#i am constantly rotating their relationship in my mind

[macbethz]

i was originally going to do another pass at this where i edited out more of the loud ass dw music bleeding through but i think if i get hung up on that i will never post this so here it is...my amy and 11 sick and twisted codependent relationship thesis in AMV form. the girls who get it get it

song is i wanna be adored by the stone roses <3

[flokali]

Hi!! I am brainrotting and cannot get it out of my mind, so I thought to share. A very simple thought.

Accolyte Zhongli. Very willing to please et cetera. But biting him? Like come on, biting a Dragon? Is it ownership? Is it playful bite? You know, the sudden urge to bite someone (or is it just me?). So biting a very willing Zhongli.

Sobbing. This will haunt me for a while.

Slight NSF_W

Thinking so many thoughts... happy belated valentines day every1 ><

Warnings: NB! Reader, yandere!Zhongli, SAGAU, implied Dom!Reader/Sub!Zhongli, unhealthy relationship dynamics, biting, soft-violence (?), possessive behavior, jealousy, ask to tag!

Dragons in Liyue are known to be loyal, fierce, and elegant; the stories always describe them as powerful beasts who are to be respected, with sincere hearts and wisdom beyond a mere mortal’s understanding.

In a way, such behaviors did translate to your acolyte, Zhongli. He was one of your oldest followers, not just in age but time serving you, over six millenia he has existed and can proudly state he’s worshiped you for most of it. You would think that the years would have mellowed him out, polished up the edges of his devotion, soothe the tempest in his heart into a much milder dribble, and yet – you knew very few of your acolytes who could rival the passion he seemed to hold towards you.

The relationship between you and all of your followers was strange, at least to you — going from a normal person to being worshiped as a God was not an easy process, much less in a world as different from your own as Teyvat was to Earth — however none were perhaps as strange as the relationship between you and Zhongli.

He is always at your side, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. At first, his insistence on being your attendant had been met with heavy resistance from the others but his stubbornness greatly overpowered their annoyance; no matter what rotation you were in, Zhongli was always by your side.

You knew of his vessel, Morax, the large dragon that he’d used to fake his death, and you knew that “Zhongli” wasn’t his true form – you just hadn’t guessed some traits would have seeped into the other form or maybe it was simply part of his personality.

He was possessive and overprotective over you, it was like an internal struggle between submission and the need to monopolize you was constantly going on in his head, yet he refused to outwardly admit it.

“I am simply concerned for you, Your Grace.” He’d say whenever you’d bring up his overbearing nature, considering that he and the rest viewed you as an all-powerful being, you’d think he’d have more trust in your ability to protect yourself. And yet, whenever he’s allowed, he’ll always attempt to deter you from leaving his side. At some point you realized it was probably for his sake rather than your own, but by then you had grown endeared to the man and decided to allow it anyway.

Even as your most loyal follower who you spent most of your days with, Zhongli had his quirks and habits about him that simply baffled you – no matter how many days you’d spent with the former Archon, there were just things he’d do and say that’d leave you questioning all you knew about him prior.

All you really knew about him before was reduced to what had been revealed in game, from the Traveler’s perspective and the NPC’s who’d speak about him. Meeting him and interacting with him quickly let you know that his personality, at least when directed towards you, was quite different from what you had assumed from your previous observations.

An example of such discrepancies was his obsessive need to please you.

The traditional Liyue clothes you once complimented him on? Most of his wardrobe has changed to include such attires more frequently. The hair accessory you bought him once when you traveled to Fontaine? You don’t think you’ve seen him without it since. That one time you complimented him when he wore warmer tones? It seems his closet has been rid of any other color.

It was unsettling if not a bit cute, who wouldn’t be a little bit flattered to know their opinion held such weight to a man such as Morax; but it was only a matter of time before it all escalated

Somewhere, at some point, your relationship with Zhongli changed – morphing into something more complex than you would have expected. You would soon wonder if he was classified more so as a lover or some sort of concubinus than a mere helper, his role as an attendant seeming more like a guise so he could spend his time with you each day.

Fleeting touches now lasted longer, the feeling of his hot gaze on you burned stronger with every passing moment, it was a natural escalation; kisses now were no longer restrained to the hand, they now landed on your lips, your cheeks, your neck, wandering hands found their home in your waist and the small of your back.

When he told you he loved you, you knew not if he spoke as a devotee or a lover.

It was during a heated make out session that you found out his weakness to being marked and claimed, much to your surprise. He’d been quite insistent on not leaving a single mark on your person, not a hickey or bite, you guessed it must have been a preference but never asked about it either. You decided that, for the time being, you would avoid the topic until it naturally came up - and up did it come.

You had been on top of him, sitting on his lap and caressing his hair as your lips danced with one another’s, his golden eyes were shut tight in pleasure as he let you use his lips and body as you wished. His hands rested on your waist, tightly gripping at your robes and skin as he desperately clung onto your body. Soft whines left his lips periodically, his breathing was quick and you could feel his heart beating where your chests met.

You playfully decided to trail kisses across his face, at first he whined when he felt the loss of your lips on his but he soon fell quiet – other than a few moans and whimpers – as you left open mouthed kisses into his skin and down his neck.

It’s there that, in the heat of the moment, you decide to bite his neck, leaving a small hickey on his flushed skin. His reaction is immediate; his head falls backwards, his whole body heats up and you feel something stiffen below you, his face burns a bright red as a loud moan escapes his lips. His grip on you tightens, his fingers digging into your skin to a point you are certain it’ll leave a mark, and his heartbeat quickens; pleasure basically radiates off of his body the minute your teeth nib at his neck.

You stop, teeth sunken into his skin and hand tangled in his hair, his reaction so lewd and surprising you become flustered and stop dead in your tracks.

Zhongli, however, only pulls you tighter into his body, using a hand to press your face deeper into his neck, as if urging you to use more force in your bite – timidly you give in and nibble into his flesh, further deepening the imprint of your teeth in his skin. His whole body feels hot to the touch, his mind feels hazy, your soft bites into his skin send shockwaves through him.

You had no idea what you were doing to him, did you? Or else you wouldn’t have been so careless when picking the spot, but it doesn’t matter, in this moment of intense pleasure, the former Archon decides to give into delusion and believe you knew the meaning behind biting a draconic being such as himself — and in the neck of all places as well.

Old traditions dictate that a bite mark, especially in the jugular or neck, was a sign of ownership. It was often that mates would mark each other in the neck with enough force to leave scars, sinking sharp teeth into one another with ironic tenderness. It showed trust and care for the other, both to be marked and leave a mark, as it required vulnerability and care from both parties. It was a deeply intimate act, one that would be reserved to life-long partners and mates, it was a gesture of possessiveness and devotion tinted with love.

If he were to be honest, Zhongli would have thought himself to be the one to mark you instead of the other way around, it’d been something he’d often fantasized at night before your arrival, and yet, as he felt your — significantly duller teeth — bite into him he could feel his admiration and love for you grow as he became yours; even if you may not have known.

He’d always imagined himself on top of you, your naked form beneath him, as he sunk his canines into your flesh until he tasted your holy blood. He’d imagined himself cradling your pleasure stricken body while you moaned his name, a sinful sound coming from a divine being. Instead, it is himself that lays within your grasp, panting in ecstasy as he holds himself back from coming completely undone and showing a depraved side of himself even he did not know of.

If he was honest, he almost wishes you’d draw blood, sink your teeth so deep into his skin it breaks layers of flesh and leaves a deep scar that could never heal – a sign of your favoritism and ownership, one that he could proudly say was unique to him. If only you weren’t so careful with him, so scared of hurting him; he means no offense, but your current form is significantly weaker than his and he’s survived wars most have not heard of; even if you wanted to sink your nails into his skin and carve your name into his body, he thinks his strength and shear devotion to you alone would prove the pain to be nonexistent.

A gasp of your name leaves his parted lips, it’s erotic - the way his pink lips let a symphony of pleasured sounds - a wave of hormones rushing through his body, sending his brain into overdrive.

You look up at him, not having expected such a lewd reaction, but the sight of his half-lidded eyes as they burn into your own sends a hot-buzz down your spine. His cheeks are flushed, his lips bloodied as he bites them, his bare chest is heaving up and down; the expression on his face is orgasmic. His loose hair sticks to his forehead as sweat runs down his temples, clearly your gesture had taken quite an effect on him.

You slowly remove your lips from their spot, about to question his reaction - wondering if you’d perhaps crossed a line, but he stops you with a crooked smile and warm hands against the back of your head.

“It is okay, Your Grace,” he whispers, tongue darting to wet his drying lips, he guides your head back into his neck, “bite me all you want, my neck is yours for the taking.”

You giggle a bit at his eagerness, feeling his hard-on press against your ass. You playfully adjust yourself in his lap, softly nipping at his neck before biting down in a new spot.

“Ha-ah,” he moans once more, you feel him startle beneath you, “don’t be afraid to draw out blood, either… in fact, please, feel free to do so.”

He can only hope you take on the challenge, eager to flaunt your lovely bites to Neuvillette and any poor soul that even so much as thinks of questioning his position in your life.

[aihoshiino]

that "i don't know" from Ai is both so sad and innocent...like she cares about Hikaru enough to drop her mask and tell him her honest feelings instead of simply replying "yes, i'll love you", even if she knew that the latter is what Hikaru wanted to hear, and not the former while with others, Ai would just tell them what they want to hear...love is so beautifully cruel, and this is what Hikaru tragically misunderstood

IT MAKES ME WANT TO PUT MY HEAD THROUGH A BRICK WALL...

I think you really hit the nail on the head by calling it 'innocent' because that is ultimately a really important thing to keep in mind when it comes to Ai's avoidance and the resultant pain she inadvertently causes. Ai is absolutely not under any circumstances a person who wants to cause harm to other people - we repeatedly see her doing her best to extend kindness and compassion to people around her, even if she struggles to properly empathize and connect with them because of her own hangups. I'd even go as far as to say that because of Ai's history as a person who has faced persistent cruelty to the point of abuse, she is that bit more determined to be kind and to accept other people as a result.

The issue is that she just... doesn't really know how to do this! A lot of this is because of her own dogshit socialization - if nobody has ever accepted Ai wholeheartedly and told her things she needs to here, how is she supposed to have enough social intelligence to do the same for other people? But it just as much comes down to what Ai has to perform as an idol. As she herself puts it, so much of 'Ai of B-Komachi' revolves around telling people 'pretty lies they want to hear'. Her script for social situations is basically "figure out what this person wants" -> "give it to them" -> ??? -> "profit", which does not leave a whole lot of room for her to gracefully handle emotionally charged situations.

We see this really strongly in 136 where Nino is literally breaking down crying and screaming in front of her and Ai just sits there like hahaha noooo don't be insecure your so sexy aha with the most shallow, surface level responses imaginable, because she literally doesn't know how to respond to Nino here, because she has no idea what she actually wants.

The HKAI misunderstanding (and I am constantly Rotating the fact that the scene is literally called 'misunderstanding') following on from that scene is really interesting to me, because I can't help but wonder if it's a result of Ai learning from her mistake there and trying to sort of overcorrect without really understanding what went wrong in the first place. It would play in really well to that underlying issue of Ai having nobody else to teach her just, how to be a human being and everything she has figured out, she had to teach herself.

So when Hikaru begs her for reassurance here, Ai realizes that lying to him won't do any good... so she does what she thinks is the kind thing and tells him the truth.

And THAT'S how you do miscommunication tragedy, babey!!!! i love it when my favourite girl destroys all her closest relationships with her own two hands <3

[roseworth]

Wait, I’m confused do you or do you not ship Jayrose?

short answer: usually no but ill ship it when its funny

long answer:

most of the reason i dont personally like it is because i see rose as a lesbian and i dont enjoy any ships of her with men (its fine if other people do! its just not my thing), plus i hc jason as aroace so im also not very interested in jason ships unless im in a very specific mood (the "specific mood" being jaykyle lmao. every few months i get really obsessed with jaykyle for a few days then i forget about it for the next few months. then the cycle repeats)

another reason i dont like it is that i am constantly in fear of rose becoming Jason's Girlfriend in comics and online. like how babs and kory are both seen as Dick's Girlfriend (also steph and tim to a lesser degree atm) and people refuse to engage with their character not in reference to their boyfriend, so writers have them constantly mention their relationship with dick even in comics that hes not in (like batgirls having dick show up randomly/birds of prey (1999) having babs talk about dick alllll the time, or kory in the current blue beetle run constantly mentioning dick even though theyre not dating rn and jaime has never even met dick). and thats somewhat starting to happen with rose where shes only in comics that jason is in and if jasons not in it then jason gets mentioned (see: catwoman #62). and obv as a rose fan i really don’t want that to happen because she’s such a great character outside of jason and i don’t want her to be reduced to just who she is with him. this is mostly me overreacting, especially since she had a miniseries just last year that jason was not in or mentioned at all. but being a fan of a female comic character means that most people are not willing to talk about her without mentioning her relationship with a man, and its even worse when the man is a batboy so i’m constantly on alert

so basically thats why it puts a bad taste in my mouth, but i have no issue with the ship itself or anyone who ships it!

i think jason & rose are extremely compatible. i see them as bffs but i genuinely do think about them in a relationship a lot even though i dont necessarily ship it. im rotating both of them in my mind 24/7 so i think about how i think they would act in a relationship & how it would ideally be done in canon. but i just dont trust any comic writers to actually respect rose

the reason i said that jayrose is one of the only jason ships that matters is because most jason ships are soooo bad... i wont name names but some jay ships rely on one or both of them being extremely out of character for it to work at all. in terms of jason ships, jayrose is one of the best just because a) an in-character jason AND an in-character rose would genuinely get along really well and b) none of the stories that they've been in have really been THAT out of character (with the exception of gotham war imo, which i went into here so i wont beat a dead horse. dceased was pretty bad too but that’s tom taylor’s fault it has nothing to do with jayrose). also unlike many other jason ships, a good portion of the people that ship jayrose are the ones who actually read the comics so it tends to be an actual Nuanced and Accurate portrayal. ofc there are many exceptions to that but as of rn jayrose is not one of the Certified Batfam Ships (you know those ships that are the only ships that fanon fans know about so whenever they want to give their fav a boyfriend they shove em with another character they know nothing about. like dick/wally where people say "well they were friends in yja thats enough for me" and they havent read anything with wally in it besides dick/wally fanfic and they dont care about him outside of his relationship with dick), so theyre somewhat safe. but unfortunately because of titans tv its also shipped by The Worst Man You've Ever Met so. you win some you lose some ig

it bothers me when people claim that they dont like jayrose because they "dont like what it does to rose" ???? literally when has jayrose ever been bad for rose. her worst out of character moments have nothing to do with jason in any way. she doesnt get sidelined for him and she doesnt get reduced to a damsel in distress or something. its annoying to me that people feel the need to make up an excuse for why they dont like the ship so they use rose as a scapegoat and pretend that theyre doing it for her when they actually dont know anything about her. just say you dont like it and move on! you dont need to justify it you can just not like it

so for the most part i have no issue with it, which is why i tend to mention it when i think its funny. theres a lot of jayrose content that i enjoy bc theyre fun together and i like seeing them interact! i dont ship them but i think its a good ship <3

however. despite all that i still have more thoughts. im playing devil's advocate against myself and disagreeing with everything i just said

because also. its kind of not in character for them to date. i like where they're at right now because theyre kind of in a casual thing, like theyre hanging out and having sex in the bushes but theyre not Dating. theyre not in a serious relationship that we've seen (other than gotham war but im not acknowledging that), so i like where they're at right now. hanging out, rose flirting aggressively and jason giving her next to nothing in return because he cant flirt, and probably having sex off panel*. i think theyre in a good place at the moment and i dont want it to change from exactly where it is right now in canon. *inside my head theyre actually just pals that pretend to flirt because they think its funny. they do not have sex off panel and they dont want to but the insane flirting is an inside joke that no one else thinks is funny. but thats just me

because neither of them has really shown any interest in dating (when written in character! so we're not counting rhato). the most "interested" jason has ever been in someone is minor flirting with donna in countdown. but he did not make a move on her and repeatedly said throughout that book that he was only focused on the mission and did not care about anything else. he doesnt seem to actually be interested in a relationship with anyone, partially because hes extremely emotionally closed off (to a degree. he is VERY open with his emotions, but hes not the kind of person that lets people into his life easily) and also because he just has other shit to think about. no sex only vengeance.

and ROSE. she is the most closed off person you will ever see. she will have casual sex in an effort to suppress all emotions (which i could talk about extensively. but thats not what this post is about), but she doesnt date people. the only people that she was close to being in a relationship with were eddie and hosun. with eddie, it was all flirting, emotional moments, and her pushing him away. she genuinely liked him (arguably. i could go into how its comphet but that is once again not what this is about), but she was closed off and didnt want to date him because she has so many issues. she tried to make him jealous and did her aggressive flirting thing like she does with jason, but she did not want to have an actual relationship with him. and with hosun, she once again (arguably) genuinely liked him, but she did not tell him that. she MARRIED HIM and still didnt talk to him about her feelings. he liked her and was interested in a relationship with her, but she did not want to embrace that and didnt make any effort to have a real relationship with him outside of agreeing to stay married to him after slade was arrested. she doesnt have any interest in actually dating the guys she likes, and shes so emotionally repressed that she will not make any effort to even be close with them

i hate phantom-one and i hate the idea of rose dating phantom-one but. i genuinely think their "relationship" is pretty in character for her (brisson understands her so well), because at most they have some nice conversations. shes somewhat interested in him so she'll come onto him a bit (no aggressive flirting but still), and she opens up to him when shes at her absolute lowest, then she leaves. shes more focused on what stormwatch is doing and she shows little interest in phantom-one during missions, but she likes him and oscillates between ignoring him and hitting on him. so.. out of the relationships rose has in recent canon..... i could make the argument that rose/phantom-one is more in character for her than jayrose even though i like jayrose a LOT more than i like rose/phantom-one

so yeah. its in character for them to get along. but i DONT think its in character for them to be in a serious relationship. which is another part of the reason im kinda skeptical about their relationship in canon, just because i dont want it to be an actual Relationship since it doesnt really make sense for them to actually date given... everything about them.

but again thats all just my opinion! ship whatever you want we're all just playing with dolls

[lucabyte]

I am literally obsessed with everything you do that involves sifloop you are THE sifloop artist to me

thank you!!! it means a lot to hear that haha

I've been like... near exclusively an OC artist for like 8 years at this point so every time i post fanart and ESPECIALLY ship art i feel like i have to fight every screaming cell in my body to post it because i feel like... RUDE? for projecting my own thoughts onto another creator's characters LMAO... so it's reassuring to know people actually like what i'm contributing!!

as for sifloop as a ship. i really should draw more isiloops because . rotates all three of them in my mind. but yeah. I think the thing I like most about the dynamic really is the like... way Siffrin and Loop canonically aggress each other despite an extremely persistent undercurrent of caring about the other not suffering.

Like. the back and forth between Loop constantly talking past/through Siffrin to really painfully insult the pair of them, and things like the [Forgetting Mirabelle's Name] event being so astoundingly gentle. just as a general example. (RNG event that only triggers after certain actions so you may need to look it up)

THEN adding the element of throwing them in postcanon with neither of them wanting to upset the party and thus having to keep a lid on it... I like the potential dynamics of such a painful and conflicted relationship having to be almost hidden and downplayed so as to try and not worry anyone, and thus becoming softer and introspective while still keeping a bunch of the more insidiously toxic behaviour.

Both of them acting with genuine best intentions in mind but still understanding each other to have way *way* more sadness and anger and guilt than they let on, and thus being able to clock it. Both for good and ill. Neither of them enjoy confrontation, but it's almost unavoidable when they KNOW the other knows what they're probably thinking.

. but yeah i just think they're neat! also a bunch of stuff related to asexuality but . shh

[box-architecture]

which are the aus You have more on your ming latetly?

A mixture of them!

I'm staring at the Dreambur AU I have (Strangers Vassal) and wondering if I should post what I had planned for it to look like. I'm struggling a lot with writing it, partially because I don't have a lot of people to bounce ideas off of, partially because it's an AU that would have a lot of fight scenes, something I don't have a lot of experience in and am unsure how to proceed with.

I really enjoy the concept of it, and I want to write for it, but it might once again turn into a bunch of shortfics in a series rather than the longfic I originally wanted. It's disappointing that I can't seem to consistently write longfics, but if I don't accept the limitation I might risk not getting anything done at all, and that's potentially more disappointing.

The Communication Knife AU is almost always on my mind. It's evolved from just pure demons and rotations to being a huge comfort that I can just idly think about throughout the day.

It's really neat, because I started out as a Dream-centric multishipper who wasn't sure if I could vibe with Punz and Sam closing the triangle, but after marinating in the idea, it's now really important to me that they become something too. They grow from two people fighting around their relationship with Dream to something based on trust and blunt honesty and Forgiveness Withoit Forgetting. They can be deeply affectionate with each other in a way thats different from their relationship with Dream. Not bad, not in a way that excludes him, just different.

The AU has also tentatively opened me up to exploring 2nd Gen characters, something I've literally never been capable of before. I have a lot of vague ideas for who gets together post-main story, and how those relationships works and why. Ponk/Foolish/XD is a ship for example, and I've designed a possible child for them? As well as designed Fooshs Totem children? It's always a maybe for if I actually want to give people kids, and it's not really the point of CKAU, it's just really fun to explore the rest of the smp in this sort of fix-it au and how it impacts their lives in the After of it all.

It's also helped me expand my Minecraft Lore and Worldbuilding Bible (how in my headcanon the mineacraft world works and its history/lore, including tying other media's like Hermitcraft and Maricraft to the dsmp to make everything part of the overall world.)

Writing CKAU post-story had also, ironically, made me enjoy benchtrio more, as I get to talk to my friends about their interpersonal dynamics and how they work and how they end up finally at peace. Especially considering Tubbo and Ranboo are bitterly divorced for a long time.

I had a lot of small ideas for a DNB Mass Effect AU in a similar vein to To Tear Asunder being my Dragon Age AU, but I feel really guilty getting into that when I haven't even finished the Philza fic or the Techno fic I have for the latter. I have significantly less people to bounce ideas off of for To Tear Asunder, which is why I struggle with it sometimes.

A lot of my writing in the beginning was done through utilizing my manic moods, but now that I'm better medicated/no longer constantly manic, it's led to me going a lot slower with writing. Demons (PWP stuff) are a lot easier to write, because they require significantly less scene set-up when I can use the sexual act as a template, and being horny-brained isn't particularly difficult.

(Also. No Plot Nessecary. Hence the Porn Without Plot. Plot is really exhausting to write sometimes.)

Obviously it's a lot better for my health that I'm no longer manic, but it's still disappointing that I can no longer work myself into a tizzy and write 30 pages of something (before collapsing and being unable to do anything at all for the next several days.) Give and take and all.

I briefly was very insane about Benchtrio fucking Dream in various ways. I made a whole Teacher/Student AU about it that's in my drafts, god willing I get my new laptop and can finish that up. I really enjoy CNC and bodice ripper type stuff, so it's pretty fun to explore crack AUs where Dream is just trying to be normal and the 3 most abnormal people in the world come into his life.

I'm not really a fan of the Tommy/Dream dynamic where Dream is preying on the Poor Helpless Child, especially because it has a habit of taking itself Very Seriously. I'm not looking for serious and dark and the villainization of Dream. It's a lot more fun for me to explore a strong, confident, and very tired 20-something desperately trying to figure out how to deal with the 17-18 year old being horny on main. Also it's just really interesting to me when the younger character takes advantage of normal social and power dynamics and subvert them so they can have the older character sub.

^I'm not sure if the explanation there is perfect or makes sense but I'm always happy to try to talk more about it if you'd like.

I have a little more of the Warden Hybrid!Dream type stuff in my head that I wanted to write out, mostly just a lot of Porn With Minimal Plot for purely kink reasons. I also have a Dream/Ravager fic I'm supposed to be posting, but God only knows when I can finish it. I need zoomies.

[wormsin]

i hope this isnt very out of the blue—it’s just that these two have been rotating in my head for days (though tbh when have they stopped but anw), in your opinions, how do you think bruce and dick’s relationship can be healthy(ier)? like, ignoring the whole “the nature of comic demands them to always be unhealthy for conflicts/dramas’ sake”, (how) do you think they can move forward from all the bad things that have happened between them (especially if one counts spyral into it)?

i am also constantly rotating them and throwing them into rat mazes! endlessly entertaining.

my answer to this question is actually my ongoing series earth-w1 or: It's all part of the fairy tale. (see what I did there?) it's my fix-it AU set a year(?) after Spyral where Bruce and Dick get together. their relationship is very much a work in progress and messy but they are trying their best! hopefully I'll get the time to write the whole character arcs I have in mind for them.

so if we're talking comics Bruce and Dick? and we're not cherry picking the worst moments and dysfunction out? whether platonic, familial, or romantic, their relationship is deeply codependent. they need to grow as individuals before their relationship can be healthy.

they're great at ignoring their past conflicts and forgiving each other (without communicating that), because they always come back to nearly unconditional trust and love for each other. they don't need to open up old wounds between them, but they should. this is how comics deal with their issues—sweeping them under the rug, *maybe* with a few panels of communication where Bruce indirectly apologizes and Dick dismisses his need to apologize.

that's not actually good in the long run, and gives us situations like Dick coming back from Spyral with a cheery "family is everything!" smile, a character dissonance that *I* explain by Dick's desperate "Im okay" maladaptive coping mechanism.

anyway.

this is how to improve their relationship on the surface:

1. they realize that they both want each other around, and then actually spend lots of time together.

2. Dick helps call Bruce out on bullshit and helps improve his relationships. Dick soothes Bruce's emotional dysfunction by being a constant of unconditional love.

3. Bruce reassures Dick of his place in his life and the family, soothing Dick's anxiety about belonging.

4. the foundations of dysfunction in their relationship remain, so as soon as there's a crisis they fall into the same patterns as before, causing strain in their other relationships. Bruce can't be out of control or have Dick nearly-die without losing it. Dick drops everything to emotionally rescue him. Dick doesn't allow others to care for him.

this is how to improve their relationship deeply:

1. Bruce becomes brave enough to let Dick in past his armor, and shares and processes his childhood trauma. he recontextualizes what Batman is.

2. Dick accepts that he is worthy of love himself, and allows himself to be imperfect.

3. they actually spend time together.

4. Bruce makes a genuine effort to make amends for his past actions, regardless of the outcome. most importantly, Jason, whose death fundamentally changed Bruce. I dont think Jason needs to forgive Bruce or even give him the time of day, but Bruce must try and *not punish anyone if it doesnt go how he wants*.

probably the way to do this is to give both Bruce and Dick serious mental breakdowns. and maybe semi-retire them. I imagine them mellowing out a lot more when they're older and retired from vigilantism.

you can make their relationship and characters more, or less, fucked up but I believe the recipe still stands because Bruce's protective control and Dick's perfectionist caregiving are core dysfunctions for their characters.

[maglors-anion-gap]

Fingolfin for the character asks!

I'm not beating the "never answers asks" allegations, am I?

[ask game] edited for "not a tv show"

Why I like them

DILF. I want to do indecent things to him. Um ok, serious answers only. I kind of just realized this, but there's maybe a parallel between him and feanor and manwe and morgoth. (mandatory disclaimer that I like feanor, I'm not comparing him to morgoth, and I dislike attempts to flatten him). In that fingolfin is willing to give feanor a second chance after, lets be honest, feanor screws the pooch. There's obviously some smart politicking going on with that forgiveness speech, but still. Compare it to manwe who believes strongly enough in mercy that he will give morgoth a second chance as well. I know some folks are kind of adamant that there's zero goodwill between feanor and fingolfin, but speaking from experience, shitty sibling relationships often contain that "we're not speaking but I'd still kill for you" (and he does, without a second thought). Just kind of obsessed with the loving your brother so much you dream up a better version of him in your head to forgive. There's more that I like about him, probably even more than this, but this is what's on my mind right now.

Why I don’t

I can't think of anything to put here, love of fingolfin is clouding my judgement. Opening invitations for you or anyone reading this to drop their quibbles with fingolfin. (I'm not holding a mallet behind my back, I promise)

Favorite scene

I have a hard time picking a favorite, but the one I'm rotating in my head right now is one he and fingon share: coming down into alqualonde, seeing the fighting, and joining in without asking questions. Do they think the teleri are trying to prevent the noldor from leaving? Do they correctly know feanor started the fight? Do they join anyway in desperation to leave valinor? Or is fingolfin simply willing to kill for the older brother who can barely stand him just because he doesn't want to lose another family member?

Favorite line

Come, open wide, dark king, your gastly brazen doors! Come forth, whom earth and heaven abhors! Come forth, o monstrous craven lord, and fight with thine own hand and sword, thou wielder of hosts of banded thralls, thou tyrant leaguered with strong walls, thou foe of gods and elvish race! I wait thee here. Come! Show thy face! (lays of beleriand)

Favorite outfit

Brain go brrr so I don't remember any canon clothing but nailsinmywall drew this picture of him in a massive fur trimmed cloak a while back that it's kind of printed on the backs of my eyelids. That's my fingolfin. He killed that bear himself ( <- to be read in the Ratatouille "with this thumb!!" accent).

OTP

I don't really have OTPs for fingolfin, per se? There are a lot of pairings I like for different reasons, and at different stages of his life. Silly plug for "over the unclear eyes of memory" which I wrote a while ago for trsb but still really like. Reembodied fingolfin/anaire. In my head, anaire is great, I love my anaire. And obvs you know "the room where they do what they don't confess" but I'll drop it here for any followers who missed it. Fingolfin/maglor inadvisable coping.

Brotp

I feel like brotp is such a weird way to phrase it, especially considering they're at each other's throats constantly, but feanor. Low hanging fruit, I know. I'm obsessed with how messy they are though. Otherwise maedhros - which is like, a political union for the ages, and kind of a screwed up thing where they both try to re-do the whole feanor&fingolfin thing but do it right this time (but they can't make it better because feanor's dead, and maedhros isn't feanor because he's the one kneeling for fingolfin, and fingolfin isn't feanor because he's himself but he's not himself because he's king and - haunts the narrative haunts the narrative haunts the-)

Head Canon

I don't care what jirt says. His eyes are BROWN. They are dark BROWN. Also: loves filing paperwork. Devastated when turgon leaves because fingon does not love filing paperwork.

Unpopular opinion

I think the fandom has drifted from "wow the charge against morgoth is so courageous, fingolfin is awesome" to "wow that is super depression-core and kind of a metonym for the future prospects of the noldor" to "... and this makes him less of a good person." which. I have issues with. Yes, ditching your responsibilities as king to commit suicide is not ideal. But, I don't think jirt lauds this as great leadership anywhere in the text (no one sings about it because it's so awful - if it was good, there'd be a song). It's like. Orpheus turns around because he's narratively bound by the audience's human urges of love. Fingolfin does what he does because he's not a person: he's the noldor's narrative rage and suffering and useless perseverance and spite and revenge. The only thing that chaps my ass more is saying it makes him a bad dad. At baseline I kind of hate the circular bad dad discussions but I don't think the solution is to cram more dads onto the list. And I have issues with "losing the fight with despair invalidates you as a parent." Like we already hashed this out with denethor and elwing, let's not do this with every other tolkien parent. And I think it super flattens the complexity of "you need to be a solid figure for your children" vs "you live in unabated misery and you have more interiority than just being a parent."

A wish

Reembodied, gets to see all his family again (and I do mean ALL), repair relationships, have a fancy beverage as a treat, etc etc

5 words to best describe them

charismatic, intelligent, steadfast, beefy, DILF (sorry, I'll see myself out)

My nickname for them

I shan't say - unless ? - no...

[eyesonstars-feetonground]

Ted Lasso 3x12: Why the Finale Felt a Bit Hollow

I genuinely think the only way to end Ted’s arc was to have him return to Henry. There’s no world in which he would ask his son to move across the world to him, much less not return to him. And so much of Ted’s pain is centered around being far from Henry. In a way, being a parent does really overshadow every other part of your life...some are saying Ted has gotten reduced down to just his fatherhood, but the point is that for him, and for a lot of parents, your child is your number one priority even if there’s a thousand more things on the other side of the scale. Henry needs him, and Richmond doesn’t, so there’s no way to justify the distance that Ted himself admits he keeps partly because he’s afraid of when Henry will leave him. It is beautiful that he can be confident now and take up the space he deserves in Kansas, in his son’s life. I hope Michelle gets it together, and hopefully that scene with Dr. Jacob being an asshole is what that’s about. 

I will read a hundred fics about Ted staying with Richmond to soothe the pain, and I’ve been rotating it in my mind all day. I also don’t particularly ship anyone but Roy and Jamie, so Ted’s ending isn’t about that for me. 

However, what really bugged me is that it seems like the show is treating Ted moving away to Kansas as if he will literally never talk to or see these people again, as if he didn’t involve himself with Henry’s life as much as possible from an ocean away. Why would the inverse not hold true with his other family, with his platonic soulmate and best friend(s) and pseudo child?? I am definitely buying into the dream sequence theory at the end bc otherwise that is what really pushes this into sad territory for me...why would he not be a part of those memories, those futures to come, as a friend and family member?

It seemed like the show couldn’t decide, like Ted was checked out of all of these emotional goodbyes where other people tried to tell him over and over again that they loved him and wanted him, without showing deep sadness or telling them to visit or giving a rambling Ted story. I’m hoping that’s because it’s a huge life change, but not one that moves him to sadness, because he’ll continue being there for them, and they’ll continue being there for him. 

I would have loved some reassurance though...Ted promising to call every day at Biscuits with the Boss time...Rebecca giving him a permanent airfare ticket so he can be flying in and out all the time, bringing Henry with him! Ted going to Richmond games whenever he can, Ted remembering birthdays and going to the book release and taking up space when the Higgins get everyone together. Ted showing back up with Henry, Sleepless in Seattle style, being greeted by Rebecca and the rest of the team to spend weeks and months back in his other home. Ted getting FaceTimed for advice about relationships and promotions and girl talk and the Diamond Dogs group chat and how to make a Richmond charity or women’s team or kid’s outreach program (best way to make Rebecca a mom in my opinion). Ted being a consultant bc Rebecca refuses to take him off the payroll until they win the whole thing, Ted being loved by the fans and journos even from afar, even years later. Ted being happy to be in London as a tourist with his son, with all that wonder and joy and optimism now that he can resolve the ache of both of his lives being one life! And vice versa, Rebecca and Beard constantly visiting, dragging Keeley or Roy or Nate with them, the players spending off season learning about Kansas and playing with Henry, celebrating holidays together !! The fans who now own 49% of the club being ok with some of its budget being “wasted” just making sure Ted and the team continue to be with each other in some way. Ted visiting and being greeted by all the people he talks to during his morning routine as if he never left. 

I just hope that he’s not cutting himself out of his community. It is about you, Ted. It is. 

Hope he creates a beautiful, whole life in Kansas (ideally in my mind he coaches a women’s soccer team there and then eventually moves back to Richmond to coach their women’s soccer team like years in the future, once Henry is an adult), but also continues therapy enough to know that he isn’t Mary Poppins!! He’s a Dorothy that loved Oz, he’s a Maria that deserves the Von Trapps. He’s the main character, he’s not a magical mentor type. He has immensely wealthy people who love him, he can make it work both ways. Some of the money that could have been his salary can instead be his travel and phone bill money. 

It’s a dream sequence not only because it had some truly unrealistic stuff in it (Jane and Beard getting married at Stonehenge, Rebecca meeting Dutch man despite the magic of their story being its ephemeral nature, Jamie with his dad, Trent taking out so much of Ted from the book cover/title after he said he wouldn’t change anything) but because, for me, the only part of the finale that was truly disappointing was the regression of Ted thinking he exists only to make those moments possible for others, with no place for himself within them. 

In a finale that didn’t really feel like an ending (in a good way!), where so many storylines didn’t get resolved because the point is that the characters will keep growing and changing and evolving beyond what we see of them, because now they have the tools to do that, I can’t Believe that the one hard ending we got was Ted’s life with Richmond. So I won’t.

[shivunin]

gently tosses you Fenris and Sebastian for the character meme

Carefully catches them both, but Fenris is kinda prickly and I fumble him a lil bit.

(Thank you for asking! c:)

(Character Ask thing)

Fenris

First impression: oh fuck did he just rip that dude's heart out through his back 😳(i am absolutely projecting this reaction onto Maria haha)

Impression now: I mean. there's no going back at this point lol. Dude altered my brain chemistry permanently. He is an asshole, he is deeply flawed, he is so hurt and angry and funny and so shockingly poetic. He is gorgeous and so unsure about anyone caring about him (platonically or romantically). He is loyal to a fault. He is still figuring out how to be his own person. He's the reason I got back into reading fic, and thus the reason I started writing fic and participating in the fandom at all. I don't even know what my opinion is anymore because that is how much I have thought about Fenris. I am rotating him in my mind at shocking speeds.

Favorite moment: It's a tie between the moment after he rips out Danarius's heart and turns to look at Hawke like 🥺-and- his final monologue. I also think his conversation w the mabari is really sweet. Or lol his "I was just glad. To see you. That's all." from the Legacy DLC

Idea for a story: *gestures to fic idea mountain* haha. But as for ones I have not written, my favorites are my "worst road trip with my future sister-in-law ever/fenris gets kidnapped" story (which i am writing very slowly rn) and one where there's some sort of double of Hawke and he has to determine which is the real her (I love this trope)

Unpopular opinion: Oh man. I have no idea. I guess that I enjoy the Bitter Pill -> Questioning Beliefs quest order version of the romance scene, but I also like the other one. There are painful pieces to both of them and that's what it's all about for me.

Favorite relationship: Fenris and Isabela. I love that they're constantly needling each other.

Favorite headcanon: The bodies in his foyer are practice dummies dressed in robes.

As funny as "Fenris lives in a literal mansion of corpses is," that level of squalor does, in fact, make you sick. Also...after six years, there are no signs of decomposition? With how many rats are sure to live in Kirkwall? I don't think so.

I like to imagine someone broke in at some point, saw the corpses on the floor, said "oh, no thank you, actually" and dipped, and Fenris went "Hmm. Now wait a moment, maybe I'm onto something."

So: that's my headcanon. The bodies are fake and he lets everyone think they're real/everyone jokes that they're real because it's a good bit. Now, does he leave his bedroom a hot hot mess always just because? Yes. But I think the bodies are fake.

Sebastian

*With the caveat that I have only started one pt with Sebastian because my console hates me (has to be plugged into an internet port directly to run the Exiled Prince DLC and there isn't one in the room with the TV) and most of my initial information was based on the fandom:

First impression: Ah, he must be the designated Religious Character for this game as a counterpoint to the dude who hates the Chantry. Got it.

Impression now: I am shaking him in a jar. He is such a wild study in contrasts?? When you do the quest in the Hahriman's mansion and one of the dudes is getting with the maid and Sebastian apologizes to Hawke for exposing them to it---I said "Excuse me, sir???" out loud. Like what? In a ~dark fantasy~ game, this guy is apologizing for you seeing some slap and tickle?

I think he wants so badly to believe that the world is black and white so he can do the right thing, and when confronted with all its variegations instead he creates exceptions. Lots of other characters do this, too (see: Fenris and Hawke/Bethany being "good" mages because they are stronger than the others and thus not tempted by demons/blood magic) but I think Sebastian particularly plays in the grey spaces in an interesting way.

Also, I think the running theme of him wanting vengeance/wanting to not want vengeance is fascinating in the light of that final scene at the Chantry. He's talked about trying to forgive before, but when it comes down to it he wants to kill Anders or march on Kirkwall if you won't let him. That is fascinating to me. I do really want to finish this playthrough with him so I can see the rest of it play out, but...we will get there.

Also, I think it's a bummer that he frequently gets left out of companion round-ups and lists. I get that he comes from a DLC, but love him or hate him he's a really interesting character in 2.

Favorite moment: I don't have a favorite, but anytime he's talking tbh. He has a really lovely voice

Idea for a story: I have a half-written thing about Sebastian and the role that faith plays in Hawke recovering from Leandra's death. A lot of it is coming to terms with the fact that Hawke doesn't really believe in Chantry doctrine...but it does genuinely help her to know that someone who shared Leandra's faith is praying for her in the way she would have wanted. He also does the service for Leandra even though Elthina offered (it was like. the only thing Hawke asked for: Sebastian has to do the service).

(A lot of this is inspired by the fact that he is one of the few companions who has lost his parents---not "never knew them" or "hated them and now they're gone" but actually lost them, complicated as their relationship was. And I think it's something that would help her in that moment)

Unpopular opinion: I liked bringing him on Anders' act 2 quest. Not only because of my own internal narrative (Maria asks Sebastian to kill her if it seems like the templars will take her because she is terrified of being made Tranquil and because she knows he'll do it if she can make him promise; all of which I find delightfully angsty) but because I think the conflict between Anders and Sebastian is exceptionally interesting if you've taken them on this quest together.

Favorite relationship: Sebastian and Fenris. I think they each challenge each other's ideas about the world and I like the way Sebastian treats Fenris. It feels nonjudgmental to me.

Favorite headcanon: Sebastian wanders Lowtown trying to help people in his off time. I refuse to believe that he actually hangs out in the Chantry all the time, and it seems like something he would find noble. I like to believe he spends time with the refugees after befriending Hawke, trying to connect them with the resources they need to find stability.

[twotwinks]

Hinata and Yuta!!!

my babies......i have been thinking about them So Hard today........rotating them in my mind forever

Hinata

Sexuality headcanon: i mean. everyone is enstars is gay right sdfkjhsd. i don't think it's something he gives much thought to though he is far too busy overworking himself and then staying up too late playing video games (he's just like me fr.....wait does that mean i can make him aro too)

Gender headcanon: cis boy (man? he's still a Baby to me i simply cannot handle the thought of him being 18 and a third year oh my god i'm gonna explode) but he's down for a little genderfuckery when the opportunity presents itself. i feel like he'd put "cis, any pronouns" in his bio but also i don't want to give the people who love misgendering characters when talking about their canon versions any more ammunition

A ship I have with said character: i will be honest, none! i just haven't seen much chemistry between him and any other guys. i know tetsuhina is pretty popular but i just don't really like tetora enough for that dkjdkj. i also like his relationship with sora as friendship only. so yeah, i'm not really interested in pairing him off with anybody! (wait is this more evidence for the aro take)

A brotp I have with said character: HINATA-AIRA FRIENDSHIP IS SO REAL AND IMPORTANT TO ME I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE WHEN HINATA HUGGED HIM IN ROAD TO SHOW THEY WERE SO CUTE I WANT TO SEE THEM TOGETHER MORE OFTEN

A notp I have with said character: again, i am simply not invested enough in shipping him to really care sklhdfljk. i've already talked about tetsuhina and hinasora, i think the only other ship i really see consistently is hinahiiro which. i am too into hiiai for that too :laugh:

A random headcanon: he smells like a vanilla sugar cookie candle

General opinion over said character: MY SPECIALEST BABY BOY I'M CRY ABOUT HIM ALL THE TIME he never does anything right and he will never learn his lesson but he's trying so fucking hard and that's so important to me. god i want him to rest he's been going going going for almost his entire life he doesn't know how to stop any more he doesn't know how not to be a self-sacrificing big brother he doesn't know who he is anymore. i want to give him a hot chocolate and wrap him in a warm blankie and just let him sit and decompress for a while. and then i'm forcibly dragging him to therapy

Yuta

Sexuality headcanon: bi grayace! he's the biggest romantic ever but that's probably all he's interested in. give him a candlelight dinner and then go the fuck home

Gender headcanon: this may surprise people given how i'm talking in the rest of this list but TRANS GIRL. my trans yuta universe (yuuniverse?) lives rent free in my head she's so important to me i love her so much. i think it would just be a very cool conclusion to her search for identity arc and finally create a strong enough division between who is yuta and who is hinata that they'd both finally be able to fully realize themselves as individuals. however, as noted above in hinata's section, i also really can't stand misgendering the canon versions of characters, so you won't see me referring to yuta as a girl unless i am specifically talking about my trans headcanon.

A ship I have with said character: still nothing.....i think i am simply too invested in the twins' relationship with each other to have the headspace to think about shipping them with people. yuushino's pretty cute though!

A brotp I have with said character: i constantly wanna see more yuta and himeru interactions they both have the same similar sort of gentle polite vibe and also there's all the lovely Identity Issues

A notp I have with said character: again i simply Do Not Care dkdklsd. also i've really only seen him shipped consistently with shinobu which i'm fine with. i'm sure there are sora and tori and tsukasa shippers too but i'm very neutral on all of it.

A random headcanon: very strong. i think he could pick me up easy

General opinion over said character: ALSO MY PRECIOUS BABY OK HINATA MAY BE MY FAVORITE ON PAPER BUT THAT'S JUST A TECHNICALITY THEY ARE EQUAL IN MY HEART i think he's such a fascinating character because if you're on his good side he's one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. it's easy to forget sometimes though because there are a lot of people on his bad side and if you're on his bad side then He Wants You Dead. he will never forgive he will never forget it's just Violence all the time. He Contains Multitudes!!! he also needs therapy except unlike his brother i think he would willingly go so i don't need to drag him instead i will prepare a nice little treat for when he gets back and then he's getting blanketed too babey. i can poorly braid his hair while we talk it'll be great

[tea-and-tickles]

AHAHA thank you so much ari!! yes i will gladly expand on foster and apollo for you. rest assured i am constantly rotating them in my mind

yknow my gut reaction with foster is to say he's a loser but he really isn't? like he's honestly kind of a badass. he's mild-mannered and a little anxious but he is strong in his beliefs and he will stand up for what he believes in. in the storyline (that only exists in my head right now but i hope to change that) he advises the school GSA ok. and is a VERY staunch advocate for those students even at the risk of his job. sometimes he just needs a little bit of help keeping motivation when things feel hopeless. in his relationships foster is SUPER SUPER sweet and romantic. he's the kinda fella to drop by the tattoo shop on his lunch break and give apollo flowers. make them a nice dinner (even if 'nice dinner' constitutes frozen pizza lol). overall not only does he try his best but he really does succeed for the most part, he's just missing some confidence!

apollo is a walking trope haha but tropes exist for a reason!! tough on the outside, soft on the inside. apollo's exterior is not exactly tough, but it's cool - and they push that forward so they appear untouchable. deep down, though, apollo is a total bleeding heart. i like to think he would convince foster to let them foster kittens and stuff when they become more financially stable. apollo, very early on in his career, also used to work more directly with people (in social services) but it was just a little too much for him, so he went into tattooing instead. some of this discrepancy comes form his family. it's not that they didn't accept him or stop loving him, but to an extent they... just don't get it. they get a little sick of explaining who they are over and over so they're a little distant from their family and seek out validation elsewhere. it's complicated

their relationship is really healthy and they very much complement each other. foster is a very stable presence and a good show of unconditional love. even for as stressed as he can get sometimes, his support for apollo is a constant. and even though apollo is softer than they appear, they've still got quite a fiery spirit that helps motivate foster when he gets stuck. when he feels like giving up, sometimes a little pep talk from apollo is all he needs to keep going. also? PDA CITY. they are disgusting and all of their friends are sick of how touchy-feely they are in public /lh they're like the most obnoxious couple but it's just so genuine that you can't help but feel happy for them.

[ao3feed-spirk]

Sunshine

read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/51670258 by aerialworms They had melded before for various missions, but this was the first time it had been "just because".   A sweet little Spirk ficlet, because I am constantly rotating these guys in my head. Words: 178, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Star Trek: The Original Series Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M, Gen Characters: James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek) Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock, James T. Kirk & Spock Additional Tags: Vulcan Mind Melds (Star Trek), Ficlet, Fluff, can be read as either romantic or platonic, or queerplatonic! read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/51670258

[allyriadayne]

what are your favourite hotd ships and why?

in no order and as concise as possible:

jace x aegon - answered here. i just really love their dynamic. childhood friends, uncle and nephew, enemies? just the thought of proper straight laced (so he thinks!) jace falling head over heels with stupid stinky aegon is delicious to say the least. it's the worse match unimaginable and the only way they can be together is if their whole family is dead or they are completely different people. it's impossible. they are romeo and juliet to ME.

aegon x aemond - THE BLOWJOB BROTHERS! they hate each other, they love each other, they are having wacky looney tunes sex in front of the great sept while telling the other they should've been a girl and be married to the other. aemond would never kill aegon and aegon is too selfish to give in. the kingsguard HATES THEM.

aemond x alicent / aegon x alicent - grouping them in one section because while they have entirely different relationships the two ships respond to the brother's issues with alicent related to how both of them think the other is their mother's favorite! to me, it's like this: aemond wants to be alicent's fatherhusband while aegon wants to be her beautiful little baby boy and when they don't get it it turns really ugly. i just love how alicent is weaved too tightly in the psychosexual targtower web 💜

alicent x larys - [crowd cheers] i'll just let mr matthew needham (larys' actor) explain their bond

after losing rhaenyra, alicent is constantly, unconsciously asking for a companion, someone to take her side in everything......and she got it! too bad larys has his own morals. oh well!

alicent x otto - the most married and divorced couple in the whole of westeros.

(thank you to tumblr user laymedowninsheetsoflinen for the best tag in my aliotto photoset)

rhaenyra x daemon - theeee blueprint. i have trouble shipping them with other people because they are absolutely perfect for the other, it's crazy. restless chaotic blood of the dragon, depressed and divorced, happy domestics in dragonstone with their blended family, everything anyone could ever want.

alicent x tyland - if larycent is darksided master and pet, tylicent (you are paying me royalties if you ever talk about them btw) is the most saccharine lady and knight you can think of. this is my happy place when i don't want to torture (affectionate) alicent anymore. tyland is a complete fool but he's decent and kind and can spoil alicent however she wants. this started because i was joking with a friend how tyland lannister is the only man in the counsel who doesn't want to sit on alicent's lap. and was like, wait. he is the Only One. he's obsessed with her in the good way and she's blushing like a maid and wishing for another life where she would've had a proper courtship with a handsome knight instead of....anyway. life is not a song so they must make do.

crackships that are many but these i am constantly thinking about and rotating in my mind at any moment:

larys x otto (x alicent. sexual jealousy! scheming second sons!), otto x lyonel (otto's gay summer in the citadel), lyonel x rhaenyra (grrm's original dance draft mixed with bluebeard and brat taming), rhaenys x criston (thee original cuck chair couple), aegon x mysaria (i know her strap is big), aegon x alys (x aemond. who is dead), jace x alyn (fucking my bastard identity away), daemon x jace (horror movie comedy of errors)

[dykelawlight]

for the assumptions: god-tier lawlight writer (this isn't an assumption really, it's just true) and i assume you put a lot of thought into various character dynamics bc it definitely feels that way

AHHH thank you!! I know I keep volleying this compliment back at you lmao but I truly am so delighted that you like my stuff because I fucking love yours! Also YES lmao I am literally constantly rotating character dynamics in my mind...I'm like nobody asked me to study this relationship under a microscope but I'm about to do it anyway babeyyyy

[demenior]

1, 4, 18, 53 for the writer game?

Fic Writers Asks (thank you!)

1.Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

I daydream like it's an olympic sport and I am the returning gold medalist with somehting to prove. The entire tumblr phrase 'rotating [a character] in my mind'? Yeah. I'm doing that. But it's more to the effect that I am constantly thinking about what aspects/traits I love about a character and wondering what's the best way (a scenario) to highlight those things. This is usually done to music. My music and daydreaming are highly entwined.

4. How do you choose which fics to write?

I feel like I get a million ideas a day, that could all branch off into another million ideas. The ones that stick around go through a lot of filtering to catch things like "is this even in character for said character or just a fun little thought experiment for me, personally?" or "are you actually interested in writing that or do you just think it's neat" and "is there even a story here or is the line they said in your head just cool" and other things like that. I also ponder a lot on what an overall story progression would look like- a LOT of my story ideas start out as WAAAYYYYY too ambitious and would require a huge amount of buildup to my idea (typically something around the climax moment), and I have to figure out if there's an actual interesting narative to be built or if it would be boring (for me, to write) from the start and will I lose steam on it.

I used to write anything and everything that came into my head, but I'm a lot more selective of what I actually do commit to actually writing as a story these days. For example, I wrote what feels like 40+ stories for Voltron in like 2 years before I decided to get pickier, but note that a huge amount of those are unfinished due to lost interest, vs I now publish 1-2 stories a year, but they are all completed.

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

It's 50/50, which is the worst answer to give.

I like fact-checking myself, and looking up things to help enrich stories (ex) slang/terms for ship parts for sailor characters, flora/fauna native to certain climates to add into backgrounds) but I do not like hard research such as knowing the history behind potato cultivation in our world so I can accurately state whether a fantasy society would be able to cook with potatos.

The most research I've ever truly done for a fic would be a tie between the Spn series The Love It Takes as I did a lot of cross-checking canon events to real world locations, and also planning out actual routes for the characters to take, as Spn is, at it's heart, a road trip across America and I don't know jack shit about that place. I specifically did a LOT of location research for an upcoming piece in that series (I had to learn what Bucc-ee's was!)

The other story would be Awake My Soul for the 100 series. The research there was, again, geographic so I could map out distances in a post-apocalyptic world, and also some brushing up on how to treat illnesses without modern medicine, and gene flow.

My research is never done to portray total accruacy, but so that I can do the writer thing of "take something real, and then shift it a few degrees to the realm of fantasy".

53. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

Established relationship!

This would be because I either write pre-relationship stories, ambiguously romantic, or I write established relationships as I find the pacing for budgeoning romance to be very hard and my hat is off to all you amazing writers who tackle that particular narative thread because you are all geniuses and I respect you so much for your bravery and your service.