#a la choosing a fandom character name

[daydreamerwonderkid]

What is 1 weird or funny lie you told?

Buckle in, kiddos. This one's a long one.

So, the irl name I chose for myself was taken from a character from one of my favorite manga. This character is extremely popular and well know within multiple fandom spaces and is instantly recognizable.

I chose their name because I can personally relate to their struggles and you can actually shorten their name to another that sounds more "common." Win-win.

Here's the thing. Despite how INSANELY popular this character is, I've only met FOUR people irl that instantly knew where I got the name from.

For the past 7 years, 99.9% of the time-regardless of age/demographic/fandom interest/etc-someone will hear my name and the immediate questions they'll ask are either:

"Oh ... are you French?" or "Are your parents Italian?"

"That's such an old sounding name ...."

"How pretty! Are you parents fans of classic literature?"

You have to understand something. When you're meeting with new people, especially strangers in a professional and outwardly conservative setting, it is extremely awkward/impossible to explain that your name was taken from a fucking manga character.

So what the fuck do I say when I'm in a very professional meeting with a very professional potential client and said very professional potential client asks me about my name?

I tell them that I have a crotchety great grandmother who was furious that my parents didn't carry on the family tradition of naming me after a ye olde ancestor from *insert European country.* She'd call me by this ancestor's name whenever she was babysitting me which drove my parents absolutely crazy. By the time I became a teenager, I preferred my ancestor's name over my birth name. My parents have made peace with it, but we still joke about how I "betrayed" them.

Yes, it's a lie. Yes, I cursed myself to wander this path by choosing such a weird name in the first place. Yes, I love my name and I will not change it.

It's funny, too, because my name helps me stand out in my profession and among my peers. Hardly anyone I meet forgets me because of my unique name. So it's sort of given me an advantage in my career, especially considering a lot of my job relies on successful networking and consultations.

And, yes, I do get questions about my great grandmother from time to time. Fortunately for me, I do have an actual crotchety great grandmother so I don't have to make up anything on that end.

In unprofessional/casual settings, I have given the actual story behind my name. It still surprises me when I meet people who are hardcore anime/manga nerds and they don't recognized my name. I feel like a crazy person whenever this happens tbh.

But yeah. I absolutely refuse to attempt explaining the concept of anime and manga in the workplace, let alone the fact my name was taken from a character with a popular and very Google-able meme attached to them.

This is the hill I've claimed and the grave I've dug atop it.

[franklyimissparis]

hi there can i ask what are your favourite fics??

ahhhhhh this was so hard to narrow down since i think i have something like 300 beatles fics bookmarked on ao3 (plus a ton saved from livejournal but i’ve only included ao3 ones here). at first i was gonna pick a top 5 or top 10 but that was too hard so here are my top 24-ish i think? could have picked a lot more tbh. i only included fics that are completed, even though there are a lot i love that are either WIP or abandoned. also didn’t include any modern AUs though there’s a lot of those that i love as well! if anyone has any specific requests for other fic reqs i’m always happy to suggest more :)

on our way back home by kathleenishereagain

this fic has the most kudos in the fandom for a reason! old paul time travels back to the touring days and his relationship with john changes from there. love the way they integrated the magical realism into this and it’s just such a beautiful, touching story.

knowing that the sun is there by tarenas

john comes out after brian dies. lovely look at john’s individual relationships with all of the beatles and cynthia (but especially his relationship with paul of course)

cutting water with a knife by savageandwise

may’s perspective on john and paul. love love love. heartbreakingly realistic and so poignant. feels like it could have been a cut chapter out of loving john.

i’m so tired, my mind is set on you by dornfelder

god how i wish this is what would have happened in india. i’ve read this fic so many times, it just feels so real i keep coming back to it.

india, actually by inspiteallthedanger

jane notices that john’s india tapes are all of paul a la love actually. love jane in this and paul and john’s dynamic is great.

grow old with me by inherownwrite

john and paul in scotland in the 80s - paul breaks his arm and gives john a fright. such a tender picture of what could have been had things not ended how they did.

i was a younger man then (now) (post hoc) by fingersfallingupwards

using the time traveller’s wife premise in quite literally the best way i have ever read. the way it unfolds is…. stunning.

having coffee by dornfelder

old paul and john reflecting on life and being outed in the 80s through an interview. lovely.

to lead a better life by downtothelastdrop

1966 ringo mistakenly thinks john and paul are together, leading to a revelation of paul’s own.

going nowhere by inspiteallthedanger

fix-it where after surviving the shooting, john moves back to england.

if i could choose my own name, it’d be the one that falls best from your lips by kandakicksass

one of my favourite reincarnation fics ever. i really enjoyed how simple it was, how the pieces just slid into place so naturally.

the birthday party by merseydreams

everyone reunites for ringo’s 40th in july 1980. an excellent look at the dynamic between all the bugs and how things could have gone.

something old something new by inspiteallthedanger

john shows up to pattie and eric’s wedding causing a beatles reunion for the first time in years and some shenanigans and talks with paul. this fic is hilarious and THIS is my george, i love him so much

1967 by please_dont_wake_me

paul and john stay in paris after their 1961 trip. they return to liverpool in 1967 as a couple. this feels so real, the way every minor character is written… the dynamics between them all - every detail is excellent.

the beatles holiday au series by econhomework

an AU that follows john and paul (and george/ringo) being a committed couple in the 60s/70s and having their children via surrogacy. i’ve been subscribed to this series for years now and it’s a lot of fun getting an update that builds upon the last around every holiday, giving a little snippet into their lives as the kids grow up chronologically. (they also have other fics set in this AU in their beatles fic requests series)

the brother dearest series by javelinbk

jim and mimi get married, causing john and paul to become step-brothers (sort of). interesting premise and an even better execution of it. not to mention the idea of jim and mimi getting together will never fail to make me laugh (but also sort of makes a lot of sense???)

how much was mine to keep by mynamesbetty

paul is ‘unstuck in time’ and lives his life out of order a la slaughterhouse five (one of my favourite novels). done very well.

take a sad song and make it better by javelinbk

1980s paul moves his ex-boyfriend into his house because he’s an idiot but i love him. great fix-it.

christmas lights (keep shinin’ on) by distinguished_like

paul invites john to the mccartney family christmas party, leading to some discussions between the two. very cute early years fic.

here today by herspecialagent005

december 1980 except john and paul are hosting a dinner party for some friends in scotland, with magical realism elements. ugh loved this so much, especially linda and just all the little details of john and paul settling into a life together.

kissing the blarney by tikk

paul is the blarney - this turns into a superstitious ritual in the band which emotionally complicates things but ends very satisfyingly.

writing letters (on my wall) by 15clubsaday

70s paul writes to john under a pseudonym while they aren’t speaking. newly finished and wonderful!

the jumper by merseydreams

john sees denny laine wearing HIS jumper and flies back to england to retrieve it. this fic has everything: miscommunication, john being a dumb shite, jealousy, confused denny laine, paul in all his 70s glory, and lesbian linda. truly could not ask for more.

back to where you belong by sleeprettydarling

george on johnandpaul throughout the early years. i’m a big sucker for the george & johnandpaul dynamic and how complicated and devastating it can be so naturally i loved this.

[the-kinning-hour]

My favorite thing about fandoms has to be obsessively sharing them with my best friend. Like, we got our own damn universe connecting ALL of these MK games. We got dead characters. We got revived characters. We got complicated family dynamics and relationships that only exist because one of us saw a piece of fanart by some obscure artist on Twitter or something and went, hey actually this is lowkey good! No one can tell us what is or isn’t real because we just make shit up. Our world.

So far some of our headcanons, not in order of randomness, include:

-Johnny Cage grew up in Texas

-Johnny and Kano being brothers who BOTH grew up in Texas (unfortunately Kano got downgraded by choosing Australia for his “I need to get tf outta this state” vacay. Johnny got the cool version with LA. Regardless they both are bullied at family functions.)

-Sonya and Stryker, older sister younger brother

-Mk1 Raiden, like his godly counterpart, is 7 feet tall.

-Mk1 Raiden also is an autistic man, I will fight on this hill

-Titan Shang Tsung actually just transitioned. That’s it. Her name is Damashi now. She’s just an evil little woman doing evil little things

-Bi-Han is the shortest between him, Kuai Liang and Tomas

-Tomas is also Venezuelan

-Fujin was the equivalent of Kung Lao’s father. And Raiden was Liu Kang’s. And they were all happy and nothing bad happened (for a while)

-Liu Kang is incredibly short

-In au contexts, to keep both versions of Shang Tsung relevant, Mk1 Shang is often a young man whilst Damashi is his elderly grandmother.

I could probably keep going, but I think the list gets boring after this. Generally, my point is: Reject canon and you will just have 110% more fun in every fandom you’re in. Rewrite those characters. Fix that chunk in the timeline you don’t like. And post it unapologetically. Chances are someone out there, even if they don’t say it out loud, is looking at this and screaming “Hell yeah!”

[gorbalsvampire]

is it bright where you are? (vtm city meta 2/?)

In Part 1, we talked about how to choose your city. In Part 2, we're going to start populating it with SPCs!

how many vampires?

If you've been around Vampire: the Masquerade for any significant length of time, you'll have heard the 1:100,000 ratio passed around.

Discard this. Ignore this. Screw this up, do a shit on it, nail it to a frisbee, and fling it over the rainbow. It's arbitrary, it's frequently contradicted, it persists in fandom largely because it's a hard number on which the brain battens and sticks, and it's got no relevance whatsoever to how many vampires YOUR city needs.

Likewise, anything from the sourcebooks that gives you any impression that you need seven Tremere before you can have a Regent, or a dozen Ventrue to fill out the bottom rung of the Board? Yeet that. Those aren't characters; they're filler. A needless strain on the night to night. They probably exist, shunted off into suburbia with cleaver families or otherwise keeping themselves to themselves, but please don't feel like you need to know their names or have statblocks for them. They do not matter. They are there for verisimilitude's sake; spackle for the brain wrinkles of tidy minds.

You'll have Player Characters. They'll need sires, and they may have a Mawla or an Adversary. In an ideal world that's where you should start: build around the things the players put on their sheets, i.e. the things they've signalled they want in the game.

We do not live in an ideal world. At the present moment in time, my brain has been sparked by an impromptu chat from one of my D&D group who's been watching LA/NY By Night and getting back into Vampire. This particular group are now considering a pivot when we're done with our current D&D adventure, and I am reconsidering the handful of ideas I had for a Manchester based story some years ago. We have a sense of what clans are cool: we're probably looking at Toreador, Tzimisce and Lasombra (which is weird) and probably Anarchs because I know what these gremlins are like, and I want to lean into Ventrue and the Anarch pillar clans (Brujah, Gangrel, Ministry) because we're gonna have to fill out the conventional sect members.

The truth is, you've probably got an idea or two about your city already. That's why, a lot of the time, I actually start with the domains.

domains and you

Most cities kind of divide themselves into domains naturally. If you know the city, you can do what I'm doing right now and go "hmm, Oxford Road would make a good seat for a Ventrue Prince with this feeding limitation and that power base... Deansgate feels more anarchy, more Brujah... if we're going to put Toreador anyway, put them in Salford, maybe a Toreador/Gangrel axis, that could be fun... Elysium in the Northern Quarter, there's places there that would be perfect... and obviously the more north you go the more Anarch things get as the money runs out..."

If you don't, here's a trick you can do. Point your web browser to snazzymaps.com. Select your preference of style (I like to use Dark and Red as filters, for obvious reasons, and "dango red" is my current favourite). Drag the view to your real-world city of choice and zoom out until you have the names of good-sized, famous districts visible. If you want a busier and more complicated city, zoom in a bit and get the smaller ones. You'll need an account to save, but nothing stops you taking screenshots...

Here are a couple of maps of Manchester: the wide zoom that includes some of the outer city, but not the real satellite towns like Sale or Altrincham, and the close in on the inner city which is where most of the action will probably be happening. I would of course crop these to hide the various UI greebles if I was using them in any sort of player facing resource, but that comes later.

That gives you your domains, which you can start populating with any SPCs you already have burning a hole in your brain. You can set markers at this stage, if you know where you want to put things, or you can do so in the later Relationship Mapping stage, or you can not bother and use a damn notebook (which, again, since I know Manchester fairly well - I lived there for two years and married a local - is probably how I'd go about things).

The old-school variation on this is acquiring an Eyewitness travel guide (the fat ones with the white covers) and using the chapters from that as domains. I like using Eyewitness because they're pretty exhaustive in terms of landmarks - gives you plenty of things you can navigate by and slip into descriptions, although it does give your game a slightly sightseer vibe.

For historical games, I like to dig up a historical map! There's not always one from exactly the right decade, but usually some from close enough that you can pinpoint landmarks around which a domain might centre and still achieve the right period vibe.

Anyway. However you've reached this point, this is where you start doing the Research, rounding out your initial enthusiasm for PCs and SPCs with historical conteeext! Vampire works really well as historical fiction in my experience - reality is deeper and gnarlier than anything you could make up and, quite often, you'll come across people and events and places that make you think "oh, this could be vampires."

I usually spend a couple of weeks on this. Just chipping away on different deep dives, different conflicts - politics, sport, universities, anything that exposes deep long term fault lines in the city's integrity, because that's where the monsters live and where their influence is felt. Once my head is creaking and my notes arranged along conflict lines... the Process can really begin.

[softie-system]

anybody want a discord to join?

so. wei created a huge multifandom rp focused discord, especially with lesser known fandoms in mind! it has all kinds of fun stuff and you can really choose your own experience! (ignore the name of the server, it was the only thing we could think of to call it)

you might want to join if:

. you want a server that is dedicated to being the best it can be!

. you want a server that respects all headcanons and interpretations while appreciating literary analysis

. you like one or more small fandoms, want to meet other people who like those same fandoms, and maybe even rp as well

. you like dnd

. you want to have the option to create and post things for rps or to not have anything created/posted for rps if you want!

. you like servers where non-mods get to have a lot of say in everything basically on the level of mods

you might not want to join if:

. you don't like the idea of there not being a limit to the amount of people who can rp as a character or how many characters someone can rp as

. you don't like the idea of anyone being able to submit any fandom to either be able to be RPed as or to be banned from rp.

. anything else in the rules and info channels doesn't sound good to you

. you would be uncomfortable with the fact that the only time when wei would consider adding a limit to people joining would be when there are multiple active people for every character in every fandom

. you would want to have stuff created and posted for every rp, even if someone in said rp wouldn't be comfortable with that

. you don't like that the mod team, including us, the server owners, aren't going to be an authority thing but rather a group to carry out server tasks

. you aren't comfortable with the fact that the media here is going to be imperfect and that there will probably be Cwed discussions of said imperfection

mentioning + tagging some of the smaller fandoms and characters that are added in here (as well as mentioning who wei play for transparency)(nowhere near an exhaustive list of every fandom but mostly tagging the smallest ones so that wei can find more people, also wei only tagged some but typed and tagged other fandoms so yeah):

spirit wind elegance/feng ling yu xiu

(wei play bai yu xiu)

our life now and forever

(wei play tamarack and our olnf oc)

beyblade, beyblade burst, beyblade metal fury, etc.

(wei play free de la hoya and gingka hagane)

ayakashi romance reborn

(wei play yura and kuro)

emily the strange

(wei play emily lestrange, based off of the novels mostly)

dear dumb diary

(wei play jamie kelly)

noisz, including noisz starlivht

(wei may not play any characters from noisz yet, but once wei get starlivht working and/or find a playthrough, wei might play sumire or grace)

lost song

(wei play finis)

nevermoor

(wei play morrigan crow)

return of the blossoming blade/return of the mount hua sect

(wei play yu iseol and chung myung (/cheong myeong in the webtoon))

upside down magic

(we don't think we play any characters here yet)

dr stone

(wei play senku)

octonauts

(wei play kwaazi, tweak, and peso)

superkitties

(wei play bitsy and ginny)

lolirock

(wei don't play anyone from lolirock, but wei might play praxina)

cursed princess club

(wei don't play anyone from here, we might play jamie tho)

harvey street kids (wei play li'l lotta and audrey)

wild kratts

(wei might play donita donata and/or fabio )

dead end paranormal park/deadendia

(wei don't play anyone from there yet)

[therealslimshakespeare]

What got you into writing/how long have you been writing?

What’s your writing inspiration?

Do you write in silence or need background sounds? Like music?

Do you struggle more with dialogue or detail?

Any tips for someone who wants to write fanfiction?

How do you differ all your OC’s so you don’t rewrite the same characters over and over?

Do you do research?

— from someone who would love to write their own stories lol but yours are great!

My darling. So many apologies for how tardy I’ve been in replying to this, I really wanted to give it due thought because I’m quite touched you’d even ask.

1: I’ve been writing since I was little, my mama was always reading me classics and my greatest ambition was to be some kind of author every bit as colorful as their characters, a la Oscar Wilde. 🥳

2. Writing inspiration? Oh that’s a hard one only in that I could cite a million things and chat your poor ear off, but to be boring and also frank -I just love stories. I think they’re so inspiring and healing and necessary for making sense of things, or else resigning to things that can’t be explained. I love to study love and how very human and fallible and also indestructible it is in its many forms. I love to dig through tragedy and find the refining purpose of it, I love to take characters through hells I’ve been through so that I can imagine their triumphs, too, and my own through them. If this can happen to -name your hero- then I’m no smaller for it happening to me, if -name your hero- can get through it and be loved and admired by a whole fandom? -I deserve the same commendation from myself at the very least. Stories are essential and fun and I never ever imagined I’d have a little group one day liking my own where we could all scream about these things together. I’m legit so humbled each time I log on here and find y’all ready and waiting and interactive. The community of it, that’s the biggest drive right now, tbh. What a sweet season.

3. I usually write in silence, or else at any chance where I have a moment, so that could be public transport or lunch breaks or in the loo during family holidays, ha. However I do find music to be an inspiring mood setter for writing later that day. Especially as i juggle many ongoing projects at once, the genre im listening to before may very well influence what gets worked on.

4. Detail!! Dialogue can be challenging but I hear it so clearly in my head most of the time that it’s not hard. Details can devastate me.

5. Ooof, I still feel like I’m a baby at it, this is only my second fandom to dare for. I’d say for sure write what you find inspiring instead of what appears to be wanted, i firmly believe that’s the only sure way to keep up any inspiration and the niche will draw its own crowd, one’s who will like it all the better for its specially crafted world. Also, for dialogue -replay and replay dialogue from the character before you write. Are they terse or do they ramble? Are they sarcastic or earnest? Do they have a word they repeat often? -I noticed the other day how Rosenthal uses “you know?” often in the show. Also, sometimes switch up sentence structure from character to character, it helps feel like hopping brains without a fully jarring POV change. All these are things I’m currently working at myself, but that’s the best I’ve got for advice.

6. Oh boy I’m still figuring this out myself. Three things come to mind as little helps I use- first off, read real biographies, it helps tremendously with crafting fully dimensional fictional people. Two -have a maturing arc for your OC during the story, separate from whatever adventure or romance that occurs, this will make it feel less like a inserted person into the broader story. Three, choose a personality type or something similar to both keep them separate from the next but also to ensure their virtues have corresponding vices.

7. I do research a lot. But I find that it’s a fine line for myself of when that drains all creativity or bravery. Im massively indebted to so many mutuals who generously share their own with me.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Hey, can I just say that you have reignited my passion for Tolkiens works completely!?!?!

I love your hcs, they are so interesting and so full of life and lore 😊

I was wondering how you got the idea and what went into making your Ocs. Did you have an idea at first and then it snowballed into a full blown headcanon?

Of course only if you want to.

Again I just wanted to tell you how much I love your work. It always gives me a smile at the end of a hard day.

Oh my god, i’m so happy you like this!!!

So in regards to my ocs, i actually pick characteristics that i like in other characters across media and go “you now belong to this family thx”

But funfact! Lasgen was originally fem!legolas.

Hence “las” and the g and e that they both share in their names. I only came up with her name when i started to seperate her form a fem!legolas version.

Also, this isn’t actually my first rodeo in creating an entire sperate au for a fandom i’m in complete with ocs, and one thing i always end up having is the main fem oc (in this case Lasgen) be a lesbian.

Bc i like girls.

I knew i wanted legolas to have at least 1 more brother and sister in addition to lasgen, which is how i ended up creating lirion and kleoyia. Lirion is kinda inspired by verde from khr, and kleoyia is creation based off of characteristics that i would love to see, but couldn’t conceivably fit into Lasgen’s character without clashing. I still love kleoyia as well though.

I already knew i wanted lasgen and ingwe to be half siblings and that thranduil and ingwe had a parent+child like relationship, but it was only recently that i started including ingwe as “1 of them”, so to speak.

I personally really focused on the sibling dynamics, bc i just love seeing genuinely supportive siblings, and i find those dynamics a bit overshadowed in romance focused media (which i get, but still) and it’s also important to me that, while they are siblings, they are also undoubtedly their own person as well.

So, yeah, i guess you can say everything snowballed.

It’s also lowkey a product of my frustration of the way the silvans are more or less completely excluded from the elven hierarchy and history, so i asked myself “how do i involve the silvans with the rest of the elves without creating ocs” and boom! Thranduil and miriel are now twins.

And having lasgen be siblings with ingwe and friends with the rest of the we’s, and having thranduil and miriel care for them just felt like weaving those connections tighter.

As i mentioned in previous posts, i am also an avid dreamer of the years before the elves knew of the valar and what that must have been like.

Lowkey, oropher and cloudryad were kinda inspired by sephiroth and cloud, though they have since strayed away from that, but that was the basis for them.

Legolas is in a polyamorous triad bc why not? I couldn’t choose between a wife or husband, so i just picked both. Also, i think the dynamic of legolas being in a polyamorous relationship is much more interesting, especially if we explore it alongside the heteronormativity of the noldor (at least in this au)

Honestly, my main shtick is really just finding dynamics and characteristics i like and then sticking them into my au. And my motto is “instead of asking why, ask why not” in regards to ideas and hcs, so i will end up with actual wild ideas at time.

Tbh, there’s actually so much lore and ocs i have cooked up in my head that i haven’t shared yet because i don’t want to overwhelm people.

[nugulover69]

If you had to assemble a five-member idol group of only characters from heisei era toku who would you choose and why

I've pondering this ask all day and I finally have the answer

I call them "I have side swooped bangs and a demon inside of my brain helppppp HELP MEEEEEE" or Cherry Boyz for short

As the name indicates, its 5 boys with similar bangs and brain issues. granted Yamato is the only one here who doesn't get possessed by an evil entity canonically (dinosaurs, malware, french malware, and Beeg Worm) but his sheer quantity of non-fantastical issues qualifies him being here

Yamato is leadernim naturally. Eiji doesn't have the desire (heh) to lead, Emu IS the eldest here at 24 so he could be leadernim, but I think its funnier if he's an eldest not-leader Xander UKISS style (maybe he's a bit jealous of Yamato bc of it. heated drama and all that), Hiromu is too much of a hard ass to lead THESE specific men and Tsurugi is Tsurugi

Hiromu and Tsurugi are both the youngest at 20 so I think they'd have a fun opposites attract maknae dynamic. they are this to me

They're also def the most popular ship in the fandom, right behind Emu/Yamato. Eiji is shipped with his own boxers a la Onew and fried chicken

As for music positions, Yamato strikes me as a leader-lead vocal type who veryyyy occasionally raps but like the kinda rapping that's more just talking in a "sexy" voice (Jacob The Boyz iykyk). Eiji is main vocal bc I want to add to his existing Onewisms and ya know >Time Judged All. Emu is main rapper and he's very bad at it. Hiromu is lead rapper who is objectively better at rapping than Emu but he's not Cute Quirky Gamer BF so no one cares and neither does he frankly. and Tsurugi is useless sub vocal (he always says he "STANDS AT THE TOP OF VOCALS" while only getting a few lines per comeback)

[wen-kexing-apologist]

10 Characters and 10 Fandoms

I was hoping this day would not come. I had hoped I would fly free and clear from having to choose between all the people trapped in my television. But alas...I can avoid it no longer...thanks @lurkingshan

Cause here is the thing, when I think of what drives me batshit, crawling up the wall, tearing at the curtains it is not the characters but the dynamics that I love and cherish.

Rules: name 10 of your favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people to do the same.

So I guess, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 10 of my faves and why

Wen Kexing - Word of Honor

I mean...this one seems pretty obvious (coughs in username) but this is my dumb slut, okay? He's beauty, he's grace, he's got Zhou Zishu Derangement Syndrome harder than anyone.

Wen Kexing, how do I love you? Let me count the ways:

Unhinged

Fashion Icon

Crazy Bastard Man

Yi Baiyi's Number One Nuisance

Gay As Hell

And most importantly HE HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG IN HIS LIFE.

Not Once. Not Ever.

Akk - The Eclipse

Oh Akk, my favorite little war criminal. If I had to pick one single favorite character, it's my boy.

Can't put my finger on why but for some reason I am obsessed with this emotionally repressed gay boy who has difficulty accepting himself and feels pressured to perform actions far outside what a teenager should be allowed to do because adults put pressure on him and because he doesn't want people to be disappointed in him...

Unlike Wen Kexing, Akk has done many things wrong, but he's my sweet cheese, good time boy, and he deserves to be harassed by his rat bastard boyfriend at all times. He's learned, he's grown, he's free of Suppalo and I want nothing but the best for him forever and alwas.

Jim Jimenez - Our Flag Means Death

Ohhhhh Jim. The Swagger, The Sex Appeal, The Being The Only Competent Member of Stede's Crew. I mean, what is not to love about The Orphan Raised By Nun Grandmother To Be a Killer?

As a fellow Studier Of The Blade, I would welcome the chance to let Jim kill me. Besides the fact they would lay waste to many, as an enby, they automatically earn a spot in my favs list.

Guillermo de la Cruz - What We Do In The Shadows

Tumblr Users, name a sexier character that Guillermo de la Cruz. That's right! YOU CAN'T!

Gay, serial killer...mmm you know what I'm beginning to sense a trend in my favs list...

eh, we can unpack that later!

My lovely, bumbling, dumbass with posession of the only brain cell in the household. So bright and smiley in the beginning you almost forget that he is 10 years in to literally hunting people to feed to his best friends/mortal enemies/family/tormenters/employers/bumbling idiots that stole him away from Panera Bread. There is no greater personification of the Duality of Man than the man who can lay waste to an entire theatre full of vampires and also spending literal hours closing every possible loophole in Nandor's Dick Length Wish. No greater personification of the Duality of Man than the man who can best Nandor in a gay little fight, and then immediately get pushed into a coffin and shipped to England.

Keyleth - Critical Role

My beloved, all powerful awkward disaster of a Druid. Keyleth helped me through some difficult fucking parts of my life, and I really appreciate how heavily Marisha allowed Keyleth to embrace and exert her anger where it needed to be released. I love how Keyleth can both bring a building down with her bare hands (literally) and turn into a goldfish and splatter along the rocks (also literally)

I love when character who are hurt or in pain or grieving continue to be kind, and I love when that composure starts to slip.

Ellie Williams - The Last of Us

I love my baby dyke with all my heart. She's a killer, she's a track star, she makes grown men weep and young kids laugh. She's immune from being mushroomified, and she horrifies Joel's Southern Table Manner Sensibilities. What more can you ask for out of a character?

Tankhun Theerapanyakul- KinnPorsche

Serves cunt.

Kaz Brekkar - Six of Crows

Kaz Brekkar is the walking contradiction, and that is why I love him.

Kaz, External Monologue: murder. murder. crime. crime. heist. heist. fuck pekka.

Kaz, Internal Monologue: Inej. Inej. Inej. Inej. Inej. Inej. Inej.

There is just something so juicy about a character who yearns desperately to touch, to hold, to love and is physically incapable of doing so. Also like, shout out to having disabled characters in media of all forms

Raine Whispers - Owl House

Again, enby, therefore automatically on the fucking list. But also like. COME ON. Look at them. They are so precious, they are so awkward, and they are so badass. This motherfucker can't talk on a stage to save their life, but can lead a goddamn rebel organization?

ALSO LIKE, LET'S DISCUSS THE FUCKING WHISTLE AND THE MONTHS OF FAKING MIND CONTROL?!?!?!??!?! Y'all seriously want to sit here and not claim them as a fav? Okay, but couldn't be me :)

Zuko - Avatar: The Last Airbender

It's Zuko. Need I say more? I will never not love Zuko because I lived through his redemption arc live on my TV. I went from hating this motherfucker's guts to truly deeply loving him in real time and that's all I have to say on that. He's a runner, he's a track star, he's a war criminal, and a baby girl, and truly is the king of kings for doing one nice thing and nearly dying from fever about it.

Well, this has made me realize that most of my favs are gay murderers. Teehee. Please never make me choose my favorite characters again.

If someone tags me in one of these, ask me to do my Top 10 Character Dynamics, please I beg you!!!!1

Tagging:

@bengiyo , @shortpplfedup , @kyr-kun-chan , @moonspiritmars

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, August 14th

ANDREW: Ooh. This one has oxygen tanks. ANYA: They'd only be useful if something big was attacking, and then we could shove one down their throat and blow 'em up like Roy Scheider did with that shark in Jaws. (Andrew stares at her) What? ANDREW: You are the perfect woman. ANYA: I've often thought so. Wanna rob?

~~End of Days~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Whatever It Takes by badly_knitted (Buffy, Angel, PG)

Succeeding by apachefirecat (Faith, Buffy(+/Spike) with cameos from Angel and Dawn, rated G/K)

Always Prepared by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

This One's On Me by Anonymous (Cordelia/Gunn/Spike/Wesley, Explicit)

Возвращение из страны Оз by B_E_S (Buffy/Angel, T)

In The Spotlight by bunniesitmustbebunnies (Angel/Cordelia, T)

Permission by itsalwaysteatimeinwonderland (Spike/reader, NSFW gif in post, content warning: Smut. A lot of smutty smut.)

Always Prepared by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, anthology rated PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Strange Estrangement - Chapter 1-13 (COMPLETE!) by purple_mechanicalpencils (Andrew/Xander, Andrew & Anya, Andrew & Spike, T)

Choosing Peace, Pt. 11 by itsalwaysteatimeinwonderland (Spike/reader, not rated, content warnings: None)

Bound, Ch. 63 by RavenLove12 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Reclaimed, Ch. 10 by Holly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

East of Nevada, Ch. 15 by Blissymbolics (Buffy/Spike, R)

A Tumble in Time, Ch. 1 by thedoppleganger (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Regency Slayer, Ch. 1-5 by vampirische liebe (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Can't Fix Us, Ch. 3 by calikocat (crossover with Herbie/The Love Bug and Teen Wolf, Xander, FR15)

Stiff Pole, Ch. 1 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Comic: I'm not calling you "good girl" Faith by aa-arttss (Buffy/Faith, worksafe)

if i were a weapon, you said i'd be a gun. by snakeliciousbaby (Oz, Xander, worksafe)

Vid: BtVS season 4 tribute by Faith Victoria (ensemble)

Digital drawing: Willow vs. Salem from RWBY by Blueflymagic (worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

The Pack Fashion Part Two by theoverlookedoneedits1997

Angel [the episode] Fashion Part One by theoverlookedoneedits1997

Stake fodder's rewatch: S2.9 & 10 What's My Line?

Buffy S7E7: Conversations With Dead People (feat. Ben Gierhart) | Booze & Buffy

Episode 69: Something Blue (w/ Dean Jurhs) by Gym Was Cancelled: A Buffy Podcast

[Recs & In Search Of]

Please recommend me some time travel fanfics... by sunnydaleslayer

[Fandom Discussions]

In my dream version of season seven... [Faith, the jacket from Him] by 5bi5

Re: s7 hot janitor!Faith by explosionshark

call willow's s6 relationship with tara what it is. + willow has one thousand fatal flaws by greensaplinggrace

how losercringe (affectionate) (but also a little derogatory) it is that angel named himself angel by imunbreakabledude

One of the bits I’m really enjoying with In the Company of Witches and Slayers by lightdancer1

nonsensical to try to apply labels like ‘abuse’ to angel & darla’s relationship by moistvonlipwig

xander is a character i have many complicated feelings about by moistvonlipwig, zorilleerrant

They could give some other reason for Giles to leave. by redhatmeg

I also think a lot of people misinterpret what the monks did with Dawn. by theredpharaoah

Just to clarify, I do not call Faith Buffy’s boyfriend because... by fictiongods

Reasons why I ship Buffy/Spike by deird

What kind of magic would you have liked to have seen in Buffy? by Kat-Attack-52

La importancia de Buffy y Joyce para mi ❣️ [in Spanish] by MineRepulsive

The metaphor of Willow and Oz's relationship by spectacleskeptic

Willow question by Tsole96

Kind of feel bad for Kathy by shey-they-bitch

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Join the editor team :)

[pristina-nomine]

so my knowledge about her is entirely limited to your posts, but may I request ophélie from la passe miroir for the character ask? 💌 very curious about this series!

Ah, I'm so happy that my posts got you curious about it ✨ (I’m also so sorry for the super late reply, but this week stuff just kept happening and I haven’t had a moment to write anything) Anyway! Thanks for allowing me to indulge in more obnoxious gushing u.u

Favorite thing about her: that she's devoid of any sentimentalism, even if the plot constantly puts her through super angsty scenarios. And that in her character arc of opening up to others and accepting the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, this part of her never really changes; she comes to realize that feelings are not necessarily melodramatic, that she can love and love deeply, but always in her own way

Least favorite thing about her: even though I really like the general theme of Thorn’s wounds running too deep to be magically cured by him falling for Ophélie, at times in tome 3 I did wish she wasn’t that accommodating to him. Which, again, is a fundamental point of her personal growth and objectively well done (and he’s like. very much accommodating to her as well), but there are a couple of specific scenes where it rubs me the wrong way a bit, can’t help it

Favorite line: Il n’avait pas le droit!!!! Character thesis statement. Iconique. Also, given that the whole series is her internal monologue, honorary mention to the resolve moment in the final paragraphs of tome 1

brOTP: so many to choose from, so I’ll go with: the scarf. Unironically one of my favorite characters.

OTP: Thorn, of course. I love that they’re one and the same obstinate communication disaster, that he realizes it almost immediately and does nothing at all to shy away from or hide his feelings, while she needs to go through her whole journey to understand and accept this new part of herself. Excited to read in which other way they’ll misunderstand each other in tome 4! (I’m not actually. Let them be content, at least for a while, please)

nOTP: given that Ophélie notp-ies herself with everyone aha I'd say Renard, Archibald, anyone of the dudes she forms a strong friendship with, basically (I’m not as opposed with the gals for some reason? But I’m also very monogamous with my ships, so still ain’t it)

Random headcanon: this may be more of a general lore thing because I also apply it to other characters, but the use of "of Anima" - ie the place she comes from - as a surname stand-in, Middle Ages style (mainly because I hate tagging characters with only their first name so I had to make something up aha)

(Wait, now that I think about it, they do use the Family Spirits names in the wedding ceremony... that's pretty much the canon equivalent of a surname... well, there goes my headcanon)

Unpopular opinion: welp, I don't even know what the popular opinions are, the fandom here is so minuscule aha. One thing may be that I'm very adamant about her being in her early twenties, or 19 at least? If she was a teen her uneasiness about romance/sexuality and frustration at feeling "half a woman" and "a child" simply wouldn't hit as hard

Song I associate with her: Alice's Theme by Danny Elfman!!

Favorite picture of her: this picture of an Edwardian young lady who looks precisely how I see her with my mind's eye, minus the scarf

Bonus: these stunning portraits by @fantasy-seal and Ilenia Pastore

[thewingedwolf]

my opinion, like many in the fandom, is that Buck has always been a little bi coded, and I think handling it like the way abc handled Rosa Diaz being bi, by simply having Buck drop some information he’s always known about himself but never been comfortable sharing, would be a decent way of handling it. for one thing, having both buck and eddie go through a gay panic thing would be a lot for one season, and maybe a bit repetitive, and I think it would be perfectly in character, while adding a really lovely layer to Maddie & Buck’s relationship, that Maddie has always known Buck was bisexual, and has attempted (maybe awkwardly) over the years to get Buck to be more comfortable with it. I also think it would add a really wonderful layer to Buck and Chim’s relationship (again, to make the b99 comparison bc this is a textbook “if i had a nickel for every time a beloved, diverse show involving police officers got canceled by fox and picked up by ABC bc beloved diverse shows with a really active fan base are their bread and butter i’d have two nickels” situation lol), the same way it was a natural & moving way to have the first person Rosa came out to be Charles, if Chim finds out because Buck needs to talk to Maddie about how he and Eddie had a stress induced make out on Eddie’s couch and then Eddie had a panic attack over being gay, and Chim is there trying to connect the dots of this conversation & be supportive bc Buck is anxiously mumbling while bear hugging Jee in his kitchen. And “Buck has been bisexual the entire time” leaking out to the rest of the 118 has a lot of potential; we know they’re all gossipy & nosy about each other, and Chim is terrible at keeping important secrets, so Hen & Bobby piecing it together from Buck‘s sudden interest in LA Gay Culture & Chim’s nervous stuttering, while Ravi is like “happy that you’re comfortable enough to come out to me Buck but again, i do not need to know this much detail about your personal life” all of this just seems like a very natural, easy way of getting Buck to come out.

and that leaves the Gay Panic storyline to Eddie, lmao. because whether they decide to go with the common fandom idea of “eddie is gay but due to being a really macho dude from Texas, born into a family of very typically ‘we will always love you no matter if you’re straight or choose to be gay’ esque family, has been heavy repressing it all these years” or they decide to make him bisexual, it’s clear that Eddie’s continued wild misses at dating women, panic attacks over the idea of being with a woman, and naming another man as the caretaker of his child in case he dies, that Eddie is primed to have an absolute break down if he ever comes out. Is it very similar to Carlos’ story? Yeah, obviously, but they’re incredibly different people, and more than that, the type of family they come from is incredibly common in this day and age, and whereas we’ve seen the fallout of all the shame that comes with feeling like your parents love isn’t unconditional wrt Carlos, we never saw the initial, badly handled coming out that prompted this break in the Reyes family, and we would be seeing that with Eddie and the Diaz family! not only that, but we have Hen & Toni there to help Eddie (and his parents & pepa & abuelita) through it, to help them handle what are bound to be difficult conversations on Eddie’s history of dating women his family will like that he has minimal interest in, and what happens now that Eddie is once again testing the unconditional aspect of his family’s love.

And that’s not even touching The Bobby And Athena Of It All, from Bobby once again relating to Eddie’s struggles of “what do you do when you feel like the core of who you are has shifted and everyone else is standing still” to Athena having intimate knowledge of the effect of coming out late in life, after you’ve lived a whole life as an ostensibly heterosexual man. We could get a really touching scene between Bobby & Athena and Buck, discussing how this is something he’s always known but it’s just been easier to let it go unsaid even if he knew Bobby and the rest of the 118 would be loving and supportive if he ever came out. Imagine the jokes re: Buck, Eddie, AND Hen being the messiest gays in LA while Ravi is begging them to Say Less.

I think the storyline potential of “Buck and Eddie impulsively make out after a stressful call in ep 1 and then skirt around their feelings for at least half a season” can be really rich, and also kind of in line for how abc has handled a character who got popular for being bi coded, and I’m not saying i trust them to not be cowards about it, but I am saying they shouldn’t be cowards about it.

[wolfgirl-valentine]

10 fandoms 10 characters 10 Tags

Thanks for the tag @rainy-days-and-nights 🫂✨💚 sorry for the delay in answering, I been thinking about who put in the list sjsjsjsj(batalle para elegir solo a unx por fandom 🥹) so! Ten characters in no particular order.

Corvo Attano-Dishonored

I love him so much and I even named one of my cats after him 🖤

Boba Fett- Star Wars

Been obsessed with him since I was a child, a little disappointed in his treatment in recent years u_u

Garrus Vakarian- Mass Effect

My husband actually

Zuko - Avatar The las Airbender

He still has the best redemption arc in my opinion

Marko - Saga (Comic)

It was so difficult to choose only one character of this comic 😭 but if I have to he is definitely the one

Olivier Armstrong - Full Metal Alchemist

My queen 🖤✨

Arthur Morgan - Red Dead Redemption 2

I just played this game this year for the first time and the wound is still fresh 🥺

Bigby Wolf- Fables/The Wolf among us

THE big bad wolf what can I say ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Vincent Valentine- Final Fantasy VII

The reason behind the "Valentine" in my nickname xD, fun fact I haven't played FF7 for a reason or another all the copies that have ended in my hands were damaged, but I played Dirge of Cerberus a lot.

Will Graham - Hannibal (NBC)

I enjoyed how his character adapted through the series, still salty about the cancellation ಠ⁠︵⁠ಠ

Tagging....uuuuuhhhh.....@sparkylulu @the-cloudy-dreamer @marvagon @dian-skywavecounty

Only if you want to :)

[horizon-verizon]

HOT TAKE:

Rhaenyra x Alicent

Rhaenyra x Harwin

Rhaenyra x Daemon

Daemon x Laena

Rhaenyra x Aegon II

Criston x Rhaenyra

Aemond x Lucerys

Criston x Alicent

Viserys x Aemma

Aemond x Helaena

Aegon II x Helaena

every single ship/couple on the show is either VERY problematic or toxic, so fans picking and choosing who is better is stupid. every single male character in the show has done something problematic and I mean EVERY single male character. The day the fandom just admit that every ship/couple is problematic/toxic is the day the HOTD fandom will know peace and the day shippers just admit that they only give certain male characters a pass because they find them attractive is the day we'll know peace.

*EDITED POST* (11/4/24)

i do agree that some male characters are given a pass when they shouldn't, however there are some who people acknowledge are bad, amoral, morally ambiguous, or just plain evil but ship them with certain people bc of various reasons. The human experience is not just about being "moral" 100% of the time, or being "rational"; other times, it's about fun and thrill and empathizing with a feeling, etc.

There is also reason why some ships are canonically real and lasted with little internal conflict between the couple (w/o there being an external intervention not of either their faults) and why some did not...

And why are "fucked up" people's relationships/love in fucked up or dangerous situations not "real"? Or valid?

I consider it to be a sort of miracle when this does happen, so I tend to positively fascinated! Because they tend to be more passionate, even thought they may not always be the most dramatic. Two (or more) people find each other and come to trust each other despite the odds or what could never or not as likely happen anywhere else? Sign me up! (except parent-child, grandparent-grandchild incest; physical abuse; emotional abuse; teens with 40 yr olds, and I'm sure i'm forgetting some things)

A)

I find that this growing protest against any fictional relationship that is not the ideal healthy one that real-life people dream of in of itself indicative of being out of touch with reality, specious, and tedious. As if it is not "healthy", then it doesn't deserve to be fictionalized and distributed to be read.

There is frustration with stories like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and the enemies-to-lovers trope itself...as if the writers of those stories expected you to copy their main characters 1:1 and take their tale as their own personal ideas in the first place. It is a protest that criticizes romance fiction/general fiction for not being 1:1 to what we should go for, or what we are taught to, in reality for the sake of morality teaching, censored. That fiction writing, especially romance, should only show fluff or as little conflict or high stakes between couples as possible because people are not discerning enough to always tell what is abusive behavior and what is grey behavior.

a mutual of mine named la-pheacienne writes this:

They proclaim their love, their actions are largely determined by their love, this love is (one of) the main themes of the story, and somehow people are always gonna ruin this whole thing by over rationalizing it : "he/she never loved x, they only loved the idea of them/the attention" or any other reason. Idk, 99% of the time I'm just bored by these takes for two main reasons. The first one is that I feel they sanitize the story by trying to psychoanalyze the characters as if they were the character's therapist. Romantic love in fiction imo is merely determined by the intensity of the feeling and whether this feeling actually affects a character's actions in a way that it has an actual impact in the narrative. The second reason I am bored by these takes is that, while they seem realistic, they are actually not, because romantic love doesn't have to be healthy, it isn't necessarily a healthy feeling. Romantic love just is, or isn't. Whether romantic love is healthy or not depends on each individual.

Like with Romeo and Juliet, because people mistake fiction as vehicles of blanket endorsement, they think R&J is an blanket endorsement of this sort of relationship, or they conflate the relationship with suicide-for-one--you-love bc there's so many iterations and people going "I wish my love was as dedicated as Romeo to Juliet/vice versa" bc it speaks to their desire for passion in romantic relationship. The reason why their love is so famous and endures is because of its passion directly opposes and also is born out of the passions and constraints of the hate their families had for each other. Romeo and Juliet's love (no matter how you feel about it) is meant to be the direct contradiction to the hatred, and their suicides are meant to be seen as tragic bc they could have been prevented if the adults or authorities around them got their heads out of their asses. But bc people are going, "oh, those kids are so stupid" all the time, this point is entirely missed!!!

The loyalty and obligation one has to one's family, one's house, can lead one into abject misery and destroy oneself AND the community said families have great influence and effect over. Both lovers had their social/cultural "duties" to align themselves and shape their values and priorities to/around their families' desires or political intentions. Revenge is a part of those obligations. Juliet esp, we see her expected to obey her father's command to marry and it is through another man, Romeo, that she can only expect to be free from such a thing, and at such a young age. Romeo is more adult but he is also duty-bound not just his family but his circle of male companions. What people love, what I love about Romeo and Juliet's love/romance is the passion and attempt at self-determination despite the odds. That I suppose, is what is both entertaining and inspiring; doesn't mean I actually want others to kill themselves for me or that I want to kill myself for love or to be 13 and marrying anyone! Or others in real life to do so!

But again, people conflate, they forget, or never knew that this story is really about how those families set up their own unhappinesses.

Or rather, I say, people tend to misunderstand the value & appeal of some ships...canon or not.

No people, they write characters for ideas and philosophical concepts. Innovative, new or familiar and already developed, or something in the middle. We also don't read fiction stories to just be educated into copying behaviors, otherwise, we'd read nonfiction. Fiction is for emotional reality, speculative/philosophical thought, and creative thinking skills, again, they are for exploration of taboos, urges, ideologies, historical propaganda, narratology, mythology, human behavior, some mysteries that run in the back of ones mind but aren't discussed sometimes because we do not know what sort of consequences we'd have if shared for whatever reason, but for some some of these reason include oppressive structures. And emotional realities, set in a world with its own laws and facts as ASoIaF is, are still important to write in to realize what one feels in their everyday life and have others take a peek into that. But it also doesn't always have to be so damn apocalyptic either, because these characters are playthings of emotional reality, narrative, and philosophy which are all examinable. We as readers can/learn to examine or spy on the trajectory and themes of the fiction and leave the rest to the story as we go about your day.

It is related (not the exact same but there is a relation) to giving horror stories to children--stuff like Coraline--things some adults repeatedly wonder today why we/they were exposed to some films or stories. Some things they can should not be for kids: kids love to be scared, too but more than that they can get scared, get thrilled, get sad in a controlled environment while still familiarize themselves with stuff that one may not be able to articulate in just human conversation or is deliberately removed from them. It also promotes empathy in them bc they get familiarized with how people cause each other pain or the depth/process/development of different types of human suffering.

It is related (not the exact same but there is a relation) to giving horror stories to children--stuff like Coraline--things some adults repeatedly wonder today why we/they were exposed to some films or stories. Some things they can should not be for kids: kids love to be scared, too but more than that they can get scared, get thrilled, get sad in a controlled environment while still familiarize themselves with stuff that one may not be able to articulate in just hunan conversation or is deliberately removed from them.

Problem is that they don't grow some reflexes to avoid, say, predatory behavior, which Coraline shows through the Beldam.

And if I hadn't read stuff like Anne Rice's novels--which people make the mistake of thinking Louis was sexually abusive towards Claudia, when it's really that they are getting that sense from how Louis "stole" away her childhood and humanity in his own horror at his immortality (eternal isolation from the beauty of change that is inherently human), at his horror at his never being able to have experience, that access to that beauty then I have more trouble understanding the value of myself and my fellow human and how that can get mucked up by societal exploitation of the fear of death (religious institutions and their teachings). Yes, his relationship with Claudia is almost mirroring that of a pedo, bc like a pedo he "took away" her childhood for his own lack of self control at his not being able to understand the ramifications of being a vampire and the predator of humanity/enemy of God. And he keeps talking about her beauty and seductiveness (her visual and tactile features like coloring and smoothness of skin, her ability to draw in her adult prey to feed on them). with what we know of him being able to suck her blood out of her body and the oral imagery that can psychologically parallel the sexual, it seems an utter troubling of the innocence we credit to children, baptism did that. That's what Rice wanted you to feel and understand, vampirism and forcing eternity into a child is inherently wrong! no matter how much you yourself are trying to reinforce you own existence's meaning by getting close to "beautiful" things and people. Remember that this is exactly how she, just losing a daughter and w acting said child back and definitely feeling the urge to imagine a way she could have her forever while also going through religious trauma herself. But it is not the thing (pedophilia) itself.

B)

Why do you bother to instruct others to not analyze when you yourself refuse to give a good reason why one should not?! When you claim that you are bringing an "analysis" that is so "simple that it must be genius?"

Why do you even make a moral/ethical argument ("we would all benefit from recognizing that all these couples are 'toxic'" as if we don't already know that these ships aren't viable ones if we transposed them in real life or likely to even exist or be healthy ones?!) if it is to tell people to not think?! To not name their own ships and analyze the text/context/subtext to understand what is even happening below the surface of "magical dragonriders"?

You yourself did it -- how is it an issue when others do? You don't need to like these things, or to ship specifically how others ship. Just consider why and how shipping and how the "factionalism" in this fandom happens for each ship before you go barreling over telling people that they are amoral for not thinking exactly like you.

If you want to ship a couple just based on the feeling or understanding of what would be good for people's psyche in real life...that they would have both a happy, satisfactory and safe life together in real life based on your own personal preferences or the already agreed upon rules for a healthy relationship....that's fine.

But I, as a non-cautious Daemyra shipper and a cautious Jonerys observer (these two always depend on the story where Jon and Dameon are politically subservient to these women, not even "equals": Jonerys specifically only if Jon is not her co-ruler not a situation where she is his Queen Consort. He should only be her consort if he becomes her husband and she out ranks him bc as brideoffires on Twitter pointed out, we see that a male partner is highly dangerous for Dany, Jon being the worst for his lineage), argue that the healthier and happier relationships are already RhaenyraxDaemon and JonxDany because of their respective circumstances, cultural/sociopolitical contexts -- their world and personal backgrounds. I not only look at what people say is "healthiest", I want to consider what the people/characters themselves want/need in a partner according to their circumstances and development and the narrative, and let's be for real, Rhaenyra's desired partner was Daemon, not Harwin.

She loved Harwin, that's for sure. But she wanted Daemon and part of it was for the assurance that he could protect her. (Jonerys is merely for the idea, even though I feel this is ship is more crackish with each passing day). And I do not judge every single piece of fantasy, romance, or romance part of a story by how well it conforms to that image of the realistic, healthy relationship. That's not what I and other shippers go for, including some of those who ship Rhaenyra with Harwin, etc., (since even Harwin is not the ideal modern choice for a woman he little started sleeping with when she was 19 (show) or 17 (book) while being not that far from either Daemon or Criston).

If you are going to use "incest!" and the misapplied "grooming!"/"pedophilia!" arguments to just conclude that every single relationship of ASoIaF is "toxic" (and nothing else) and thus we shouldn't care about who survives or wins or how...

...then you also say we should ignore particular aspects of how in spite of the incest, some characters found ways to actually build good enough trust and bonds and when they didn't it wasn't bc of incest but bc of gender political imbalances and sexism (Jaehaerys and Alysanne) and not care about the sociopolitical events, ramifications, and philosophical questioning about identity, sexuality, power, gender, etc. that does go on in ASoIaF. Again, you're saying I/we should not think, that nothing matters at all in this universe, nothing matters. But then, those very things put into question makes this series! It seems like you're saying that the Dance doesn't matter at all...but then why are you here, watching the show and/or reading the books if you did not think the Dance mattered in some way?

And not every shipper ships what they want in real life for every story they create ships for. Ships are made for how well it appeals in a specific manner, and the appeal exists from how/what subtexts one observes and interprets from the text/context.

a post from dragonlords:

psychology BA (and future psychologist most likely) here! also an incest shipper! my very valid and scientific theory for why we ship incest is that we desire a love where we could never ever be left by the other because we're connected in more ways than romantic. it's very similar than the soulmate trope but for people who like a bit of spice (i don't mean smut here btw). in the soulmate trope you're thrust together with someone new, the incest trope has more of a friends to lovers vibe. the idea of strangers meetcute falling in love is very Straight and Neurotypical, friends or enemies or siblings first offers a less conventional story structure. the incest trope also deals with shame. a lot of people have shame about love and sex! especially religious people and queer people. incest is a metaphor!!! it's not about wanting to fuck your literal family! it's just about liking a strong bond. what we ship does say something of us but it's not usually the most straightforward explanation. also, this is just my theory, there are probably more reasons for liking incest ships. but i beg, BEG antis to look beneath the surface when screaming about brotherfucking pro shippers.

Sometimes the conclusions they make are just wrong, other times not very informed or fair. In those instances, where they et certain lore facts or characterizations completely wrong, fine, criticsims may be even necessary. Other times it's colored by or processing their own traumas, or it's about what shaped the possible/canon relationship that actually inspires the shipping, in which case, I don't think it's worth it to criticize their preference unless it leans into complete delusion that misrepresents the character/story and/or bigotry. The ship shipped is alluring, charismatic, enchanting, and/or engaging and tickling for one reason or the another.

You may argue that realistically, uncles and nieces can't be in healthy relationships -- of which there's no point to this argument in-universe as a serious criticism because this is a series where literal magic-blooded, dragon-riding people marry siblings, uncles, nieces, aunts, nephews in order to maintain that power within their respective bloodlines or that Daemon is a one-dimensional evil, evil person, no cap (he's violent but not crazy evil), and we all already know that obviously this sort of shit shouldn't happen. But these characters are contained within a world they must navigate, and of all the options that Rhaenyra had, Daemon wasn't so bad as us to say he was her doom. Once again, he's been the most loyal to her, which is what she needed.

In other words, Watsonian versus Doylist.

C)

We saw:

Rhaenys and Aegon I -- no known quarrels

Jaehaerys I and Alysanne (pre-Quarrels. It was rather Jaehaerys' misogyny and Alysanne's need to empower herself but also feeling the need to conform in some ways that broke them up but if you are in the habit of not looking past the incest, you wouldn't likely understand that and how it came to be that way with them)

Rhaena and Aegon the Uncrowned -- reasonably harmonious

Jaehaerys II and Shaera [Aegon V's kids] -- no known major quarrels

so we can't even argue that in-universe, these couples went through their traumas just or only because of incest specifically. Aegon IV-Naerys and Aerys II and Rhaella: these couples' problems were feudal/monarchial/patriarchal problems of the man having too much power over his wife/subject. and going by how the Starks ruled for nigh 6,000-8,000 years....feudalism in some form in this world is going to be here for long after even Dany dies.

So we focus on the revolutions and changes that Dany and Rhaenyra's reigns could have or would have brought for this system.

Back to the Targs, they and Valyrian dragonlords are one only a step ahead of the Westerosi lords, who the Faith allowed, can, and often married their first cousins. As Tywin Lannister did. Yet I have heard/seen nothing about how Westerosi marry their cousins and often. One of Sansa's arranged marriage options was with a Arryn/Vale first cousin.

The prime reason why sibling-marriage is considered taboo amongst Westersoi is because the Faith of the Seven rules that the gods say it so. That's it. There is an absence of logic where some Targ anti claim there is when it comes to why Andal Westerosi reason why incest is bad but still do cousin marriages.

There are even two uncle-niece marriages in the Stark family: "in the north, Serena Stark had been wed to her half-uncle, Edric, while her sister Sansa Stark had been wed to her half-uncle Jonnel Stark (AWoIaF; "Incest in the Seven Kingdoms")". One of these marriages produced children, and neither were ever ruled as sinful by the Faith, nor are the Starks ruled as being all seeds of "abomination".

So.... something is going on here that is more than just "it's incest!" These kinds of questions, not "is this my idea of healthy", are the ones that actually give you answers to how people think, how much does culture influences and where, train you to practice empathy, etc.

As for Daemyra, apart from Rhaenyra wanting/loving Daemon, it is also true of the reverse. Even if you removed all the 111 A.C. pre-exile "courting", we have enough evidence from the text AND out of it that they loved and were passionate about each other:

GRRM killed off their spouses/lovers so they'd get together for the purpose of the Dance narrative -- yes they canonically loved their persons...this doesn't mean they were not the "main" ship NOR that this doesn't exude a sort of unity that is very compelling and implies an enduring bond

Daemon dies for her/their kids/her crown/has never tried to go against her or wrest power through her and override her

Daemon didn't exist in the first few drafts of F&B/Rhaenyra's story…she was married to Lyonel Strong…Daemon was literally created specifically for Rhaenyra to function as one, if not one of the only, most devoted supporters and family members…yes Daemon and Laena had a good marriage and loved each other, but why exactly does that mean he "hated" the woman he literally died for? Weird.

Daemon's reaction to finding out that Rhaenyra took Mysaria at her word about him sleeping with Nettles or betraying her...he was happy to receive a letter, but then his face falls and he point blank says that it is "a queen's words, a whore's work", implying it to be a fabrication

it is evident that their first child together (Aegon III) was conceived not very long after Daemon's wife Laena, Rhaenyra's assumed lover Harwin, AND her legal husband Laenor ALL die--even if one argued that they only had sex to mourn or run away from their grief, it's weird how anyone would have sex so soon with someone they didn't implicitly trusted and weren't attracted to. Even if Laena were the one to re-intiate the platonic/familial part of their relationship, why so quick to sex if Rhaenyra was so angry (about 111 A.C.) with Daemon as to totally "forget" him while she was with Harwin?

back in 111 A.C., Viserys also reacted hard enough for him to think that Rhaenyra and Daemon would consummate or elope or whatever by that reaction. so sexual tension there, if not the love that will happen later, sets us up to believe they did have sex very soon after Laen's death.

in the 111 A.C. incident, one could very easily say that Daemon was also genuinely trying to make Rhaenyra feel better surrounded by the greens and Alicent. During this period, they flew often together on Syrax and Caraes; It's a grey area, no need to claim he was only trying to use Rhaenyra against Viserys.

when they married, Daemon was one of the suspects of Laenor's murder, even if the Velaryons didn't believe he actually killed their son...it's too weird for Rhaenyra to not just take measures against pregnancy and accept marriage with this man who many people thought murdered her husband & father to her heirs

Daemon--similar to how he murdered a dude for Laena's hand--gunned for Rhaenyra's son's murder through B&C despite the infamy or talk that would get him (yeah he probs didn't care, but I mean these are expressions of he took the time/energy to do these very public things when he didn't have to)

Daemon x Nettles never happened. [POST #1 // POST #2]

they spent 10 OR SO YEARS relatively secluded on Dragonstone raising their kids with no incident or suggestion of abuse or cheating (contrast with Aegon II and Helaena) before the usurpation

So I have reason to believe this couple is "main" for their narrative and not just one of many toxic ones for the sake of nothing.

D)

Now, I'm not saying that age gaps in ASoIaF relationships and marriages tend to frequently be b/t uncomfortably large or that GRRM is way to heinous and defensive about this trend.

I am saying that since "groomer" and "pedo" implies merely a desire for preying on children bc you want to prey on children/the more sociopolitically vulnerable:

GRRM already does make it a point to show that 13 yr old Dany getting impregnated, 15 year old Viserrra engaged to a man who could be her father and dying trying to live her last moments as a girl, AND Daemon messing w/Rhaenyra then getting the boot are all obviously bad things about this system--thus a critique of said political environments, but it's still does not mean Larra Rogare, Viserys I, Daemon, and a few others were necessarily bonafide "pedos" like Robert Baratheon, Craster, Walder Frey, or Aegon II bc...

it takes more than the presence of a marriage between 15 yr old and a 23 yr old or a mere relationship of such to rule one of them as an actual hand-rubbing "groomer" (although this particular label on Daemon fits more back in 111...he definitely was using her against Viserys) or a "pedo", bc of how marriages are an arranged affair AND these teens aren't as considered "adults" in ASOIAF--It's not a part of their conscious OR they were forced/socially pressured to marry

The boundaries are looser; again GRRM does criticize that, but he doesn't try to break away from the consequences of that by only writing characters who are closer in age fall in love or become closer or get into sexual relationships.

Example: He still has Dany have the much older and adult Daario as a lover so she can pursue her first self-determined relationship at her 15/16 years of age...which canonically she uses to heal even as she has her doubts about Daario's feelings for her. Perhaps he could have gotten her with one of her khalasar instead, like Jhoqo, but Dany is also still very much a teenager still and Daario was exciting and persistent when she wanted to feel desired. Daario is fine prostrating himself but not totally being her soldier like Jhoqo. Eventually, their relationship will not pan bc Daario's interest in her is still wrapped up more in her being a queen and she herself has the higher goal of freeing slaves, getting back her throne, later the Others, etc.--this doesn't mean that Daario wasn't a critical person in a particular point in her life or that she didn't love him. And all this is consequential to the sort of world she lives in and her particular circumstances.

Yes, real life medieval, early mod period, etc. people tended to seek out marriages with smaller age gaps and not as early as 12 or 13. At the same time, they didn't consider girls' maturity to be equal to a boy's nor were they as stringent about age limits for the child's sake so much about how viable the marriage could turn out for heirs.

Even real European societies (one of them Westeros was adopted from) still preferred marrying at least 15-16 year olds minimum out of fear of messing with their humors and the girls' physical safety--still delaying consummation.

[Removal of past statement about GRRM and tone for age-gap relationships in story, he has many large-age gaps in the more romantically-told relationships of ASoIaF]

Westerosi custom has the age of majority of 16, but still, both genders can marry or get betrothed way before their 18th nameday. And girls who had their first period were considered safer to bed. It's considered "perverse" to bed a girl who hasn't had her period yet. The incongruence of GRRM's habit of featuring relationships (or suggested intimacies) b/t people w/large age gaps and real life medieval attitudes and practices regarding marriage is a relevant topic, but to claim that basically none of these people felt love or cared about their partners and ignoring how they interact in-text that proves otherwise is fallacious and dumb.

These are screenshots to the link about maidens and the Westerosi age of majority:

That means that from even younger ages, both Westerosi girls and boys understood that they might inherit adult responsibilities and political power, as well as get to be married or betrothed younger than what we'd like them to. And we can expect that since the entire world is modeled after ancient/medieval cultures the people we call teens also experienced this.

And even 15-year-old nobles understand that they will be arranged to marry and have sex with (to reproduce) whomever their authority figure chooses, for that's the practice. Because 15-year olds can and do sometimes become lords and ladies with the power to order armies. Fifteen-year-old boys have been trained to use the sword and other military weapons (ahem, Daemon became a knight at 16, Aemond trained under Criston since he was 10, Jon was 14 in the beginning of the ASoIaF books and became Lord Commander around 16-17, etc.).

To call them all automatic forever victims-from-child-brides, etc. is to completely erase/the/does:

Removal of past points about people dying earlier being the main reason for earlier marriages, it's actually more complicated than that, which I simplified in second point below.

ignores that even medieval nobles in real life and in Westeros do try not to marry their kids too young for the girl's safety -- with the first also believing that to have sex too young would deplete your humors (that they themselves did express real care towards their children) -- that the 15 yr olds losing the lives to pregnancy and marrying too old men are criticized as a social practice by the narrative even as he uses it so frequently

ignores, reduces/makes less significant/important/thematic how Rhaenyra and Dany, for example, actually gain back autonomy by being with Daemon, Harwin, Daario Noharis (Not the HotD, Fire and Blood/canon. They show how fucked that messaging up in relation to how it sets up a cultural presence against the female chastity model of this society by making her the possible aggressor towards Criston....what happens between them also cannot be made 1:1 to a modern capitalist boss-employee relationship).

And you end up dismissing, even not understanding, other big stuff of this series. Taking for granted how power is imbalanced and different from how it would be in the real, present-day worlds. Like how some people claim Dany abuses Irri when that is far from true; even going so far as to claim this proves she will go mad like in the show...another way to demand her progress and character and misinterpret all the Azor Ahai symbolism tied to her. Misogyny.

If you wanted relationships with absolutely no age gaps, teens marrying each other or adults and uncomplicated fluff and that's it...I'm sorry to let you know that you stumbled onto the wrong place, anon. Even if GRRM decreased the number of prominent age gap relationships, there would have to be one or two within the Targ line because the truth is also that real medieval peoples did have age gap marriage that were early-consummated and a few 12-year olds getting married and having that marriage consummated, even if it was uncommon and frowned on. "Uncommon' reveals that it still happened and that were was enough room for it to happen.

END

Don't pretend as if none of these relationships somehow got you to buy in and be emotionally involved!!!!

I've asked this before: not that there is no such thing as a relationship being unhealthy, but when it becomes about shipping=promoting or always saying this is the exact sort of relationship, 1-1, that people should have in real life, what does "toxic" even mean anymore?

What is this such a catch-all term as if it perfectly encapsulates "evil"? We throw that word around as if people know exactly what you mean 100% of the time in a specific case whenever spoken when that's far from the truth or even truth-seeking. What are you specifically talking about when you say RhaenyraxDaemon or AemondxHelaena are toxic? These are all very different people and GRRM never stays with such black-white thinking.

Politics is the activities associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. Shipping has a political interest or consciousness. ASoiaF is politics and magic and exploration of social relations as well as psychological development, which doesn't always mean that we need to "slove" bad relationships. Sometimes it's fun to indulge. Shipping can indicate what the person thinks of what should and should not be prioritized, but is not automatically an indication of moral success or failure because the characters are not JUST models of morality

....they can be also explorations in flaws, travails, etc. in humanity and psychology. If you cannot reason that a problematic ship should not happen in real life, you need better critical thinking skills instead of censoring people and stories that serve to make people aware.

You are basically saying people who read speculative politics should not speculate.....you've lost the battle anon. Shipping is more about liking the story or one or a few particular aspects of the ship (created by the specific circumstances that made this ship) than its canonical reality or its "healthiness" because of the implied possibilities that one speculates from it. Why would I shut all that creative thinking down for the "healthiness" of people who don't even exist, for patting myself on the back for liking the "appropriate" relationship that is closest to the real life one real people should have?! I don't need that badge.

[apocrypha73]

20 questions writer meme

Thank you @heyholmesletsgo for tagging me :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

76 (and counting)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,095,178 at this moment

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I'm currently writing for Visual Prison and The Untamed/MDZS fandoms, but in the past I've written for Star Wars Rebels, the mcu, Supernatural, and a few others

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Maybe not so accidentally (899 kudos). A kalluzeb (star wars rebels) canon divergence AU

A Blind Goddess (657 kudos). Another kalluzeb fic. The star wars rebels fandom is a big one, so I guess it's not a surprise my top 3 fics with most kudos belong to it. It doesn't necessarily mean they're my best fics, only that more people have read them. But I'm grateful anyway.

The Reasons Why (426 kudos). Also a kalluzeb fic, and the first one I ever posted in English (I had only written in my own language until then). It was nerve-wracking to take that step but everyone's response was so kind it encouraged me to continue.

We Weren't Always Like This (413 kudos). This is a matchablossom fic (SK8 the Infinity), the first of the two fics I've written for that pairing.

No es la sangre (401 kudos). A thorki AU. This one is in Spanish

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course! The comments are a place to fangirl with people who are just as enthusiastic about the OTP as you are, what's not to like? Maybe I don't always reply as fast as I should, but I enjoy doing it.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think most of my fics have a happy ending, I'm a basic bitch and proud of it. The only exception I can recall is It's not over, a destiel fic that was inspired by episode 5x04 of Supernatural and there's no way a story set in that alternate timeline could end well tbh.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The other 75? XDD. Okay, fine, there are two fics in which the happy ending felt very satisfactory to me because the characters went through quite a lot of angst to get there: Under the Spotlight (songxiao, The Untamed/MDZS) and Take my hand, take my whole life too (sagamist, Visual Prison)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, I've been really lucky in that regard

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, but I'm pretty vanilla about it. I think the kinkiest thing I've ever written was some light bondage and very soft dom/sub dynamics.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

El vínculo más profundo. It's more of a fusion than a crossover actually. The characters are from the movie "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" but the story is set in the Pacific Rim universe. It was fun to write

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, it happened a couple of times with No es la sangre. Someone took it and posted it as their own, first on ffnet and then on wattpad. I don't think it was the same person in both cases. One of the (many) advantages of writing for small fandoms, as I do now, is that the chances of that kind of thing happening are almost zero.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Partially. Someone started translating No es la sangre into English, but they got busy and stopped after a while. I've thought about translating it myself but to be honest, I don't have the energy.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, a very long time ago, with a very dear friend of mine. It was for the X-Files fandom.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

This is the most difficult question of this whole meme. I can't choose one, I love my ships dearly. I'd have to name at least five.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I only have two wips currently in the works and I intend to finish both of them.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Action scenes, I think. Sometimes dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Pacing, infodumping, knowing how to let a story breathe and not rushing it. Those are the things I find more difficult to get right.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If the story needs it, and if it's a language I know well, why not?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The X-Files. Yeah, it's been a while

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I changed my mind, this one is actually the most difficult question. Aaah, I don't know, I tend to associate my fics with the community I get to enjoy through them, you know? It's not about how proud I am of the fic itself, it's about the whole experience. I am very fond of En la prórroga because I wrote it as a birthday gift for a friend and she loved it. I'll always love Under the Spotlight because it was my doorway to the songxiao fandom, where I have met some of the most amazing people you can find on the Internet. The same for Can't go back anymore, my first visupri fic, because I got to become part of an incredible group of friends thanks to it. And then there's Baby, It's Cold Outside and all the fun we had while I was posting that one. I'm overwhelmed by the response I've received to Maybe not so accidentally and No es la sangre, because I never expected any fic of mine to become so loved by anyone. So how am I going to choose just one?

Tagging @dreamyguns @ardilla-cocainomana @malalechan and whoever else wants to answer

[g0dspeeed]

This is the self insert/OC fairy. 🌼🧚‍♀️When you get this in your ask box, please tell us 3 facts about your S/I or OC and pass it around. Let's learn about each other's S/Is/OCs! 🌈🌷

Thank you for asking to learn more about my lil OCs 💕

CAPPIE DE LA COSTA

1. Cappie De La Costa's actual name is Love. I wanted to represent Love in its more raw, dangerous, and wild form. I liked the narrative of Jacob Seed choosing his family over Love, Love leaving John Seed, and Eli Palmer finding Love on the side of the road.

2. I've been playing around with putting Cappie in the Call of Duty universe for some time. The fandom space intimidates the hell out of me, so I'm not sure how far I'll actually go into making it happen beyond my little daydreams. I already have her paired with a character though...

3. Prior to her adventures in Hope County, Cappie already survived the gnarly situation in Yara, essentially living out the dangers depicted in Far Cry 6. Living with her half-brother Staci Pratt in a small town called Fall's End was meant to be a break from the horrors of Yara. Girl can't catch a break.