#This is based off of my research + multiple canon timelines

[sorreltail]

yellowfang was pregnant with brokenstar for about 10 months if you want to know why he was so fucked up

[toomanythoughts2]

How Dethklok Met: A Timeline Theory

I recently got an anonymous Ask asking, "What are your thoughts – in what order did Dethklok members join the band ? or how did they meet ?"

Originally, I was going to answer the question in that Ask but, my response became much larger than intended. So, naturally, I needed to make a separate post explaining my theory on their timeline, because I do have one!

Just a disclaimer, you don't have to agree with this theory about ages, the order they met, or how they met. This is not meant to discredit anyone's personal HCs. A lot of this is based on small details in the show, interviews, special features, and my own deductive research. Your own HCs on their ages, the order they met, or how they met is completely valid.

As always, longer analysis is under the cut.

What Do We know?

First, lets compile what we do know about the band to establish from groundwork.

Ages: Dethkloks canon age order, answered by Brendon in a AMA, is (oldest to youngest), Pickles, Murderface, Nathan & Skwisgaar, Toki. x

Pickles was "no older than 16" when he started Snakes N' Barrels and the band lasted from the 80's to the 90's. ("Snakes N' Barrels")

We have the start and finish of the order of the band forming, Nathan and Toki.

Skwisgaar was already a well known guitar player before Dethklok, playing in multiple other metal bands. ("Snakes N' Barrels")

Murderface has been to Pickles childhood home to have dinner with him and his parents. (DVD Special. Food - Interview.)

Pickles left Snakes N' Barrels looking for "heavier music" and there is no mention of a band between Snakes N' Barrels and Dethklok. ("Snakes N' Barrels")

We do not know the age of Magnus.

From this list, I can start to build a timeline, starting from Pickles.

Ages

Before we can talk about how they all met, we need to look at their possible ages. No one in the show has a confirmed age, we only know ranges and a hierarchy. However, using the information we got from Brendon and the episode "Snakes N' Barrels", I can craft a rough timeline for their ages.

Disclaimer: These ages are subjective and fluid. There is a lot of wiggle room. For the sake of the timeline, I will be basing my years on the year that Metalocalypse was first aired, which is 2006. The first episode of Metalocalypse states that the band had been together for 10 years, which would mean they got together in 1996.

1996 - Band formed

2006 - First episode aired

Pickles

Because Pickles has the most information about him, we will start from him and using his ages to guesstimate the others.

We know that Pickles was 16 (Or no older than 16) when he made Snakes N' Barrels. SNB formed in the 80's and died off somewhere in the 90's. This would put Pickles' birthday year somewhere in the 60's. If we believe that Pickles was 16 in 1980 (The start of SNB), that makes his birthday year 1964.

He leaves Snakes N' Barrels looking for heavier music. Pickles is 26 when he leaves (1990, the end of SNB), and 32 when we know he is in Dethklok (1996). (Pickles could have been between 26 to 32 when he first joined, but we know for sure that he was in the band by the time Dethklok is signed and Toki arrives.) Which would make him 42 by the time the show start in 2006, 10 years later. [Honestly makes Seth's situation even worse] This also makes a little bit of sense as to why Pickles' shaved off his goatee between Snake' N' Barrels and Dethklok. It's possibly to look younger since he was starting a band with people significantly younger than him and felt self conscious.

1964~ - Pickles is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42.

Nathan

In, "Go Forth and Die", we find out that Nathan did not graduate high school. However, in an in-character interview, Nathan has been in bands since high school and has been looking for a specific band since childhood x.

In, "Dethcamp", we see a younger Nathan who has a similar physical appearance to his football picture in "Go Forth and Die". His hair, in the flashback of "Dethcamp" and "Renovationklok" is not as long as we know it to be during present day episodes.

Typical ages for high school kids in America is 14 - 18. (Granted, while I do believe that Nathan probably had extra help in school or could have possibly been held back for his speech, there's nothing to indicate that he was, so I'm assuming that he went through the school system normally.)

In "Go Forth and Die", Nathan wants to get his degree, and all he has to do is take the G.E.D. test. Getting a G.E.D is a little more complicated though than just taking a test. It does require people to take classes then take 4 separate tests in 4 subject matters. (Though, he could have paid to compile them into one test.) For Nathan to only need to take the test(s), says just how far in high school he did get. I would say probably senior year. Maybe junior year, but definitely senior year, for sure. (Note: Floridians can drop out of the high school at age 16 legally, with a parent signature. But, with Nathan's dad being a military man, he probably kept Nathan in school until Nathan turned into a legal adult and couldn't stop him.)

Dropping out in senior year would make Nathan either 17 or 18 when he dropped out and started looking for bandmembers to join Dethklok. Time passed because his hair grew from his ears to the middle of his pecs, going off his football picture in "Go Forth and Die".

Going off of Pickles' departure in the 90's (1990), that gives us 6 years to work with. Because of his hair length, I would say that it took a few years to gather everyone.

Lets go off the idea that Nathan is 18 when he drops out of high school in 1990. He's got short hair and a dream to start a band. Pickles is just then leaving Snakes N' Barrels to find heavier music. Nathan could have been anywhere between 18 to 23 when he met Pickles. This would give him enough time for his hair to grow out from the top of his ears to the middle of his pec, while also maintaining his high school jock physique. He would be 23 in 1996, when the band officially starts. Then in 2006, he would be 33.

1964~ - Pickles is born

1973~ - Nathan is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1990~ - Nathan drops out of high school at age 18

1996 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 23 (Started between 18 to 23)

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42

2006 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 33

Skwisgaar

Skwisgaar is the same age as Nathan, so he would also be 23 in 1996 and 33 in 2006. Skwisgaar's hair growth also makes sense. In "Fatherklok", Skwisgaar rocked a bob that touched the back of his head, which is much longer than Nathan's short cropped hair. (As long as Skwisgaar did not cut his hair drastically since "Fatherklok", the hair growth theory is pretty accurate. Skwisgaar is presenting younger than a high schooler as well, so take this with a grain of salt.)

So, by the time he joined Dethklok, his hair would have been the right length that we normally see it in the show.

1964~ - Pickles is born

1973~ - Nathan is born

1973~ - Skwisgaar is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1990~ - Nathan drops out of high school at age 18

1996 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 23 (Started between 18 to 23)

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

1996 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 23 (Could have joined at 18 to 23)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42

2006 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 33

Murderface

Murderface is going to be tricky as we have almost nothing to back up his age, other than a range. What we do know is that he's younger than Pickles (32 in 1996) but older than Nathan and Skwisgaar (23 in 1996) That's a 8 year gap we can play with. So Murderface could be 31 to 24 when he first joins Dethklok.

However! We do have the Dethcomics for possible guidance. (I know they aren't canon, but this is all I got.)

Looking at Murderface's appearance in his flashbacks in high school in the comics and looking at the flashback from "Dethcamp" and "Renovationklok", Murderface looks very similar. A 31 year old isn't going to look like an 18 year old. So, I don't believe he is 31 or 30. He's also much thinner, in the face and body. 24 feels too close to Nathan and Skwisgaar's ages, and if he was that close, I think Brendon would have just put all three of them together. So that leaves 29 to 25. I think, because he does still look so similar to his high school years, that he is probably 26. (Honestly, it's really up to whatever you prefer, but I think this age makes the most sense.) So that makes Murderface 26 in 1996, and 36 in 2006.

1964~ - Pickles is born

1970~ - Murderface is born

1973~ - Nathan is born

1973~ - Skwisgaar is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1990~ - Nathan drops out of high school at age 18

1996 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 23 (Started between 18 to 23)

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

1996 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 23 (Could have joined at 18 to 23)

1996 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 26 (Could have join at 20 to 26)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42

2006 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 36

Toki

Toki is a minor or an older teen when he joins Dethklok, we know this because of Doomstar. Specifically, if we look at "I Believe. when Toki is getting dressed and bathed by the klokateers, we see his hair grow from his bob to as long as Skwisgaar's.

It's important to note that when we see the clip of Toki holding the guitar to his parents, the back of his hair is above his shoulders and showing a good portion of his neck. When we see the back of his head during the flashback of "The Duel", his neck is fully covered, and his hair sometimes rests on his shoulders.

Also note that the clip of him with his parents is not how we see him at the audition. He still has his child-like qualities that we see in him during "Dethzazz", "Dethdad", and "Dethkids".

The average boy hits his growth spurts around 12 to 15. Using this evidence, Toki was possibly kicked out of the house before he hit his growth spurt (puberty) and hit it sometime while being homeless. So he's at least over 15 before he meets Dethklok. However, Toki's facial structure changed from the kid to the teenager versions of himself, but they do not change from teenager to adult versions of him.

This is coming from my own experience so just trust me on this. Toki's hair rests just above the curvature of his lower back. I once had 2 feet of hair from shoulder to the bottom of my back, the top of my butt. Toki's hair is probably less than 2 feet. I'd say about a foot and a half. On average, hair grows 6 inches per year. Meaning, that Toki's hair would have taken about three years to get that long.

During that time, at no point does anything about his facial structure, height, or other physical trait, other than his hair, change. Seeing how Toki's height and his facial structure do not change, he is most likely done with puberty by the time he meets Dethklok, which ends at 16 to 18 in boys. Also important is that Toki refers to himself as a "kid" in "I Believe". I would not say a 18 year old is still referring to himself as a "kid".

Using this evidence, Toki is 16 to 18 when he meets Dethklok. At this point, it's up to preference what age he should be at, however, I like younger Toki. So I think Toki is 16 when he first meets the band in 1996, thus making him 26 in 2006.

1964~ - Pickles is born

1970~ - Murderface is born

1973~ - Nathan is born

1973~ - Skwisgaar is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1980~ - Toki is born

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1990~ - Nathan drops out of high school at age 18

Between 1992~ to 1995~ - Toki is kicked out from possible ages of 12 to 15

1996 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 23 (Started between 18 to 23)

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

1996 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 23 (Could have joined at 18 to 23)

1996 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 26 (Could have join at 20 to 26)

1996 - Toki is in Dethklok at age 16 (Could have been between 16 to 18)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42

2006 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 36

2006 - Toki is in Dethklok at age 26

Magnus

Magnus is a mystery. I believe solely that he is older than Pickles simply because he says this to Pickles during the flashback.

"Wait. What are you playing? Stop playing! Stop playing! That's not the drum pattern. I didn't tell you to make it your own, asshole. Now, why don't you all shut the fuck up and listen to me. And let's play some fucking music --" - Magnus

"Hey. Take it easy. This isn't just your band. It's our band." - Nathan

"Without me, you guys suck!" - Magnus

This tells me that Magnus has experience in the music world, more so than Pickles.

Why would Pickles even need someone else to write his drum line? He's been in the business for years and has been playing drums as far back as when he was a kid still living at home. Pickles is experienced and has already had fame at one point in his life; he knows what he's doing. So, why would he be taking drum lines from Magnus and why would he be listening to him?

Because Magnus is older than him and he has more musical experience than him, somehow, somewhere.

I'm not sure how though. Possibly as a failed guitarist in other bands, maybe as a ghost writer for other bands. The possibilities are literally endless for him.

Take note, Magnus seems to be playing a Les Paul Gibson guitar, which is an older model type of guitar but not too much older than Skwisgaar's Explorer or Toki's Flying-V. However, In the DVD Special "CFO taking calls" Charles says that he has a vintage "'59" guitar, presuming he is talking about Les Paul guitars because that's what the topic was on during the call. Magnus is playing an all black Les Paul Gibson guitar, and vintage models are highly sought after, especially from the '50s and '60s.

This could be a subtle way of pinpointing the generational differences between Magnus to Skwisgaar (and the rest of the band). In "Snakes N' Barrels", Pickles is playing a Les Paul guitar in both the flash back and the reunion. It's the same one that he asks for when he is 16 to the pawn shop owner.

It's similar to Magnus, except Pickles' has a light wood finish. Maybe this is another way of stating that Magnus is stuck in the past, while the rest of the band wants to move forward. Also, his guitar is round with no points. Toki, Skwisgaar, and Murderface all have pointed guitars. That could also point that he's not as compatible as he wants to be with the band.

I don't have an age range for him, but, I assume that he's in his 40's in 1996. Making him in his 50's in 2006. This would make sense as he has significant graying hair in the front, and your 50's is when people start to see significant amounts of graying.

Late 1950's - Magnus is born

1964~ - Pickles is born

1970~ - Murderface is born

1973~ - Nathan is born

1973~ - Skwisgaar is born

1980~ - Pickles starts SNB at age 16

1980~ - Toki is born

1990~ - Pickles leaves SNB at age 26

1990~ - Nathan drops out of high school at age 18

Between 1992~ to 1995~ - Toki is kicked out from possible ages of 12 to 15

1996 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 23 (Started between 18 to 23)

1996 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 32 (Could have joined between 26 to 32)

1996 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 23 (Could have joined at 18 to 23)

1996 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 26 (Could have join at 20 to 26)

1996 - Toki is in Dethklok at age 16 (Could have been between 16 to 18)

1996 - Magnus was in Dethklok in his 40's (Kicked out)

2006 - Pickles is in Dethklok at age 42

2006 - Nathan is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Skwisgaar is in Dethklok at age 33

2006 - Murderface is in Dethklok at age 36

2006 - Toki is in Dethklok at age 26

2006 - Magnus is not in Dethklok in his 50's

Age Range

So, based on the evidence above, the ages go like this.

1996:

Magnus (40's)

Pickles (32)

Murderface (26)

Skwisgaar (23)

Nathan (23)

Toki (16)

2006:

Magnus (50's)

Pickles (42)

Murderface (36)

Skwisgaar (33)

Nathan (33)

Toki (26)

I will not be going any further than 2006 because it's not prevalent to the question asked, but a quick guess would be that 3 to 5 years have passed that could be canonically recorded in the show. Add on maybe another 5 to 10 years to keep up with reality's technological advancements being present in the show (Buttons on Dethphones turning to Screens). Do with that what you want.

How The Band Met: Contextual Evidence

This is where a lot of the subjectivism comes to play. I'm going to be using the bands ages, their possible backgrounds, and the canon (ish) bits of their past to form a timeline.

Nathan: The Beginning

Dethklok is Nathan's band, he's the one that made it and recruited people originally. He started this band as early as high school but had dreams of making this band as early as a child. So, the band starts with him! None of the band members can become band members until they met and are accepted by Nathan (plus any members present at the time.)

Pickles and Murderface: An Unlikely Duo

Now we get to Pickles. Pickles and Murderface are the two oldest members of the band. They are close enough as friends for Murderface to have been invited inside Pickles' home for dinner. (Coming from the DVD extra). The context of that statement is right after Pickles said how his mom would make bowls of mayo for dinner, and Murderface responded how he remembers that and had a bowl there once. None of the others state they have had dinner with Pickles' family before, especially Nathan, who Pickles is very close with, even at the beginning of their music career (Nathan states how when all 5 of them were in the same room, he knew they were going to be a success, and he looked to Pickles specifically, who also felt it.) So, I believe that Pickles and Murderface probably knew each other before they got into the band.

Pickles was in active search for heavier music, and Nathan says that Murderface is the "most brutal of all bass players". ("Birthdayface") Now, we have no information on Murderface's past or how he joined the band, but it would make sense if Pickles discovered Murderface while on his journey for heavier music. We know that Murderface was in some type of band before Dethklok, so it's possible that Pickles recruited Murderface and then traveled with him for a couple of years before finding Nathan.

Skwisgaar: My Shot

Skwisgaar is trickier. He had to have come to the United States at some point alone to join the band or he was with one of his original bands then ditched and joined Dethklok. We can have theories as to why he ditched so many bands (Not challenged enough, not heavy enough, fear of commitment both platonically and romantically, getting further and further away from his mom) but we know that he did it frequently. Now, we know that Skwisgaar and Nathan are the same age, between 18 to 23. We also know that Skwisgaar had a job at one point that required him to cash in checks at the bank. Somewhere, between having that job and meeting Nathan, Skwisgaar had been in (at least) 8 other bands. (Agnostic Priest, Gangagar, Eldeleel-Alele, Gognog Mug Alugdug, Fuckface Academy, Sausage Assassin, Financially Raped, Smugly Dismissed.) He was busy in so many others bands between that time, which really is not a lot of time.

Assuming that Skwisgaar graduated high school at 18, he would be an adult exiting the school system. Somewhere between being 18 and in bands to 23 in Dethklok, Skwisgaar must have come to the United States.

Why?

There's no evidence to support that his previous bands were strictly from Sweden, as English named bands in non-dominated English speaking countries are fairly common. However, Skwisgaar moving to the United Sates without any support or reason doesn't seem something that he would do, especially if he was doing well for himself in bands in Sweden. I also highly doubt that he heard of Nathan's small garage metal band all the way from Sweden, since Nathan was very poor while trying to get Dethklok off it's feet.

I believe that Skwisgaar was on tour with one of his bands that went to the United States and found Nathan. Or rather, Nathan discovered Skwisgaar. It's well known that Skwisgaar is a fantastic guitar player and is always looking to improve his skill. I have a theory that Nathan offered Skwisgaar the lead guitarist spot in Dethklok, rather than the rhythm guitarist. A possible reason for Skwisgaar leaving different bands is because he was not being shown enough respect for his craft and wanted a chance to prove his worth, which is why he fought with Nathan in Doomstar for staying a 4-person band. It also means that he would have wanted someone who could be his rhythm guitarist after Magnus that could keep up with him, which is why he went so hard on all of the interviewees.

Dethklok is his first and only band that allowed him to be the lead guitarist.

Toki: The New Beginning

Not much to say as we have a canon meeting. Toki comes and auditions, loses, but is still allowed to join because he makes Skwisgaar play better. He is the last member of the band to make Dethklok complete, and pushed the prophecy forward.

Magnus: The Judas Archtype

Something I want to point out is that, out of all the members of Dethklok, Nathan is the most affected by Magnus physically (Stabbed in the back) and emotionally (AOTD).

There are theories that Nathan was looking to grab Magnus out of The Depths of Humanity in Doomstar when they grabbed Toki.

There is also a type of hold that Magnus has over Nathan during AOTD and what would Nathan say to him. We know that Magnus' name pops up in the notebook about people Nathan wants to talk to. We also know that Nathan calls his death a "tragedy" (though, he said this while going through his own emotions, so it's wishy washy). In AOTD, the band does call Magnus "selfish" and "too busy being angry" but that's within the context of the band possibly forgiving him. [Granted, forgiving him is a hard decision for me because home boy really really fucked up with Toki and Abigail.] But, I think the context is more about the band never getting the chance to forgive rather than automatically forgiving.

Magnus committing suicide makes Nathan feel guilty, even if he doesn't know what he could have done better or is he believed that Magnus did deserve punishment but suicide was too far for him. Nathan blames himself for Magnus being Magnus and doing what he did, because ultimately, kicking him out of his band was his decision. A decision that caused Toki and Abigail to get kidnapped and tortured decades down the line.

What I'm trying to say is that Nathan and Magnus had some type of strong bond, and Nathan feels guilty, while the others do not.

I believe it's because the first member of the band was Magnus. Imagine a fresh faced Nathan Explosion trying to figure things out and in walks in an older man with inside experience to the music industry and fantastic musical skill. Remember, Magnus and the band got along. Magnus, at one point, loved and cared for the band. He looked at a photo of himself in the band right before killing himself, he had a strong relationship with them.

That's why he is so strung out during the flashback. He sees Dethklok as his band, while Nathan sees it as our band. Magnus and Nathan met before anyone else.

How Do All Of These Moving Parts Connect?

I believe that it is up to interpretation truly, however, based on how each character is close to one another, I have a rough outline of them meeting and forming Dethklok. Some of these actions are happening at the same time independently.

Pickles discovers Murderface on his journey of finding heavier music

Murderface leaves his current band to follow Pickles

Nathan meets and recruits Magnus into his band.

Pickles and Murderface make their way down the coast until they find Nathan.

Nathan recruits Pickles and Murderface.

Nathan discovers Skwisgaar at a concert and decides to try and recruit him after the show by offering him the lead guitarist spot (Remember, Magnus is a lot calmer before the initial flashback, so I don't think guitar positions would bother him as much as it bothers Toki.)

Skwisgaar agrees and the band is completed

Dethklok gains Charles

Charles has Dethklok signed and labeled

Dethklok kicks out Magnus

Toki auditions and gets the spot

Dethklok is now, officially, complete

I would like to add that Skwisgaar and Magnus' spots could be switched (Nathan meets Skwisgaar first, become lead guitarist, then they meet Magnus, becomes rhythm guitarist, then Pickles and Murderface.) However, based on my findings and what I believe would be an appropriate flow, I think Magnus and Nathan met first.

Skwisgaar being last makes sense when you consider that Skwisgaar had yet to assimilate into the band like the others did during the flashbacks. He's still clutching onto his own style, his own aesthetic, his own "lone wolf" persona. That only changes until after Toki.

While Pickles and Murderface being the second and third members to join make sense in respect that Pickles and Nathan are very close and worked closely together from the very beginning to write songs. They wouldn't be going on Friender-Benders if they were not super close with each other friendship-wise and work-wise. That type of bond takes serious loyalty and chemistry.

Murderface and Nathan's relationship also feels close. Murderface does a lot of dumb shit, including suing the band at one point, and it takes a lot of that before Nathan wants to kick him out of the band. I believe that Nathan has a very strong relationship with Murderface in the sense that they have been friends and bandmembers for a long time. He has a connection with Murderface and doesn't want to let that go, especially like how he let Magnus go. Nathan also knows how to handle him very well, which indicates that they have a familiar bond.

Toki, obviously, comes in last, with a canon introduction.

Conclusion

Order:

Nathan meets Magnus

Pickles meets Murderface

Nathan and Magnus meet Pickles and Murderface

Nathan, Magnus, Pickles, and Murderface meet Skwisgaar

Magnus is kicked out

Nathan, Pickles, Murderface, and Skwisgaar meet Toki

How:

Nathan meets Magnus, someone who is from the music world, and Magnus becomes the first member of Dethklok as a guitarist. At the same time, Pickles is on his "heavier music" journey and discovers Murderface, where he convinces Murderface to join him. They bond for an unknown amount of time while Nathan and Magnus work on Dethklok and finding the right band members. (Because there is no other ex-Dethklok band members, I don't think they recruited anyone until Pickles and Murderface.) Within that time, Pickles and Murderface head to Florida and are discovered by Nathan and Magnus. This could be at a party or maybe Magnus had prior knowledge of Pickles and his journey and met up with him. Nathan ends up recruiting Pickles and Murderface. Skwisgaar comes to the United States on a tour, and at a concert, Nathan spots him. He convinces Skwisgaar to leave his band and join them with the promise of becoming the lead guitarist, something none of the other bands let him be. From there, they get Charles, get signed, and work on producing their first labeled album. Magnus goes crazy, stabs Nathan, and is kicked out. Toki comes to audition for his spot by dueling Skwisgaar, loses, but is accepted in anyway. This completes Dethklok.

______________________________________________________________

That's really it. Obviously, this is all subjective and based on miniscule details and feelings. The band could have met in a million different variations at different ages, but this is what I believe within my research. Though, it could change. It's all fiction in the end.

Toki Hair Theory Expansion.

[abysskeeper]

✨🌤️☔️🌪️💫 for the bg3 writer asks!

Ooh, a good list. Thank you!

✨Which is your favourite platonic BG3 dynamic and why?

Gale and Karlach stole my heart on my first play-through. It's such a weird and unique (and heartbreaking) form of understanding and empathy the two of them share given their circumstances and the fact they have to face down death even without the tadpoles. Especially since it's two characters who you wouldn't think have a lot in common at first, but they still develop into pretty great friends and you can see that in their party banter throughout the acts.

🌤️How do you interpret the game mechanics in your fic?

This made me realize...I don't, really? I think just because it's so DnD based already, which feels so naturally like storytelling to me that I just don't think about it? I write more resting than I definitely do in game, that's for sure. I'll make notes of certain crit successes/fails if I think they're interesting (or like, Wyll getting charmed and turning on my Wyllmancer in the House of Hope and decimating her lol), and I think I give character death a little more gravity than the game allows for, but otherwise I just go with it. So much of the mechanics are related to story beats or character beats, it just feels natural to include anyways.

☔️Do you care about wider DnD lore in your fics?

Unfortunately, too much. I've had a fascination with the death god lineage in Faerun way before the game came out (my beloved baby girl OC is a Kelemvor cleric and I try not to think about it too much because she will overtake everything if I do).

And now, writing for a set of ~200 year old elves, I've had to get into a lot of major events (the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague, the Second Sundering, all of the multiple rounds of nonsense surrounding Mystra) and deal with the Descent into Avernus module (and the vampire incursion that happened 50 years prior to set off said module) since the twins are originally from Elturel.

Suffice to say, I do my research. Some may even say I do too much research.

🌪️Is there a nugget of game lore that fascinates you, but you haven’t written about yet?

Uh...see above with the death god fascination lol. Withers' presence (and Kelemvor's silence) in regards to the Dead Three is everything to me.

If I have to pick something specifically from the game, the Thorm family and everything going on there. Isobel's resurrection, the rest of the Thorms corrupted by the Shadow Curse (why the Shadow Curse looks like the Spellplague), the implication that Ketheric was just a pawn for Shar and he fell for it hook, line, sinker...the possibilities are endless.

💫If you’ve written multiple stories, do any of them take place in the same “playthrough”?

I tend towards shorter one-shot or two-shots than long fic, so everything that has the same character in it happens during the same play-through (so all of Nox's fic are from the same play-through, all of Fiona's fic are the same, etc). Additionally, when I start writing for Lux, those fics and Nox's fics will be considered the same play-through, since I write both of the twins filling the role of Tav together.

Fiona's are a separate timeline for now. I have a canon Tav and Durge (drow"sisters") play-through I want to do and write for one day that'll have both of them together, but separate from the rest. Other, various siblings and friends I want to smoosh together or not as I please. I'm a roleplayer at heart, the more characters I can include (my own or other people's; I'm liable to steal Tavs/Durges even though I've been too shy to really ask much of anyone yet) the better, in my eyes.

BG3 asks

[valhallanrose]

The Red Plague

The art above was created by Nix Hydra, and can be found in the Minor Arcana Art Book (or where I got it - off the fandom wiki page, because who’s going to stop me)

Much of Zelda’s story in the non-apprentice timeline delves into the plague before, during, and in the aftermath of Vesuvia, and I wanted to compile my lore and headcanons for it in one place before I delve into her story fully. I will incorporate as much canon as possible, but given that that isn’t a large amount of info, a lot of this is based off research and personal worldbuilding. 

CWs for discussions of disease, death, body horror, I guess spoilers but I’m surprised if it is for anyone considering how the info is everywhere in game in all routes. This is also, again, personal headcanon and I don’t expect it to fall in line with everyone’s thoughts on the plague.

The Timeline

I’m going to go with a comprehensive timeline first, and this part is all based on canon information. I’ll try and provide as many sources as I can as well, but some of this is pulled from multiple books and I might forget exactly where something came from. 

As we learn in the Lucio tale, Dawn of the Grub, Lucio strikes up a deal with the wyrm of pestilence (Vlastomil) - his parents’ hearts in exchange for a disease that will allow Lucio to kill them both. The Lucio brought the disease back to the tribe, which weakened his father enough for Lucio to kill him. His mother Morga, however, fights off the disease, referring to it as a ‘summer cold’, and Lucio flees the tribe and joins a traveling mercenary band which allows the plague to spread. 

I don’t have a particular reason why Morga would have survived the plague. Her sprites in the game never show any sign of the plague that are generally acknowledged - no red sclera, no veins, no signs of weakness, so on and so forth. The best theory I can posit is that Morga either genuinely had a summer cold, or that the plague only took hold in Lutz rather than them both. Either way, unsatisfying, but we’re going to call Morga the exception and not the rule. 

Because Lucio did not fulfill his end of the bargain with Vlastomil, the plague continued to spread, following Lucio as he traveled the continent. This is also the point where the beetles appear - more on them later. 

The implication in the game is that the disease reached other countries and areas, but the next canon mention of the Red Plague’s spread occurs in Portia’s route, book X - Wheel of Fortune. A map is discussed where dates, places, and sightings of the plague are noted by Julian in his study of the plague - the Painted Fields, Blue Mountain Ridge, and Annyala Gate are all names that arise. 

Nasmira recognizes the name of Annyala Gate and points out that Nazali was at that battle, in which a band of mercenaries was sighted - and their leader needed an arm amputated, which is confirmed to be Lucio. Nadia states that Lucio came to Vesuvia not long after that battle, and the next time the Plague was seen was in Vesuvia. 

It is never seen again outside Vesuvia, and this brings us to the three years before the game, where Lucio’s ‘death’ heralds the end of the plague, and it is never seen actively again in the Arcana world. 

The headcanons I have are to help establish a solid timeline. Dawn of the Grub tells us the deal is made on Lucio’s 18th birthday, and I personally believe that Lucio’s death occurred on his 40th birthday, giving us about 22 years of time for us to work with for the spread of the plague. 

Some more headcanons mixed with canon:

Lucio is newly titled Count in the tale Travel at Night. Based on personal age headcanons, this tale probably occurs at minimum 17 to 18 years pre-canon, putting Asra at (at most) 10/11, Muriel at 14/15, and Lucio at a startling 22/23. It could occur later, as art style can influence perspective on age, but Muriel and Asra really don’t feel like they could be much older than that. 

During his mercenary days (sometime between the ages of 18 and 22/23) Lucio was contracted by the former Count of Vesuvia, Count Spada. This battle occurs at Annyala, mentioned above, and is the battle where Lucio 

At a certain point, Lucio was contracted by the Count of Vesuvia at the time, Count Spada, for a battle where he "made a name for himself." Story implications indicate that this was the battle during which he lost his left arm. It was amputated by Julian to prevent his death from blood loss. After he won the battle for Count Spada, he became friends with the Count and privy to secrets about Vesuvia and the Palace. Spada would eventually name Lucio his heir, and upon his death, Lucio earned rulership of Vesuvia. 

The plague eventually appears and ravages Vesuvia’s population

Plague patients are sent to the Lazaret away from the city and cremated, then scattered on the beach. 

Lucio contracts the plague and defies the average lifespan of those who contracted it by lasting a few months rather than 3-10 days.

Lucio dies on his birthday, not of the plague but as a result of the ritual he was attempting to gain a new body.

I tried to map most of that out here, and wow, what a sad little diagram. Nix Hydra, y’all are cowards for not going hard on this. I, however, am not, and I am about to go more apeshit than I already have. 

The Spread

Cracking my knuckles on the history degree, baby, I’m borrowing some real life inspiration from across multiple time periods to tie all this together. 

I personally think the whole “Oh, the plague arrives wherever Lucio goes and disappears when he leaves” thing is a copout, and we’re drop kicking that out a window. 

I do believe, as canon states, that the plague follows Lucio. It spreads obviously to regions he visits, but I don’t think it just disappears when he leaves. I really, really want to believe someone would have been smart enough to see the connection if the plague suddenly appeared and was later yoinked out of existence as soon as Lucio left town every single time it cropped up somewhere way sooner than it was noticed in canon. 

I don’t think the plague was as isolated as the game implies, and when it was in Vesuvia, it was probably also elsewhere. The epicenter was Lucio, of course, so Vesuvia faced the worst of it, but I think there would have been pockets with much smaller numbers in other parts of the world. 

Earlier I mentioned a few locations cited in Portia’s route as to where the plague had been before Vesuvia - the Painted Fields, Blue Mountain Ridge, and Annyala Gate. I think once these areas were hit with the plague, it would have continued to spread even after Lucio left. Across multiple routes, it’s made clear that the only ‘cure’ to the plague is Lucio’s death, which is why Julian had intended to kill Lucio after making his deal with the Hanged Man. The lack of Lucio’s presence would have kept the plague from continuing to escalate, but in these regions, it probably would have spread when the region’s people attempted to relocate, or ceased when the population died out. 

Annyala Gate, or the Great Gate, is a location I can dive a little deeper into. It’s the last location the plague was sighted before Vesuvia, and because it ties into my OC Zelda’s storyline, I have many a thought. 

Lucio is in Annyala sometime between year 1 and year 4/5, though I believe it’s on the later end of that spectrum, so let’s say year 4 to clearly predate his title as heir to Vesuvia. For reference, here is a map of the Great Gate as provided by the art book: 

Jeebus. Terrible photo quality. Ah, well, on we go. 

The Great Gate is situated between the Sea of Persephia (left) and the Salty Sea (right), and as the map currently stands, is the only point on land that gives access to the southern part of the world map. In this area in particular, I feel like a number of factors would have kept the plague alive long after Lucio left. 

Narrowest point on the world map for transport of goods between ports and seas, which would be a more efficient route than traveling around the continent to reach the same point

As previously stated, this is the only known access point to the south, and travelers heading through this area could possibly be carriers of the plague or catch the plague from the area 

The only way for the plague to stop would be with the death of Lucio, so once it was inflicted upon this area, it continued to spread and infect the population in adjoining areas 

The game repeatedly has emphasized the proximity of the Red Beetles (known harbingers of the plague) to water, such as the Nopali village in Asra’s route and the red stains attributed to them in Julian’s route, and we receive further confirmation in Portia’s route that the water supplies are contaminated during the period of the disease

Fun bit of trivia from Nadia’s route - in the Strength book, Nadia mentions that she remembers the beetles, and that once they had been used as part of a pigment used to dye fabric crimson, which was all the rage in Vesuvia. Should this trend have continued, people wearing fabrics dyed with this beetle pigment most likely would become infected, and thus, the cycle continued. 

I will also point out here that pigments have been used in makeup across history, and I’m sure applying some beetle-laden makeup would have really fucked some people up. Eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks...contact with any of these areas, particularly the eyes and mouth, indicate a possibility of infection. 

This does, however, leave a fifteen year (ish) period where the plague would have been active in this region until Lucio’s death. Historically, diseases can last such broad swathes of time. For the sake of displaying precedent, I will point out some examples here:

The Black Death, lasting 1346-1353

The third cholera pandemic, lasting 1846-1860

The third plague pandemic, a major bubonic plague like the Black Death, lasting 1855-1960

The HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has been ongoing since 1981 in the US

However, some of the most devastating plagues have lasted only a few years, which I will touch on later when I discuss Vesuvia’s case of the plague. All of the diseases listed above are additionally categorized with death tolls over a million people.

(On a side note, if you would like to contribute to programs searching for a cure for HIV/AIDS, I will suggest donating to organizations like amfAR, the Black AIDS Institute, or the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, all of which are linked accordingly and deserve your support if you are capable of making a  contribution)

Remaining question: if the last place the plague was seen was in Annyala, more than fifteen years before it was seen in Vesuvia, what the fuck happened during that time beforehand?

Vesuvia - Before the Plague

Here’s the thing. The timeline given by the devs is a fucking mess. So, what I’m going to propose here is almost entirely theory, and I ask that you keep that in mind. 

Lucio ascends to the title of Count by the time he’s about 22 or 23. Spada dies, presumably, and there’s no noticeable mention of his death via plague or the establishment of the court. 

For some fascinating lore on how the government in Vesuvia works, I’m going to point you to this post by @sunrisenfool​, who has one of the biggest brains and is gracious enough to allow me to reference their work a little for this one. 

I don’t think the court as we know it existed when Lucio became Count. I agree with sunrisenfool here that Valdemar has been the Palace’s cockroach for a while - which was actually also confirmed in the Star book of Portia’s route, in which we see Count Prospero (founder of Vesuvia) summon Valdemar and ask for their aid in creating a city that will never die. The remaining courtiers would be gradually established as time continued on, all demons who struck bargains with the Devil in one form or another placed into positions of power alongside Lucio. We also cannot forget Valerius, who made his own deal with the Devil, and played his own role in this scenario.

We know that Lucio was also a pawn, later on, in the Devil’s agenda to bridge the gap between the main world and the Arcane realms. The ritual discussed in Portia’s Star book is described as a vessel to do just that - 

“...every 777 years, the physical and magical world will collide...the laws of magic will no longer be immutable, and the world will bend to our will...So long as the Countship and canals remain whole, so shall the power to reshape the world. You need only await the conjunction. Perform the ritual and lead the city to glory heretofore unknown. I, Count Prospero, first of my line, declare the founding of Vesuvia. The city eternal. My legacy.” - Count Prospero

It’s confirmed after this scene that the ritual, using the canals as a conduit, opened a ‘door’ so to speak to the Arcane realms. It’s also said there is a three year window to perform this ritual, and that at the time of game canon, we are at the end of that three year window. 

So. Borderline conspiracy time. 

Circling back to the lovely sunrisenfool’s work, I’m going to pull a particular excerpt here:

...the Consul of Vesuvia is the second most important/powerful political figure in Vesuvia, directly after the Count/ess. Aside of the political and civic duties I have already explained, the Consul acts as a “protector” of Vesuvia, albeit not in a paternalistic politically-conservative way (which is how paternalistic policies would be understood in our world). Instead, the Consul is meant to rule the City if the Count is absent or incapacitated, therefore being the subsidiary depositary of the secret of the foundation of Vesuvia, and the importance of it’s Canals.

Lucio makes it pretty clear he doesn’t know much of anything about the ritual during Portia’s Star book, but he was told about it by Spada before his death as it was a secret kept close to the court. That gave him something of leverage, even if he wasn’t aware of it, 

My thought as to why the plague did not spread in Vesuvia sooner is that Lucio had knowledge of this ritual, however minimal, and the Devil needed him alive to eventually use the ritual for himself. So, as Vlastomil (the wyrm of pestilence who granted this curse) was established in Vesuvia as Praetor, the plague was kept at bay for the time being while the city came under the full control of the Devil’s demons. 

I cannot imagine the only person who knows about the ritual is the Count, because that feels like a woefully flawed plan, so I do believe the Consul would have also been privy to such a secret in case the Count was in a position they could not share it due to absence or incapacitation. Basically, a rehash of sunrisenfool’s point, but I digress. 

As the window drew nearer for the completion of the ritual and it became clearer that Lucio knew next to nothing about the ritual and how it worked, the Devil decided to take a different approach. The plague was unleashed once again by Vlastomil, with the goal that Lucio become infected and eventually die, and that Valerius take over the Countship. Lucio no longer was useful to the Devil, and should he be removed from power, someone like Valerius - who knew the purpose of the ritual, who was under the Devil’s bargain by this point - would be an ideal candidate to finish the task at hand. Leverage, it works wonders. 

I don’t think the ritual performed to gain a new body could have been mere chance. I think Lucio knew more than he let on about the canals and the magic in Vesuvia from Spada. Yes, I know the first three were written before Portia, but come on, the timing is insane. He’s no magician, and performing something that complex and magically charged right at the beginning of the three year window when the ritual is supposed to be performed feels far from coincidental. Fight me. 

But, on to what happens in Vesuvia once the plague is free to spread again.

Vesuvia - During the Plague

The first sighting of the plague is in year 20, and I personally believe the plague lasted about two years or 24 months. The period is divided into three ‘waves’ - the first six months, the year leading up to Lucio’s death, and the six months following Lucio’s death. 

The First Wave

The first wave begins when the first known case of the Red Plague is confirmed, and in this period, the spread is rather slow.  

Here is the introduction of the Lazaret, which I do believe is a building that existed before the plague - this is personal thoughts, but the odds of this being the first major disease Vesuvia experienced feel pretty slim, and I do think this was a previously established quarantine that was renovated/expanded for the Red Plague outbreak. In an effort to get ahead of the disease, the space was designated a quarantine, largely staffed by volunteers when the palace seemed to not acknowledge the growing situation. It would slowly begin to increase until the plague boomed at the six month mark, heralding the beginning of the second wave. 

The Second Wave

This is the ‘bad period’ of the plague. I say that loosely, because it’s all bad, but I digress. 

I headcanon that the apprentice dies in the beginning of the second wave, when spread of the red plague rapidly begins to increase and the call goes out for researchers to search for a cure. We know how that story goes, so moving on to the details of this wave. 

There were two groups at this point in the plague - those assigned to research, working out of Valdemar’s dungeon/lab/carnival of horrors studying the plague, and those assigned to the Lazaret, caring for the sick and dying and maintaining the facility. 

I’m going to focus more on the Lazaret for this, as the research aspect is pretty well covered throughout Julian’s route and conversations with him in other routes, and this post is already getting long. 

The Lazaret was home to the dying, where they would be cared for in their final days and eventually cremated. My thought is that the remains of the patients were carefully catalogued in the beginning, returned to families willing to claim them, and those left unclaimed were scattered on the beach at the Lazaret. Later on, as more and more people died, less remains were claimed, leading to the black beaches that still mark the shores of the Lazaret in canon. Often the staff here were a mix of healers, doctors, apothecaries, anyone willing to try anything to ease the pain of such a disease. 

The staff at the Lazaret began wearing layered masks - the plague mask with its herb-stuffed beak, another facial covering beneath for an added layer of protection, and a head covering that sealed the gaps between the mask and the face. They were also required to wear gloves, tight-fitted sleeves tucked inside, and their pants tucked into their boots to reduce the risk of infection through contact. Their days would start in locker rooms on one end of the facility, removed from the patients, and suit up for the day while leaving belongings in the lockers. The end of the shift consisted of showers and disposal of garments to be sterilized, they’d return home in the clothes they came in, and by the time they returned a new uniform would be waiting for them. 

Lucio caught the plague during this period, most likely halfway through. He lasted several months, but the exact length is unknown, aside from he ‘lasted longer than most victims of the plague’ who died between 3-10 days.

I don’t think the averages are entirely accurate. There were most likely some who were asymptomatic until the plague was in very late stages, or those who presented symptoms very early on and survived for long stretches of time. All would die bearing the red sclera, veins, and other symptoms depicted above. Basically, this disease is claimed to be unpredictable, and I think that would also stretch to the duration at which each patient had it. Those who were physically frail likely would have died sooner than those who had been in oprtimal health before the plague, making the times vary rather drastically. I’d suggest perhaps a month at the longest, a few days at the shortest. 

Policy wise - during this period, the ports would have closed, and Vesuvia would have shut down. Nobody in, nobody out, not without rigorous inspection and quarantine before exiting to the city to avoid further spread. Often the only people allowed into the city were doctors from other regions affected by the plague called to help research, but during this year, I would estimate Vesuvia lost easily 30% of its population to the Red Plague. 

The Third Wave

This wave is the period that occurs after Lucio’s death at the Masquerade, three years pregame. I’ll touch a tiny bit more more on this in the next section, but this is where we see the gradual end of the spread of the plague, and the last cases shown in Vesuvia. It’s the end of the plague period, and I give this about six months for the official ‘all clear’ to have been given by those tracking case counts. 

The Lazaret is eventually decommissioned and now sits abandoned, a shadow on the horizon to remind those who survived what had been lost. The city mourned, the gates slowly opened, and gradually, we reach the point of comparative normalcy we see in the game set three years later. 

Vesuvia - The Aftermath

Lucio’s death would, ultimately, mean the end of the plague. Rather than immediately disappearing and all those suffering from it be cured, however, I would be inclined to say that the spread came to a halt. 

The last wave of the plague, in the six months after Lucio’s death, would have been a decrease in new cases until there were no new ones being reported, and the last of the patients who had been infected finally passed. 

The final duties of the doctors at the Lazaret, after all remains are cremated, would have been the incineration of all materials that could not be sterilized. Linens, spare uniforms, unclaimed personal affects, so on and so forth until the time came to return home. I do not remember the exact location, but I am fairly confident of a mention of the MC remembering barrels burning doctor’s uniforms and masks in the days after the end of the plague. It was, for a lack of better words, a purge - an attempt to erase the last physical memories of what the city had endured. 

Events like this are traumatic for all involved. They are painful wounds, and for the rate of death I imagine occurred in Vesuvia, the odds that someone lost no one are slim. There was likely a long period of mourning, and as noted in the present of the game, rarely is the plague spoken of outside of the context of the investigation in the primary routes. 

Many of those medical staff members who survived were those assigned to research at the Palace. The proximity of the staff to the ill at the Lazaret quarantine likely would have made the rate of infection far higher for the caretakers, meaning that often the staff would end up caring for colleagues in their final days. 

Even three years removed, the time of the plague is a raw wound for those in Vesuvia - but I do think the period is fascinating and I love exploring the different facets of it in my own world building. And, well, shameless self promo, but I am eager to write it myself when I get into Zelda’s backstory.

If you made it this far, thank you. Go drink some water or something, idk, wellbeing checkpoint bc what a long ass post

[doctorsiren]

Hello I would like to ramble about Doom and the Id Game Universe

I have made a family tree that connects to both my Featherweight and Dadskall AUs (note that in the FW AU, the whole Iskall/Doomguy in the tree doesn’t apply)

*minus Mumbo and Grian’s siblings from my universes

OKAY! So here’s a little explanation!

We start off with William Joseph Blazkowicz (BJ) from the Wolfenstein game series. Upon doing some light research, I found out that his wife’s name was Julia Marie Peterson (Blazkowicz after marriage)

They had a son named Arthur Kenneth Blaze (The surname “Blaze” being a derivative from the surname “Blazkowicz”). This man was a newscaster and married Susan Elizabeth McMichaels (Blaze after marriage). Together they had 3 children. Only one, William Joseph Blazkowicz || (Billy Blaze), was given a canon name in the Commander Keen series, of which he is the protagonist. It is assumed that he is the middle child, having an older brother and younger sister. I decided to go with names that the fandom has theorized on for his siblings: Robert “Bobby” Blaze and Rebecca “Becky” Blaze. The football helmet that Billy wears when he’s acting as Commander Keen belongs to his football-star-brother Bobby.

Using context from the cancelled Commander Keen mobile game, we can see that as an adult, Billy Blaze married an unnamed woman (at the time of writing, I’m assuming she was unnamed). Together they had twins named William Joseph Blazkowicz III (Billy Blaze Jr.) and Billie Blaze (which is a female name). These twins were then going to be the protagonists of the mobile game, which was cancelled by Bethesda.

Now this is where things get a little muddy. It is slightly theorized that Doomguy could potentially be Billy Blaze Jr. (William Joseph Blazkowicz III) because we do know that Doomguy is the son of the original Billy Blaze from the Commander Keen game series. In the pictures shown in the Commander Keen mobile game trailer, however, only two children are seen. Either this means that Doomguy is younger than these twins, OR that he is one of the twins, namely Billy Blaze Jr. Even this is a bit confusing though, since one of Doomguy’s aliases is Stan Blazkowicz and not William Joseph Blazkowicz III (or II…it gets confusing and I’m making things up along the way). Even so, he still could potentially be Billy Blaze Jr.

That aside, Doomguy has many aliases. For the purpose of my universes, the protagonist of all of the Doom games and novels is the same Doom Marine. This would mean that his aliases would be Flynn Taggart and John Kane, to name a few. Multiple identities aside, Doomguy, before he was Doomguy, married an unnamed woman on Earth and had a son together. They also had a cat and, of course, a rabbit named Daisy. His wife, son, cat, and rabbit were all killed in the First Demonic War on Earth.

Now we get into the territory of my universes! Doomguy went on to rescue Xisuma and Alex when they were very young children. I don’t know at what point in the timeline this would occur, and, oh boy, I’m not gonna try to figure out a timeline because DANG it is messy. (Time is odd when Wolfenstein takes place during WWII, Doom 2016 takes place in 2151, Doom Eternal takes place in 2163, and Hermitcraft 7 takes place in 2020…)

When X and Alex were adults, Doomguy was killed by demons. This occurs before Xisuma becomes an admin for the HC server. In the Dadskall AU, Doomguy is then revived as Iskall either RIGHT after his funeral, or sometime briefly before Season 4 of hermitcraft.

Regardless, Xisuma basically adopts the entire server. In my universes, xBcrafted is the youngest hermit (because of the incorrectly listed birthday of his online, listing his birth year as 2000) and Xisuma is kinda like a protector/father-ish figure to him, like how Doomguy was for Xisuma and Alex.

Alex went on, after he was banished and then pushed away by his brother, to inhabit his father’s old base in the Nether, where he finds Daisy. This is a second Daisy, and she’s a “Nether Rabbit” (basically a good little demon rabbit) that looks just like the original Daisy. Despite Doomguy’s hatred towards the demons, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of this particular one, and so she became Daisy II. (This is literally just so I can explain how she’s still alive after 20+ years)

Back to Xisuma, he is also a kind of protector figure for Grian, who goes on to build a bunch of robot kids with Mumbo.

All in all, Grumbot’s great-great-great-great grandfather punched Nazis, and his great grandfather was literally Doomguy :)

[master-sass-blast]

How old do you imagine Piotr to be in the Deadpool movie verse?

Okay, I will answer your question properly, but first: my theory on how we identify the age of characters relative to our own ages! :D

(I don't have any research or psychological/sociological evidence to support this btw; this is just me blathering based on trends I notice in fandom and things I've noticed in myself. DO NOT TAKE IT AS GOSPEL pls and thanx.)

So, I personally believe that when we don't know the age of a character and we don't have context clues -do they have a family/spouse/kids/etc of their own, how long have they been working at the job they have, what kind of job do they work, what hobbies to they do in canon, etc-to guide us, we tend to closely estimate a character's age to our own. I think it partially because a lot of us in fandom/fanfic use fandom/fanfic to process our own experiences (and traumas), and having a character close to our age lets us do that. I also think that when we're attracted to a character that isn't given a set age or context clues for that age, we put them close to our own age (kink/specific dynamic fics not withstanding) because it makes the fantasy of being with that character more realistic and/or attainable. (Case in point: the number of Arcane fans that were caught off guard by Sevika being in her 40s.)

I think I was around 21 when I started writing the CHC. As such, I headcanoned Piotr at being in his early to mid twenties, so as to match my vision for a Reader insert I could relate to. And, as far as the CHC is concerned, Piotr is on the younger side. The Reader comes to the Institute at the age of 18, and I envision her being there for a bit before she and Piotr get together. I can't necessarily put a precise number on it because I didn't make a timeline for this series (which has come back to bite me in the ass multiple times, but oh well). However, I'd estimate it to be at least a year before they got together. As such, CHC Piotr is only a year or two older than the Reader (the same age gap that my husband and I have) so that things aren't... weird.

If we're only exclusively considering the movie? Mmmm, it's a hard one. I'm inclined to say he's at least in his thirties. I don't think a twenty-something year old would be given total mentorship of a teenager -especially since Piotr comes to America at the age of nineteen in the comics; it'd be a very short turn around time for him to learn how to master his mutation, have experience with conflict deescalation, learn English well enough to communicate effectively, and serve with the X-Men long enough that they're confident in his abilities to guide a young student appropriately. I think for that alone, he's at least in his early thirties.

I could see him being forty, even. I mean, who else would eat fucking Grape Nuts? That's an old man move if I've ever seen one.

[x-gotham-rogues]

If Jonathan was to join the Batfamily, how would that work out?

Suddenly, I can’t stop thinking about this idea.

Also, a few thousand words of this post got deleted when I tried to save but my computer froze and decided to say goodbye to all that work. Hours upon hours, wasted. I feel like shit. Just a teensy bit.

Here’s to always writing on Google Docs before copy and pasting on tumblr from now on.

This stuff happens around Year One, so the Batfam is currently only Bruce, Dick and Alfred

Let’s just assume Jonathan gets kidnapped/forcibly adopted into the family by Bruce right before he got to kill anyone because I cannot recall whatever detailed prequel I had written for this idea

All I do remember is that there was some sort of emotional blackmail going on that kept Jonathan from running away and trying to kill someone again

Month by month, Bruce and Dick try to 1) chip at Jonathan’s walls, 2) make sure Jonathan doesn’t find out about them being Batman and Robin, and 3) make Jonathan healthy again because the man looks like he is going to crumble the second he gets poked

Because of the whole ‘forcing Jonathan to stay at Wayne Manor’, Jonathan’s obsession with fear never really gets developed all that much

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still there, he’s just not a crazy mad scientist anymore

BOOKS, however

Everyone, Jonathan Crane’s got a new drug, and it ain’t fear toxin

Wayne Manor’s library is far larger than Keeny Manor’s library

There are so many more subjects, so many more stories, so much more stuff Keeny Manor didn’t have because of the heavy superstition like Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, etc.

Jon is 1001% addicted

At times, Alfred would have to act like an annoyed parent because Jonathan is just so reluctant to stop reading

Like, where was all this absolute gold when he was a kid!?

Meals are very awkward because Jonathan doesn’t understand people at all, Dick’s still kind of doubtful of Jonathan, and Bruce is also just a tad bit paranoid

But also, whenever Jonathan eats Alfred’s cooking, his eyes light up because as a kid and teen he was fed slop from his great granny, and even as an adult he was rather poor and hardly ate because of his obsession with fear-based revenge, so he appreciates any bit of good food he gets

One morning when he explains to Dick that he’s never eaten bacon before, Dick laughs, takes a look at Jonathan’s face, realises he was being serious and practically drags Jonathan around the whole day eating junk food

Bruce was a bit disappointed at Dick but lets Jonathan finish his ice cream cone

At some point, Bruce decides that if wants to unlock Jonathan’s backstory, he’s going to have to do more research

With Bruce spending more time down at the Batcave doing research and Jonathan still holing up in the library, Dick’s bored as all Hell

That’s... not a good thing

He tries to rope Jonathan into some chaos, but Jonathan’s never been the type to cause mischief

Plus he’s too busy reading

Dick sees that he’s definitely not going to get anywhere trying to get this fully grown adult who might possibly be even older than Bruce to break some shit with him

So he sits down and plays a popular indie game his friends have been recommending to him; a certain game called ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’

(Yes, I am aware this doesn’t fit into the timeline, let a person have some fun)

Bruce couldn’t hear him down in the Batcave, but Jonathan hears Dick’s scream loud and clear

He runs to wherever Dick was playing the game and sees Dick just staring at the screen

Jonathan raises an eyebrow and asks what happened

“The... the power went out... I was so-! 5AM. IT WAS 5AM WHEN THE POWER WENT OUT. THERE WAS PROBABLY LIKE A MINUTE LEFT. I WAS SO CLOSE! ARGGGHHH!”

Gone was the shocked face, replaced with one of unadulterated rage

“Why is Night 4 so hard?! Can’t you have waited one minute Freddy? ONE!?”

Should he... leave? Was Richard talking to him?? What was he supposed to do???

Eventually, Alfred finds Jonathan awkwardly doing nothing and tells him he could go back to the library, but the game was a horror game and he thinks Jonathan may have an interest in it

Jonathan, worried for the sanity of the boy in front of him, agrees to watch him play

Dick tries to rage quit multiple times, but then Jonathan would try his hand at the game and Dick keeps telling him he’s doing something wrong and takes back the controller

In an unexpected turn of events, Jonathan gets super invested in the plot

Soon enough, both Dick and Jonathan are heatedly discussing FNAF’s possible canon, and Dick mentions that there’s more games

Upon this revelation, Jonathan half demands half pleads to play the others and so they do

Sister Location did have some triggers, but Dick helped Jon get through them

Bruce came up from the Batcave to find Dick and Jonathan shouting about someone named ‘Afton’

When Bruce asked about it, he fully expected it to be either one of Dick’s friends or maybe Jonathan’s old coworkers, boy was he wrong

He’s glad the two are getting along (easier to get Jonathan to open up), but now he has to deal with two horror nerds

Yes, Jonathan has converted Dick into a horror junkie

Yes, Dick has converted Jonathan into a game theorist

(I kind of want to give them a YouTube channel but that might be stretching it a bit)

Eventually, Jonathan tells them his entire tragic backstory, including details they didn’t already know, like great granny Keeny’s abuse other than starvation

When Dick privately asks Bruce why he decided to do this in the first place, Bruce confesses that during the first fight between Scarecrow and Batman + Robin, he felt like he and Jonathan were far too similar for his own liking and that seeing someone so similar to him nearly kill drives him just a bit crazy, so he needed to prove to himself that even if he goes down the wrong path he could reform

Jonathan hears this

He’s really mad at first, but just decides he doesn’t have the energy for it (honestly, mood, but relatable) and lets it go

Then simultaneously realises that these two people are Batman and Robin

And smacks himself mentally because just look at their body sizes, their entire dynamic, of-fucking-course they’re Batman and Robin

He doesn’t confront them for a while

But when he does and they ask him how he knows, he says, “You’re just really loud.”

Bruce gets worried about Jon lashing out and Dick is upset because he considers Jon a friend (aww)

But Jonathan just brushes it off like it’s nothing and explains that he’s glad they stopped him early into his criminal career, otherwise he might’ve gone down a road he couldn’t come back from

And that he was glad he got to stay with them and be considered their friend

Bruce gives this tiny smile, Alfred pats Jon on the back and Dick straight-up tackles him into a bone-crushing hug

So Jonathan is now officially in the Batfamily

Dick convinces Bruce to give Jon a costume and teach him to fight

So Gotham gets a new vigilante named Crow

Though his targets always seem to be those who harm children or those who use their money for corrupt purposes

Ending on a happy note! I don’t know what this is, to be honest, but if you did make it to the end, I hope you liked it!

[bettsfic]

socknography: the importance of preserving fan creator biographical data

i wrote earlier on utilizing collections and bookmarks to boost the archival power of ao3, and in that post mentioned how i wish authors would fill out their bios so we can preserve fanauthor information as well as we preserve the fics themselves. so, here is my rant about WHY WE ARE SO IMPORTANT.

for my masters thesis i wrote about the layered pseudonymity of fanfiction authors, and after doing a ton of research, i find myself still thinking of the pseudonymous/anonymous divide as it pertains to fic. we have authors we consider “famous” and ones whose followings eclipse that of traditionally published authors, but unlike traditionally published authors, we don’t put a handy bio at the end of our fics. in fact, if you want to find out about the author, you have to hope they’ve linked somewhere to their tumblr or twitter or dreamwidth, or they have consistent pseuds across platforms. and from there, you have to hope they have an ‘about me.’ but most, myself included, don’t.

unlike traditional publication -- where amazon and goodreads and even the back of the book contains biographical info -- and even unlike the rest of fandom archival etiquette -- which, despite having virtually no committed rules still maintains its organizational structure -- there is no standard etiquette on fanauthor biographical data. 

i speculate the reasons fanauthors are hesitant to write their own biographies is very complicated: 

there is no “ask” for it or existing standard. when i publish stories under my real name, i’m required to provide my bio, which contains my accomplishments, where i got my degree, where else i’m published, and my website. all literary author bios follow this formula, so they’re pretty easy to write. other than this post, i have never seen a request for fanauthor bios. so without an editor demanding it, and without a standard formula or platform to draw from, a total lack of information becomes the norm, and almost any info other than the standard “name. age. pronouns. ao3 name. list of fandoms and/or pithy one-liner” of tumblr or occasional ask game is seen as a deviation from the norm. even ask games get a bad rep sometimes, and they’re transitory, a post you see as you’re scrolling through to somewhere else, not static, like a dedicated profile page.

pseudonymity veers too close to anonymity. an anonymous author cannot have a biography. a pseudonymous author can, but biographies may be seen as defeating the purpose of writing under a pseudonym, or multiple pseuds. a sock account is a sock for a reason -- you don’t want it associated with your main. moreover, i believe fandom creates an environment in which to acknowledge your accomplishments and promote your own content is seen as narcissistic. fanfiction can sometimes be seen as a genre of selflessness, donating time and energy into a community centered around a shared canon, not personal gain. to acknowledge the self publicly is to invite attention, and attention is contradictory to anonymity.

shame and humility. the more information you have on the internet, the easier you are to find. very few fanauthors use their real names, or feel comfortable connecting their fan identity to their real one. i hear pretty constantly how often fanauthors hide their fannishness from their coworkers and loved ones, how only the people closest to them know they write/read fanfic. moreover, you might think “my most popular fic only has 10 kudos and 1 comment, nobody wants to know about me” (which is so not true, but i’ll get to that in a minute).

fandom is constantly changing. with a central archive for fanfiction in place, it’s easier now to be in multiple fandoms at once than it ever has been. if you want to read all sugar daddy fics, there’s a tag for that, and if you’re not picky about canon, you have an entire buffet of fandoms to choose from. communities are growing and shifting and changing shape. i move fandoms, and i keep my friends and readers from previous fandoms. i get dragged to new fandoms frequently. my interests and inspirations change, but i don’t erase my history or identity every time i move, i only add to it. i am always betts whether i’m in star wars or the 100 or game of thrones. but if you only read my fic, you don’t know the stories behind it. many people don’t know i entered fandom in the brony convention community in 2012, or that i was sadrobots before i was betty days before i was betts, or how fandom changed my life and led me through a path of personal trauma recovery, or that i co-founded wayward daughters, or ran the fanauthor workshop, or all these other things about fanfic that is not fanfic itself. 

if you are a fan creator, your fannish personal narrative matters. telling your story helps preserve the metatextual history of our genre.

i think constantly about what our genre will look like in 30 or 50 years, if it will be like other genres that began as subversions of the mainstream: comic books, beat literature, science fiction. genres that, at the time involved groups of friends creating stories for each other, bouncing ideas off of one another, experimenting with or distorting other genres, and which became, over time, well-regarded forms with rich histories. 

maybe one day, like the MCU, we’ll have a dedicated production company that churns out adaptations of longform coffee shop aus written between 2009 and 2015. maybe “BNFs” will be read in high school literature curriculums. maybe our work will end up on the real or virtual shelves of our great grandchildren. and if that happens, if fanfic goes entirely mainstream, how will fanfic authorship be perceived? how will fanpeople in 2080, if humanity is still around by then, interact with the lexicon we’ve created and preserved? what would you do if you found out Jane Austen wrote under five different sock accounts across three platforms over the span of twenty years? how would you, a fan of Pride & Prejudice, even begin to find all of her work?

we have so many social constraints pushing against us. there’s purity culture, which encourages further division of identity -- fanauthors may write fluff on their main and have various sock accounts for underage/noncon fics. if you’re a scarecrow, you’re much harder for a mob to attack. there’s misogyny, which dictates women/queer ppl shouldn’t be writing about or indulging in or exploring their sexuality at all. there’s intellectual property and a history of DMCAs, which, although kept at bay by the OTW, may still have influence on the “illegal” mentality of our work. with social armies against us, it’s easier to exist in the shadows, on the fringe. we change URLs based on our moving interests, and split our identities a million different ways, and keep sarcastic “me” tags full of self-deprecating text posts. we are difficult beasts to catch, because we have not been allowed to exist.

i spent a lot of time today googling the word for “pseudonymous biography” and came up empty-handed (if someone knows of an existing word, pls let me know. “pseudography” is apparently a fancy word for a typo; “pseudobiography” is a fake biography), so for lack of anything better, i’ve come up with the term “socknography” because 1) it’s funny and doesn’t sound intimidating, and 2) it encapsulates the sensitive and complicated way fanauthor identifying conventions work. and also i think “fanauthor biography,” “bibliography,” and “profile” just doesn’t cut it for the actual work of these pieces. they don’t necessarily include IRL biographical data, they include more historical/community context than a bibliography, and the words “profile” and “about me” don’t really inspire interaction, or acknowledge the archival importance of this work.

astolat’s fanlore page is my go-to example. astolat writes under multiple pseuds and has major influence in the history of fandom. she’s also a traditionally published author, but you notice, her ofic novels are not mentioned, nor any other real-life identifying information. fanlore has a really good policy on this in place, for those concerned about doxxing. 

(moreover, i am not suggesting you centralize your socks. they’re socks for a reason. but most everyone has a main, and that main identity has a story.)

there are 2 existing spaces to preserve socknographies. 

fanlore, a wiki owned by the OTW, you can make an account and create a user page (which is different than a “person” page) using a user profile template

ao3′s “profile” page, which is a big blank box in which anything goes

(i’m not including tumblr on this list because i don’t think it’s a stable platform.) 

fanlore’s template is straight to the point and minimal, which doesn’t really invite narrative the same way a literary bio would. ao3′s big blank box leaves us with the question -- wtf do i say about myself? how do i say it? how much is too much? and because of that, most profiles are either blank or only include a policy on translations/podfic/fanart, and maybe links to tumblr and twitter. but let me tell you, if i have read your fic and taken the time to move over to your profile, you better believe i am a fan. and as a fan, i want to Know Things.

here are the things i want to know, or

a potential template:

introduction (name/alias, age, location, pronouns, occupation)

accomplishments (degrees, personal history)

fan history (fandoms you’ve been in, timeline as a fan, how you were introduced to fandom/fanfiction, what does fandom mean to you -- this is where your fan narrative goes)

fandom participation (popular fics/posts, involvement in fan events/communities, side blogs, interviews, etc. 3 & 4 might be one and the same for you)

spotlight (which of your fics are most important to you/would you like others to read and why? what are the stories behind your favorite fics you’ve written?)

find me elsewhere* (links to tumblr, twitter, insta, etc.)

policies on fanart, fanfic of fic, podfics, and translations

*you cannot link to ko-fi, paypal, patreon, or amazon on ao3/fanlore per the non-commercial terms of service

i’ll be working on filling this out for my own profile as an example, but you can also see how my @fanauthorworkshop participants filled out their fanauthor spotlights, and the information they provided. obviously, you should only share that which you feel comfortable sharing, and as your fandom life changes, your narrative will change too. it’s not much different than updating a CV or resume.

tl;dr the goal is to provide a self-narrative of your fan life/identity for posterity. who are you and why are you a fanperson? why do you create fan content? what are you proud of and what do you want to highlight to others? who are you in this space?

[imaginaryelle]

Wei Wuxian, Mutism and Non-Verbal Communication

I am making a fresh post because I’ve been having issues with asks and especially read mores in asks, and this post is definitely going to require that. So. (edit: this is now also available to read on AO3!)

@tamyourue​​​ asked:

For the prompt request thingy - I'm a Sign nerd, and I've read quite a few mute!lwj, which is not that surprising. But what about a mute!wwx? I think it would be interesting to explore that with the way his family and lwj would handle it, if he was either born this way or acquired a disability later in life. How would HE handle it, being such a lively and talkative person? I planned on writing a fic of the sort but you do awesome meta, and another person's pov would be really fascinating to me.

Thank very much for asking! This immediately grabbed my brain and yanked me face-first into headcanons and possibility permutations. I’m going to try to focus on something more meta-style since you mention that (and aw <3 thank you! I have lots of fun writing my meta so I’m glad you like it!), but if you write fic on this topic I would love to see it. I am 100% certain you know more about sign language than me (I know very little but this whole thing has rekindled my interest in learning, if you have suggestions for resources!) so please do correct me if I make some erroneous statements or assumptions here. Also, I feel like I should note here that I got a little carried away (this is ~7k folks) and some of the things here are probably ideas you’ve already thought about as general concepts of non-verbal communication. I’ve included them anyway because they helped me process all my other thoughts. As always, I welcome additional input on my meta.

Okay so first off, I did some research, because I love research. (Possibly this should go without saying, and I’m sure you yourself already know this, but just in case, for general context and because this is a public post: I do think it’s important to treat things like this—any form of disability or illness or othering—with respect for the real life people who deal with it every day. Let’s not romanticize these things, right? Or just use it to woobify or infantilize characters or write disability tragedy porn? And let’s do make sure we’re doing our research and consuming media (essays, blog posts, videos, etc) created by those people about their experience? Good? Good.) Some non-comprehensive sources I consulted:

This masterlist of resources (includes deaf, mute and blind character writing resources compiled from real life experiences—trigger warning on the “21 People Reveal” link: trauma, depression, rape mention)

This I Am Mute AMA on reddit

This British Psychological Society Research Digest on adults who experience selective mutism (in their own words)

Wikipedia’s Mutism page (I promise the link is there), which lists various conditions that can lead to someone not being able to speak

I also attempted to research a bit about the history of sign language in China, but most of what I found was either comparison to ASL (here’s a video on family terms) or the fact that there are two different sign languages: a literary sign language that reflects written Chinese, and a natural sign language. Also most of what I found was focused more on the Deaf community. The history of mute people in China turned up even fewer results, unfortunately, so if anyone knows good sources for that, let me know!

Jumping off all of that, things that matter for writing a Wei Wuxian who is mute: is Wei Wuxian the only mute person he knows? Are there other mute or deaf people around who use any kind of sign language? When did he become mute? How? Is it physical or psychological? Full-on cannot speak at all or selective based on environment? And is this more novel-verse, or more drama-based? (This meta is going to reference the drama more than the novel, primarily because we get to see body language and some relationships are more fleshed out, but I believe most points should work for both canons.) Questions to be answered on an individual fic basis, of course, but let’s consider some possibilities.

Character-wise, one of the biggest things here for me is that Wei Wuxian hates being ignored. It’s not exactly that he needs to be the center of attention at every single moment, but he’s a showman. Even if the protagonist of the story was someone else, he’d still be there, attracting attention and calling people out on unfairness and generally being that combination of nuisance and talented genius that we love. And he already lives in a world where he can be silenced and isolated—people drown him out, talk over him and dismiss him on a regular basis in canon, and of course there’s the Lan Clan silencing spell.

Multiple people (especially various Jin family members, but also Madam Yu and a few others) use social class and rumor and perceptions of power to shut him down throughout the story, even though he is entirely capable of speaking and often doesn’t keep quiet when it might be beneficial for him to do so. Being mute is only going to exaggerate that ability for others to disregard him, but he’s still going to be that dramatic, fiercely opinionated guy, even if he can’t communicate verbally. He tries to talk through the silencing spell practically every time it’s put on him as it is (and really, what is the Lan Clan going to do to him if he already can’t speak? That spell now becomes a totally useless punishment for him). He’s still going to disrupt Lan Qiren’s class and volunteer to show off and make noise and draw attention to himself. He might be ignored more easily, and consequently get frustrated more often, but he’s still going to do it, because being dutifully silent or nonreactive for more than a single conversation pretty much means just not being Wei Wuxian. So how does he communicate?

I do think it matters here, when he becomes mute and whether it’s selective or not. If he’s born unable to speak, or develops muteness in early childhood (say, after his parents die but before Jiang Fengmian takes him in), I think he’d develop his methods of communication in different ways than if it were to happen later. In the case of childhood mutism I think he’s more likely to use (or develop) actual sign language, and to depend on other people (such as his siblings) to speak aloud for him in some situations. I mostly base that on 1) the trust-building between him, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli in those early-life flashbacks 2) how much more often he talks to merchants than anyone else (more on that later) and 3) how much nonverbal communication he uses already (it’s a lot. He’s very expressive). If he becomes mute as a teen or adult, I think he’ll deal with a lot more like he deals with the loss of his golden core: deflection of worry, insistence on independence as much as possible, and lots of inventive solutions (but still lots of body language, of course).

Okay, with those trends in mind, here are some general possibilities (in no particular order) that mix real world tactics and mdzs setting specifics and can be applied to a variety of situations:

1. As mentioned above, he might use expressions, body language, generally understood gestures or actions. Wei Wuxian tends to be pretty physically expressive in canon already, so this is likely to be his first instinct when he reaches for communication tools. Let’s look at another silencing spell gif.

Wei Wuxian is extremely expressive every time this is used on him. He makes faces. He waves his arms. He stomps and grabs at people. Where other people hit with this technique frown and look confused and touch their lips or neck, Wei Wuxian complains. He pouts. He makes a production out of how much he hates it. His moods, in general, tend to involve his entire body. So I take that as pretty strong evidence that gestures, facial expressions and miming are going to play a pretty big role in his communication style. Here is a fun youtube video for CSL of the Tortoise and the Hare story, which I think has bearing on how much he could get away with just using his face and miming. Making faces and grabbing Lan Wangji’s wrist or sleeve isn’t going to change here, and he might in fact get even handsier, if that’s possible. As a cultivator, Wei Wuxian would have access to a level of physical adroitness that most people don’t, which could also tie in to how he uses his body to communicate. In general, these are things that are going to make it difficult for him to hide his identity after his resurrection if he’s mute beforehand, but they help a lot with conveying basic ideas so they’re definitely going to be involved somehow, no matter what else he does. Something of a contrast to stories about Lan Wangji and muteness, perhaps.

2. He might communicate through his siblings/other people. Jin Zixuan gets by with saying extremely little because he almost always has other people around who are more than willing to speak for him. Jiang Cheng, pre-Sunshot Campaign, does some of the same (he’s so surprised to be called on and have to speak for himself during that first victory banquet), and of course we sometimes see this play out between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in canon already: Wei Wuxian will voice things that Lan Wangji is feeling or agrees with, but is unwilling to actually say. So it’s conceivable that Wei Wuxian could get a lot of communication done by having his siblings or close friends (depending on where in the timeline the story takes place) speak for him, as he communicated with them via some other method (at its most basic just an understanding of his pov and what he would want to say, extending into body language, personal signs or sign language, notes, etc.). The best candidate for this is going to be Jiang Yanli, as we do see her stand up and speak for him in drama canon, when people start questioning whether their being alone together is appropriate. I think Jiang Cheng would do his best, but he’d also be inconsistent about it sometimes in situations where he didn’t think it was important or didn’t agree with Wei Wuxian, because he can be a moody dick when he wants to be and he’s not that great at talking himself. I forsee lots of brotherly shoulder punches and slaps upside the head. So many. More than usual. Jiang Fengmian might do a little, as might other Jiang Clan disciples (they certainly seem to like Wei Wuxian well enough to try).

As you might be able to tell, I think this method of communication is much more likely to be used if he’s mute while growing up. If he’s injured as an adult, or loses the ability to speak after he’s resurrected, he’s going to have to build all this context from scratch and it’s going to be much more difficult for this method to work smoothly. It could still work to a certain extent, but it probably won’t be as fluid. On the other hand, if Wei Wuxian was mute as a child, he’d likely be almost immediately recognizable to anyone who regularly interacted with him before his death, especially in the drama, where he has the same body. Jiang Cheng won’t have a moment of doubt when Zidian fails to banish Wei Wuxian’s invading spirit from Mo Xuanyu’s body, because he’ll have had that particular flick of two fingers or turn of a hand with accompanying scowl, etc., acted out in front of him every day for over a decade, and Wei Wuxian will have a much more difficult time hiding that, because it’s muscle memory as well as a form of communication. Which could be a very interesting plot development!

Another possible plot divergence is that if Jiang Yanli starts speaking for her brother at a younger age that might influence her to speak up more just in general, which could hugely affect the story. If she gets used to speaking for Wei Wuxian and herself (and even Jiang Cheng!) rather than letting Wei Wuxian step in as we often see him do, she might involve herself more actively in Sect politics. Which means that she’d likely be attending cultivation conferences more often. Which means that she could be in an incredibly powerful position when stuff starts going down with Wei Wuxian and the Wens. Jiang Cheng is young and stressed and insecure about his place. He doesn’t know how to say “yes, these people helped us, and they don’t deserve what you’re doing to them.” His instinct is to curl around what’s his and protect it, which is exactly what he was raised to do as the future Sect Leader of Lotus Pier. But Jiang Yanli cares about people because they’re people, in much the same way Wei Wuxian does (see: her treatment of Wen Ning during the wedding dress visit, as one example). If she’s at that conference and used to speaking out? She’s going to make a difference, because she has an excellent relationship with Jin Guangshan’s wife and his heir. Jin Zixuan is actively pursuing her at that point. She’s gentry, from a good family (unlike MianMian). She is right on the cusp of marrying into the Jin clan. If nothing else, she has enough influence that if she speaks out, Jiang Cheng will support her, and possibly others (such as Lan Xichen, sitting there looking uncomfortable but not saying anything as long as Wei Wuxian stands on his own). That could be a fun ripple effect to see played out.

3. He might communicate through music. This would be a fantastic place to use the Chinese literature technique of poetry allusions. Different songs or melodies might be associated with different lyrics, or plays, or poems, and so just a short musical phrase could convey a fairly complex (if sometimes more allegorical or symbolic) meaning. This particular method of communication might be most effective in conjunction with the Lans and Nie Huaisang just because they’d be more likely to make quick connections and respond to them without further explanation necessary, but in the right circumstances it could work for most cultivators, since they seem to pride themselves on their literacy. I’m still just barely dipping my toes into this stuff so I don’t have any concrete examples here, but I think it could be a lot of fun to incorporate more music into Wei Wuxian’s life before Chenqing, since he certainly learned to play the dizi somewhere before that whole coreless-in-a-death-trap adventure, and also I think travels with Lan Wangji and the juniors might be fun with some musical references peppered in. Which I might keep in mind even for fics where Wei Wuxian is not mute.

This next song compares Jin Zixun to all the fools of history and legend and finds him lacking.

4. Talismans! Wei Wuxian, being Wei Wuxian, seems to like to use talismans both to get attention and to convey meaning even when he doesn’t have any particular difficulty speaking in canon (I adore the butterfly talisman, okay, I will never be over it). And using talismans doesn’t necessarily mean conveying ideas in words, even though magical glowy writing can very cool.

[insert image of Wei Wuxian writing on his palm, clapping his hands together and then separating them reveal a glowy orange insult to Jin Zixuan’s ego held between them because he’s blunt like that sometimes]

Again, symbols and poetic allusions could be used. Whole landscapes, steaming bowls of soup, he could run wild with his artistic talents. Also he’d probably be able to figure out a sort of magical white-board situation with writing and erasing and re-writing script easily, though it would consume spiritual power of one type or another so it might be more difficult for him to pull off for a longer conversation, or after he’s lost his golden core (there’s another fun plot hook to play with: figuring out new ways to communicate as well as necromancy during the Sunshot Campaign). We do see him erase a talisman in the drama during the Yi City stuff, so that’s very nearly canon already. Basic writing would also be an option here (as we see Song Lan use) but I think the frustrations of needing ink and a brush or writing on the ground and everything would get to him pretty fast—Wei Wuxian is not a very patient person most of the time, so unless it’s actual letter-writing or a book of pre-set phrases he carries with him (probably a good idea for emergencies anyway) I don’t think that’s going to be his go-to.

Another talisman option is: let’s not forget that Wei Wuxian is a genius inventor! He could do so many things with cultivation. To pull from a real world technology example: Maybe he makes a talisman he can wrap around his throat that will convey the vibrations of his vocal chords (provided he has fully developed ones of course). Maybe he combines talismans and fireworks to get attention and write sparkly messages at the same time. To pull from things already in the canon: Maybe he uses Empathy for really important situations. Maybe he can literally steal other people’s voices momentarily, as he does control of bodies, or, post-Burial Mounds, maybe he can speak through the voices of spirits and fierce corpses. How freaking creepy would those be? One is like the reverse of the Lan Clan silencing spell: you can’t speak, but I can use your voice, potentially out of your own mouth. The other is just going to make traditional cultivators break out in hives: Wei Wuxian showing up to the war and every time he wants to speak he summons a fierce corpse or a ghost to scream his thoughts into annoying people’s faces.

Those last two aren’t going to win him any friends but oh wow do they look fun.

Imagine Wei Wuxian roasting Su She and exposing his whole plan in Su She’s own voice.

One last thing here that just occurred to me: Wei Wuxian has on at least one occasion in the drama used the paperman to talk to someone. He does it with Wen Qing, to ask if there’s any way she can arrange a break for Lan Wangji when he’s walking on a broken leg. Is that a telepathy thing? Or a voice thing? And would his ability to do it be affected by his relationship with spoken words? Food for thought.

5. Context or partner-based signs. These would be signs he makes up or develops in conjunction with friends and family, but which are based on shared experience and reference points rather than a full sign language. Could be pretty much anything as long as they mean something to his audience, but are going to be useful mostly for those cases where he’s having a one-on-one conversation or trying to get someone else to verbalize for him in a larger group. Counting on fingers, waving, summoning, the three-finger swear Wei Wuxian uses on that rooftop during the Sunshot Campaign etc. would be examples of generally socially known gestures so this is mostly just an extension of that. I would like to think that he would have personalized sign nick-names for people, probably related to puns or in-jokes. This is a fun place to play with context and relationship complexity, because different people are going to have different levels of fluency in “Wei Wuxian.” Perhaps that’s part of the wedge that drives itself between him and Jiang Cheng even: after months on end with the Wens, Wei Wuxian has mannerisms and signs Jiang Cheng doesn’t know, which just make him feel even more distant from his brother.

6. He might use an actual established sign language of some kind, probably one usually used in trade contexts (because there are many dialects and languages in Ancient China so trade sign could very easily be a thing) unless you build more of a social network (and more general social acceptance) for mute and deaf people into the world. Which could totally happen! But if you don’t tweak the world-building then sign language as a language beyond trade sign is going to be minimally useful to most individuals who would need it, because they’re mostly going to be communicating with people who don’t use it (as can often happen in the real world, of course). I think a general-use sign language or trade sign + personal signs could be a lot of fun, especially between close family and friends (how much would especially drama!Wen Ning love that added level of connection and communication?)

Look at them. Look at this ridiculousness.

But outside of that it’s probably not going to be something anyone but especially kind souls will actually use with him beyond actual monetary transactions. This is not a canon that’s generally kind to people who are marked as different. Most of the big cultivators probably wouldn’t even learn much trade sign, especially not the Jins and Wens, because they have servants to negotiate prices for them if necessary, but the Jiangs might learn both because they’re closer to their trade-port commoners and for Wei Wuxian’s sake. Anyone who travels alone would want to know some, at least. Lan Wangji might know a little and learn more specifically to communicate with Wei Wuxian? Could go a lot of directions.

7. Clapping, tapping things together, stomping, whistling, and maybe laughter, vocal crying or screaming, humming and whispers. These methods of communication will depend a lot on why a character is mute and whether it’s physically or psychologically-based. Clapping, tapping, stomping and whistling should be generally possible; the rest depend on vocal chord development and certain nerves being functional. Interestingly, this means that Wei Wuxian still has total control over simple fierce corpses and spirits even if his vocal chords don’t work or are damaged. Which is cool. Clapping/tapping/stomping would allow him to engage in morse/chinese telegraph/tapping code styles of communication too, if such a thing exists in Ancient Fantasy China (Why not? They already have chilies and potatoes and fly on swords). A whistle code for night hunting would just be a useful thing in general, for everyone. Limited speech might also be a thing. In some cases of selective mutism people can speak with certain people (a feeling of safety seems to be a big factor, though sometimes I saw reports of people saying they could speak just fine if it was on stage/part of a theatre production but not for day-to-day stuff too), or at low volumes. This might be more taxing than other forms of communication, or not, depending on the specific situation. It might lead to things like Wei Wuxian being able to talk to his family and possibly close friends like Lan Wangji, but not in large groups or to “outsiders,” which might in turn lead to more resentment on some people’s parts and more accusations that he’s just being rude or arrogant, etc.

8. Fan code. Because it should exist, why is Nie Huaisang the only person in this canon with a fan. Should be remedied, obviously.

Think of the things he could be saying if he had anyone to talk to this way!

9. The telepathy spell from fighting the Tortoise of Slaughter. This is a drama-exclusive thing, and I love it! So much! But. Telepathy is a very common workaround for characters who are unable to use verbal language and personally I think it’s often used to just totally erase that non-verbal communication or any of the difficulties actual mute people experience. So. It might be more interesting, and more respectful for real people’s lived experience, to introduce some further obstacles. What are the spell’s limits? Distance? Duration? Can it involve more than two people? Does it consume energy from all parties or only the person who initiates it? Who knows it? Is it a Lan Clan specialty? Is it only for highly ranked disciples? Did Lan Wangji invent it? Do the Lan juniors know this spell? If they do, would they use it? If yes to both those last two questions, that eliminates a lot of barriers for resurrected Wei Wuxian. Both Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi seem like they would willingly (with varying levels of sass of course) take on the task of relaying Wei Wuxian’s thoughts, at least sometimes. But again, it matters when Wei Wuxian becomes mute, because language and how you communicate shapes how you think. What if one of them or Lan Wangji uses the spell, and Wei Wuxian’s thoughts don’t come across as direct words? How does that impact their ability to communicate in this way?

Also, I invite you to picture: Wei Wuxian is back from the dead. He has been reunited with Lan Wangji. He can’t talk, verbally, but he can speak with Lan Wangji telepathically. This is a new development related to his resurrection. Lan Wangji is now faced with a dilemma, because he kind of depends on Wei Wuxian to do all the talking in a number of situations as the plot moves forward. How do they maneuver those situations now? The confrontation of the second Burial Mounds siege? The reveal of Jin Guangyao’s crimes? Also, depending on how the spell works and their communication style before Wei Wuxian died, it’s totally possible that he now just has Wei Wuxian chattering at him inside his head rather constantly, to make up for the fact that he suddenly can’t speak aloud. How does that affect their changing relationship as they go on adventures?

A possible example of this scenario.

Okay, time for some character implications. You know that thing Wei Wuxian does where he has to prove that he is at least as good and usually better than everyone else at whatever he can manage even though he’s an orphaned child of non-gentry parents? Yeah. That’s probably going to get cranked up all the way past 11 to like, 17 or something. A lot. Because if Wei Wuxian can’t verbally speak in a culture where oratory is such an ingrained part of daily life and cultivator culture, a lot of people are going to use that to assume he’s also stupid or unskilled. We see repeated examples of Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng being disregarded or manipulated through their inability to give speeches the way other people do, and the ability to speak well is mentioned as a distinct and admirable ability in reference to both Jin Guangyao and Ouyang Zizhen. It’s something cultivator politics pretty much requires, after a certain point: the ability to speak, clearly and with authority. Not being able to is going to tick Wei Wuxian off to no end. Frequently. And also (I believe) add even more fuel to his “I’m better than you” antics.

He’s still going to be this dramatic asshole, and he’s still going to be better than Jin Zixuan.

Speech doesn’t affect any of those gentlemanly skills he’s learned (provided we assume he still ahs the opportunity to learn them). It doesn’t affect his archery, or his swordsmanship, or his cultivational power. I don’t think it would affect horsemanship, but it might depend on how the horse was trained and what sounds Wei Wuxian is able to make. But either way, with the skills he does have I think it’s possible he would flaunt them even more, especially in front of people he thinks look down on him. He might also get into more physical fights, since he already has a tendency to do that as is when he’s offended enough (most obviously illustrated by his Cloud Recesses confrontation of Jin Zixuan). He might just walk out of more conversations, as we saw him do during the Sunshot Campaign, even before he loses his gold core. He might get even more unconventional in his ideas even more quickly, because he doesn’t fit in as well from the start and never will. The appeal of becoming a rogue cultivator or trying to seek out Baoshan Sanren on his own might be pretty strong. Lots of canon divergence and AU possibilities there.

As far as inter-character relationships go, if he’s mute from childhood I don’t think his relationships with his adopted family would change a whole lot. Madam Yu is going to throw his muteness in his and everyone else’s faces on a regular basis because it’s another handle she can grab onto. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli might be more protective of him, but I think their personal dynamic with him would remain largely the same. Same with Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Yanli might speak up more often and Jiang Cheng might be forced to develop more patience and eloquence at a younger age, which could certainly ripple out into bigger things over time if you wanted to go that direction. Similarly, Lan Sizhui might have vague memories/ an increased ability to pick up the meaning behind “Mo Xuanyu’s” gestures and signs, which in turn could lead to his own identity being revealed sooner as well. It really depends on how deep you want to go, and how far you want to spin things.

Wei Wuxian’s relationships with the rest of the cultivation world, on the other hand, might be drastically different from a younger age because there’s always going to be that hint there that he’s lacking something, even more than he already gets with his birth status. I could absolutely see it being used in a very similar way to how mentions of Jin Guangyao’s parentage are used. In addition, Wei Wuxian’s going to have a harder time charming his way through situations, because the pacing of his conversations is going to be different. A lot of people are going to avoid him even before he turns to demonic cultivation because they don’t want to deal with learning new ways to communicate, which might contribute to his desire to show off more often and more drastically. (Some people of course are going to hate him even more because of this, and say things that involve phrases like “despite his shortcomings” but they hate him anyway. So how much that increase in irritation affects plot would depend on how far you wanted to take it.) Many relationships (especially more superficial ones) might have to be built a little bit slower, or a little more indirectly. A single first meeting will make less of an immediate positive impact unless he develops some specific strategies. Is he going to be remembered? Absolutely. But he’ll have to work harder to be remembered as “that charming, skilled Wei kid” instead of “that mute guy from Yunmeng Jiang.” It’s definitely a challenge.

This pun-and-flirting-based conversation, for example, would be very difficult to pull off.

With Lan Wangji specifically… I think it could go a lot of directions. I do like to think that one of the things that he finds attractive about Wei Wuxian is that Wei Wuxian makes it obvious he wants to be around, and be friends, but he accommodates Lan Wangji’s moods and actions without the need for very many verbal cues. He pays attention. All the time. He reacts to everything Lan Wangji does, whether Lan Wangji is talking or not, and he wants Lan Wangji’s attention in return. They actually have a lot of non-verbal communication going on already. They click, on a certain level, especially in combat situations, and can convey a lot of communication without very many words. So I don’t think that part would change much. Maybe more whistles and gestures and music, but it already involves a lot of touching. Nor would that aspect of Lan Wangji trying to figure Wei Wuxian out change a lot—the puzzle part might even be intensified, which could be fun to play with and lead them to be closer from an earlier time, especially in the novel setting. What might change is that Lan Wangi might start picking up more of Wei Wuxian’s ways of expressing himself, because another part of what I personally see in their relationship is that Wei Wuxian is often a catalyst for Lan Wangji realizing he can approach a problem from a totally different angle. If Wei Wuxian uses music to communicate as well as in cultivation, Lan Wangji might pick that up, or he might pick up certain gestures (signs can sometimes be more efficient than spoken words, especially if someone is used to them, and I think that would appeal to Lan Wangji’s economy of expression), or ways to use talismans (as we see him use one of Wei Wuxian’s talismans as a distraction in the drama). So yeah, if Wei Wuxian is mute when they first meet I think they would develop some slightly different lines of communication, but overall the shape of their relationship would remain largely the same. (Exploring those slightly different lines could be a lot of fun, even so :D)

A lot of the things I’ve written here are primarily based in the idea that Wei Wuxian is mute in childhood. If Wei Wuxian lost the ability to speak as a teen or adult, that would be pretty different. His frustration levels would be even higher than if he was dealing with it most of his life, especially since, as I noted above, I don’t think he would have as much of a chance to build a working knowledge of signs with very many people, if anyone at all. If his reaction to being trapped at Burial Mounds and becoming first a war hero and then a social pariah are any indication, he’d be dramatic and angry about it, and probably actively use it as a blind to disguise his lack of a golden core as much as possible. I think in any case where he became mute after growing up speaking, his chosen methods of communication would be a lot more direct and voice- or writing-based, whether through use of resentment-fueled voice-borrowing or talismans and glowy writing, or inventions like the vocal chord vibration thing. He’s going to be much more resistant to relying on other people if he can at all avoid it, and much more impatient about round-about methods of communication like music. He’d probably also employ a lot of exaggerated facial expressions and emphatic (and probably often rude) gestures. His adulthood is pretty stressful to begin with, and this is only going to make it moreso.

For character reactions in that situation—I think there would be a lot of concern from his siblings and Lan Wangji, and depending on when it happened there might be a lot of connections drawn between his inability to speak and his adoption of demonic cultivation. (I see four major points where he might become mute as a teen/adult before his death, and they’re all pretty close together: 1) during the Wen indoctrination camp, 2) when he wakes up from his coma after fighting the Tortoise of Slaughter 3) when Lotus Pier is invaded and destroyed, 4) When Wen Chao captures him and throws him into the Burial Mounds. Potential option #5: in a battle during the Sunshot Campaign.) On the one hand, in these situations Wei Wuxian already has established relationships based mostly in respect with a lot of people, so he might meet with more patience (but also more pity) for a while. On the other, people like Jin Guangshan are absolutely not above using something like this to shut him out of politics entirely.

But okay, among people he actually likes: I think Jiang Yanli and Lan Wangji would put in the most effort for actually communicating with him and helping him find ways to cope, as we see them do in the drama with the golden core situation. They and Jiang Cheng might possibly also narrow in focus pretty hard on finding a cure, if possible, since that falls in line with their reactions to his giving up the sword (something to be careful about in writing, as the difference between “magical cure” and “recovery through speech therapy” can be pretty important on a sensitivity level).

In a case of selective mutism—I think only Jiang Yanli would react well at first.

I cry over their relationship so much.

At this point Jiang Cheng is well and truly into his “why are you making my life harder” phase so Wei Wuxian being able to speak with him in private but not in public might start as a relief and then quickly become annoying as fuck. It might take Lan Wangji a while to figure out it’s even happening, especially if he’s one of the people Wei Wuxian still speaks aloud with. He might just think for a while that Wei Wuxian is trying to be better about controlling his mouth in public settings. But once he did figure it out, he’d probably adjust pretty quickly because he can relate to it a bit—we see him speak in small groups or one on one way more often than in more public stage situations, even though he is generally fully capable of speaking. I do think there would still be an undercurrent of worry there though, especially since at that point in his life Wei Wuxian is pretty close to spiraling out of control at the drop of a hat.

This sort of thing might be a lot more common.

Post-resurrection, Wei Wuxian himself would probably be really, really confused to suddenly be alive again but unable to speak. I think he’d spend some time going “wtf??” and then shoving his way into situations with wild hand gestures and body language and facial expressions. Think about that first confrontation in Mo Village, where he’s acting “mad”? That sort of exaggeration, and deliberately provocative physical contact maybe. He might play really annoying noises on grass or his poorly-made flute to get people’s attention. Whistling is highly probable. There’d probably also be some related depression, too. All of these things are obviously possibilities for if he developed mutism earlier of course, but I think if it came with the resurrection he’d have a lot more questions about it, and focus a lot more on being able to make noise at first.

I will make everyone else aware of my personal annoyance in any way possible.

He might end up doing more instead of trying to lead the Lan juniors to the correct conclusions, because he’s going to have way fewer communication tools than he would under other circumstances. He’d be less able to immediately insult Jin Ling at their first meeting, and less recognizable to Jiang Cheng. And once he met up with Lan Wangji, I think Lan Wangji would worry a lot about his silence in this case, because it’s so unlike him and they don’t know why it’s happened (unless Mo Xuanyu was already known to be mute). Finding a cure or a way to practice and build up speech again would be pretty high in both their priorities, I think, and Lan Wangji would watch Wei Wuxian a bit more closely, to make sure he stayed safe (because if this has changed, what else has changed?).

That oversight could influence the plot a fair amount. It might mean that they don’t catch Nie Huaisang at the Tomb of Blades. It might mean that Wei Wuxian tries to run away more often, or more determinedly, because he feels like he’s being smothered. It might significantly impact their ability to communicate during the Yi City fights in the fog, unless they’ve developed or adopted a whistle or clapping code by then. Wei Wuxian picks up on A-Qing’s tapping quickly enough that he’d probably come up with something a little more sophisticated, given time. They might spend a lot more time in the evenings and while traveling working on ways to communicate. Writing. Music. Empathy-the-technique. Establishing gestures and tapping codes, designing new talismans, etc. but for a while there Wei Wuxian is going to be extremely dependent on Lan Wangji (and possibly sometimes Lan Sizhui) to interpret and speak for him, which is a major change in their relationship that could be really interesting to explore. Does Lan Wangji start speaking out more often? Or does he employ intimidation or position or the silencing spell to make others wait for Wei Wuxian to communicate in other ways? How does that effect Wei Wuxian’s hidden identity? Does this experience resolve their friendship-to-lovers plot faster, or does it provide just provide even more opportunities for miscommunication?

The possibilities for fic are very nearly endless, I think, but my personal favorite options would be either something with the voice stealing and fierce-corpse-yelling (the consequences would be huge but individual moments could be very satisfying) or a fic focused on Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian working together, building new communication tools and deepening their relationship through shared context, because I am a Wangxian sap at heart <3.

[cosmiciaria]

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Review! (spoiler free - long post)

It's done! I finished my first AC game ever! And I loved it!! YAAAY!!

First things first: this is going to be an honest review. I liked the game, A LOT, more than I expected, actually, but it has flaws. Not many that I could find personally, but it has. But before I delve deeper into it, let's have an overview of the game.

AC: Syndicate is the ninth?, installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. It's a sequel to Unity, that came out just a year before, but you don't need to play any of the other AC games to plunge into this one (or any of them, to be honest), since each game tells a self-contained story. If you've been living under a rock for the past decade or you don't know a thing about videogames, Assassin's Creed games follow a character in the present time, joining the Order of the Assassins, warriors and masters of stealth that have been at odds with the Templars since time immemorial. The Templars desire the pieces of Eden, magical artifacts created with ancient technology by the Precursors, gods and goddesses that somehow bear the names of the Roman pantheon members. These pieces of Eden are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, but have been long lost to the folds of History and withered pages of books. The Assassins must find them in today's world, through the genetic memories buried within the DNA of the descendants of the Assassins that at some point in History have come into contact with those artifacts.

Well, that premise is true for all Assassin's Creed games. This time, we're following the same initiate we met during Black Flag and Unity, if I'm not mistaken. The previous games have followed Desmond Miles, an actual character with a face, but in these "in-between" installments, the initiate is a faceless placeholder for the player to incarnate them. But, to be honest, the present timeline is, uh, what's this word…

BORING.

Nobody cares what's going on in the present! Let's move on to the actual plot!

Syndicate takes us to Victorian London! Through the DNA of the initiate we travel in time to 1868, to the middle of the British capital. Our protagonists this time is a pair of twins: Jacob and, lo and behold, Evie Frye. I say "lo and behold" because this is the first official female assassin protagonist that we have in the mainline series of games. Prior to this game, we have Liberation which also followed a female assassin, the real first one, but that game is a spin off and mostly overlooked, since it came out only for the Vita sadly back in the day (although there's a remaster for the ps3!). Either way, all previous Assassin's Creed games (if Syndicate is the ninth, then you got the number) have starred male assassins as their protagonists. In Unity this came to a great peak when in the multiplayer co-op players were unable to play as female avatars, which caused a great ruckus. As Syndicate intended to mend many of the problems players found in Unity, we have now an official, canon female character in the main series! And I say: CHEERS TO THAT!

I MUST address this because it was one of the two reasons why I bought this game. I was never interested in the AC games but I've always wanted this one, because you could play as Evie Frye. As a female cis person, I find the lack of canon female protagonist to be baffling, to say the least (the actual word I'm looking for would be "annoying"). I'm not going to say that I'm forced to play as a male character all the time, because nobody forces me to play any game, I play them all because I wish to – but the truth is that, for many years, the videogame industry has been directed at one public only: boys. And some boys, for some reason, won't play the game if the protagonist is a girl or looks like a girl. And I don't care if the presence of a female character breaks your history immersion and whatnot: we have fricking magic in this game, do not throw historical accuracy at me for it. So, Ubisoft: I AM GLAD you created Evie Frye. She's fearless, she's relentless, she's clever, she has a clear goal in mind and solves every little piece to make the bigger plan work. She's badass without throwing her femininity off the window, and for a change she's the one saving the man in distress. I love her and her cloaks. Also she's cute as hell.

I am ALSO GLAD that Ubisoft created Jacob Frye! Jacob is a good balance to Evie, since he's more impulsive, a brawler, and likes throwing himself into battle. He speaks with fists, while never leaving his morals aside. He shows disregard for careful plans, but ultimately works in favor of them. He might sound a little stupid when I picture him this way, but he's not: he follows the creed strictly, during the assassination missions he shows clear precision, planification and ingenuity, and most importantly, he has a golden heart, and knows his ideals and principles very well. And for the love of Minerva, he's so handsome I might die.

So the Frye twins are both your protagonists this time! During the open world map and sidequests, you can switch between them on the fly. But during main missions, one of them will be assigned for you to play as and you'll be forced to complete the quest with either of them. Evie favors stealth, whereas Jacob is all about combat. This allows the player to tackle the game and the different activities as they see fit. If you're patient, probably Evie will be best for you, but if you can't handle the stealth, choose Jacob and start throwing punches! The city of London is open for you to choose the way you can liberate it.

And that takes me to my second reason why I bought this game: London.

For a not native-English-speaker as myself, who has learned and studied British English for over ten years, London will always hold a soft spot in my heart. Two years ago I was finally able to realize my dream and visit the city for the first time ever. I cried when I stepped out of St. Pancrasse station, understanding that my feet were touching English ground. So when I saw that this game not only offered me the chance to play as a female assassin, but it would also allow me to revisit London, I didn't think twice.

We follow Jacob and Evie to London, where they must meet Henry Green, the assassin watching over that city, in pursue of an important Templar figure: Starrick. Along the way to assassinate him, we'll take down other important Templar members, all responding to him. As I will keep this spoiler free, let's leave it at that. Let's just say that Starrick is in London, controlling every nook and cranny, while his second in command, Lucy Thorne, is reservedly researching the leads of a possible piece of Eden that might be hidden in the city's most secretive places.

London is so well recreated, I cried once when I stopped in front of the Big Ben. You're only able to visit and play through a portion of the city, around the Thames and Westminster, but still, even small though it seems, the map is big enough and full of activities to fulfill. The streets feel alive with its multiple, many, MANY npc's walking, running, driving carriages, interacting with each other, often having conversations as well! I was astonished when I was walking with Evie down an alley and an npc waved his hand to another npc that was some feet away, and the first one rushed to the second one to greet each other. It was such a realistic thing to see on the street that I was amazed at the technology behind it. As always, AC games excel at the presentation of countless npc's, each with a different animation and voices. On top of that, the city looks gorgeous, with so many details that I often stopped to stare, especially in the most emblematic buildings, like the different train Stations, the Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and, of course, the Buckingham Palace. Everything is so faithful and vibrant and alive, that… yes, I love it. I fricking love it. I travelled again there in this game and I'm thankful for it.

There are nine sequences with 4 to 7 memories each, and all of them are different and unique enough to make them memorable. In particular, the main assassination quests were complex, using exclusive scenarios to the mission, offering the player different paths to tackle the killing – they were my favorite out of all the game. The last mission was *chef kiss*.

Apart from the main missions, you can slowly liberate each neighborhood from the Templars' claws. Each borough has a set of different activities to complete in order for you to "conquer" it. Gang wars, bounty hunts, Templar hunts, there's a lot to do. It might seem a lot at first, but you'll soon see the patterns across the sidequests, only to (unfortunately) realize that they're all the same. These can get tiresome and repetitive after a while, but they're also the best way to level up and earn money quickly. My personal favorite were the child liberations, because I felt like I was doing a good deed and also as if Charles Dickens himself was asking me to do it.

Oh, yes, Charles Dickens is in this game! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, because I don't! He's one of my favorite authors, so, to be GIVEN a QUEST by HIM, I'm in tears guys, do you understand why I loved this game so much??

But Dickens isn't the only historical person that you'll encounter: Darwin also makes an appearance, as well as Marx (of whom I believed to be in Brussels, but I guess he visited London at some point – now I want an AC game set in Brussels), and Alexander Graham Bell, who will be your DaVinci of this game (Oh, now I want to play Ezio's games), offering you new toys to tinker with as you pave your way across the city. There are other historical people, but I won't mention them, since they're probably a spoiler, so I'll let you be surprised!

You'll have like a "hub world", or more like, a hub train – a train will be your hideout, your base, where you'll collect money, take some quests, interact with some characters and buy stuff cheaper. This train will constantly move around the city – sometimes I found myself appearing on the other side of the map because I was studying and investigating the things the train offered. I really liked the idea of a "moving base house", also it's quite fancy, and besides, I love trains. This game just keeps bringing me the good content.

Evie and Jacob are good protagonists – I'm not going to say they slay at it, but they serve the purpose. They're quite stereotypical, specially Jacob, as he seems to follow the trend Ezio imposed back in the day, and to which Arno also contributed – and Evie is quite the "polar opposite", a cliché often used on twins to express how "different they are". Their personalities are nothing new; what is endearing and worth noting, though, is their interactions. At first I thought "this is going to be another of the never-ending cases of twins acting like friends instead of siblings". I do come across this mistake more frequently than I'd like to, only broken by some exceptions (World of Final Fantasy is a really good one), even more if the twins are a boy and girl. I'm not saying twins shouldn't be friends themselves, but they're siblings first, for the love of Juno, and most creators who put twins into their stories don't seem to remember how siblings treat each other. Luckily, this game proved me wrong, since the Frye twins showed me that they're real siblings: not because they quarrel (they do, sometimes, quite forced in my opinion), but because of the way they look at each other, they care for each other, they often joke about the other, the familiarity and complicity they treat some topics with, because of the small banter that you can hear them have in the train hideout, how Jacob teases Evie with Henry or how Evie teases Jacob for the cloaks he's wearing – that, all of that, all combined, make up for a good sibling relationship and show me that these two have been brother and sister for a while now. I'm glad they ended up being one of the exceptions to this godawful rule among the fictional twin characters. I would've liked, though, maybe a few more scenes with them having a real heart to heart – I think we were robbed of one or two (specially after sequence 8 if you ask me- Jacob please, let's talk, baby).

Henry is another important character – although I thought he'd be more important. He ultimately appeared in less missions than I expected, and is soon relegated to be Evie's love interest and that's it. And even that is, uh… a little underwhelming. I kinda shipped them at first, then I was like "please, they're FRIENDS, don't force this", only to see myself getting disappointed. I think Henry needed more screentime for me to care more about him, and I definitely believe that, after that mission with Evie, we needed a cutscene with an explanation. It was kind of forgotten later, and he felt more like a plot device than anything else. I'm sad, because he could've been a great opportunity to show us a bit of Indian culture, and also because by the end of the game he's treated like another protagonist, when it doesn't feel like he'd earned it, though, considering the whole game. My opinion.

There are other characters worth mentioning, like Freddy Abberline, another historical person, whose running gag about disguises soon grew on me; Clara O'Dea, a little girl who asks us to liberate her fellow children friends from the claws of foremen who exploit them and acts like a little spy for us; Ned Wynart, who brings trans representation into the game; and some other sequence exclusive characters, who I won't mention because it will spoilerish. Let's just say that Jacob comes across a very interesting man.

On the technical department, I already said that London looks great, but I want to stress this: the whole game looks great. From cinematography to animations, I think they nailed the direction in this one. As my first AC game I can't speak for the others, but this one is a gem. I must mention though that the game crashed on me only once, and I was looking for the "destruction trophy", the one that asks you to break 5000 destructible items of the city – well, it seems I had destroyed enough and the game couldn't take any more wrecked chaos across London, but other than that I didn't encounter any bug nor any trophy didn't pop up. It looks great and it plays great: the controls are responsive, you swiftly dash across the city feeling unstoppable – sometimes controls didn't do what I wanted but it wasn't the game's fault, it was mine, so I can't blame it for my own stupidity.

The soundtrack is also such an unexpected jewel in this game. The solemn tracks that play on the background while you're peacefully traversing the city – some are lyrical and dramatic, others go well with a rainy suburb. The vibrant and electrifying tracks during battles or escapes did bring all the Sherlock Holmes movies vibes to the game. It was all – so English, if you catch my drift. The music did fit well with the British atmosphere they were aiming for.

The ending is satisfying – don't expect an opera prima, or a huge revelation, or groundbreaking plot twists. The story is fairly lineal in its presentation: this is the goal? Alright, the whole game goes for it. We can say that it's quite predictable, but let's be honest, we're not here for the ending or the things that might happen to discover the characters in the present time, we're here to assassinate people with our beautifully hidden blade – wait, that sounded way too violent – we're here for the gameplay, for the historical events, for the feeling of being an assassin, and for some world-building regarding the Precursors.

In regards to that, I cannot not mention the World War I Simulation – a rift in time appears in the Thames towards halfway through the game, and you can enter it – it will take you forward in time, to the same London that is now under the attack of the German. In this more modern time, you play as Lydia Frye, Jacob's granddaughter, also an assassin, who collaborates with no other than Winston Churchill to defeat the Templars. In this kind of DLC episode we learn way more about the Precursors, Juno, Minerva and other important figures to this world-building, that it's mostly lacking in the rest of the game. This simulation does feel like a DLC since it only offers a few hours of gameplay, the metaphor isn't in vain – it's a huge change of pace, it plays a little different since you'll be doing war stuff, and you also visit a portion of the city that isn't available in the main game: the Tower Bridge. It IS worth playing, though, not only for the trophies or for the extended map, but for what I said earlier: world-building. Juno plays a big part in this simulation, and I encourage you to play it, even though it's optional. Slowly but steadily, the world of the Precursors is unfolding before our very eyes. Also, Lydia, YASS another female assassin joins the family!

All in all, Syndicate is a positive experience. Sidequests are repetitive and mostly boring after you complete the first borough, some characters needed more screentime, Evie and Jacob could've used a sensitive cutscene with a deep conversation – but the mechanics, the gameplay, the city, the main missions, the relationship between the twins, the customization of weapons and outfits, and the fact that I literally entered Buckingham Palace after killing a royal guard or two – that, is more than enough to compensate for what it's lacking. You might be tired of the same formula over and over if you're a fan of the franchise, but do give the twins a shot. If you never play an AC game before, try this one out – it might turn you into an AC fangirl, like it did to me.

I'm a trophy hunter myself, so I'll try to platinum it! And now my eyes are intent on Unity, because, if you've seen this post, you know that Arno and Élise resemble two of my oc's, so now I need that game to be injected into my veins, thank you very much.

[ragnarachael]

ONGOING SERIES MASTERLIST

here is my ongoing series masterlist!! since everyone seems to like my tony stark x parker!reader fics i put out, i’ve decided to place them here, along with other series that you (yes, you!) ask me to write. (for example, you wanna see more stephen strange x ER nurse!reader content? shoot me an ask! want more peter parker x beck!reader angst? just ask and i will HAPPILY deliver when i can!)

click HERE for the masterlist to my drabbles and oneshots such as: PROMISES PROMISES, CRUSH CITY, POPULATION: US. click HERE for the masterlist to my chaptered fics such as: JUKEBOX HERO, PLEAD THE FIFTH.

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT A FIC? WANT HEADCANONS FROM A CERTAIN FIC UNIVERSE? CLICK HERE!

PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART : TONY STARK x READER, PETER PARKER x SISTER!READER — last updated; july 15th, 2020

THE ONE WITH THE PJ’S — DRABBLE

MORGAN DOESN’T WANT TO CHANGE INTO ADULT CLOTHES WHEN UNCLE PETER COMES OVER. (FEATURING READER AS MORGAN’S MOTHER AND PETER AS READER’S YOUNGER BROTHER.)

THE ONE WITH THE SLEEPOVER — DRABBLE

UNCLE PETER CAN FINALLY TAKE A BREAK. (FEATURING READER AS MORGAN’S MOM AND PETER’S OLDER SISTER)

THE ONE WITH THE BIG MOUTH — DRABBLE

TONY STARK WAS ALWAYS ONE TO NEVER KEEP HIS TRAP SHUT. (FEATURING READER AS MORGAN’S MOM)

AWKWARD AIR — ONESHOT 

TONY HAS TO PULL HIS TWO FAVORITE PARKER’S BACK TO EARTH AFTER THEY LEARN THAT AUNT MAY IS DATING HAPPY. (FEATURING READER AS PETER’S OLDER SISTER AND MORGAN’S MOM)

AWKWARD AIR: THE BREAKFAST — ONE SHOT

YOU, TONY, AND MORGAN MADE IT TO BREAKFAST AT MAY’S AND YOU FINALLY TALK OUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT HER DATING HAPPY WHILE COOKING.

SPOOKY RELAXATION — ONESHOT

MORGAN SPENDS HALLOWEEN WITH HER UNCLE PETER. YOU AND TONY FINALLY GET SOME PEACE AND QUIET FOR A NIGHT.

BABY, BABY, BABY! — ONESHOT

YOU AND TONY SUCCESSFULLY BRING A BABY GIRL INTO THE WORLD.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! — ONESHOT 

TONY INVITES HIS FAVORITE PEOPLE FOR A SMALL GET TOGETHER FOR NEW YEARS. PETER AND MORGAN ALMOST GIVE HIM A HEART ATTACK IN RETURN.

MISSING YOU — ONESHOT

MORGAN’S GOT QUESTIONS. YOU AND TONY FIGURE IT’S TIME SHE KNEW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HER UNCLE PETER AND NANA MAY.

FAMILY TWISTER — ONESHOT

QUARANTINE IN THE STARK HOUSEHOLD ISN’T COMPLETELY WITHOUT A  FEW ROUNDS OF TWISTER AND A CALL FROM UNCLE PETER.

CHIQUITITA, TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG — ONESHOT 

PETER’S SICK AND BARELY SINGING ALONG TO MAMMA MIA. YOU TAKE IT UPON YOURSELF AS PETER’S SISTER TO TRY AND MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER. TONY HELPS THE BEST HE CAN BEFORE HE’S OFF TO A MEETING. LATER IN THE DAY, HE ACCIDENTALLY BRINGS UP A TOPIC YOU’VE YET TO DISCUSS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP. (PRE-MORGAN)

I LOVE YOU. SO MUCH. — ONESHOT

THE PARKER’S WERE WELL ACQUAINTED WITH LOSS AND GRIEF. FIRST WITH THEIR PARENTS, THEN THEIR UNCLE BEN, AND NOW TONY STARK. PETER DOESN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW LONG HE’S ACTUALLY GONE UNTIL HE COMES BACK FROM THE BLIP AND LEARNS YOU, HIS SISTER, AND TONY STARK HAD A WHOLE LIFE TOGETHER. IT’S THEN HE THINKS, YEAH, HE DESERVES ANOTHER FIVE YEAR NAP. (ENDGAME CANON! ANGST! PAIN!)

BIRTHDAY BOY — ONESHOT 

YOU’RE TONY’S WAKE UP CALL ON HIS BIRTHDAY, AND HE’S EXTREMELY KEEN ON STAYING IN BED ALL DAY IF IT MEANS HE’S WITH YOU. (18+! SMUT!)

RED HANDED — ONESHOT

YOU AND TONY THOUGHT YOU WERE GOOD AT SNEAKING AROUND THE TOWER, BUT THAT ALL CHANGES WHEN PETER WALKS IN ON SOMETHING YOU NEVER WANTED HIM TO SEE.

THE ONE WITH THE BABYSITTERS — DRABBLE

HARLEY AND PETER WATCHED MORGAN WHILE YOU AND TONY CELEBRATED YOUR ANNIVERSARY.

AWKWARD AIR: THE BIRTHDAY — ONESHOT

MAY PARKER’S BIRTHDAY IS NOTORIOUS IN THE PARKER-STARK HOUSEHOLD, AND HAPPY’S GOT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR YOU AND PETER.

THE VALIANT ARSONIST : LOKI X TVA AGENT!READER — last updated; july 13th, 2020

SUMMARY — Being a research agent for your team at the Time Variance Authority (TVA) has its quirks and hiccups until you’re finally given time to shine with your newest case: A man named Loki who has been giving multiple different timelines hell. (Written WELL before the Loki TV series. Most likely not canon compliant whenever it does end up coming out in 2021).

CURIOSITY — ONESHOT (BASED ON THIS DRABBLE)

YOU AND YOUR TEAM AT THE TVA HAVE CAPTURED LOKI, AND IT’S YOUR JOB TO RESEARCH THINGS ABOUT THE MAN.

WORRY — ONESHOT

YOU’RE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THE NEW FOUND INFORMATION LOKI’S GIVEN YOU, AND YOU MEET WHAT SEEMS TO BE A NEW HIRE.

THE ONE WITH THE TVA AGENT — DRABBLE

LOKI ENDS UP IN YOUR APARTMENT TO GET MEDICAL TREATMENT. YOU REALIZE YOU CARE.

THE ONE WITH THE TVA AGENT PRT 2 — DRABBLE

LOKI’S BEEN GONE ON A MISSION FOR A WEEK. YOU’RE A WORRIED WIFE. (FLASHFORWARDS IN THE SERIES FT.  TVA DIRECTOR!READER)

AFFECTION — ONESHOT

LOKI COMES TO YOU FOR SOME (UN)PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. WHILE YOU END UP RAMBLING, YOU WATCH HIM STARING AT YOU.

[duskdragon39]

dust can’t settle: Commentary

I thought you were done with credits and notes and commentaries, I hear you say. You had an entire chapter dedicated to credits and notes. Why do you have more notes?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, @stellarfoam​ and I wrote a thing for @pod-together, got a whole ton of talented people to help us read it, and created the first ao3 relationship for the tag “Original Fear Entity Avatar Characters & Original Fear Entity Avatar Characters (The Magnus Archives)” except the tag was too long so the “the” got dropped. You can find that here. If, however, you have already read/listened to/somehow otherwise experienced our oc/self-insert-heavy original statement fic, welcome! I assume you’re here because you wanted to listen to me ramble on for yet another thousand words. If you’re not looking for that, well, here it is.

Under the cut, anyways

The World of DCS:

This is, very technically, the Magnus Archives fanfic.

I say technically, because nowhere in this does canon appear. It appears in the inspiration and base worldbuilding, but other than that... yeah no.

So this started when Kai and I looked at the worldbuilding TMA has for the U.S. and went “yeah there’s got to be more than one institute.” Thus the San Francisco Institute for the Unusual and Paranormal was born, along with its satellite offices in Denver and Chicago. Those same satellite offices also serve The Usher Foundation in DC. The branch offices collect statement, both written and recorded, and other research on the paranormal. Every five years, SFIUP sends along a couple of archival assistants to go and transfer those files to long-term storage in San Francisco or DC. The relationship between the branch offices and SFIUP can be best summed up as follows:

Chicago & Denver: Bigger archives are always bossing us around :( San Fran & DC: Alright but can you like, actually store your statements Chicago & Denver: No.... San Fran & DC: Okay, so...? Chicago & Denver: DON’T TELL US WHAT TO DO

Also, we said screw you to Smirke’s 14. There’s every chance that by defining and putting boundaries on the 14 he actually helped shape them into those roles, and we figured that different places would have different mergers and interpretations of those 14. Most of our statements merge or ignore the defined fears- Something There is Dark/Hunt/Eye, Hung is Vast/Buried, Beauty is Eye/Vast, Shasta Lake is just a weirdly big fish, Dragon’s Cauldron might be Hunt? It’s more just a “alright but wouldn’t it be COOL if...”

We also have another giant document about how the fears might manifest in different parts of America.

Because there is never an end to the worldbuilding.

The Car:

Some random facts about the car for your enjoyment: - It woke up because something something knowledge = power and Lee and Dusk (LD) kept reading it statements - So now the equation knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass applies, which is to say that the trunk is a transdimensional space that LD primarily use for storage of random things. - Also a flesh monster. - It’s just back there. - It tried to kill them at one point while crossing through Minnesota. They shoved it in the trunk. It just sort of. Remains there. For awhile. - The car did not approve. - In case your wondering, the car is more or less a traveling archive, and LD are its archivists. - However LD did not sign up for this, and so their road trip culminates eventually with them killing the car. It is a long and terrible battle, and the two of them nearly die. - I have, somewhere on this computer, right now, a recording of the Car’s lovely voice actor Lynx doing a variety of absolutely terrible voices, including petulant teenager and valley girl.

Statements:

We have two pages worth of statement ideas still that we’ll get around to writing someday. If we stop adding to them. Here’s the stories behind some of the ones that made it into the fic, and some other general things I wanted to talk about.

Chapter 1: Archivist’s Note, San Francisco, Shasta Lake:

The recording classification system does not have much thought put into it, but follows the following format

[Media type];[Supernatural Classification].[Year].[Month]:[Employee(s) responsible for the case]

So in the case of [S;F15.2015.06-09:LD)], it’s: Statement(s);Multiple fears.2015.June-September:Lee & Dusk

Is this a perfect system? Hell no. Did this get as deep into archive classification systems as I wanted to go for a 15k fic? Yes. 

The Shasta Lake statement pulled heavily from several sources, including the Shasta Lake fishing website, Wikipedia, and an actual news story about a couple of guys who saved a sturgeon from choking on a catfish. It’s kinda an amazing story, especially since the fish was actually about 8 feet long.

Things I don’t want to run into, thank you.

Chapter 4: Empty City, Gas

Empty city was, as mentioned in the fic, inspired by a statement @laurenbrightwing​ gave to us. And yes, LD absolutely have gone and explored graveyards and abandoned buildings for the Aesthetic of it. 

Gas, however, came from The Car, an absolutely beautiful TAU fic by Feneris. Don’t ask what it runs on. You don’t want to know. Chapter 6: Greenway

Fic-Dusk used to work for the Denver Branch Office before going to San Fran. The branch office never forgave them for their treachery.

Chapter 7: Hung

Eastman Chemical Company is an actual company stationed in Tennessee, and this statement was very heavily modeled after Mag 124: Left Hanging, except with more buried vibes.

Needs more buried should be a motto.

Chapter 9: The Dragon’s Cauldron

Guess who went down a research hole? It me. 

Research notes for this statement can be found here. 

Sources: Debunking the Myth, Fear of Yellowstone (U.S. National Park Service) Native Americans and Yellowstone National Park: Hot Springs, Legends and Sacred Places Explore the Fort Yellowstone Historic District (U.S. National Park Service) Whittesly Yellowstone Myths.pdf Timeline of Human History in Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Legend of the Sheepeater Indian Tribe in Yellowstone - My Yellowstone Park The History of our Local Tribe: The Sheep Eater Indians - Bitterroot Ranch Dragons in Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Chapter 10: Something There, Archivist’s Note 2

RIGHT. This is a fun chain of events that have taken about three years to mature into this story. 

Something There started off with a nightmare about something stalking me through my house. I was thoroughly creeped out, and then promptly forgot about it for the next day until I went to walk through my house at night and thought I heard something moving behind me. 

About a year later, my composition teacher told us to write a speech. I think the prompt was truth? 

So I went off about the thing supposedly living in my house, how no one would believe me if I told them, and implying that I absolutely was lying about the entire thing. My teacher loved it, and I got the highest grade I’d gotten that year for that assignment. (“They lauded me for that, did you know?”)

If that sort of vaguely existential crisis sounds like something you’d have fun reading, the full speech can be found here. 

A bit later, I read the same speech for an open mic. One of my friends there yelled out that she believed me- something that did make it into the final version. (“One of my friends told me she believed me, once. I… I just shrugged and told her that there wasn’t actually anything there.”)

It eventually made its way into this project via me trying to figure out what the hell to use for a more spooky statement and stumbling across the speech sitting in my google drive. 

I managed to scare myself to the point of not being able to go upstairs in the dark for about a week with the updated version.

 I wrote it. 

This seems counterintuitive.

Does this make this a self insert story? No. Statement giver here does not in any way respond like I would have in this situation, and they’ve since drifted even farther into full OC territory.

The “they can’t hurt you if you’re watching/if you see them comes from the lovely tma time travel fic “Strangers in the Dark” by Mayarene Rose. 

MouseK also gave us the closing line for the fic! It wraps it up so nicely, and I’ve already squeed about this in the fic itself, but they deserve more because the line’s amazing and I love it. Conclusion:

Thanks to everyone who gave us statements, inspired us, and helped us with the project. It’s been an excellent time, and there have already been discussions of either statements collected on this journey or short stories set in the same universe being written. 

Thanks for reading!

- Dusk

[phantomchick]

My wip list

Writing out my list of works in progress in the hopes that it becomes more manageable and easier to decide which to work on after I do.

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Call Me  Fandom: dc comics / batfandom Summary: Jason calls Bruce for help after being assaulted, they deal with the aftermath both in the revenge way and the hurt/comfort way. Amount of work necessary to complete: ??? It’s a two parter fic so only one chapter left to go, however serious writer’s block to work through on this second part so who actually knows.

I tell myself that I don't need Anyone (But the truth is no one needs Me)   Fandom: dc comics / batfandom Summary: The scene in UTRH where Bruce throws a Batarang into Jason’s throat is bullshit especially because there’s never any consequences for it, that’s not just bullshit, it’s batshit! And I refuse to accept it. A What if Jason didn’t disappear into the night after the events of UTRH to arrange for his next villain appearance, fix it fic. Amount of work necessary to complete: Likely going to be one of my longest fics yet, a multi chapter whopper!  Which means a lot of work, both in research and in writing.  I need to read up on ALL of the modern captain atom comics, a bunch of the crisis event chemo Bludhaven comics and maybe a couple of other ancillary comics of that era too, before I even get to writing the nitty gritty of the fic. We’re doing this canon and we’re doing it right! A fixing-everything motivated fic putting the canon divergence back into fandom.

The Many Curses of The Wayne Name / Of Curses and Covenants Fandom: dc comics/batfandom Summary: So much of a work in progress the official title’s still not completely decided! A fic delving into the relationship between the Wayne Family and the Zatara family, told through a series of curses various generations of the Waynes have been afflicted with over the years, some of these curses the Zataras were able to remove and some they couldn’t. Currently intend to have it end with Zatanna and her nephew Zach coming to dinner with Bruce and his kids. Amount of work necessary to complete:  I already have an index of curses and which Waynes in the chronology get cursed where, ready to build with. But the series itself is still more a couple of lines and potential scenarios than any actual fic. Not sure how many stories I’ll end up telling here so unsure of how much work it’ll be to complete, likely a lot to get it off the ground though.

The Monster In The Man Fandom: Merlin, (bbc) Merlin, Summary: A continuation to CaffeinatedFlumadiddle's fic The Monster in the Mirror that ended on a horror-esque cliffhanger - written because my brain couldn’t handle the cliffhanger and had to extrapolate with a part two. Intended as a gift fic to that author. Basically the spell from an enchanted mirror has escaped and possessed Merlin, and is attempting to use Merlin’s worst fears against him until he kills Arthur. Can Arthur who has only just found out about Merlin’s magic save Merlin from what’s inside him? Amount of work necessary to complete:  Currently at a little over 5000 words but likely to need at least another 5000 to both get to the main action and resolve things.

Those Winter Sundays  Fandom: Marvel, Avengers, Iron Man Summary: Snapshots of Tony working hard for the avengers and no one noticing. Amount of work necessary to complete:  Unknown as currently more of a wip idea than a wip itself, likely going to be a oneshot containing a bunch of ficlets.

Truth is Treason in the Empire of Lies Fandom: Marvel, Avengers, Thor Summary: Thor tells the story of his banishment and return to Asgard ending with Loki falling into the Void and the Avengers have some questions, questions Thor had not thought of, remarks on things that Thor doesn't know how to explain.  He goes to Loki's cell and asks him some things becoming more and more angry despite having no one he can punch. Gets drunk and criticises Sif and The Warriors Three. Focus on Loki still being underage by Aesir standards during Thor 1. “For while the Treason I detest, the Traitor I love still.” Amount of work necessary to complete:  Either a oneshot or a two chapter fic. Need to be careful to ‘show not tell’ considering the plot I’m going with is gonna have a lot of talking about things that have already happened.

A Trinity of Head Wounds Fandom: DC Comics, Justice League Summary: Friendship fic, angst and hurt/comfort Clark yells at a concussed Bruce for being reckless and because Bruce is concussed he ends up accidentally making the slightly addled Bruce cry. When Clark notices he shuts his mouth so fast he could've crunched titanium between his teeth. Diana walks in, sees Bruce in tears and PUNCHES CLARK ACROSS THE ROOM WITHOUT HESITATION. After that there’s a lot hurt/comfort on all sides and Clark opens up about his anxiety over Bruce’s mortality and Diana bleeds on Bruce’s shoulder. Amount of work necessary to complete: It’s a oneshot but it’s one of those difficult ones where you’ve got to get everything just right or the emotional intent gets totally lost so a big ??? for this one too.

Separation  Fandom: DC Comics, UTRH Summary: Split personality disorderRed Hood and Jason Todd, alternatively, Red Hood is a demon/parasite latched on to Jay. Amount of work necessary to complete: A lot considering it’s currently just an idea.

A Stark in The Stars Fandom: Marvel, Avengers, Iron Man Summary: Tony’s survived the universe wide disaster known as the snap or the decimation and has even survived carrying out it’s reversal, but he’d much rather help Thor, Carol and the Guardians sort out intergalactic repair efforts than face the damage Steve has accidentally done to time itself back on Earth. He keeps forgetting the differences between what happened in the fake timeline and the original one the longer he’s on Earth and though he knows Stephen Strange is doing all he can to fix it, he also knows that the changes for him are a lot more confusing and disconcerting than they are for the others (Save for poor Sharon Carter).  Pepper understands better than anyone and actually packed his bag for him (with Morgan’s help) when he tried to explain what he was feeling. Maybe the little settlement on that mineral loaded planet he keeps visiting on behalf of the dwarves can help him find what he needs to get past this. Amount of work necessary to complete: This is a slower more thoughtful work about learning how to live when you never thought you’d survive and the sense of alienation you can get as a veteran returning to a world that isn’t the way you expected it to be when you got home. As such, it’s very introspective, so I want to take my time with it but realistically it’s likely to be a series of vignettes from both Tony’s perspective and the perspective of the people he encounters out in his travels through the galaxies. Max 5 chapters.

Another Time, Another Place Fandom: dc comics / Batfandom Summary: Martha and Thomas Wayne are sent 20 years into the future only to see a young man they've never met standing in their drawing room. He claims to be their grandson. I just love the idea of Jason being left in the house with Damian and Duke with Bruce, Tim and Dick gone and he's the eldest so he's gotta look after the situation Amount of work necessary to complete: However long it takes me to get past the writer’s block for the ending - I have most of a plot outline ready to write based on, except for how I’m going to resolve things. A oneshot with the possibility of an epilogue chapter to follow.

Vicki Finds A Bat Fandom: dc comics / Batfandom Summary: Vicki Vale sees Jason Todd sitting in a wafflehouse. Chaos ensues. Amount of work necessary to complete:  Currently a little over 2000 words, probably gonna need an extra 2000 before it’s done.

You Don't Know Anything  Fandom: dc comics / Batfandom Summary: Gift fic for paradise_runaway. One where the other Bat boys find out the circumstances of Jason's death and resurrection and their reaction. Amount of work necessary to complete: Started and restarted multiple times, can’t decide which route to take with it. It’s just a oneshot so once I get some inspiration to hit for it, it’ll probably be done pretty quick.

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[dukeofriven]

Okay, I’ve looked into the Young Wizards series and... I have questions. It seems to be just the usual fantasy where light is good, dark is evil, and thinking is bad. I read the whale book a long time ago and didn’t think it was very interesting, but it was a long time ago. I also saw you mention an asexual character? Are they a good person and not the usual heartless freak stereotype? Even then, I’m not sure if one positive rep is worth reading a series it seems like I wouldn’t enjoy. Any help?

Young Wizard is the most thinking-positive  book series I can think of. If I wizard doesn’t know their shit, the die. if they go to the moon not knowing their exact breathing rate and take along enough oxygen for the trip they asphyxiate to death. The entire point of the wizardly speech is that before you utter a syllable you have to think about what it is you have to do - not just from a technical standpoint, but in accordance with that most important precept of the Wizard’s Oath, that a wizard “will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened.” At its best it is a philosophic musings on just about anything you can think of, especially as the series goes on and kids who started as 12 year olds find themselves facing adulthood. What does it mean to kill in the service of life? What does it mean to take you human biases out into the universe when you find yourselves facing aliens who don’t even think of the same dimensional plane as you? Questions are constantly asked about morality, love, mortality, the ritual of death, the right and wisdom of youth employing agency and - as the books go on, the nature of gender, of sex, of the importance of so complex a relationship as friendship.If you’ve only read the first book then yes, its presentation of good and bad are written more overtly in terms of light/dark than later books. Even by book 2, however, the protagonists spend most of their time becoming a bloodthirsty, violent shark (one of the series’ best characters), and they (the protagonists) have to unlearn their biases and thinking this shark as ‘evil’ just because he kills and consumes without hesitation or remorse. he is not evil, merely different, his purpose in life -and in the ecosystem - exactly what the Earth requires: to change his nature based purely on human notions of morality would be itself an amoral act.In Young Wizards dark is many things, but is never evil in and of itself - it is merely an absence of light, which is not intrinsically virtuous either, just a state of photos. Evil is always evil - it is corruption unlike that of useful fungus, natural decay, ordinary rot that happens in any properly cyclical system - it is an aberration in the natural order. It is not change, or the cycle of beginnings and endings, but entropy itself, of suffering out of a cruel and malicious presence in the universe - who may be neither so cruel, nor malicious, nor as evil as anyone might have first presumed. As the books go own so too does the morality within them change too: simplicity is often the first casualty of learning the world is a complicated place.Now, up-front, the only openly asexual character is a late-comer to the series , though she has a bigger presence if you read the supplementary material. That being said one of the series’ major characters has an intense relationship with another that they themselves are still struggling to try and define  as they learn more about another. From our current vantage point in the series (which is far from over) it most resembles that which we would call ‘queerplatonic’ - intense, at once adversarial and supportive, incredibly close without being sexual, but also still something they are working out (which is difficult in some of the alter books as Big Events happen that make easily solving knotty questions of relationships harder than usual).So if you’re looking for an out and proud asexual character to be an obvious part of the series from book one, this will disappoint you in the short term, with the caveat. however, that sexuality comes into the series slowly as the characters reach and undergo puberty. In the first book they’re nowhere near that yet: sex and their relation to it isn’t even on their horizon, they’re just kids. its not even until book four that the idea of intimate relationships starts to occur to anyone, and even then they’re first interactions with puberty are more focussed on seeing if wizardry can be used to talk pimples out of existing. If you find that description of the queerplatonic relationship - as much as I am being purposefully vague to avoid spoilers - too vague, and you’re hunting for something more immediately about the adventures of someone openly self-identifying as asexual this may not be the series for you. If you’re someone who feels uncomfortable with any discussion or depictions - however g-rated - of sex then the later books, and especially the short stories (which deal with, amongst other things, an in-depth look at the indescribably complex socio-biological history of one of the series major alien characters and their species), you may find the later series not to your tastes.However: Diane Duane, the series author, would rather be thrown into a star than ever write a series that didn’t encourage children to think. I hold her up in opposition to Harry Potter precisely because she actual cares about morality: unlike Rowling’s cut-and-dried Calvinistic determinism, Duane gives readers no such easy answers: while the books are never so dark as to trick its characters into doing something seriously heinous, its not afraid to sit them down in front of the hard questions and say “other people can’t make these decisions for you: you’ve to make a choice even if none of your options are ‘good’ ones.” Good might be virtuous, but that doesn’t make it safe, and just because you’re one of the good guys doesn’t mean you’ll live to see eighteen.Oh, and yes, the asexual character’s a fucking riot - unquestionably one of the good guys, as are the series other queer characters, neuro-divergent characters, and characters for whom mere human concepts of gender and sexual modality would be not only inappropriate but downright inapplicable.Is it the greatest representation ever? No, of course not - but Duane knows, going so far to rewrite an entire book of the series to update it with a decade’s worth of new autism research and to listen to the input of her autistic readers who said the original didn’t represent them right. Diane Duane was writing polyamorous multi-species queer-celebrating fantasy novels when she was cutting her teeth of Star Trek back in the eighties  - i can’t think of another fantasy writer who has tried so hard for so long to not rest on her privileges and stay confined in the heteronormative tropes of multiple genres.I think she’s worth reading. i think she’s worth reading more now than I did when I first read her as a kid. The New Millenium Editions (the updated, modernized books) which cover the first nine books are on sale again. (One of these days i will post my Preferred Reading order for the series, but the short version is that there are ten novels, two novella collections, several shorts stories, and three spin-off, for-adult books about cat wizards that are still waiting on a re-write to make them line-up with the canon timeline).Look, I think these are some of the smarted, most-thought books ever written - a refreshing change not only from a young adult market saturated with ditzy, consequence-free escapist fantasies, but also media so up their own ass that brutally murdering their own characters is the way they demonstrate maturity. the first book, with the youngest version of the characters, may be a stumbling block if you’re not used to reading about kid-kids, but it very much is a series about growing up - and how much more complicated that is than pop-culture always seems to suggest.

[courtingstars]

Notes for The Vanishing Prince, Chapter 1

I can’t believe I just typed that title… I’M FINALLY POSTING THIS FIC. Anyway.

This story is going to be a little different from the first two in A Spark of Light. Because of that, I have some really important stuff I need to say first! I’ll start with those things, then go into my usual notes about culture and timelines and KnB canon, etc. So, THE REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF…

(Cut for a whole bunch of warnings and info about dissociation disorders, family dysfunction, Japanese culture, spooky stuff, and lots of other bits and pieces)

1. This is a story about a very misunderstood mental illness. It’s not going to be perfect, but I’ll do my best.

I’ve alluded to mental health issues in the first two stories, specifically that Furihata has anxiety, and Akashi has an undiagnosed dissociative disorder.

This story focuses a lot more on the latter, which is a deeply misunderstood and stigmatized mental health issue. I’ve tried to do as much research as I can on these disorders, and on how the human brain processes trauma—which is connected to dissociation, a survival mechanism. However, I do not have a dissociative disorder myself, so I want to emphasize that I’m not an expert, and this is not based on my personal experience. I did consult first person accounts, and used them as inspiration. But in the end, this is a fictional story based on the canon of Kuroko no Basuke, which is imperfect and can be misleading/confusing, when it comes this part of Akashi’s character. (I’ll try to explain why as I post more of the fic.)

Also, not all people who have more than one self state consider themselves to have a disorder… I’ve sometimes seen the term “multiple” used for this. In addition, some people want to keep their different self states separate, and live as they are. I chose to depict Akashi as having a disorder because of his arc in KnB canon—specifically, how Last Game ends. So like in canon, this series is about Akashi coming to terms with having a disorder and making the eventual decision to integrate his selves. (Some fans were disappointed with that aspect of Extra Game/Last Game in part because psychiatry sometimes pushes integration as the only valid treatment goal for dissociation, which it isn’t. But since I felt Akashi made that choice for himself in KnB, I went with his decision in my fics as well. For a thorough article about some of the issues surrounding the integration process, I highly recommend this site.)

So I’m going to do the best I can, to make Akashi’s portrayal nuanced and positive, and use current knowledge about dissociation. But I know it won’t be perfect, and I’m going to make mistakes. (Especially since the experiences of these disorders can vary a lot, so what is true for some people may be very different for others… Since I based it on canon, Akashi’s experience definitely diverges from what tends to be described as “typical.”) So I want to apologize for any issues in advance, and I’ll do my best to address and/or correct them. The fic also deconstructs some stereotypes and misconceptions. (Especially as they relate to Bokushi.) One of the reasons I wanted to write this story was because I wanted to explore Akashi’s experience in more depth, and try to fill in some things we don’t know about him. On that note…

2. This story will include depictions of family dysfunction, emotional neglect, and some (mostly implied) abuse.

I’ve talked before about my portrayal of Akashi’s family in this series. But I think it’s worth mentioning again that I’m writing about Akashi’s parents—and his extended family and caretakers—as flawed people, who made some very misguided decisions about how to raise a child. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go into more details yet. But I wanted to make sure to give a heads-up that this story will go to a darker place than the previous two. (Which I tried to imply near the end of Storming the Castle.)

For anyone who’s concerned that it might be too intense, I’m aiming to keep everything in this story to a solid PG-13 rating, at most. I’ll also provide content warnings for any intense scenes, so you can skip or skim them if you prefer.

That said, I intentionally avoided going with the darkest possible interpretations of Akashi’s family life. I don’t want this story to be overly disturbing, or make any of the characters out to be truly evil. But I did want to show that sometimes, caretakers make decisions they intend to be loving, but that cause real mental and emotional harm in the long term.

3. This story has paranormal elements. A LOT of paranormal elements.

On the note of getting darker, I should probably mention that this story will also have more spooky/paranormal stuff. While Storming the Castle took most of its inspiration from fairy tales, The Vanishing Prince includes some inspiration from ghost and horror stories, particularly Japanese ones. That being said, I didn’t want readers to have to stop the series early because it got too scary! So just like in StC, I’m aiming to keep the spooky parts to a PG rating, and to have a more “fantasy” tone overall, kind of along the lines of a Miyazaki movie. (As in no super gory descriptions, any past violence related to the paranormal will be implied instead of shown, nothing too creepy or viscerally gross, etc.)

Still, expect plenty of allusions and/or depictions of Japanese spiritualism, ghosts, youkai, Shinto beliefs, Buddhist beliefs, Japanese funeral rituals, graves, temples etc. There are also a few concepts borrowed from Western mysticism… That’s mostly Reo’s fault. Because, uh, tarot cards? Which is canon and I did not make that up.

As always, please note that I’m not an expert on Japanese culture! I try to make sure that what I include in my fics is as accurate as possible, but I’m not Japanese, so it’s better to assume that it includes at least some Western misconceptions and/or errors. (Plus there are probably about a million Westerners who know more about Japanese ghost stories than I do.)

4. This story includes some sexual tension, but it’s mild/implied.

One other thing I should mention… The characters’ sexuality is addressed more directly in this fic, so there are allusions to sexual tension. That said, because the characters are still teenagers, I’m going to keep it at a PG-13 level at most. (Basically, arousal is implied, no explicit mentions of body parts, etc.) You can see examples of this in Furihata’s scenes in Chapter One. I went with this approach for multiple reasons. But a big one is that I want people who were most comfortable with the ratings of previous fics in the series to be able to keep reading if they want to!

Okay, that’s it for the serious “here’s what you’re getting into” kind of stuff. Now for less important things…

Timeline of the Fic

This series takes place in the spring and summer after the Winter Cup in Kuroko no Basuke canon. The first three stories also takes place before Last Game, which happens in August. The Vanishing Prince starts right after Storming the Castle. Which means it’s set mostly near the end of July, partly during summer vacation in the Japanese school calendar. I wanted to mention this because this is a story about Oreshi and Bokushi, so establishing where it fits in the canon seems like important background info! And speaking of Bokushi…

Oreshi’s Point of View vs. Bokushi��s Point of View

So if you’ve already read the chapter, you know that this fic series finally has a third point of view! (YAY. I’M SO EXCITED.) Originally, I wasn’t sure if I was going to include Bokushi’s PoV… But once I started writing it, I was having way too much fun, so yes, it’s happening. XD

The one tricky thing is that both Oreshi and Bokushi like to use the same full name. (Which is not always the case with dissociation, by the way… It’s an interesting part of both of their characters, I think!) So I decided that for the scenes that are written in Oreshi’s point of view, Oreshi will continue to be called Akashi. And when a scene is in Bokushi’s point of view, Bokushi is referred to as Seijuurou. (I based this off of an aspect of his character that he’ll bring up later.)

So hopefully that wasn’t too confusing to read! Also, Oreshi and Bokushi will both refer to their other self as “my other self,” or sometimes “my brother.” (Which is a headcanon based off of that one line in KnB where Oreshi compares Bokushi to “a troublesome little brother.”)

Therapy and Dissociation Terms

This note is pretty serious again… This story will contain depictions of psychiatry and therapy. I’m not an expert on either of these things, and the culture around therapy in Japan is different than it is in Western countries. (I talked about that in some of my notes for Storming the Castle earlier.)

So while I’ll do my best to strike a balance between realism and fiction, this story is going to take some fictional license with the therapy process. The main reason is that I wanted Akashi’s situation in the story to seem unusual in certain ways, because the power he wields in terms of his family background is so unusual. Hopefully I conveyed that the psychiatrist in the story is choosing to go out of her way in Akashi’s case, and possibly making some exceptions that she wouldn’t make otherwise.

(That being said, from everything I could gather, parental permission is not strictly required by law for teenagers to receive therapy in Japan… Unlike where I live in America, where it is in a lot of states, though the specifics vary a lot.)

And on that note, I should mention one of the terms I used… When it comes to dissociation disorders, having more than one self state is often referred to as having “alters.” Not everyone uses this term. (I’ve seen some people say they dislike using it because it sounds clinical, for example.) On the recommended site I use for general information about dissociation disorders, they do use “alter.” So that’s why I used it too. (Also, the fic takes place in 2010, and I believe alter was standard back then as well.) But please keep in mind that some people might not use that particular term!

Oreshi and Bokushi’s Headspace, and Co-Consciousness

I also wanted to briefly bring up the “room” inside Akashi’s mind, where Oreshi and Bokushi talk… I based its appearance off of that scene near the end of the anime, where Oreshi confronts Bokushi inside their mind:

My headcanon is that Oreshi and Bokushi use this as a space where they can both communicate with each other. This is based on something common among people who have dissociation, sometimes called headspace, which you can learn about here. In my fic, Bokushi and/or Oreshi’s presence in this room represents that they’re conscious at the moment. Meaning that they’re aware of what’s going on in the world around them, even though the other self may be in control of their body. When two alters are conscious at the same time, it’s called being “co-conscious.” In KnB canon, it’s implied that Oreshi and Bokushi are co-conscious at least some (and possibly most, or all!) of the time. I’ll talk more about that later, and why I went with the interpretation of canon that I did.

Also, I wanted to quickly mention these lines in the chapter:

“[Akashi] didn’t recall losing track of events against his will. But there used to be many instances where he would let himself drift away, on one level or another. He would lose a few minutes of time, while his brother would talk in his place.”

This is based on one of the Teikou scenes when Midorima noticed that Akashi seemed to have “another Akashi inside him” that said things that were different from his usual personality. This happened before the scene where Bokushi took complete control. So I headcanon that before Oreshi ever let Bokushi fully switch places with him, he sometimes let Bokushi speak in his place, temporarily. I also headcanon that he started doing this while interacting with his dad. (There’s a part in the manga that implies that Oreshi had feelings of being “separate” before Teikou, too.) So that’s where that theory came from!

Fast Train References

Also, just a quick reminder that Akashi’s promise to show Furihata around Gion at night is from The Fast Train to Kyoto! (And I’m very excited that Kyoto is going to be a setting again. <3) Also in that fic, I introduced the Akashi family estate in Kyoto for the first time. In my headcanons, this is the area where his family originally lived centuries ago, and they acquired the mansion in Tokyo later. Furihata hasn’t visited the Kyoto estate yet, but he will. ;)

And that’s it for now! Wow, this was a looong post. ^^; Kudos to anyone who read the whole thing! And I really hope you all enjoyed this introduction to The Vanishing Prince. I’m so excited to be sharing it, finally. <3

(And unlike in Storming the Castle, I don’t feel nearly as bad for that cliffhanger in Chapter One… Because that’s exactly how it’s been in my head for three years, and Bokushi makes no apologies. //laughs)

[ladylilithprime]

do all the even numbersssssss

~evil stare~

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

Ugh.... Animorphs, Marvel, Sailor Moon, Tomorrow People, Firefly, Gundam Wing, Princess Tutu, DC Comics universe, Smallville, Danny Phantom, YURI!!! On Ice, Supernatural, Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Daria, How To Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Power Rangers, Fullmetal Alchemist, Miraculous Ladybug, Phineas and Ferb, Gravitation, Yami no Matsuei, Weiss Kreuz, My Little Pony, FAKE, ElfQuest, Good Omens, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Stargate SG1, Pirates of the Caribbean, Highlander, The Sentinel, Boondock Saints, MacGyver, and a whole wild world of crossovers..... Yeesh. Anyway, I don’t have a particular favorite, though I will go through periods of working exclusively in one fandom or another before switching.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Fanfic genre? Probably Alternate Timeline/For Want Of A Nail fics, where a single change in the timeline causes events to play out differently. I also have a weakness for time-travel fics. ^_^

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I thought we agreed never to speak of it again?

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Everywhere. Literally everywhere. Frequently from just sitting around letting my brain wander.

10) In your fic A Wish Your Heart Makes, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

I’ll be completely honest: the moment I got the prompt, I knew how the story was going to end. If anything, I made it less angsty than originally intended.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Depends on the fandom. In Marvel, regardless of the universe, I love writing for Tony and his flashy misdirection and nicknames hiding a wealth of genius and depth and background that the surface never shows. I have similar reasons for enjoying writing Sam Winchester in Supernatural. However, in Fullmetal Alchemist I love writing for Jean Havoc, a theoretical background character who is still deeply important to the narrative and has all sorts of depths to explore despite his canon dissembling about how “I ain’t the brightest, but I get by”. Basically, I guess I just love characters that have way more going on in their heads than gets shown on screen.

14) How did you come up with the title for Twist The Sinews Of Thy Heart? - You can ask about multiple stories.

It’s actually a line from the poem “Tyger Tyger Burning Bright”. Appropriate choice for a fic that features a “crazy” angel rescuing technically extinct tiger cubs. eh?

16) How did you come up with the idea for Twist The Sinews Of Thy Heart?

My dear enabler @rodiniaorzetalthepenquin asked for “fluffy Sastiel with tiger” for her birthday, and by Chuck I delivered! XD

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Technically, yes, but I don’t exactly consider them abandoned. I have WIPs whose bunnies decided to fuck off to Monaco and chill with porn stars go on an extended vacation, and so they got put on the back-burner while I pursued other avenues in other fandoms, but I don’t think I’m capable of abandoning a WIP. I either finish it or straight-up kill it.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

There are a couple of fics that I wish I could have drawn out the resolution longer, but my momentum failed me.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Yep! Next?

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Eh... I can do it when I need to, but it’s not my preferred thing to write.

26) Which part of your Amethystium fic was the hardest to write?

Definitely part five. I had to write it with just enough ambiguity to keep it from being too obvious exactly what I’d done so I wouldn’t get murdered by my readers.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

The internet is full of people who all have different motivations for going online to read fan-created content. Some people are going to be friendly, some are going to be weirdly elitist about fandom, and some of those people are going to be assholes who want to tear you down just because they think they can and believe the internet anonymity will protect them from consequences. Don’t let them drive you out of what you love before you’re ready to move on to something new.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Not really? Maybe some of my really old Animorphs fics that I wrote when I was twelve upon which I look back and feel like I could have done so much better?

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Sure, sometimes. Mostly the blink-and-you-miss-them NPCs. Occasionally some of the bigger OCs are based off of real people, but I try not to tell people that, or of whom the character is a representation. ^_~

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

Probably the person who kept harping over my “obvious” lack of understanding of genetics, when I’d actually done the research prior to writing the fic and had sources to back up my in-story numbers. The person kept after me until I just deleted the entire fic “pending rewrite” to get rid of the whole damn argument chain, and I’ve just never gotten around to reposting it. Not even sure I still have the original fic file, actually.... Anyway, that was both the harshest and most stupid criticism ever, and for twenty-two years of fic-writing, that’s pretty decent, I think. (I don’t count flames, because those are just haters being mean.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

...Sam has wings. ^_~

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

Of the people with whom I would like to collaborate and with whom I have not already collaborated, probably @jupiterjames and @theriverscribe

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Some of them, if I trust them a whole hell of a lot or we’re mutually blackmailing each other because they write fanfic too. (Looking at you, @jupiterjames )

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song “Bailamos” for Harry Potter.

Honestly? The crackfic potential and the chance to write male/male dance choreography. ^^U

44) What is the last line you wrote?

Rarely was Castiel disappointed in the offerings, and even those disappointments were because he didn't care for the flavors, not because of any fault in the quality of the pastries or drinks offered.

46) I really loved your “Phoenix Ascending” fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

Well, Michael would take over and stabilize Heaven, Gabriel would get rescued from Assmodickus without Ketch’s help, Lucifer would die sooner, and Jack and Mary would be rescued fairly close to canon with a few obvious differences. Probably. Maybe. If I was writing a sequel. ~shifty look~

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Irritatingly, I love writing Slow Burn. I also hate it. Because it’s slow. And long.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Fluff. Angst hurts to write, frankly, and as for smut.... Meh. I'm really not that good at writing it solo; it's a lot easier to do cooperatively when I have someone else's character reactions to react to, but even then the actual deed is not so important for me as the depths of emotions behind it, so... Fluff.