#i both want to write well crafted stuff and also just have fun and be silly

[arolesbianism]

Thinks abt Sif Odile duo looping au. When the two who can't read eachother for shit get thrown into the horrors together

[emotionalandroid]

Ugh, should I go back to haphazardly writing and posting that cliché Jian Yi mobster fic again? Have another go at not caring about posting really badly written fic? I was trying to do some sort of exposure therapy on myself with it, to make me care less about results and just sort of frolic in the mudhole of it all...

[meanbossart]

Hey! I was thinking of trying to write something for you about DU Drow but after a trying to gather stuff about him via your page I’m struggling to get something substantial for his personality- like I get it mostly (I think?) but it’s hard to put into words (which makes it easier for me) so if it’s not too much to ask; how would you explain DU Drows personality and maybe some of his values? - if you don’t mind! I love your art BTW!

Man, this is a tough ask and I MADE the guy. The fic is definitely the best place to see his personality in action, but it is also 20 chapters long so far - and I'm a fairly reasonable man.

Before I get to any descriptions, there's two important things to note: A) Overwhelmingly, his looks do not match his demeanor. and B) DU drow is extremely hedonistic in practice. He might claim to have certain beliefs or standards but hardly ever practices them.

Anyways, I present to you: The guy, more-or-less summarized to the best of my abilities.

BEHAVIOR: Purposefully standoffish. He wants to be noticed, but he does not want to be bothered. He's a little bit stiff with his body language and mostly makes use of head/neck gestures to assert his sentences and signal his level of interest. On that note, me makes it extremely obvious for the socially-versed individual to tell what he thinks of them - he hardly ever tries to hide if he's disinterested, annoyed, or having a laugh at your expense. He expresses emotion through his face a normal amount, but his default look is eerily bland, and subtle emotions might go unnoticed because of his eye-color and thin brows.

As it is with most people, the more uncomfortable he is with a situation the more stiff and inexpressive he becomes, and vice versa.

SPEECH: DU drow is very much well spoken, and simultaneously very blunt. He abides by most conversational formalities (definitely more formal than you would assume him to be) and basic etiquette. He will greet you and he will say please and thank you even if clearly not meaning it or feeling like you're unworthy of the gesture. Sometimes, he does it just to be patronizing.

With all of that in mind, he has a tendency to use violent turns of phrase and analogies to express himself, this applies to both negative and positive feelings. That being said he's aware of social norma and knows full well when things are or aren't appropriate, even if sometimes he chooses to ignore that and be weird anyway - usually with the purpose of intimidation.

He is the most earnest and sincere with very close friends (quite literally only Astarion and Shadowheart) and rather curt with everyone else unless you catch him in a particularly good mood. He's a little chummier with dwarves and duergar (he finds them amusing and fun to hang out with) and reserves a slight bit more tenderness and kindness for children and mothers, especially if they're elves. He's also fond of animals. He is dismissive of gnomes, goblins, bugbears, half/full orcs and hobgoblins. He despises githyanki and drow. He treats humans fairly respectfully but thinks they are a far lesser race than pretty much all others.

He has a very dark/offensive sense of humor and a tendency to make well crafted, but cruel jokes or quips about sensitive topics. This goes for everybody, including people he's on good terms with.

VALUES: Here's where things get tricky. DU drow is both a hypocrite and a unreliable narrator of his own story, not to mention deeply unfamiliar with his own inner-workings and feelings. Politically, he would be the guy who doesn't vote, doesn't want to pay taxes and dreams of living off the grid, who thinks everybody should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and that it's a dog-eats-dog world. He hates systems of government, authority figures, hierarchical structures and archaic customs. He believes it would a chaotic but functional world if people governed themselves.

In practice, he doesn't stand for anything and gladly overlooks injustices and things that don't align with his supposed values as long as they favor him, or just don't get in his way, and easily makes exceptions for things on a whim. He's indifferent to slavery; unless it's Astarion's. - He thinks humans are a worthless pet-race, except for his dearest and nearest friend, the half-elf Shadowheart. He thinks Half-orcs are intellectually inferior, but he will gladly be chummy with them if they amuse him and make for good-company during a night-out.

INNER WORLD AND INTIMACY: DU drow is extremely unfamiliar with his own emotions and very often comes up empty when he has to justify or explain anything that is based on feeling, while simultaneously operating on impulse and instinct for the vast majority of the time. He is subject to fear, resentment, and insecurity as much as anyone else, but carries a deep shame in acknowledging his own vulnerability at all. He is very intense when it comes to love, however, and shows no reluctance in expressing it through his words and actions towards the people he cares about. He does care for the levels of comfort of those dearest to him though, and doesn't bombard them with it unless the moment is right, or if overwhelmed into doing so. The same applies to physical affection - he's extremely comfortable with it, but cares deeply for respecting the boundaries of his loved ones. When it comes to strangers, he only touches them outside of combat if there is some kind of power-game at play.

A couple of other things that might be of note:

-He likes creature comforts, but is also fine with going without them and won't ever complain about having to live, sleep, or survive in less-than-ideal circumstances as long as he feels in control of the situation. -He can be enticed by valuables and gold because they make the immediate future easier, but he doesn't seek a life of vast riches. -He is not an alcoholic but probably has a binge-drinking problem. -While he is fond and respectful of animals, he has no issues killing them if the situation calls for it. -He pretty much always believes himself to be the most impressive person in the room. -He is not a vain man, but very much likes the way that he looks and to have it be acknowledged by his partner. -He believes faith, religion, and gods to be a waste of time.

[vmlnrznotfound]

Hello hellooooo first of all congrats on 300+ followers! I’ve been seeing ur fics all over recently and they’re so scrumptious omg ur writing <333

Saw that ur requests r open so i wanted to ask if u’d be willing to write sth for Hiori? Maybe like childhood friends trope where reader also has strict parents and they care a lot about academics/a certain extracurricular etc.

Congrats again and thank u for feeding the bllk community!!

maps we draw ourselves.

hiori yo x reader

a/n: thank you so much anonnie, im legit BLUSHING! i try my best!

the sun was bright and warm on a afternoon. at just seven years old, you and hiori were playing in the small backyard of his house, which had become your favorite hangout spot. the grass was freshly cut, and the scent of it mixed with the smell of the nearby barbecue your parents were preparing.

hiori had set up a makeshift fort using old sheets and a few wooden sticks. inside, it was a cozy little hideaway where you both could let your imaginations run wild. today, you were playing pirates, with hiori proudly wearing a pirate hat he’d crafted from cardboard.

“arrr, matey!” hiori declared, holding up a plastic sword. “we’ve got to find the treasure before the other pirates do!”

you giggled, playing along. “aye aye, captain yo! where do we start?”

hiori pointed towards the far end of the yard. “we have to sail through the wild jungle and avoid the dangerous traps!”

as you both pretended to navigate through the jungle of your backyard, you noticed hiori’s face turning serious. “hey, y/n,” he said quietly as you paused for a moment. “do you ever get tired of all the stuff we’re supposed to do? like school and... you know, everything?”

you looked at him, puzzled. “what do you mean?”

hiori sat down on the grass, “well, my mom and dad are always telling me i have to practice soccer. it feels like i don’t get to just play and have fun like this.”

“my parents keep saying i need to study hard to become a doctor. but i just want to play and not think about studying,” you explained.

hiori shrugged and picked up a small stick, pretending it was a treasure map. “maybe one day we’ll get to choose what we want to do, and we won’t have to worry so much.”

you smiled, feeling comforted by his words. “yeah, and until then, we can hunt for treasures, as pirates!"

hiori grinned, clearly pleased with the idea. “yes! and we’ll make sure to find all the treasure.”

the carefree days of pirate adventures became cherished memories. the small backyard fort was long gone, replaced by the responsibilities that came with growing up.

at seventeen, you and hiori were sitting on the front steps of his house, watching the sun dip below the horizon.

the conversations you used to have about treasure hunts and wild jungles had been replaced by talks about exams, future careers, and the weight of expectations.

“remember when we used to play pirates in the backyard?” hiori asked, a nostalgic smile tugging at his lips.

you laughed softly, nodding. “yeah, we really thought we’d find some buried treasure back there.”

“i wish things were still that simple,” he admitted, his voice tinged with the same seriousness you’d first noticed all those years ago.

“me too,” you agreed, leaning back on your hands. “it feels like everything’s been decided for us, like we’re just following a map that someone else drew.”

hiori glanced at you, his expression thoughtful. “but maybe we can still find our own treasure, you know? maybe it’s not about what everyone else wants for us, but what we want for ourselves.”

you looked at him, surprised by the familiar words. it reminded you of that day in the backyard, when he’d said something similar about choosing your own path. “yeah, maybe you’re right,” you said, feeling a bit of that old excitement returning.

“so, what do you say, y/n? one last treasure hunt before we head off into the real world?” hiori asked, his grin widening.

you smiled back at him, feeling a surge of determination. “let’s do it, captain yo. we’ll find our treasure, no matter what.”

tag list: @fishii28 @someprettyname @ikuaiku

[miidnighters]

It's my birthday ! To celebrate, I wanted to put together a little shout out of people I love because it's the most surefire way to get compliments back in return (I'm kidding!). Thankyou so much for writing with me and mashing our barbies together and making this hellsite such a fun place to be.

Also, seeing how this has changed from my last shoutout at Christmastime - notably, the people I tagged as "people I love who I don't write with very much" but who now I write with or talk to every day lmao.

Please let this have tagged everyone I wanted to tag

@92328

I love u so much. U know I do. I love all the random questions u ask and ur request for Isaac Facts and the fact that you refer to Morgan as "Nora's Husband" and the way you wanna lock Flynn up in a tower to keep him a baby forever. Never change lmao.

@bloodykneestm

Bender ur characters are chefs kiss and our dynamics are chefs kiss and I get such a huge smile whenever I see u in my notifs (either here or on disco). I love the things we come up with together.

@cigarettesandcoffee

My darling! I know you're not writing a lot atm but it makes my day whenever we chat and whenever you pop up with some random love. All of our pairings are so good and I can't wait to see what we cook up for the others.

@draconisa

I know you're ALSO not writing a lot atm but Dany and Isaac have my whole heart plus everything that we're doing on the multi for everyone there like. My brain is still stuck on Harts and Vasile like. Does it get any better?

@epistrefei

HELLO. ARTEMIS. WOW. I am so in awe of the original spin you're able to put on such a well-known character - and it's not just Artemis and Billie, it's Barty and Flynn, and watching what you do with Zahrosa and so many others.

@exquisitexagony

Sami is my baby. The relationship they have with Flynn and Bella (or Bella and Arthur) and all the others is so special to me, as well as everything we have going on your other blogs (Callie and Shimi, for example? Yes).

@fangmother

Rainer is who I want to be when I grow up. If I could be half as confident and gave less fucks. I love seeing all the wild shit she gets up to and following her different relationships with people who have been in her life for varying lengths of time.

@freekzout

What can I say about the freekz? Callie and Funke's relationship is so special to me BUT also the friendships we've built? Lu and Ruth? Flynn and Ruth? Bella and the both of them? Not to mention your other blogs - Bella and Connie in particular.

@inrovina

Every relationship my characters have with Xeno is SO special. Flynn and Lake are SO special. I'm so excited for what other shenanigans they get up to and all the potential new stuff we're doing on your multi !

@kurjaks

I need to put this man in an enclosure and study him. I love him so much, and I love the careful way you've crafted him, and the truly unique way he carries and conducts himself. PLUS the way we chat ooc? Peak.

@mystiika

Every one of your muses is a darling to me. We've started creating such interesting relationships between a few of our muses in varying stages of romance or friendship and I cannot wait to do more with you.

@recitedemise

Every time I see you in my notifs I know I am getting fed the Good Shit. You have such a way with words and what we've crafted between Gale and Callie is really something special to me. Plus to varying relationships w Harts and Bella? Yes.

@sorrowsick

There is no muse of yours that I don't love down bad. We have some truly batshit stuff going on and I know that I can always come to you with the wildest ideas and we can make it work. I am truly your biggest fan.

@soulmissed

August is the only child character I write with and I think that says something bc it's hard to write a child without them being too much of a caricature and it's hard to build relationships without them being one-note but you so it SO well, so we have such beautiful ties.

@starlyht

One of the true lights of my life I adore seeing u on my dash and in my notifs. We have some great ties between our characters and I truly love seeing your thoughts on lycanthropy or drow society or whatever takes your fancy.

@stcllata

I love that every pairing we toss together just seems to Work lmao. Whatever the situation, whoever the muse, we can always put them together and come out with something good. And by good I often mean shippy but like. Who's gonna tell us no?

@tewwor

I am so in awe of your mind and your worldbuilding, and I am so lucky to be able to play in these spaces you've built. I love the relationships we've built and I love that we can throw different characters together to see what sticks.

@vitalphenomena

I say this with the UTMOST affection but this is the most messed up roster of characters I've ever seen and I adore writing with them. I adore exploring all the different facets of their characters and how my characters interact with their struggles bc they're NOT perfect.

@whileurmine

If I see a man over 30 on my dash, odds are it's you. I love your roster and I love our OOC hate sessions and I love that we can both puck up and put down starters like nothing. Whether it's something established or a new idea we can always put a pair together.

@yxkanna

I know you're ALSO not writing atm but I have to let you know how much I love you and your babies. Not just Nick but all of them. We have some really interesting dynamics both platinic and romantic and I can't wait until you're back to pick them up.

And then of course some other shoutouts of people I don't love any less but perhaps don't write with or talk to as often <3 (which should change, honestly. Come yap w me <3)

@abysswarden | @berylcluster | @bucketkicked | @byanyan

@coastercrushed | @corsey | @cragsnow | @demonstigma

@downspirals | @fvzzyelf | @godstrayed | @hegrudges

@idnull | @kxllerblond | @lcngdays | @nabaidhean-neonach

@platiinums | @pohlepen | @redemnation | @strszyga

@withbeasts | @xinxiins

[tamelee]

i just saw a posts about novels that went like

sarada told sasuke he has lipstick stain, sasuke tries to wipes it off and she says he doesn't have one and sakura doesn't wear lipstick.

how do they defend this novels with their lives? it confirms sasuke never kisses sakura and doesn't know if she wears lipstick or not and kisses someone else who wears lipstick. it also confirms naruto likes to wear lipstick XD.

Please. These novels are ridiculous. Kishimoto already confirmed they’ve never kissed in Gaiden. Twice. 

(* something nicer = meant the forehead poke)

Though I wouldn't believe anyone if they said they actually like these novels, because the story (or lack thereof) is complete shit, but it’s fine if they do. A good story isn't the intention unfortunately. I genuinely wish that people understood what exactly it is they are defending. I’m writing a post for someone who asked something regarding canon, but I need to take brakes from it because it pisses me off that this happens constantly to franchises— not just Naruto. 

And in this case it’s even worse, or perhaps it’s just a prime example, because Jun Esaka (writer for some of these novels) made such a fool of herself on twt by making it all too obvious what her intentions were by writing them. (If it wasn’t already obvious.) First, when people pointed out the many flaws, she admitted that it’s “just her story” and “just her interpretation” (she had only read 'Naruto' for the first time a few months before that), but when other ss-shippers started to defend her and said she was a better writer than Kishimoto (as there’s 0 love between SS when he writes), she basked in that glory and went along with it. Even to the point that she completely disrespected Kishimoto, the story, the craft, openly made fun of other characters (mostly Hinata) and ships like NH and demanded her other novels to be animated as well. It’s unprofessional af. And then when fans asked her for a nsfw novel for SS she agreed and told them to harass the company about it. (She didn’t say ‘harass’ exactly, but come on you can’t be that dense given their reputation with staff.)

What are they defending? 

How can you defend anything when the motive is so obviously just personal bias/gain and/or financial profit to a company where both in this case don’t give a shit about the original story. It's not about shipping though, it happens all the damn time to all my favorite franchises and I'm genuinely sick of it. And it's not even about a writer writing about what they want either because I already expected that, but Esaka did her absolute best to try and disprove the bond between Naruto and Sasuke and change narratives completely even for individual cases for the sake of telling her "story". SNS-moments weren’t romantic to her and she quite literally made fun of it by copying them in her story to point out its "irrelevance", but give them to her het-ship and now all of a sudden it is romantic???? She basically calls Kishimoto a liar because ‘Sasuke Retsuden’ in particular is a direct response to ‘Gaiden’ (made by Kishimoto). She blatantly tried to disprove anything he said and indicated about her ship. She wrote about characters that, yes, have the same name as those in ‘Naruto’, but are so out of character it hurts. It took me months to recover my lost braincells. 

I don't think my post about it is still up, but to name a few things in that novel if you're interested: Sasuke resents Naruto and his test-tube daughter because he’d rather travel with Sakura, his wife whom he loves so much. But he has to do stuff just because Hokage Naruto said so and his daughter wants to stay in Konoha so he has no choice but to comply. Being apart from his wife-(did we mention he loves her so much? because he does. so much.)- makes him feel so very lonely and he misses her body so much because he knows it so well. He fails to do anything other than being jealous about the women-deprived prisoners going after the new hot doctor, Sakura, who is his wife btw. that he loves a lot in case you missed it. and he rather stares at trees that remind him of her than helping his friend Naruto who’s apparently dying from his own chakra or whatever kind of bs. Sasuke lets himself be bullied by prison-guards that aren’t even Shinobi, for having long hair and looking like a girl, though Esaka makes sure to mention how so very handsome he is and he looks like a cat. Sasuke loses a battle against an overgrown lizard and tries the same damn jutsu 4 times(!!!!) before realizing it may actually not work, I think because he forgot how to fight, but he can however create anything from ice like Elsa (Frozen), or from dirt like some Gaara-hybrid to make Sakura a ring because he loves her so much ofc… oh and he’s now a healer too. Sasuke sacrifices people’s lives even when it’s not necessary at all bc ig Esaka thinks he's a killer, and also he wouldn’t mind being brought back with Edo Tensei if it means he can stay with Sakura, because fuck everything they’ve been through in the original story, yeah? They also immediately forgive the bad guy cuz he's so relatable even though he just murdered I dunno how many people. SS kiss while an injured Naruto is squished in between them because SS-shippers have some sort of “Naruto has to watch our ship being in love to really make it legit because that’ll learn him for getting in between!”-kink (that's real actually) and according to Esaka, Sasuke is so worried about his daughter and in fact did meet up with them during those 10+ years because he loves them oh-so-much and fuck you Kishimoto that’s why. 

Be so fr right now. It’s such a joke. And these are just the few things on the top of my head that I remembered ;-; ...

Again, what are they defending exactly? It would be nice to just have a genuine fan of the story write an actual story. No other motive other than "I really like the story and would love to explore some options while respecting Kishimoto's work because it'd be fun!" Except, that's unfortunately not very marketable and ffs it's just sad. (I know there's a Kakashi version and I personally really want to know more about his role as Hokage and what he's done etc, but alas.)

[poppyfamily]

Amangela Writer Appreciation Post!

I'm feeling a lot of things right now and I've decided to write what I like about my Amangela writer friends' writing. I often forget to leave comments on their work because they are GOOD at what they do, and I often forget I'm in the middle of reading good writing because it just exists (something something baby fish asks mommy fish where water is only to realize they've been swimming in it the whole time). Can you believe they do this for FREE? And share it with us just because they want to? They are GIFTS to the community.

It is such a privilege to be in the same creative sphere as these people and I need to express Emotions or regret not doing it. They inspire me everyday. Here is a public declaration of love, hope y’all are okay with that. Ramblings under the cut, because it goes without saying, this got really long.

@okiankeno is so imaginative with their writing. My Teeth, Your Neck is impressive with its incorporations of many elements that are familiar to Smosh and Amangela while throwing them into a fantastical, supernatural universe. I haven't watched Buffy, but their writing is so good at making this fantastical world feel lived in. The world just seamlessly slides into the way they write character motivations, making for strong characterization and dynamics that have me INVESTED. That Maia/Valerie twist? Screaming. Crying. Throwing up.

@babychosen is wonderful at dropping Amanda and Angela in situations optimized for maximum tension - which is clearly seen in first time that i met you (i didn't have a damn clue) and you could be bad (but i wanna find out). I love how she crafts her plots, keeping me at the edge of my seat for what comes next, which is driven forward by the way she writes dialogue - natural to the situation as it captures a range of emotions: awkwardness, uneasiness, attraction and just all the quirks that come with forming relationships. Her writing is so fun to read!

@sage-lights writes fics that are short and sweet, but they pack such a powerful punch. With just a few words, she's able to tell a story that contains the energy of a multi-chaptered fic. This is especially true in sometimes i hold you closer (just to know you're real). LIKE HELLO. I was on the road when I first read it and it had me spiraling for a good few hours. She also captures their voices very well. They also capture the tenderness of Amanda and Angela in such a specific way. One of my favorites is met you at the right time (this is what it feels like), capturing the intimacy of two women who earnestly love each other, beyond romance.

@xxsuicidalravenxx 's writing explores the inner turmoil of being drawn to someone while having a lot of insecurity about your own place in other people’s lives. You know I'm such a fool for you (you got me wrapped around your finger) captures something so incredibly real about the anxiety that comes with a murky and under-communicated relationship dynamic based on unfair assumptions about both herself and how Amanda feels about her - which ultimately is a reflection of Angela’s own self-worth which at this point isn’t the best. It’s so real, god - the self-sabotage and all that and slowly realizing that the people around her care more about her beyond whatever mistake she believes she’s made. Also just - all Chamangela dynamics are excellently written here. It’s a gift.

@unknownteapot is masterful at her craft. I've said it before - their writing is so cinematic.  I can see it clearly in my mind - so good at painting clear pictures of where the characters are in the story. It's dramatic, tension-filled and just excellent writing all around. Several minutes of my life have been spent reading her fics. I feel comforted whenever I read her stuff, it gives the feeling of hope - that things will be okay even when it doesn’t seem that way. I remember when sweetheart dropped in the Amangela ao3 tag and thinking WHO is this absolutely talented writer that came out of nowhere (to me lol), but now I can't imagine this little community without them.

@shesmore-shoebill is so good at capturing Amangela vibes as we see it. Like it truly feels like they've broken down the dynamic into its bare essentials which enables them to produce fics that I can vividly HEAR.  They also just infuse a lot of tenderness into the way they write Amanda and Angela, whether it's in a joke or in like genuine moments of checking in - both demonstrated very well in empty space and Joint Custody (Hey Siri). Also, you just know they're a good writer without reading any of their fics because they are already so articulate in how they write commentary on videos when they aren't even trying to write a story, so when they do have a story, it just hits even more. So good.

@skiespeaches has authored one of the hottest, tension-filled fics I've read in my god damned life. From the first chapter of The devil is in the details I was screaming over how THE FUCK they were able to make just ONE KISS feel like THAT. Also, really really really love how grounded this is in the way they write dialogue and internal thoughts. It captures the pleasant feeling of realizing just how much you like someone and receiving some cues that they might like you back. It captures actions you take because of those feelings that can get in the way of communicating what you really want, the emotional tentativeness that comes with not wanting to bear your heart completely quite yet - yet there is a willingness to see where it goes, hoping that it does come to that point. The entire fic feels like the most emotionally charged scene of a slice of life movie - which is literally my personal favorite genre.

@ghoulishhgayy - famed author of hit Amangela fic Oil Burns had me invested in a situation that I personally haven't read a lot of in fanfiction. The spirit of their fics can be boiled down (haha get it) to the way they write about two women who deeply care about one another unconditionally supporting each other through difficult times. That's the kind of shit I eat up, and it's done so excellently. They just also write in a way that just makes being in love so appealing. They capture the moment of oh in Oil Burns so well that it has me gnashing my teeth, gnawing at the bars of my enclosure etc etc.

@wlwsmosh manages to get to the heart of a story in a few words. It's actually crazy and I’m in awe of their talent. There is a lightness to their fics that just makes me smile so much while also like having some really smutty scenes, which is so dang impressive - balancing sweetness and steaminess really well while also feeling very much like Amangela. My favorite from them are when i call the shots, you call me mommy which I think feels so much like Amangela voice and humor, while also placing them in a relationship and kink context. Honestly, all of their fics are gems.

@baflegacy is so GOOD at putting Amangela in the silliest of situations (heck, situations that are very much based on what we have seen in canon) and teasing out its potential romantic through line. They have a way of capturing emotions that accompany these situations in a way that just shoots you straight to the core. They write tension so well, and are so good at keeping me engaged with what's about to happen next. All of their works are GOATED. I, however, am extremely biased when I say that my favorite is their birthday gift for me - too good (to deny it) - aka one of the best angsty pieces of writing I've read in my whole life my GOD.

@cuecrynsleep is so!!!! A newer friend whose first fic in the Amangela tag I fell in love with immediately (Being Transparent). It was so simple, but captures Amangela’s adorable nature within the context of a romantic relationship REALLY WELL. I’m also just out here eagerly awaiting every post from Reconnecting the Past, which is a chat fic - a format that I rarely like the execution of, but damn I love the way they’re doing it here with the added bonus of the Changela, Arangela, and Shourtmanda dynamics which is just feels absolutely right. I’m out here thinking what are they gonna do next. They are so good at building intrigue and I’m just here sipping my tea and thinking in my head that I sound like some pathetic fuckboy sexting going “and then what?” because I am seated. I am sat. 

Anyway, if you’ve reached the end of this post - go support these writers!!!! Make sure you let them know if you like their stuff - either through a comment, kudos, an ask, a message, or bookmark. I promise you it makes these authors’ days whenever they see any kind of feedback for their work, and it keeps the community ALIVE. I am guilty of not doing that but it’s always great to try instead of not. I know from personal experience that it makes so much of a difference in their motivation to write more, while also allowing us to savor the work instead of mindlessly consuming it. Thanks for reading me gushing about all of them. Love you Amangela RPF community! Very grateful for y’all more than you’ll ever know <3

[zarvasace]

It’s “appreciate yourself” hours! Pick five pieces of writing/art that you’ve done that you love and talk about them! ❤️❤️❤️

Ahhhh okay, thank you!! 💜🌻 I finally have a free moment (aka work is slow) so I'm going to work on drafting this out :) I have far too much art I'm proud of—I'm at a stage in my progress right now where I think my art looks pretty awesome. So this list will be stuff from my Greatest Hits collection on AO3. In order of oldest to newest, I think:

incandescently happy

An LU post-adventure work, one of the first longer fics I posted. I released one chapter a day over the summer of 2022, so a lot of the notes have something about my day in them. It's about 30k all told.

I absolutely adored expanding on what the boys might do after the whole LU adventure happens (though I did forget about the fact that I think Time and Malon have a kid during this time!) This work features some proto-Shatterproof stuff, like Wind having a prosthetic leg and Four starting to specialize in crafting prosthetics/disability aids. I gave Hyrule longer hair and a job making maps for the royal family. Legend got another adventure but also started a magic garden/orchard, which pulls in more business than Ravio's stuff. Four and his grandpa adopted a single mother and her two kids. Man I went off with some of these headcanons. I've always considered writing more in this world, but I think it stands very well on its own. Maybe someday I might revisit and rewrite it with some of my new skills. :)

Rise and Shine and Fall

Whumptober 2022, focused entirely on LU! Guys this thing is almost 78k. I realize now that most people pre-plan or pre-write for things like Whumptober, but I wrote these one by one every day, which was extra-hard because I had both college classes and a day job at the time. I came up with some fun AUs, learned a lot about writing (especially whump), and proved to myself that I can do hard things like this!! I've adored doing daily challenges since, though I haven't done it in a while. I look forward to this year's whumptober though!

I really like the table of contents in the first chapter—it makes things easy to find. I know individual works are probably more accessible, but I was still getting to know AO3, and those big numbers are fun. XD I have a hard time picking favorites, because I really went off on these, but I'd say a couple of them are:

Chp 3, "Right Here" about Sky

Chp 7, "Proof of Life" about Four and Shadow

Chp 18, "I'm onwy a babey :(" about Wind

Chp 21, "6:13" about Hyrule and Time

Chp 26, "Silence is Golden" about Wild

Chp 31-32, "The Worst Thing About Earth" about Legend, but kind of more specifically the rewrite/expansion I did last year... haha...

The Marvelous Misadventures of Wind and His Merry Band or Maybe-Human Heroes

It's been a while since I updated this story (56k, 6/8 chapters), but it's constantly on my mind. I've started chapter 7 twice, and I know what I want to happen, but I am easily distracted by the siren call of some other whump fics. XD

I freaking love this story, though. I really want to finish it. It's kind of an... experiment? I guess? I want to get published someday, and I picture myself writing middle-grade novels. This story is sort of my attempt to hit that tone. Also I just love Wind so so so much. Let him be cool!!

Blood-Sucker's Guide to High School

56k Four Swords completed story! I wrote this in a frenzy of like two or three weeks, then took another two to edit. It takes plot points from a vampire novel I enjoyed and twists and applies them to a story about Shadow and the Four Swords manga boys. I'm very proud of what I accomplished here, and that it's a complete story! I think it worked out really well. I learned a lot about plotting and handling larger stories, and it helped that I had the half-remembered structure of an existing novel to use as training wheels.

I love the worldbuilding in this story! The premise is that Shadow is an evil soulless vampire from a (rather abusive, not that he sees it) family of the same, but then he gets the ability to walk in the sunshine. He's assigned to go to high school for a while to get a feast for the vampire gala, but meanwhile he's developing a conscience and getting very attached to these human boys. I think I did a good job. I love rereading this, every scene is just so fun! :)

Counterbalance

55k exactly of a stupid LU darks AU. This started life as a series of oneshots and then the plot progressively got more and more convoluted and I love these stupid boys so much. The plot is very much not tight, in contrast to Blood-Sucker's Guide, but I learned a lot about how I write and how I like to plan with this one, too.

The characters are stupid and the plot is just kinda silly and there is both a bathhouse scene AND a spa scene. Legend blows up multiple things, my lovely nasty little Dark Links need smacks and therapy, and Prince has a legitimately emotional moment at the end. I love how it turned out, it's like an ugly little stuffed animal I made and hug until the eyes pop out.

That's five but I would be extremely remiss if I did not also mention something from Shatterproof:

The Incredible Shrinking Chain

About 10k, this is entry 31/68 in my series Shatterproof, which is a close-canon AU in which each of the boys has a different physical disability. This series also plays into my publishing ambitions, because whatever I publish will very likely have some disability representation. I'm rather passionate about it, actually! Shatterproof is close to my heart, and I'm so honored that so many people seem to love it too. :) I need to work on the next entry again!!

This entry in particular is so much fun. In it, the whole Chain sans Four is stuck mouse-sized, and Four has to travel out to Twilight's castle with them to get Dusk to help break the curse. They all have to figure out how to navigate while tiny, and Four pulls some very silly stunts. I love them.

Anyway, there's my list!! I've written a lot over the last like two and a half years, and I'm so so glad that I get to be here and part of this community. The LU fandom as a whole (or at least the parts I've seen!) is so welcoming and positive and I try to give back where I can! I'm going to suggest looking through my bookmarks and ultimate rec list collection to find some new favorites from some very talented authors! :) (oof I need to update the collection soon!! I've been seeing some awesome stuff!)

[lucky-clover-gazette]

kings rising highlights & annotations

chapter 14

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

Because he couldn't put Jokaste in a sack and carry her bodily across the border into Kastor’s territory, the journey presented certain logistical challenges.

In order to justify two wagons and an entourage, they would be pretending to be cloth merchants. This disguise was not going to stand up to any serious scrutiny.

well, actually...

Laurent wandered in and outlined a plan so outrageous that Damen had said yes with the feeling that his mind was splitting apart.

i’ve said the thing about laurent and tabletop rpgs before but UGH. he’d be living his best life

Jord who had won short sword, Lydos of the trident, Aktis the spear thrower, the young, triple-crowned Pallas, Lazar, who had whistled at him,

i like how everyone has qualifications except for lazar, whose identifying quality is that he is gay

Laurent’s addition to the expedition was Paschal, and Damen tried not to think too deeply about the reasons why Laurent thought it necessary to bring a physician.

LMAOOOOO

And if the worst happened, Guion’s testimony had the potential to bring down the Regency. Laurent had said all of this succinctly, and told Guion, in a pleasant voice, ‘Your wife can chaperone Jokaste on the journey.’

wait does damen not even know what the testimony is? iirc guion told it to laurent off the page, after the chair scene. is it the thing about the regent killing the former king, or was that paschal’s piece of the trial? do both of them say it? whatever, the trial stuff is fun but i’m not that determined to work it all out ahead of time. it was a lot more rewarding to that with laurent’s perspective, especially earlier on, but ehhhh here i’m going to take it easy

Guion had understood more quickly than Damen.

shocking (sorry damen)

‘I see. My wife is the leverage for my good behaviour?’ ‘That’s right,’ said Laurent.

when does loyse talk to laurent? does she ever, or does she just speak at the trial uncalled for? guess we’ll see and i’ll trace back what i think probably led to it

Damen watched from a second-storey window as they gathered in the courtyard: two wagons, two noblewomen, and twelve soldiers of whom ten were soldiers and two were Guion and Paschal in metal hats.

He was waiting for Laurent to arrive in order to discuss the finer points of his ridiculous plan.

Laurent was standing in the doorway wearing a chiton of unadorned white cotton. Damen dropped the pitcher. It shattered, shards flying outward as it slipped from his fingers and hit the stone floor. Laurent’s arms were bare. His throat was bare. His collarbone was bare, and most of his thighs, his long legs, and all of his left shoulder. Damen stared at him. ‘You’re wearing Akielon clothing,’ said Damen. ‘Everyone’s wearing Akielon clothing,’ said Laurent. Damen thought that the pitcher had shattered and he could not now take a deep draught of the wine. Laurent came forward, navigating the broken ceramic in his short cotton and sandalled feet, until he reached the seat beside Damen, where the map was laid out on the wooden table. ‘Once we know the rotation of the patrols, we’ll know when to approach,’ said Laurent. Laurent sat down. ‘We need to approach at the beginning of their rotation in order to give us the most time before they report back to the fort.’ It was even shorter sitting down. ‘Damen.’ ‘Yes. Sorry,’ said Damen. And then: ‘What were you saying?’ ‘The patrols,’ said Laurent.

damen can you PLEASE focus.

(this is part of why the baby thing doesn’t work for me. if this is a lighter comedy interlude, why is the baby meant to be understood as a dire, war-altering problem? and if it is a serious dire situation, why are we getting this moment straight out of a fanfic? i know damen is horny despite the horrors and it’s a treat for the reader, but i guess i’m just built different because this moment really does not do anything for me. although to be fair i think that’s partially just because i’m apparently sensitive to instances of laurent being reduced to his body and sexuality, or at least in a way that he is not aware of—see my chapter 12 analysis for the most blatant example. reminds me of the time last week that my mom said on the phone “you only want people to like you on your own terms,” which is a very accurate and damning statement tbh)

They had only twelve soldiers. Twelve-ish, amended Damen, thinking of Paschal and Guion.

AGAIN?? brutal. also i like the “ish,” it’s a little anachronistic and very charming

Vannes could handle Makedon, Laurent said.

i want more laurent and vannes interaction…

The soldiers only needed to know their own roles in the enterprise, and Damen’s briefing to them was short. But Nikandros was his friend, and he deserved to know how they would get across the border. So he told him Laurent’s plan.

honestly damen i think it would be a mercy not to tell him

‘It’s dishonourable,’ said Nikandros.

nikandros private twitter complaint #13. also akielions don't know what "honor" means

‘I wish to restate my strong objection,’ said Nikandros. ‘It’s noted,’ said Damen.

and there's #14

the awkward mien of his own soldiers, who had had to be schooled multiple times not to call him ‘Exalted’

clearly they did not attend the lamen school of committing to the bit

‘Your reports are wrong. The Lady Jokaste is in that wagon.’ There was a pause. ‘In that wagon.’ ‘That’s right.’ Another pause. Damen, who was telling the truth, looked back at the Captain with the steady gaze he had learned from Laurent. It didn’t work. ‘I’m sure the Lady Jokaste won’t mind answering a few questions.’

he rolled like a 9 for persuasion

He was red-faced and sweating slightly. ‘At the Lady’s request, I will ride with you personally through the last of the checkpoints, to ensure that you are not stopped again.’ ‘Thank you, Captain,’ said Damen, with great dignity.

i love that pacat didn’t tell us what the plan was, so we could worry for a second that they'd already failed. and then, this

‘The stories of Lady Jokaste’s beauty are not exaggerated,’ said the Captain, man-to-man, as they wound their way across the countryside. ‘I expect you to speak of the Lady Jokaste with the greatest respect, Captain,’ said Damen. ‘Yes, of course, my apologies,’ said the Captain.

“that’s my fucking DIVORCE HUSBAND”

He said, ‘How did you convince Jokaste to play along with the guards?’ ‘I didn’t,’ said Laurent. He tossed the wad of blue silk in his hands to one of the soldiers to dispose of, then shrugged into his jacket in a rather mannish gesture. Nikandros was staring at him. ‘Don’t think about it too much,’ said Damen.

i love the way “mannish gesture” is specified. like he can do both. good for him.

(this is sooooo botw/totk link. anyway)

Laurent held out his hand to escort her back from the supply wagon into the main wagon, a bored Veretian gesture. Her eyes had the same bored look as she took his hand. ‘You’re lucky we’re alike,’ she said, stepping down. They looked at one another like two reptiles.

they should be best friends

‘Keep the wagons on course,’ Damen said to Nikandros. ‘I’ll be swift, and I’ll take our best rider with me.’ ‘That’s me,’ said Laurent, wheeling his horse.

“and our horses are canonically in love. just in case you’ve forgotten”

Sweeping a branch out of his face, Damen said, ‘I thought when I was King I wouldn’t be doing this kind of thing again.’ ‘You underestimated the demands of Akielon kingship,’ said Laurent.

i love prince's gambit

‘The undergrowth was thinner when I was a boy.’ ‘Or you were.’

did laurent just call him thicc

‘Stop,’ said Laurent. Damen stopped. Following Laurent’s gaze, he saw a dog lounging on its chain near a small penned field full of horses on the west side of the estate.

me when i want to pet a dog

‘I’ll take care of the sentries,’ said Laurent. ‘You left the dress in the wagon,’ said Damen. ‘Thank you, I do have other ways of getting past a sentry.’

The light through the trees dappled Laurent’s hair, which was longer now than it had been in the palace, and showing signs of minor disarray. It had a twig in it.

how dare that twig mess with laurent’s gorgeous hair!!!

There was no sign of a blond head, but somehow the dog got loose and went streaking through the yard to where the unfamiliar horses were penned.

dog = pet

The spasming excitement of the dog egged them on. As did the sylph-like actions of a ghost, untying ropes, slipping open rails.

laurent is an animal whisperer. that’s a personal headcanon of mine

They probably felt they had the most to lose, but in fact everyone would lose the same thing: their lives. Everyone but Jokaste. She only said, mildly, ‘Trouble at Heston’s?’

i love jokaste. spinoff please

And then he saw the pale head, and the paler white shirt, a lithe figure palming his way from tree trunk to tree trunk. ‘You’re late,’ said Damen. ‘I brought you a souvenir.’ Laurent tossed Damen an apricot. Damen could feel the quiet exultation of Laurent’s men, while the Akielons looked a little dazed. Nikandros passed Laurent his reins. ‘Is this how you do things in Vere?’ ‘You mean effectively?’ said Laurent. And swung up onto his horse.

i’m sad that this series is best known for being horny because i am infinitely more interested in laurent being a snarky action hero than i am in him having sex. and i think lots of other people would be too

Risk of laming was high

i read that as “lamen-ing” at first

Earlier, Laurent had tossed Damen his bedroll and said, ‘Unpack this,’ and Pallas had almost challenged him to a duel for the insult.

Sitting down and eating cheese casually with their King was not something that they knew how to do.

i cannot believe people in the fandom would apparently rather live in akielos than in vere. in akielos, you’re not allowed to acknowledge the humanity of people beneath your class, which as far as i can tell is determined by birth. in vere, people like jord and laurent are homies who mutually respect each other, and you can social climb your way to the high court by giving good head

Laurent strolled up to the impasse, threw himself down on the log next to Damen, and in an expressionless voice launched into the story of the brothel adventure that had earned him the blue dress, which was so unabashedly filthy it made Lazar blush, and so funny it had Pallas wiping his eyes.

i love laurent of vere

‘You smell of horse,’ said Damen. ‘It’s how I got past the dog.’ He felt a throb of happiness, and said nothing, just lay on his back and looked up at the stars. ‘It’s like old times,’ said Damen, though the truth was, he had never really had times like this.

damen are you forgetting prince’s gambit again

‘My first trip to Akielos,’ said Laurent. ‘Do you like it?’ ‘It’s like Vere, with fewer places to have a bath,’ said Laurent.

yeah i’m sure that’s not the sum of his thoughts, but he’s trying to take it easy

‘You want me wandering around the Akielon countryside naked at night?’ And then, ‘You smell just as much of horse as I do.’ ‘More,’ said Damen. He was smiling.

laurent: if you want me to get naked you’re going to have to do it too damen: bet

‘They’re Artesian. Aren’t they? From the old empire, Artes. They say it used to span both our countries.’ ‘Like the ruins at Acquitart,’ said Laurent. He didn’t say, And at Marlas. ‘My brother and I used to play there as boys. Kill all the Akielons and restore the old empire.’ ‘My father had the same idea.’ And look what happened to him. Laurent didn’t say that either.

you just know child laurent used history books and his imagination to construct a sophisticated and complex narrative for him and auguste to play-act

His pulse beat with uncharacteristic nerves, so that he felt almost shy. ‘When all this is over . . . we could take horses and stay a week in the palace.’ Since their night together in Karthas, he hadn’t dared to speak about the future. He felt Laurent holding himself carefully, and there was a strange pause. After a moment, Laurent said, softly, ‘I’d like that.’ Damen rolled onto his back again, and felt the words like happiness as he let himself look up again at the wide sweep of stars.

i think it’s sweet how nervous and awkward they are about admitting the desire to do something this simple, when they’ve had the most complicated and intensely intimate relationship i’ve ever read in fiction

[shrinkthisviolet]

It's Love Letters Night! Send love and positivity to your favorite writers and bloggers!

This got really long so I’m sticking it under a cut 😅:

@negative-speedforce you are absolutely amazing. I love your posts and fics, I love Siv, and I love how much you love Nora (your fic about both versions of Nora sharing a name and the ✨insecurity✨ that would cause lives in my head RENT-FREE) and!! You’re an Iris and Reva defender just like me!! 🥰

@vexic929 you’re so amazing and fun to talk to! You have such wacky off-the-wall ideas and you make them work so well and I love you for it 💞 Malcolm, Berrie, and Beth in particular are so dear to me, and so are their fics!

@goldheartedchaoticdisaster you’re so fun to talk to, especially the OUAT stuff lately 🥰 I also always appreciate seeing your comments on my fics, they’re always long and wonderful and you’re just a delight. I can’t wait to see how you write Rowan, I love Nicky and Stephanie, I love your characterization of Mike Barnes and his family (canon to me!! Everyone read “bad boy (no more)”, it’s so good), and your CK Mini-Rewrites? *chefs kiss* you should’ve written the show

@angst-is-love-angst-is-life you pulled me into my current whump fixation headfirst 😂 I love reading through the whump prompts on your sideblog (@whump-is-love-whump-is-life, for anyone who wants to check it out), and I love talking to you 🥰 you also make me cry with how much you hurt Barry in Trophy and 12 hours, but I respect the whumpy endeavors

@fezwearingjellybananas you’re such a delight 🥰 you pulled me into Snowest with “Milk and Sugar”, your fics are so fun to read (and often a niche/novel premise), and I love seeing your sweet comments on my fics! I also so love the cycle of inspiration we’re in 😂 (for context, they got inspired by my Morgan AU to write Speedster Siblings, which (along with Gone in a Flash) then inspired me to write my Daddy Issues AU)

@starstruckpurpledragon (aka @kitkatt0430), you are wonderful and amazing and you’ve written so many amazing fics and meta for this fandom!! You have great takes, super interesting ideas…and you’re so wonderful to talk to. You also (along with @alittleflashvibe) pulled me into Saverb with “You Must Live (For Me)” 😂 much appreciated for that

@alittleflashvibe you are a delight and incredible and your Barrisco takes are such a highlight of this webbed site 💞 you always get me to see something new in their scenes, it’s terrific. You also pulled me into shipping Barrisco in general 😂 (you and @starstruckpurpledragon, as I mentioned above)

@frosty-the-killer-doll hiii I know we don’t talk a lot but I just wanted you to know you’re incredible and I love your takes on Caitlin and Frost—you’ve gotten me to see them both in new ways (that web weaving post about how Frost’s instinct to protect was corrupted by vengeance?? That was inspired, and it’s only one of your many great takes about her and Caitlin!). I also love love LOVE the Jesse fic you wrote, it’s like you read my mind fr 💞 love having you as my mutual

@icedteaandoldlace you’re so wonderful too! I’ve loved following along with your comments as you read my Morgan AU…and you’ve given me such a wonderful appreciation for Kamilla and Kamisco. Your Kamilla & Caitlin friendship fic is so sweet and I love it to pieces

@blackaquokat where to even begin 😅 we’ve been mutuals for like…what, years now? I don’t even remember how it started, but I DO remember your WKM fics and how incredible they are 🥰 your OC for the DA is absolutely how I view them, and your fics are so canon to me, you deserve all the love for crafting such a meticulous world from the pieces Mark gave us.

@seek--rest your fics are OUT OF THIS WORLD and so are your takes!! You’re one of my favorite Spidey fic authors (and that’s a very short list 😂), you’ve gotten me to see him and MJ in such incredible new ways (Irondad but make it MJ!! Ingenious!!), and you have great takes overall (your post-Blip meta my beloved!!), here and in the discord. You also wrote the May & Sally fic of my DREAMS!! Some people might call you an “absolute displeasure to know”, but I couldn’t disagree more, you’re wonderful 💞

@abcd-em on the note of “Irondad but make it MJ”, Vagary lives in my head rent-free 💞 you’ve written PeterMJ in so many wonderful ways, but that in particular really sticks with me. And you’re such a sweet person in general

@hollow-dweller speaking of great takes…hollow you’re practically oozing with them, here and on the discord. I always come away learning something, and you just have so many amazing thoughts?? Also I keep thinking about the Peter & Jessica fic you wrote like…oh my god?? Inspired?? I must applaud you 👏👏

@robbyykeene your CK takes are so incredible, you’re the first account I go to for them, I love reading your posts. You’re so right 💞

@leohttbriar i adore your fics! Your Samtory ones live in my head rent-free, and so does “for what do we live (but to make sport for our neighbours)” like!! You Get It!! You Get Penelope and Charlotte!!

@jenpsaki I can hardly talk about Samtory and not mention you, when you’re the one who pulled me into this ship with “different but same” 🥰 and thank you so very much for that

@arrthurpendragon you are a key pillar of the OC community and so wonderful 🥹 thank you for hosting that exchange event back in July of last year, it pulled me into the OC community and I’m so grateful for it

@lady-of-the-spirit you’re delightful to talk to, you have great takes for pretty much everything (ESPECIALLY Star Wars), I love Hestia, and I’ve never seen HOTD but I love how passionate you are about Alicent 💞

@basimibnishaqs speaking of having great takes about Star Wars…🥰 Rey & Luke being father and daughter especially, I LOVE your posts on the subject. And this fic you wrote about them!! An AU ofc but so very sweet to me 💞

@practically-an-x-man you and I are fairly new to being mutuals but I love having you as one 💞 still chugging through the Ophelia fic, but I love it so far! And ofc as I mentioned before, you write AMAZING whump (as shown in this incredible fic!)

@azaablue your ATLA fics are out of this world, but “beautiful boy” and “Push and Pull” in particular always sticks with me 💞 all the kudos in the world, you Get It, and you’re so wonderful. A gem in the ATLA fandom

@calliopieces your Maiko fics are a GEM in The ATLA fandom, especially “crowning glory” 💞 you just Get Mai and her family situation, and especially Fire Nation girlhood, and I love this fic so much for it

[gepardling]

market day w/ gepard.

desc. : Something small that someone suggested i write. Going to a market day with your loverboy gepard :) (wc : 600 )

tags / cw : sfw, just fluff, doing shopping with geppie !! not proofread

○ It’s a market day !!

○ And you’re going with Gepard !!!!

○ Waaayyy more exciting than your usual grocery shopping, okay? I mean, Geppie can’t usually join you on those trips because he’s working when u have to buy stuff :(( but it’s okay, he always leaves you a list of things to buy and some money if he doesn’t get to see you beforehand 

○ This particular market day is special, hosted in celebration of the end of the stellaron crisis on Jarilo-VI. Many of the soldiers could actually return home to their families for a quick reprieve

○ Gepard gets the day off to partake in the festivities, which is absolutely HUGE given how he's normally busy and you don't get to spend much time together outside of home… Naturally, your face immediately lights up at the news that he's joining you ♥︎

○ The market is quite different from something you’d expect of Belobog. There’s a million different colors and scents lingering about the air, and the chatter of visitors bustling around is much livelier than usual.

○ You spend the day dragging Gepard around by his arm, visiting every stall and trying almost ALL the food available. Your lover merely let you tug him about as you please, he was content just watching the way your expression changed from mild curiosity to morbid surprise when you tried a dish that was a little too sour for your liking ♥︎ 

○ He might be a little too generous as well (Captain’s salary?) and almost ends up buying you one of everything that you lay your eyes upon. Though he did practice some self-restraint, urging that you “really don’t need it” when you brought him to the 15th perfume stall there.

○ You also have a habit of making him smell soaps with you, trying to discern which fragrance is superior before you end up taking all of them anyway.

○ After you parade him around for a while, Gepard starts to emerge from his shell and takes you to see things that catch his fancy too. He spends a lot of time around the botanist, in particular, as well as various candle merchants and fresh produce stalls. 

○ Listen – I'd like to think that Gepard is fond of candles. You know, lighting a few up at the end of a long day, just relaxing in their gentle glow. I don't think it's something he'd be vocal about, and it's definitely a habit he learned from someone else. But it's cute nonetheless :(( ♥︎ Bonus if the candles are scented

○ You probably end up leaving the market with too much to carry – soaps, perfume, house plants, candles, food… While the day was fun, seeing how you overspent makes you wonder how you're gonna make space for all these new things in your home :((

○ But it doesn't matter !! Geppie always makes a plan. And to be honest, this market was super beneficial for the both of you (maybe more practical for him than for you, seeing as he actually bought groceries too)

○ He ends up carrying almost all the goods too, cuz he insists he’ll hold it so you don’t have to :(( He’s such a gentleman, almost to a fault... the most you can do is fret over him but even then he denies your help... so stubborn !!

○ One bad placement almost sends the pile of parcels to the ground ! But luckily Gepard is quick on his feet and manages to prevent anything from dropping.

○ His face is burning at the slight blunder but at least he lets you carry some of the stuff now to help him out ♥︎ when you two get home it's an absolute relief that everything is still in one piece

u guys know those craft markets,,, yeah,,,,, i had 2 thumbsuck sum reason for there 2 b one but u know what !! i can do what i want. market day.

[vulpixisananimal]

hi um. i was wondering. do you have any guidelines for how to write Loop and Mal du Pays for the sif-stem au? i wanna integrate the concept into my own fic but aaaaaaa

Oh!!!

I mean, not really? I can tell you how I write them, but Siffrin system isn't an idea I claim to own! Just my own interpritaiton of it! You can write them how you want!

That being said! Some things I keep in mind when writing them:

Siffrin is the host, and is usually around the most. They are more open than in the main game, but still have issues. Since they're more open about things, they'll break down a bit more

Loop is a helper who also takes over for Siffrin if Sif can't handle things. They help remind them of stuff. When fronting, Loop is a bit sillier, and still getting used to their body in a way. It's like dysphoria

Mal Du Pays is not evil, I said that you can write them how you want, but one thing anyone should do when writing a system is avoid the evil alter cliche. For me, Mal Du Pays is a hardcore protector who who will do anything to make sure Siffrin is safe. This can end up being a detriment. They're also, for me, very sensitive, and cant speak in anything but island language because they're, well, homesick.

Switching is something they get more used to over time, and switching causes a headache. In general headaches are common for all of them.

Siffrin (and cos) memory loss can be attributed to being a system!

Play around with them each having different craft skills and types!

Also play around with the possibility of other alters as well! I know I am!

It's all about growth, they all grow as people/headmates over time.

They're also both their own person, but also part of a whole. Treat them like different people but all working together.

And of course, have fun! If you need inspiration or ideas im honestly fine if you get ideas on how to write them from my fic.

Hope any of this helped! I'm not really an expert on writing system stuff, but I try!

[wazzappp]

You write fanfics, right? Would you mind giving a newbie a few tips for writing their very first fanfiction ??? 🥺

FIRST OF ALL WOAH. IM HONORED YOU WOULD ASK ME FOR ADVICE AND SECOND OF ALL AKAKKFJGKHKHSKSGG I uhhhhh. Kind of????? Write?? I make plans and then I draw comics I'm actually trying to WRITE write something right now (key word being 'trying') but INEXPERIENCE ASIDE I guess I can try to tell you about some stuff I like to think about when planning a comic?

I like to start by knowing both where everyone is starting out and where everyone is going to end up. It's also helpful to know what everyone WANTS. I make sure to separate those two because they aren't necessarily the same thing. It's good to know both before you get to the details. If you don't know where you're going, you cant have fun getting there!

When I'm planning something out I like to start with the big parts as bullet points and then fill in the gaps. That way, if you realize one point doesn't flow into the other the right way, you can rearrange things before you're 5 hours deep and realize 3 hours worth of it doesn't work.

Try to think up multiple different ways a scene/situation could go! I replay something in my head a dozen times in a dozen different ways until I land on one I like. If you have something solid its totally cool to stick with it, but it's also fun to explore possibilities in your head before committing. That way you can pick out what the most impactful version is and go with that.

TALK!!! TO YOURSELF!!! FOR DIALOGUE!!! Find somewhere private where you wont be judged or interrupted and just go for it (my personal favorite is in the car on my drive to work but don't do that if you think it will get you into an accident lol). Try and get into each characters headspace and think about how it feels to say the things you're saying. Does it make you feel sick? Choked up? Tense? Notice it and think about how it will change their body language and how other people perceive them.

Know what your characters flaws are! Perfect people are BORING. Not to mention unrealistic. Also its really important for how people interact with each other! If someone is distrustful, judgemental, naive, defensive, blunt LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER FLAW it will play a role in how they deal with both people and problems.

Working on biographies + character designs (if you draw) for characters to make sure you understand them as well as possible is really helpful. I do it for almost all of my AU's that I make. But also I'm incredibly detail oriented so yk. Take that bit of advice with a grain of salt. I like picking my favorite little guys apart with a scalpel but if you find that demotivating don't worry about it too much.

If you're following along with a game or a movie, it's good to know ahead of time how closely you are sticking to the established story and universe. Keep track of any new rules you make. Working within a set of constraints helps to get both you and the character to think more creatively, and keeping those rules consistent makes the world feel more real. In a way, setting limits makes your world bigger!

Its also worth mentioning that I like to pay attention to what I enjoy reading when I'm figuring out a story. What pacing do you like? What level of description? Do you like things phrased more straightforwards or more poetic? I'm not suggesting you copy people of course. Just know what you like and try to apply it to yourself!

Damn that was way more than I thought I had to say lol. I'm going to also tag @moosemonstrous @rokhal @kermit-coded @cannibal-wings sin case they might have some tips to add because they are all absolutely exemplary in their craft (bring out the FANCY words today just for you) and I HIGHLY suggest looking at their works.

<3 Thanks for your ask!! I cant wait to see what you make!

[guardianbingo]

Guardian Bonus Bingo FAQ

Welcome to Guardian Bonus Bingo!

This is a very low stakes, low pressure fest meant to be fun and inspire more Guardian fan creations. Whether you’re returning after having participated in the original Guardian Bingo or are joining for the first time, we’re happy to have you here!

How Does It Work?

We’ll issue five prompts over ten weeks (one new prompt every two weeks), starting on June 9.

Prompts go out every other Sunday and you’ll have two weeks in which to create a fill. Then a new prompt will be issued. This cycle repeats until we make it through all five prompts.

We’ll also have an amnesty period at the end for prompts you might have missed earlier in the fest.

What Do I Earn By Completing Fills?

A sense of accomplishment, the adoration of your fellow fans, and the fun that comes with creation.

Completing all five earns you a bingo, a badge created by the amazingly talented @highlynerdy, and your name on a shoutout post at the end of the fest.

Can I Fill Multiple Prompts With A Single Work?

Maybe. The single work will need to be composed of multiple parts.

As one example, a multi-chapter fic where each individual chapter is inspired by a different prompt would work. A one-shot would not.

Similarly, multi-panel art with each panel inspired by a different prompt would work while a single piece of art would not.

If you have something in mind but aren’t sure, check with a mod.

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Nope. You are welcome to join at any time up until the end of the amnesty period.

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Pretty much any new creations, including, but not limited to:

Fanfic

Fanart

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Podfics (with original author’s permission and a link back)

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Meta Analysis

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None! This is meant to be fun, not stressful.

Want to write a 100k multi-chapter epic? That’s a tall order for ten weeks, but we’re cheering you on! Want to only post drabbles? Also wonderful!

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All ratings and any ships (or no ships) are allowed, though works should be appropriately tagged.

Crossovers, Derivatives, Other Priest Novels, And RPF?

While the fest is Guardian themed, all are allowed. Just tag appropriately.

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However you wish! They're meant to be a source of inspiration and a starting off point. You can adhere to them as strictly or as loosely as you'd like. Follow your muse and have fun!

Can I Use A Creation For This Fest And Another One?

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Old works previously posted

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The AO3 Collection

Tumblr – Tag @guardianbingo in your post or DM us for a reblog (you can also tag it #guardianbingofest but Tumblr’s tags are very wonky so that might not work well)

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[sillysymbol]

who's your favorite criminal clownery character to draw? favorite to write/think about? favorite dynamic? and can i get a fun fact or something you havent shared yet about them :]

YES YESSS SICKOS HAHA YESSS

my favs to draw are pirplexa and shirley for some reason. pirplexa because she's like a weird son to me (i'm very attached to her! shes like my favorite oc ever! i went off when i designed her!) + shirley because ever since i changed her hair style shes been a lot easier+more fun to draw. i think also carni i love drawing her w different hair styles and clothing.

my favorites to write for are pirplexa/carni/prince. that makes sense cuz theyre like. the Main protagonists+villain, but its really fun to explore their different personalities/backstories. Dude writing backstories especially for pirplexa and prince is so fun for me. also recently writing xio has been really fun n interesting to me. in general i think its fun to explore Why A Character is like That, why do they behave like that!

i got a lot of dynamics i like exploring but my favs are carni/pirplexa, carni/trill, prince/shirley, prince/xio and babs/miles. for carni dynamics its fun because she's one of the more happy/chipper characters, contrasted with pirplexa being more cold/untrusting and trill being more calm and collected. i plan for carni and trill to really dislike eachother at first, but eventually start to understand and fall for eachother <3 while with carni and pirplexa its more about pirplexa learning to trust and make friends again.

prince and shirley are siblings with extremely different world views and thought processes, they really dislike eachother. they grew up in the same enviroment yet reacted to it completely differently.

prince and xio is fun to me, ive been trying to give xio more of involved in the story+cast&crew while prince just thinks of her as his cute secretary. he sucks real bad! she doesnt like him she barely tolerates the others but he pays her to kill people so shes like whatever i can deal with this. and then she finds out he wants a consensual workplace relationship and shes like YAY HOW CAN I MANIPULATE THIS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

babs/miles are dating at the beginning of cc, but their relationship gets a bit complicated due to babs being a little crazy about him and miles struggling with his sense of masculinity, its really not a relationship thats meant to last for long, its a bit tragic. (also why they are in love by david byrne is in both of their playlists LOL)

a few fun facts:

i dont think ive shared here is that prince and shirleys parents were movie stars! they met on the set of a film and had multiple movies with eachother. prince and shirley both had an odd childhood under a lot of surveillance from the public, plus their parents weren't very great parents. they both react to their trauma very differently, prince being "grateful" for it, giving him media training and feeling like his parents crafted him (even when he knows his parents didn't have much faith in him and bet a lot on shirley), while shirley absolutely despises the rest of her family. of course she'll go to the annual family dinner with prince, but that doesnt mean that she won't loathe every second of it.

pirplexa is a dog person! he loves dogs! he doesn't own one because he doesnt think hes in the right headspace to have one yet, but he will pet every random dog on the street. i like to think a few years after the events of cc when he's mentally better, he does adopt a dog.

miles and shirley don't get along very well, shirleys kinda like a bully older sister, she puts him in headlocks and stuff.

if you get the color symbolism (heh) in cc i will give you a badge. idk

shirley likes to write, babs likes to sing, miles likes to draw and design.

trill originally got a degree in botany, but realized she wanted to pursue comedy/acting instead. she can still correctly identify plants!!! yay!!!

[wendynerdwrites]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard review

Disclaimers and warnings: 1) there will be some minor spoiler-y things here. I try to keep it as vague as possible though. 2) I don't go in for the culture war bullshit. I want to make it clear: this is a trans/nb-friendly blog. I will have some criticisms for how certain things are handled, but keep in mind this is from writing craft perspective as well as my own personal opinion from a White, Cisgender, Jewish, Bisexual, Autistic, ADHD, Bipolar American woman. If you are from the groups these characters represent and disagree with some of the arguments I make about the handling of certain subjects, you are probably right. Or we're both right. Or something. Please don't let any of my commentary here override your own experiences because I am just an idiot with a blog. Please correct me. I want to be a good ally, not just a loud one. 3) This is my PERSONAL OPINION.

I will start with the positives - the environmental work and the combat are off the charts good. I genuinely have not had this much fun with combat in a game since Arkham City. That game was 13 years ago. I love how much more varied the fights and bosses are. I love how much your combat style has to take the environments into account almost as much as the enemies. I like how nothing is stationary or just element based. If your someone who loves watching people play Souls-alike games but hates the frustrations that come with playing that style yourself, good news! All the truly fun stuff is there. And how many frustrations you have depends entirely on your difficulty level. And by "frustrations", I don't mean the "challenge." The challenge is there, even on easier difficulties. When I got knocked on my ass, I didn't just get pissed or angry. I just wanted to get right back up and do it again! Which I love. I love the movement. The health and mana aspects. The look and feel of the attacks. And the combos! If you liked the combos in the Mass Effect games, then these take all of the virtues of that and amplifies them. It makes me SO EXCITED for the next Mass Effect even though I didn't like Andromeda.

Like, for instance, the High dragons. It's more than just "pick the right element." The Dragon fights take the great improvements they made in Inquisition (like how some bring in more enemies, others employ the flying more, and the importance of the elements you attack with) and enhance them. For instance, you're tempted to bring Taash on every dragon fight. Don't. Especially the Necropolis one of you're with Emmrich (bring Emmrich to that one). You should bring a healer with you on that one. There's way more interplay with the environment, your fighting has to employ so much more movement and strategizing. You have to be aware not just of the dragon, but your surroundings.

In fact, I can tout the virtues of pretty much any boss fight in this game so far.

Like, it almost feels weird talking the virtues of combat in a Bioware game to the moon like this, but it's genuinely that good.

I also like the construction of a lot of the missions. While I don't like how important story conversations are treated like missions, that's pretty much my only complaint. It was fine when there were one or two of them, like with Josephine's conversation with the "comte" in Inquisition, but there's too much of it here.

But that's literally my only complaint. Bioware took notes on the complaints about the missions in prior games. And they did SO FUCKING GOOD!

I adore the puzzles, the way your companions interact with the environment, the distinctiveness of the environments. Not only does it increase the utility of the characters, it adds distinctions to the environments, challenge to the missions, and even enhances both plot and setting. The Blight puzzles in particular add a lot of subtle storytelling and create a true sense of how pervasive and serious this is, while also helping to communicate both the powers Ghilain'nain has introduced and how it affects the world as well as how it is literally choking Thedas and disrupting as well as threatening the lives of its people.

I like the faction interplay and how your choices do seem to affect your gameplay experience. I like how depending on which choice you make at a crucial point in the game, it can cut off one of your avenues to gain support. I like how your relationships with both companions and the factions impact the gameplay itself.

I love the voice acting and the music.

As for the writing, I will start with some of the positives. First and foremost, the Big Bads are actually pretty good. Unlike Corypheus, who becomes Team Rocket after his amazing appearance in Haven, they have victories. They are genuinely intimidating enemies because even when you "win", you lose something. They outwit you at various points. This is not just a string of victories while Elgar'nan and Ghilain'nain are just blasting off again. Furthermore, I like how the companions do seem to have a genuine effect on the operations rather than "defend the protagonist." Their contributions are not just lip service.

In fact, I just want to say, I love almost everything about Elgar'nan and Ghilain'nain. I only wish that we had more of the Gods? I literally just wanted more. Which, you know, is a good thing.

I find Lucanis's writing to be good overall, though there should be more. Please give us more fleshed out stuff and have it compare and contrast more to the experiences of Wynn and Anders.

This might be controversial: but I really do like Bellara's plotlines, especially the explorations of cultural/historical guilt in regards to the Evanuris and their worship among the Dalish. Similarly, Harding's exploration of her feelings about the history between the Evanuris and the Titans is really good. I just wish there was more.

I also like the CONCEPTS of the characters a lot

An enbycharacter who is not only struggling with their gender identity but a cultural tug of war between heritage and the place they've immigrated to, along with a mom who puts stress on both of those aspects? And they are lovers of animals they also have to fight when they're perverted? Perfect groundwork for a character.

A gentleman necromancer who is actually terrified of dying facing down a perversion of his own ambitions? A+.

A noir-esque private eye who works as an underground freedom fighter who struggles between their obligations to the macro conflict and the city they've always sworn to protect. GREAT!

A sunny-faced woman grappling with her newfound powers, grand revelations about the fate of their ancestors while also trying to reconcile their simmering rage towards the injustice done to their people? Yay! (especially when you consider the parallels between what happened to the Titans and Dwarves and the Elven history)

A Warden grappling with his old Disney-princess-esque wishes for something more than this provincial life while also trying to find a bond with a creature representing the order he's committing to while also struggling to embrace? Hooray!

These concepts are great! Great concepts. A+ concepts. Good concepts. Beautiful concepts.

But even a brilliant concept, rich with material to mine, means little when the execution is poor. This is why writing is a craft and not just a grab bag of good ideas.

The dialogue is bad and so many of the details seem disjointed and full of missed opportunity.

Let's get the touchy one out of the way. I have a lot of thoughts on Taash and how disappointed I am with their writing.

Why is Taash getting gender identity advice in Tevinter, where even being gay is considered an abomination, instead of from people in Rivain, the COUNTRY AND CULTURE THEY ARE MORE ATTUNED TO IN A STRUGGLE AGAINST THE QUNARI HERITAGE THEIR MOTHER INSTILLS IN THEM IN AN OBVIOUS PARALLEL TO THEIR STRUGGLES WITH GENDER IDENTITY? (Before anyone says, "But Maevis" Maevis is an acceptable outlier because it's Maevis. The end.) Like, there's an obvious parallel here and it should be so perfect. Imagine if Rivain had an active Enby culture and their own word for nonbinary/genderqueer identity. Over history, various cultures have had traditions/groups/cultures that are similar or equivalent to what we call Nonbinary in the Western world. Various cultures have had aspects/traditions/communities that oppose to the traditional male/female gender binary. Give Rivain one (or more) of their own. Have them give it their own name where it's clear that its/they're the equivalent of various Nonbinary identities and own traditions surrounding it. Make it feel like part of Thedas, not something simply to address about our world. You know, like they did with Krem and the Qunari?

You could do that and even have direct parallels with various gender traditions in our world. But with their own terms/words, their own language surrounding it.

It would not maintain the immersion.

This is where I might make some people mad. If you disagree, then you're probably right.

Sorry, guys, but Taash just saying "I'm nonbinary"... That is a wonderful and powerful statement on Earth, in American/Western culture. But it doesn't sound like something someone outside of our Western Earth would say. It sounds like they wanted a Nonbinary character and wanted it in the simplest terms possible. And make it a one size fits all concept of gender. Nonbinary/genderqueer etc identities and indeed most gender identities are multifaceted, can differ wildly. There are different types of nonbinary, and they can differ psychologically, culturally, etc. Being of a nonbinary identity means really different things to different Enby people everywhere.

So, why isn't there an exploration of that more. Maybe Rivain has multiple NB communities/identities. Some are genderfluid, or agender, or genderqueer, etc. And there's different words and communities for each. Maybe there are other ones in Antiva and parts of the Anderfells, etc. All with their own terms. Maybe have Taash explore that/encounter some of these groups in actual scenes and have them explore that more. Flesh it out and immerse it in THIS world instead of just using the language of part of ours.

Like, you know how the Southern Chantry and the Tevinter Chantry are clearly modeled on Catholic and Orthodox churches? How Orlais is France but not quite? How there is totally racism but not in a total one to one parallel in our world? How the Qunari clearly have cultural parallels to real world cultures in their approach to gender identity? How the Qun are totalitarian but it isn't called that?

Give Thedas its own varied approach to defying the gender binary that amounts to more than just "I'm nonbinary." Make us feel like Taash's acceptance of themselves is about finding their place in THEDAS and not the American Midwest. Have Taash explore all these gender-defying practices.

All while their Mom looks on in horror because to her, yes, you can be trans, but only binary trans.

It disappoints the perfectly set up parallel between gender identity and the cultural tug of war Taash goes through. It feels more referenced than explored.

That's clearly part of the clash with Taash and their mom. Their mom, who wants so much for Taash to preserve as much Qunari culture as possible. Why don't they explore the contrast between their identity and the binary trans identities welcomed by the Qunari? Why are they talking like 21st century people from the West on Earth? Instead of, you know? People from Rivain and the Qun?

Sorry it just disappointed me. Bioware has done this sort of exploration well before. I feel like it's just... Lip service.

Basically, there wasn't enough here. This was potentially so fascinating, and they just sort of said, "Taash is nonbinary and their mom has an issue with it but both of them eventually come to accept their identity."

Taash isn't where this begins and ends though.

Emmrich says he is afraid of death. He tells us this often. Tells us. Tells us. Tells us again. But that doesn't even seem to affect him as a character other than what he declares about himself.

They touch on the parallels of the griffon-Warden and the Hallah-elf bonds in a two second "quest", when, like, there was so much missed opportunity there. No, go into this. Why doesn't Davrin apply his difficulties with his Dalish upbringing and how his efforts to bond with Assan parallel maybe a lack of bond with a hallah. I am cool with him Wanting More Than This Provincial Life. Love it. But it's surface level.

"I wanted more but now I'm not happy with how things turned out because the order proved disappointing and I feel like a failure too." It's so good. But we should have gotten more than just saying it.

For instance, the quest with the Halla and the obvious parallels between the elf-Halla and Warden-Griffon relationships? Great set up. Perfect. And then it was over in about fifteen seconds and barely explored.

Davrin's initial wish to make his fortune? Maybe put some of that in context of the poverty so many elves experience? In depth?

Neve's own struggles between her grounded street level work vs her big-picture work with the Veilguard is all lip service. Which it shouldn't be, because THAT'S A GREAT CONCEPT TO WORK WITH.

There's also an issue with the saminess of some of the character quest aspects. The fact that almost all of them have to deal with some sort of Black Mirror of themselves isn't a problem necessarily, but with a number of them, such as with Davrin and Lucanis, it doesn't seem to have the depth to it to not make it seem like more of the same.

Etc etc.

And as for Rook...

First of all, I think we all need to go and apologize to our Inquisitors for saying they were bland. It's amazing to me that we can have so many of these detailed backgrounds but there's ultimately nothing to them. I LIKE playing nice, compassionate characters. I almost always play altruistic. But this? There are no "purple" or "red" options. They're more like lavender and pink AT BEST. I ask people how they feel in every conversation. It genuinely baffled me how many times you ask a variation of "...And how did that make you feel?"

The backgrounds offer some dialogue options that are ultimately surface level and all amount to the same thing. And it's always that you'll always do what's right and keep fighting for it, no matter what! You determined altruist. Determination works. But it would have been so much better if that determination also had some moral variation in it like, you know, a role playing game.

I don't need Rook to sell people into slavery for a single point of constitution. But for instance, if there was a backstory option where that "never quit" spirit was employed in less than savory pursuits, that would also work so well with the story! Like it or not, Rook will do what needs to be done. And in a conflict this desperate, maybe you need to be ruthless sometimes. You know, like in other Bioware games?

I am sick of every conversation being a TikTok therapy session. I am sick of these companions almost never doing anything morally questionable. Like, what are the big moral struggles they have? Harding, Lucanis, and Emmrich seem to have the only potential for being ambiguous and even then it feels lackluster. I'd argue that it's probably the Harding subplot that really seems to have the potential darkness that might reflect both on her and Rook.

But compare that to how things work with characters like Morrigan, Vivienne, Leliana, Bull, Isabela, etc.

Actually, I think in addition to the Inquisitor, we also owe Vivienne a huge apology as well.

Remember how Sera was a genuine ass about the elves, especially to a Lavellan Inquisitor?

Remember how Isabela totally abandons you and her motivations are super selfish? Remember how Vivienne had the worst fucking politics and yet had some great defenses for her beliefs on a logical level? Remember how Alistair becoming more self-centered actually yields rewards? Remember how Morrigan was genuinely kind of a dick who thought every act of kindness was foolish? Remember how Cullen was a total bigot throughout 2 and enabled so much abuse? Remember SOLAS, WHO THIS GAME WAS SUPPOSED TO CENTER AROUND?

I know sometimes that shit could be too much. Oghren is the best example (yes, I know he gets better in Awakenings). And yes, Sera and Vivienne could veer into it sometimes. But this is the opposite problem. Arguably, Harding is the only one whose shades of grey go beyond lip service.

Honestly, the script with its lax therapy dialogue and bland, nigh-indistinguishable dialogue contrasted with concepts just... It makes me feel like there was some fantastic writing done by veteran authors, then Bioware/EA decided those authors were too expensive, then scrapped their actual script and had "fresh and new" (cheaper) writers hang a rushed script on the skeleton writers like Mary Kirby left behind. So much of it seems so rushed and first-draft. It would also explained why the conversations are so limited and constrained.

Also, this is a kind of nitpick, but it really fucking annoyed me: why the fuck can't Rook fucking SWIM?! This person is supposed to be one of the following:

1) Pirate

2) underground freedom fighter in a port city

3) badass international assassin

4) Seasoned necromantic scholar

5) scout for an organization that investigates magic in a forest with a number of lakes and rivers

6) A monster fighter who is part of an international paramilitaty organization

...And this bitch can't SWIM?! The only background where that could possibly be kind of believable is the Mourn Watch faction. And even then that's stretching it.

I just feel like the backgrounds miss so many opportunities, especially given how in every single one you did something controversial but oh-so-heroic. Like, what is even the point of having these connections via faction with the companions otherwise? There is little depth to the dialogue options with a companion from the same faction. "Oh, we have friends in common", "I've heard of you." "What you did back in [backstory] ruffled feathers but I understand."

Imagine if you had the option of doing something truly screwed up, that might make your faction companion truly dislike you and part of your arc with them is getting them to trust you?

This is what I am talking about when it comes to missed opportunities.

There were so many disappointments with the characters and if I went with every single one.... Well, this is long enough.

And do I even need to go into the lack of carried over decisions from previous games? Yes, sometimes the impact of prior choices could be a little shallow, but it still felt like part of the story. And even the choices you do get here seem deep as a puddle. Unless you romanced Solas, your romance doesn't matter. Disbanding or continuing the Inquisition seems to have little impact, especially given how little the freaking Chantry matters. And by little, I mean "not at all", just like the Circles.

Remember the Circles? And the Chantry? You know, two MAJOR DISTINGUISHING AND IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THIS WORLD?

Being in the North, we had the opportunity to see how the Tevinter Chantry and Circles worked in contrast.

But, nah.

There were some bright spots. I liked the twist with Bellara's brother. I liked some of the interplay with Lucanis and Spite. I didn't even mind some of the "oh, this happened" banter here and there. ("Okay I think we can take on the first wave" "First wave? You think there will be a second" "when has there NOT been a second wave?" That was cute. It got me.) The Mythal stuff (I am trying to be vague here) was also super interesting.

I just wish they hadn't potentially retconned one of your choices in Inquisition to enable it. It wasn't even necessary. I would have loved to see more of the Inquisitor and had the option of including them there. And Morrigan not contributing to That Scene is also a huge lost opportunity.

The lack of actual interactions with Solas also frustrates me. You talk to him like every ten hours or so. And the dialogue suggests that you are developing this deep bond or understanding with each other, but that's only commentary. We don't see it happening.

Also, the fact that we can't talk to him more in depth about his memories, as well as talk to him directly afterward makes no sense. Then there's the romance. I actually really do like the ending. But before that? You make romancing Solas one of the only choices and his commentary on his romance with Lavellan is just "She was a good woman. I was selfish to get so close to her"? Why are we hearing more about what happened between them from the Inquisitor, who is more or less put on a bus, than Solas, our literal guide who lives inside our egad whom we're supposed to be developing this intense relationship with???

Also, holy shit, not enough Varric.

I really, really wanted this to be a situation like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves or Jennifer's Body where the marketing was bungled and didn't represent the product. Instead, this is more like a Netflix ATLA situation.

While it's certainly not as bad as some of the promo and DEFINITELY not the failure CHUD dudebros would have you believe, it's just frustrating in terms of how much missed opportunity is there. This game could, and should have been perfect. It has EVERYTHING it needed.

Writing wise, it feels like someone got to inherit a Stradivarius violin, then only ever played about five different songs on it. Despite being first chair in a high level orchestra.

But I just want to skip the dialogue now and just go fight. Which is... Not what I want for Dragon Age.

Another issue I had beyond the writing has to do with character design. Basically: I don't like most of the color combinations, especially in the outfits. The outfits range from pretty unremarkable to way too loud and busy and there is little in-between. I understand wanting bright hues to make it easier to spot your companions during combat, but a) if you're not going to do it with every companion, that's kind of a moot point and b) you could just give your companions decent outfits and give them a slight glow during combat.

Some of the color stuff is great. I love the innovations with skin tones for the most part, but I have some issues. 1) there's a limit on how dark the skin for Rook can get I don't like. And 2) ...I hate to join the crowd but with the Qunari designs... Ugh. I don't like the heavy blue undertones of the skin. It creates a gun-metal blue grey that makes Taash look like an alien Captain Kirk would bone every time they're in direct sunlight.

Also I wish there were more Afro options? I really, really wanted to make my Rook into Cleopatra Jones. But the way the Afro covered up so much of the forehead and how unmovable it was (especially in comparison to all the other options) was so disorienting.

I do absolutely love the character creator overall, despite some complaints. I love all of the options. I love how there are concrete options for Rook's gender identity, including in the dialogue.

Given how much I complained about the writing, I worry that people think I hate this game. No. For much of it, I was glued to my desk. There was so much that was great on the mechanics, environments, level and quest design, combat (God, I love the combat), and dynamics of the story progression that were so good.

This is such a fun game to play. I just wish it was a more interesting story to experience. But it is an absurd level of fun and I can't wait to replay.

I don't like overall rankings for stuff like this. The critic culture online these days is too rankings focused. But I do recommend buying it and enjoying it and exploring as much of the world as possible. I think it has potential to be truly great with some patches and DLC. These days, so many games (including Dragon Age games) have had so much story improved with DLC and I hope they end up creating some after all.