#and this is the restrained version

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

I happen to be ~both~. And I can talk at length about both ships, so. I will be kind and use a break! Because I assure you, this shit is going to be L O N G.

The tl,dr though: dusk/estinien and dusk/farron both make me very happy whee

First, Dusk's NPC ship:

These two fucking dorks. I started shipping them as a bit of a joke. Dusk is this big helpful golden retriever weirdo, and here this edgelord wannabe batman comes flying out of nowhere, insults him, and then leaps away like he thinks he's cool. Estinien's introduction for me was hilarious, and I decided I absolutely needed to mentally push these two barbies together and make them kiss.

Even Nidhogg shipped it.

What was delightful for me was that I felt like the game kept ... agreeing with me, in a way. Estinien being Way Too Intense About Everything while also trying to Keep His Distance made it feel like he was struggling with getting too invested in this big stupid blonde, that he can't help but blurt things that are meant to sound bad-ass and important but come across as the world's edgiest flirting. You don't tell a man it's destiny to defeat your biggest adversary together without it meaning something, not when you have literally spent your every waking moment since your family died thinking about how you're going to murder the shit out of that dragon. You don't add an extra person into that revenge fantasy unless there are feelings, I'm sure of it.

I had no idea how important he would be in the actual MSQ, so I was a little sad at the end of the level 50 dragoon quest (I hadn't even finished 2.0 yet when I finished DRG's quests), where he has his little meltdown and disappears. Imagine my delight when he strolled back onto screen, trying to be so cool and mysterious. Imagine how he was probably privately dying inside, thinking to himself, fuck, it's that guy, that guy who saw me have a little Nidhogg Episode, that guy that I definitely do not have a crush on. Imagine him realizing wait, THAT guy is the guy Aymeric's been talking my ear off about any time I visit his office? Fuck!

That's right, play it cool.

Anyway, I was definitely pleased to see him again, and pleased to see he was still this tremendous way-too-intense weirdo. Forget the other elezen boyfriends being tossed Dusk's way, I only had eyes for the murder hobo in the silly armor whose face I'd never seen. Because their early dynamic kept making me laugh, the way they had very different ways of interacting with the world, yet still had enough stuff in common to Get Each Other. Even their stupid armor reflected it, since I insisted on glamming the blue dragoon set onto Dusk for most of HW. Dusk is much more cheerful and optimistic than Estinien, but ultimately they're both Ishgardian Intense about protecting people, and that was good enough for me to be entertained, at first.

And then the asshole did this, after Alphie says Ravana isn't a problem, because Dusk will murder him:

This was one of the first times anyone had suggested that maybe deciding "it's fine, Dusk will fight it" without knowing much about the threat, or volunteering Dusk without even asking, isn't cool. It meant a lot to Dusk, way more than I think Estinien would ever realize.

And just like that, the ship turned into a serious one for me (although it still makes me laugh sometimes, of course). Because it drove something home for me that I'd already been thinking about. At this point in the story, Estinien is pretty much the only person Dusk knows who kind of understands what it's like to be the Warrior of Light, since he's the Azure Dragoon. They both get a lot of expectations piled onto them that they're expected to just accept without complaint, to be the best living weapon they can be. Neither one is technically fighting their fight alone, but they're each respectively The Guy. And it's just ... nice knowing there's someone else who understands what it's like being The Guy.

And I think that's why he's the one who gets Alphie to realize how he's been kind of a shitty friend to Dusk with this comment. I know Alphie talks about the firewood all the time, but I think this is the actual first Big Influence Estinien has on him, the firewood is just the stand in because he can tangibly show having learned that at the drop of a hat. It's a lot harder to show 'I realized I was treating this person I admire like a tool and taught myself to stop doing that.'

I could write a lot about Heavensward in general and why that made me go ride or die for this ship, but suffice to say, I really enjoyed Estinien's devotion to protecting Ishgard extending beyond 'murder dragons,' even if he wasn't very patient with 'hang out with a heretic and try her plan first.' He still did it. I enjoyed that he told everyone they weren't allowed to come on his dragon killing date with Dusk. I appreciated that he didn't fight accepting the truth of the war when it was revealed to him, trusting what Dusk told him he saw was true, even though it meant what he'd been honed into was based on a lie the entire time. A lot of people wouldn't have.

I spent most of Heavensward expecting him to turn somehow, especially since I knew he'd lost it once already in the DRG quests, and was ready for some Dusk Angst to come from it. But he never really did, he was fully committed the entire time, and you could tell he trusted Dusk completely (and Dusk trusted him). At the end of Heavensward, I let my guard down about two seconds before Estinien himself did, which made that hit harder. Got my angst after all. :D

I have already rambled at length, and I don't really need to go over Estinien's whole arc. I think he's had a lot of growth since we met him, while keeping stuff I have liked about him since the beginning. And the game gives me every reason to think Estinien and the Warrior of Light are close, if I want to, and I very much do want to. For me, even if I look at the relationship platonically, I think they helped each other grow. They'd both been seen as tools to solve problems with, and had both gotten more complacent with the idea than they should've been. It's easier to see how unfair that is when it's happening to someone you're friends with, rather than yourself, and I think seeing that reflection in each other was really important for both of them. And that's going to form a certain kind of bond they just do not have with anyone else.

But also you can't have these two keep looking at each other like this every time they see each other for the first time in a while and expect me not to ship them. You simply cannot.

I won't ramble quite as much (probably) about Dusk/Farron, because I am way more likely to talk about that ship in general.

So I've been close friends with @petitfarron for years now. We met each other not long after we started playing FFXIV in early 2019 (I started in February, he started in April). Sometimes you just meet someone you click with, and Petit turned out to be one of those someones.

About two years ago (god), he was starting to get back into RP, and wanted to 'practice,' for lack of a better word. I hadn't RPed in FFXIV at all, but I was happy to volunteer. I had been learning anamnesis making silly shippy pictures of Dusk and Farron already, and he's always liked Dusk as a character to start with (I didn't RP, but I sure did talk A LOT about Dusk as a character to anyone who would listen), so although I said it didn't have to go that route if he didn't think it would make sense, the ship between Dusk and Farron set sail pretty much immediately.

And I'm really glad it did! First, there's the shallow, obvious reason. They are simply adorable together:

But I also really enjoy their relationship, because I think they compliment each other really well. Since the RP is just the two of us, Petit encouraged me to RP Dusk as the Warrior of Light instead of Random Adventuring Elezen #9263586. Farron, on the other hand, is just a guy. A guy who met Dusk after 6.0 ended, and got to know him as Dusk, rather than The Warrior of Light, and that is incredibly important to Dusk.

He can pipe up with is opinion if he wants, but from my perspective, Farron helps remind Dusk that he's actually still a normal person, capable of just doing normal things, with normal person wants and needs. He's protective of Dusk, worries about people starting to treat him like the solution to their problems again, worries about Dusk feeling pressure to fling himself into danger. At the same time, he loves how easily Dusk gives his time and care and kindness and love to people, and he trusts that Dusk truly wants to help them.

Dusk loves that Farron is kind, in spite of all the shit Farron has been through in his life. He loves that he's so curious about the world around them, and the people they meet. Dusk is too, and he's excited to share those sorts of experiences with Farron. He even loves visiting places he's been that Farron hasn't, because he gets to learn what Farron thinks of those places, and it gives him a new perspective on them! He loves that Farron's a stubborn optimist too, and that while he worries about Dusk, he will never try to convince him to be someone he simply isn't. He'll never ask him not to help, not to adventure, not to fight. He'll only make sure it's something Dusk really wants to do, something Dusk wants people to consider.

I also just enjoy poor normal-ass Farron learning to deal with his partner's extremely not-normal life. He's doing his best!

For a while, these two ships existed in different spaces for me.

In MSQ-land, Dusk and Estinien are ... complicated, never saying outright how much they care about each other. There are times I was like 'oh they totally made out here,' mind you, but I also think that after it was out of their systems, they go right back to pretending they're just bros, and thinking they're definitely pulling it off. They are wrong, of course, but no one's had the heart to point it out yet.

In RP-land, Dusk and Farron are engaged and nigh-inseparable. They're rarely apart, and most challenges they face are external, rather than conflict between them or their relationship styles. They're very much on the same page, and so fuckin' happy and sappy with each other. They are free serotonin for me, always.

Keeping them separate makes sense, right?

Except Petit and I will definitely be writing a lot of RP stuff based on whatever happens in Dawntrail, so it'll be MSQ-tastic.

Except Petit has also really loved the Dusk/Estinien ship, ever since I'd started talking to him about it years ago.

Except I have always thought of Dusk as polyamorous, ever since I made him up for a completely different game.

Except Petit thinks of Farron as polyamorous, because of how viis and viera are.

Except Petit also really loves Estinien as a character.

So fine, the two concepts can collide a bit. As a treat.

Another random WoLQotD/OC question

I thought I'd ask this while I worked on my other questions. :)

If you're a WoL x NPC shipper, what drew you to that ship and why? What makes that ship the pinnacle for you and your oc? Is it that you love the canon character you write them with, you find their dynamic interesting or something in between?

If you're not a WoL x NPC shipper, but you have a ship with another person, how did that come about? What makes that ship fulfilling for you? Has the ship impacted your relationship with that other person? Feel free to gush, I wanna hear it!

Oh, and pictures are a must (if you have them).

[aledethanlast]

For the last time Neil is not oblivious he's just so busy playing 5d chess with everyone he meets that the concept of regular chess baffles and bores him. Matt what do you mean I should hook up with a cheerleader can't you see I'm busy waging psychological warfare on a Frenchman.

[imustbeimaginary]

The reason why I adore ALL tddk but why I especially find Shouto x Quirkless!Izuku so compelling is that. they're just-

Izuku with the hard-won victories and the barely-hidden Ambition that thrums in his veins. And Shouto who know the price of ambition but also knows exactly what it means when Izuku discards it in favour of helping him. Izuku- who was never really saved, who still prays, hopes, wishes and never actually expects anyone to show up, who sends the text in Hosu like it's a silly little ritual he has to complete. And Shouto who ditches everything and everyone and comes running. You came//You called. Izuku who smiles politely and Shouto who calls the chief of police a Mangy Mutt. Izuku who was raised on Full Internet Access and Shouto who had just discovered Memes and is unreasonably delighted about it.

and. they're just. A boy who is bluntly, tragically honest and another who is made of white lies. A boy with the power of god at his fingertips and a boy with nothing but his raised fists. A masterpiece and a defect. A boy in chains and a boy with all the freedom that a very tall building provides.

oh and they're both awkward, blushing messes. they're idiots. they're bestfriends. they're late-night arguments over Conspiracy Theories. They are so intense and unintentionally hilarious. They're sun-and-moon coded. They're deep-seated abandonment issues and a difficulty in letting anything go. They're hands, hands, hands. They're two pieces of rubble whose jagged edges fit. They're bury my feet in cement cause I'm never leaving you. They're I'm sorry I didn't know you when we were kids. I would have iced the bruises on your back. They ARE SOULMATES-

[anotherramblingfangirl]

I actually think this Dark Knights of Steel twist-reveal with Alfred as martian manhunter was a really fascinating one (I genuinely loved it).

An Elseworlds continuity which really took advantage of being able to take different interpretations of a character, by the writer of the Nightwing series where the presence of Alfred is felt throughout, despite his pre-series death

Here we have him as the last survivor of a genocide, who lost absolutely everything. Felt he failed in the worst possible way, as his fatally wounded child died in his arms - unable to even offer him any comfort, with both being telepaths.

He flees a dead world. Gets to try again. Martha and Thomas Wayne know what he is, but conceal the secret. Have him as one of their most trusted retainers, friends.

He gets to try again.

A smile on his face, he gets to see another boy grow.

Even as Martha and Thomas are murdered, he stays with their son, looking after him no matter what. Having faith in him. Loving him. To the point where a man who had his adored son brutally murdered in the dark, able to do nothing but watch him die, looks at this orphaned alien child and says -

-as he holds the lasso of truth.

It adds an additional, really interesting factor to the paternal relationship he has with Bruce in this particular setting. I wish we got to see more of it. Perhaps if they ever do more "Tales of the Kingdom", we may get to see it in a prologue manner.

[magstorrn]

simon stride's commitment to being a hater has to be commended tbh. not only did he decide henry jekyll was his mortal enemy, he a) told jekyll's soon to be father-in-law that jekyll should die, b) made the board meeting entirely personal even though he was there in a professional capacity, and c) when jekyll turned into hyde at the wedding reception he made it his foremost priority to point this out to lisa. just to be vindicated. legend

[skitskatdacat63]

Okay now where's the Seb teddy bear so I can make them kiss each other!?

+

[teshiee]

hjmmmm zombeh attack colesworld mm lava

[lem0nfr0g]

X-Men 97 Magneto is so beautiful I had to bust out my markers to draw him

[cent-scratchnsniff]

l-o-v-e l-o-v-e

[fictionadventurer]

Potential September Reading

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (ideally in audio)

An English Squire by Christabel R. Coleridge

A Sherlock Holmes story (and/or a screen adaptation)

C.S. Lewis nonfiction

A sensation or mystery novel

A piece of one of the Psmith stories

Some kind of nonfiction book

[the-krakens-bitch]

One of my favourite niches within shows and fandom spaces is when a character is allowed to be silly and goofy. Like when a character is introduced and they’re stoic, cool and always know what to say in a very charismatic way and then through the serious they become to be a little bit silly

[theladysherlock]

Barking Alek and his love of contraptions. Sixteen long hours putting the mysterious machine together, and they still had no idea what its purpose was. An utter waste of time, and yet it was the happiest she'd seen Alek since the two of them had returned to the Leviathan. Gears and electricals were all the boy really cared about, however much he claimed to love the airship. Just like Deryn, who'd spent a whole month in Istanbul without ever feeling at home among walkers and steam pipes. Perhaps Clankers and Darwinists would always be at war, if only in their hearts.

I mostly just want to talk about how this is set-up for one of the main concepts in this book. Book one is about Darwinism and focuses on Alek; book two is about Mechanics and focuses on Deryn; book three is about hybrid countries and focuses on both of them, together, as a team.

1. It's no secret that I really really love this progression. I think it's a good way to show they're better together. We'll definitely get to it more later, but as a sneak peak: there's a reason that the two of them actually make up when they're in Japan.

2. Of course, they're not doing well right now. We're at a conflict stage, building to the Big Conflict in a few chapters. So they're misunderstanding each other more often, and there's a return to that technological loyalty that we see in Leviathan when they're bickering about which one is better. If they're going to be together (however you interpret that), one of them is going to be uncomfortable. At least at this point.

3. I'm also reminded of Beau's story treatment for a Leviathan movie, where the main theme is learning to embrace "both" as opposed to "either/or", whether that's technology, gender identity, race, etc. I cannot overstate how excellent it is, please go take a look if you haven't already)

4. Deryn's less open minded than we'd like to think. Alek doesn't like all of the fabs, but he's pretty chill about most of them now, and even loves the airship and also Bovril. Deryn does not extend that same courtesy to any mechanical stuff at all. The only one that got an "eh okay I guess" was the Spider, but most of the time she's just frustrated every time she has to deal with machines for an extended period of time. (Granted, Alek also Super Did Not Like the two headed eagle but we're also highlighting the conflict between the two of them right now so it sticks out)

[aq2003]

omfg . radio play version of much ado with david as benedick from 2001

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay but why haven't we had a time travel/fix it fic where after some shenanigans everyone decides to take down shinra, they split up to take out the important figures, sephiroth obviously takes hojo for any and all of a dozen good reasons.

And then hojo pulls a winter soldier sleeper code on him.

And then everyone is suddenly dealing with a brainwashed sephiroth.

-

Hojo has to have some way to control sephiroth as he grew into his monstrous strength and power, yes? And learned helplessness isn't enough of a reassurance your prized military leader powerhouse isn't going to wake up one day and realise just how easily he could paint the labs walls red with chunks of you. And because hojo is obsessed with total power and control, dealing with a murder machine with huge mental issues, it'd only be fitting he create his own emergency shutdown.

In the most needlessly traumatic and mentally violating way, of course. Would sephiroth even know, if he couldn't remember? Would he have long stretches of emptiness in his memories that never get explained to him, or would he wake up where he'd blacked out, just another day in the labs?

Imagine, his allies watching on the cameras, as sephiroth stalks into the labs, a predator sighting its prey, exchanging a few cold words with hojo, raising masamune... And then hojos mouth opening, sephiroth going stiff like an animatronic, rearranging himself on the floor where he stood, face hidden behind his hair. Hojo leaves the room and he doesn't move, doesn't respond to any comms or passing scientists accidentally rolling a cart over his coat and hair.

Hojo ordering sephiroth to reveal their plans, their allies, their resources. Sephiroth doing it. Hojo deciding to punish sephiroth for the rebellion with lab procedures, or hojo ordering him to hunt down his co conspirators and end the takeover. Sephiroth doing so, heavy in his steps, crashing through walls and doors, heedless now of morals or civilians, silent, unresponsive. So completely unlike the jenova malice they'd been prepared to fight, that sephiroth had been bracing against. No arrogance, no mocking, no dramatic battlefield or hungry glowing eyes.

The puppeteer becomes the puppet, and with it, every trace of holding back. The perfect soldier.

I imagine the first trigger word would be lucrecia.

[high-voltage-rat]

Zorbak being CEO of a big corporation pre-reset and then, after the reset, being a necromancer who self-describes as eviller than evil and literally animates armies of undead to attack us... and the post-reset version of him is still significantly less evil and more redeemable. Seriously real.

[schmweed]