances, in which appearances have higher stakes. These complications around openness have a kind of similarity to the reasons Austen's characters had to play a lot of things close to the chest.

Fellow Old Fashion Cupcake fans will remember an example from that series that I think really fits here. Nozue and Togawa agree to attend a goukon, or "mixer" as it's sometimes translated--basically a group hangout intended to help men and women meet for the purpose of finding people to date. Nozue is hitting it off with a cute younger woman, which is bad enough. But then he mentions his "anti-aging" efforts, and because of the mysterious way he words it, the woman asks, "Does that mean you're in love?" which of course catches Togawa's attention even more. He's clearly affected when Nozue answers, "If I were, I wouldn't be here."

@jdramastuff did a great screenshot post of this scene if you want to see what this looked like.

After Nozue's comment, Togawa starts knocking back alcoholic drinks like it's going out of style, ensuring that Nozue will have to help him home instead of going home with the woman who's been flirting with him.

(You could argue that this isn't so much a case of subtext as it is the significance one person assigns to what another is saying. Subtext really requires some degree of communication between more than one person. But while Nozue doesn't fully grasp what's going on, I think he does understand in some ways what he's communicating. I don't want to go on too much of a tangent, so I'll just say that having just read the manga the series was based on, it strengthened my belief that while Nozue is repressed, insecure, even deluded at times, he has glimmers of awareness of his feelings for Togawa and even suspicions of Togawa's feelings for him, and on some level he knows what he's saying, though I don't think he knows in this moment how much these words will hurt Togawa.)

I have another favorite example of this, a scene from Persuasion. It's rendered really well in the 1995 adaptation of the novel with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root. (The whole thing is phenomenal, by the way--I think it's the best Austen adaptation ever made, personally.)

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with the story: Anne Elliott was engaged to Captain Frederick Wentworth in 1806 but was convinced by Lady Russell, her neighbor/family friend and a kind of surrogate mother to her following her mom's death, to break off the engagement. She has regretted it ever since. Wentworth was deeply hurt and angry when she broke things off, not surprisingly.

More than eight years later, Anne is visiting her sister and her sister's in-laws, the Musgroves, when Wentworth comes to the area and starts spending a lot of time at the Musgrove place (and with the Musgroves' eligible young daughters). Wentworth acknowledges Anne, but just barely, while paying enough attention to both the Musgrove girls that everyone is gossiping about which one he's going to marry. Anne's sister Mary was away at boarding school when her previous relationship with Wentworth happened, so neither Mary nor the Musgroves are aware Anne and Wentworth were involved and think they were only acquaintances.

At a dinner party, the Musgrove girls try to look up the ship that Wentworth first commanded, the Asp, in the Navy List, a book that chronicles the various ships in the British Navy, their commanders, and so forth. Wentworth tells them not to bother--"she" is not in the current version of the List because "she" no longer exists.

Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove are suitably horrified.

Admiral Croft, Wentworth's brother-in-law and superior in the Navy, remarks that Wentworth was lucky to get a command so early in his career at all, no matter how seaworthy (or un-seaworthy) the ship was.

(Remember, 1806 was the year that Anne and Wentworth became engaged and then un-engaged.)

Gut-wrenching. And nobody else sitting at that table has any idea what just happened. I love it.

I have some more thoughts about this languishing in an excessively long post in my drafts, which I'll try to get out one of these days. I know I've talked to a few people about trying to do some BL/Austen posts and had meant to tag them but the only person I remember talking with about it was @absolutebl. If you're reading this and you want a heads up next time I write about this stuff, let me know!

[that-ari-blogger]

Spoilers Ahead (Hunting Palismen)

Usually, when I write these introductions, I can be vague with the story enclosed within. I can ask questions that I will try to answer in the post itself, and I can hint at the plot of the episode.

This episode, however, changes the trajectory of the story in a way so significant that I can’t be vague about, and this starts at exactly one minute into the episode, before even the title sequence.

So, join me, for a jaunty trip into an episode that might be a deep psychological meditation, or a character introduction, or maybe its just a silly fanfic for a FromSoftware game. If you don’t know which of these is true, you have been warned.

SPOILERS AHEAD (The Owl House, Bloodborne)

I’m going to start with Kikimora and her dragon, because I know why you are reading this post, and I’m enjoying making you wait.

Princess is a phenomenal dragon design, and it works as an extension for Kikimora. The creature is entirely made up of hands and fingers, which is creepy as hell, but it also carries the symbolism over from that.

Hands are, for the most part, how people interact with the world. They are how we manipulate things. For example, this blog is being typed onto a keyboard by utilising my own hands. However, hands are often used for self-expression, some of the oldest symbols of expression are handprints on cave walls.

So, Princess is an extension of Kikimora’s agency. Princess is an extension of Kikimora’s will.

Kikimora also features a hand in her design, replacing her hair. And considering how she acts in relation to Belos, that chain says a lot about her character. Kikimora lords over people below her, but she is really just as much of a pawn as they are.

A Kikimora is actually a creature from Slavic folklore, and can be associated with a few things, including sleep paralysis. That’s not especially relevant to this episode or post but keep it in mind as you watch the show. It’s neat how writers adapt folklore to suit their stories.

Anyway, The Owl House has a theme of anatomy, it is literally set on the corpse of a massive, kinda dead creature, and places aren’t so much named after body parts as actually are those body parts.

So, what gives?

Here is my reading: The show is about identity. It is a bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story about a teenager trying to work out who she is. So, the anatomical metaphor becomes set dressing explicitly intended to remind you of this struggle. Every place Luz visits is part of a person, every experience is part of her, and makes up who she is.

Speaking of identity, the palismen. I am running out of ways to say that this show is dissecting Luz’s entire deal, but it is, and here we see the nuance of that start to creep in. Luz wants to become a witch, which is a great thing to want, but this episode begins to ask what that actually looks like.

If you are following my blog, you might have seen some of my posts on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Don’t worry, you don’t need to have read any of them for this to make sense). In those posts, I bring up the gulf between intellectual and emotional understanding.

Luz is kinda the opposite of a few characters in She-Ra. Where they can make statements and plans on things based on information but are then emotionally unprepared to act on those plans, Luz has emotionally accepted her story and her goal, but she can’t articulate it.

The question of why Luz wants to be a witch has been answered already. It was answered before the first credits rolled. Luz wants to find acceptance. She doesn’t want to change to fit people’s expectations, she wants people to understand her and embrace her for who she is. Being a witch will enable her to do that.

The reason she can’t choose a palisman, is because there is no way that she can verbalise this emotion at this point in her story. She still has a long way to go.

But, from a writing point of view, what if you want to speed up character development a little bit? What if you suddenly have a time limit on your story set by arbitrary higher ups who don’t actually understand storytelling at all and just want to make money off of it? How do you solve that problem?

The best catalyst for character development is a good antithesis foil, an equal opposite to your chosen character, who can challenge their worldview from a place of similarity and encourage growth naturally through healthy friendship or rivalry.

Which brings me to the Golden Guard, who really focuses in on the “equal” part of that. This entire episode exists to position him and Luz on equal footing in everything. Their status by themselves is empty, their magical ability is so-so, they both project confidence despite actually having very little, and they are both massive nerds.

Their age is even similar, that’s the point of the reveal. It’s the “we’re not so different, you and I” trope done really well.

But, as I’ve mentioned before, the point of a mirror foil is to have two character be really similar, so that their differences stand out by contrast, and there are some significant differences.

The most important similarity, however, is that they both need to be understood through their relationships with others, and that is where the bulk of their opposition lies.

Where the Golden Guard acts as an equal to Luz, Belos acts as an equal to Eda. He is a parental figure, and he features a transformation. This puts the two in the same category, but unlike the two’s protégé, they have nothing more in common.

Belos’ transformation gets revealed exactly one minute into this episode. The introduction of the story lays out his plan, his subordinates, everything, and then it shows us this. And, I am going to go off topic again to link the series to a different FromSoftware game, Bloodborne.

Bloodborne, aside from being objectively one of the greatest games ever made, is a story with many meanings, with one throughline being the horror inherent in abuse of power and in the xenophobia required to keep that power in place. It deals with religious trauma derived from those abusers changing their religious doctrines away from their roots and into a form that will suit their own selfish desires. If you hadn’t noticed, those are all things that The Owl House deals with through the character of Belos.

I want to stress quickly that the two stories are most definitely not the same. Bloodborne goes into some territory that The Owl House stays very much clear of, and while I heartily recommend it, I also recommend reading the content warnings first.

Belos actually links directly to the character of Vicar Amelia in design and in story. Vicar Amelia is a symbol of the Healing Church’s blindness and hypocrisy. She praises the source of the current disaster that the game focuses on, and then she transforms into a chimeric, bestial creature before an altar, at which point she attacks the player.

Belos, meanwhile, gives a sermon to glorify a spell that will allegedly bring about salvation in the most overtly sinister way possible, then he retreats to the altar of himself, and turns into a chimeric, bestial creature.

Which is something that undercuts his advice to The Golden Guard.

“Please, be careful, our family is gone because of wild magic. I can’t let the same thing happen to you.”

If Belos was telling the truth here, it would have complicated the story. Suddenly, freedom comes at a cost to other people. And the weird thing is, he isn’t actually lying, he’s just not telling the entire truth. That’s some setup that will be paid off in a later episode.

The audience, however, is inclined to disbelieve Belos when he says this, because a) he’s just been explicitly shown off as a cult leader, and those are usually not the most trustworthy of people, and b) he’s the villain of the series who has spent an entire season up to this point lying to Lilith, the man has a history.

At the end of the episode, when the Golden Guard reveals his failure, he is met with threats, and a sob story.

“These outbursts are painful, and so is watching you fail.”

Yes, these threats are hurting you, but look what they’re doing to me. Look at how you are hurting me. Feel guilty.

Also, maybe Belos hasn’t been so accurate in the past as to only damage the Golden Guard's hair. Maybe some of those scars didn’t come from battle.

What this means for the Golden Guard is that he has a manipulative parental figure, in contrast to Luz’s parental figure who, let’s be honest, can’t strategize for toffee.

Look how happy he is, he's got a hobby. It's cute.

“I’ve never seen glyphs before, but it seems very similar to the elemental magic practiced in the savage ages.”

You wanna say that again, buddy? That’s a lore drop and a half and you just brush it off like it’s nothing?

The Golden Guard now exists in relation to Luz, and he will gain connections as the series progresses, each deepening his characterisation.

That’s an intentional thing on behalf of Belos, by the way, the fact that The Golden Guard is isolated. It means that he is barely more than a henchman, a tool. The Golden Guard won’t question Belos’ orders because why would he? He’s got no reason to doubt that Belos is telling the truth.

But the day out with Luz reveals that the Golden Guard is his own person, in a way that he isn’t allowed to be with Belos. When he spoke about wild magic in the introduction, he was glared down, but now he stops himself.

“You’re not my friend. Your just the Golden Guard.” “My name is Hunter.”

Luz’s greatest strength is her ability to act as a catalyst for change in others, and Hunter is the perfect example of that.

This conversation relates to that theme of identity in a really weird way, because in a series about the freedom to express yourself in whatever way you see fit, the greatest insult Luz can think of is “you are nothing more than a label”.

Hunter's signature move involves teleporting behind someone, and we've actually seen this before. The only other people to use this, were Eda and Lilith, when they fought each other. There's a connection there.

But she is proven wrong about that. Hunter extends his name like an offer of apology, he still plans on taking the palismen, but he owes Luz something. So, he concedes that she is right, he is more than a label, that more just includes being her antagonist.

Although, looking at this name, is he? Is he more than a label? Hunter is a name, sure, but its also a job. Hunter is Belos’ guard dog, his attack hound. In this mission, he was sent out to hunt palismen. There is nuance to this character, but it’s a lot deeper under the surface than even he thinks.

There is one thing that I need to bring up, and its something I talked about in my discussion of the season opener. But Hunter is cool.

I love how easily he switches from terrified of Belos to calm and Machiavellian with Kikimora. Everything about him is an act. I wonder whether that will come up again.

Like, this isn’t something that is measurable, or definable. But Hunter is cool. He’s badass, he’s smart, he’s calm (most of the time). I've been joking about his edgy ass aesthetic with the "I'm Batman" thing, but there's a point to it. He’s cool.

But he’s also neurodivergent. Like, that’s kinda a given for most of the characters in this story, but Hunter falls under the bracket too.

The reason I bring this up is that, usually in storytelling, neurodivergence is one of the factors that goes against the coolness factor. But Hunter doesn’t show off that duality at all, he manages to be both, and I would argue that he never ceases to be either in the entirety of the show.

Freedom of expression, the way he decides. Just something to think about.

But, I started this post by talking about how Luz needed a foil, and Hunter acts as one in a quiet way. He pressures her into taking her time to think, and plan. He shows her that she doesn’t actually know what she wants in the long term, and so her final resolution at the end of the episode is to wait until she understands.

"At least you have your future figured out now." "At least you can figure out your own."

Part of growing up is maturing at your own pace and taking things one step at a time. When you’re ready, then you can act.

Final Thoughts

Hunter is my precious boi, and that’s not an uncommon opinion in the Owl House fandom.

The kid is obviously drawing inspiration from Zuko, in his everything, but to say that they are the same character is a disservice to both. Zuko’s story revolves around personal honour, while Hunter’s exists as a vehicle to talk about freedom.

Hunter is also braver than Zuko, precisely because he is scared all of the time. Zuko runs on adrenaline and anger, for the most part, and it usually doesn’t appear that fear factors into his plans at all. Hunter is, at all times, bone numbingly terrified of failure, or rejection, and even himself, but he powers through anyway. That’s real courage.

Also, Hunter doesn't get redeemed. Zuko does some truly villainous things, so he needs to attune. Hunter doesn't really do much wrong. He's just kinda a jerk in his first episode, and quietly intimidating in the rest of the series, that ain't a crime. Hunter doesn't need redemption, he needs a hug and a bowl of soup.

Next week, I’ll be taking a look at Eda’s Requiem, which, I’m fine. I got this. No crying. Stick around if that interests you.

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[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @teamdilf  |  AO3: Missjlh

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

Q&A with Missjlh

Who was your first DA protagonist?

Iris Lavellan! I’d been relatively new to roleplaying games when I first picked up Dragon Age: Inquisition, and the ones I’d played previously focused more on exploration than character development. I was so pleasantly surprised by the opportunities to interact with the companions, and the world at large, and how often I was able to do the roleplaying part of the game. 

With only the knowledge of the Dragon Age universe that I got from the little blurb about Dalish elves in the character creator, I’d decided that Iris would probably only romance another elf. I also roleplayed her as a more antagonistic character to those around her than any other character I’d roleplayed in a video game or DND before then (tough because I mostly played the goodie two-shoes sorts!). It was an interesting challenge to play a sort of character I’d never played before, and sometimes make decisions that were in-character for her, but not the sort that are conducive to making friends with certain members of the inner circle. 

She romanced Solas, and I was captivated by him, the vibe of their relationship in general and the tragedy of it. It really hooked me and got me invested in the universe at large. I do wish I’d read the codex entries a bit more thoroughly in-game because the after-credits stinger where Solas’ true identity left me scratching my head a bit until I looked it up, but once I read the implications, I was even more hooked on their doomed love story because the notion of Iris spending a year walking with an ancient god by her side, teasing/bantering with him, and falling in love with him only made the story even better in my books.

When did you start writing fanfic?

I was 13 and wrote my very first fanfic in a notebook that I still have hidden away somewhere in my home! My first published fanfic came when I was 15. My first foray into writing fanfiction as an adult came in late 2019, but I didn’t start writing in earnest until the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The world was a scary place and I’d found myself doom scrolling, so I started writing to keep myself off social media, and then I never stopped!

How do you come up with titles?

This is where I tell on myself and admit that my method for coming up with titles is chaotic a good 90% of the time: five minutes before I hit ‘publish’, with my fic/first chapter ready to go in AO3, I sit there and ponder what the title of my fic should be. To be clear, I write a lot of long fics - 75k plus works and I always draft them nearly in-full before I start publishing. I have a plethora of time to decide on a title! 

Do I? LOL no. Sometimes, a flash of inspiration comes to me (always late at night; usually when my partner is coming to bed and wakes me up when the bedroom door opens) and I come up with a title in advance. Those are precious baby unicorns in my list of AO3 works.

[whinlatter]

Hi! I love your writing think it’s phenomenal work. It’s really such a genuine and intimate depiction of Ginny. I also see you have an appreciation of Dean Thomas. I’d love to know why you think Ginny was attracted to him? What do you think their relationship was like and how did it help them for their next partners? I just think that pairing was really interesting and there’s not enough of them being friends.

❗️ Warning... big Dean & Ginny meta incoming ❗️

Firstly - thank you so so much for reading and enjoying my work (phenomenal!!! I’ll dine out on that all week - can't thank you enough).

Secondly - what great questions! This was such a fun thing to think through. Dean’s a quietly lovely character I have so much time for, despite being very underdeveloped in canon (cutting his arc to exclusively favour Neville’s? Side-eye forever). I'm definitely a paid up member of the Dean Thomas Fan Club.

Anyway….. the questions were so good I wrote this too-long meta on Ginny and Dean before going to bed because I apparently… cannot be stopped?

Why was Ginny attracted to Dean?

I think for this question it’s important to think about the timing of when Ginny and Dean became close and when they got together, and especially what Ginny was looking for during and after her relationship with King of Negging, Michael Corner. There are three weeks between the break-up with Michael and Gin getting together with Dean, so we can assume Ginny and Dean had already become close and maybe a little flirty when she was with Michael (Ginny Weasley likes to give herself a nice four-week breather between boyfriends, usually just in time to watch the early summer weather roll in. I for one respect the work rate and the consistency.)

Ginny is with Michael until late in her fourth year, until they break up after the Quidditch final in early June. Dean has his OWLs until late June (just realised Ginny dumps Michael right before his exams - this is how you get revenge on a Ravenclaw).

The events in the Department of Mysteries take place the day exams finish (cue iconic scene where Harry’s rushing up to the dormitory to grab his Cloak and save his godfather’s life and Seamus and Dean are trying to get him on the sesh, absolutely rate it, excellent from the lads). Ginny’s going out with Dean by the time she gets the train home, probably by the end of June.

Given the short turnaround time between relationships, I think it’s likely Ginny and Dean became close during the rest of the school year, where she was able to learn the following things about him (and implicitly compare him with Michael as Michael revealed himself to be, as the great prophet Ronald foresaw, ‘a bit of an idiot’):

Dean Thomas knows right from wrong (and really, really can’t stand Dolores Umbridge). In their first lesson with Umbridge, Dean is by far the person in the class who stands up to Umbridge the most after the trio (he actually comes out swinging a lot more than Ron does). He immediately subs in for Harry when Umbridge refuses to answer any more of Harry’s questions. He defends Lupin and Crouch-as-Moody when Umbridge criticises them (describing Crouch-as-Moody as a maniac but saying ‘we still learned loads’ is extremely funny - Dean's pedagogical expectations are low). Dean is an extremely enthusiastic DA member, he and Ginny often arrive at meetings or take part in dinnertime conversations about the DA together, and I think they likely became mates because they’re passionate about what the DA is trying to do. We know Gin likes a boy with a moral compass, a backbone, and a good sense of outrage in the face of injustice. (I cut this out of a much lengthier first draft of chapter one of Beasts, which had all the DA at the graduation ceremony, but this was their interaction in response to another character acting up: ‘[Ginny] feels an old rush of affection for Dean, a man who always had a good scowl in him when it mattered.’)

Dean’s a sweetheart, even if he’s a bit hopeless. Dean’s a character who is often trying to make people feel better about things and trying to give a bit of comfort – emphasis on trying, because he’s not always good at knowing exactly what to say. I think this is something Ginny would really value – she’s someone who, for all her fire, tries to comfort and support the people around her. I reckon she’s got a soft spot for a man with a heart in the right place and a chronic inability to find the right words to express it. ('“Don’t worry about it, Harry,” Dean muttered, hoisting his schoolbag onto his shoulder. “He’s just . . .” But apparently he was unable to say exactly what Seamus was, and after a slightly awkward pause followed him out of the room.' OotP, 221 - does this not sound like how Harry would try and comfort someone?) 👀

Dean is kind to the underdog. Dean is often seen hanging around with or partnering up with Neville, and in DH, we’ll also see Dean be very kind towards Luna. I think Ginny rates people who are kind to those who are socially awkward and excluded.

Relatedly... Dean loves Remus Lupin. I wrote about this a bit in this short reflection on Remus (and am writing about this at the moment so don’t want to get too spoilery if you’re reading Beasts…), but I have a feeling being Remus Lupin’s biggest fan would be a sure fire way to get a text back from Ginny Weasley.

Dean’s into sports. Like her soulmate, Ginny’s into fellow jocks (I think it's implied that Michael Corner was also on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team – three for three on Quidditch players, Ginevra, if you were on Love Island I’d say you have a type). I think she’d also be amused and endeared by Dean’s die-hard commitment to West Ham - she is Arthur Weasley’s daughter, after all, and she probably enjoys teasing him about how crap football sounds. (That bit in PS/SS where Dean’s yelling ‘send him off, ref!’ – 10/10 excellent Dean content). Also Dean does not seem threatened by Ginny’s Quidditch abilities, but instead just really wants to be on the team with her too, which is a nice change from Michael Corner, the Jack Berger of Hogwarts Quidditch. (Sorry Michael, I know you end up a gold star goodie by DH, but young Mike is a prick to our girl Gin).

Dean is a laugh. Chuckling at Ernie Macmillan in his Apparition classes, mucking about with mice in Transfiguration, getting the giggles because this Lockhart bloke has set a quiz asking students to name his ideal birthday gift: Dean is both fun and funny. That bit in GoF where Dean describes Warrington in Slytherin as a ‘big bloke who looks like a sloth’ – funny.  The bit later in GoF where Dean rinses Harry for rejecting that curly-haired Hufflepuff girl who wants to go to the ball with him – also funny. Ginny Weasley likes a comedian and she also likes an audience. I think that means a big tick in the Dean Thomas column.

Dean's a creative. This is verging on headcanon territory, but I really do love the idea of Ginny finding her way back to writing in the years after Riddle and the diary. I can see her being drawn to someone who also has this gentle, expressive, artistic side to them.

Dean’s not averse to dealing in contraband Firewhiskey. If you’re a fourteen year old popular girl with a rulebreaking streak, the boy who can source you some Firewhiskey for an end of exams party from a cool kid like Harold Dingle is hot property.

Dean… er, really likes Harry. Not Gin's finest criteria for a boyfriend, but I think In GoF, the man draws Harry flying around the Horntail on his Firebolt and draws Cedric, his rival, with his head on fire. It’s not a hugely good look for Ginny, but I reckon Dean really liking Harry probably, in a strange, back-to-front kind of way, is another vote in his favour (Gin, you're messy, and I love you for it).

What was their relationship like?

I loved thinking about this question! It’s easier to write about why Ginny and Dean broke up than it is to write why they stayed together so long, and what good stuff they took from the relationship. Dean's easily bashed in Hinny fic in all sorts of different ways, and I don't think it really tallies with the really positive impression we get of him in canon. Ginny and Dean spend a lot of time together over the year - eating most of their meals together, training together, spending all of their Hogsmeade time with each other. I know it’s a teenage relationship, but this is still so much time to spend with one person. It also actually takes them quite a while to breakup, even if they’re ‘rocky’ for much longer. There's something to their relationship that must, on some level, have worked quite well. After all, it would have been a lot easier for Ginny to have dumped Dean if he was a crap boyfriend. It’s much harder to dump someone who is a good partner, but not the right partner for you.  

I think that's the problem for Ginny: Dean was kind of perfect for her in lots of ways - but for the person she would have been if Riddle hadn't happened to her, and if the war hadn't happened. Their relationship was clearly based on a lot of mutual attraction and chemistry (that kiss Ron and Harry saw was intense, lads - there's a reason Harry was threatened by it, after all). I think Dean was proud as hell of Ginny, especially on the Quidditch pitch (he's so excited to tell her he's going to be on the team with her!). I think he would think she's super cool, and I like fics and headcanons about Dean that show him trying to internalise his feelings about his own dad into doing right by his girlfriend, even if that means overshooting and being overly chivalrous and over-protective with Gin. I think one of the reasons Ginny stayed in the relationship so long is because they genuinely got on, had a laugh with each other, and fancied each other, in a way that she would feel conflicted about when she still feels drawn to Harry.

Really I think it's Dean being so great that is the problem for Ginny. If she's with this really great guy and she's still feeling restless and like something's missing, she knows that means she's still not over Harry, and that means she's in trouble. I think it's why Ginny sabotages the relationship, in very understandable ways, and in the end she finds herself getting the ick over little things, and picks a fight to end it rather than come clean about being in love with someone else. (No judgement: again, messy girl representation is important).

Ultimately, I think Harry is perfect for the Ginny that actually exists, and Dean would be a good match for a hypothetical Ginny where there was no Harry, who doesn't have a family in the resistance, who doesn't have all this trauma from what happened with the diary, and who isn't shaped and forged by a childhood at war. Until DH, Dean doesn't seem to know anything about the Weasleys' involvement in the Order. We have no evidence anyone other than Harry, the Weasleys, Dumbledore and Hermione ever knew Ginny was possessed by Riddle, and I don't know that Ginny would volunteer the information to Dean. (The only reason she brings it up to Harry in OotP and again in HBP isn't because she wants emotional support for it - she only brings it up to try and help him. This is not a subject she talks openly about even with the person who knows most about what went down). This lack of knowledge about crucial parts of Ginny's life would mean huge gaps in understanding between them - not gaps that are Dean's fault, but that Ginny doesn't try to get him to bridge. Dean can't meet Ginny where she's at emotionally at the point in the series where they get together, in many ways because he's much closer to a normal teenager than she has been able to be up to that point. At the end of the day, Ginny's always going to want to be with the strange guy racing to the Department of Mysteries to rescue a loved one and fight Death Eaters on a Friday night than a nice normal guy who is planning on drinking his own weight in Firewhiskey to celebrate him finishing his Wizarding GCSEs.

How did it help them for their next partners?

I think Ginny would always speak highly of Dean, appreciate that he made her feel loved and someone a boyfriend should be proud of, and I think she would feel some guilt about what went down. I think, eventually, Dean would acknowledge that he didn’t fully understand Ginny and what she was going through, and that he couldn't have been able to meet her needs in the same way Harry could. (I do think this would take a while, though - on the way out, Dean would be understandably very bitter, even if bitterness would be quickly surpassed by the much more serious escalation in circumstances in the war for an apparent Muggleborn. Thinking about it, Dean Thomas had a terrible 1996. Man got dumped and then within three months was homeless and on the run from a murderous fascist regime trying to do him in. Like, I know this is very much not funny but… if a man I had shared a bedroom with for six years and called a friend publicly scooped my ex from me from under my nose, dumped her a few weeks later for mysterious reasons, and then I had to look at his face everywhere I looked on wanted posters, I would be a lot more mad at Harry Potter than Dean Thomas ends up being).

Ultimately, though, I think both would look back on the relationship as a sort of sweet teenage thing, with a lot of warmth and humour to it, probably some sweet confidence-boosting intimacy early on, and a bit of a lesson that you can't make someone be the right person for you. I like to think Ginny and Dean end up mates, in the end, and that she's always rooting for him to find someone great.

[iforgotwhaticalledthis]

Thank you fable smp

i have probably stated this a million times in a million different ways to a million different people, but i love the fable smp.

I staretd watching last august, right before my school year started. My sister got me into it, so that she could have someone to talk about her funky blockmen with. Shes left the fandom now, lingers around but not a lot. Im still here. When i started watching it i was- god i was OBSESSED i watched ten videos a DAY, all at 2x speed. i did nothing but watch. and when i couldnt be watching i would be tlaking about it, to my friends, my sister, my parents, anyone who would listen really. I binged all the seasons so quickly- i caught up in October, near my birthday. It was right after Unlocked, to. And the obsession has not died down. i spen the day before the finale on the verge tears not ready to say goodbye. I think i am now. Not say goodbye to the fandom- Im still going to be here!! i have so much two write and create, im going to be here for a long time, still talking about- but im ready to say goodbye to the show, make peace with the fact that its over, and that my favourite characters are happy. To the cast, thank you all so much for the fable smp. Ive become so deeply attached to everyone's characters. Thank you fo creating them, creating this world. it means so much to me. i dont think i can express just how much fable has come to mean to me, how deeply i care. Its so clear how much effort youve all put in- and just , everyones acting in that last stream was *phenomenal* ill never forget the experience of watching it live, and every other stream ive been able to catch. Thank you all. Thank you so much for this story

To the fandom, thank you. thank you for all youve created. god the aamzing art and fanfics and songs and theories and god knows what else, just everyone in this fandom is insaneky talented and i love how much everyone else cares about fable, too. I have never really had a fandom that ive interacted with before this one. I started using tumblr ages ago but my posts would just hover on my blog, uninteracted. Now i wake up to people liking my art, my fics my aus. thank you all for creating a space where i an share what i make, and love doing it. This series would not feel the same if not for all of you, so thank you alll, those who know me and those who dont. Just know that i love everything that has come from this fandom, and how this fandom has received me in kind.

I have cried i have laughed and i have loved this smp more than anything else in that ive read/watched. all these characters will live in my heart, and mind, for as long as i live, probably. Its time for their story to end, and i couldnt think of a better ending then the one we got

Thank you fable smp

[themightymoose]

Dumb Dumbwaiter

10/10 title

For some reason I very vividly remember Mrs. Twombly's can stacker song

Love her attitude <3333

One thing I love about any spa day scene is a character eating a cucumber instead of putting them on your eyes

A for effort Pepper

I remember seeing a lot of episodes down the line where it's your stereotypical boys vs. girls episodes (which makes sense since it was 2012)

And I remember getting so annoyed with them

And I honestly have no idea why :/

Guess I'll have to see if they really do get annoying

I mean they are just having a girls night (slay 💅) so little me was probably over exaggerating

I think I remember this episode

Blythe trolling Minka

No thoughts; just Pepper

I mean, at least she's trying

Lmao Pepper pouting

"You hate it :("

This might just be commentary on everything Pepper does huh

Zoe calling Pepper "Pep"

I don't remember the pets calling each other nicknames so whenever it happens I have to register it

Sunil is a feminist icon confirmed

oh my god I forgot about this song

Did

Did Vinnie just call them "feminine pests"?

Vinnie it's not too late take my hand and you can unlearn this toxic masculinity

Which I don't know how you learned it in the first place since you're a fucking gecko but whatever

I like Sunil way more than I thought I would

Also I never really took Russell as the guy to really care about the whole girls vs. boys thing

I kinda thought only Vinnie, Zoe, and Penny would care about that

Blythe does not count

Impeccable harmonies though

Flashbacks

Damn I hope none of you have claustrophobia

Pepper and Zoe tag-teaming Blythe

Pepper once again being my favorite

I honestly love Pepper trying to calm down Minka

Well I guess Minka has claustrophobia then

I love the self awareness of some these jokes

Damn that's a knot worse than my Christmas tree lights 💀

Pepper wtf is with that smugass expression

Great job Blythe

Pepper's va is doing a phenomenal job btw

I love the transition from the girls freaking out convinced they're about to die

To the boys flinging Russell to the roof because they're bored

Oh yeah cartoon logic :D

The girls are fightinggggg

Guys you might die of course Pepper is in a bad mood

Okay die is an over exaggeration

But still

LAWDCHUKNCRC PEPPER

She is literally the funniest character

"If we just stay here till the bitter end - they'll never know." So did you just think your owners would forget about you and move on?

...

WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN

Russell shut the fuck up

He sure is Skinny Vinnie

A Vinnie that is skinny

What the fuck are you three doing

Can't you four each lift a corner and get out of the cage

well that was easy

Why are the boys so incompetent this episode

This is not right

Nevermind Russell saved his reputation

Pepper can literally make a seat out of her tail

"Animals have no sense of time- THE POINT IS-"

I was not expecting Pepper to be this dramatic

But I welcome it

HELP WHY IS THIS PLOT SO FUNNY

I can see where little me's complaints were coming from now

Tell them girl

I may not like Penny as much as the others but they had it coming

Welcome back to part two of Russell shut the fuck up

Poor Mrs. Twombly

And then everyone clapped

Wait this interaction is actually really cute

I love Zoe and Pepper's friendship

Once again Jasper being missing

[outofthiisworld]

GET TO KNOW YOUR ADMIN !!

name: Boo! pronouns: She/They (no preference, i like both :3)�� preferred comms: tumblr ims mostly! if we mesh well+spoken ooc a lot we can chat on discord too :) i uuh do tend to forget to check my discord messages outside of my webhooks however names of muse: Ophelia, Doc, Copycat and Father Necrosis rn! A few ✨secret-menu✨ muses/npc’s as well

experience in RP: been rp’ing since i was 13 so bout 14 yrs exp rn! (i say 10+ in my rules tho cause that’s one less number i have to change each birthday)— most of my experiences have been w/ a close knit group of buds that soon turned into 1+1 rp’ing with a bestie im still VERY close with :3c

i dabbled in online rp’ing around eeeeeehhh 2015ish but i certainly wasnt putting myself out there like i am now sdfsdfg

best experiences: the entirety of this blog tbh. a few bumps in the road and learning curves to get back into the groove of things, but ultimately i feel like a carved out a really excellent and chill lil’ corner on this site :”) special shoutouts to some really INCREDIBLE partners and buds that make rp’ing on here beyond delightful:

@pzfr is a phenomenal writer, a beyond thoughtful rp partner and perhaps a bit too powerful of a creative— personally if some horrific yet comedic demise should befall me then i trust full custody of doc & ophelia to him 100% HE GETS IT (don’t u worry i’ll live forever tho). For real though, there's such genuine love in the way he works with the genres that inspire him as well as with writing as a whole! @5mind GAAAARLIIIIIIIC. we continuously cook up dubious foods in the dms; our plots are forebodingly diabolical (affectionate) and [covering garlic's ears] i still plan to consume their brain for power. he’s got THE most creative and inspired never before seen characters on this side of the universe that i adore so so so much and tbh if you aren’t following her like…….bro be fr with me rn like why @riiese Mark’s writing legitimately inspires me. They are THE voice master dude. The way they weave words together feels right out of a fairytale with this whimsical magic to it that gets me lost in the moment!!! i can’t help but get swept up in their beautiful prose!!! @dynamoprotocol BRO lowkey i remember being shocked when I saw he followed me. From the writing, the care to detail, the art, Clarissa/Chance’s development, the worldbuilding, AND he’s CHILL AS FUCK??? and you wanna follow ME dude??? for real though, i cant sing enough high praises!! @natterghast i stumbled upon her by chance and sooooooo happy i did <33 their ocs absolutely captivated me, each one has this cozy cosmic horror vibe that im? obsessed with?? AND THE WAY SHE WRITES IS SO GORGEOUS AND FULL OF MEANING AND CARE THEY PUT IN AND [wrattling the bars in my enclosure]

there are so many more i can shout out but i will have to cap it here since this post has gotten ... so long and i am now so sleepy. Genuinely though, everyone I follow and get to see pop up on my dash both makes me day and inspires me as a creative each and every time!!!

pet peeves/dealbreakers: the biggest ones for me rn are like … needlessly aggressive ooc attitudes, be it towards anons, in rules, in posts— esp if someone is flaunting about being mean i uh. have fun i guess? not for me.

Condescending rules, especially those geared towards oc’s, might even result in an insta-block from me. (i promise it’s okay to just say ur selective overall and leave it at that).

muse preference ( fluff, angst, smut ): I generally like to lean more into light-hearted & comedic stuff, esp when first interacting but cus it’s fun! Once I get comfy with my rp buds tho i do loooooove to get into the meat n potatoes— the drama, the action, THE DRAMA!!! <- but a nice balance is important to me!

if everything is doom n’ gloom all the time without either a break, some sort of bitter-sweetness, and/or light at the end of the tunnel— then The Dread™ starts to feel too much for me :0 that being said … horror is … so much fun too <3

plot or memes: memes are a life savior esp when it comes to breaking the ice— i wouldn’t be cookin’ up like. any of the delectable plots i got brewing in the dms without em >:0

long or short replies: BOTH! i tend to naturally lean towards longer replies, moreso because i always have A Lot To Say™️ but i love goofing around with shorter stuff <3

best time to write: if i had my way it’d be an hour or two after i wake up in the morning and made myself my fancy energy drink + did my n.eopets dailies 💕 i try to make sure i get one day off like this each weekend it’s so lovely. Otherwise, i try not to stress about it too much and do what i can. i want my rp buds to know i genuinely dont mind waiting for replies or anything and i think it starts with how you hold yourself to that same degree too

are you like your muse?: ooooo aren’t we all in some way? it’s important to sprinkle some part or facet of YOU into them, especially ocs!

i will say, Doc is far closer alike to me versus anyone else on this blog, esp when it comes to values! he’s just far more gung-ho that i could ever have the energy to be tho. also i hope im not as stubborn as him 💀

i did give Ophelia my weird girl tendencies tho but cranked that shit up into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!!!

tagged by: @pzfr

tagging: i uh. i think most of my mutuals already got tagged this SO if you see this and you havent........PLEASE do this and tag me weeheehee <3

[toothpastecanyon]

Hi! I’d like to start with the fact that your writing is PHENOMENAL, the way every first chapter is designed to grab the readers attention, with a mystery or a cozy little opening, establishing where the character is in life and their motives, or a sneak peek at the problem the characters must overcome.

I’m really bad at articulating my thoughts, but ur characters are really well written and I’d like to make more fanart of them, but I’m not quite sure what they look like.

(The only fics of your la that i KNOW you wrote are Unto Dust, and The Comfort of Agony (both of which are really good btw, I also love how you write existing characters, and your portrayal of them(especially Lucy Ann))

Anyway, because there are so many interpretations of species used in TAU, I got a little mixed up on what the non-human characters look like.

Darceus- in Lucy Ann and the Lunch Bunch, there is a Kitsune named Felicity, who is described as “looking a kind of like a human, and kind of like a fox” which my interpretation of is shown below. I forgot that that isn’t typical for kitsune characters in tau (even though she’s the only one since yours) and drew her in a similar way. ( also, are there any distinctive features on her nieces?) btw the LION idea is phenomenal, also do you think she has a mane? They’re fun to draw.

June- how big is she? I assumed she was the size of a human based on her interactions, but then I realized she might be looking down of people because she can fly. But then I remembered that it says she walks around. So then I confused myself. Also, skin tone, hair color/texture, eyes?

Beatrice- SHE IS SO WELL WRITTEN I felt genuinely angry while reading her meeting with Lucy Ann (in a good way) and she seems like someone you would meet in real life, totally obnoxious! Also, I don’t really know how TAU elves usually look so, idk anything about her skin tone or hair or eyes.

Here are pictures of my doodles in case you want to take a look, try to ignore the paper texture please.

Also, an old picture of Felicity:

Sorry if any of this is worded weird, im not that good at talking, but could you please give a solid description of the major/cool characters in Unto Dust?

(And in case I didn’t say it before, the Comfort of Agony is SO WELL WRITTEN there is too much for me to say about it!)

Oh wow, this is all so kind of you to say! Thank you so much - I'm so glad to hear you enjoy my writing, and I love the sketches you've done! You already have a lot of great designs and the characters look super expressive!

It's really exciting to be asked more of what my characters look like and I'll give you the best description I can, but I do want to note I often don't have a clear idea of what my characters look like - I like that writing lets a reader come up with their own spins on what a character looks like! So while I'm adding my own interpretation of my characters here, if you have a different idea you think works better or just looks cooler to you, I say go for it!

I'll organise my thoughts by each character:

Darceus: I was definitely inspired by @feferipeixes' character Felicity to make a kitsune character! I really like the mane idea you have going in your sketches, and female lions do occasionally grow manes! I like the way you've drawn her formal attire, with the nine tails spread out behind her like a sort of cape! You really brought her to life!

I probably still imagine her with a fox's colouration - I liked the lion imagery to evoke the broader facial features and just overall stockier build than an average kitsune.

The nieces: They're probably both young adults of average height. I don't have a clear idea of what they look like, but it might be fun to draw them as a different type or species of fox - silver foxes look really pretty with distinctive markings! They probably have less tails than Darceus, maybe three or so.

June: I definitely had the idea of her being average sized - I think writing it from Lucy Ann's perspective makes her seem taller as a lot of characters have to look down on her (sorry Lucy Ann!). I really like the wings you drew for her! She's a middle-aged lady with a little grey in her red hair, and probably likes wearing a lot of running gear - gotta train for that 10K!

Beatrice: I really like the long ears you've given her, that looks super distinctive! The loose t-shirt is really good. I probably imagine her with more of a pear shaped build with dark brown eyes and hair. If she does magic like in her appearances with Noie I like to think it'd look a lot how Mod V's elf OC Florian does it.

Also I definitely am looking for Lucy Ann to start wearing a glove! I'm not sure whether it would be fun to have it be a red glove to match the rest of her outfit, or if it's black or some other clashing colour to illustrate how she sees it as something unwanted and forced upon her.

That's all I can think of, but if you'd like anything more specific I'd be more than happy to help! Thank you again for this ask and your awesome sketches - if you end up drawing anything else I'd really love to see it!

Have a great day! :D

[bettercallstan]

In Defence of Watching and Dreaming

Quotes can be found here at the specified timestamps> https://youtu.be/mn4WmyIdsrE

People often accuse me of hating Watching and Dreaming, but today I’m going to dispel that myth by providing a genuine defence of the episode, focusing only on its positives. Watching and Dreaming is the final episode of The Owl House and is focused on concluding the story in a satisfying way. It provides a well constructed bookend to Luz’s development by showing how she’s grown via contrast to previous episodes. It also does a good job at showing that not everyone can be redeemed, actively making fun of the idea and having Belos die brutally in an excellently pathetic death scene. It also continues the show’s commentary on the chosen one archetype, having Luz receive godlike powers not because she was chosen, but because of the strength of her character. This is achieved through the introduction of Papa Titan, a well executed take on a trope that so often goes awry. The Collector is also redeemed in an incredibly believable way, and the timeskip at the end provides a deservedly happy ending whilst also showing the audience how their favourite characters have grown. As well as this the soundtrack is excellent and the animation is phenomenal – especially in the fight scenes, which are just as well shot and choreographed as the rest of the show’s action. Overall, Watching and Dreaming is a thrilling conclusion to an excellent show.

Okay. Everyone who likes Watching and Dreaming, you can leave now. The essay is over for you, unless you’re curious, that is. Because all of that is how I would attempt to defend Watching and Dreaming. Every aspect I just praised are things I genuinely believe to be strengths of the episode. With some information omitted. Okay, a lot of information omitted. The purpose of this was to establish an understanding, to make it abundantly clear that there are many aspects of the episode that are well constructed. The problem is that this defence heavily relies on the reader not thinking too hard because if they do they’ll realise how much information I omitted and how many things I mentioned were technical aspects. This is essay is The Flaws of Watching and Dreaming. I will only be covering issues within the episode itself and not any issues that stem from previous episodes, because if I were to cover all the problems of Season 3 this essay would be many times longer. The purpose of this essay is not to illustrate why I feel the way I do about the episode, but to provide an argument that challenges the general consensus. The critiques I make are not simply things I didn’t like but things I hope to prove are flaws in the writing with arguments and citations.

I suppose it makes sense to start at the beginning. Watching and Dreaming opens with what I’m going to call the Dream Sequence. This segment represents many problems that are prevalent throughout the episode, but conceptually it’s pretty interesting: our main trio have been put into a shared dream by the Collector that forces them to relive their greatest fears. Luz’s dream involves her interactions with a mind controlled Hexsquad who are being puppeteered to jab at her deepest fears. Character wise this provides nothing for the Hexsquad since they’re being mind controlled; they don’t mean any of the things they’re saying. Eda and King’s segments serve to reiterate their fears, but this is ultimately pointless as both of them have already had their arcs wrapped up and their fears aren’t relevant to the rest of the episode. The only character aspect that this sequence is relevant to is reminding the audience of Luz’s guilt complex, but the problem with this is that it’s unnecessary; it has been a main focus of the last quarter of the show. It doesn’t even do anything to advance this arc either, simply to remind the audience that it’s there.

Plot wise the only thing this scene serves is the conversation between Belos and the Collector, which could be easily retooled to have the same outcome without this sequence. It’s pointless at worst and extremely wasteful at best. There’s also the logistics of it; Luz can only escape the dream because Amity knows that the light glyph can cancel the Collector’s magic. The audience knows this – it was established in the previous episode – but Amity doesn’t, or more accurately she shouldn’t. The entire plot hinges on Amity having access to a piece of information she simply couldn’t know, and this is a common problem that plagues the episode. It’s also worth noting that this sequence takes up seven minutes of an episode that is already strapped for time. The Dream Sequence adds nothing to the episode and does nothing but waste time, so why does it exist? Well, if you watch the trailer for the episode it’s almost entirely composed of clips from this sequence; it’s trailer bait. However I think it’s most likely that it was an idea the writers had that they couldn’t bear to fully cut, which is a running problem in Season 3.

The final battle is an important aspect of any finale, so how does Watching and Dreaming’s hold up? Like many other aspects of the episode it is flawed. A good example of this is how it starts; Luz breaks into the throne room and immediately runs to Belos’ body. The first problem here is that when Belos first possessed the heart his body got completely covered in a protective coating [0:00] which has since vanished with no explanation. This is significant because Luz would have taken longer to defeat Belos if she had to first break through the coating, which might have given him enough time to stop her. The second problem is the pacing, the battle starts incredibly suddenly with very little buildup. There’s only about thirty seconds between Raine making a joke about Luz’s Titan form and Belos being nearly defeated. This would be a less sudden tonal shift if there was a fight scene in the throne room where Luz had to fight her way to the heart rather than getting to it immediately. It’s very rushed as a climax because it lacks buildup. The counter to this would be to say that the fight scene at the Draining Spell pedestal was the buildup to the final battle, but there is over two minutes between those scenes, including a quiet reunion between lovers which is very clearly a break in the action. The tone shifts very drastically in very little time, going from bombastic action to a warm reunion to climactic and suspenseful all with very little transition time.

The third problem is Belos, namely: what was he hoping to achieve? It seems reasonable to assume that due to how long the Titan has been dead for he’s not able to make it stand up and roll over, so it makes sense that he’d try and raise the arm to slam it down on the Titan’s body. On paper this follows, but in practice less so. If he wanted to slam the arm down then why did he reach all the way up into space? He didn’t need to reach nearly that high to slam it down, so it seems like he’s just being stupid to give the protagonists more time to defeat him. The final problem is also related Belos. When he first possesses the heart it is shown that he only needs a tiny pocket of good to possess it [0:19]. This creates a massive problem for his defeat as there is clearly goo left on the heart after he’s pulled off of it [0:37]. This begs the question: why did yanking him off the heart work? A counter to this is that possessing the Titan took all of Belos’ power, but this still doesn’t justify it. Before Belos possessed the Titan he was unable to keep his goo form but after doing it he was able to recreate his human form, so there’s no reason to believe his power has been diminished. If this is the explanation however, this should be telegraphed to the audience in some way. There’s a difference between the show implying something and the audience writing the story for the show by extrapolating an explanation that isn’t even there.

The episode’s B plot starts with a wonderful piece of contrivance; the Hexsquad puppets were abandoned on a floor that’s dusty enough to draw a glyph on, that’s pretty lucky for them I guess. Amity is also able to move to draw the glyph despite it being previously stated that puppets can’t move of their own volition: ‘You’re not supposed to move on your own, how did you break your spell’ [1:28]. An argument against this could be that Amity was able to move because she got she got freed from the mind control in the dream, but unfortunately her eyes are shown to turn back to their mind controlled appearance once she’s grabbed by the magic tendrils [1:34], so this defence doesn’t hold. The plotline continues by explaining that the witches can’t use their magic due to exhaustion. As much as this seems like an idea that should’ve been introduced earlier it does make sense; the problem comes from the fact that it’s a pointless plot beat. Nothing changes if the witches were able to use their magic to help them free the puppets so why waste screentime introducing a useless element?

Moving on, the end of the plotline is similarly half-baked. The Hexsquad see the Collector helping to keep the Archives together and assume he’s there to help them, which is an attempt to justify them forgiving him later. The problem here is that there is no reason for the Hexsquad to believe that the Collector is helping because he wants to save people; from their perspective it would seem more likely that he doesn’t want his toys to get destroyed. The problem here is similar to Amity somehow knowing to use the light glyph in the dream; we as the audience know that the Collector is only trying to help, but the Hexsquad don’t. They haven’t seen any of his development, they don’t know that he didn’t understand what it means to be mortal. All they know about him is that he caused them to be locked away from their families for months, took over their home, and uses people they care about as toys. Sure they know he’s a child, but that doesn’t justify them just forgiving him immediately. This is fundamentally out of character for all of them. Another issue with this plotline is that it adds very little to the episode. The Hexsquad free a lot of puppets but the Collector frees all of them at the end anyway. No character development is achieved either and it seems like it only exists because the writers knew people would be angry if the Hexsquad didn’t get any focus, so they just threw them in there despite them not really having anything to do. What makes this worse is that the storyboards tell us that Odalia was originally going to be a part of this plotline, which likely would’ve justified its existence if she was utilised to develop the characters in a meaningful way.

This was likely cut for time despite the fact that it has the potential for satisfying character moments, but the Dream Sequence was left in the episode despite having even less relevance. On the note of the Hexsquad it’s a massive issue that Hunter – who was raised and abused by Belos his entire life – doesn’t get a single line acknowledging his death. In fact he doesn’t get a single line acknowledging Belos at all, which is strange because Belos is a massive part of his character so having him not comment on his death is incredibly jarring. The entire plotline is very much a less or more situation. They could’ve done more by developing the plotline further to justify its inclusion, but equally they could’ve cut it entirely and whilst people would’ve been justifiably angry, being able to more effectively utilise that screentime would be an improvement over the shoddy middle ground we received.

A distinct problem with Watching and Dreaming is how the Collector is handled as he acts very inconsistently with how he did in For the Future. In that episode he was led to believe that King was plotting to kill him:

- ‘The Collector needs to be stopped for good, and I think I know a more permanent solution.’ [1:49]

- ‘Obviously to help King put an end to you and your little games.’ [2:01]

- ‘Luz has come to help King get rid of you for good.’ [2:08]

The line ‘I think I wanna play a new game’ [2:15] combined with his tired, resentful expression tell the audience that Belos’ lies have worked; he’s angry with King and Luz, tired of being betrayed by people he called his friends. The line clearly states that he is done being friendly, but this is walked back on at the start of Watching and Dreaming. When Belos suggests killing the witches, the Collector says ‘I want to be their friends’ [2:23]. This is in absolute opposition to his attitude at the end of the previous episode and it should be plainly obvious why. On top of that, the Collector believing that King was planning to kill him is only referenced one time: ‘King lied, Belos lied, even they lied’ [2:30]. This misunderstanding is never brought up again even after the Collector realises it was Belos all along, despite it being the event that caused him to create the dream world in the first place. Speaking of which, let’s talk about that. Putting the characters into the dream makes sense for the For the Future version of his character; he’s angry and vengeful, it tracks that he would make them relive their worst fears. But because Watching and Dreaming retcons his character, this action makes no sense. Why would he do this if he wanted to befriend them? Even from the point of view of a child that doesn’t make sense. He even says ‘King is gonna hate me for this’ [2:19] despite previously thinking King already hated him. Watching and Dreaming misunderstands the Collector’s development and regresses him back to an earlier point in his arc, causing many of his actions to make no sense.

Another issue in the episode is the Collector’s Warp Star, the flying star that Belos steals to get to the castle. It first appeared in For the Future and is also used by the Collector in the finale to fly to the Archives. He is shown to be able to summon [2:34] and de-summon [2:43] it at will but despite this keeps a spare one in his bedside table. You do have to wonder why he kept a spare if he’s able to summon it on command but at the end of the day he is a child so maybe there’s a little wiggle room when it comes to carelessness. However, the star still presents significant issues in the finale. The question that seems most prescient is how Belos knew the star would be in the bedside cabinet. I think it’s reasonable to assume he looked through the drawers whilst the Collector was setting up the dream but given how significant this is to the episode’s plot it probably should’ve had more of a setup. The more important question is how Belos even knew what the Warp Star did since he wasn’t present at any of the times it was used. It’s not an impossibility that he saw the Collector use the star offscreen but this is so significant to the plot – it’s vital to allow Belos to possess the Titan – that it deserves an explicit setup rather than relying on the audience’s headcanon.

Speaking of Belos, I think it’s time to acknowledge the elephant in the room: no matter how much people say it, he’s not just an evil bad guy who is evil for evil’s sake. He’s an irredeemable monster for sure and fully deserved to die horribly, but one thing he is not is simple. Belos is a pretty complex character, and I cannot stress this enough, complexity does not equal sympathy. The show had been building up his complex characterisation since Hunting Palismen, but it really kicks into gear in Hollow Mind. Starting there, we get the general gist of who Belos truly is; he’s a bigoted witch Hunter who wants to commit genocide because he’s so intrenched in his bigotry that he’s convinced himself that he’s saving humanity. We also get glimpses into his past where he murdered his brother Caleb for betraying the ideals they’d been raised with to be with a witch. A lot of the stuff we learn about Belos in Hollow Mind is quite vague but it works well as a setup. King’s Tide gives a deeper look into his head. He killed Caleb for betraying the ideals they both stood for, and in Belos’ mind he was putting him out of his misery because he believed that the witches had warped Caleb’s sense of reality. This is obviously absurd to any sane person, but the important thing is that this is how Belos thinks of things – even if it is illogical, it’s consistent. We can see this in how he clearly sees Caleb in Luz, stating that he wants to help her – in his own messed up way – and only trying to kill her when he believes she’s been fully corrupted by witches, just like his brother. We can see this when he states ‘I do pity you. These witches have warped your sense of reality, so perhaps it’s best if I put you out of your misery’ [0:48]. All of this happens in just one scene and it is an incredible exploration of his character and how he sees things.

Moving into Season 3, Thanks to Them doesn’t have much for Belos outside of killing Flapjack, who he sees as a symbol of Caleb’s betrayal. Now, I know For the Future is a bit of a wet fart of an episode but the scene between Belos and his hallucinations is actually pretty good. Here we see his cognitive dissonance on full display; he believes killing Caleb was because in his own words ‘I tried to save your soul, it’s your fault this all happened’ [0:57] – this can reasonably be extrapolated to apply to Luz in King’s Tide too. I think it’s safe to say that this should have been the point where the show went in depth on Belos’ backstory, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame Watching and Dreaming for another episode’s mistakes. What I can blame it for is not even alluding to his relationship with Caleb and stripping many of his complexities away. A good example would be that when he kills Luz. There’s no moment where he justifies it or even acknowledges this despite the fact that we know his twisted mind would see killing her as merciful. And say what you want about Belos, but one of his core traits is that he does not change, ever. So what applies in King’s Tide would still apply in the finale. Given that Caleb and Luz were both people he killed to ‘save their souls’ this would have been the prime time to reference his relationship with Caleb. Another example would be during the final battle, he doesn’t have anything interesting to say to Luz aside from the most generic villain dialogue ever. You’d think he’d still be shocked that she’s somehow alive, or that he would try and play mind games with her again, but no. Belos’ past is completely forgotten until the very last scene, his character is absent, replaced by a hollow shell that acts like him on the surface but is missing all the depth and complexity he once had. They decided it was best to turn him into a kaiju instead of utilising his character. Admittedly his death is pretty good – even if I’d have preferred he went out on a more serious note – but it’s built on poor foundations. One good scene can’t redeem an entire episode of wasted potential.

Even his relationship with Luz and how they both saw the Boiling Isles as a fantasy is just brushed off by saying ‘You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place. That man doesn’t care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion’ [1:08], and whilst is true to an extent it’s an idea that warrants more explanation than just a passing acknowledgment. However, note that I said it’s true to an extent. Take the line ‘I just need to live long enough to see this through’ [1:17] in Elsewhere and Elsewhen. This establishes that Belos believed in his goal enough to die for it, implying that becoming the Witch Hunter General and being recognised for ‘saving humanity’ was just an aspirational bonus. This is supported by the fact that he only starts outwardly obsessing about his need to be a hero in King’s Tide, after the Draining Spell has already started and he’s basically already won. Papa Titan’s comment cited earlier ignores this piece of characterisation in favour of supporting the new, simplified Belos. The counter to this would be that Papa Titan was only referring to Belos’ belief that he was doing things for the good of humanity when he said that his beliefs aren’t genuine. This would be true; Belos has simply convinced himself that he’s saving humanity, it’s part of his hero complex. However, this is a singular belief and Papa Titan specifically says beliefs, plural. Maybe it was just a small grammar mistake but given that this character is essentially god and we are supposed to take the things he says to be true, it has wide reaching implications on Belos’ character. Even forgetting all that, to say that Belos only cares about his need to be a hero is just wrong. He is a man fully committed to horrific ideals first and an egotist second. Both are important aspects of his character but neither is the sole motivator for him to do what he did. Watching and Dreaming misunderstands this and makes his ego his sole motive.

With all this established, I’m going to make what will probably be the most controversial statement in this essay: Belos is character assassinated in Watching and Dreaming. This moustache twirling kaiju man is not Belos, he’s a caricature; the character the fanbase thinks he is. The writers did quite a good job with Belos throughout the show, crafting an incredibly complex and compelling yet completely irredeemable antagonist who perfectly juxtaposed the show’s main themes. It’s a real shame they fumbled the bag so hard at the last hurdle as it really harms his character.

In conclusion, Watching and Dreaming has significant flaws. Characters consistently know information they shouldn’t, both major antagonists act incredibly out of character, the previous episode’s cliffhanger is walked back on, a huge amount of time is wasted, the plot is resolved in a nonsensical fashion and the final battle has many issues. As I stated at the beginning, the episode also has many positive aspects.

People often accuse me of hating Watching and Dreaming. I think it’s more accurate to say that I mourn Watching and Dreaming.

[melancholy-thots]

This Game Owns My Entire Brain (Part 2)

I decided to split this into two posts so I don't have to use my brain to count. I know there's a picture limit on posts and I've got a fair number. That being said though, I also wanted to say @insertdisc5 has a tumblr. That's the developer of this game. Go give them a follow if you're interested, they put a lot of good stuff up. I'd tag them, but I don't want to annoy them with notifications from nobody ass blogs gushing over their games.

So I've also been voicing Boniface here (the tiny one on the right, the slightly less tiny one on the left is the PC Sif). Such an adorably written preteen character. The way everyone is devoted to protecting them at all costs is so fucking cute. Also. Did you see that? Bonnie's a they/them user like yours truly. I like to believe that Bonnie is simply too young to know what their gender is yet. Natural state of things really.

This fucking scene got to me so hard. The interactions between these two are really something else. I don't even want to give too much away, but these people are really good at writing characters who have been through unimaginable trauma before even having the emotional regulation developed to know how to respond in a way that isn't like. Being a dick to Sif. Phenomenal.

I only have this one pic for Odile right now, which is a shame because she's also a really good character. Typical mage type, nerd ass loves books, does all types of damage. But she also gets her own story that was really impactful, especially since the person I'm playing with voicing Isabeau is half Korean and was similarly abandoned by their mom. Plus Odile's relationship with Bonnie is just so adorable. Which actually. Writing it right after the "Odile never got a mom" sentence kind of also makes her relationship with Bonnie unbearably sad. Always something new to think about here.

Basically, if you're into story based games and like (or can deal with) turn based battles, I highly recommend this game. It's really good at so much that it does.

I'll just say, if insertdisc5 sees this, hi, huge fan, please release a guide 😭 I was able to find the long thingy thing so easy (much to the surprise of everyone else playing with me), but spent an entire game night trying to find the secret ingredient bc I didn't think it'd be past the threads.

[0cta9on]

Hoya there bud, pray that things ease up over there😚, got quite a number of ask/tell so I will be doing it all in one ask

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🗨️1. Question: What are you looking for in creating complex characters and relationships that you want in a story? Is it like how character A personality could click together with character B (Like Intimidated looking but klutz girl get couple up with compose looking but a teasing guy)🤔

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🗨️2. Comment: Just saying, you making me go down bad for Eunha🥵, When she's in Gfriend, I only see her as a cute idol that's all but ever seen their Viviz debut, Gyaattt daym she's hot 🔥 the epitome of both cute and sexy combine into one person👌🗿

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🗨️3. Comment: I really enjoy your blurb of Eunha, sometimes a blurb (as short as a couple of paragraphs and short dialogue) already satisfies me. Kinda reminds me of this, NSFW Tag game: sex positions: https://ggidolsmuts.tumblr.com/post/655847569294049280/nsfw-so-you-lost-a-bet-and-posted-that-you-wanted

💫Just for fun hehehe: You walk upon your housemate with an unintended morning wood, How would you start your day?

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🗨️4. Comment: Here is Minji contagious laugh

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFW3GRot/

Such a ethereal and cuddly girl to have that contrasting laugh was phenomenal 🤣, Watching minji clip always reminded me of your work, Just imagine Yuno amused shocking face after experiencing first hand her really genuine laugh 🤭

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🪶To end this off, and yet again, I am truly thankful for your time and energy and attention on my humble messages, you probably got a lot on your tab already but I really appreciate every moment of it. Hope my long ass message doesn't pressure you🥲 cya✌️

Hello mikeylo!! Thanks for the asks!! Will probably be a bit long, so I'll put a divider here :) (Listen to Pat Pat by Eunha :)))) )

I think it really comes down to my lack of planning. For smuts at least, I think of scenarios first instead of relationships, so I end up worrying about if the characters are interesting enough or if the entire story is focused too much on the sex. There was actually an ask that caps had where they started out with interesting pieces of dialogue first and built the story off of that, which I wanna try in the future as it looks very interesting and makes for better character development and interactions (evident in all of caps' works tbh). A little bit of a spoiler but one of the things I'm working on has a throuple in it and I could easily write a bunch of hot n trashy threesome sex, but I thought it would be better if I explored how each person interacts with each other outside of sex and potential issues that could arise from feelings like jealousy or favoritism.

2. EXACTLY, Eunha has always been the epitome of cute and sexy imo. Even though Gfriend mainly did "cute" concepts, there were still a lot of times where Eunha was just naturally sexy. I'll leave a couple pics here to prove it :)

omg I remember going absolutely feral when she first did the bloom performance. And all of Eunha's Mago outfits are so GOOD gah damn.

3. I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I'm still looking for a perfect story to write about Eunha, anything less than perfection is a disservice to my girl. I remember reading those NSFW tag games when I was just a reader and it's a bit unfortunate I was too late to do them myself, they seem like fun to write. Anywho, here's another little blurb;

After a night full of drinking and partying, you're at the part you hate the most - waking up with a hangover. You stumble into your living room wearing nothing but your boxers and see your roommate, Eunha, sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in her lap. At this point, Eunha is used to you walking around in your boxers; what she's not used to, however, is your massive morning wood bulging through the fabric. Seeing you in your pitiful state, she decides to lend you a hand - more accurately, a mouth - and pulls your waistband down, taking as much of your cock into her mouth as she can. The sensation of her lips sucking your length is enough to make you forget about the pain in your head, and before you know it, you're shooting your cum down her throat. As you catch your breath, you can't help but think how lucky you are to have such a helpful roommate.

4. Omg I love her laugh so much, she's so cute I can't :,) There may or may not have been a time where I listened to her "I Love You 3000" cover on loop... Anyways, I cannot wait to write more cute shit for UD, thanks for the inspo, it helps a lot :))

[autogeneratedkahootnickname]

Yeah so I'm an Amber apologist until the day I die.

I do think there's potentially a minor writing hiccup but I'm gonna set things out as best I can from my understanding.

What a lot of people don't pick up on, and what the show tries to convey in episode 5, is that Mark has been a phenomenally shitty boyfriend to Amber. We only see a few brief snippets of him cancelling some dinner plans, but this has been a constant, unfaltering issue for 3 months. 'He's late, he doesn't show, and he always has some shitty excuse.' From Amber's point of view, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to think she means nothing to him.

But she recognises that the situation is complex, and she cares about him, and she sees that he IS trying, if not enough. So she gives him second chance after second chance. Honestly far longer than she should have done.

But yeah, their relationship is on the ROCKS for a LONG time. But since we see Mark superheroing throughout most of that, we can't put ourselves in her shoes.

So then, flash forward to Upstate U and the reveal. My controversial theory, but the one I think most makes sense in terms of writing, is that Amber didn't know Mark was Invincible until he tells her.

Amber is visibly startled when she sees Mark flying in her room. Granted she would be even if she knew, but it leans more to her not knowing than the contrary.

Amber does not know who Invincible is at Upstate U, and she never refers to him by name in the confrontation: 'I know you're a superhero', 'fly away, flyboy'. If she had known 'weeks beforehand' a cursory google would have been likely. She would be more likely to refer to him by name.

Amber is very intelligent, she's quick-witted, she's an expert at putting up walls as a defence mechanism and she hates being lied to. She would be capable of concealing her surprise, and wouldn't want to lose control in the conversation, but honestly she doesn't have to. Because her reaction seems genuine, even if its less premeditated than she puts on.

Amber goes into that interaction thinking Mark is a liar, a coward, a flake and an asshole. That interaction recontextualises him as a liar, a flake and an asshole. In different ways sure, but the end result is the same. Amber's whole issue is that she doesn't feel valued by Mark, and she's just been told that he was hiding an entire secret life from her because he didn't trust her. Also, Mark is not 'trusting her now': he's using Invincible as a retroactive get out of jail free card for being an asshole for 3-4 months. He frames it in a way that, even if its unintentional on his part, makes her out to be small, and petty, and irrational: 'because im out saving lives or protecting the planet.' It sounds like he's blaming her for being mad at him, and he's SO SURE she'll forgive him everything in that moment. She doesn't want to let him off the hook for being shitty, and Mark's behaviour isn't helping. This is supposed to convey that the way he treated her isn't ok even if he was a superhero, and he shouldn't expect it to be.

And she isn't happy about being angry with him! The scene ends with her looking pensive, conflicted, because the walls she put up in that scene do not reflect her character! She goes back to Mark to make sure he's alright, because she sees his actions in a different light, and bear in mind, at this point, Mark is still viewed by the public as someone who played a pretty substantial role in killing around 50,000 people at a guess. She's not going back to him because he's a hero now. He's public enemy number 2. That is an INCREDIBLE amount of integrity and dedication, traits she's displayed repeatedly throughout the season through her grassroots support of local communities.

William literally says in his pep talk to Mark:

'But you were a shitty boyfriend to Amber and you got what you deserved'. This is Mark's number 1 fan. Laying it out in front of us.

And last, but of course, not least,

Guys she's fucking seventeen cut her some slack jesus christ she's not a calculator

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @contreparry  |  AO3: ContreParry

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

You Won't Believe What She Was Hiding In Her Office!

Contre Parry and Dema talk gardening, hype-squads, horse girls, and “Sysiphean fun.” 

Dema: To hop right in: Writing. How Is It Going

Contre Parry: ... I think to say "it's going" would be horribly revealing, wouldn't it?

Dema: Haha it's okay to be honest!

Contre Parry: But it's going! Some days I make progress, and other days it's like slamming my face into a brick wall. But when you hit the sweet spot of "I know where I'm going," it's all worth the brick wall days.

Dema: Is there anything that helps you reset?

Contre Parry: Gardening! I go and pull weeds. I think the act of 'doing something useful' makes me feel a little better about not making progress on my writing. Like "Hey, you didn't write that scene, but you cleared out the veggie patch! Don't feel bad!" And that resets the brain and makes me look back at what I was stuck on.

Dema: I feel like there is a great metaphor in there.

Contre Parry: There's got to be, but it's going to require lots of edits to get it to come through!

Dema: Eyyyyyy!

I, too, like to garden. I think it helps to have a hobby that uses a completely different part of my brain. And of course, to touch grass.

Contre Parry: Oh yes! Grass touching is essential. It's also a great reminder of "sometimes it's just not going to work, and that's okay!" ... I tried to grow some lettuce. It did not work.

Dema: Ah yes. I will never attempt lettuces again because I cannot bring myself to kill the little white butterflies.

Contre Parry: "But they need to eat too!"

Dema: Exactly, lol. When you do sit down to write after a wall day, is there anything that helps you get back in the zone?

Contre Parry: I'll get my computer (or phone, depending on location), sit down with a drink, and tell myself that it doesn't matter if it's bad, it just matters that it's DONE. And I repeat that last line as many times as needed.

Dema:  Wow this interview is well-timed for me, lol!

Contre Parry: I'm glad if it helps you out! Sometimes it also helps to find a person who REALLY wants to see what you're writing. So then you can bounce ideas off them and workshop what you got stuck on.

Dema: Do you work with a beta? or do you mean more of a hype person, who isn't editing?

Contre Parry: More like a hype person. In my case, I'll send segments to one of my friends or my brother. Example: I was working on a fic for FFXIV, and I sent a snippet of dialogue to a friend who has never played FFXIV and has no idea who these characters are. And her response ("Kill Him") was actually super helpful, because for me it meant "Oh I wrote this character right." So that interaction got me fired up to finish that scene, because I knew I was onto something!

Dema: Oh that is interesting! And so nice to have supportive friends who will read it even if they aren't fans of the source media!

Contre Parry: It really is! What was super helpful is that this particular friend is very skilled at writing characters having messy, awful fights. So comments like that? Truly special.

Dema:  It sounds like, in general, writing is a pretty social experience for you?

Contre Parry: It is! As much as I like to work on my writing and drop it with a "here it is," behind the scenes I'm bouncing ideas off of lots of people. Sometimes the act of just talking to someone else helps me work through all the problems!

Dema:  For a Bang fic that seems especially helpful, since it's long and in a set timeframe. Has this fic-writing process felt any different than your usual process? Do you do more planning, for example? Less?

Contre Parry: This project was different for me because I came into it without a firm plan in place. I knew what I wanted to write, but I didn't figure out my angle. For most of my stories I have a plan. So if I wander off of my plan, I at least know where and why I did that. This one, though, I went in wanting to write about a one-off line in Dragon Age: Inquisition. And that was it!

Dema: Oooo I wish I could ask which line but that will be a spoiler, I fear. Do a lot of your stories begin that way? Jumping off from a particular line or piece of lore?

Contre Parry:  Most of the time I start with a character, and all of their associated backstory. And if something jumps out at me, makes me go "Why are you like this?" then I start exploring that. "But why?" is sort of my starting point, and then I try to answer that question with varying success.

Dema: Are those usually canon characters? Or do you write more OCs?

Contre Parry: Usually canon, though I love writing OCs. I particularly love writing OCs who are side characters. There's a lot of flexibility and room to grow in those areas!

Dema:  Will it be a spoiler if I ask about your favorite original side- character?

Contre Parry: Not at all! I have one from a story and a few short drabbles I wrote on my tumblr, and she's not in my Big Bang fic so it will be safe to discuss! She's the Inquisitor's niece. I created her thinking "well, my Inquisitor Trevelyan's got a big family with very strained relations, what if she had a niece she never met? What would she be like? How would they meet? Why would they meet?" And that's how I created Henrietta, who is a thirteen year old horse girl.

Dema:  You are really tugging on my heartstrings LOL, I was not prepared to feel so many things in this interview.

Contre Parry: haha, good things, I hope!

Dema: As a former 13yo horse girl, very yes, haha.

Contre Parry: Henrietta's fun because she's a bit of a chatterbox, and is very free with her thoughts and feelings as opposed to her aunt, my Inquisitor. The contrast is fun.

Dema: So when you say room to grow, do you mean for the protagonists? Like these side characters are providing additional character development? Or do you ride off into the sunset with Henrietta for a while?

Contre Parry: Protagonists, worldbuilding, the side characters themselves- it's all a chance to make the world a richer place. Like, Henrietta sees the events of the story from a different perspective and hears stuff that others won't, but she also interprets them as a thirteen year old would. It's like opening another window into the world of the story! So we ride into the sunset with Henrietta, and we see a different Thedas than what we might as a player, you know?

Dema:  Do you tend to write from an omniscient POV? Or are your readers mostly seeing through that window via dialogue? 

Contre Parry: More like a limited omniscient. We're with one character and seeing and feeling things from their perspective. Sometimes I'll switch between characters, but mostly you're stuck with one person. I want to experiment with other POVs more, but that might have to wait until I finish my WIP mountain.

Dema: Ah, yes. The WIP mountain is ever growing. Do you have a side project you are working on while you work on your DABB fic? Or do you try to stick to one thing at a time? (haha do any of us do this???)

Contre Parry: I'm editing that FFXIV fic at the moment, and I usually like having a side project to hop to whenever I feel truly stuck. Like gardening, the jump to something completely different is a hard reset. But once I finish those edits, I'll just have to pick something else off of the WIP pile to work on! Maybe I'll try to be efficient and slowly grind that mountain down to dust! (... she says, knowing this will not happen.)

Dema: It's Sisyphean. If Sisyphus was having fun.

Contre Parry: Sisyphus, I know you got a fanfic in your heart. I know it!

Dema: Now, you may already be aware of the click-bait titles. In our last minutes, can you come up with one for your fic? 

Contre Parry: You Won't Believe What She Was Hiding In Her Office!

Dema: Amazing. You were so ready with that one haha!

Contre Parry: Now all we need is some sort of stockphoto of someone looking surprised. Just so surprised! Hands in the air and everything.

Dema: I should really make a collection of them. If I had all the time in the world I'd do DA sketches. [Dear artists: feel free to use this as a prompt ;)]

Contre Parry: Oh, to be able to break space and time...

Dema:  if only! Then perhaps I would someday see the summit of wip mountain. But alas! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Contre Parry! It has been a delight 

Contre Parry:  Thanks for the interview! It was lots of fun! And I think it helped me as well! Clickbait title and all.

[powertaco]

Vol 9 Spoiler Rant (aka I have waited and thought on it and still dont’ like it/Ranting ahead

I hate Volume 9

I’ll start by saying that upfront so you aren’t shocked or surprised by a conclusion later down the line, and can leave if the notion of disliking it offends you.

I don’t doubt I’ll get many blocks or people who disagree with this take, which is fair since I’m putting the opinion out there and should be able to take it on the chin or stand by it. 

This will contain spoilers for V9, my thoughts on a lot of things, ships, and what not so if you want to turn back now the back button is over yonder.

If it’s disjointed I apologize but I’m not feeling my best, and the longer I think about it the more I dislike it and I’m sick of pretending and being toxically positive about it.

First off I’ll get a few things out of the way as things I approve of. 

The animation has largely grown phenomenally. There’s a few moments that are a little out of it (yo why you got a 3 foot neck Weiss?), but for the most part considering where we came from in the bass on the wall days of Volume 1. Big win here. 

The music. Good work Casey. Red Like Roses 3 is a banger, inside is great, and checkmate is…something. Overall good stuff. 

VA work. Good deal. Rob nails his ‘surprise’ villain as he always nails his roles but people seem to be putting their all into it. No hate here, and these guys clearly brought their A game. Good work!

This volume as a whole is very middling to me, bordering on bad depending on if or how V10 recontextualizes things that happened, which I will try to go into later. 

Essentially if you were a big fan of Bees this might be one of your favorites, but if you’re just kinda neutral to them like me then the volume didn’t have a lot to offer you and didn’t do much to really move the story forward.

Remember when Ambro said don’t fall in V8 like it was a big ominous thing, and remember how it ended up being almost entirely beneficial? Yeah so V9 was like that. Setting up stuff for an instant week to week payoff regardless of if it hurt the story or not cause we need that interest spiked to greenlight V10. 

For a Volume that took so long to make the entire thing is remarkably rushed. 

Why do Ruby and Weiss talk so little? Serious question. Even if you don’t ship them they’re supposed to be canon best friends, and yet they share almost as many lines together in the last few seasons as they do with Ren. In case you were wondering that’s not many. 

We had a reduced cast of characters and almost none of them can actually be bothered to interact meaningfully.

Why does Weiss and everyone keep ditching Ruby except Little? Ruby has a basically perfect assassin after her, and in the market everyone ditches her cause of nose hairs. 

But what can they do against Neo? Nothing, but they could maybe point her out, or talk and help distract her rather than leaving her to her own devices when she’s clearly not feeling well. 

Sometimes having someone there for you can help a lot, but instead we need to have Weiss backslide and the others abandon her so she can be alone to meet the smith. 

This is bad writing. I’m sorry but it is. Had this been Volume 1-3 Weiss? Sure I could buy this, but this is not that Weiss. If you need to have Ruby be alone to meet the smith, work harder. You had years for this. This would have gotten a C at best in a writing class with a see me after class/don’t keep using coincidences like this note attached to it. 

If you’re going to tell me I’m not a professional writer so I can’t critique then that’s asinine. I don’t drive trucks for a living but if I see one ramp off a cliff and into a pit I can tell you that, that guy/gal has messed up.

If Weiss wanted to help cheer on or try to get Bees together then that’s an even worse reason as the aforementioned ASSASSIN is after her partner.

“Oh but Neo wouldn’t attack in a busy market!” My guy do you know Neo “i live only to murder this woman’ AT ALL? There’s an amusing quote I can ascribe to her actions “i will kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them!” 

There was a reason the meme, ‘squads that would treat Ruby better’ was going around through volume 9 and even included pictures of villains. 

Blake and Ruby never talk outside of that one scene in V8, and Yang has focused way more on Blake and way less on being a sister. 

I’ve seen people defend her actions as being a target for her sister’s actions when she steps in front of Blake, but please note Yang just let her yell at Weiss and did nothing, until she starts yelling at Blake. 

Yeah, no I’m sorry she lets her have a go at Weiss and then when her girlfriend is getting her feefees hurt then she steps in. Her talking to her sister after the hound was nice (but again prob would have been a decent Weiss moment)

That’s bullshit. Had Yang stepped in or tried to when she was talking to Weiss then I could buy this, but as is it’s just another thing to hold against her. 

The bees eat a lot of screentime. If you’re a bee fan this is great. If you want story progression, this is not. 

The world bends and revolves around them very literally. We need to have a confession bridge show up so they can confess but we can’t get a ‘you have to talk about what’s bothering you’ camp you can’t leave until you talk things out for Ruby?

What are the rules of ever after? Basically w/e so the only reason Ruby can’t get that is cause well we want a breakdown. Again great writing. 

But let’s talk about it. Ruby has a breakdown. She complains there’s no time for her. It’s tragic because she’s put a lot of stuff on her own shoulders and internalized it. 

Good acting here, even from Jaune. 

Weiss puts out a hand and she flies away. 

When our heroes next see her she’s drank suicide tea. You can claim after the fact that ascension isn’t that (but i’m sorry that’s how it’s framed and the whole zooming into Yang’s eye thing is explicitly treated like it’s meant to be a big deal and get people talking)

Tragic truly, but you know what she believes in herself now, and now she’s all better. Her depression and desire to die are gone. I don’t know how it helps with Salem, as I’d be willing to bet Summer also believed in herself but it didn’t seem to help her much. If they go more into this in V10 I will retract this and accept it but I’m not in the mood to be forgiving to them atm.

Also again right after Ruby ‘kills’ herself they stop to help Jaune…just I’m sorry what?

Jaune still takes up too much time and serves a role that’s almost not needed and I don’t even hate or dislike him. His interesting development is stripped away at the end. 

By deaging Jaune now they can’t explain where they were with any real proof. A few scroll pics of a weird cat thing isn’t going to cut it. 

He has a few gray stripes and will likely go back to acting like he normally does and other than Nora ragging him about them once or twice will likely not be mentioned again. He may on occasion get to say something ‘wise’ but I’m doubting it since he went back to being the same almost right away. 

So rather than an aged, mature, and slightly damaged man going back and having to relate to his friends/people he knew he’s the same. Awesome development. 

Plus side is that now that deaging is canon DWR can still win! Anyway he takes entirely too much focus away. 

Ruby complains about how they have no time cause they have to help Jaune, and what do they do almost instantly after she ‘kills’ herself? Stop and help Jaune. It’s tonal whiplash. 

I get that JNPR are supposed to be deuteragonist but holy hell almost all the time goes to Jaune who is by far the least interesting of the bunch imo even with all the time dumped into him. 

Can we get more Ren and Nora? This could have been a good way for Nora to ‘learn’ who she is without Ren. 

If Nora had fallen(say off her hammer into the void at the start from Cinder during the scuffle with Penny in the air) and they met a wizened Nora who tried to act chipper but was clearly putting up a front it would be a great foil/combo with Ruby. 

It would also make her reuniting with Ren and being ready for a relationship in the next volume all the sweeter. 

We spend an episode on the red prince. Neat. You know what would have been better for it? Almost anything else, say perhaps after Ruby’s ‘suicide’ they spend a few frantic minutes trying to get to the tree until they see the reincarnated paper pleasers and then are like oh, ok so she’ll prob come back/be alright instead of just ‘we did what we can’. 

Girl I love you Weiss but you all did jack shit. You made one half hearted effort and stopped, and then every time Ruby might have gotten to talk they needed to help Jaune or something interrupted. 

Good work being the best partner ever by the way especially when Ruby spends a large portion of the volume helping you with all your problems and rushing to your side without a bit of hesitation and in return you muster up…about nothing. 

They did it in genlock and did it twice in this volume and arguably with Penny/Vine last volume. “Suicide is great!” Please stop doing this. 

Speaking of Penny if you like her you might want to get CRWBY to be pallbearers at your funeral so they can let you down one last time. 

If you liked Nuts’ and Dolts even more condolences. They’d have many chances to imply deeper feelings than friendship between them and take none of them. Her farewell song is called Friend where she talks about being friends with Ruby. 

During the fight with her clones, the Penny clone never once says she loves her. This is Neo, mouse killer and person with the largest hateboner for Ruby in the show. 

She is twisting the knife as much as she can so you can bet if she thought there was even an inkling there was more than friendly feelings between them she’d have had the clone say she loved her just to do that little bit more mental damage, but she didn’t. 

If there was ever a time to bring it up to put her off balance it was now. Neo is under no pressure and has no reason to not do so, so it basically sinks the ship. Well more than her being dead already does. 

I swear to god if they go to Vacuo and Pietro is in a coma or dead and there’s a new Penny I’m going to call Akira Toriyama and tell him RWBY is aping Dragon Ball because there’s no stakes in life or death anymore. 

Oh right, speaking of Neo she’s pretty ok until the end where she decides she’s cool with Ruby, gets to get the kill on the cat and then just bows out and leaves, and everyone is…strangely cool with that. 

Ascension or not I’m just struggling to think that any of them should just want her to essentially get away scot free. This woman tried to kill Ruby or get her to commit suicide and killed Little and we’re cool with letting her go because she killed the cat who was no longer a threat to them and did a hat doff? Um…yeah sure. I bet Yang is ok with people almost killing her sister, Weiss her best friend, etc. Then again maybe these versions of the characters are. 

I don’t care much about how ascension will change her; she's paid for nothing she’s done. “Get your revenge and you’ll get it and still get away scoTt free’. Ok last of us two. 

I can not overstate how pointless the suicide feels. 

It feels like they wanted her to do it, but have it not ‘take’ or have consequences because they’re in ever after and can say ‘hey the ascension thing fixes it’. 

Look, I'm glad the bees got together. Really I’m happy for you, but if you take out the Bee stuff, and the pining you’re left with a threadbare story that is only barely there since it’s all resolved in about five minutes. 

We all deserve better than that. The characters deserve better than that. 

I could keep going as this just scratches the surface level but it’s pissing me off to keep thinking about it. 

[rayshippouuchiha]

Reading your KHR reactions was the highlight of my day, thank you ❤️

Do you still take fic recs, cuz I have a few (mostly SI/OC fic, regular OC fic) to recommend

Kyoko by Discoabc. Slight AU, SI/OC Kyoko. The fact that the author was able to balance a ridiculous amount of OC AND the KHR cast is insane. Most of their interpretations of the main cast was quite original at the time of reading. ( My fav was Bel’s for spoilers reasons). The plot twists were phenomenal.

My heavenly judgement by Colbub. I have seen this recommendation in another’s so I won’t repeat this, but I seconded the recs. Kyoya x Alice gang rised up 😭😭😭

When Pigs fly by Nerro. It has been sometimes since I read this one, so the finer details have escaped me. But I remember having a really good time reading this lmao. Dino x OC, AU (?), completed, mostly romcom shenanigans.

Confession of A Teenage Hitman by Fish and Chipz. Same as above, finer details have escaped me but I had fun reading. Hibari x Hitman!OC, also w romcom(?) shenanigans, but the a reviewer did said they bailed their eyes out reading so take that as you will

Parallel Fate by Stop’nGo Girl. Dino x Isekai!OC, quite wholesome and healing. OC got switched with their parallel self in the KHR universe and must adapt to their life, despite being total opposite.

Prince Belphegor’s Guide to Parenting by AllThingsVaria. KHR x HP crossover with FEHarry (adopted by Bel and made royalty). This was as adorable as a Varia-adopts-child fic can be, with a lot of insanity sprinkle in. The sequel, Princess Hel’s guide to School, promised to fuck the Wizarding World up and I’m all here for that.

Is it considered cheating in life? by GuessWhoIAm27. You gotta read the version posted on FFN, it’s longer. A slightly delulu OC got dropped into KHRverse by a God’s mistake and proceed to ignore reality and focus on making her OTP canon (spoilers alert: no one in universe understands what she’s doing either). I came for the mindless fun and stayed for the feels. Endgame pairing is intended to be Hibari x OC.

Fortune Favours by AlligatorEyes. I think I see Sass and Win being rec to you in a different ask so, if you read SnW then you should be familiar with the author’s writing style. This one is different tho, a rather interesting interpretations of Dino’s youth that I have not read anywhere else. Remind me of reading the Dino’s side-story in the KHR novels actually

Novaturient by woofio. Reincarnated OC into, like, Hibari’s parents timeline. So OCs, side characters in KHR got a lot of time to shine here. Many things, mostly bad things,happened to the OC but we do have quite a few fluff to balance it out. Come read this and cry with meeee

If you Can’t beat them by metisket. Hana is that that one ride or die friend to Kyoko, literally. One shot, completed. Really good character interactions.

Copy & Paste by LadyHallen. One shot completed. A unique take on Twins fic

your love is a crime by blackkat. KHR x Captain America. Oneshot completed. The pairing is Steve x Xanxus. Yes, you read that right. I found this in a sleepless night. Technically a 2 shots since there is a sequel???

With all due respect, sir (meaning none) by Nobodystormcrow. OC, who was reincarnated in Naruto, died and reincarnated again in KHR. As Basil. This, as usual, changes things exponentially. Pairing is Bel x Basil.

I have been in and out of the fandom for the last few years so I am playing catch-up with many fics. The sheer amount of creativity still blows me away.

Have fun readinggg

!!!!