#and you know what he loved? aside from the scheming. Being a general.

[breitzbachbea]

Would love to know more about ancient Naples' government in the 3rd century BCE. Decent chance Rome is already here, but let's hope not. Because I am still obsessed with Francesco as Strategos that NO ONE TRUSTS but the Vargas are in charge. Because everyone thinks SURELY the brilliant general and devious schemer wants power for himself, this man is just waiting to become a tyrant. But what no one wants to realize is that Francesco only wants enough power to have fun and to play chess on the both smallest and biggest scale. Also, he looks good in the big feathery hat. What he doesn't want? Responsibility that bogs him down. Running shit? Being responsible? Eurgh. No, let me be your most fuckable advisor and strategist. Do you know how irrestible I look on a horse? Maybe we can win Syracuse simply by the King and his hetairoi wanting to fuck me. I heard they're hotties.

[jo-gakky]

Can you express how much you love Nezha? I’d love to read about your rambles ❤️

WAAAAAAAAA this is such a flattering ask to get! 

I'm really bad at expressing myself when it comes to things I love, but I LOVE talking about and pointing out the little details about my favorite little guys!!

(also a quick note! I tend to describe things using examples/scenarios. If it gets a bit confusing, please don't be afraid to ask me about anything <3)

Nezha, specifically the LMK version of him, brings me a kind of stability and comfort that no other character really does/ever has. The comfort derives from sort of a combination between his general presence/movement, ideals and actions.

Have you guys ever met someone who just OOZES stability? They're dependent, and manage situations with grace, even despite their own troubles?

That's the kind of guy I read Nezha as! He's a noble guy with a stable moral compass, and he's self-assured in his actions and his righteousness, however, he's not afraid to admit his own wrongs when they pop up. He's stubborn, sure, but not to a fault. Despite knowing of Wukongs reckless behavior, he entrusts the responsibility and himself to Wukong’s plan(s). And to be honest, what deity in this show is NOT a bit stubborn?

Nezha is everything I'm not, and I ADMIRE that so much. There is something comforting in watching him whenever he comes on screen, because he is what every other deity pretends to be. He is just an honest guy, and honestly what's better than that? 

He's just the type of guy you could trust wholeheartedly!

Again, I could be reading his character wrong. Rewatching LMK always makes me notice new things about characters that provide a new context to them, and Nezha is no different. 

But that's absolutely okay with me, because that means I get to re-explore all these characters over again!

But for my current impression of Nezha, I read him as a stern guy with a heart of gold!

I could imagine, even if he was on duty, he'd be the type to help out if someone asked him for a hand. He'd probably hesitate, but only because leaving his post probably feels like sacrilege to him, but in the end he can't neglect a person in need of a hand. He's a generally kind, nice and reliable guy, but betraying that trust would make him incredibly doubtful of whoever slighted that trust, for a long while. His trust is preserved for those who deserve it. He seems to be a good judge of character, and wont give his full trust to those who are suspicious.

I also just feel like he's the stern type, that actually hides a side that's more cheeky, but in fear of becoming a joke or looked down upon, he represses that side of him.

I don't know how to really express exactly what I mean with all of this, but I generally just love him so much for being such a stable, kind, responsible and grounded character!

Something about him screams safety, and I'm genuinely so sad that I didn't pay him much mind on my first watch.

Aside from his general character, his design also just SCREAMS comfort and happiness to me!

The Pretty pinks and teal speaks to his calmness and general kindness and goodness, while the bright reds give a hint of his ferocious battle skills and power. And perhaps his temper, but I don't really think he has much of a temper. He gets a bit annoyed, but if i'm being honest, i would get a bit irked too if someone who could help wasn't taking something, possibly dangerous, seriously.

Beside his pleasing color scheme, his general shape-language is GORGEOUS and i love it so much! His hairstyle specifically makes me so happy! It's so beautiful!

He's also just generally really fun to draw, which adds a lot when it comes to a character's appeal for me.

This is just a minor detail, but I thought I'd add it anyway : His english voice BRINGS ME SUCH JOY! His voice is such a perfect fit for the kind of person he is! (tbh all the english voices are perfect, but specifically Nezha's voice strikes a chord with me.)

Um

yeah

That's just the basics!

TL;DR : I really like Nezha bc he's very cool and nice and awesome and responsible! <3 He makes me happy :)

[talas-first-lady]

Additional Wynonna Earp Vengeance thoughts

This is going to be all the spoilers. You have been warned.

First of all, things that brought me a lot of joy:

The first scene up until things went bad. Nedley. Mercedes. Being buddies. Everything Mercedes was wearing including her monogrammed fanny pack of fishing lures.

Mercedes being like “the face. Kill me if you must but do not harm the face.” And hey, props to Mina for listening?

Bunny Loblaw cameo. The woman just gets better every time.

Any and all Wayhaught physical activity.

The entire Wynonna and Doc intro in Tombstone. That was just pure 100% Wynonna perfection.

“No we will NOT be redoing those stairs. They are very important to me for reasons.” - Nicole Haught

Every comment from Wynonna about how drunken brawling is actually precisely what Mercedes would have wanted at her wake (although I think Mercedes would have wanted more male strippers tbh).

I am typing this as I walk my dogs and we just passed a gold penis-shaped piece of confetti on the sidewalk outside a bar. Mercedes Gardner: never truly gone.

There was some quality Earp sister time that I did enjoy although it was slightly off (see Waverly discussion).

I am very much not up on current music so I didn’t get 100% of the references but Doc talking to Waverly about Megan Thee Stallion is what I came for.

Wistful comment about friend from Arizona. Thank you, Doc. Sorry your new bf was a tool.

The conversation between Wynonna and Nedley at the cemetery was perfect and should have happened years ago.

The fact that no one for a moment doubted that the three people Wynonna loves most are Waverly, Alice… and Nicole. I will be a Wynnaught shipper till the day I die.

Wynonna going to hell was pretty badass.

Nedley hitting hellhounds with his truck.

No pyramid schemes!

Now for the complaints.

At no point did they convince me that Mina was actually worse than all the demons they’ve faced before. Really? Sure, she doesn’t follow Revenant rules, but they’ve dealt with Bulshar. She does not remotely compare.

I also didn’t really buy the backstory stuff: Wynonna trying to impress a bunch of mean girls by summoning a demon for them? Taking them to the homestead at all? None of that felt true to her. I also don’t know why the group home girls were just suddenly back in Purgatory. (Also Dawson’s Freaks is the STUPIDEST.)

I think maybe Mina would have worked with a full season of build-up, but this was just not enough time.

I’m really pissed off about Mercedes surviving everything just to be murdered as a plot device. I love her, ok? She deserves better.

I am less pissed about Doc because I think they handled it decently - one last epic shootout, burying him in the spot where he wanted to raise Alice, the symmetry with burying Dolls (on the same hill, I think?), letting him come to terms with aging and dying. But it was so unnecessary. And so rushed: we never got to see anyone’s reaction but Wynonna’s (and Jeremy’s wildly out of character non-reaction). He was such an important character and we never got to say goodbye properly.

Not enough Jeremy.

Nicole’s attitude towards Wynonna up until that big don’t tell Waverly moment just made me so sad. I love their dynamic. I don’t know what happened.

In general, it felt like Nicole majorly backslid.

Biggest problem, though: Waverly. And I’m going to be upfront here and say that I was never as enamored with Waverly as a lot of people are. But I did like her and this didn’t feel like Waverly.

I think it’s fantastic that Dom has come out and become more comfortable in their skin and that they didn’t force them back in the girly Waverly box for this.

But I think they changed too much. Physically, the hair, the nose ring, the tattoos, the wardrobe choices (the wifebeater? The bolo tie?). But there was also her behavior. Jumping into a bar fight aggressively after relatively minor provocation was a lot. There was nothing of the light, bubbly Waverly left aside from a craft room. It just felt like part of her died. Like something happened over those 5 years that traumatized her worse than the stuff we actually witnessed. And Nicole being so unconcerned about it.

Anyway, that’s most of it?

[sylenth-l]

Hello, I've been a big fan of your work for a while now and I absolutely love your designs for the destiny characters who don't get as much attention as they should.

But I also wanted to ask what made you choose the designs that you did?

Like Timur, Tevis, and Jaren

You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But I'm just curious.

Hey, thank you so much! I'm very glad you like my character designs, since I tend to worry a lot about them ; w ; 💙 I also get so attached to them in the process that I struggle to accept other versions, even when they appear in canon one way or another cough comicAndal COUGH cough Radegast The answer got a bit too lengthy...

Hard to say, usually I just have A Feeling how a certain character should look when I read about them. I rarely immediately imagine them in full detail (unless there's a clear description ofc), but I always have this vague image with maybe 1-2 key features inside of my head. These features may not be even directly connected to appearance - it's really just some impressions from the characters which I later think how to reflect in their looks. I then try to put it on paper and see if the result matches my impression of them or not. Sometimes it works out fast and sometimes it just feels wrong no matter what I do - in this case I usually put the character aside for some time until I come up with something more interesting for them. I also try to vary facial features and color schemes so that different characters don't look the same or way too similar to each other (unless intended). And I think about how they will look together as well - like, if these characters are from one group and will be often seen together, I want them to look good/interesting side by side and be easily distinctive from each other. There are also a lot of other nuances, but in general that's it.

With these three in particular that you've mentioned: Tevis and Jaren stayed pretty much unchanged from how I imagined them. I only tried to give them some more unique facial features, since for Tevis I was worried people will confuse him with Shin, and Jaren really looked like Andal's recolor with a different haircut at first 🤣 I like Andal and Jaren having some similarities, but not THAT much, lmao. I've also seen Jaren drawn by other great artists I'm sure you all know if you're into Palamon story; maybe these influenced me as well, though I honestly imagined him that way even before seeing any Destiny fanart at all. I've read Shin's whole story slowly opening lore books in the game itself before I've engaged with the fandom in any way; this being partly the reason why it blew my mind so much - I had literally 0 spoilers and was absolutely Not Prepared asdifaskdjhf

With Timur it's a very different story, full of pain and suffering 💀 If you've been with me since ancient times, you probably remember how I kept repeating that I have no idea how him and Felwinter are supposed to look and that however I draw them now will probably change later. And the scary revelation is... I'M STILL NOT FULLY SATISFIED ASLKHJDAKJHSA I've been much more happy with Felwinter since I've learned how to paint dark metal and it instantly made him look way better and closer to what I think he should look like (imo). Timur I guess ended up looking like a mix of all Timurs I've ever seen, read and heard about, and while at first I didn't like how he turned out at all, I think now... I've got used to him already. I don't think I can change his appearance drastically anymore. Funnily enough, but I think the turning point for me was his pipe. Somehow it put his whole image together in my eyes, and it became a lot easier for me to get him after doing that first portrait with the pipe.

[finisnihil]

Watching the general populous of Webtoon hate Rashta from The Remarried Empress so violently, to the point of making her ridculing nickname a synonym for The Other Woman archetype, is really exhausting for a number of reasons, with the main one being that there are numerous female main leads of similar stories that fit that characterization of her more.

I love The Remarried Empress but the readers love to blame Rashta for EVERYTHING that happens in it, when at the end of the day, Rashta is just an antagonist. I know! Shocking! Rashta is not the driving force of the story! You know who is? SOVIESHU.

Sovieshu has always been the main villain. He is the one with all the power, he is the one who created a situation that pit these women against each other. Rashta was a slave because her father was a criminal, being Soveishu's mistress was a means of survival. Like, of course she sucks ass at scheming! She never had an education, and Sovieshu stalled on giving her one because he was ATTRACTED TO HER CHILDISH DEMEANOR. Soveishu liked Rashta because she was what Soveishu wanted from Navier and she sucked up to him in the ways he wanted! Because she needed to in order to survive! Her mistake was becoming paranoid, arrogant, and cruel to continuously provoke Navier, but that was also at the urging of another man: Duke Ergi! Because Rashta is uneducated and vulnerable and she thinks he's her only support system! She went through the trouble of ousting Navier at Ergi's suggestion and Soveishu began to just use Rashta as a baby factory, because as Rashta became like Navier to survive the political world and as he realized he lost Navier, he stopped caring about her. He never saw her as a human, he only saw her as a slate to project on the child version of Navier he was still in love with.

Now, i'm not gonna deny the heinous shit Rashta has done nor am I defending it, she is the antagonist, she does do cruel things that can't be excused, and that's factual. But the tragedy of her is that she was set up to fail by every single man in her life. She started seeing the women around her as competition because of those men. She never once had power and her frustration at her powerlessness and her disillusionment is valid. Navier was protected by her status as a noble, but Rashta had nothing and watching her crash and burn is satisfying but also sad. In another comic, she would be the female lead, and she would be safe and happy, she would be loved. To see the fandom boil her down to some man stealing bitch is really sad because it takes all the focus from Sovieshu. Instead of ripping him apart for using a system to abuse the women in his life, everyone rips apart Rashta for lashing out as a victim of that system.

You know who fits this dynamic more though? Diana from For My Derelict Favorite. Diana is a saintess with healing powers who was mistreated for being a commoner and married the Crown Prince. Hestia, the protagonist, targets her for revenge for a numerous amount of reasons, but what makes their conflict interesting is that Hestia is her equal. They were both commoners, they both are beloved by the world's god, they both rose in their station. The difference is that Diana is everything Rastha is percieved as. She still acts like a victim of the class system, despite the fact she's the crown princess and now has power and luxury. She looks down on the other nobles for their spending and ridicule of the lower class, yet doesn't realize she's become just like them. She casts aside Caelus for killing the novel's OG villains to save the empire, but has no problem acting like nothings wrong despite her treatment driving him to try and take his own life. She thinks herself objectively right and special and the minute anyone criticizes her, she turns on them, her husband included. She makes it a goal to steal Caelus from Hestia in order to hurt her and validate her behavior, thinking Caelus still loves her over Hestia. When Hestia makes soap accessible for the common people and makes advancments in changing the nobility's views of the lower class, Diana nitpicks her for it, because she can't stand to see Hestia take the limelight. She uses her power and privilege to bully and abuse others and then runs crying when she's called out on it.

The difference between these stories is clear. Rashta has no power and isn't the main villain, she doesn't have equal standing as Navier. She does a lot of her actions out of desperation for love and to survive while still being cruel. Diana and Hestia come from equal status; Diana is the one in the most power. She abuses the systems meant to mistreat those like her for her own benefit and nothing more. Helios is the antagonist while Diana is the villain, because it is Diana's actions that push the plot, akin to Soveishu. Helios and Rashta make things difficult, but they're really only along for the ride, and their interference in the plot happens because of the villains their characters serve.

[poisoned-pearls]

YEEEE you always have the correct thoughts I'm interested 🔥🔥🔥🔥

AUAUAUGHHH OKAY SO

Jamil’s voice actor has said himself that even he believes that Jamil and Azul could be close friends- I wanna point this out because that man definitely has some of the best understandings of Jamil EVER because he’s not only seen most of his voice lines, but he also gets the background notes we don’t get to see to add the correct kind of flavor to the voice acting- ANYWAYS

Jamil and Azul DO get along!! very well, in fact! If they are put against a common force or just, generally in an event together they do work well and even joke like close friends would!

Like, even when Jamil is being mean, he’s not malicious. He’s snarky, not actually trying to hurt Azul’s feelings- and they both KNOW how smart the other one is, and both aren’t afraid to mention it

(usually it’s Azul, but Jamil also consistently gives Azul credit as well. He doesn’t ever really downplay Azul’s merits and abilities)

And the funniest bit is- no matter how mean Jamil is to him, even with what some WOULD consider as bullying, Azul does not stop.

Which is WEIRD AS HELL FOR HIM. He was heavily bullied as a kid, so much so that it’s very obviously hinted at that he had/has an eating disorder (he wears the same size as Epel and Riddle, people who are a good ~20 ish cm shorter than he is- this is besides the point-) so to him, the reward of getting Jamil on his side is worth the thing that literally controlled his entire life and caused his overblot. That is how important getting Jamil is to him. (which also begs the question, why Jamil? Sure, some of it is definitely because he sees himself in Jamil, but since this is MY post, I also believe it’s because he has a crush on him.)

And he is CONSTANT about it- it’s almost hilarious how fucking often octavinelle or the lounge or even just himself comes up in his conversations with him.

And sure, it is a little weird that he seems to disregard Jamil’s constant no’s- BUT he also understands and watches Jamil more than anyone else, so I think he does this precisely because he knows that Jamil holds himself back.

Jamil can’t reasonably Say yes to him, because of kalim and his duties, but it’s the same thing with Jamil’s lab vignette, he so desperately wants Jamil to do his best, to succeed, but because Jamil will not let himself, he pushes and pushes to try and get him to fold and do what he really wants. To flourish. And Azul wants him to do it with him.

and the reason why Jamil is always so resistant to it isn’t because he genuinely wants nothing to do with it, it’s because he cannot understand or comprehend a relationship like that where they are equal.

He doesn’t want to be under Azul’s thumb, but this is exactly where their animosity comes from- the misunderstanding of their friendship and the dynamics with it. He doesn’t want to go to octavinelle, to work at the lounge, because he despises being a servant.

But master and servant is the only real dynamic he knows- he legitimately can’t understand how it would be any different, and because of Azul’s reputation and persona, he wouldn’t trust Azul’s word on it either.

(It is also very ironic that Azul’s persona, which was made to protect him from bullying, is the exact reason Jamil is so hostile towards him in the first place)

But here’s the thing- consistently, Jamil always makes note of Azul. He pays attention to him, (‘you sure love your cryptic little asides’ means that he’s actually paying attention to Azul to notice said asides and notice the frequency of them-) and he acknowledges him first.

I cannot stress enough how fucking insane it is that he not only acknowledges Azul first, but by full name. He is in basketball club with Floyd, he should know him well enough to say him by name, and hypothetically be more friendly with. Floyd is genuinely the safest person in octavinelle for him to hang out with precisely because he doesn’t scheme, so why in the world is he acknowledging Azul?? He’s already fucking suspicious of him and wants him off his back, so why not go for what should be his safest in?? Sure, it makes sense for him to actually talk to Azul because, classmates, but to completely disregard Floyd and put Azul first? Azul stands in the middle of them no matter what reading direction would be normal for Jamil (like if he speaks Arabic then it would be right to left/) it wouldn’t make sense to point out the one in the middle. Genuinely when people say hello to a group they know usually they go by name in reading order-

Okay genuinely not being insane about one moment in dialogue for a moment

Jamil and Azul, work so, so fucking well. They are just similar enough while also being opposites in the most complimentary way it’s crazy.

They work well as friends and as business partners and as people fighting together and as a couple, they flow together and it is always in my brain

Because all it takes is for Jamil to realize that Azul is not lying. He is not trying to trick him or butter him up he means every single word of praise he says and he will continue to say it because to him Jamil is worth the pain. THAT is why they’re soulmates to me

Because all Jamil has ever wanted was freedom, and to catch a break. To not be the one serving, but to have someone serve him, to understand him. and Azul does. Azul wants to serve him and to hold him on equal footing and he already DOES understand him

(And he understands Azul, as well, even if he doesn’t admit it. In all of those lines he notices things about Azul you wouldn’t if you actually hated someone. Azul gives him a sense of hope, in a subtle way)

[allastoredeer]

Can I ask your opinion on radiobelle/charlastor and radiodust? I'm just curious because, other than chaggie, they were like THE ships pre-show while radioapple was pretty rare, and now it's kinda the other way around, and huskerdust shippers finally getting fed

I don't really favour any Alastor ship over the other (huge multishipper over here) and I haven't found a problem that can't be solved or made worse with a polycule, actually (with Alastor centre stage <3)

AYYYE! Hello my fellow Alastor multishipper! And yes, of course! I'd love to share my opinions and thoughts :3

When I first saw radiobelle/charlastor I felt kind of weird about it - this was before the show even dropped. While I wasn't active in the fandom after watching the pilot, I still saw things here and there, and radiobelle never really did it for me.

Recently though, I've been coming across some super cute radiobelle fan-art, and honestly? The ship doesn't really bother me. In fact, it's kind of growing on me.

I know people like to rave about how Alastor is like a "father figure," or Charlie "saw" him as a father figure, especially during the "Dad Beat Dad" episode. But, like, it's really not that big of a deal. They are, in no way, actually related. There is no familial ties to them aside from words and perceived feelings. And even if she does truly see him as a father figure, fandom is THE place to go to change canon and do whatever you want with the characters. That's what it's always been and that's what it's always going to be.

Besides, the ship has a lot of cute potential and I'm so here for it. I think one of the reasons people hate on it so much is this weird, perceived power-difference/imbalance between them. What with Charlie being this wide-eyed, hopelessly optimistic, and sometimes very naive women, and Alastor being this darker, manipulative, seemingly "older" man. I can see how that would squick people out, especially with the idea of Alastor manipulating/using Charlie.

However, I'd like to argue that Charlie is a grown-ass adult. Considering how the aging process works in Hell (particularly with Hellborn. Particularly with hellborn royalty, considering Lucifer is a fallen angel who's older than time itself and yet looks like he could be the same age or younger than Alastor), Charlie could be leagues older than Alastor. Maybe she's actually a couple hundred years old in Earth years, but she's considered in her mid twenties in Hell years.

As for the manipulation thing, we've been shown several times in the show that Charlie won't put up with Alastor's bullshit, and that she'll even call him out on it. I don't think she's as naive to Alastor's manipulation or schemes as everyone thinks she is.

I'm not a die-hard radiobelle shipper or anything, but I think its a pairing that has a lot of cute and wholesome potential. I think it gets WAY more hate than it deserves. (Besides, has no one considered the absolute hilarity of Lucifer meeting up with his daughter for the first time in years, and getting introduced to her creepy, dark, sadistically weird boyfriend with an obsession with 20th century radio? Does no one else find that fucking hilarious?? Just me??)

As for radiodust, I wasn't weirded out by it like I was with radiobelle. Originally, I was just kind of meh about the ship. But also like radiobelle, I've been seeing more content of it and its starting to grow on me. An Alastor/Husk/Angel Dust polycule actually sounds kind of cute, and has the potential for a very interesting dynamic to play around with.

My general consensus: While I'm not a die-hard shipper of radiobelle or radiodust, I like the pairings and I can see why other people would like them too.

Additional, to those who do dislike these two ships, that's okay. Some pairings just aren't to your taste, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes a pairing just squicks you out. That's fine. Just don't harrass other people who do like it. If you do not like these pairings, then move on and read/watch/look at something you do like. It's that simple.

I have mad respect for both of these ships because, like you said, dear Anon, they were what kept the Hazbin fandom going for years. Let's show some respect for our elders, people. Honor those who came before 🫡

[gloriousburden]

Do u rlly think Loki was attracted to Sif? In love or just like, he noticed she was physically attractive, is she really his type? About the TDW scenes, I never saw it as supposed to be taken that way I guess? He seemed "flirty" with Jane too, and with Tom saying he probably likes the slap from her/being slapped. Do u see him as flirty in general? I see him more with someone like Sigyn's personality/vibe. And I don't know if I see him as seductive or such aside from like those few clips, I want to hear a take on that!

I see it as a bit of a playful flirtatiousness. He does find her attractive, and is attracted to her in ways, but I PERSONALLY don’t think it’s really “serious” to him. I don’t ship Loki with anyone (except me and him because obviously we’re canon..), and I don’t think he felt love for her, and I definitely don’t think she feels any love/respect for him. Maybe they hooked up in the past and find each other physically attractive, but actual romance… I don’t see it.

He told her that it’s nice to see her, but he also was quite playful with everyone else who was threatening him.

Loki being the god of mischief, I see him as being quite playful at times in general. I guess flirting can sort of fall into that category. Yeah, maybe his reaction to the slap could’ve purposely been a bit flirty. It’s very playful, and I think he finds it funny that such a small human would dare to slap him. He finds it intriguing. I mean, if we’re saying his reaction to Jane is flirtatious, then his reactions/words to Natasha could’ve been seen as flirty as well. Shit, even the way he spoke to Tony 😭😭😭😭

Personally, I think he’s just very playful, sly, and obviously very charming at times. It could be seen as him flirting. Ooh, new headcanon… people tend to take his playfulness as romantic advances/attempts at courting… And him being very attractive and well spoken on top of that. I would fall in love and think he was flirting with me too. Yeah, I think his playfulness could come off as flirting sometimes.

I mean, the whole “Silvertongue” thing… much to think about.

He’s very intelligent, and I think he would enjoy being challenged. I personally see his type being someone he feels he’s on a similar level as. Someone he could learn from, but also someone he can teach. Someone he can solve, and someone who can solve him. I also think he likes people he can tease/toy with a bit. He likes fucking with people, seriously or playfully.

Ngl, idk much about Sigyn or what an MCU version of her would be like, so unfortunately I can’t add on much about that 😞

Ok I rambled again but personally I do not at all think he canonically has love for Sif, but he just finds her quite attractive. It’s a playful attraction to him. A teasing one. She obviously does not put up with any of his shit, and he probably finds it a bit funny to annoy her. Because how dare you not put up with my schemes…

I do see him as being a bit of the flirtatious type. I see some of his playfulness coming off as flirtation, even when it’s not intentional. He’s very charming, manipulative, and canonically has a “Silvertongue”

[numberonetacostan]

I am SO happy people like luz so much. I created them on 2022 and they have just stuck around ever since and the fact that people appreciate them make me so happy sdgshjdkhgad I love the thought of taco. Wretched horrible taco. Being seen with this kid and completely changing the way she views the world. This child needs her, and she knows it and so she pushes everything else aside to solely focus on them and them only. It makes the others surprised a bit weirded out but also be more willing to help her. That woman is exhausted, and they can see the attempts she does at being brave to her kid. I think she would just be dissociating on the couch or something scratching luz's head as she sleeps on her mama's lap and knife comes by. Taco doesn't really want to interact with him, or really ANYONE that is not mic. But knife is knife and he pushes her a little bit, I feel seeing her with this child just made him more receptive of the idea to lead taco into a better path which she is already unknowinglly doing. I see taco being self-depricating and saying how he shouldn't trust her or whatever and knife just calmly states how much she has changed since she came in, she hasn't tried anything. She is concerned for this kid, and concerned for mic, and really wants to just find some kind of calm. Taco doesn't say anything in return and knife sighs just putting a hand on her shoulder like I cannot say I trust you but I understand what you are going true and hey, just know. Mic really believes in you as much as this child does. So cut yourself some slack okay? before leaving. I also just have this picture inside my mind of tacomic after a long time sleeping together and luz coming in and snuggling right beside the two of them and the next morning soap and knife finds them snuggled together while hugging this kid and its just like a very cute thing to think about.

Hi Kiara!!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for submitting your ask!!!! :]

Yes!!! Taco changing because of baby child!!!! Mic has already planted the seeds of her changing for the better, but with a little child to take care of? Taco has nothing to gain from associating with Luz other than mutual care and companionship!!! There's no manipulation, no ulterior motives, no game. Just a connection!!! It would be pretty strange for the rest of the cast to see, but so would having Taco around in general lol.

Knife time!!! With his tough-lovey, honest way of helping out!! He definitely does see a different side to Taco here with her taking care of Luz!!! As well as seeing how bad she herself is doing!!! Knife does care about her, even if he doesn't show it as much as he does for others like Mic or Suitcase!!! He sees some of himself in her!!!!!!!!!!!! I think he'd do a lil encouragement-threat sandwich here. Like, she's been doing pretty well not causing trouble so far, yeah? No one here is going to hurt her, even if they don't like her, she doesn't need to be as afraid as she is. And she's got a kid to worry about, yeah? Kids are emotional sponges, if Taco is stressed and scared around the others, Luz is going to pick up on that and feel anxious themself!! Furthermore, Taco needs to watch herself even more than before, and before she still really needed to mind her behavior!!! Because she's got a little kid who looks up to her as their primary caretaker now. If Luz sees Taco shouting or scheming, she's gonna take that as how one should normally act!!! But hey, Luz clearly feels loved, and that's the most important part, yeah? Taco's been doing a pretty good job so far :). [Hopefully that all makes sense!!!!]

Anyways AWWWWWWWWWW tacomic cuddles w/ Luz squeezing themself right in the middle of her two moms!!!!!! Soap would take so many pictures fhrihuei. Knife would tease them both about it afterwards lol.

[gooeygoldies]

Y'know what surprise post it's Otacon time he's on my mind rn (I have had some of the songs I've assigned to him on repeat lately) pokemon au is back!! Og mgs, mgs2 and mgs4

BUT YEAH!! POKEMON!!! he's one of my -if not the- most developed character au-wise in regards to pokemon and teams and things so yuh yuh under cut my insane person rambles

Okay SO we are going by game.

Mgs

- Porygon and Magnemite: Very straightforward the hacker/engineer pokemon duo!! He got them in college. His buddies his pals

- Sobble: actual plot here! It was a gift by Sniper wolf, who had Intelleon as her main pokemon. It is very much like him in the first game (cries and can turn invisible, in this au he got the camo gear idea from Sobble!!) and is perked upon his shoulder always. Also the water type is a sad little connection to the.pool. yeah. Anyways, he leaves it behind after leaving shadow Moses cuz he isn't a crybaby anymore!! Character growth!! The Sobble is okay don't worry about it

- Venonat: in au-lore. Originally assigned cuz I felt they looked alike, also a nocturnal pokemon to accompany him! But it was a pokemon he saved from being attacked by wolf's mightyenas (stand-in for wolves) it helps him sneak around shadow Moses thanks to its enhanced sight!

Mgs2 (now we get more into my own lore)

- Porygon2 and Magneton: Evolved!! Thanks to philanthropy that is, now they battle alongside snake and Otacon and are key helpers in all things electricity. Magneton is especially key in destabilizing electrical power sources

- Patrat (Shiny): Shiny bcs the color scheme felt cuter, but aside from that its here to match the 'eyes in the sky' role Otacon has now. A little sentinel! It keeps guard if accompanying snake or Otacon in missions.

- Swadloon: its all cozy and cooped up like. Like a nerd. But beside that, and it's role in the future (aka MGS4) it's main function is to sew up any torn garments, and helped Otacon make the new sneaking suit.

- Joltik: you know the bug things set to record conversations in spy movies? Make it an actual bug. Also it eats electricity so its a rlly good pal to have on the computer.

- Helioptile: It's actually a power generator!! Solar powered friend and I'd feel it would've been caught while moving around for philanthropy

* Venonat: He's still there!

Mgs4

Porygon2 & Magneton: Same ol' guys

Galvantula, Watchog, Heliolisk, Venomoth: They all evolved! Even if they spend most of their time in the nomad, Otacon took the time to train all of them after Snake's health started deteriorating just in case they needed to protect Sunny.

Leavanny: Honorable and separate mention! The nanny pokemon and it evolves by friendship. Evolved not long after Sunny arrived into his life, as the pokemon category implies, it takes care of Sunny as well!! Main caretaker whenever Snake and Otacon need some backup in that regard

Rotom: you know Rotom dex? Think metal gear Rotom... Rotom gear. But it's the mk.II instead. Rotom powered! The little dude also helps with every day appliances with it's usual forms

Beheeyem: It matches his sleeker, cooler look. That concept art with the coat? It's the cooler nerd pokemon

Porygon-Z: Used to be Emma's, and it ends up being the last puzzle piece in FOXALIVE in this au. She gave it to him before, y'know, spoilers but dying and all dat!

Well that's it!! I love Otacon he's so me I'm so him. Nerds with big glasses... Hopefully if I get the energy I'll do more deep dives like these but tbh for Snake his team is p static. Whatever !!! Ty guys for listening gn !!

[eastern-lights]

So we all know how the main theme of Veilguard is gonna be Regret, right? Why stop there? Why not assign theme-demons to the other games as well?

Origins: Despair/desperation

Aside from generally being what you feel when there's a Darkspawn horde ravaging your country, despair is what sets the whole plot in motion and keeps appearing in the individual origins and minor plot points throughout the story.

Everything Loghain does he does out of desperation. He is desperate to preserve the Ferelden he knows because he genuinely believes he is the only one who can. He turns to heinous acts because he is desperate to win and he sees no other way out.

Grey Wardens in general can be summed up by "desperate times, desperate measures". The Warden, too, can commit horrible crimes to get the power to oppose the Blight, because times are desperate.

Despair is what makes most of the origin characters join the Wardens. Cousland just lost their family. Tabris/Brosca are about to be executed. Amell/Surana are about to be shipped to Aeonar. Aeducan is dying in the Deep Roads. Mahariel is dying of the Blight.

As early as Lothering, you fight and kill people whose only reason for attacking you is desperation.

Also, what colour is the Warden associated with? Blue. What colour are despair demons? Also blue.

(me rn:)

Dragon Age II: [helpless] Rage

Where in Origins, times were desperate, but ultimately you had the power to win, few games manage to convey the utter feeling of powerlesness in the face of fate and societal change as DAII.

Despair may drive the Warden to questionable measures to achieve victory, but nothing Hawke does can ever lead to even just losing less, nevermind actually winning.

Almost every single character is a powerless victim of circumstance and their own nature. All they can do is rage impotently against the heavens.

Rage at being powerless to reclaim the Tome of Koslun drives the Arishok to his conquest of Kirkwall.

Rage is what threatens to consume Fenris throughout his arc.

And it is rage at the plight of mages that corrupts Justice into Vengeance.

Also, Hawke's colour is red. Just like that of Rage demons.

Inquisition: Fear

Or, more specifically, fear of there being no higher power, but also of it actually existing.

Pride is a very strong contender here, but please, indulge my mental gymnastics so we can fit into my demon colour scheme theory for a moment.

While pride is definitely the cardinal sin that lead Corypheus to try and usurp the throne of the gods the first time, I would argue that in Inquisition, it is fear that drives him more. He claims there is no higher power, that the Golden City was empty. And that terrifies him. He wants to become a god so there is one. In the end, he desperately wants divinity to exists in the world - when the Inquisitor defeats him and all seems lost, he calls out to Dumat, hoping he was wrong and there actually are gods.

Fear is definitely what drives the entire plot of Here Lies the Abyss.

Sera is absolutely terrified of magic and the Fade, but also the Elven gods. But she seems fine with the Maker. That is because the Maker is an absent god. She is free of His influence. But spirits and the Creators are hands-on and, if real, influence events. There is desire in her for there to be something divine, but also fear of that divinity actually reaching out.

Solas potentially leaves the love of his life because he is afraid that loving her, acknowledging there is something in this world worthy of love, would prevent him from doing what he sees as his duty.

Also, Inquisitor green, Fear demon also green or smth.

Now, Veilguard is really gonna mess with my colour scheme, isn't it...

[abubblingcandle]

If you ever wanted to share some of those feelings about prem teams and poor roster management, I would love to hear about it! I'm still very much in learning mode and love to know people's thoughts :D

Oh all the time!! I'm going to put this under the cut because this is going to be a long one gang! (This is also going to target Man City a bit, and Nottingham Forest, and Chelsea a bit as they are the current examples I could think of so ... sorry guys)

Introduction - Premier League Squad Rules

So in general the Premier League squad rules are that you can name a 25 man squad to play in the Premier League that season. Only 17 of those players can be not "home-grown" and under 21s are not included in this list.

A "home-grown" player is a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday.

So these rulings massively encourage teams to sign very talented Under-21s to their academies (ideally under 18s) so that they can play them if needed and keep them so they class as home-grown when they get older.

Point 1 - Homegrown Players

Therefore, what a lot of rich title challenging prem teams do is they find reliable, would be fine in the team but not exceptional, cheap homegrown players to fill those slots and make use of that 'extra' space. For example Man City have a third choice keeper Scott Carson who (credit to him) has the most lush job imaginable. He plays like 10 minutes a year or maybe a few matches in lesser trophies but because he is a homegrown player they might as well have him on the squad list instead of an international third choice keeper who would take up one of the valuable spots. So if you have no intention of playing a player except for in dire, there is truly no one else situations then get a homegrown player from a smaller team for cheap.

But! What this does mean is it can really hamper the careers of these homegrown players because the club has no intention of playing them (often the managers don't even really like them or play a formation that suits them), they are just there because you might as well. An example of this is Kalvin Phillips at Man City. Now by now a lot of people on here know how much of a fan of Kalvin I am (he is a wonderful human being, excellent defensive mid and all round sweet guy), but even that aside he does not play more than 15 minutes in a match for Man City because there is no space for him. He is used to rest players when matches are already won and that's it really. The only position he could fill is filled by Rodri and if Rodri can't play then Pep changes the whole formation. SO he is only there for dire emergencies. But he is an England player, he is national standard and despite all the medals, the lack of squad rotation is harming his career in a massive way.

So the home-grown player rule is great to improve development of English players but it encourages teams to sign players they don't really want or need because there are spots to fill.

Point 2 - If you want him then I'll have him

(This is particularly the case with under-21s)

With clubs being bought by oil money now, this leads to a "throw money at the situation approach" which means that as soon as a player is highly rated then lots of clubs jump at the chance to buy that player whether that is actually a player they need or fits in their scheme. If this player is under 21 then it's better because they don't fit into the 25 man squad. For example this summer transfer window Chelsea signed 12 players. Three of them were defensive midfielders ... a position that AT MOST you play 2 of at once. And they already had three! This panic of "oh no, this team want this player so he must be better than what I've already got" leads again to teams getting players that don't improve the team and/or are surplus to requirements. But you can't throw your multimillion dollar signing who you have very publicly signed to the wayside! So they have to play no matter what because so much effort and money has gone into their signing. You can't bench someone who cost £100m for an academy player or you will be torn to shreds even if it might be better for a team to rest their star or if god forbid he ain't performing, it is so difficult for the manager for the manager to make changes.

Point 3 - Win at all costs!

So, being part of a Premier League side means congested fixtures. You might have European competition, you might have FA Cup, you might have World Club Cup, you might have League Cup. So this means playing a lot of football! You might think "Candle, contrary to your argument here this sounds like a great opportunity to rotate in players so that people don't get tired or injured?" WRONG! Particularly in mid table clubs, cups are their best chance to win trophies. If you want to win trophies you play your starters to not risk an upset. But then you need to play your starters in the league because league performance is the most important thing for Euro qualification or to avoid relegation. Big clubs also don't want the shame of being victim to a giant killing so may play starters against lower league sides to avoid that. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Arsenal in the cup, fine. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Forest Green Rovers in the cup, you are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the sport. Therefore encourages lack of rotation because you are more likely to win if your best players are out there.

Point 4 - Attention Span of a Goldfish

The fans are to blame for this ... sorry fans. If you rotate in a player, and that player has a bad game or is lacking match fitness then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. So that player gets benched again, even if it was a blip or against a superior side. If a player is playing well and is benched for rest and then the team loses then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. The culture doesn't encourage looking after the players and maybe accepting that there might be some iffy performances for a player to get settled into the side or slightly less impressive performances from fringe players. For example Darwin "Captain Chaos" Nunez for Liverpool. When he first came to Liverpool he was god awful, couldn't even hit the stands when he shot, got the nickname Captain Chaos because no one knew what he was doing. He kept being benched, because he wasn't doing what the club wanted but all that did was knock his confidence and mean that it was a lot harder to rotate strikers.

Point 5 - Favourite Children

Simple point, most managers have players that they just ... like and others that they don't. Managers are human. You are more likely to pick a player that you like to start than one that might irritate you or you didn't really want on your team EVEN IF it is to the benefit of your favourite child to rest them.

TLDR - Premier League clubs (particularly those at the top of the table) are awful at reducing burnout and injury in their players through rotation. This is partially through team design, external pressures, stupid signings, cost of players, and favouritism. It is bizarre that the teams that have the best depth in squads are the most reluctant to use it

[idrisofficial]

what do other people say about lennox and nesrin. what’s their relationship to outsiders

oh this is a VERY interesting question and not one ive really considered.

most people are very intimidated by lennox because he intentionally positions himself as a cunning politician to earn fear and love and respect and everything in between (niccolo machiavelli would love this guy). and anyone smart enough to catch onto his occasional usurping of the throne understands that he means business and will probably do anything to get what he wants.

nesrin is kind of an enigma to the court and she likes it that way. she makes sure people know what she’s capable of (physically and politically), but she won’t let anyone really get to know her as a person aside from lennox and kaia, and those relationships are kept as private as possible. most people don’t question the narrative surrounding her sister’s death, but there are a few quiet rumors that she was responsible for it, generating some fear towards her—it contributes to a ruthless image.

put those two reputations together and you have a power couple. people are aware they hated each other for awhile, and then at some point they started being seen together more frequently. most probably guess that they fucked about it and then everything was ok.

their alliance seems a little dangerous to people with how ambitious each of them is. people assume that they do a lot of scheming together, but mostly they come to be each other’s only friend so their discussions often aren’t political. it does come across as strange that they usually don’t interact with each other in group settings—some probably think it has to do with power dynamics and lennox wanting to seem absolute in his knowledge and nesrin likely challenging that. but nesrin only speaks when necessary in groups anyway, so it’s not too suspicious.

overall? people think they’re an extremely well-matched pairing full of manipulative potential and are kind of glad the two of them aren’t a more united front at court. no one has any idea as to the nuances of their feelings towards each other.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. last night we finished off the third season of ds9 with "facets" and "the adversary."

facets:

FINALLY some good fucking food re dax. oh finally finally finally. i absolutely loved this episode start to finish. 10/10 no notes. well no i have two notes 1. it's hilarious that they included leeta bc they didn't have enough characters for all of dax's lives 2. i wish we didn't on-purpose forget that crazy mf who kidnapped her in that one episode...where was he. anyway, aside from those two things, literally perfect

gonna start with the b-plot - nog finally passing his starfleet exams was such a huge fucking deal and it was an even BIGGER deal to me that rom - rom, who initially almost stopped his own kid from going to school because of his brother's influence/ferengi culture in general - got so mad on his kid's behalf he yelled at quark NOSE TO NOSE. not only that, he had a uniform commissioned from garak at a high expense...his son is more important than even MONEY and GOOD FOR HIM!!! my new friend rom.

i'm trying haaard with quark - i liked his scenes in the a-plot - but him fucking with the test is just so horrible. i am begging for even a scrap of character development or even just likability. why can't his schemes and shenanigans be something that doesn't cause emotional harm to other people?? he did a lot of that in the first two seasons, what happened??

anyway, it's cosmic justice that dax assigned him hairbrushing and pregnancy talk in her little ritual. at first i was like i can't believe theyre not gonna make him curzon because he's an asshole and so was curzon but this episode was so enlightened

actually, i had a little spoiler going into this episode. one day i was gooling pics of curzon bc i couldn't remember what he looked like and was so shocked to see ODO! i was like damn is odo mimicking curzon, i thought it was dr mora, what manner of backstory...but then i happened to see the summary for the episode later (i try not to read them, but it happens) and was like ohhh. and it turned out to be perfect

like, the picks for everyone were great - maybe o'brien as tobin was a little mean, that could have also been quark lol - kira was such a perfect feminist trill even with her little voice and sisko made an AMAZING joran (his fakeout was SO fun and i love when sisko calls jadzia old man) but you can't get more perfect than curzon and odo

like, theyre both assholes who go too far sometimes, though obviously they're different KINDS of assholes - odo's grumpiness in generally more benevolent, though not always, and curzon's is much more hidden under charm. they're also both PINING! what a plot twist. it actually explains so much (why he asked for her despite expelling her) and it's like...yeah, jadzia was an adult, but the age difference still made it kind of inappropriate, and he knew enough to know that. and rene auberjonis can play that kind of tortured wish-i-didn't-love-you angst PERFECTLY

and even though he's an asshole, you didn't feel like jadzia's sympathy for him was misplaced, because he obviously did his best to make amends (important!!) and suffered over it a great deal - that his own inappropriate behavior almost cost jadzia something she'd worked her whole life for, and it was nearly a mistake that couldn't be undone. you felt like he actually HAD a wake-up call, unlike a lot of the characters in tng or in a recent case voy who were only sad and made excuses so THEY could feel better without actually attempting to correct course for someone ELSE'S sake. i liked curzon a lot, he had a lot of nuance

also, i gotta talk about odo. since curzon and odo's personalities are so different, it actually makes total sense why they'd want to stay joined...odo gets to be free and easy around others, and curzon gets the joys of being a changeling. odo's rigid personality doesn't complement his abilities as a changeling very well, but curzon's personality kind of does??

curzon sisko reunion was so good too. sisko pointing vaguely at him to an amazed and speechless jake going oh you remember curzon ha ha and getting sort of dragged out of the room. they're SO funny and i love sisko scenes so much

and of course sisko's scenes with JADZIA! i feel like i understand her so much better now...firstly, she's had this sort of sassy personality for a few episodes, so i'm wondering if we are finally sticking with that one? but then she also has this deep-seated insecurity underneath there which could kind of explain away some of her reserved rigidity in earlier seasons - her whole deal enrolling kind of traumatized her, and her "real" personality is starting to shine now that she's healing? all conjecture/headcanon, but i could get used to sassy jadzia! it feels great that she has actual conflict and stuff to say and like, a pretty fun sense of comedic timing also

and now that her character has started to appeal to me i can see how lovely it is that curzon was once sisko's mentor and now sisko is mentoring jadzia on how to confront curzon...also they fucked twins once. and fucked in the mirrorverse. there's so much to unpack. it's a complex fun relationship that i've always LIKED but am only just now starting to APPRECIATE

anyway, wonderful stuff, 10/10

the adversary:

MY BEST FRIEND ODO. "no changeling has ever harmed another" are such fun arc words and i was hoping he'd be the first and he WAS. i think that other changeling technically attacked him first but whatever. it was what i wanted and i GOT IT and he was so fucked up after <3

sisko's promotion!! i always wondered when they'd get around to making him captain, it was always bonkers to me that he started as a commander. he is still ROCKING that beard also but i do pre-emptively miss his hair. also, sisko taking jake's drink at the toast when he tried to steal too much. priceless. he has such dad energy

dax teasing sisko about his baseball gf..........i love this so much for them. i love that he gets a baseball gf and i love that everyone gossips about it behind his back. i also love how much glee everyone took in calling him captain for the rest of the episode. his besties love him so much.........................

changeling plot was so fun because i THOUGHT it was weird for julian to be crawling around in that little hole but the close-up on obrien had me CONVINCED he was the one and ofc also that one traitor guy was there too and he's super squirrelly. so it kept me GUESSING

i do think it's really funny that they used this nice civilized hypo to draw blood though - firstly, it's less secure, because the changeling was able to swap samples, but secondly, on s*pernatural they would have been cutting each other up INSTANTLY. straight across the palm like idiots. they're so fucking civilized in the 2300s.

the return of the self-destruct codes!!!!!!!!!!! GOD THAT WAS SO METAL. everyone went very calmly to their almost certain deaths too.

the fact that kira was the first to ask after odo after he went, sorry, NONVERBAL, and showed up in the meeting room.......that's romance. r, well, it's not but i'll take it and happily.

"you're too late we're everywhere" THEY'D BETTER GET USED TO THE CUTTING!

TONIGHT: kicking off voy s2 with "the 37s" and "initiations." though i do happen to know the former was originally just supposed to be part of s1 lol

[tearlessrain]

OC meme, 7? :3

thank! (ask meme)

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them? since nobody was specified I'll just answer for the SWTOR gang (or the ones I can think of answers for at least)

Khatte — Leaving aside the obvious one that he was a joke character who accidentally grew a backstory, his character arc has gotten a lot bleaker as I develop him. He still gets a more or less happy/hopeful ending but the man goes through some serious shit to get there and I'd only consider his ending fully happy when grading on a curve (it's definitely the best ending he could reasonably have gotten but to some degree I think the Agent has an inherent element of tragedy to them and I lean into that a fair bit with him).

Kalarros — I've developed his personal flaws a lot since his inception which has been a lot of fun. He's a Sith Warrior who by default in-game is kind of The World's Specialest Boy with plot armor like a jaeger, and I chose to commit to the bit on that, but I've greatly enjoyed finding the cracks in that outward perfection and building on them. He's spectacularly good at Being A Sith and Killing Things and Battlefield Strategizing but the man cannot scheme to save his life. literally. Baras collapsed a mineshaft on him and he did not even slightly see it coming, and then once he'd gotten revenge for that betrayal he turned around and made the exact same mistake with the Emperor (and somewhere in the middle of those two things he also made the same mistake a third time with Quinn and didn't see that coming either). He's a prodigy and a genius and a finely honed killing machine and also situationally the Galaxy's biggest dumbass.

Jial-ro — His characterization/general arc have stayed pretty consistent since I made him but I think he's had the most drastic visual change out of anyone so far. He is literally unrecognizable from the appearance he's stuck with in-game. I mean most of my cathar end up wildly diverging from their in-game appearance eventually because I love designing them with my own headcanons and shit, but he's kinda the poster child for that.

Valdrynn — well he's scottish now for some reason. but no honestly I never knew what to do with the Sith Inquisitor because the story is all over the place and the LS track, which I strongly prefer for the Inquisitor in theory, is a goddamn mess that they obviously weren't expecting anyone to play (don't come for me I know most people love the Inquisitor story but this is my blog and I feel how I feel about it). So I made him because I'm a completionist and he was just kind of there until I was like "hey I need someone to throw in the canon Alliance Commander slot, and I need to do something with this guy, and he's already a ghost lightning rod because of Circumstances, it's perfect." He's still basically a character getting dragged along by his own story like a ragdoll in the jaws of a jack russel terrier, but there's intention behind it now and I'm making it work for him.

Qohi — I made him originally with the intention of trying to make the Trooper bearable. Needless to say, this was a fool's errand. So he languished at the bottom of my character list until I had an epiphany: I'd been going about this all wrong. I'm never going to have fun trying to make the Trooper bearable, but I can have a lot of fun making the Trooper as absolutely unbearable as possible. So he turned from "attempt to somehow subvert the expectations of this character and do something to make him relatable/likable to me" to "that one relative/acquaintance every American has who joined the Marines and made it his entire personality." He's the absolute worst and everyone who's RPed with him hates his guts within five minutes and it's great.

[fitzrove]

So... what really would've gone down if Mayerling 1889 didn't happen?

Under the cut for speculation & surface-level research... I may write a better post about this someday later. Tysm @baldandersss for inspiring this hehehe

This is a favourite topic for many a "historian" (lol) online, people love to think about what would have happened if Rudolf hadn't died in 1889. Setting aside other things that could've killed Rudolf (we don't know for sure if he had syphilis, Brigitte Hamann sometimes says no - gonorrhea only, but he believed it was syphilis and therefore progressive and uncurable - but in later interviews she switches to yes, it was syphilis; also, maybe stephanie would've eventually gotten tired enough and murdered him (JOKING)), let's pretend for a moment that he actually managed to survive until the 20th century and beyond lol

Now, it's late and I'm not going to google all the stuff that happened between 1889 and 1914 LOL rip, but the thing with 1914 is:

I'm not altogether sure it would've made a difference in the grand scheme of history, ie. Rudolf could not have prevented WW1 from occurring

unless a bunch of people got cool about a bunch of stuff really quickly

according to wikipedia The Bosnian Serb students who planned out the attack mostly cited larger anti-imperial motivations (= the attentat was conceptualised as a heroic bid to free the homeland from decades of tyranny and forced organisational/governmental/political assimilation - omg fun fact this also happened in Finland in 1904 for similar reasons but nobody cared so there was no war xD), but there was also a slight personal aspect to it, because Franz Ferdinand had advocated for even further imperial consolidation, and the assassin actually stated that one of his motivations was to prevent further developments in that vein from occurring by removing FF from the playing board.

-> would a "fairer" archduke - or crown prince - have made a difference? More importantly, could we assume that Rudolf would've actually held substantially different views (in terms of political thought Rudolf was "fairer" to the Slavic peoples of the empire than many others at court, but he was still an imperialist at heart, he didn't want A-H to break apart into independent nation-states - which is the opposite of what radical nationalists all across Europe wanted), AND even if he did, could we assume that evidence of his views would've been widespread enough to make the nationalists hope that once he became emperor, things would get better?

There's simply too many questions, I don't know if it could've worked out... Of course, maybe the overall political line of the court would've been different if Rudolf lived, but that would've necessitated actual power and influence for Rudolf... and idk if any was forthcoming especially once he started to be viewed as mentally unstable and/or morally repugnant by family members, members of the court and the general public (in the late 1880s). So in general I would assume that Mayerling as an event actually isn't historically as momentous as people sometimes say - it's a symptom, not a cause. Really, the real tragedy is the build-up of a political system that's so hostile to idealist liberalism that people in power (or adjacent to power!) who go/think against the system don't have a chance to affect change AND find their very existence unsustainable

(of course there was a level of personal tragedy too, not being able to cope with everything AND having limitations to how you could solve your problems because status made many things impossible for Rudolf, but...)

Also, @baldandersss pointed out that this version of events would've made Rudolf alive at the time of Elisabeth's death - surely a tough blow, especially given the circumstances...