#hes my specialest guy. when it comes down to it all

[19871997]

this series is a lot of fun bc connor mcdavid is breaking made up records noones heard of prior to the commentators telling us (back to back four point games in the stanley cup finals. sure.) and also beating wayne gretzky’s real records

[tigergirltail]

TIGER HRT CHAPTER 1 - MONTH MINUS 6 - THE CONSULTATION

The specialest of special thanks to @ayviedoesthings for creating the original Dragon HRT story, and a big shoutout as well to @kaylasartwork, @welldrawnfish, @nyxisart, and @deadeyedfae for their takes on the concept! Every one of you is inspirational, and your work gives me so much second-hand gender euphoria!

NEXT

---

"Miss Alexis, please come in."

I look around as I walk inside. Between the doctor being a balding middle-aged man and the office looking like any generic doctor's office, I'm honestly a little disappointed. I was hoping the infamous source of therian HRT would be a little more… I don't know. Exotic? Unique? I was half expecting the walls to have before and after photographs of clients, but I suppose when it comes down to it, this is a serious medical facility, not a beauty salon. I walk up to the desk and sit down in the chair.

"Now I understand you wish to be a… a tiger?"

I'm unable to suppress my euphoria at the idea, and I start grinning and nodding. "A white tiger! I haven't changed my fursona since I got one, it's about time I start embodying it!"

"Indeed… And I see on your medical history that you are transgender." He mutters under his breath, "Just like all the others…"

I give a little smirk. 'All the others' are the reason I'm here. If this guy is handing out meds that can turn people into dragons or fish or bats, then a tiger should be easy, right? It's a mammal, and not much bigger than a human, relatively speaking. I had even given some thought to the rumoured "Fifteen Minute Shortcut", but when it comes down to it, even if I did have the ungodly pain tolerance to withstand such a rapid transformation of my bone structure and musculature, I… don't really want to do it quickly. Mundane HRT has already been such an absolute gift in terms of euphoria from noticing the slow and gradual changes, I want to keep that up. I want to notice the little things.

"Now I'm afraid there are some requirements to be settled first…"

Oh boy. Here comes the bureaucratic bullshit. Everything that's been put in place to make sure Our Children don't Make A Terrible Mistake. When it comes down to it, bodily autonomy only counts when you're not one of the weirdos. The instant you decide to be capital-d Different, people start falling over themselves trying to talk you out of it.

"First of all, I see that you have been taking human hormone therapy for a little over six months. We do require a full year of human treatment before beginning therian treatments, and I'm afraid that is fully non-negotiable. There are matters of biology that require the body to be a certain degree of… receptive."

I was afraid of this, but at least it's not a deal-killer. Another half-year is bearable, even if I am going to be shaking with anticipation the entire time.

"I also see you have letters from a practicing physician and a social worker, but we do require a second psychologist to be involved in the process."

Okay. Absolute horseshit, but not impossible. All I've got to do is find another social worker or psychologist. And pay them for several months of sessions. And hope they don't decide I'm crazy for wanting to throw away my humanity. I can feel my expression souring…

"It's also required to live as your desired species for at least a year before beginning the process."

"What." I'm leaning forward and glaring at the doctor before I fully realize it. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that, without the… the requisite biology, or the inborn instincts, or the… the habitat!" I let out a frustrated growl. "Am I supposed to fly off to India or Bangladesh or somewhere, and start camping out in the wilderness??"

"Miss Alexis, please, I'm afraid these are… are the requirements set forth by the guidelines of -"

"Guidelines!" I slam a palm down on the desk between us, before letting out a frustrated breath. "Just that… Guidelines. You know, and I know, that a lot of people have come to you already, with a lot more… exotic requests. Flying animals? Aquatic animals? A fucking DRAGON??"

The doctor seems taken aback, maybe he didn't expect this level of resistance.

"What is even the natural habitat of a dragon anyway? Or the diet? Or the behaviours in the wild?? It's a mythical creature for gods' sakes, there's no firm evidence they even existed!!" I stare at him, unblinkingly, with what I dearly hope is a predatory glare. "But I do get it, though. You have to be absolutely sure I won't regret it. Liability, or whatever. …Maybe we just need to know how hard I can BITE."

Something changes in his expression. ...Malice? No, not quite. A sort of… satisfaction, maybe.

It was a test. He wanted to know whether I'd just roll over and accept the impossibility of my quest, or whether I was prepared to fight for it.

Joke's on him, just getting human HRT was such a godsdamned hassle, I already know how to fight.

He adjusts his glasses. "Perhaps there is something I can do for you… Let me get you some forms."

[wsdanon]

little fic of Arthur and Rubens and nightmares which was meant to be much longer, but the middle was giving me issue so I figured I’d start in a different place, and I didn’t want to try making it longer because I wanted it out of my wips folder \o/ pfft

spoilers all the way up to the end of Calamidade. putting some little explanation below the cut before we get into the fic itself

taglist (ask to be added or removed): @routeriver @echotunes @saiiboat @lil-lost-mind @humanaaa @factorialsotherfandoms @iridescentpull

reblogs appreciated \o/

okay some little explanation: due to Johnny not being in the apartment anymore Rubens finds it hard to sleep there sometimes. He’s been taking naps in various places around the Order base instead

there’s a bit of Arthur/Rubens here and it’s all me expanding on a little clip of Guaxinim saying he almost had Arthur flirt a little with Rubens during that snooker game between Rubens and Balu at the end

I think they’re sweet and I think everyone should be in love with my specialest guy so it’s here. please if you’re interested ask me about my headcanons for them \o/!!

——

Rubens is asleep on Arthur’s couch. He’s sitting upright, still—head lolled back against the cushions. This is technically what Arthur had in mind when he offered for Rubens to come over, but he was expecting Rubens to make it to the bed first. 

It makes sense he didn’t, though. He had seemed hazy their whole conversation—coffee the only thing keeping him awake. And if he was desperate enough to try napping in his mum’s bar…

Well, Arthur certainly isn’t surprised when he looks over to see Rubens asleep after he stopped responding. His answers had been coming out fairly detached just before that, too. Like he wasn’t fully aware of what was being said to him—one foot already in sleep. 

Whether it’s sheer exhaustion or whether being at Arthur’s is actually helping, Arthur doesn’t care. He’s just mourning that he needs to wake Rubens up to make sure he gets into bed properly. 

He leans closer and shakes Rubens—who startles awake shockingly easily. A hand comes up to clutch at his chest as his eyes dart around the room. They land on Arthur and he lets out a sigh, relaxing. 

“Sorry, Rubens.” Arthur gives him an apologetic smile. “Now—I’d carry you to bed, but it’s a little hard with just one arm, you know?” 

Rubens nods absentmindedly, maybe too tired to process the words properly. But he lets Arthur help him stand, and doesn’t protest the arm around his back to guide him to the bedroom. 

And it was easy enough to be clinical about it when he first put himself in this situation, but the closer they get to his bedroom the harder it is to ignore the feeling of Rubens’ body tucked under his arm, and leaning into him. 

It’s not like they’re even going to be sleeping in the same bed. All Arthur will do is make sure Rubens is comfortable, then grab a spare blanket to sleep on the couch. But the implications spin through his mind, anyway. 

What started off as simple attraction for some guy he saw across the base once is really starting to be a thorn in his side now that they’re on the same team and not actively fighting for their lives anymore. Ever since that snooker game with Balu where he had to bite back playful flirtation, it’s like Pandora’s box has been opened. 

He hopes the hallway is too dark for Rubens to notice the red that’s certainly on his cheeks, but Rubens has always been observant. 

“Here we are.” Arthur declares. 

And he has to let go of Rubens to open the bedroom door. Which would be a perfect out. Except Rubens sways on his feet, and Arthur figures a few more steps of close contact just to make sure Rubens makes it to the bed before collapsing probably wouldn’t hurt either of them. 

“Thank you.” Rubens murmurs, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

“Ah, it’s no problem, Rubens.” Arthur waves him off. “Don’t hesitate to make yourself comfortable, okay?”

Rubens nods. 

“Okay, well—sleep well.” 

Arthur turns to leave, but Rubens catches his sleeve. 

“Where will you sleep?” Rubens asks. 

“Just on the couch, I was thinking.” Arthur shrugs. “I have some spare blankets in the closet.”

“It’s your bed.” 

“I don’t mind, really.” Arthur insists. “You haven’t been sleeping in a bed at all the last few nights, I can manage one.”

Rubens is silent, but he’s still holding on to Arthur’s sleeve, so Arthur waits. 

“The bed is big.” He says finally, looking at Arthur like he should be able to fill in the rest. 

And Arthur probably could, but in the interest of not appearing presumptuous, he just stands there and stares at Rubens. 

“We can both fit…” Rubens continues. 

God—where’s Dante when Arthur needs him? He could really use some fucking guidance right now. Just… someone else’s opinion, at least. It feels like his brain is screaming at him to do two different things. 

Rubens is a sweet guy, who doesn’t really like to take up space. It’s more than likely that he just doesn’t want to kick Arthur out of his bed. And Arthur should—and can—respect that. 

So, does he say yes so Rubens doesn’t feel bad? Or does he say no because of this stupid little crush of his? 

And Rubens is starting to look uncomfortable, so he really needs to say something soon, so—

“Uh, yeah, sure! If—If you don’t mind.” 

Half his brain continues screaming at him for the answer. 

But Rubens doesn’t seem aware of his dilemma. He gives Arthur a thumbs up—letting go of his sleeve—and then shrugs off his jacket. 

In the dark—and because Arthur knows to look for it—he can just barely see the glow of the cables stitching Rubens’ chest together peeking out over the top of his shirt. And then he quickly tears his gaze away before Rubens can catch him looking. 

“Oh, I forgot to ask—do you need pyjamas?” Arthur asks. “I’ve probably got something you can use if you want.”

Rubens shakes his head no. 

Arthur heads to the other side of the bed so he can get changed into some sleepwear. When he looks back, Rubens is buttoning up that green shirt he always wears around his waist, his other shirt discarded to the side. 

Rubens turns so they’re facing each other again, and now Arthur can fully see just how big the shirt is on him. He’s practically swimming in it. It’s… really cute, if he’s honest with himself. It makes him want to see what Rubens will look like in one of his shirts.

“Do you just carry around your pyjama shirt every day in case of situations like this?” Arthur jokes. 

“No.” Punctuated with a shake of his head. “It’s… Johnny‘s.”

“Oh.” Well that explains the size of it. “It’s, uh… nice to have something, isn’t it?” 

God knows Arthur hasn’t touched Kaiser’s room. 

“It is.”

Arthur climbs under the covers, and Rubens does the same, shifting around a little to get comfortable before relaxing. Arthur’s sure he isn’t going to sleep through the night, but he hopes a proper bed helps a little. 

“Goodnight Rubinho.”

“Rubens.”

“Sorry.” He bites back a smile. “Goodnight Rubens.”

“Goodnight.”

Arthur can’t really say who falls asleep first, even though he tries to make sure it’s Rubens. All he knows is that he’s waking up to the sound of coughing and gasping. 

“Rubens?” 

There’s no answer, but Arthur’s not exactly expecting one. He blearily blinks his eyes open, and skips turning on the bedside lamp entirely to sit up—already reaching out for Rubens as he does. 

Rubens is sitting up, too. Curled in on himself, his hands at his neck.

“Rubens, hey.” Arthur grabs his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

The coughing has stopped now at least, but Rubens is taking in shuddery, deep breaths that wrack his frame. Arthur runs his hand back and forth across Rubens’ shoulders to hopefully provide some comfort. 

“Rubens?” He ducks his head, trying to catch Rubens’ gaze. “It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m here, I’ve got you.”

Rubens stares at him—eyes wide with panic. Then, slowly, he shifts until he’s leaning against Arthur. Arthur wastes no time pulling him into a hug, and tucking Rubens’ head under his chin. 

“It’s alright.” Arthur murmurs. “You’re okay, everything’s okay.” 

They stay like that for a while. Arthur murmuring comforts, while Rubens gets his breathing back under control. Then Rubens squirms out of his grasp, but stays close. 

Now that his hands aren’t covering his neck, Arthur can see frantic, messy scratches—some of them deep enough to bleed a little. 

“Rubens—“

“Air.”

For a second, the request doesn’t process. 

“I, uh… I can open a window?”

Rubens nods, and gives him a shaky thumbs up. 

Arthur scrambles off the bed, trying to open the window as quickly as he can. He can hear Rubens following after him. When the window is open he steps back to let Rubens lean his head out and breathe. 

“How are you feeling?”

Rubens gives him another thumbs up. 

“Okay, uh… I’m going to get a cloth for those scratches on your neck, okay?” He waits for Rubens to give him some sign of agreement before continuing, “I’ll be back in a second.”

He takes a detour to grab the first aid kit, too. They probably aren’t deep enough to need it, but… just in case. It doesn’t take long to find, anyway. In this line of work, it’s not the kind of thing they keep at the back of some cupboard with small injuries in mind. 

Rubens is still at the window when Arthur g enters the room again, but he seems more relaxed. 

“I’m back.” Arthur announces before getting too close. 

Rubens doesn’t react. 

Then, he leans back into the house, and closes the window. 

“Do you want to sit on the bed?” Arthur suggests. 

Again, Rubens doesn’t respond. But he heads to the bed, and sits down on the edge. He’s not looking at Arthur—eyes trained on the ground. 

“Here we go.” Arthur dumps the kit next to him. “You can tell me everything I’m doing wrong, huh?”

Rubens is still mostly looking down. And when Arthur reaches out to tilt his head up so he can get to his neck, he flinches. 

“Sorry.” He holds the washcloth out to Rubens. “Do you want to do it?”

Rubens takes it, and Arthur sits next to him so he can clean without being stared at. 

If Arthur had to take a guess, he’d say the nightmare was probably about what happened with Kian. But he’s not confident in that. There could be any number of traumatic experiences bubbling in his mind for his nightmares to take inspiration from. The glamorous life of an order agent, huh?

Rubens finishes up, and hands the washcloth back to Arthur. Arthur moves to stand in front of him again.

“Can I see?” He asks. “To make sure you’re not still bleeding anywhere.”

Rubens tilts his head up, gaze pinned somewhere above Arthur’s head. 

It doesn’t look like he’s bleeding anymore, but Arthur’s sure the marks will still be there in the morning. 

“Okay. Looks alright.” Arthur gestures vaguely with the washcloth. “I’m going to go put this away. Do you want some water while I’m up?”

Rubens nods, and stands. It isn’t until Arthur’s nearing the door that he realises Rubens is following him instead of just going to his side of the bed. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Arthur says, stopping them both in their tracks. “You go lie down again, I’ll get it.”

Rubens shoots him a vaguely annoyed look, and brushes past him. 

Okay. Well… he’ll leave Rubens to it, then. 

He throws the washcloth in the sink to be dealt with in the morning. The first aid kit he’ll leave in the bedroom, though. Just in case. 

Arthur finds Rubens standing in the kitchen and nursing a glass of water—the lights left off. Arthur gets one for himself, too. For the lack of anything better to do. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Arthur offers. 

Rubens looks at him. Opens his mouth as if to speak—then shuts it, clears his throat, and tries again. 

“It’s fine.”

“You don’t have to, of course.” Arthur says. “And it doesn’t even have to be with me, but… it does help. From my experiences, at least.”

He doesn’t think he would’ve made it through losing Joui and Cesar if not for Dante. 

Rubens nods absently. Then, “Bed?”

“Sure.”

They don’t talk as they get ready for bed again. Arthur puts the first aid kit next to his glass of water on the bedside table, and climbs under the covers. 

Rubens is closer to him than he was last time. More in the middle than on the side. 

“Do you… uh…” Arthur doesn’t really know how to ask, though, so he just lifts his arm up in silent invitation.

Rubens stares at him for a moment. Quietly assessing. Then he shuffles closer, hesitantly pressing close to Arthur. 

And… Arthur may not know exactly what the nightmare was about, but he still has his guess. He lets his arm lie loosely over Rubens’ waist, his hand on his back. He doesn’t hug tight and he keeps away from Rubens’ neck. 

What Arthur really wants to do is bundle Rubens up close, and keep him safe. Protected. To lean into the childish belief that as long as he holds tight enough Rubens won’t slip away from him like almost everyone else in his life. 

But more than that he doesn’t want to make Rubens uncomfortable, so this will do.

“In the games.” Rubens whispers—quiet enough that Arthur almost misses it. “In Italy. Mine and Balu’s. There… were these coffins…”

And now that he mentions it, Arthur is starting to remember. 

It was such a long day, but he’s kicking himself for forgetting. It was bad enough that the two of them needed a moment to collect themselves. And the picture the room painted wasn’t pretty—even thousands of years after the event. 

“I remember.” Arthur says. 

Rubens nods, and doesn’t continue. 

“They, uh… filled with blood, right?” Arthur prompts. 

He nods again, but it’s curter. And he’s tense in Arthur’s arm. 

“We don’t have to talk about it right now, Rubens.” Arthur rubs circles into his back, trying to soothe him. “You should try to get some sleep.”

“Can still… taste it.” Rubens mutters out. “Still feel it. And Kian…”

Arthur grasps at Rubens’ shirt in an attempt to stop himself from hugging Rubens too tightly to him. 

God, it was terrifying—seeing Rubens a hair’s breadth away from dying at Kian’s hands just like Joui had. They were all scrambling to do everything they could. If it wasn’t for the heart… if Dante was just a second too late… 

He buries his face in Rubens’ hair, and tries to banish the images from his mind. There’s no point focusing on what else could’ve gone wrong when Rubens is alive and breathing in front of him. 

“It’s okay, it’s over.” Arthur murmurs. “He’s gone now, he’s locked away. And if—if—he comes back—he’ll have to go through me first before he can even try to get to you again.”

“I…” Whatever Rubens was going to say, he doesn’t continue the thought. He wraps an arm tightly around Arthur’s waist and tucks himself closer. “Thank you. For everything. But be safe. Please. I can’t…”

“I’ll try. Don’t worry.”

Arthur wishes he could promise. But the truth is—standing over Rubens’ body to protect him from Kian was one of the easiest decisions of his life. And it’s a choice he will keep making if he needs to. 

“Okay.”

It takes Rubens longer to fall asleep this time, but he does manage it. And if it’s fitful, he doesn’t wake up like he did before again.

Small mercies. They take what they can. And Arthur’s happy to offer his bed for as long as Rubens needs it. 

——

okay hope you enjoyed \o/!!! I don’t have much else to say about this right now. In my mind I was going to do a scene of them waking up in the morning but this felt like a good place to end it—maybe I’ll write it later

[rubykgrant]

OK, my thoughts about the final season of RVB! If you haven't seen it yet, warning for SPOILERS!

In general, I thought it was alright. The good parts were GOOD, but it felt kind of rushed, and a few things were disappointing. Certain parts I wish had been different, but I'm glad it exists. Watching it with lots of cool people made it fun, and it had a decent enough ending for what it was... though, after so many years, so many characters, just so MUCH of a story, I wish things had been a little MORE. It was a shame it was so short and rushed. I'm still glad the people who worked on it got it done, and we were all able to see it.

So. Actual thoughts on different bits...

I'm somebody who enjoys seasons 15-16-17, so while it will always be real in my heart, if they HAD to do a ret-con, having a spoof with a Retro Convention was VERY funny. Kai would absolutely milk her relation to Grif for some attention. I thought it was weird that Dylan was there, but she was a convention host? I feel like it would have made more sense for her to be one of the people asking questions about where the Reds and Blues went (y'know, like she ACTUALLY DID in 15). Oh well.

Things were very rushed... if this had been a more full season (or, in my perfect world, a story split into 2, so we get 19 and 20 out of it. I'm sorry, it just bugs my brain when something ends on a 9 instead of a 10. that's a ME problem), there could have been more of a Big Reveal about Tucker being the Meta. HOWEVER, since things were very condensed, I can appreciate how amusing it is to have Epsilon info-dump the plot to every body.

I did get a chuckle out of Epsilon being a "recorded prediction program" and not the true AI, and he decided to just be an obnoxious little youtuber. Like, that was so awful, it was AWESOME. It is also something that would have made Alpha Church super ticked off, which is very fitting. Good job Epsilon, 10 out of 10~

I was so happy to see Sheila and Lopez! Mechanical love lives on. It was a bit meh seeing the Reds act like they don't care about Caboose (we've been there, done that), but some of the funny bits that followed and Simmons getting Sarge interested by bribing him with Blue Defeat saved it (listen, these guys have been insisting they hate each other for 2 decades, but they can literally not live without each other. let them just admit they are ALL FRIENDS). Grif ranting was excellent.

No Donut is some major BS! Look, I get it, we stole the spot-light in 16-17, he was the time-god's most specialest pink princess and a harbinger of death, it can be intimidating to include something so powerful after trying to erase all that from existence... but come on. With all the important call-backs and connections 19 made with previous seasons, AND having the ending be in Blood Gulch? DONUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE AND HE SHOULD HAVE THROWN THE AI UNIT. No, I mean it, imagine the thing gets knocked really far away, maybe from an explosion, and Donut throws it clear across the canyon, because you KNOW he can! This time instead of it being a grenade that kills Tex, she catches the unit, tra-la-la, it all comes together. I'm sorry, Simmons doing the cool sports-ball throw was fun, but... Donut. DONUT!

Alright, moving on. It felt a little awkward that Wash is yet again hurt, and nobody is there with him? Oh wait, Doc is there, except no he isn't. Listen. Listen. I love plural Wash. I also love the idea of him genuinely having an emotional connection with Doc, because it DOES make sense; when Wash kid-napped him, Doc just kept making all his sarcastic little comments the whole time, and it tricked Wash into having real conversations with him. I honestly think that if Doc hadn't been with them, Wash wouldn't have been so open to the idea of finally settling down after his Villain Moment. They also both have a lot in common with AI incidents, and again, Villain Moments. I'm just annoyed that the Pacifist and the Original Bad Boy evidently died. Off screen. Give me back my purple boys. If we need to have Wash Not Be Around for a while, have him and Carolina go off to track down Hargrove or something. Maybe they went to two different locations, and Wash gets back to the others first, so we still get Carolina to the rescue.

Anyway, the plot! There was a lot of funny bits when it came to looking for Tucker, getting into the ship with the "video call security", and Niner being there! Hooray! I am... a little disappointed about WHY and HOW Tucker is a "villain". Obviously, I can't picture him being legit EVIL, but the idea that he's just the physical puppet being controlled by the AI isn't very... good. I understand how it was explained, sure, but still. I know I keep rambling about my own thoughts for alternate scenarios, but I can't help it! I just don't like when Sigma (or Omega) are just plain EVIL, for no reason. They've always been more complicated than that (the Meta wanted to be HUMAN, remember. and Omega even told Epsilon "I'll be here if you need me". they are definitely different kinds of harsh and intense, but they aren't the Murder AI or the Evil AI). I don't like that Tucker is being tortured into doing what they say... a more subtle manipulation, the Fragments not only convincing Tucker but also themselves that they NEED to do all this to get Alpha back, is very intriguing. After Epsilon Deconstructed, the Fragments lost their Memories. They just know they aren't complete. Tucker just knows he wants to talk to his best friend again.

If it needs another push to make it more insidious, I'd buy that Meta suit being a trap to begin with; Hargrove probably had that thing rigged to make it into a trap for anybody that wore it, so they'd have this subliminal inclination to collect all the AI, and kill anybody in their way. Something-something forgetting what your motives are, and only caring about the GOAL. Tucker and the Fragments ALL need to remember who they are and why they want the Alpha; it isn't about being a weapon. If there was more of a fake-out/reveal of Tucker being the Meta, maybe with a false hint of it being Felix with the orange/black colors, a sign that Tucker is still in there would be him getting close to killing everybody... but he backs off each time.

Speaking of killing... Sarge. Oh, Sarge. I will admit that, just from a thematic point of view, yes- it works to have a Sarge death. I don't care for it being Tucker that did it, or that Donut isn't there to share the moment as well. Matt Hullum acted the HECK out of that scene, though. In fact, the whole bit of Sarge running back to save Caboose, and trapping Tucker with a bubble shield, was AWESOME. I didn't want Sarge to die... but he went out wearing his red armor, and told Grif and Simmons he cared about them. It was sad, but it was well done. In my perfect world, we just THINK he died, but then at the end it is revealed he's still alive! How? Well, Doc gave him CPR! Doc isn't dead either, that is integral you see. I'm not sure of Sarge going "Hurgh Bleh" would have been better or WORSE. Well, heck. I wish he wasn't dead, but as much as I hate it, I... didn't totally hate it?

I kind of wish Simmons had more of a break-down over it. I wanna see him lose his temper. OR, he acts so quiet and cold, it is just UNNERVING. Then Grif helps snap him out of it. Let's be real, those two are so co-dependant, it ain't even funny. I appreciate Simmons telling Grif he is officially free to leave, and the conversation of "Come with me" leading to Simmons saying he wants to see this through, and Grif agreeing to come along was good. Simmons has aspired to be an impressive soldier from the beginning, and Grif has just wanted to be DONE. In the end, they meet in the middle.

I may be a sappy Grimmons person, but I can say, as objectively as possible, they should NOT be separated at the end. Grif and Simmons are literally the introduction to the series. They were the first two characters we see, they have been side by side almost CONSTANTLY, they are always bickering but they are also each other's favorite person. I don't even mean in a shippy way, it is just a fact. To have them say good-bye and just leave each other is honestly out of character (we saw that before, remember, in 15; Grif got so guilty about it, Simmons came to the realization that opposites attract, and they finally had to admit they missed each other. it was a WHOLE THING). I think it would have worked if, after telling Grif he's free to leave at the end, Simmons waits minute, then starts following him-

Grif; What are you doing?

Simmons; Coming with you. What the hell else would I do?

And that is that, wherever they do, they're together. Also, Kai shows up and HUGS HER BRO, come on, please!

Now, as a sappy Grimmons person, they should have just gone through with it. It has been more than 20 years. Seriously. We all know it. People who don't even care about the ship know it. Just commit to the freaking bit. Stop being cowards. Let them hold hands, or hug, or gently bump the visor of their helmets together, SOMETHING. Show them taking a walk on the beach together, all lovey-dovey. We deserve some emotional satisfaction after a 2 decade queer-bait slow-burn. JUST DO IT.

Sigh... OK, that is out of my system.

My absolute FAVORITE thing in 19 was Tex. She was so freaking PERFECT. I love Caboose telling the unit a story, his way of bringing her back, because that was how he talked to Epsilon. It was so sweet. When they asked Caboose why he brought her back instead of Church, he told them- "Because I wanted to win". Listen, Caboose LOVES Church, but he knows what is up. It was hilarious to see her go through the teleporter to get her black armor back. I absolutely ADORED her saying she's NOT a "failure" anymore, because she's not just based on the Director's memories of losing his wife, she's also got the memories of the guys who REMEMBER HER KICKING THEIR ASSES. 100 percent, Tex return was the best. Her reuniting with Church was also very sweet... the only thing I would have liked more would be the other Fragments showing up in there, so they can all be together (and Church gives Theta a hug; he doesn't even need his memories yet, he just knows he loves Theta).

I didn't care much for deleting the Fragments at the end, but I get the "reasoning". Like, sure. Fine. In my perfect world, Caboose gives the unit to Carolina, so someday, when they're all "ready to wake up again", she can see her family. Wash taking the fall to alert Carolina was both kinda wonky, but also very funny, and hey- it got her there! Again, I don't know why she wasn't there with Wash from the beginning. Also, just. A few characters being dead, and most of the others splitting up at the end... nah. They all need to live together and be friends and be happy and be OK! Like, come on. They've had a lot of "endings" in this series that were bitter-sweet, or kind of sad. I know life doesn't always have a happily ever after... but just once, give them that.

OH, and ANOTHER THING; if things had been just slightly different, if both the Fragments and Tucker sort of "forgot" who they are, the way to remind Tucker should have been JUNIOR. Heck, maybe Carolina was off finding Tucker's kid, and when they come back Junior gets his dad to remember who he really is... but the suit is still controlling him, forcing him to fight. I just want a happy Tucker family reunion. Give that kid his daddy back. Even if Junior isn't there for the big conflict, he should have shown up at the end, with Tucker promising they won't be separated again.

Well, that sure was a lot! The final season was a lot, in a short amount of time! Again, I wish certain things were different, but I'm happy I could see it. Even after everything, all the good and bad parts, I know that it still isn't "the end". I've got a lot of ideas for stories, and so do many other fans out there. I know people are going to keep sharing their thoughts, creating their art, telling their stories... because a universe without stories? That's just empty space.

Bow-chicka-Bye Now!

[writing-whump]

okay request about my specialest babygirl, I'd love to know more of Matt's backstory!

Maybe a fever having him spill to Zaya and Sel?

Fever revelations

"Stay still," Matew grumbled against his shoulder.

"You are heavy," Isaiah protested with a fond smile.

Matthew was surprisingly clingy, when he was feverish. The redhead came home all sluggish and tired and Isaiah knew something was up before he napped through the afternoon. No surprise that when he woke up, he was shivering, flushed and more grumbly than usual.

Isaiah wanted to let him sleep in peace, but Matthew followed him around the kitchen like a lost puppy, blanket halfheartedly clutched around his shoulders. So Isaiah settled for the couch, Matthew a living furnace beside him, leaning against his shoulder under a heap of blankets while he trembled with chills.

"You guys watching something fun?" Seline's voice came from the staircase as she walked down.

She raised her eyebrows at them. "Cuddle session without me?"

Isaiah snickered.

Matthew got even more red than he was already, which was impressive. "We- this- ufff. This is not cuddling!"

He gave her an indignant stare. Would have been more effective if his eyes weren't so glassy, his nose wasn't running and his body was all but glued to Isaiah side for additional warmth.

"Matthew's sick," Isaiah explained.

"How do you always catch everything that comes through town?" Seline complained, sitting down beside Matthew on the sofa with a huff.

"As if I had any say in it."

"Well, hurry up and get better. It's just a week until Christmas!"

Matthew rolled his eyes, then sneezed loudly.

Seline grimaced. "Bless you. But you could at least cover your mouth."

"If you covered yours, I might not have ended u-"

Isaiah shook his head in exasperation, tugging Matthew closer against him, disturbing his equilibrium enough for him to cut himself off.

It seemed Seline and Matthew figured out a way to talk through awkward situations. Not that there was anything all that nice about it, but it put them both at ease and Isaiah knew nothing serious was up if they kept it up.

Matthew sneezed again, hugging himself. Isaiah adjusted the blanket so it covered him up to his neck.

Seline got up. "I'll make you some tea. You too, Isaiah?"

Isaiah nodded in thanks.

"What do you two always have with the tea? It's not a miracle cure," Matthew murmured under his nose. He was shivering, but sweating simultaneously, his brows and upper leap covered in it, dark red hair plastered to the back of his neck.

"It's healing herbs, warmth for your organism and it makes us feel like we are helping," Seline said cheekily from the kitchen as she put the water to boil.

Matthew rolled his eyes, then sagged against the sofa, rubbing at his temples.

"Don't do that," Isaiah chastised, "you will just make yourself dizzy."

"Already did," Matthew whined, pressing his forehead against Isaiah's neck and shoulder. "What the hell is a fever even for? I could handle the sniffles and the raw throat, but not being able to move because my body weights a ton doesn't make sense."

"It's fighting the virus inside you and making you rest. Or do you mean to claim you would not go for your run and then to the gym, if you only had the sniffles?"

"Tsk. Sniffles wouldn't stop me. Not a weakling..."

Isaiah just shook his head again, arm propped around the sofa where Matthew was leaning. Not quite snuggling, but opening the possibility.

Matthew sagged against him, grumbling something in gibberish as his voice trailed away.

Seline came with a tray of tea and cups, making a displeased pout, though her eyes were sparkling. "He didn't make it that long, huh?"

"Maybe better without the tea," Isaiah said, cupping the side of Matthew's face that was still hidden against his neck. "His fever is real high."

"Should I get him some cold compress? Thermometer? Or outright with the ibuprofen?"

Isaiah bit his lip in worry. It wasn't such a big thing. Matthew was strong, uninjured, safe and at home. Nothing that bad was happening. His chest still twisted in worry, like ants crawling down his ribs. "Maybe everything?"

Seline huffed, leaning over to kiss the top of Isaiah's head before going to collect the items.

In a few minutes, all three of them were settled on the couch, Matthew between them as per the tradition. Seline mopped the fever sweat from Matthew's neck and cheek, sliding it over his skin carefully.

Matthew groaned, wiggling uneasily under the touch.

"Shhhh. Just sleep. It's okay," she whispered, brushing a lock of hair away.

"Mmmmm." Matthew's face scrunched up as he slid down the sofa to an almost lying position, an arm around Isaiah's waist. "I don't feel good."

"I know, bud," Isaiah shushed, a hand running down Matthew's sweaty back, looking at Seline. "Maybe we should help him into some dry cloth-"

"Nooo. Don't send me to my room." Matthew's eyebrows drew together, forehead furrowing as he nuzzled against Isaiah's side.

Isaiah chuckled. "I'm not-"

"Please. I don't want to be alone there."

The smile vanished from his lips immediately. "Matt?"

"I swear I won't do anything. Just let me stay here."

Isaiah exchanged a concerned look with Seline, who lifted herself up on her knees. "Alright. That fever is going down." She reached for the meds and a glass of water on the table.

Isaiah put his arms around Matthew, helping him sit up so Seline could hold the pills to his lips. "Mattie, sweetheart, take these. Your fever is super high."

Matthew opened a bleary eye at them, nodding slightly and opening his mouth enough for Seline to slide the pills in. She held the glass of water to him to help him swallow.

Matthew shuddered, another chill running down his spine.

"Matt? You with us, bud?" Isaiah wrapped his arm around him from behind, guiding him back into a lying position on the sofa and against his side.

"Hmmmm. You are not leaving, right?" Matthew looked at him with big dark brown eyes. Isaiah didn't know if they glistened from the fever or unshed tears. His heart was clenching in his chest at the sight nontheless.

"Of course not, buddy."

"They wouldn't let me stay," Matthew complained, face scrunched up in concentration to finish the thought that troubled him. "Had to be in my room or outside...but I just wanted to see her again."

"Who did you want to see?" Isaiah asked softly, petting Matthew's hair.

"My younger sister. Marcella. She is a witch, so they wouldn't let me...but she was never afraid of me, you know? They...they were always afraid, but she never was."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Seline said quietly, propping her head on her hand, elbow on top fo the sofa as she watched Matthew carefully.

"Many siblings. But only Marcella...I only got to see her during summer holidays, when I got back from the boarding school...haven't seen her since starting uni." Matthew turned his face towards Seline, voice small. "She was so small back then. Do you think she would remember me?"

Seline frowned in thought. "Depends on how old-"

"Of course she would," Isaiah reassured, interrupting her. Objective information wouldn't be of help here.

Seline pressed her lips, bowing her head.

"Do you think..." Matthew's voice wavered dangerously, bordering on a sob, "do you think they would let me see her again?"

Ah. Isaiah knew Matthew was considered troublesome because of his giant shadow and bad temper. He obviously had control problems since he was a child. His pack was big, his family had many kids from Isaiah understood and they had little time and patience for 'problematic' shadows.

And witches were rare and precious for any pack to have. Isaiah wouldn't be surprised if Matthew's parents had as many kids as they could just so they could get one witch for a daughter. Humans would be ignored as disappointments if they didn't become something useful like doctors or lawyers and troublesome pups would be neglected and delegated to wolf boarding schools as soon as possible.

Isaiah wrinkled his nose. 14 was the earlier age to get into a boarding school. A very sensitive age for a wolf. Pups in their teen years needed good examples and guidance from their fathers and older brothers to manage their training and to rule their tempers. He didn't hear many good things about the boarding schools either. There were only a few of them specializing in wolves, to help them get their adult exam, which would give them permission to study and work in heavily human-populated areas.

"Your sister surely wants to see you as well. I don't see why they wouldn't let you guys meet," Isaiah said pragmatically, thinking of all the reasons that might not work.

If Matthew's family pack decided he was too much trouble to waste resources on, they would cut all contact with him. It was very likely that was what happened, with Matthew being known around the campus as the wolf without a pack. Not because he didn't want one, like Isaiah, but because none would have him.

Matthew grimaced, turning away from the light to press his face into Isaiah's thigh, drawing the blanket over his face. He was shaking slightly. "That's a merciful lie, Zaya. Thank you."

Isaiah rubbed his back, deciding then and there he was going to make that lie a reality, whatever it took. The next wolf meet was the week after Christmas. He would just ask around for the Blackwells a bit, see who represented them in the city and how he could get access to their leader. Arrange a meeting or two.

If Matthew's family wanted nothing to do with him, he could hardly make them. But if Matthew had a backing of a wolf known for diplomacy and control? If he had an official pack now, including a witch of his own? Isaiah could change their minds alright.

For today, he could just stroke Matthew's arm as Seline pressed against the redhead's back.

[painedpen]

Hi, i wanted to ask about your Mondo Oowada headcanons and platonic pairings :) i want to hear a rant, so dont worry about rambling

Okay so I’ve already answered an ask about my Mondo hcs, so now we’re gonna talk about my Kiyotaka hcs because he’s my second specialest little guy.

Fluff:

- Taka only really relaxes when he’s at home. He lets himself slouch and put his feet up while he works on a project. His manner of speech is much more casual when talking to his father. All around it’s the only time he can truly be peaceful.

- Takaaki’s grandfather came to the country from Spain, and thus the whole family is fluent in Spanish. This, of course, includes Taka. He speaks so fast it’s almost impossible to understand him when he’s speaking Spanish.

- His dad read somewhere that ear piercings could help soothe migraines, and decided to take Taka to get a couple for his birthday. Taka refuses to wear his ear cuffs anywhere outside the house, but he likes them because they make for good tactile and audio stims.

- Obviously autistic. Like c’mon.

- He is Very Normal about martial arts and weaponry. He researches extensively, and practices extensively as well. Because of this, he has a bizarrely wide knowledge of how to kill or seriously maim people.

- He actually spars with Sakura quite a bit. While he definitely can’t beat her, she enjoys that Taka is a bit more of a challenge than other people.

- Because of poverty and such, he was never able to afford good ingredients, so he only knows how to cook very basic dishes. He’s the best at making those basic dishes, though.

- You want ramen but don’t have the energy to make it yourself? Go to Taka, cause his ramen will have you meeting God so you can spiritually high five Her.

- You do have to specify not to put a crazy amount of spices in it though. He and his dad have so much spice tolerance it’s honestly concerning.

- He tries so hard to be well behaved, but growing up with Takaaki has had its side effects. Taka’s startle response is to excessively swear in Spanish. He’s mortified with himself every time.

- Honestly he’s so much more chill when he’s not in a professional environment. If you’re not at school or work he doesn’t give a shit if you swear or whatever. Just don’t do it in front of kids and he’s fine.

- Protesting king. Oh, it’s against the rules for people to wear their pride pins? Guess who’s walking down the halls wearing a rainbow flag as a cape? It’s Kiyotaka Ishimaru, motherfucker.

- Has probably been detained before due to involvement in protests. He’s always peaceful, but if the attending officers get a bit too eager, he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.

- Can leap over an eight-foot-tall fence in a single bound, and will at the slightest hint of provocation.

- If he’s too focused on his work, the filter between his brain and mouth will forget to work. It’s honestly so entertaining because he’ll just say whatever comes to mind, no matter how insulting or rude it is.

Angst: (CW for Violence, Child Abuse, Scars, Eating Disorders)

- Okay here we fuckin go.

- Taka has more scars than anyone else in his class. Some are from his grandfather (more on that later), but most of them are from his grandfather’s enemies.

- As everyone has already guessed, Toranosuke wasn’t all that great to Taka. He would spend weekends babysitting sometimes, and would force Taka to study for days.

- He would lock Taka in his room and wouldn’t let him out until he decided that Taka had done enough. Sometimes Taka would go the whole weekend without any food.

- At one point, Taka tried to sneak out to get something to drink, but his grandfather caught him. Long story short, that’s how he got that huge scar on his shoulder.

- Taka dissociates while he studies now. He absorbs the information, but he’ll be mumbling to himself about “yes, sir… I’ll do better, sir… sorry sir…” even though no one else is in the room with him.

- This boy has had more pints of coffee than hours of sleep in his lifetime.

- He will mix black coffee and five hour energy and down the whole thing in under a minute. Everyone who knows him worries for his health.

- He obviously struggles with nightmares, so he’ll study or work out to avoid sleeping most nights. He normally stays awake until he collapses from exhaustion.

- Touch used to be a huge No for him. Even Takaaki could barely pat him on the shoulder for a long time. When Makoto first held his face, Taka started sobbing.

- Sometimes he’ll genuinely forget that people can be kind. When he sees someone doing something nice for him or others, it kinda knocks the breath out of him because “That’s so strange… I forgot people had the capacity for it…”

- Will straight up not eat for days. He got so used to being without food as a child that having three meals a day will actively make him sick.

- He does not trust teachers in the slightest. He’ll be respectful to them, but he’d rather bite off his own tongue than ask one for help.

- This is mainly because of his middle school days. Other students would beat him to a pulp, and the teachers would just stare at him, in a puddle of his own blood, and walk away.

- There was one teacher who did something worse than that, but I don’t feel comfortable going into details at this moment. Use your imagination, it’s probably as bad as you think.

Platonic Pairings:

Kiyotaka + Sayaka:

- I’m so smart for this just let me explain.

- Sayaka asked him to teach her how to do several Latin dances, and they’ve been best friends ever since.

- They really relate to each other in the sense that they both have had to work extremely hard in order to achieve their goals. They both believe that hard work can achieve anything.

- The entire idol group loves Taka, but Sayaka is the only one he sees everyday.

- He hangs out with the lot of them very often, and they help him loosen up a bit.

Kiyotaka + Aoi:

- This one is so obvious.

- Hina is Colombian, so she was ecstatic to find another Spanish speaker in her class. She constantly clowns on Kiyotaka’s accent though.

- They’re both so passionate about the things they care about it’s so cute to watch them interact.

- I think Taka is one of the only people that can keep up with Hina’s energy level consistently.

Kiyotaka + Kyoko:

- They are childhood friends.

- Think about it. Taka’s dad is a detective, so is Kyoko’s grandfather. Kyoko’s grandfather is too smart to fall for the whole “all Ishimaru’s are evil blegh!” thing.

- I’m saying they hung out when they were little. I’m right too.

- Taka helps Kyoko express her emotions more clearly while Kyoko helps Taka calm down and focus his mind.

Kiyotaka + Peko:

- Top tier sword bros.

- Taka saw Peko training one day and promptly decided that she was the coolest person to ever exist.

- Peko admires his true passion for the art of swordplay. He reminds her of herself when she was younger.

- I’m making Peko sound like an old woman here please excuse me.

- Taka admires her so much it’s so cute. He calls her Shishou until Peko asks him to stop. After that he sticks to Peko-Senpai.

Kiyotaka + Gonta:

- Sobbing crying throwing up punching the air.

- Gonta wants to be a gentleman and Taka is one of the best people to go to for lessons in etiquette.

- They are autistic together.

- Gonta calls Taka Senpai exactly one time. Taka starts crying cause he’s so honored. Gonta thinks he hurt Taka’s feelings. He never calls Taka Senpai again.

- Taka liked bugs as a kid, and still kinda does, so he and Gonta get along so well.

*Insert autism creature Yippee sound byte*

[findafight]

i agree w all of your r*nance thoughts. i also think a big issue for them would be nancy never being robin's Person bc of steve; i do not think that's something nancy could stomach. tho at this point, even if i had liked it originally, i would despise it bc of how often ppl have robin or nancy or both do absolutely sick and twisted things to steve. like the amount of fics where robin doesn't tell steve/actively lies to him about it for extended periods of time then he just has to be okay w it or they have robin just start putting nancy above steve in every aspect of life is ridiculous. then there's the really bad ones, like the fic i saw where the entire premise is r*nance fucking in steve's bed w/o his knowledge (and robin specifically doesn't feel bad at all which ???? like they have nancy feel bad but not robin? i will never understand) or the ficlet i saw where robin asks steve for sex advice then either 1) tells him it's nancy and he makes the advice specific (wtf) or 2) doesn't tell him but he figures it out later bc nancy thanks him since she realized the advice came from him (demonic). like what the actual fuck. sorry i had to complain about the things i've been forced to see against my will by tumblr.

so many things to complain about having seen on the hellsite. carry on fellow soldier 🫡

dsakjhfaksdhkf ya like. the concept of either of them starting to date someone they like and not immediately busting the other's door down like candace_momholyFUCK dot jpeg is just absurd to me. Robin would kiss a girl for the first time and as soon as she gets home she's dialing Steve up and twirling the phone cord around her fingers and kicking her legs, giggling. They were having boobie talk in the car at 7am. they def share if they actually get a date with someone they have a crush on!! (the exception being if that person didn't want to come out, like I could see Steve telling Robin he kissed a guy or had a boyfriend but not saying who because the bf wasn't ready for other people/people he didn't know well to know? but robin would still know he had a bf and details about what they do, just not personal details.)

I find it actually laughable that people would consider Robin would put some romantic interest above her most specialest boy in the whole wide world. Like. She was obsessed with him when she held her tammy and bagel crumb grudge and hated him! Now she loves him? Do people thing she isn't obsessed with him now?? Absolutely not she's worse and she steals his shirts to prove it.

Which I agree with you. Nancy obviously wants to be her romantic partner's priority and number 1. Jonathan's priority is his family and we saw in both s3 and s4 that this causes strain in their relationship! To the point they kinda break up in s3 about it! Robin and Steve both can no longer give that to their partners, because they have each other, scoops troop, and, by extension, the Party. Which is wild because s2 Nancy was Steve's priority.

idk whyyy people have Robin be mean to Steve :( stopppp that's her special little guy. her sweet cheese. her rotten soldier. She might say or do something that hurts him but she would try to apologize as soon as she realizes!! Just like he would for her! I think it might come from people still prioritizing romo ships over platonic ones and trying to have those be the most important and special and deep relationship the characters have.

lldkfjlakdflkajlfdj anon those are WILD fics wow. I think some are trying to acknowledge past st4ncy, but neglect all the hurt that happened at the end of that relationship, and that for the characters, in s4, Steve and Nancy broke up less than a year and a half ago! very messily and hurtfully! (once again, regardless of whether or not steve knows Nancy cheated) that is so short between the end of the relationship to be hooking up with your best friend's ex! that he has expressed romantic feelings for recently! or trying to emphasize robin and steve's weird little qpr comfortable in one another's space and oversharing relationship but missing the mark. like. it's one thing to sleep in a friend's bed with a different friend. it another to have sex in a friend's guest bedroom. it's another level to have sex in your friends bed? that's bonkers.wild.

I do think it'd be funny for Steve and Robin to exchange sex tips/stories but the first time i think Robin asks and Steve just blanks and goes "cut your nails. watch your teeth." which like. yeah. Robin figured. They're weirdos who live inside each other's pockets and brains but they probably do have some levels of comfort to work up to (they've been friends for less than a year! even if it feels like they've known each other forever)

(also. there is a weird thing sometimes where Nancy is closer to Steve/cares more openly about him than she would. I think it might be a bit of a backlash to people pointing out that she cheated on him in s2 and then seemed to not talk to him at all between then and s3 and again between s3 and s4? hmm...)

[oh-my-chocolate]

i finished!!! here are some misc reactions - not very detailed or in depth Thought but things that i remember thinking throughout

poor levitas :( he deserved way better. i know everyone is like "we can't stage an intervention bc protocol and rank and discipline" but SCREW THAT!! hollin's got it right. and laurence is so true for recommending him to hatch his own dragon (especially in place of rankin) 1a. even before we saw everyone ostracizing rankin i knew he was going to be not a good guy bc the narrator gave him a nasally voice that usually signifies "this character is annoying"

jane roland is so cool. for many reasons but especially bc how she keeps rattling laurence out of his sensibilities by being a non-typical and definitely non-proper women. laurence spends their entire first meeting and also that conversation in her room being utterly scandalized and doing his best not to show any of it (which he's actually very good at. but she's continually shocked him so much that this time it's not possible for even laurence's manners to hide all that he actually thinks)

a musical concert for dragons 😭🥺

temeraire has gone from being second most special type of dragon to most special dragon. he SO is the super special main character. reason the series is named after him i suppose

i love temeraire and laurence's relationship so much they love each other so much 🥺🥺

the conversation with lily and maximus and temeraire making a little pact like, if anyone tries to come for our captains we will help each other get them out of there 🥺 also basically coming to the conclusion "i will not let my captain commit treason but like also if they do commit treason i'm totally 100% down and no one will touch them"

also it's so hard for me to picture the scale of a dragon where they can have an entire crew of humans comfortably moving around on them. that's so big

you finished!!! 🎉🎉

levitas deserved SO much better

1a. also i'd never really considered the image you can get of a character when listening to audiobooks. that's fascinating

2. Jane Roland is SO COOL and i LOVE HER

3. laurence wants the dragons to be having a good time always and i love him for that

4. he will become even more special just wait omg. he's the specialest little boy ever.

5. you're so right their relationship is absolutely everything to me <33

6. OUGH i also loved that moment so much. and it will be so painful.

7. you're so right almost all of these dragons are huge. levitas and volly et al (i forgot the name of their species 😅 is it grey reaper?) are only big enough for their captain but most of the other dragons have a flight crew of. 25+ it's actually crazy.

[samael-your-guardian-angel]

Wazzup Sam, what were you and Asmodeus up to - and wearing👀 - when the thing with Job went down? 🐦🐐

Lemme think... I was probably in the Standard Angel Uniform at the time - itchy gold collar, I looked a bit like a tree topper. Mo was in this black tunic with indigo (bougie bastard) embroidery. And, yeah, we were both on the ground there.

I was hanging around God's Specialest Princess and his family when Mo showed up out of nowhere, all fire and brimstone and "TREMBLE BEFORE THE MIGHT OF THE INFERNAL SERVANTS OF SATAN BLAH BLAH BLAH" and then he saw it was me and cut out all the theatrics. And we sat down and he looked all glum - well, he always does, but more than usual - and he pulled out this contract, you probably know the story about the bet between his boss and my boss (which I had Opinions on, but kept my mouth shut), and he had to come and burn down Job's house and kill all his goats and chickens and family, hence the glumness, for this test, right?

And I said, you aren't really going to do it, are you? And he replied, I don't have a choice, do I? Unless an angel were to stop me, perhaps? And I said, thanks for the tip-off, but if I sequester Job and co. away, people are gonna start asking questions, aren't they, about how I knew, and you'll get into just as much trouble for not destroying everything. And looked at me all horrified like, so you think it's OKAY to kill children for a test and I said No, What The Fuck, Show Me Where I Said That, Oh Right, I Super Did Not Say That, You Absolute Buffoon.

And then I thought about it for a while and eventually I was like, okay, so what if Job just thinks he's lost everything, then the test results will be the same, but with much less child-murder involved. You can just give his family back in secret when all this is over. And Mo became slightly less glum and scurried off to go and conduct his mission in secret. So I thought.

But you know Mo, he's got to be as dramatic as possible, and he wanted an audience for his performance, and the next day he calls me over like Come Watch Me Murder *wink* Job's Precious Children *wink*, and I said, don't do that with your face. And then he put on this big show with the fire and brimstone and lightning, but he made us all fall into the basement in the eye of the storm. It was pretty cool. It would have been a lot cooler if he'd told me first what he was going to do.

He hid the kids and kept them quiet by turning them into frogs or lizards or something, I forget, 'cause we landed in the wine cellar and well, we had nothing else to do while we waited for them to dig us out of the wreckage. It was the first time I had wine, I think. Yeah, Mo was on a roll, he was so pleased with himself for the misdirection, and then he was all ooh, let me tempt you with the devil's drink, little angel~ and. Listen. Listen. Shut up. I know it was cliché and cheesy and whatever. I'm not proud of how easily it worked. Shut up. I know you're laughing. A thousand smitings upon ye if you don't stop laughing at me.

I got very drunk.

I got very hungover, too, and I've rambled enough, so. Job = very sad, still passed the test, God spoke to him, whoa. Mo = invented the magic trick, brought Job's kids back. Me = managed to bullshit the other angels that it was all part of the plan, etc.

Afterwards... I dunno, I got kinda melancholy. I mean, we were supposed to be the good guys, right? So why were we doing all this fucked-up shit to Blameless Job for the sake of a bet that Her Omnipotence would have known the outcome to anyway? Why was Mo, who didn't want to do that fucked-up shit, turned into a demon? I couldn't say any of that out loud either, 'cause what if questioning the morality of Heaven led to them kicking me out too?

Asmodeus came and sat with me. We didn't say much, but I felt a little better. We weren't in The Arrangement just yet, but it felt like a prelude, almost. At the least, it felt a little less lonely.

[oswaldthatendswald]

Any or all of these for the writer's ask game: 🍄,❄️,🦋, and☁️

I'm really curious about the origins of your username 😆

Also congrats on finishing Lying to the Government! Gonna go read the last chapter right now, and might reread the others while I'm at it 👀

I'VE BEEN HOPING SOMEONE WOULD ASK ABOUT MY USERNAME!

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

IT'S A BIT!!! FROM WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY!

(This should start at the right time, but if it doesn't, the right bit is at 1:25.)

Whose Line Is It Anyway is one of those shows that every theatre kid I know watched extensively. Colin Mochrie was my idol in junior high. The "Oswald That Endswald" (all's well that ends well) bit was so hilarious to me that it just stuck with me for ages, and popped into my head again when I was making my ao3 account.

Rest of the questions are below the cut!

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

I'll be honest, I don't actually have a ton of ships for One Piece. I'm mostly more into the platonic and familial relationships, because OP does them so well. I do like Zoro/Sanji, though. I have a lot of very silly headcanons about them with my partner. I headcanon that both of them are fully aware of their dynamic. They both know what's going on. They're just playing the world's longest (and possibly first) game of Straight Chicken. Neither of them are gonna be the one to acknowledge that they actually like that fucker nope no way.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

Ah, hard question! The thing is, I write most of my dream fics-- or at least put a pin in them for later. Actually, though, back when I first watched Dressrosa (before I even wrote First Bounty!) I sketched out a plot for a time travel fix-it fic in which Doflamingo is the one to get thrown back to the past and, for entirely bad and selfish reasons, manages to vastly improve the lives of Law and Cora both. Or at least, the reasons were bad at first. The overarching bit was that he sort of learned to genuinely care about them over time. In my notes I called it "Doflamingo falls for his own con" and I still have a fondness for it. I don't know who would write it best, though! I think I actually wrote the first few pages. I should dig those out.

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately 

I'll be honest my mind has not been the most fun place to be lately. However, on a lighter note, I've been thinking a lot about my DnD character. Our group hasn't had a lot of time to play recently, so I've sort of just been rotating him in my mind. His name is Rose, he's a bard, he thinks he's a human (but he's going to get a nasty surprise in, oh, one more level), and he has enough anxiety to give him the resting heartrate of a rabbit. He is also proof that I can get away with anything as long as my partner is our DM, because he started out as a really obvious Cora clone, but he's sort of grown since then into his own maladjusted creature. He is God's Specialest Little Guy and the plot is about to come down on him like a ton of bricks.

Thank you very much for the questions! I had a lot of fun answering them (although I had to take a couple days to think about them)!

[variousqueerthings]

i went and read through all the scorecards and commentary you’ve written so far, and i just have to comment that i think you’ll have a much better time rewatching twelve’s era - it’s got its own problems, of course, but it’s such a breath of fresh air. i think m*ffat actually took some of people’s biggest criticisms of s5-7 to heart - the hamfisted sexiness is toned way down, and he did away with the whole “the doctor is the center of the universe and the most specialest guy ever” angle almost entirely. honestly, i almost have a hard time believing both eras were written by the same person.

hahaaa thank you, and idk why the below got so long, when your ask was relatively simple, blame it on the hyperfixation!

I acknowledge I tend to write m*ffat (mainly because im not trying to put stuff in tags to be a buzzkill but also as a joke about censoring him), but I do think he got... better

in the sense that he was overall less sexist and more character-driven later on and seems to have really run with a lot of what people wanted set up in terms of genderbending Timelords and queer lead characters, although I am finding s6 has some really good stuff... not.... his episodes so much lol...... but I'm liking it more than s5 which runs contrary with my assumptions/memory of his era, which is pleasantly surprising

I don't think he's egregious in the way writers like, say, Joss Whedon were, I've not heard stories of him being an asshole on set (except for that one story about him throwing a hissyfit about not getting the horse through the mirror in GitF back in s2), which may just be me missing stuff, so can let me know, BUT... nothing I know of. and while he's said some... Highly Dubious Shit About Women Especially and also asexuality, I genuinely think he's been working on some of those biases and fucking nonsense

we went from the Doctor kissing a lesbian without her consent to Bill Potts (who has some flaws -- the fat joke I've been seeing mentioned on Tumbls, the somewhat off-centre flirtation with the one-night stand she doesn't get to have that seems more like it comes from girl-on-girl porn than like a way lesbians might speak with one another)

from writing Rants about the dullness of asexuality that assumed a cis- and heteronormative perspective of the Doctor (he's a bloke of course he'd want to have sex was a lot of the Vibes of it) to in a "confused but got some of the spirit" writing about how the Doctor wouldn't understand human definitions of sexuality and monogamous relationship structures (there's a post about that somewhere in the depths of my blog @fabiansociety made some excellent points)

from describing the original first casting for Amy as "wee and dumpy" to... well, actually can we have some clarification there sir, also the shit you said about Karen Gillen basically just being cast because she was hot (I'm not saying I am super Yay Moffat after all), but at least toning down the sexy sexy talk on the show from what you say!

also maybe a smallish thing, and idk how much power he had and and and, buuut I appreciate how he went from the way he talked in GiTF about how Reinette was "worthy" of the Doctor because she was cultured and educated and whatnot... when Rose is literally the companion of the season and semi-textually Created Ten (regardless of youknow, reads of the relationship and all that, definitely important to the narrative and the Doctor), to having Rose appear as The Bad Wolf in the 50th anniversary special... haunting the naaarrative baybey

and I remember feeling like "Missy" when introduced was just a rehash of River Song rehash of Irene Adler (or whatever way around those characters existed) but then Gomez is actually amazing as The Master, to the point that she's the Number One thing I remember from that era of the show

and he's not an asshole about trans people, which, low bar perhaps, but not in this flipping country, especially not saying so out loud, which, like... Doctor Who is a big deal in this country and RTD is obviously a big ol' queer who's been yelling from the rooftops from Day One, but to not just have it be him, to have a cultural institution firmly in our corner, it's good feeling-wise, and Moffat is a part of that too

and what you're saying, which I cannot quite remember the details of but will eventually reach, the pivot from how the Doctor is portrayed in the Eleven arc vs the Twelve arc, and what the core of that story is, and the glory of Capaldi!

the limitations of this praise then come in the fact that he was learning this stuff while running two of the biggest British institutions, a version of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, and so the above Things that he was a dick about, alongside the mocking of fandom during Sherlock and the weird "queer but not queer" stuff with Sherlock/Watson (look, the fucking... BBC marketed it through the lens of a ship, and then there was a whole idk... campaign to make fandom seem weird and over-invested, and then of course Sherlock actually sucked as a show for so many reasons...) means that he's managed to be a prat in real time and it's meant that what should have been fun engagement in storytelling wasn't so much for many of us wincing through the shit he was saying and writing in his shows

... that time he was like "people are accusing me of being sexist, but I love strong, sexually confident women who can step on me, and having a dominatrix kink that I'm projecting onto my female characters onscreen is the opposite of sexism actually Check Mate" (that paraphrasing was mean, sorry not sorry, but also.... I could find the quote or just a handful of handy videos that have aaaaalll of the quotes... because they were happening.... in national newspapers and in interviews and panels and twitter and.... like.... not in private... there's more I'm vaguely remembering but not sure enough to just throw out there, so yeah... but he did not shut up!)

also I will never think he's a good writer so much as Very good at thinking up cool concepts that others might be able to run with or work with him on, and he should never ever be left to his own devices and encouraged to do whatever he wants (... Sherlock..... Jekyll.... from what I've heard, Inside Man....) AND I think generally and hope that RTD2 is going to be about heralding in the next gen of creators, including perhaps... a future showrunner who didn't grow up when Classic!Who was in its infancy (I don't mean that as a diss, I just mean that we've had three of those showrunners so far), and perchance isn't a cis man, because I think a lot of cool shit that could have been better might have been if moffat wasn't learning the ABC's of third wave feminism at the same time

Gosh and he's the least sexy writer I have ever come across... maybe not ever, but considering how confident he was being about allosexual alloromantic Doctor, that man is as sexy as getting slapped by a wet fish (unless you're into that, in which case insert something else here)

ALL OF THIS TO SAY... yeah, I'm excited for Twelve. and I'm enjoying Eleven more by watching the way I'm watching and being able to set criteria for worse and for better!

[c0rinarii]

These guys have been living in my head rent free for more than 4 years at this point and i find it criminal that i did not ever post my HCs about all of them publicly.

So here yall go for the 3 people who keep up with the original Red Embrace; 5 headcanons for my 5 specialest boys. Threads into pretty heavy topics (depression mainly) and light spoilers for the game below. Play it if you havent and are intrested in them 🫵

Ash:

- Bisexual with a slight m-spec lean

- His impulsivity and recklessness is mainly caused by depression, which i think he suffers substantially from. Too many lines point towards how unhappy he was with his life before meeting his love interest :(

- HUGE anime nerd. A gut feeling tells me he would be a huge mecha nerd. But generally, he enjoys more abstract and "nonsense" anime. Unsprisingly because of this, his favourite anime is eva LMAO

- He has the most relationship experience out of the 5, having been both with women and men before meeting them. His longest relationship at that point was with a college frat boy (and the fall out was MESSY)

- Him and Troy arent best friends per say, but Troy and him went to the same college. They were accquainted with eachother when Ash got with his boyfriend at the time. When they broke up, Troy had Ash's back throughout the aftermath. I like to think the apartment he's living in currently was sponsered by Troy.

- [He gets an extra one bc he is so special to me] Deep down, Ash is someone that had been hurt so much by his life that he thinks he doesnt deserve to be loved unconditionally. Despite his tough and wry behaviour, he is a HUGE people pleaser; thinking that he needs to cater to everyone as best as he could so he has even a chance to survive.

Dominic:

- Bisexual with no paticular preference

- Prior to being bitten, Dom was an A+ student, a jock and mega popular. Literally everyone who was in the same school as him described him as "a student so perfect, he's almost alien" Despite this however, he was still described as a quiet boy with not much to say. He also got into similar shenanigains Rex did when he was back in Phoneix, but to a much lesser degree.

-The necklace on his chest is a locket! it has his family photo inside and he clutches it when he's feeling reaaally sad :(

- He and Rex are exes and he curently has some sort of weird fling with Isaac. He was the one who broke it off between him and Rex due to personal reasons (depression). The breakup wasnt a big deal initially. But when Rex found out that Dom was Seirei and pretended to be Helgen to date Rex, he felt incredibly betrayed. His feeling of hatred only grew when he realised how much disrespect and contempt he actually had for the clan system.

- He would never admit it upfront but he is a sucker for romance. He has a small stash of romance novels hidden away in a library he visits. He would have thrived on Wattpad.

Rex:

- Pansexual with an m-spec lean

- Shockingly mature when it comes to social situations. This guy is king at figuring out social ques and what is required of him to fit in (he's hopeless in any other fronts of smarts though rip). This is why he was such a vunerable target to peer pressure :(

- As such, this is why he hated Dom so much outside of clan shenanigains and because of what happened during their relationship. Seeing the absolute disrespect he had for his clan yet still being somewhat respected regardless made him incredibly envious and jelous of him. But if anything, he cant fathom how one could live completely alone like that to cope with unlife.

-He got his eye tattoo as part of a dare to see who was the "most hardcore" out of his Phoneix friend group. The dare only required them to get a sleeve tattoo, but Rex took it up a notch by getting a half body and a cheek tattoo to boot. He is really enthusastic about him and Ash getting matching cheek tattoos (which Ash rejects, but he promises that he'll consider a matching shoulder tattoo)

-He says he feeds of junkies and homeless people, but this man will actually try his best to source bloodbags instead when he can. He actually really hates seeing people scream in pain when he feeds bc he feels guilty 🥲

Isaac:

- Gay. gayyyy. fuuull fruits basket. He thinks women are great friends but he would never find any romantic interest in them. He's known this since he was a young teen and had christian boy guilt over it when he found out.

- He isnt as flirty, straightfoward or heartless as one may think from him!! A good chunk of it is a front to hide the fact that he's actually someone who gives way too much shits about people he cares about. His demeanour may not show it but his actions definitely does (Lets Ash in on what's actually going on in San Fran at night so he doesnt find out the hard way, Opting with a more "peaceful" option to overthrow Bishop that instigate a full bloodbath despite his resentment to vampires, LITERALLYYY SELLING HIMSELF OUT TO KEEP LUKA SAFE??). He flirts agressively to tease but he makes you genuinely comfy cozy right after.

- As such, he is suprisingly very easy to tease back. You out-flirt this man he is melting into a flustered puddle in the corner of the room. Ash and Dom have done it multiple times and his flustered expression never gets old.

- He does eyeliner, and has gotten so good at it that he can make a wing with a few swipes.

- Is currently in a weird fwb limbo with Dom where they're comfortable enough to vent to eachother about minor frustrations and fuck nasty, but still too aprehensive to talk about their actual feelings and struggles, as well as set aside their differences (ESPECIALLY Isaac towards Dom). Will they ever figure it out? Who knows!

Luka:

- He's currently unlabelled, but has a very strong m-spec lean. What's funny is that he actually went throgh that period where he becomes homophobic after realising his "gay" tendencies. He only got over this when he started working, and put aside questioning his sexuality completely when he set out to look for David. He's too busy to dick around with whether or not he was lame for liking boys LMFAO

- He is the only one out of the 5 to have a drivers license and a basic grasp on how to "function like a normal person of society". Also the only one of the 5 that had a legitimately established, moderately high paying job (even if it was because of nepotism)

- His previous job was as a photographer for his dad's magazine company! At the side, he also did some modelling.

- He is also extremely enthusiastic about trees and types of trees! Everytime he gets to stroll in a forest he'd lowkey geek out about any tree he finds interesting. While usually whiny about everywhere else, he will never complain about being in nature.

- He doesnt really hate Isaac as much as he lets on; and I like to think he's aware of his acts of service towards him despite having treated Isaac terribly. He holds a considerable amount of guilt for not being brave enough to say sorry and thank him for his show of kindness throughout the year and a half(?) period. He never ever forgave himself when he found out that Isaac went as far as to sell himself out to protect him.

[udekai]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

okay three stars means three passages hell yes!!! they're all from pathetic because that's basically all i've written in the past five months

1.) okay so there's that lame little e-65 ice skating fic i shoved into Pathetic, where Foggy gets a little too used to sitting in his misery and Matt takes him ice-skating? Direct parallel to the fic in the series that came before it where Otomo drags him to his feet to keep him from a depressive episode. That was deliberate on my part.

2.) King of the Dirt, Chapter 26

I am going to say "this is one of my favorite chapters" about every chapter in this fic, but it was genuinely so much fun to write. Help me, I think I've grown attached to a side character. ON THE SUBJECT of Otomo, and his relationship with Matt:

“I don’t care about the district attorney. He’s useless to me. He’s nothing. Garbage. Kaput. Do you get it?”

A few beats of silence passed. Otomo was notoriously stoic, and thus gave no tells as to what he was thinking, but Matt got the sense he was annoyed with him. 

“Do you know what it took to convince the Hand to work with you?” he asked abruptly. “I warned you to leave, and you didn’t. I tell you there is a way out, and you will not take it. Are you completely set on killing yourself by our sword?” 

“Are you completely set on letting me live?” Matt fired back. 

Tells or no, he knew that had touched his pride. Otomo valued nothing more than his station; a better soldier than Matt could ever be. 

Imagine you dedicate like a decade of your career to training the rookie at work- he's like, the boss's son. You remember him being in the office when he was like, 14. The corporate loyalty has long since rotted him from the inside out, and although you're not like, The Big Boss, you are high ranking. This place is a nightmare, but it is a very lucrative job, the highest paying you've ever had, that you ever will have, and you will be dead in the ground before you fail.

And then. This little fucker not only gets fired on purpose, he leaves the office in FLAMES on his way out the door. And of course your manager is on your ass about it, your whole career is now in jeopardy, and they send you to go find the little bastard and kill him.

You meet up, and- okay, so you got a little attached. So what? Nobody else makes fun of the CEO like he does. Probably your favorite coworker. And he has the AUDACITY to just... have another job lined up. He's like "Yeah, life's actually amazing when you don't work for The Worst Guys Ever. I'm super happy without them."

You can't bring yourself to kill this guy. You let him live, tell him to run like hell. Corporate is on your ass. The next time you meet after that, you don't have that option. One of you is fucking dead, and it's not gonna be you.

You still can't do it.

The kid survived the worst nightmares your company threw at him. He got out of the "we're family here" trap. You just can't do it.

3.) Thicker Than Blood, Chapter 6

“I’m sure you’ll make a great lawyer someday, Mister Murdock, but-”

“Mister Lancaster,” he soothed, “it is my firm.”

“Matt-” Foggy started.

“Foggy,” he cooed, interrupting him. “Your name belongs on that sign.” 

Tears. He didn’t hear them roll over his cheeks, but he knew they were welling at the corners of his eyes. Matt smiled at him, allowing every ounce of genuine, broken fondness he possessed to show through it. 

Foggy didn’t have any further arguments. 

I'm so proud of this little snippet. I think it's more effective in context, but it's sooooo disturbing to me. Because this is after Matt weasels his way into inheriting Rosalind's firm. The firm that was explicitly not left to Foggy. After Matt killed her, and Foggy knows that, deep down.

Because at this point, Matt is fond of Foggy. He is his specialest boy in the whole wide world and everybody had better clap before he comes in or he'll blow everything up. And Foggy is genuinely grateful for that! He doesn't know what to do about it, because he feels awful, but he's not sad. He's not upset that Matt likes him, he's just fucking terrified of him.

Thank you so much this was really fun <3333333333333333

[liquidpaperfoundation]

5 & 24 for the ask game?

5. It's exactly what a know-it-all kid would come up with to justify the two murders he committed.

Kira's ideology has many obvious problems. for example, he may have decreased the crime rate but at the cost of becoming a tyrant that causes the world to live in fear of his wrath; he doesn't give a shit about due process and kills a lot of people who were arrested or charged but never convicted, meaning he has probably killed thousands of innocents who were merely accused of crimes at some point; and Light's response to Mikami killing "lazy" people was not a hard no but a mere "not yet".

I get the appeal of Kira's ideology, since it offers quick and brutal vengeance, but it is quite clear that he is wrong.

You could say I'm not a fan.

24. My headcanon about anime!Light is that he was always a bit antisocial/narcissistic (not armchair diagnosing or anything, but i think he always had trouble with empathy and placed himself above others because he spent all his childhood being constantly told how great he was and being valued only for his accomplishments and never treated as a human being), but he was very much not evil. He had a moral compass and people he loved and he could have been a good person, but getting the death note is what encouraged his worst instincts.

I think Light's "kill everyone I don't like and become god" ideology only really solidified as a result of the first two murders and meeting Ryuk. Light's entire self-image is based on the idea that he is perfect and great and the specialest little guy. But he killed two people just to see if the death note works?

So he rationalizes that those people deserved to die, and he was in fact doing good by killing them. He can't accept the idea that he is anything less than perfect, so he tells himself that not only did his first two victims deserve to die, but he would be even perfecter if he killed more people. Before he meets Ryuk, Light believes he will be divinely punished for his actions, so he's just trying to do as much good as he can before he gets smited.

But then Ryuk shows up. And Ryuk has no interest in divine justice. He's not here to take Light's soul or anything. And there is no heaven or hell. This breaks Light a little bit. What is Light to do with the rest of his life now that he knows he isn't going to be immediately obliterated? How does he live with the fact that he ended hundreds of lives and the universe doesn't even care? And that is when Light decides he is going to get rid of not just the worst criminals, but every criminal on the planet. If there I'd no divine justice, Light will become divine justice.

I hc that some very deep down repressed part of Light knows that all of this is wrong, but he refuses to listen to it. After all, if he morally objects to killing Naomi, then killing the FBI agents was also wrong, as was killing Lind L. Tailor just to prove a point. If he acknowledges the immorality of any of his actions, then that makes him not a perfect god, but a vicious murderer. So light turns his conscience against itself and makes up a big lie about being a perfect god and that anyone who goes against him must be evil, because he would completely break if he let himself introspect for even a moment.

This is also why I don't believe that L would become "God of the New World" if he had the death note from the start. Because L knows he's done questionable things. L is comfortable in his identity as an evil bastard, and ironically that would save him from some of the depths Light sinks to.

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

who are ur links??? names and games and gun facts maybe???

!!!

First, we got First, aka Link from the sksw manga. Sad pathetic wet cat. Wants to go back home to his husband, but is STUCK HERE. He's the tallest Link (by an inch)!

Then Feather (sksw)! His fun fact is that he has the full Triforce, but no one knows that for, uh, plot reasons ig. He also regularly practices the harp, because Fi taught him and well- she's not there anymore. My dearest friend here, Godslayer Fulltriforce, does not understand why the others think he's one of the strongest. Anyway, hey, look at this cool sword he uses! It's a double helix blade, isn't that neat?

Then we have my personal little combo Link- MC/FS/FSA. His fun fact is he never used the four sword to put the colors back together (permanently), and they're all just. Y'know. There. (and Shadow. Freeloader.) The FSA comes in with this cool and fun thing I call CONVENIENT TIME TRAVEL

Then oot, aka Mask, because I am incredibly attached to the name and also that's just how the Links named each other. First notable unique trait. His was the masks, which just chill on his belt and offer mostly unhelpful advice. AMAP (assigned male at princess). Physically the youngest, but oh boy. Who even fucking knows what his mental age is (it's why he doesn't talk).

Then we have TP, who, like most of them, still doesn't have a name. His fun fact is that he's trans, but only because I wanted to make a really bad joke. He's friends with Zelda, but only because he uses her magic fountain to talk to Midna, and after a while it got kinda awkward to just walk into her house without knowing her

Wind Waker, aka Patch! Yes, his name is that for exactly the reason you would expect (he doesn't need an eyepatch, he just has a conveniently placed scar)! He's one of the three Triforce Links (Triforce heroes, one could say-), with both Courage and Power. He doesn't know about Power, and could care less about Courage

Spirit Tracks! Idk. He may or may not be in, depends on if I can find a good playthrough to watch

alttp/oos/ooa/la Link, aka Apple! Hermit apple farmer guy after he (willingly) left Hyrule once and got his heart broken (thanks, Marin). He and his Zelda are good friends (or maybe more idk). Doesn't talk, just stares piercingly into your eyes until you start getting uncomfortable because he looks about one bad thing away from breaking down sobbing

albw/th, Paint- he's a little guy :) half of the storage in his house is Ravio's stuff, and the other half is his wardrobe from Hytopia. I also need to find a playthrough for him.

loz 1 & 2, Wanderer, named thus because he doesn't stay in one place, much to his Zeldas' annoyance! The oldest Link (thats a coincidence, I promise). Everyone is like, wow, [botw], your Hyrule is horrible and filled with monsters, meanwhile he's just fucking crying because it's so nice here, look, the water isn't poisonous and the grass isn't trying to kill us and I can see the sky

HW! My most specialest guy :) I gave him Issues. Your token pyromaniac Link, fell in love with Sheik a la OoT- now both he and Zelda have things they need to think about for a good long while!

Lastly, botw! Truly does not understand what a gender is, even among the many other "has lived in the forest half their lives" Links. Whether or not he's experienced totk depends on whether I like it lol. Takes the advice of his own personal peanut gallery (the Champions' spirits) seriously, even when it's just Revali telling him to do something really fucking stupid. Talks a whole lot, especially to the master sword (he heard about Fi and figured hey why not). His glorious purpose in life is to cook, and if he wasn't so distracted sauteing vegetables he'd be one of the most powerful

[zannolin]

31, 33, 65, 85!! -kai :3c

okay finally managed to drag myself away from songbirds & snakes to answer this haiiii kai <3

31. tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

none of them ever i hate writing i hate characters why will none of you shut up ever. okay that's a lie. he's not My Character but i do love writing freddy freeman...what a little guy he keeps hijacking my fics and making himself the pov character half the time. maybe it's just from two years of writing ctommy but it feels natural for me to write that kind of snarky sort of rambling pov. do i know if i'm writing it well no but it comes quite naturally to me in the moment. i am never at a loss for freddy dialogue.

as for like, My Characters there's a girl named denny from my short story i wrote for my workshop this last semester but she's just a ripoff ctommy because the short story idea quite literally began life as an sbi au so. rip me i write the same story over and over and over.

33. do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

it depends, i think. like obviously as a fanfic-leaning writer my focus when both creating and consuming media is biased towards characters. they are the reason i am invested. longtime readers know i am a lover of writing character studies and internal monologues. however. i do oftentimes find myself enamored with plot. the fey au? yeah that was plot. the final girl au that i still have not worked on? also plot. same for my rose sees ghosts au. lot of resident evil aus with plot now that i think about it. there are a lot of up-in-the-air or never-to-be-written aus i have that definitely started with plot and will languish for a while either because of that (plotting is so hard man) or because i fell out of love with the blorbos it was about (or they just aren't my main focus atm) and haven't yet found a good way to restructure the plot to fit new ones. rip magic of pegasus au you were truly glorious with that rebellion plot...i miss u. and my superhero au....evil hello fresh :( our fallen hero.

65. what is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written? 

swallowing jupiter hands down. fucking phenomenal i'm a genius and i love myself so so much. i'm god's specialest girlboy it's not even a song lyric it came from my own brain. runner-ups go to planetarium stickers (thank u oh hellos) witness marks (thank u haunting of hill house) and all is silent, all is bright bc i felt particularly clever for that one.

85. what would be on a moodboard for your current wip(s)?

hm. just a random assortment for undisclosed wips about undisclosed characters. and such.

ask game!