#but the context for the name change is like

[astriiformes]

Another scene in Back to the Future that gets very funny in the context of trans Marty is the bit where he's first trying to convince Doc he's a time traveler, and pulls out his driver's license to point out that he hasn't even been born yet.

While technically possible for a California teenager to have gotten his legal name and gender marker changed in 1980s, it's also very likely that Marty wouldn't have yet, meaning he is presenting an ID with completely wrong information on it and trying to use it as proof --something he would, absolutely and without thinking, do.

[endless-ineffabilities]

✨️jealous modern Aemond who's your fwb✨️ (18+)

for context: they're in law school. the setting is Aemond's room. fwb was Aemond's idea, but he's also the one who breaks the rules and falls first.

✍️ more Aem

You lie on your side on Aemond's bed, absentmindedly thumbing through the pages of your textbook. It's for one of the classes you share with his sister Helaena, who will certainly kill the both of you if she ever finds out about your arrangement.

He has been acting aloof ever since he found out that you hooked up with his friend Robb after last week's party.

And you, bless your oblivious little heart, have no clue as to why. You didn't even make the correlation. You just suspect that maybe he's grown bored of hooking up with you, and soon, you'll no longer be burdened with this secret.

Then he speaks up. "Do you like him?"

"What? Who?" You twist your neck to look at him. He sits near the foot of the bed, attempting to appear busy on his phone. You think he's texting, but he's debating whether to change his home screen to a photo of you two together. He's wondering if you would even care.

"Robb." He can't help but grit his teeth at the name. You're confused as to why he sounds so agitated. They've always been good buddies. They even went to damn prep school together.

In fact, Aemond was the one who introduced you to Robb.

"Well, I hope so. I wouldn't have fucked him if I didn't like him," you remark crassly, thinking it would cause him to smile or smirk or hell, even offer words of solidarity like, I get that.

Instead, he takes it to another direction.

"Is he better than me?"

"I don't know," you shrug the question off, turning back your book. "Never gave it much thought, really."

"Think about it then."

"You're being weird, Aem."

"How 'bout I help you reach your conclusion."

Your bare ass is suddenly exposed to the cool air when he pulls your shorts down. He gives the flesh a good smack, his fingers squeezing the fat on impact.

Before you can ask what the hell's gotten into him, Aemond crawls up behind you, spooning your body.

You feel his digit graze your folds, rubbing at the moisture that starts to pool from your core and spreading it around. His lodges his hardening cock between your legs, and it slides easily due to your precum. He rubs himself against you, shamelessly getting off while his hand creeps up your—his—sweatshirt to fondle your breast.

His mouth is by the shell of your ears, his deep and lustful grunts echoing.

"Fuck me, what's—aghhhh—what's gotten into you, Aem?" you ask, not that you're complaining. It's a more than welcome distraction from criminal law 101.

"Shhh, just... wanna make you feel good, baby. Just take it. Let me—" He finally enters you, and it's as perfect as all the times before. He tilts your jaw toward him with a tight grip so he can steal a kiss, his tongue swiping at your lips, your cheek, and whatever else of you it collides with.

"Yeah, that feels good." You reach back and thread your fingers through his white-blonde hair, tugging slightly the way he likes it.

"Yeah?" He picks up the pace, the schlicking sounds from where your bodies are joined reaching your ears.

"Yeah. Your cock always feels fucking good."

"Just good?"

"Whaddaya want me to say?" you manage, in between all the panting.

"Was he good too?" He sounds needy. Pathetic. It's never a good look for anyone, but for some reason, it's so fucking hot when he does it.

"Aemond—"

"You're mine, baby. Mine." He buries himself to the hilt, before pausing, waiting for your go-ahead.

"Shit, okay."

"Say it." Because it's not enough for him. He doesn't move, keeping you wanting until he gets what he wants. Always been selfish that way.

"I'm yours then. All yours, babe."

It's as if you just uttered the magic words, because he jackrabbits to an extreme, his pelvis snapping against your ass with unrelenting force. His fingers dig into your hips, guiding you right onto his cock. It doesn't take long before he's filling your pussy with his cum. He bites down hard on the crook of your neck, his body giving a euphoric shudder behind you. When he's finished, every drop of pleasure squeezed inside you, he relaxes. He anchors his jaw on your shoulders, resting his head against yours, taking deep breaths to get down from such a high.

His moment of calm is shattered when you rise from the bed and disappear into his bathroom to clean his spend, before it dries into a sticky mess as it drips down your inner thighs.

"I have to go," you tell Aemond nonchalantly. As if he did not just fuck your brains out. Well, if no-strings-attached is what he wants, that's what he'll get. "I have civil procedure in 15 minutes."

"Okay..." He's resigned, until he remembers. "Isn't Robb taking that as well?"

"Uhm, yes, but—"

"I'll come with you," he blurts out, making you regard him as if he released precious brain cells when he ejaculated.

"What? You're not even in this class, Aem."

"I'll sit in. Don't have much to do today, anyway."

"Okay? So go out then. Call Alys up, take her to lunch. Why would you waste your time—"

But he's already at the door. "What are you waiting for? We're going to be late."

He trails you out, pleased that you put your hair up. Robb should see that purple marks he left on your neck and know not to mess with what's his.

[itsrlymine]

HAI BESTIE ITS 🪐💜 AGAIN!!!

omg ur post abt not calling it desires bc it’s already yours so wtf are you desiring… EXACTLY!!! LITERALLY THAT!!

I always had this sort of cognitive dissonance when it comes to talking abt like the concept of wanting something and “trying to get it” when in all reality you don’t want something you already have.

Also I wanted to mention this little trick I use to help for people who have a hard time or just aren’t used to affirming something to themselves if they’re too caught up in the “3D” or whatever!! For all y’all ‘logical’ people this might work for you

Basically I spew out a list of stuff that I know are undeniable fact and include whatever it is I manifest in that list so my brain will receipt it as a fact as well! There is a psychology term for this where your brain will categorize something based on the surrounding information/context but I forgot what it was called LMAOO

Essentially I tell myself something along this:

“The sky is blue. I have a phone. I breathe oxygen. I have 2 living parents. I’m sitting in my apartment with (partner) rn. I graduated highschool. Grass is green. I’m good at art. it’s snowing outside right now. I’m a millionaire. My sister is 14 years old. I ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. Water is made up of one hydrogen atom two oxygen atoms. I know how to braid hair. I’ve got a huge following on social media. My friends are (insert names), I love my friends. I’m friends with (celeb.) ice is cold. Fire is hot. I have a masculinely androgynous body. My family is accepting of queer people. I am Arab. My family isn’t religious.”

Etc etc, it really helps me feel comfortable with understanding how it is FACTUAL I have it regardless of what the 3D shows me or not!

( something I find so funny is how since i deal with psychosis, in my episodes I tend to think of everything as fake and a simulation. and though I’m not having an episode I still think of the 3D and 4D with that lens bc this shit is just a slow ass loading simulation fr! Like I already changed and clicked and did whatever I changed but it loads slow as hell so although I’m not seeing the changes I know it’ll show up bc it has to)

babes.... when i tell you i do the same exact thinggggg! I list out facts that I know with ones that align with what I've manifested to prove to myself that I don't have to feel any inherent thing, just be and think as the person who has something they wanted. It's so great and just shows you how everything is truly just our assumptions of them.

[lucky-santangelo]

I can admit that there is technically a selfishness in both protagonists, but Glinda’s outweighs Elphaba’s, hence the criticism of her character.

First, there’s a difference in why both women want to work with Madame Morrible (and, through her, the Wizard). Yes, both of their reasons are for personal gain: Glinda wants this for more fame and power than she already has. On the other hand, Elphaba wants to be de-greenfied so people can…you know…stop treating her like she’s trash solely based on the color of her skin. Elphaba’s initial deepest desire to change the way she looks is inherently superficial, BUT it’s in direct response to society’s (AND her family’s) horrible treatment of her because she is green. Glinda’s reasons are MORE selfish.

Now, I know that in “Defying Gravity,” Elphaba asks Glinda to come with her, but the movie (and this post—a sincere thank you, OP 🤗) helped me see a new interpretation of it. I don’t think that Elphaba asks Glinda to throw her life away for her, per se. That was going to be a consequence, for sure, but I think she was first and foremost asking Glinda to join her in standing up for what Glinda JUST said she believed in: Animals rights.

The context is important here. This moment is happening after their Goat professor is violently removed from their campus. Elphaba and Fiyero were genuinely distraught over what happened. Glinda, hating to be left out (selfish intentions!), formerly announces to their class that she’s changing her name to honor Doctor Dillamond as a show of solidarity with the Animals in Oz. Only a mere hours later, Glinda is willing (and asking Elphaba) to side with the people responsible for Animal oppression. Oh how quickly Glinda’s performative allyship crumbled!

In the beginning of the song, Glinda is like, “Hey! If you give this cause a rest, you could look Normal the way you’ve always wanted!” And Elphaba is like, “But I don’t want it—no, I CAN’T want it anymore.” And I never noticed until now that Elphaba corrects herself!! She still wants to be de-greenified, but she chooses to give up her seat at the table for something bigger than herself. The Animal race is being treated as subhuman and she decides to give up this opportunity to help them (or at the very least, not be a part of their oppression). Elphaba gave up her dream of looking (and being treated as) normal in order for a minority race to have their rights back. That is selfless. That is something that Glinda was unwilling to do.

And you’re saying that Elphaba knows full well how much Glinda values other’s opinions, but Glinda says the same thing about Elphaba! A lifetime of being Othered, doesn’t make societal rejection any less hurtful for Elphaba. She just got better at hiding how much it affects her behind “I don’t give a fuck” armor.

Also, Glinda had so much wealth and influence that she could have used to help Elphaba and the Animals, you know? She could have been a Dolly Parton philanthropist. Instead, she made the conscious decision to stay in the system that she continued to passively benefit from, and to be an active cog in the systemic machine.

This was an impossible situation, but there was definitely a right answer 🥴 And Elphaba asking Glinda to do the right thing doesn’t make her “equally” as wrong as Glinda was for choosing to go along with the Wizard, please 😭

TL;DR: Yes, there is nuance to Glinda’s decision and you could make an argument for both characters’ selfishness, but Glinda’s selfishness far outweighs Elphaba and she is justifiably criticized for it. Elphaba gave up what little privilege she had in order to help a marginalized group. Glinda was willing to step on minorities’ backs (or to stand idly by while others did so) in order to cling to her own.

I love how inherently selfish both Glinda AND Elphaba are as protagonists. But where one gets praised and admired for it, the other gets demonised and hated.

People always attack Glinda’s decision not to runaway with Elphaba, but no one acknowledges how overtly selfish it is to ask that of someone.

Elphaba is asking Glinda to throw her ENTIRE life away for her. To be ostracised and hated all throughout Oz when she knows full well how badly Glinda cares about what people think of her.

And while Elphaba is used to such ostracisation, Glinda is not.

It is an equally selfish decision refuse Elphaba request. To perpetuate corrupt beliefs you don’t believe; in order to be accepted and validated by people in power.

They’re BOTH in the wrong, for entirely different reasons. It was an impossible situation with no right answer. And I’m sick of people acting like Glinda made the “ wrong choice ”

[gothamite-rambler]

Tim's and Konnor first kiss

Context: This is just my headcanon where Tim did date Konnor, it didn't work out and then later when he fully realized he was bisexual and reconnected with Bernard he started dating him. Because why pick on ship when you can have both and write ship script fics about it? Plus I do secretly headcanon Tim as being the opposite of Jason and he's great at dating and flirting even when he's being a nerd. Tim is the third Robin and has been questioning his sexuaility, but finds himself attracted to both genders and he has though Konnor was foine! Issue is while Konnor has been out of the closet for a few years, Tim isn't sure the superhero would want to be with him. So he shoots his shot, will he get that kiss?

Red Robin yawned as Konnor Kent discussed the plan to sneak into LexCorp. Though he usually managed three to four hours of sleep, sometimes exhaustion crept in. Still, he wasn't complaining—he was next to Konnor. The boy's effervescent energy always kept him focused.

Konnor (eagerly): If we go here, here, and here, we can drop down there and take them out. That way, we get everything squared away.

Robin glanced over the blueprints Konnor had drawn himself and nodded.

Robin (genuine): Good plan.

Konnor (surprised): That's it?

Robin (casually): Yeah. Were you expecting me to say something else?

Konnor (confused): You usually pick apart other plans, and by the end of it, the whole thing is changed. You do a good job at that—don’t get me wrong—but there’s nothing you want to fix on mine?

Robin chuckled, resting his arm on the table.

Robin (light-hearted): For others, I would, but yours has a lot of thought put into it, and you know Lex's buildings better than I do. It's a solid plan.

Konnor (smiling softly): I mean, I’m not just some dumb guy who can fly and is super strong. I have layers. Some people misunderstand that about me. I can be really good at planning, too. Thanks, Robin.

Tim (smiling): No one else is around, dude. You can call me Tim.

Konnor (perking up): Seriously? Cool! I felt weird saying "Robin" at times. "Tim Drake" is a more badass name.

Tim (smiling, sweet tone): Konnor isn't bad either.

Konnor (curious): Really? I always hated my name.

Tim (shrugging): You have a good name, regardless of the connotations it has. And I agree, you're not dumb—there are many great things about you.

Konnor (raising an eyebrow with a knowing smile): Tim, are you coming on to me?

Tim sat back, resting his arms behind his head.

Tim (coy tone): Maybe I am, maybe I'm not.

Konnor: Hm, all right. If I said you're attractive to me and I've been wanting to kiss you for months since coming out, what would your response be?

Tim chuckled, sitting up straight and scooching his chair closer to Konnor.

Tim: I'd say I've been feeling the same about you.

Konnor pouted, tapping his fingers on the table, contemplating whether this was Tim being truthful. He could hear the man's heartbeat slightly speeding up, but he wasn't sure if it was infatuation or deception.

Konnor (slightly dejected tone): I'm not going to lie, I'm worried this is a dumb trick you're pulling on me.

Tim tilted his head, his tired eyes reflecting confusion.

Tim: Hm? Why would you think that?

Konnor: Because you're straight, right? You were with Stephanie. Heck, I've even met your girlfriend before you got involved with Steph, and I'd rather not be your 'experiment.'

Konnor glanced at his blueprints, trying to concentrate on the mission rather than dwelling on the painful possibilities of "what if." However, he couldn’t help but notice Tim's expression shift from coy to anxious.

Tim (worry in his tone): No, no, no, you're not an experiment or anything like that. I'm not sure what I like because my brain isn't saying I only like women, but I don’t only like men. I—

Tim sighed, covering his eyes in embarrassment. Konnor turned in his chair to face his friend and took his hand gently.

Tim (softly): I met up with this old friend from high school, and after saving him as Robin and being with him… I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to be close to him like I was with a woman... but then he left. Then I noticed I felt that way for a while and when I see you, and I want that same thing. I still like women, but I… what am I?

Konnor chuckled, softly rubbing the top of Tim's hand.

Konnor (sympathetic tone): I went through something similar when I realized this when I came out. You might be bi, dear boy. Are… you okay?

Tim (sighing while keeping his head down): Yeah.

Konnor: Good, because you look like you've been holding that secret in for a long time. If I'm right, I don't want to assume anything. Sexuality is a weird spectrum, but I'm getting the feeling you aren't just straight or gay.

Tim (hesitantly): You're… right. It seems… It is... I mean... I am bisexual, I think.

Konnor smiled warmly.

Konnor: I'm here if you want to talk or… kiss. Both work.

Tim chuckled, taking his hand back to remove his eye mask.

Tim: I thought you didn't want that. I want to do that, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable; I really want to kiss you, but… I don’t know. God, I can't think of the right choice.

Konnor (softly): Since it's not a trick and you opened up to me, I feel more… reclined to let you have your first kiss with the perfect superhuman.

Tim smirked, trying to glare playfully at Konnor.

Tim: You know "inclined" is the right word, and that’s a bit of an ego trip… but no one else is here.

Konnor nodded, and Tim sighed, leaning in. Their lips met quickly at first, but Konnor pulled him back for a deeper kiss that left Tim stunned. His cheeks flushed a bright shade of crimson, his eyes widening in surprise as he momentarily froze. His arms stayed at his sides for a heartbeat, but as they parted for a breath, Tim kissed Konnor again, feeling the man's hand rest gently against his neck.

Tim placed his hand on Konnor’s hip, pulling him closer and taking in a shaky breath. As the initial shock wore off, warmth spread through him, instinctively leaning into the kiss and melting into the connection between them.

He kept kissing Konnor, feeling his heartbeat race as the seconds slipped by. Feeling Tim's steady breath against his lips sent tingles down Konnor's spine. He lightly gripped Tim's arm, drawing him closer, feeling the undeniable strength and warmth radiating off him. In that moment, nothing else mattered; the world around them faded into a blur.

Tim's lips were soft yet confident, as if he were exploring the depths of Konnor’s emotions with every lingering brush. Konnor tightened his fingers around Tim's arm, pulling him in even closer, as if trying to fuse their bodies together.

As they broke apart, Konnor's breath mingled with Tim's, both panting slightly from the rush of adrenaline. Tim looked at him with an expression that blended surprise and something deeper, almost tender.

Then Tim promptly fell forward, his eyes rolling back in his head. Konnor caught him, letting his friend rest on his chest to prevent him from sliding onto his lap.

Konnor (jokingly): Yeah, don't want anyone walking in if you landed on my legs. I didn't know my kiss was that powerful.

Tim (dazed): To be fair, you're the first man I've kissed.

Konnor (fist pumping): All right!

Tim sat up and sighed happily, then covered his eyes in embarrassment, shaking his head.

Tim: Does this get ea—s

Konnor (interrupting): I'm gonna stop you there. When I came out as bi, it felt like I left this confined space; it made sense. I felt free, but that's just the beginning. Dating is the difficult part, but we can talk about that after the mission. We can go to the KFC combination Taco Bell afterward.

Tim (laughing): Is that a date?

Konnor returned to reviewing his blueprints but kept a sly smile on his face as he glanced at Tim.

Konnor: It can be, but LexCorp first.

Tim nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. The realization that he was bisexual felt surreal but in a good way. Konnor was right; it felt freeing. While he still had a lot to learn about himself, it felt good to have an answer.

[createandconstruct]

ooooh I just had a thought. how do u think Midoriya and All Might reacted after your story Needed? like when All Might got his memories back? was there loud celebration or quiet happiness?

Definitely quiet happiness. I imagine the two of them oversleep, Izuku drifting off in the midst of telling some highlights from their 10 months of training, Toshi following soon after. (But not before reveling in this boy and the peace across his sleeping face). They wake up well past the time classes have begun. Toshi having not set the alarm he couldn’t remember and Aizawa and the other teachers having left them be, figuring they both needed the rest. Izuku’s a ball of guilt at first but Toshi’s content to putz around the apartment—slow to rise but quick to insist Izuku not run off to class last minute. (It’s selfish but he wants the kid to stay—needs him to). Toshi takes in the pictures, Izuku timidly and then more confidently giving context to each one. The time and places, the names to faces he doesn’t know. Not that there’s very many. So many of them (from pictures to newspaper clippings) including or being just of his green haired boy. (Izuku’s been to Toshi’s dorm enough to know the embarrassing amount of memorabilia well but he still can’t help but feel his face go hot at the way his mentor looks… like he always does as he takes it all in—happy, proud).

The two leave the dorm for the mess hall just before noon. Warm, despite the cold breeze outdoors. 

There’s no fanfare, no explosion, or burst when the memories return.

They eat lunch together, tour the school, and even drop by a few classes—this time Toshi lets class A swarm him, despite Aizawa’s continued protests. 

Izuku skips practical training to walk Toshi around—it’s not that much of a loss, it’s sometimes better to skip, save the embers for something more important—until soon enough it's later in the afternoon and they’re heading back to the student dorms. 

Izuku doesn’t even realize it’s time. A little part of him has forgotten All Might’s current condition. Walking instep with his mentor, who wears his usual smile, it’s like all is normal. 

It isn’t until they reach the door that All Might comes to a stand still. Izuku turns back, expecting something wrong but…

“All Might…?”

There’s no distant look, no glazed over eyes, nothing to indicate anything has changed. 

There’s only a slight shine to All Might’s eyes and a deep fondness along his smile lines. 

Izuku can’t get a single word out before he’s gathered up in his mentor’s arms. 

For Toshi, remembering is like adding oxygen to a fire. There’s been warmth, so much of it—every time he looks at this boy who has so obviously become his own he feels it—but its source is still just a recently lit flame. Something that would certainly grow with time, but also something that has just started. He can’t fully know its depth, or feel its potential to burn until it suddenly comes alight with every memory of the last eight years. 

One moment he’s walking at Young Midoriya’s side, feeling lighter than he has in years and the next, he’s standing beside his boy, his Izuku, his pride and his joy, his reason for being, even when he’d forgotten. The warmth never disappears; it simply blazes. All encompassing. His memories, old and new, fit snugly together, so that in an instant, he’s once again himself. 

So that the growing little flame is once again the unconditional fire he knows as love.

He pulls his boy tight against him and relishes in the journey—one he can finally remember—one that brought him right here.

As Izuku reaches round to hug him back, his heart aches with unshakeable certainty:

It was worth it.

All of it.

[citriarchive]

i've been writing a song for a little while now and i just find the progression from naming it "SONGTITLE_ITERATION" to "[song title] is never finished it just stops moving" and "[st]infijsm 2 electric boogaloo" really funny for some reason

this is the one (1) thing keeping me sane rn

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Yep yep yep. I'm doing a second playthrough of the game with a platonic inquisitor because while yeah Solavellan is fun and a great lens through which to analyze Solas' character, what the haters (people being reductive about why he has players who like him) fail to understand is that at his core and regardless of how you get him to his story's conclusion, Solas is just another really cool example of a possible redemption story we get in these games.

We get so many of them across the first three, and each time the stakes raise, every time we are asked as players to decide WHEN the line between mercy and lost cause is drawn.

Is Oghren too lost to his addiction and past hurt to help stop the blight?

Are Fenris or Anders too trapped by pain they and those like them have suffered at the hands of their oppressors and too bound to the desire for revenge fueling them both?

Is Blackwall, a man who is directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children deserving of the opportunity to find a cause and inspire those who stare down a similar path to take up their weapons for a better world?

Is Solas, the man your Inquisitor (I'll say it over and over romantic or platonic, all that matters is that the love is there and it changes everything) loves after all they've endured together able to be shown that the world he's helped shape is worth giving up what he believes his purpose calls him to do?

What if he betrays you and leaves to pursue it?

What if he kills in its name?

What if he turns away from the sight of you because he knows looking too long will remind him of what he desperately wants but does not believe he deserves?

The context is rooted in fantasy, the acts he's committed are therefore fantastical. But the question remains the same: how far do you go to bring the people you love back home?

And seeing that story play out with any version of the Inquisitor is just really freaking neat.

Can I please. Just for ONE sec. YELL about the Redeem Solas ending of The Veilguard from perspective of a platonic "save Solas worldstate" Inquisitor!!! (in my case a male Lavellan who romanced Dorian).

The Inquisitor is coming to Solas with nothing but their heart on their hand (their remaining hand, the other one taken by the very elf they are trying to redeem) - extended in pure hope of redemption, without any sort of further motive beyond that - never giving up fully, even after Varric's death (which totally made me waver in my erstwhile of stance of trying to redeem Solas no matter what as I'm sure many others jfc but I digress). They have EVERY reason, next to the whole issue of *cough* killing Varric, using blood magic and manipulating Rook like he did, and after Solas then continuing to betray Rook MULTIPLE TIMES, to say nope, Solas has done it, he crossed the line of no return. But they are, despite all that, STILL continuing what they have promised Solas in the Crossroads 10 years ago: "You do not have to destroy this world. I will prove it to you." Despite how lost they might be themselves! DESPITE how much Thedas and its people, and events that were set in motion by Solas himself have taken from them!!! (If you are playing as Solas-platonic Lavellan this also makes you a lost elf just like him in a way and even MORE painfully poetic). And just as Varric carried that promise to prove this to Solas with him, to the final line - just as, depending on how you play them ofc, Rook does - The Inquisitor, JUST AS THEY DID 10 YEARS AGO - walk up a set of stairs to Solas while his back is turned, and ask him. With empathy and kindness. Because deep inside them, they can see through Solas' facade. They know how he feels.

The Inquisitor sets aside all they have suffered, also by Solas own hand - who has been ripped from their old life by events out of their control; by duty; in many cases ostracized from their culture and beliefs in this process, forced to take upon a burden (the safety of the whole southern continent, or at the end of Veilguard more like the whole of Thedas) and a destiny they have never chosen and despite that still need to commit to 10 years later - and they continue to say, no. I WILL NOT BECOME TRAPPED BY WHAT I'VE LOST. (*screaming in the distance at this quote from the earlier conversation with the Inquisitor, btw, the foreshadowing in everything is so good*). And the PARALLELS in this, not just to Solas himself, but then also in the cinematography and TO TRESPASSER!!!

THIS!!!! THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE SHIT I WANT TO ESPECIALLY YELL ABOUT!!!!!

After Solas encounters Mythal and breaks down in pain and despair, the Inquisitor tells Solas, "You are free to find a better way."

And they kneel down before him - kneel down to be UNDER him - just to say it. They don't "talk down" to him, having proven their point made at the end of Trespasser. They are not "winning" here, or triumphing over Solas in any way (if anyone is winning at this moment, you could say that it is Varric from the afterlife). They fucking kneel before him, the lyrium dagger that killed Varric, nearly ripped open the Veil multiple times, killed Ghilna'nain and Elgar'nan, centimeters from their throat.

They reach out to him, one final time. Again with empathy and kindness, not judgement. And with it, light the final beacon to Solas' atonement. Doing this, they prove to Solas, without any doubt, that this is a world ((worth saving)) where he is indeed free to find a better way.

Remember Trespasser? Remember, how, at the end, The Inquisitor was kneeling before Solas, forced to kneel because the anchor was actively killing them and they were suffering unbearable torment while Solas was telling them that he would rip down the Veil and destroy the world as they know it?

See this down here, actively paralleling the final moments of Trespasser in the way Solas and the Inquisitor are positioned, Solas bent with pain... and yet, although they roles might metrophorically be seen as reversed, the Inquisitor again on the ground before him for that final statement, spoken with such softness?

Idk what to close this post with bc I have resorted to mindless rambling at this point but make of it what you will, something something full circle and breaking the circle of violence while doing so, I'll just be in my corner screaming on the inside (also Solas, when he turns around for one final time before stepping into the Veil, saying "Thanks to you I can now see the way" while looking directly at the Inquisitor (who is also the only one who's facial expression reacts to that statement, not Rook or Morrigan))

late night edit of this post bc i cannot stop thinking abt this: something VERY important is to be said here imo that the Inquisitor does not have to forgive solas to do this. In fact after all that has happened it is absolutely fine if the Inquisitor cannot forgive solas for (some of) the things he has done, and that should also be able to be the case in a save solas/solas as (former) friend world state!!! And that would not lessen this scene. On the contrary, even. Giving someone a chance at redemption - bringing light to them and opening their eyes to another path with kindness and empathy DESPITE the pain the inquisitor has endured - while not being able to forgive solas for the pain - just makes the breaking of the circle of violence and the not being trapped in regret themes even more powerful!!! This is actively abt the Inquisitor (and Rook!) setting aside all pride and ego, letting go of their loss and pain and their demons of regret, and making solas open his heart to the way out as much as it is abt Solas himself!!! In spite of it all!!!

[beif0ngs]

alright look, i just wanna know who is the writer that came up with the dumbass idea of replacing the line “Ever since I lost my son, I think of you as my own” with “Lu Ten would have been proud to have you as his father” in this scene for the Netflix live action series???

[rayroseu]

Meleanor and Dawn's dream be like✨✨✨

why make this?? because:

Knight of Dawn deserves to bully Henric for a little bit✨✨✨

and crack theory that what if these two faces actually foreshadows Raverne's or Crowley's face lolol JDHJAJFJW Raverne never skipped mewing even if he went MIA for centuries frfr

[wizardlybullshit]

Ok hear me out: Smallville rpg. Now I know what you're thinking, a licenced rpg where all the art is screen shots of the show, its clearly a quick cash grab on name recognition alone. It looks terrible, I know. But its actually one of the best drama systems I've played. See its secretly the core book for cortex + drama; for whatever reason cortex + doesn't release non specific rules, and sadly the Smallville licence is the only one they made that runs on drama.

So cortex + drama works by first making a big relationship web as part of character creation. Everyone goes through a flow chart step by step, taking turns around the table, and draws one or two nodes on a big map and connects them to existing nodes while giving themselves a corresponding point or two on their character sheet. Even if you're not running cortex + drama, I recommend stealing the character web thing for any rpg built around a tight interlinked cast, like a politics focused vampire the masquerade for example.

So once you've got your characters built, everything you do mechanically is built on a dice pool that is assembled primarily of a value and a relationship, based on why you're doing a thing and with/to whom. These are rated based on how strongly you feel these feelings, regardless of their quality. As well, everything has a short description that provides context; if your action doesn't match the context of the relationship/value you can't use that thing and thus you can't use those dice. However, you can "challenge" a relationship or value, rewriting the context as you do, and this provides a big mechanical boost to the roll and extra xp later. Thus you are mechanically incentivised to feel strongly, and possibly incorrectly, and change your character’s outlook as you grow.

In addition to all this, the publishers have provided a fantastic book called the cortex + hackers guide. Its a series of articles all about how to change the rules; it includes everything from authors notes as to why the rules are the way they are, small rules changes, articles on the state of the game, even huge overhauls that are practically new small games by themselves complete with worked examples. In this book are a couple different examples of using cortex + drama for fantasy, so you don't have to worry about stripping out all the cw teen superhero by yourself.

There are a bunch of other games I've heard of, but this one I've played and can vouch for it being a good example of a fantasy game that strongly incentivises building (admittedly volatile) relationships with the npcs and pcs around you.

out of curiosity, do you know of any games you’d consider legitimate ‘elf-kissing games?’ you know, high fantasy games that engender drama with mechanically explicit/reinforced relationship building systems?

besides d&d, of course. /s

Sadly I haven't found a perfect example of such a game: to me Monsterhearts is the best example of a TTRPG that centers romance and it is a perfect urban fantasy teenage monster romance game, but that disqualifies it on account of it not being high fantasy. Also, Monsterhearts' mechanics are very much about melodrama and like very petty, jealous, teenage romance, so it would not be the best for it.

Anyway, high fantasy intersects a bit with chivalric romances, and for that there's nothing better than Pendragon, a game of Arthurian chivalry in a setting that resolves the ahistoricity of Arthuriana by saying "well, Arthur was such a special guy that chivalry basically was real during his reign as king of Britain." It owns. Anyway, the game has actual mechanics for measuring characters' spiritual attributes, including their Passions, which covers things like strong feelings of hatred and love, so in that sense developing romantic feelings is mechanized and rewarded. Now, while knights doing quests is an important part of the gameplay, the game basically rewards characters for simply doing chivalric things, which means that besides doing quests knights are explicitly rewarded with Glory (the game's big reward currency) for engaging in romantic trysts. But sadly it isn't quite there because it is very heavily tied to a place and time, and I feel just transplanting the game into a fantasy setting would be doing it a huge disservice.

Which leads me to Mythras or RuneQuest 6th edition: basically the same game under two different names (Mythras is RQ6 rereleased after the creators lost the RQ licence). I won't go into the details but RuneQuest basically is part of the same lineage as Pendragon. Or they're like separate branches of the same tree. Anyway, somewhere along the way the creators of RuneQuest decided to basically borrow the idea of Passions into RuneQuest, and they serve pretty much the same mechanical purpose. The main issue is that while there are mechanical incentives for increasing a character's Passions (which works the same as increasing any other skill or attribute) they don't exactly represent relationships, as much as they represent internal emotions. Basically, a character's Passion of Love (Target of their affections) can be entirely one-sided. That's not to say that the system can't be worked to represent developing romantic relationships, but it's a bit of extra work (having said that: Mythras/RQ6 already is something of a "some assembly required" toolkit game, unlike the more recent RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha which is a very specialized game using the same engine, it's a whole thing). Mythras/RQ6 is a very traditional type of fantasy RPG but notably one where character growth isn't simply through becoming better at combat, and combat is somewhat disincentivized by the game. So it actually is a game that does wonders for romantic fantasy.

There's also Burning Wheel, which is a fun and gritty game, which has a system not unlike Passions in its BITs (Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits), but like Mythras/RQ Passions they are internal.

So I have yet to find the perfect elf-kissing game for myself, but if I had to choose I would personally pick Mythras: it is a very trad type of game concerned with verisimilitude above all else, but it has just enough tools for providing some mechanical grit to romantic relationships. In fact, when I first started reading it one of the first things I realized was "I would so much rather use this to run romantic fantasy than Blue Rose" (a romantic fantasy RPG powered by the Fantasy AGE system which suffers from the Fantasy AGE issue of ultimately being a D&D ass game with some light relationship mechanics on top).

Now having said all of that: there are hundreds of games out there that center romance, which I haven't mentioned here either because I'm not familiar enough with them or because they are not specifically high fantasy. But let me just rattle off a couple of those that I would love to play at some point: Star Crossed. Court of Blades. Eyes on the Prize. Heck, looking some more at the blurb of Court of Blades, it might actually be perfect for this ask, even though it is also like a general courtly intrigue game. Anyway, hope that's something.

[aardvaark]

im so glad that we never get a clear picture of sophie’s background in leverage & i hope we never do. however i also really like making up various, often conflicting backstories for her in my head. perhaps they’re all backstories for an alias of hers, ones she laid to rest back in season two.

[artfartt]

[ryssbelle]

Poppy for N2 au, it took me so long to make her design cuz I didn't really know what I wanted to do only because I feel like her design is pretty perfect.

But then I just thought about fun outfits to give her or outfits that I would find comfortable if I was wearing them and it all came together.

Poppy here is pretty much the same as here movie counterpart, as nothing really changes on her end of things other than having more insight on Branch through his brothers, and through Lief. Shes also a bit more understanding a bit earlier on because of it but it doesnt do much to change her own character arc I would say.

Bonus

Part of Poppys design was based off a design I had made for previous rulers of Troll Village/Tree

Namely Queen Protea who I designed as Poppys grandmother

Named after the Protea flower which part of her design is based off :D

In the context of this Au Protea was the one who conceptualized the tunnels while her son, King Peppy, was the one to follow through after her death

[chaosordoffl]

Crazy how Targ/Valyrian names can sound feminine or masculine because of their association with a character

[acorviart]

oh the girls are fightinggggg on the email post again