#and there are more characters eventually these are just the ones in my brain

[vaguely-concerned]

My two cents on how much of Mind!Varric is Rook’s mind trying to fill the blank space and how much is Solas actively talking through a convenient blood magic paper doll of the mind: I think it's a mix of both, a truly collaborative psychosocial horrorshow if you would, but waaaay more towards the second. It feels too directed and tactical at times to be anything else. Rook's mind is willing to go along with the denial phase as far as it can fucking carry them to not have to face the grief and regret and does its part in papering over details that don’t make any sense, the way brains will strive to create coherent meaning even out of deeply confusing input, but to my understanding it's a collaborateur in how that plays out, not the instigator or control center. Solas is using it as a path to agency and to gather insight into Rook as a person unguarded as he can't count on in his own guise. (That stoic option that leads to him being like 'oh I see you're cautiously denying me access to your inner life. well. at least you still have Varric to talk to. y'know as an outlet :)'. You absolute BITCH Solas! That alone convinced me that he HAS to have an active hand in it on some level.)

My guess is that it takes considerable effort on Solas’ part to make Mind!Varric do anything more involved or complicated than seeming to sit up in bed and give casual commentary, and that’s why he keeps having eerie five minute shallow pep talks with you before he announces he conveniently needs a nap aaanyway good luck kid you got this haha. When he’s just spouting NPC lines from his bedrest, I’m ready to believe that could be Rook’s mind being allowed to improv lines for him more freely because it’s less about Solas trying to get something out of them or working an angle and more ‘Still here! Still totally alive and fine and the mentor figure you know and love and trust :) don’t even worry about it! Thankfully there is no war in Ba Sing Sei, as we all know’ upkeep work lol. Rook’s mind is allowed to set the tone of Varric, the outlines, but not always the content. 

AND, on a (beautifully fucked up) character psychology level, I feel like Solas is indulging in actually getting to be the good supportive mentor figure to Rook with one hand to assuage the guilt he feels about what he's done -- and what he's going to do -- to them with the other. Same internal logic as he uses in Trespasser about the Qun. ‘Almost everyone is going to die from the course of action I’m doggedly pursuing eventually. But at least I can make their last years happier and freer and kinder than they would have been otherwise. and that kind of makes up for it right. a little bit. doesn't it. doesn't that make it better at least. I need that to make it better)'. Did I really take your beloved mentor and friend from you if you don’t know yet that I did? Some philosophers would argue not really! So it’s probably almost ok actually. Isn’t it even a little noble that I’m taking all this grief and guilt on myself and shielding you for now. With undertones that I’m not sure he would realize himself (and might be mortified by if he did) that he is so incredibly lonely, and even a dishonest and indirect emotional connection is more than nothing when you’re that desperate. In this setup he gets idk. Both the control he craves so incredibly badly in relationships and over himself, and the scraps, the fading afterimages, of intimacy and warmth and companionship, even second hand. The one thing Solas and Rook agree on deep deep down is that they really wish Varric weren't gone. They're handshake memeing this in the saddest and most creepy way possible.

I think an important element too is that Solas needs Rook and their team to *succeed* —  up to a certain point. He needs someone to hold the two other elven mean girls off until he can get out of here. Ideally, in a perfect world, even do all the hard work of killing them so he can swoop in at the end and do his thing when both sides are exhausted and out of resources to stop him, and then Bob’s your uncle! Same logic as he was using with Corypheus, and after that worked out so well, too! King of choosing to never learn from a single solitary mistake he’s ever made even though i fully believe he could have the capacity to Fen’Harel <3 The underlying idea isn’t flawed, you see, it was just unforeseen circumstances getting in the way. This time for sure it’ll all work out the way I cleverly imagined it in my head beforehand. Cue By Talos this can’t be happening etc. in the form of a statue almost crushing him like a bug. 

So he's providing guidance and forging Rook into a leader from two angles: one Rook might not trust, and one they probably will. Shaping them into what he needs slowly and carefully. He’s helping you hone your team into their most effective state, as he might have done with his own agents back in the day, setting up his chess pieces even if he has to squint through two glimpsed realities to do it haha. Pincer maneuver of an insidious stealth mentor you never asked for. Also… at one point mind Varric gives you a whole little monologue about how Solas' problem is that he’s always seen his interpersonal connections as flaws and see where it’s landed him, all alone and the worst part? it hasn’t even worked. it’s all been for nothing he’s back where he began with nothing to show for it but his mistakes. Like...that has such strong 'uh okay happy to play your therapist from two rooms away here what the fuck kind of traumadump is this' energy to me, I’m not sure Rook like. Thinks that much about Solas as a private person. So much of Solas' self-loathing and futile insights into his own flaws seem to shine through in Mind!Varric's dialogue all the time — I just can't believe that there's no guiding hand behind it as it were. 

Most of all. I feel like people underestimate the degree to which Solas is incredibly funny. As in, he has a very consistent and recognizable sense of humour. It’s one of my very favourite things about him. We must remember — it is crucial that we always keep in mind — Orlesian accent and wig Solas from May The Dread Wolf Take You (my beloved, the explanation for why I love this dude even with the. All of the everything else. No one does it quite like him). He is not at all above doing things or adding little flourishes for his own obscure amusement, in fact that seems to me to be one of his most consistent traits. The Randy Dowager Quarterly comment Varric has? The ‘Maybe this is the Dread Wolf’s revenge. Forcing us to house sit for him’ thing? To Me this is 100% Solas amusing himself in his boring Fade jail surrounded by the screaming hellscape of all his regrets. Source: it came to me as divine revelation through pure vibes trust me bro 

If nothing else I find it much more narratively interesting personally if the connection between Rook and Solas really is that defenselessly intimate and entwined (and so unbalanced!), and the sense of violation and invasion and betrayal afterwards consequently all the more nauseatingly intense. Even if you kept him at arm’s length in the open, he’s been under your skin the whole time, looking around, gathering what he needs to destroy you, wearing the face of a friend. Regretfully, probably, but choosing to do it every step of the way anyway. (Sound familiar, Inquisitor? Solas doesn’t have that many tricks when you actually look at it, he keeps returning to old tried and true ones like a dog with a bone haha.) Maybe he even genuinely meant some of it as mercy, which only makes it so much worse. It makes his sin against his own core principles of autonomy and the freedom of all beings in mind, spirit and body so much more juicily grave if it’s something he pursues actively and consistently, rather than it half-falling into his lap as a happy accident mainly orchestrated by Rook’s own subconscious. Solas, too, is at his very lowest point, the closest to giving in and becoming his own antithesis fully that he’s ever been, and it makes the choice of whether you still reach out your hand to him one last time or not all the more impactful and difficult.

[misc-magic]

Ohh thank you for the tag, Eden!!

Mwahaha I gave myself cat ears because why not, right?? Also there were no freckles, so I went with those little diamonds instead lol.

how do you spend your free time?

I spend what little free time I have writing, doing a couple other hobbies, and trying to keep on top of my house, chores, and errands. And you know, trying to do it effectively despite the adhd lol!

what are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

I don't usually list writing as a hobby because it's more like my life's blood. I get irritable if I don't write. But my other main hobby is music. I play the piano almost every day. My guitar and ukulele are collecting some dust recently, but I will get back to those, too. Playing music is the most relaxing thing for me and I always end up wanting to pick instruments back up even if it's been a minute. As for how I got into it, I started playing the piano at the tender age of 9 and just never stopped lol. Reading is another big hobby of mine. I turned the formal dining room of my house into a library so I could have a place for all my piles of books. I'm in a reading slump currently, but I've learned to just let it be and eventually I will be consuming books like crazy again. This is another one I don't know the origin of, it's like I've been reading books as long as I can remember. (Other hobbies include crocheting, video games, DnD, journaling, and then there's a section of what I call "dead hobbies" as in I did them obsessively for a while but haven't done them in ages but might pick them up again in the future let us not discuss it adklfjkfj.)

what book or movie left a lasting impression on you?

This might be a really dorky answer, but... I read A Midsummer Night's Dream by good ole Billy Shakes when I was like twelve and it changed my brain chemistry forever. I don't know what it was about that play... I read a bunch of others around the same time and like I loved Macbeth and Othello and The Tempest. But there was something about all the fairies and fantasy that I think was the start of my obsession with all things magical lol.

what kind of music do you enjoy?

Ohhh it's constantly changing. When I'm listening to stuff with lyrics or that I want to sing along to, I'm really into folk, indie, jazz, neo soul, and k-pop, but like I also used to listen to a lot of alt rock and punk rock so I know a lot of those songs, too. I'll kinda switch between stuff, especially 90s rock is something I'll play when I'm feeling ~nostalgic~ lol. But when I'm listening to music for writing or concentration, it's all instrumental or in a language I can't speak. So I'm listening to a TON of piano music, classical, and lately my other obsession has been mandopop. I actually really love k-pop for this, too. It's like I can listen to these up beat poppy songs without getting distracted by the lyrics. And yo Mandarin is just a beautiful language to listen to. Anyway, I tend to like most music and I'm always looking for new stuff.

who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

Because I couldn't hope to choose one for all time, I'll go with at the moment and that is none other than the time traveling demon butler Barbatos.

(Assuming here that we're talking about characters that aren't mine because they top the list every time lol. Though actually even if I listed the ones that are at the top, nobody would know them because they aren't my OM OCs and I've never posted about them here lkdfjkfj.)

Barbatos is just such a great character that was horrendously underutilized in his source material. They kinda made him the end all be all solution for when things got out of hand. He could fix any plot hole with a bit of time travel or ancient demon power. But he has so much more depth than that. And maybe in some ways, he reminds me of myself. He's quiet, but observant. He notices everything, keeps track of all the details about someone, remembers everything. The main difference between us is that my adhd makes me scattered, so Barbatos feels like the type of person I have the potential to be if I could keep it together. It's less about the fantasy of someone taking care of me and more about the fantasy of being competent lol. What does this say about me? Let us not look any deeper.

He's also just really cool and mysterious and who doesn't love a guy who can cook, right? His demon form design is top notch in my opinion, with those cool wing like horns and the tail. He's just great in every way and I've written several essays about him on my side blog al;kdfjkdlfj.

Weee that was fun and as usual I wrote too much lol.

OPEN TAGS~ if you are my mutual consider yourself tagged because I want to see all your answers!

tag + q&a game ₊˚ෆ

hello! i thought it would be cute and exciting to do a tag game with all my mutuals to not only talk about themselves, but have fun! so here is my short little game:

alongside this picrew, share 5 things about yourself!

• how do you spend your free time? • what are your hobbies and how did you get into them? • what book or movie left a lasting impression on you? • what kind of music do you enjoy? • who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

i will start first!

my name is rurumi and i enjoy spending my free time writing!

some of my hobbies (outside of writing) includes: drawing, building gundams and keyboards, and fashion! i got into most of them on a whim and became instantly hooked. aside from self-expression, being into fashion also helps with making friends in college because you always have something to talk about!

a book that left a lasting impression on me would have to be either kafka on the shore by haruki murakami or before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi. both stories have kept me up at night thinking a lot about the 'what ifs' in life.

i enjoy soul/r&b alongside anything of jrock influence, but i will basically listen to anything that sounds good. i am currently listening to 'so what' by lucy!

my favorite character at the moment is rin itoshi from blue lock because hes so ridiculously edgy, but at the same time i sympathize with him a lot. on the other hand, my favorite character of all time is suletta mecury from the witch from mercury series, she's an absolute ball of sunshine that i aspire to be.

tagging (+ no pressure) ₊˚ෆ

@kaiser1ns @naenaex0xx @shomatoriashi @choccorin @ryescapades

@rindreamery @soleillunne @kissxcore @rainswept @mitsvriii

[the-nagakenny-archives]

I’ve had to block a few people lately over certain posts not sitting well with people and I get the feeling they were new, so I’m going to be upfront about this again XD

I’m part of the hypnosis fetish community and have been for over a decade (actually getting close to 15 years now, jeez q-q). I’m one of Those People who saw The Jungle Book at a young age and it irreparably affected my brain—one difference I do have is that when I was mature enough to realize what the weird feelings I was having meant, I eventually grew out of Kaa because I realized it wasn’t really him that I liked, but the hypnosis/coiling itself, and so I wanted to explore the themes with characters and settings of my own. Thus, over time, Kenny was created as an avatar for my creative expression in that area. He doesn’t have any real deep lore or backstory (any that I posted here was just me attempting to make him slightly more interesting), he’s just here for a good time—the definition of a “good time” being whatever hypno-y situation I want to draw him in.

Now there have been times when he’s leaked into more “normie” communities—thankfully he’s never gone viral, I think I would die of embarrassment if that ever were to happen—because I’ve drawn him with characters from popular IPs or in recognizable art styles. When that’s happened I’ll sometimes get people coming in being confused and upset because they don’t understand what this is all about, and while I’m self-aware enough to know where they’re coming from with their complaints, I have to block them for the good of my own mental health (and probably theirs too, they don’t have to see posts that upset them from me anymore LOL).

Part of me does wish I had made Kenny part of something bigger and more digestible for people to enjoy—my childhood dream was to be a Disney animator, and while that’s out the window now, I could have still tried to make something independently. But I guess I’m just content now with doing whatever makes me happy with him—which is why you’ve all been seeing this darker, more menacing version of him lately (that actually belongs to a story that I can hopefully flesh out more). If you’re here for that, awesome, hope you continue to stay and enjoy it. ;v;

[mangomonk]

astarion for that meme of course :0

5 headcanons about Astarion (not necessarily my favorite, just off the top of my head)

1. Astarion doesn't intentionally do his doe eyes. In fact, whenever it happens, he’s totally unaware of it. If he was aware of it, he'd likely abuse the hell out of using that expression to get what he wants.

2. As much as Astarion loves pet names and calling Tav endearments, he prefers being called Astarion. Under Cazador, he was dehumanized (de-elfed?) by being called things that weren't his name, so he prefers his name. Early on in their journey, Lae'zel once called him "spawn"—cultural differences in the way she speaks—and he was in a terrible mood for the rest of the day that resulted in someone getting stabbed.

3. He's a trinket hoarder. Something about shiny, pretty things sets off his crow brain, and it doesn't help that he has sticky fingers. Eventually, he starts gifting little trinkets to Tav, not by giving it to them directly, but by slipping it into their packs, pockets, robes, etc. with the same skill he used to steal these trinkets in the first place.

4. Astarion thinks he's much more charming than he actually is. He's actually incredibly awkward and most of his knowledge of courting rituals is 200 years old, given that he was under careful lock and key and primarily relied on his looks. In an actual courting situation, he's going to crash and burn terribly, but endearingly.

5. With all the companions, Astarion doesn't actually think that any of them are his friends. When Karlach brings it up one day—something along the lines of, "We're all good friends"—he stares at her uncomprehendingly for many moments too long before denying all allegations of friendship. If he had to consider friendship with any of them, it would be Karlach though.

send me a character and i'll tell you my 5 favorite headcanons about them (doing for ATLA, BG3, Marauders)

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

themes!!

casual kindness

never giving up hope not even for a second!!

everybody is in earnest, even if it's painfully so

self sacrificing love

but that doesn't come out of self hatred that comes out of love for everyone including themselves

joy in one another and in nature

willingness to work hard to benefit everyone

characters!!

judith 'magpie' holmes strengths: sees the best in everyone, easily trusting weaknesses: overconfidence neutral: likes shiny things magic(?): rudimentary communication with birds

erin 'dormouse' campbell strengths: easily trusting, thinks deeply weaknesses: mild self esteem issues, lack of confidence neutral: favourite colour is green magic(?): brilliant tracker

daniel 'kingfisher' martin strengths: unshakeable optimism, gentleness weaknesses: able to be easily led astray neutral: lots of hand gestures magic(?): exceptionally good at diving and holding his breath underwater

roberta 'tortoise' carter strengths: deep thinker, carefully considers all options weaknesses: can be indecisive neutral: good at dancing magic(?): everything grows faster when she's around

anna 'robin' mccartney strengths: reminding everyone of God's goodness, hopeful, gentleness weaknesses: can be overbearing, sometimes leaves others behind by accident neutral: moves quickly magic(?): rudimentary communication with animals, generally prey animals

grace 'dolphin' andrews strengths: kind, patient, stubborn weaknesses: has difficulty letting go of preconceived notions, jumps to conclusions neutral: has the most intoxicating laugh magic(?): can sprint or swim long distances without being tired or out of breath

patrick 'fox' andrews strengths: very much in earnest, quick-witted, stubborn weaknesses: can be sarcastic and occasionally nasty because of it, can accidentally talk over others neutral: brother to grace magic(?): can jump incredibly high

ryan 'elephant' rogers strengths: good at picking up patterns, patient weaknesses: can be prejudiced neutral: ends up going home to his uncle and hence passing out of the story magic(?): incredibly strong

?? 'panda' nolan strengths: extreme enthusiasm and is very quick to hype others up weaknesses: prone to constant small lies neutral: magic(?):

?? 'snow leopard' scrooge

thaddeus 'tadpole' scrooge strengths: very trusting, sees the best in everyone weaknesses: slightly prone to being whiny neutral: originally nicknamed frog, snowy is his big brother, is the BONUS CHILDLING magic(?): can talk to frogs

pollyanna 'pollywog' scrooge strengths: hopeful and upbeat weaknesses: can be unrealistic in expectations neutral: sister to snowy and tad magic(?): can fit through small spaces nobody else can even tad

[kathbunny]

Have some thoughts about Kyana and Dani for the au™ conquering my brain! I'm aware it's been multiple days but spotting this post reminded me

In this original game (before VR-LA ended up in that world), they were exclusive options, you could only have one or the other, but they weren't at home doing nothing!

Kyana was easier for new players to use, and her abilities scaled well. Dani was a pain in the ass, but incredibly powerful if you knew what to do to make her consistent. I'm gonna say it just wasn't possible to use Dani unless it was a second playthrough or further (not like, you don't have to complete the game, but a bunch of specific quests instead).

Kyana, as a member of the party would:

Ask a lot of questions, easily leading into explanations of mechanics from the mc.

She's very flexible with what weapons you can give her, letting you just toss your strongest weapons at her without too much thought until you get her weapon specifically late game, at which point all that matters is getting her to name it through the completing the quest line where she gets it. (She also doesn't need a weapon to fight at all, unlike other characters).

She generally is helpful with getting certain friendly interactions that Dani isn't, since she's generally friendly herself.

Dani, as a member of the party would:

Naturally get interested in/discuss puzzles and mechanics, hinting towards more specific solutions or tricks under the expectation the player already understands them anyway.

She can only use her specific weapons found throughout the game, but can upgrade them on her own while travelling, so long as she has the materials (something only shops could do otherwise). You'd need to grind a bit more to get an early Dani to be equal to an early Kyana, but she becomes equally flexible as you find more of her weapons. Some of her ranged stuff is also slightly more luck based on the trade off she'll take less damage when using ranged weapons. People who love Dani in this game fall into two extremes, nerds who wanna make her an overpowered killing machine or people who want her to shoot them.

You can discover what NPCs are like to assholes without being an asshole yourself! And you can also see Dani exclusive cat interactions™.

If you didn't recruit Kyana, she'd end up joining a small group of people defending the starting city against monsters and develop a friendship with the various members, which you can see the progress of when visiting the city. She steadily takes control of her life from others and finds a place that makes her happy with people she trusts.

If you didn't recruit Dani, she'd take to making weapons for the group Kyana would've joined without fighting with them, being more hesitant to join. She'll end up joining them halfway through and eventually also take up leadership of them. She won't soften, but she gets better at phrasing things and more emotionally intelligent about her own feelings.

hello I have recently been made aware that a bad situation I am in is much worse than I thought, and I really could use some fluffy (or honestly angsty too) rwd thoughts or headcanons

[otaku553]

Something funny for your spy x family ASL au

Luffy took ONE look at loid and internally went 'oh sweet. He's a spy like sabo' and never brings it up while anya just stares at him horrified and like with ace and sabo, he just never brings it up.

This also happens with yor and anya makes a funny noise

(As i am typing this my dog has the zoomies and is running around like a maniac)

HAHA YEAH THIS WOULD DEFINITELY HAPPEN

I think loid’s a good enough actor that luffy wouldn’t figure it out immeditely from like just a few seconds of meeting him but give him a minute or a few and he’ll figure it out on vibes alone

[kenobihater]

of all the star wars movies, which of them do y'all 1) enjoy the most 2) consider the best quality and 3) think you've rewatched the most. add your answers in the reblogs or replies, i'm genuinely curious how much of an overlap there is within everyone's three answers. mine don't overlap at all! they're revenge of the sith, empire strikes back, and the force awakens :^)

[byanyan]

okay. okay. it is done.

lmk if you see anything weird or think something should be written better!! also blanket content warning on the bio bc there's a lot of heavy fuckin stuff in there, though it is all marked (i think. hmu if i missed smth). same goes for the timeline but that's all written more matter-of-fact and less detailed so i just slapped a cw at the very top of the page

[buttercup-art]

hey

[camzverse]

i could probably like or even love william afton if he made any fucking sense to me as a character

[demigod-shenanigans]

Btw if it seems like I’m having a lot of Jason thoughts in comparison to Leo and Piper thoughts, I’m not, it’s just that esp most of my Leo thoughts get rambled out in my fic which is almost exclusively Leo thoughts and early on also has a whole bunch of Piper (Piper is like, the main reason I ended up actually writing out the beginning bit instead of sticking to flashbacks like I was originally planning)

I do need to write more Piper pov specifically which I already have plans for, but I’ll get there when I get there

[cuteniaarts]

Small drawing collection of my latest creation Emran as a teenager/freshly minted Air Acolyte, for my dear partner in unhinged OC shenanigans @katkastrofa, as promised <3

[chuchayucca]

Tbh I'm surprised nobody else has brought up the idea of Richard being abused too

It feels like a lot of potential for it and an explanation (aside from their status) as to why Roy never got help for it either -- Richard thought it was normal.

Now this is just making me imagine a scene where Carmen remarks that Roy will "grow out of it" (it being his behavior) like Richard did in front of the other Hatz and Ross and Robert just share a Look

Anddd now I'm wondering how much Carmen knows

TW for discussions of fictional CSA/SA and mentions of alcoholism

Me too, I thought it would be an obvious assumption but I guess not.

Exactly, I’ve seen the fandom explore Carmen and Roy’s relationship regarding his CSA but never with Richard. I think it’s ashamed because there’s a lot you can write for the relationship, even outside of their CSA.

Omg that’s a good scene idea. The Hatzgang are realized there is a deeper issue, and Roy has to unfortunately unpack that generational trauma. I can see how learning his dad is a possible CSA victim, like him, starts pushing Roy to tell his parents but also discourages him because basically Richard unknowingly knew Roy was SA but never recognized it because he doesn’t know he was SA too. I also believe Richard normalized his brother’s actions too. It’s truly devastating how Richard indirectly contributed to the normalization of Roy’s abuse but he doesn’t know it’s SA. He believes those fun “games” him and his brother played were normal family bonding activities and is happy to hear his son is getting along with his brother, a brother he admired when growing up.

These headcanons might change as the series continues and the deeper I get into research.

I headcanon Carmen doesn’t know anything but has suspected something was off a few times. She never thought anything of Richard’s behavior at first because he alway been this way. When they became adults, she started questioning as Richard still had issues with intimacy at that point in their relationship and his alcoholism was at its worst. (Short ver: Richard started drinking at a young age to cope with trauma of his SA and the Uncle encouraged this, buying him alcohol for various reasons. Modern day, Richard is a functional alcoholic but has gotten better with his drinking)

As of the moment, Roy’s parents are unaware of Roy’s CSA. The day the Uncle died, Roy did get in trouble but for separate reasons. Carmen and Richard were mad at Roy for hanging out with “plebeians” and sending them to one of his uncle’s private properties. Roy doesn’t feel comfortable telling them yet because they’re snobby, judgmental people, so he assumes they won’t react well.

[rotteneldritchhorror]

finally finding actual fandom content about OBX (that isnt smut fics about 16 and 17 year olds) and then finding out apparently everyone hates JJ and Kie and loved Pope and Cleo (JJ/Kie is adorable to me, and Pope/Cleo felt romantically forced to me, they gave much more platonic/found family vibes, and it kinda felt like the romance came out of nowhere?)

I mean ship who you ship, as long as youre not shipping minors with adults or actual canonical family members together, I dont care- but it's insane to me that I seem to be the only one who doesn't vibe with romantic Pope/Cleo lol

[dallonwrites]

shadow in my room where there usually isn't one and i know why it's there and what's causing it but my silly ass is like ooooo.....little ghost in my room