#i haven't revised this yet

[marikodraws]

Carry you home

redo of this drawing from some years back :3

[anonprotagging]

miitopia......?? I hardly knowya!

[bayofwolves]

Do you have any thoughts on what Meilin’s mother was like? She’s such a source of untapped potential in canon. What happened to her spirit animal? Does General Teng share stories about her with Meilin? Do she and Abeke bond over losing their mothers at such a young age? I feel like she’s one of the many many things the authors forgot about :(

Yes! I agree, we really missed out on learning about Meilin's mom. I haven't developed her too much yet, but I'll tell you what I do know.

I currently have her name as Qianyue (骞月), but that is subject to change. Her spirit animal was a yellow-throated marten named Sujia. She was only twenty years old when she died giving birth to Meilin.

Qianyue did not get the chance to become a Greencloak, as her betrothal to Teng was arranged quite soon after her Nectar Ceremony. She was no warrior, conforming to what Zhong expected of women in that period, but Meilin desperately wishes she knew her. Everything she knows about Qianyue came from General Teng and her maternal grandparents. They told her she was clever and artistic but solitary, spending long hours in the garden of their mansion with Sujia by her side, lost in her own thoughts. With the guidance of her Marked parents, Qianyue spent much time working on her bond, too, learning to channel Sujia's speed and agility. Had her circumstances been different, she could have made a fine Greencloak. Teng always expressed that he loved her deeply, and she him, and Meilin doesn't doubt that -- but she sometimes wonders if her mother felt unhappy in her life. Married so young, unable to choose her own path, and on her deathbed five years later. It's not a life Meilin would have wanted.

Sujia survived the initial loss of her human partner and lived in agony for several more years. She was allowed to roam the family mansion freely and wanted for nothing in terms of comfort, but she never found peace. She retreated into herself and, over time, started to act more like a common animal. Finally, when Meilin was six, she refused all food and fasted to death. Meilin's memories of her are hazy, but she remembers being very little and sitting with her as she gazed wistfully into the garden where Qianyue used to walk, stroking her fur, encouraging her to eat with offerings of fruit, asking her what her mother was like. Sujia, of course, couldn't reply. When she died, it devastated Meilin. Sujia was her closest connection to her mother, and it felt like Qianyue was dying all over again.

Meilin grieves for her mother in a strange way, given that she never knew her, and that she herself was the cause of her death. That's a fact that has always been difficult for her to reckon with, even if she knows it was not her fault.

The nature of Qianyue's death has shadowed Meilin her whole life. It has left her with a fear of pregnancy and childbirth, and is one of the reasons why she and Rollan decide to adopt in adulthood.

[mauvemischief]

11.1k words and we're not even to the hurt/comfort yet

[saints-who-never-existed]

What are your thoughts on the relationship between Terror's lieutenants? Both in canon (book and show) and whatever ideas you yourself might have.

I'm wanna know what you think their reactions to Jopson's promotion or to John's death were. But I'm especially interested in what was going on before the walk out, just how they interacted in your mind onboard the ship.

I got curious because of the music fragment from the book where Little and Hodgson argue, and because of Kajganich's comments about Hodgson probably being Little's closest friend on board.

Thanks and cheers!

So this got real long real fast! Not even sure I fully answered your question, friendo. I just thought too long about The Lads, got emotional, and produced this deeply-passionate word vomit. Enjoy!

-

On the one hand, it’s frustrating that we see so little of the relationship between the three of them, either on-screen or in the book. But on the other, it’s fantastic in that it leaves so much room for interpretation!

I think no one will be surprised that I have absolutely made the most of those few scant snippets and references, and interpreted a deep, abiding, loving friendship from them… :')

-

I see their relationship in the book as the more straightforward and positive of the two.

The Hodgson and Little Musical Disagreement is an excellent example and I’m glad you mentioned it. Not only does it show a softer side to Little, who in the book is a much simpler, stoic kinda guy, it also gives us the pleasure of guessing at his reasoning. Does he just like to see Hodgson happy and is willing to compromise to make that happen, or does he know that his garrulous friend just won’t shut the fuck up until he gets his way? Who knows? Take your pick! Either way, it shows they’re buddies who care enough about one another’s happiness not to sweat small stuff like that. (My own personal headcanon is that Little secretly quite likes Hodgson's shite music. He’s definitely got a sense of humour in the book, even if quite a sarcastic one, so it's not hard for me to imagine book-Little as the Roy Kent of the Expedition with a lighter side he's at pains to keep hidden.) We also have, for example, Irving doing Hodgson a solid and pulling a double-watch when the latter is ill which again shows a willingness to be there and make sacrifices for one another. And one of my favourite little snippets comes early on, during Tuunbaq's attack on Strong and Private Heather. By the time Crozier even makes it out of his cabin to investigate, the three lieutenants are already there, arms full of weapons and 100% ready to rock so not only are they friends in my mind but they’re a tight and efficient unit on a practical level too, a well-oiled machine.

-

There’s definite friendship and a strong working dynamic in the show too, though I do think you have to search even harder for it in many instances. And I definitely see a more complex, bittersweet edge to their relationship in general.

They still care about and make sacrifices for each other – think of wee Irving, for example, taking one for the team and breaking the bad news to Crozier about all the men abandoning him for the flagship. (He says that Little asked him to but I choose to believe he's a good, caring, Christian boy at heart and did it himself to relieve his friend after a tough night). There’s definite trust there too. There's a teeny wee fleeting moment I like where the booze-hunting party returns to Terror with Silna and the late Mr Hornby. Little briefs Hodgson, asks him to deal with the former, and specifically expresses trust in him ("She'll be fine with Lieutenant Hodgson") which is well warranted - Hodgson sees that the job is done right away and with minimal fuss. Another little example that springs to mind from that same episode is a deleted line from the script. After the hatch is smashed, Crozier asks who's on deck and Little answers immediately, painfully aware that Hodgson is up there, painfully aware of all that’s at stake.

I think the biggest factor in the stymieing of their in-show friendship is The Horrors in general, but also Crozier specifically. Not to turn this into one of my patented anti-Crozier rants but I think he affects the men under him in two ways.

Firstly, at his worst, he’s an extra enemy for them to deal with, an extra problem. In many ways I think it brings them closer – Us vs. The World, Us vs. Our Boss’s Bullshit – but it’s almost for the wrong reasons, if that makes sense? If nothing else, it doesn’t leave much room for tenderness or levity or relaxation or any of the other things that make up friendship. Secondly, I think he infects them with his secretive, insular nature. That’s the most heart-breaking thing of all to me – all three of them are suffering so much in their own ways but we see no real indication that they're getting sufficient chance to confide in one another about it. They just keep it all bottled up inside with no outlet for it.

-

That's another difference, I think, between book and show, and it's what I'll end this absolute diatribe on in specific relation to Irving's death - that fatal lack of catharsis.

I've just reread the chapter that includes Irving's funeral and genuinely had tear in my eyes at the end. Hodgson is distraught, having witnessed the grisly aftermath of Irving's murder and while we don't directly see a reaction from Little, the chapter ends with he, Hodgson, and a variety of other officers dismissing the men so they can take on the responsibility of burying Irving themselves. They couldn't protect him in life but they find value and seek a practical outlet for their grief by doing what they can to honour their friend in death.

Whereas in the show, they get no such luxury. They don't get a real chance to stop or process anything. They don't really get a chance to do anything productive with their grief. They do try - I think both attacking the Netsilik and arming the men in camp stem from a deep and frustrated need to feel like they're doing something, anything. But it's just not enough - that kind of reciprocal violence isn't a worthy substitute in the first place for the simple act of love that is burying one's friend.

When it comes to the show, I still think the love was there. It didn't change anything. There was nowhere for it to go. There were too many forces against it, bottling it all up. But when it comes to the show and when it comes to those three, the love was absolutely there.

[whosname]

The program Ginsan has encountered a problem [The Horrors]. Wait until Ginsan reboots.

[catgriosaich]

tha mi air déan ceithir leasanan/seachdainean de "gáidhlig ann an dá sheachdain deug" a-nis 😁😎

[sisterdivinium]

Warrior Nun Commentfic Fest! Week 6 Round Up

This week we haven't had any new prompts, maintaining our 43 total, but 2 new, longer fills joined the others for a sum of 29!

This week we've had some Camila/Lilith being at once rough and tender with one another as well as a Vampire: the Masquerade AU where a recently embraced Ava must face her new existence.

Consider joining us for the upcoming week -- remember, there are only two more of them to go now! Leave a prompt of your own, submit a fill, leave a comment on one of the fics that are already there, tell a friend... Everyone is invited!

[britneyshakespeare]

Much Ado About Nothing, II.i

[askyofexplodingstars]

jevil in a cute sweater

that’s it

[mwebber]

finally homeeeee oh god. week 2 of law school done and it's hitting like an 18 wheeler. the thing they dont tell u about going 2 school for reading and discussing the faults of society is that when u finally get a break from reading and discussing the faults of society ur brain refuses to use any horsepower even remotely related to reading or the faults of society so u simply. Marinate. on the bright side though im totally free for the weekend!

[herbertwest]

I got a really nice comment on Barbie's Gate and now I need to write more Barbie's Gate.

[feniverse-unfiltered]

Alright who wants to hear my thought process on how old TriMax Wolfwood is (jk illusion of free choice, but I will put it under a cut because it's long and a lotta math<3)

So to start off, let me first say I updated the timeline I posted (it's the same post, but I swapped out the images and updated the notes. I said I wouldn't touch it again and yet I'm still thinking about it almost 48 hours later AND doing SAT -esque math about it /sob)

Let me also say: I'm so bad at guesstimating ages, not like manga in general makes ages easy to guess but also yeah I don't actually know what a 9 year old looks like off the top of my head so there's definitely some bias here.... BUT ANYWHO

We're gonna go off of these key events:

Wolfwood leaving the orphanage

Wolfwood taking care of and reuniting with Maylene

To start: we know that Wolfwood left the orphanage 6 years ago, he returns during the year of PE 0114. So he left in the year of PE 0108

When Wolfwood reunites with Maylene he's "older" so he's undergone all the drugs and experimentation etc etc so that means the timeframe in which he reunites with Maylene would have to fall between PE 0108 and PE 0114. I'd er on the side of 109 and 112, seeing as for 113/114 he's traveling with Vash or helping the Ark invasion, so unless he randomly fucked off for a spell during that time he probably didn't see Maylene then. Ruling out 108 for similar reasons since I'm sure he'd be too busy training with the EoM within the year to go see her.

So, establishing PE 0112 as the latest point in time they can reunite: Maylene looks anywhere between 12-16 years old. (at ABSOLUTE minimum I'd say 10, and ABSOLUTE maximum, 17. She seems about the same age as Lina, and Lina is confirmed 12 years old but "looks older". She's not older than 18 because that would put her birth year in 0094, which would make her only 4 years younger than Meryl, and Meryl was 18 when Wolfwood left the orphanage, which would mean Maylene was 14 and would put Wolfwood at like 19 minimum when he left. More on that later)

So establishing Maylene's age range, that would put her birth year anywhere from PE 0095- 0102 When Wolfwood first meets Maylene she's a baby, at most a year old. For the sake of the argument, we'll stick with her being younger than that (making the earliest they could have met 0095). Wolfwood can't be more than 5 at that point, as that'd put him at the same age as Meryl, which would make him 18 when he left the orphanage (which doesn't seem correct) Personally, I think Wolfwood looks between 6 at absolute minimum and 10 at max.

So using the above time frames and the year Wolfwood left the orphanage (0108):

0095 at 5 years old mean's he'd be 18

0102 at 5 years old means he'd be 11

0102 at 10 years old means he'd be 16

0095 at 10 not possible, next possible year would be 0100 which would make him 18 (which again seems far fetched)

So let's lay this out: (year met Maylene : age left orphanage) At 5 years old: 96: 17 | 97:16 | 98: 15 | 99:14 | 100: 13 | 101:12 | 102:11

At 6 years old: 97: 17 | 98:16 | 99: 15 | 100:14 | 101: 13 | 102:12

At 7 years old: 98: 17 | 99:16 | 100: 15 | 101:14 | 102: 13

At 8 years old: 99: 17 | 100:16 | 101: 15 | 102:14

At 9 years old: 99: 18 | 100:17 | 101: 16 | 102:15

At 10 years old: 100: 18 | 101:17 | 102: 16

This is where the bias sets in:

When Wolfwood leaves the orphanage he doesn't look any older than 14 to me or any younger than 11 ( I personally read him in the 12-13 range, he could also just be a very runty teenager, which would be hilarious, but yeah I don't think so.) I also don't think anybody younger than 6 should be taking care of a baby, So we're gonna rule out anything that places him outside of that range which leaves us with this:

At 6 years old: 100:14 | 101: 13 | 102:12

At 7 years old: 101:14 | 102: 13

At 8 years old: 102:14

Using the min and max years and ages compared to where in the timeline Wolfwood's last fight is (6 years later) that would place him in the age bracket of 18 at youngest and 20 at oldest (give or take a year if you wanna be picky about it). Which means when he first meets Vash he's only 16-18/////

(And if you're like me and don't like the idea of Maylene being any younger than 12, then that means 0100 is the year and that would make Wolfwood 20 years old but that may be overly biased and again I think he’s younger than 14 when he leaves the orphanage. I also still don't think maylene looks like a 12 year old. If we assume she was actually a year old when she met Wolfwood that’d make her 13 tho)

Anyways, I need to go lie down now

[creaturetamer8]

me: says 'also' like 12 times in a paragraph cause I'm thinking of many things at once that are only tangently related but I wanna communicate them all to the person im speaking too

Is this a ND thing? Or a me thing?

[tvntheatre]

That moment when you're too intimidated by a blank canvas so you accidentally delay it. (It has been weeks.)

[penname-tbd]

okay so i think i have a title for the hell life au now, im just not sure if it's too long/pretentious/whatever

so i'm thinking i'll call it "(try not to) kill all your friends"

i'm open to any opinions!