#and also for people to be actually interested in my ocs. lol

[wistfulcynic]

I like the paddy/eoin content a lot BUT Paddy Mayne was a real person who was fucking women irl, and the show has been intentionally playing with queerness for the story line (which is problematic in many many ways). You can't be mad at people for writing what is canonically correct (with real life as the original source material). The middle ground is him being considered bisexual and then everyone can write the fics they want to write about a dead man

hoo boy.

i really should ignore this but hey ho what the fuck. Let's dive in.

so i AM going to ignore your mind boggling assertion that paddy 'was fucking women irl' because what. lol. and focus instead on 'the show has been intentionally playing with his queerness as a story line' and 'the middle ground is him being considered bisexual' because again, lol, but at least with this we are getting close to the actual issues here.

firstly, what the real paddy did or didn't do is irrelevant because nobody, and i mean nobody in any way involved in this conversation is writing RPF about a dude dead these 70 years. Do not come in here pretending that the paddy x f!reader or fem!oc is actually about the real paddy mayne. That is a straw man argument and i personally will laugh you out of the room if you (general 'you', not just anon) keep putting it forward. It's ridiculous, fucking stop.

what we can talk about is how his sexuality is portrayed on the show. In order to do that we all need to put our media literacy hats on, but i know some of you don't have those so in that case just try to pay attention.

we have to start by talking about what the show is, primarily that it is ahistorical. It says so right on the tin and of course no one is expected to believe that the real SAS went around blasting Highway to Hell for extremely obvious reasons. The show also as we know has taken some liberties with the characterisations of the real people involved. This again is irrelevant because we are not writing RPF. Discussions about how real people can/are/should be interpreted in television and films are interesting and valid but they don't belong here. We're looking *only* at the show characters and how they are portrayed and what we as viewers are intended to understand from that.

now despite my having just said that the show is deliberately ahistorical it is still firmly set in the past and certain expectations arise from that. We expect the characters to dress in period fashion, we expect them to drive period accurate vehicles and shoot period accurate weapons. We expect them to talk about killing Germans and Italians which they clearly would not do today. We also expect them to display period accurate attitudes to certain social issues, namely in this case homosexuality or queerness in general.

we expect this because while we are able to suspend disbelief about the soundtrack or the choice to cast a 5'7" actor to play someone who was 6'4" irl, suspension of disbelief refers to the reader/audience's willing choice to accept the artistic premise of what they are reading/watching for the sake of the story being told. Suspension of disbelief refers to accepting improbable coincidences that move the plot along or not thinking too hard about the timeline, as in the case of SAS:RH. It does NOT mean shrugging away anachronisms built into the story itself.

think of it as the walrus/fairy question that was all over tumblr last year. We are unfazed by the appearance of the fairy at our door because that only requires us to accept the existence of something we thought wasn't real. We are fazed by the walrus because how the fuck does a walrus--something we already know is real and therefore has to follow the rules of this reality--get to our door? How does it ring the bell? We accept a soundtrack of AC/DC and Judas Priest because it sets the tone of the show and is a clear artistic choice. If paddy were to appear in onscreen wearing an AC/DC t-shirt we would immediately react negatively and be taken out of the scene because even though the show is ahistorical he simply wouldn't do that. He couldn't do that. It's impossible within the premise of the show that we have already accepted.

so when you, anon, and others like you, claim that show!paddy's queerness is something the show 'intentionally plays with as a story line' what you mean is that he's not portrayed as a modern queer character would be. He doesn't kiss eoin, only ever calls him a friend, doesn't apply modern terminology to himself or speak openly about any of this. Because of course he fucking doesn't. That would be wearing an AC/DC shirt whilst sulking like achilles in his tent. It would be out of place in a way that goes against the established premise of the show. It is not reasonable to expect that from this show or this character.

as for it being fundamental to the story, well, yeah. That's storytelling. Eoin's death and paddy's reaction to it drives paddy's arc in a way that we the viewers are clearly intended to understand. That's not 'playing' with his queerness, it's drawing a very clear and logical line from 'the man he loves but can't express that love to dies tragically' to 'he isn't able to talk about his grief because that would mean articulating things he can't even acknowledge to himself' to 'the internalised grief, anger, and homophobia drives him to behave in ways that would have him locked up in another context but in the SAS has him wreathed in medals'. His queerness and our the viewers' understanding of it is essential to the show but it is not the point of the show. If you want an exploration of what it meant to be queer in the british army in wwii then that is a fanfic you should write but again, you shouldn't expect it of this show. SAS:RH is about beautiful men blowing shit up. It's not a treatise on historical queerness. Manage your expectations.

let's move on then to the laughable notion that bisexuality is in some way a 'middle ground' between straight and gay, some sort of compromise that we the audience can strike amongst ourselves so that everyone can be happy. And on this point let me just say again, hoo boy.

i've been accused of bisexual erasure in the notes of my original post which is very funny to me considering i've written bill stirling as bi in two longish fics now, in a very pointed way that involves a self-realisation arc for him. i am also old enough to have lived through the days when homosexuality was becoming more widely accepted but people on both sides of the issue were united in their refusal to admit bisexuals were real. A gay friend of mine, fresh out of the closet in 1998, told me flat out that people claiming to be bi were just 'too afraid to come out for real' so you know. I've been in the trenches.

however, none of this is relevant to the show, which very deliberately and pretty fucking obviously gives us canon gay paddy but makes an equally deliberate point of him not being into women. How do we know he isn't? Consider the loving way the camera lingers on every single touch shared between him and eoin, the softness in how they look at and speak to each other, the fucking rowboat scene, hold all of that in your mind and then compare it to how he's shown with the two women he interacts with on screen.

in the very first episode we see him in the club when eve approaches him, visibly unnerved by her and wanting to make it very clear that he's not after what he thinks she's offering. He throws the flower over the balcony in a clear statement against any potential misunderstanding. He's absolutely desperate to avoid any situation wherein he might be hit on by a woman and have to extract himself without arousing her suspicions as to why. Eve of course clocks him instantly, as we have seen her do before and more explicitly with dudley clarke. Her gaydar is spot-on and she is able to smooth his ruffled feathers at least enough to get a bit of conversation out of him before he runs away. Her approach to him is so dramatically different to the approach she takes with david in the very next scene that it's impossible not to notice. A bisexual paddy, particularly one who has a sexual history with women, would not be so afraid of being hit on by one.

which brings us to alessia, with whom he has basically no direct interaction. We do however see him being scornfully dismissive of riley's attachment to her. He doesn't really seem to understand it and views it mainly as an obstacle, which is why he makes a point of separating them in s2e5. None of this is indicative of someone who has a romantic or sexual interest in women. None.

so, to recap: show!paddy is very clearly portrayed as in love with eoin, conflicted about it, conflicted about himself and his own identity, uninterested in women and unnerved by the possibility that they may have a sexual or romantic interest in him. This is not a bisexual man and saying so is not erasure of bisexuality, it's simple media literacy and not attempting to force a non-textual interpretation to justify the kind of fic you want to write. now let me be very clear on this. Of course you can write whatever fic you like. i am not the fic police or the SAS:RH police or any kind of cop (ACAB now and always). My point is not that you aren't allowed to write paddy with women, but that if you do you are making a very particular sort of decision, which is to deny and dismiss a fundamental aspect of his character and characterisation in order to justify your choice to write self-insert fantasies wherein your fic avatar is fucking not any version of paddy mayne either real or fictional but more your fantasy version of jack o'connell in a british army uniform with an irish accent. Which you know, whatever, you do you. Just do it with the full acknowledgement and recognition of what you are doing and what that says about you, as well as accepting that the ability to do something does not imply any freedom from criticism for choosing to do it. If you write paddy fucking women the cops won't break down your door but myself and the other viewers/writers/readers who are interested in the actual character from the show as he is actually portrayed are absolutely going to judge you for doing that.

basically, have the courage of your own fucking convictions. You think it's okay to ignore the sexuality of this character and by extension all the points made by the media he's in about what that sexuality means for him and his arc within the story. You want, essentially, to make him into a different character in order that you can fantasise about fucking him. Go right fucking ahead, no one is going to stop you. But don't pretend that this action isn't tone deaf, ignorant, and fucking homophobic. Don't pretend that it's something that shouldn't make other people mad, because hey ho we can all just headcanon him as bi.

nope. lol. not happening.

[realjem-art]

aaug so due to school and whatnot i wasn't really able to do as much as i wanted for my jemtober prompts this year :(

however, i am at the very least gonna finish the last one i was working on, which is a sticker sheet thing of a buncha the creatures :3

[gen4grl]

a nap in the sun

[shroomerr]

Wham bam bam! Couple of Agent stuff!! I was initially just going to post the two images but then it felt a bit empty, so I decided to doodle an interaction between Agent and Mysterion.

More process drawings under the cut for those interested!!

[ganondoodle]

sometimes i wish i was one of those artist that make people go "this is a PAINTING???" or "with WHAT programm/medium???" but its just not what i can do or find fun :/

[vaguely-concerned]

few things bring me as much joy as my rook's expressive capacity for sudden withering disdain. (he's looking at illario here, of course lmao.) he's so hey i'm just a little guy...🥺 coded most of the time and then someone says something dumb enough that the mask cracks for a moment and every line of him says 'that is the stupidest fucking thing anyone has ever said to me and I'm aggrieved to even have had to hear it'. rye is mostly very kind but there IS a bastard lurking in his head waiting to be let out as well. not just solas but solas too I suppose. two bastards in rye ingellvar's head they keep each other company and are trying to strangle each other as we speak 😌.

(vs. him looking over at lucanis a moment later during the same line delivery. since lucanis was actively into viago once I cannot imagine that getting to watch rye crack and be kind of mean to people who've earned it when too sorely tried is like. entirely without allure to him fhskjadf. witnessing illario pulling the old ingratiating 'rooook reason with him would you~ I'm the cousin with the charisma stats' routine and This being rook's response probably opened some as of yet ill-understood '...I think I hauve covid' corners of lucanis' soul. tfw your buddy has your back so completely (dawning erotic implications))

[zdechlyryba]

good day for me today, art-wise

[ismyteadoneyet]

How fortunate am I to have so many Things to love and be excited about, to appreciate and look forward to?

Things I feel so strongly about that they stumble into my mind, univited, at random times of the day? Things that spill into my speech and vocabulary without me noticing? Things that impact my vision to the point where everywhere I look, everywhere I go, I see ghosts of them?

How lucky am I to have so many Things I love and cherish enough for them to reshape my very person, change my beliefs and make me grow? Things that make my own loved ones see the Things out in the wild, and go out of their way to make sure I see them too?

How wonderful is it that I have Things that I love so much that the very act is deemed and dubbed "not normal", making my love for them seem like it's more than they are supposed to recieve? An out-of-the-ordinary and above-the-norm appreciation for the Things that make the people around me shake their heads, call me "silly".

My dear, beloved Things, may I always stay silly for you ❤️

[styxxsyringe]

the urge to make public character playlists for my little guys...

[chirp-a-chirp]

what's something the Cod fandom struggles with as a whole (ex. irregular blogging)

Hmmm…

Not sure if I’d use the word struggle. Cause with any fandom, folks should be grateful for content they get from fans because it’s free. (And, if there’s content in said fandom folks don’t like…well that’s why you can block or ignore tags or creators or certain themes that aren’t your cup of tea).

That said—Are there random reactions to a screenshot or an event? Yep. Or incorrect quotes? Yep. But there’s less creation of actual fanfic stories or headcanons of consort reactions to XYZ thing or people going super deep into OCs they’ve created lately.

I’ve been suuuuuuuper tired lately thanks to work, family life, and general chaos of recent holidays. My mind still deep dives at the most random times about CoD. I just…need to actually write down the mile a minute things going on in my brain in this fandom like…

My actual OC Carla (she’s from Qelsum! Grew up in a noble house that is aligned to Idina but despite her family’s plotting only sees Toa as a brother. She gets kicked out of her family as a result of standing up against Idina and ends up at Colde shortly afterwards…becomes close with Sherry and Roy)

Deep dives into each prince and their associated sin

Headcanons about the most random of things for consorts: favorite candy bar; are their hands naturally hot or cold; how organized would the prince’s closets be if they didn’t have a valet; favorite sport to watch if they took mc on a date in their hometown; rating of how unfiltered/dirty each consort’s mind actually is

[skitskatdacat63]

Maybe in another life :)

AU in which Eclipse still isn't the heir, that's never gonna be a possibility ever, but her mother realizes she can still politik her marriage regardless. Makes this crazy play at Noir, from the other hugely influential family on the planet(whose family does not engage in politicking in this particular way at all.) But Noir is like, why not! Wife acquired! And then they kill her mom or something idk–

[mabaris]

cleaning up the empty discord server i started setting up ages ago to maybe get my shit together and let people join and. jesus i started setting this up two and a half years ago

[vaguely-concerned]

I rewatched the recording I made of rye talking to solas for the last time before the big betrayal ('words of the dread wolf'), and it made me have to sit with my face in my hands for a while over the fact that like... rye did everything right, especially by the ideals of the mourn watch when it comes to interacting with spirits. he's cautious but not disrespectful, he gives gratitude and credit and even some companionable banter where it's due, he's willing to hear solas' point of view out even if he doesn't necessarily buy what he's selling, he stays on his guard the whole time but is honest and fair in his dealings with him as far as possible. and it doesn't matter one fucking bit!!! you can make no mistakes, commit no sins, and still fail, still be at the mercy of a lack of mercy and pure callous circumstance!!!!! this catastrophe is coming for you no matter what. there is no perfect thing you could have done, no exact right thing for you to say, no amount of careful or clever you could have been that could have outtricked these circumstances or would have saved you or anyone else. (nothing you could do to save varric either, but you don't know about that yet. it's just that awful feeling in the back of your mind you keep shying away from like it burns you.)

that's... such a painful but important lesson to have to learn in some ways, I think. both forgiving yourself for what you couldn't know until you did, what you couldn't do and never could have done (should never have been made to face, in a better kinder world), and having to accept the shattered illusion of perfect control and safety ever becoming achievable -- if only I do everything right, everything will be okay. and if things aren't okay, that's because I did something wrong and if I were better the bad thing wouldn't have happened; the logic and grief and desperation to hold on to goodness of a child. the logic solas is unable to let go of from the moment he took physical form and to this day (for all his age and experience I can fix this, I can still fix this is the helpless cry of a child, just one dangerously amplified by near-divine levels of power and a very clever mind), and that rook has to learn to let go of or else drown. the examination of that central question of like... you can act with the best of intentions in this world and with as much information as possible and there will still be unforeseen consequences. bad things will still happen. sometimes it won't even be anyone's fault, no one ever meant for it to happen like that. but it did. it did. how will you live with that? in this game is so GOOD. what a theme

[zdechlyryba]

an edek themed collage 🪲

[13skeletons]

The more I think about it, the more I think I should've paired a mage Hawke with Tobias Cousland. (Knight Enchanter so he spent most of the game fighting with sword and shield.)

Like, your family has had to move constantly your whole life because of magic. But you've finally settled outside Lothering and tried to just stay in one place for a while, but then the Blight comes and you have to flee with your lives, barely making it out in time. You're refugees in a templar-controlled city and you have to hide your magic harder than ever, but you're determined to make it work this time. Then the Hero of Ferelden ends the Blight in record time and rises to the throne. The official word out of Denerim is that he's a warrior of great skill, but certainly no mage. Certainly no apostate. The noble Couslands hiding their son's magic? CERTAINLY not. And what Ferelden would refute that? They owe everything to him, what's a little blasphemy to a hero? But the rumors persist.

("I have a cousin who saw the Hero crush the life right out of a hurlock with magic!" "Well my sister was living in Denerim during the final battle and she swears she saw him in a field of frozen genlocks and there were no other mages anywhere NEAR him." "Me nan lives in Amaranthine and she saw him walking around with a staff on his back, bold as you please!")

The rumors reach your ears and you think, "if he can do it, why not me?" And for a while it even seems to be working out that way. You regain your family's estate. You save the city from the qunari, you defeat the Arishok himself in single-combat.

But it all falls apart. Champion you may be, but the Arishok is no Archdemon, and you have no queen in your corner, no ancient and respected family name. The mage-templar war erupts right there in your city, and no amount of magic can stop it.

History will remember Tobias Cousland as a warrior and a Hero, but you're just another apostate - a danger to yourself and everyone around you.

Like. OoF? Ow? Pour that salt directly into my fucking wounds??

And also the more I think about it, the more I think I want to completely swap out my canon. Like. I LOVE the narrative circle of starting Jasper Mahariel's journey by being corrupted by this ancient relic of his people and ending it by following his lover through the same. And I LOVE that the first human Merrill ever met took Jasper, one of her only friends away, and she never saw him again. Then the second human she ever meets ends up falling for her and taking care of her and giving a her real home and supporting her unconditionally for the first time. I love that through-line, that's why I did it.

But also I set it up years ago and I'm slowly finding that other stories are more compelling in my old, depressed state. [weary emoji]

[toothpaste-for-the-skin]

Idk how particularly relevant this specific bit is to Minerva (Agent 4’s) lore but the accident that resulted in the loss of 2 of her fingers was a bandsaw accident

It’s not anything particularly dramatic she was just being careless and the accident happened.

Minerva knows she’s smart but in a way that circles back around to her being reckless with overconfidence. She’s by no means stupid but really needs that reality check sometimes.