#i think if i had to pick ONE favorite of all my blorbos

[lilythelitten]

Investigation Institute Headcanons

Because these guys are my blorbos and take up a lot of space in my head.

The order of them joining the Institute goes: Night, Umber, Onyx and Azure (joined at the same time), Flint, Raven, Cloud, Seashell. Seashell is notable because while everyone else was a member before canon kicked off, Seashell only joined after Volume 1.

Irratino, Night, and Umber were roommates in college, as were Onyx and Azure. Cloud was there too but was a bit shy and didn’t really talk to anyone, Raven and Flint didn’t go to Deduction College, and Seashell went to a different school in the same area.

None of them really got along with Logico back in Volume 1. This, admittedly, is mostly Logico’s fault, on account of being kind of a jerk back then. He made his disdain for their practices very clear; they, in turn, wondered what the hell Irratino saw in him. Even after Volume 1, Logico isn’t much more than polite acquaintances with the Institute.

I envision everyone in the Institute at around the same age, so early thirties. (If you’re wondering about Cloud and Seashell—Cloud suffers a fair amount of health issues and their hair turned white from stress, Seashell just had the extreme misfortune to go gray early :P)

Whenever one of them gets arrested (usually for murder), Irratino pays their bail money. He has to do this a lot, and is very tired and would like his employees to please behave themselves for five minutes. (Yes I know this isn’t how bail works but shhh)

In spite of how cuckoo all of them can be, the Institute care a lot for and look out for each other; they are each other’s closest friends. Mess with one of them, you mess with all of them. (And considering all of them have killed at least one person, this is a very bad position to be in :P)

Now for some character-specific HCs! Night, as the second person to join the Institute, is basically Irratino’s number two. In practice, this means taking care of most of the Institute’s accounting (Irratino has no hope of understanding math and everyone else is only slightly better), handling day-to-day operations when Irratino’s out for whatever reason, and making sure Irratino can keep to set schedules and doesn’t misplace or forget things (he’s not stupid, but man’s fairly scatterbrained and would probably lose his own head if it wasn’t attached to his shoulders). Since he and Irratino started dating, Logico has largely taken up that last role; Night is less than thrilled about this.

Cloud has a pet snake. Flint has a severe phobia of snakes. This caused some chaos when Cloud went in for their interview, brought their snake with them, and it proceeded to get loose.

Back in college, Umber dyed her hair, changing colors fairly frequently (blue, green, purple, pink, orange, red, that kind of thing). She hasn’t dyed her hair in years, but still has some leftover hair dye.

Onyx and Azure bonded over their shared love of outdoorsy things back in college, and are best friends to this day. This despite their totally opposite personalities.

As an alchemist, Raven often experiments with volatile substances. This has led to more than one explosion and is the primary cause of holes in the chateau that Irratino then has to pay to fix.

Speaking of, it’s been said Raven has two personalities. The first is her outside-the-lab persona, which is fairly normal, levelheaded, and friendly. The second is her inside-the-lab persona, which trades that out for a cackling mad science throw-everything-into-a-blender-and-see-what-sticks shtick. If you are unfamiliar with her, this can be mildly disorienting at first.

The Institute members, being a bunch of nerds, have no muscle mass to speak of. Despite this, and despite being fairly small, Umber and Flint are surprisingly strong. Whenever something heavy needs to be carried, the gang usually goes to them.

Seashell was born and grew up in New Aegis, and knows the area fairly well.

Flint is multilingual, having learned several languages growing up, and can read and speak them all fluently. He’s also fond of using big words, which comes as a surprise to some people given his fairly laid-back way of talking.

The School of Mystery mentions that, in college, Seashell visited Irratino’s house every week to argue with him. In Lily parlance, where Seashell’s a bit unhinged even compared to the other suspects, this translates to Seashell breaking into Irratino’s house every week to debate with him. Seashell found Irratino fascinating. Irratino did not return the sentiment.

On that note (and I had this realization a few days ago and was like “…wait that explains a lot”), Seashell, ah…might actually have something of a crush on Irratino? He finds him an endlessly fascinating individual, and when New Aegis didn’t let him perform dental work anymore (this is what happens when you kill someone :P), he went to the Investigation Institute to get a job there, on account of Irratino already keeping several murderers on staff (Irratino was forced to concede that point, as much as he did not want to). As for the fact that Irratino already has a boyfriend? General consensus is that, much like how Seashell does not realize Irratino is less than fond of him, he does not realize Irratino is in a relationship (because Seashell is kind of a ditz :P)

[chibinasuu]

How they'd spend Valentine's Day with you

Pairings: Penguin, Marco, Franky, Izou x Reader Tags: sfw, fluff, established relationship, GN but written with F!Reader in mind, no use of y/n

a/n: you might be thinking, what a random set of characters! well, a while ago i did a poll on which of my blorbos i should write a valentine’s fic for, and Killer won, but i still felt like doing something for the other characters who didn’t win, so here are some valentine’s day headcanons with them! i hope you enjoy this and please be on the lookout for the Killer fic on 14 feb too 😘

Penguin

Penguin would be the type to ask “Will you be my Valentine’s?” every single time on Valentine’s Day, even after years of dating.

When you say yes, like you always do, he’d grin so wide and give you a big smooch right on your lips.

Penguin loves to spoil you with gifts.

He’d take you out on a special date to the market, indulging you as you browse the many stalls there one by one.

Without you knowing, he’d pay attention and take note of all the things you touched and admired, the stuff you’d eye for a tad bit too long, the items that made your eyes sparkle.

He’d buy every single one of them.

At the end of the day, his bag would be stuffed with all the little trinkets, to the point that it would be hard for him to hide it from you.

Before you return to the Polar Tang, he’d hand over the bag to you with a shy smile, which would turn into a wide grin when he witnessed your surprised expression and gasp of delight.

His face would flush as you hug him tight and pepper kisses all over his face.

He’d never get tired of receiving affection from you. That, for him, is the most precious gift of all.

Marco

Marco was not a fan of Valentine’s Day. He had always thought it trivial... at least, until he met you.

On your first Valentine’s Day as a couple, he’d be so nervous that he’d ask Ace for advice.

The Fire Fist would recommend candlelight dinners, romantic poetries, breakfast in bed – but none of them seemed right.

For Marco, loving you is as simple as breathing, as natural as flying. He had never felt the need to do grand gestures to show his love, and you never expected him to either. You have never felt more loved than the time you spent with Marco.

It would come as a surprise when a knock sounds on your door, and you open it to reveal a bashful Marco holding a humble bunch of hand-picked flowers.

His face would be bright red as he asks for your hand, inviting you out to the deck. You’d follow in confusion, even more so when he tells you to hop onto his back.

He’d spread his wings of blue flames and take you to the skies, laughing when you yelp in shock and tighten your grip around his neck, eyes firmly shut

He’d urge you to open your eyes, and you’d gasp in wonder at the sight of the bright stars all around you.

You’d relax and enjoy the wind on your face, occasionally giving him a peck on the cheek from your perch on his back.

Fear would not find you for the rest of the flight, despite the terrifying height.

You were with Marco, after all. He would never let you fall.

Franky

Franky is definitely a romantic and you bet he’d go all out for Valentine’s.

You’d be randomly visited by robot doves singing love songs. You’d find little love notes folded into hearts tucked in your drawers, slid underneath your door, and not-so-subtly slipped into your pockets.

The day would culminate in a romantic dinner on the upper deck of the Sunny.

He’d stand there with a suit (no pants, of course), the red bow tie matching his speedos and the massive bouquet of roses he’s holding out to you.

He’d grin, “Happy Valentine’s, Sugar.”

Before him would be a table for two, complete with a white tablecloth, candles, and a scatter of rose petals.

He’d pull out your chair, not forgetting to compliment your looks and outfit, of course.

He would've begged Sanji to make all of your favorite meals, bribing him with a new state-of-the-art lock for the fridge.

You two would share a toast with cola-filled wine glasses and spend the night just chatting and laughing together, and maybe shamelessly flirting too.

After dinner, he’d treat you to a spectacular fireworks show, and you’d wonder how he managed to make the pink sparks explode into heart patterns all over the night sky.

A sweet kiss would be the cherry on top following dessert, the sugary taste lingering as he’d drag you to some secret corner on the Sunny that only he knew about.  

Izou

Izou never so much as holds your hand in front of other people.

“It’s not very becoming of Wano men to show public displays of affection,” would be his usual excuse.

You never really minded. You’re plenty satisfied with the affection he showers you with whenever the two of you are alone.

But on Valentine’s Day, as the Whitebeard Pirates party the night away at a crowded bar, Izou would suddenly grasp your hips and pull you into his lap, his hand possessively resting against your thigh.

You’d quirk an eyebrow at him, “I thought it wasn’t becoming of Wano men to show public displays of affection.”

“Well, I’m a pirate now. I can do whatever I want.”

You’d laugh, knowing him well enough to figure out that he just wanted the other men at the bar to back off, in case they get ideas of wooing you during this Day of Love.

After a while, you’d drag him away from the bar, eagerly leading him to the shore where you can take a leisurely stroll beneath the moon.

Moonlit walks are among Izou's favorite things to do, and he had started taking you with him when you two became a couple.

You love how the moon illuminates his face and reflects off his hair. You love how serene and romantic these quiet walks with Izou are

But most of all, you love how it would be just the two of you out there on the shore, and you know that Izou’s hands and lips are always the most free when no one is watching.

↳ masterlist

[huggywuggysuppy]

hi i just read your e!gem post (same anon) and yeah. e!gem is such a fantastic character 💜💚 i don't have much to say that you practically touched all the points as to why gem's pov and her character in empires felt so special to me 🏔

but now i'm interested in your traffic!gem thoughts, because she's also one of my favorite blorbos to think about; on one hand she's really difficult to crack because a lot of things don't really seem to face her (at least after secret life) and she like, barely creates attachment to material things. on the other hand, her relationship with pearl does help to know gem as a character better because of how uniquely they treat each other (both in sl and wl).

i definitely think she tries to put a facade of "i don't heavily care about death or anything because this is all a game" while also constantly bringing back secret life, almost like that season and what happened (end portal, eye taken 'against her will', a camel and the weight of leadership she never desired) haunts her to some degree that she won't ever admit outloud. some things she brings back are certainly remembered with fondness (her saving that camel during ep6 and then making sure it stayed safe in the barn... you could tell she missed pearl) and others are not (she does not like sacrifices after sl).

the idea that a celestial being, who had been boundless all her life and held control over every aspect of her existence, now keeps coming back to the games because she wants to recuperate what, for the first time in all her life, she lost during sl (her agency? control? freedom?) is an interpretation i'm a fan of rn, but ofc there's so many other things you can delve into (i could rant way more about how she actually is her own biggest enemy and that ties into her trying to not care too much about people and stuff after sl but it’s kinda late lol).

as for fic recs, i definitely recommend this series from dustaundonut (https://archiveofourown.org/series/2796937) basically a canon divergence that explores a reality where corrupted!gem isn't cured, roseblings are really nuanced and complex, shinyduo is shinyduo, and the world is still moving forward. updates for the main fic are slow, but it’s still soooo worth it for the great narrative. one of my faves ever

(also i do think someone should put all gem variants in one room and see which one comes out of the room as a better person and which leaves wanting to commit more crimes)

Hey !! Thank you for all of this !! I’m so proud of my Empires 1 Gem analysis, glad you enjoyed and extra happy you want to hear more :)

I'll do my best.

Traffic Gem’s theme is control. She is constantly fighting to maintain it, to get it back, to pretend she has it, while the whole world makes it their mission to take it from her. She’s a trophy, threat, leader, lover, and at the end of the day: she is and has lost. The tragedy of Gem is her inability to fulfill her full potential, how her situation leaves her no option but to resign, giving a glimpse into what could have been if she was allowed. And the triumph of Gem is when she rejects that, spins things around so her only option is committing, delighting not in the spoils but in the hunt.

Gem is wonderfully difficult to pick apart, with Traffic!Gem as the worst offender -- most of my #analysis were posted during WL trying to figure her out. But the fun is in discovering another aspect/layer that completely changes an interpretation. All to say: this isn't my first crack at Traffic Gem, and it certainly won't be the last. Written mostly in January, I was gonna wait till I had a companion fic to post with this (EDIT: now posted!) but Simple Life April Fools spelled soooo much out, I can't resist posting now. Enough disclaimers, let’s get into the great Gem analysis!

Traffic Gem, willingly or not, is the villain of everyone's story. Even her own.

Gem (and most other mcyts) are very utilitarian with adapting to what reputation is thrust on them: as it's the smartest decision if she wants efficient power/control over the situation. There's less legwork for her in establishing motive, skillset, tone, etc. and makes her very accessible to other players: they already know her story and can work around/within it. Her HC intro season having a cottagecore theme and really her cute girl aesthetic in general is fitting into a marketable stereotype that she can then go on to subvert. And this is the fun of CC's in general, especially for the audience! The difference comes in how freely they're able to act.

In every season Gem is sought after by others: defending them, being a target, challenging them to act. If she's standing near someone, she can't be ignored, and people are always seeking her out. Many other traffic villains (Scar, Martyn) don't try taking leader at the same time, and the few that have (Ren, Lizzie) dedicate their time entirely to managing it. Gem has the worst combination because she can't turn it off: she's too aware of playing the physical and social game (and playing it well) to not lead. Because of her skill she must be used and fought against. Funnily enough Scott has this same problem, which is why he usually attaches to someone with a similarly strong reputation (social and/or skill) to mask his movements. Grian also falls victim, but his position as gamemaster and first victor often takes the heat off: people trust him to prioritize lore and not overextend. Obviously Gem and Scott would also like to RP, have you seen them, but to individual players it's more tactical to be wary.

So Gem is caught in a terrible cycle. If she embraces her villain leadership status, she has power over the server, but will never catch a break or get to tell any other type of story. And if she tries to reject her reputation, an uphill battle on its own, she'll be targeted anyway for an entire season, without the allies to block the bullets. She still finds ways to thrive in subversion: Gem explicitly follows the rules of the Life Series to the letter: passive till it kills her, because everyone's expecting her to murder from the start. Gem loves playing the villain, her SL aesthetic lives rent free forever, but also longs for peaceful episode segments and initiating her own shenanigans -- which can only come when others are independent. Oddly, I think Real Life demonstrates her ideal vibe: everyone was a lot more laid back so while she was still feared and followed, it wasn't stopping her from having fun. Meanwhile, Simple Life is her nightmare. All this to say: Gem has a lot of complex emotions around embracing slash being forced into villainy and leadership.

Gem uses this reputation for her benefit. She doesn't have much choice.

Let's talk about how other players see her, and what she does about it. Gem was typecast as everyone’s antagonist before she even entered the games. Subbing in for Cleo with her only direction as “Kill Etho if you can” only cemented her reputation. In her actual seasons, she shows sportsmanship with her kills, but rarely seems (or really has reason to be) apologetic for them. Gem takes initiative to gear up and becomes a problem if left alone too long, all the while grinning behind honeyed words and pretty walls. And even regardless of any actions, she’s known for pvp and building prowess, cutting wit, and seemingly effortless control over most situations. If Gem's this deadly when she's forced to hold herself back, what is she like at full power? She can never be under the radar because Gem’s entire existence is a challenge.

The contrast between SL and WL is insane. SL feels like a joyride: she’s got her historically closest allies and they’re completely loyal, the server is entirely at her mercy either in competitions and dragon fights or actively hunted as prey, she even gets to rp toxic yuri with no consequences! And then in the final hour her hubris blinds her to both Scar and Pearl's feelings, and she dies in disgrace. WL Gem is significantly more skittish: narrowing her field of view to only a few goals and broadcasting how uncomfortable she is with everyone paying attention to her all the time. Making a point not to tryhard for kills, merely surviving out of obligation, Gem acts like she's given up everything. She's trapped by the narrative, so she stops fighting against the current. Obviously, at least.

And the other players are clearly off balance from this change. They're unsure whether to fear Gem's machinations as if she was at the height of her boogeyman army, or to hang out sympathetically at her base. Most opt to take the safe route and target her anyway: only to face tauntingly little resistance as she uses their attempts as evidence to her innocence. Is her head still a trophy if she stands still under your minecart? Why are you making her a more dangerous color? Gem admits she played "aggressively passive:" her offense was a manipulatively weak defense. It aims to disorient others and gain sympathy for herself. There's a clear rebranding effort at play, all to change popular opinion towards Gem into something favorable.

Lifelong Allies (by accepting they all want you dead.)

After SL, Gem changes targets from directly winning to interpersonal goals. She’s already demonstrated her strength, though learned the hard way that nobody will ever leave her alone long enough to safely take her win. And since she's joined late, there's no foundation of trust or love to fall back on -- if anything, she's almost ostracized -- so now she chooses to build one. Gem needs strong allies, but even stronger ties to her enemies. If Grian and/or Pearl hadn’t intervened, had they gone for the other enemy instead, she almost certainly would’ve been crowned. Don’t be fooled by her facade: Gem never gave up on winning. Everything she does in WL is setup for her next Red rampage.

If there’s anything she learned from Scott, it’s having relationships everywhere. She wants to have a stronger tie to them so that when it comes down to a 2v1, the worse side isn’t Gem. They don’t have to love her or even want her to win, they just have to want the other person to lose more. To do this, Gem butters up every player -- she only truly denounces the G's, everyone else receives kindness and civility. She also constantly calls out the enormous target on her back, both for sympathy, but also making every attempt on her life impersonal. If everyone’s targeting her, she has no reason to be enemies with you even if you do kill her. She's friendly, if blunt, and competent enough to deserve the win, if only everyone would leave her alone! Boldly, to an almost insane degree, Gem is trying to circumvent her reputation as "Biggest Threat" into "Enemy Of Your Enemy."

Why team with Joel? As she's building bridges with all players, she also covers her tracks with the other greatest threats. Among Grian, Scar, Martyn, and arguably Etho, (all of which she also dedicates extra time to befriending,) Joel is the best fit for her mission. Loyal to the grave, there's no risk of a surprise betrayal. He doesn’t put much effort into peace talks or reputation, so he’s a perfect contrast against the smiling, hands up, ‘peaceful’ Gem. Although aggressively lore-phobic: often off-setting the tone of her story moments (most glaringly trying to kill Pearl in the finale while they’re talking,) even that demonstrates her being a storyteller instead of a sweat. He’s also competent and the perfect Champion: their team does win as a group effort. She directs him towards targets, quietly takes heat off him, and they keep each other alive to the finale. Gem more or less succeeds with Joel, and establishes her position as unfairly targeted, mostly harmless, maybe there's someone better to go after...

But Gem can't befriend everyone. …Unless (and they never got off that camel.)

Singling out the G’s fits perfectly into her “enemy of your enemy” plan, since EVERYONE can get behind stopping GGG. The G’s are the only other team that faced constant sweat allegations, despite their clear intent to infight and do lore -- something Gem clocks as she's experiencing the same thing. Also, the G's have an arsenal of messy dynamics with everyone from past series and many would target them before Gem. Beyond that, it's implausible to befriend everyone, nevermind the stigma when you're called out on being a floater (BDubs, Impulse.) But more than any convenience or necessity: Gem loves a nemesis. To say nothing of entertaining content: if her attention seems focused on someone else, she's not aiming for you, and they're both getting weaker in the process. Though, that only actually hurts Gem if her and her enemy are properly fighting.

Pearl sees through exactly what Gem is doing. If anyone's an expert on being trapped by the popular narrative, it's Pearl. As such, Pearl doesn't want to win, and only really cares about uplifting her loved ones -- and having chaotic fun while she's at it. She's the only player (except maybe Grian) who doesn't want to kill Gem, for reputation or for a safe victory. Sure, she's pressured into it by Gem's promise of a 1v1 on red, but that’s all in service of murder camel reuniting. Her attempts are half-hearted, and Gem only fights back when a third party gets involved (poor Impulse), maintaining the enemies illusion while functionally just having fun/RP. (Not that I think Pearl ever wants to be bloodthirsty 5 AM again anyway, although Gem sure does.) Pearl also takes a “yes, and” attitude to everything Gem does ever, and willingly slides into the role she needs Pearl to be: pulling more attention than Gem, and (depending on what the players/you're looking for) villainous and/or heroic while she’s at it. As long as Impulse is off the radar (and he is compared to the dramatic GGG), Pearl is fine with whatever. And Gem serves her in return: an undeniable threat to target despite Pearl’s allies’ objections. There's enormous flexibility in the storyline too: since neither of them really care about the 2v1, or trying to win this time for that matter, they can spend as much time as they want taking it in any direction. In a quiet, twisted way, being Gem’s nemesis is the best way Pearl can help her.

(Eternal dynamic of Pearl, willing to jump headfirst into whatever Gem's up to, not caring about what'll happen to her own reputation, or even fate, so long as it helps Gem and makes her happy. That unconditional safety allowing Gem to reach higher, unleash her full potential, and having a safe place to land if she falls. And she uses that power to take care of Pearl in return ohghghhh. For the shippy interpretation, I direct you to my ao3 :)

Of course there are consequences to this playstyle. The G’s are very scary on their own to be enemies of, although Gem has unusually strong relationships with all four, so they probably won’t hold a long lasting grudge. Maybe. Moreover, Gem is publicly called out for her unreasonable beef with Pearl, the consequences of which may create an actual enemy in the future if Pearl ever lets herself properly hold her exes accountable. Most of all, it makes Gem look cruel or — worse — sloppy, both of which discourage others from working with her / being on her side. But even with all these downsides, Gem vs. the G’s succeeded in balancing her reputation. And it’s undeniably a highlight of WL.

Yet a villain needs her thematic demise :/ or “what is a victory but other people?”

The best Gem moments and stories are when she gets to have fun doing what she wants. The Boogey Army, lore with Pearl, even the moments of peace at her base where she talks to the camera about her process. But the most disappointing is when she’s forced physically and narratively into a box. Gem is constantly pushed into passivity because it’d be ‘unfair’ — also punished by the rules, unable to instigate until the gimmick (inconsistently) or other players send her to yellow/red. But in WL, Gem had organized things so that when she finally went Red, the most compelling and coherent option was murdering those who wronged her, finding long awaited closure with Pearl, and a satisfying final death that laid groundwork for next season. Unfortunately, by nature of the game/rules, they didn’t have the time or space to execute that throughout the season let alone the finale, resulting in her hard work falling flat.

And isn’t that frustrating? Her playstyle is dictated by the rules and, despite appearances, puts control of her actions/storyline in other players hands. SL worked because Gem could satisfyingly get herself on Yellow and interact with/terrorize other players within the rules. But WL left no time or room for either. She’s a villainous character — decided for her and embraced for maximum effect — and so it’s agonizing to take all the heat with none of the payoff. Gem always finds ways to work with it: building relationships, supporting Joel and Scar and others in getting kills, salvages a rushed makeup with Pearl, but it’s not her lore, her joy, her victory. It's dying to a mob, alone at her base, with only a sardonic outro as closure. And yet she keeps on trying anyway.

The stakes are too high for Gem. She wants to win so badly, in spite of the target on her back preventing her honest victory. So she weaves her own story into the villain narrative: an underdog, or at least a lesser enemy, that treats you kindly and deserves the win. Gem creates a rival in Pearl to showcase her innocence and a weakness so others let their guard down. All of this to promise that, when she goes Red, she can finally get some murder -- some control back. Yet Gem falls, unsatisfied and unfulfilled, before she can take her moment to have fun and thrive. Traffic Gem is constantly fighting for control, and we yearn and fear for when she finally realizes her hunt.

E1 Anon thank you for the ask !! I've been preparing a major Traffic Gem analysis for a while, and your prompt was the perfect jumping off point. There's still so much to talk about, but I think I've covered the major points here, at least until the next ask. So excited to see what develops next in Life Series that’ll add even more depth :) Thank you for reading!

Bonus Thoughts: Real Stakes cc!Gem, Meta Worldhopper Gem, and Taking Her At Face Value c!Gem

No Gem character is complete without intense interconnectivity between her worlds. Everything above is the Traffic Gem intent/action analysis, as seen and interpreted by other players. But here are some other more Gem centric ideas that I'd be remiss if I didn't discuss.

Traffic Gem is intense because the stakes are real.

Life Series is a microscope for mcyts. It's a Situation with just enough guidelines to build a cohesive story, a finite time limit incentivizing risks, a sandbox of character dynamics and with players they already have history with to utilize and alter. Part of the lightning-in-a-bottle value is seeing the mcyts at 100%: using their full arsenal of improv, relationships, production, and lore, on the most elite stage they have right now. One's content, brand, fandom, their very legacy, is indisputably shaped by Life Series. It’s an insane level of pressure even by mcyt standards. And Gem enters that as a newbie four seasons in, with all eyes on her.

If Wizard Gem is a collection of her themes into one masterpiece, Traffic Gem is the refined core of GeminiTay: who she is without any structure to fall back on, how she operates in the middle of chaos, and what she fights for when she can't have everything. It’s an ornate quilt versus a knight’s sword: you admire the comfort and handicraft of the quilt, but the sword challenges anyone to wield it — with varying levels of mastery. That's why Traffic!Gem is such a beautiful challenge compared to all her other characters: she is overpowering and raw, and her very presence challenges you to investigate deeper.

CC's often say their characters are exaggerations of themselves, but Gem's Traffic character is directly interwoven with her general CC struggle. Sorted into a box of "scary, competent, cottagecore," it's interesting that much of her battle is breaking out of her reputation. Gem loves playing around with perception, it's "how she gets away with things," and Life Series demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of her openly deceptive brand/playstyle. (I also consider False and Keralis this subtype, and can rant about this endlessly.) While she's soooo careful to not overextend, Gem is constantly beating back the "too good at PVP/minigames/etc." accusations, often to the point of handicapping herself. The more actions she takes, the closer she gets to winning, the louder the outcry to stop her -- even in the name of "fairness." And she subverts expectations by embracing that role for her own ends. I think that's beautiful.

Worldhopping! Yippie!

I could go on about the delicious c!Gem lore around an eldritch creature originally delighting in the death game, until struck with the horribly real betrayal woven into every single player, having a nihilistic and desperate attitude in every game afterwards. But this post by rainecreatesstuff already covered that beautifully. I think this is 100% intentional on Gem’s part: she keeps a lot of her machinations behind the curtain but loooves character building and consistency. Her "its fine" mantra fits perfectly in anyway. Similarly, much to appreciate from the Watchers specifically choosing her to join the games and cull the herd. Gem carrying on the eye-lost-to-portal plot is a fun nod to that interpretation. Imagine if she gets to boogeyman again in the future. Personally, I love a Worldhopper Gem who actively seeks to change events -- as opposed to simply enjoying the chaos and/or getting her feelings sent through a woodchipper by the Watchers -- but both interpretations are great.

An important aspect of Worldhopper Gem for me is how she actually cares way too much about every world. You’d think remembering tons of them and knowing it’s all roleplay would make her detached and here to have fun, and oh how she tries, but she can’t stop loving everyone too much and is always punished for it. Her fondness for Impulse, Scott, and Pearl, is thrown in her face in SL. Despite calling in dragons and fighting tooth and nail, Empires 1 gets raptured. Everything always ends. and Gem knows it from the start, and still she cries for every fallen world. Something to be said for loving her friends in every universe too!

Grumpy, impatient, and hurt Gem - what does she actually want to happen?

While I subscribe to a very tactical and intentional Gem — targeted actions influenced by her emotional priorities — the spiteful pure emotions Gem is worth discussing, especially regarding Pearl. Things like laughing as the barn burns, SACRIFICES, "did you even look me in the eye during our murder camel... happenings?" Gem is CONSTANTLY using whatever's being done to her and trying to manipulate it into something she can accept. She desperately wants to go on a murder spree with Pearl again, camel included, but doubled down on playing hard to get so now they're circling each other like (pathetic, wet) cats. It annoys her to no end that she keeps getting interrupted by murder attempts and base visitors, so she hides her irritation and pretends she's already given up on a safe, intact, quiet base, all the while grumpily snarking and retreating to the woods. Part of the fun on SL was being a yellow name and too scary to approach, getting to menace others just by standing next to them, so why is it taking so long to get there this time? Surely somebody should be able to kill her on their own. Gem is perpetually unsatisfied, and not even hiding it all that well, yet players seemingly refuse to see past her evil cottagecore facade. Much to be gained and appreciated in a grumpy, pretending to be detached Gem, who cares a lot, actually, and would appreciate if somebody would take the hint and let her murder already!

Thank you again for reading!! Stay tuned for the companion fic going up on my ao3 sooner or later :)

EDIT: now posted!! take a look!!

[finickyfelix]

Since today is my birthday, I am going to force my followers to look at my fanart of my five favorite Princesses from Slay the Princess.

First I sketched them in pencil.

Then I decided that it wasn't good enough and I traced over them digitally so that I could color them (with my headcanons for what colors they would be if they existed in color.) Also I did change the poses of Happily Ever After and the Adversary a bit. It's a bit rough and not perfect because I'm not very used to digital art, but I tried my best.

Below the cut I'll explain why I picked these five specifically. (Slay the Princess spoilers below the cut.)

Obviously I have a lot of other favorite Princesses (Nightmare, the Den post-Pristine Cut, the Stranger, ect. ect.) but I needed to narrow it down to five so they'll all fit on the page, and I decided on these five for the following reasons:

The Wounded Wild: The route that made me the most emotional. The second time I got her was the only route that made me cry (specifically the second time, because that time I got her from directly attacking and fighting Witch, which I discovered is my favorite way to get to the Wild.) You have to hurt each other so much to get here, then you have the opportunity to just forgive everything and be one with her, but you choose not to and she becomes completely defenseless, her body falling apart. But then I always choose to save her and cut her free. I have never killed her, and I don't think I ever will.

The Spectre: My Princess blorbo <3. I like how much character development she can get depending on what you do with her. My favorite thing to do with her will always be helping her, but the way her entire personality changes if you refuse is extremely tasty to me. I enjoy her ripping my heart out and screaming about how this isn't who she wanted to be.

The Cage: She has my favorite design (the aesthetic of a chained-up headless body carrying her own head in a birdcage goes so hard.) Also her route is just extremely cool. Also if I had to pick a Princess who I relate to the most, I would pick her (psychoanalyze me to your heart's content.)

Happily Ever After: The most well-written route (in my opinion.) Just an objectively very good and meaningful route.

The Adversary: She was my very first Princess so I will always be biased. Also she's hot. Also I enjoy the extreme violence as a love language themes going on. I will ship Adversary/Voice of the Stubborn forever <3

[jerzwriter]

The day 14 prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting's 30-Day Writing Challenge is to write about regret, and my mind automatically went to Wake the Dead.

Book/Fandom: Wake the Dead (Choices) Pairing: Eli Sipes x Zoe Rivera (F!MC) Rating: Teen TW: Death, loss, grief Words: ~1,900 Summary: A cold winter's night ushers in a storm of memories and leaves Eli overcome with sadness and regret. Can Zoe help him to see the light?

A/N: Before I begin, I want to apologize to @coffeeheartaddict2, who sent me a request to write a story for Ethan and Tobias (OH) for this prompt. Tash - it's coming - but I had the perfect idea that fit into my Hopkins era story, which I want to write after this challenge, so I'm going to do it then. I have not read WTD in over a year now, and it's been a while, so I hope I did my little blorbos justice. Participating in @choicesapril2025 Prompt 13: Soft moments or a quiet, gentle renewal amid chaos.

30-Day Challenge Masterlist | Full Masterlist

It was that time of year when daylight was sparse and the night came early. It fell over Olympus like a thick, dark blanket, quiet and still, ushering in quiet and serenity that offered a rare reprieve from the horrors that typically surrounded them. It was cold, frigid even, but the cold was a less formidable enemy than the zombies who would dictate their lives again once the spring thaw arrived. Winter nights like these were almost magical, allowing the colonists to let their guard down a little - just a little - which was more than most ever dared to hope for.

It had become Eli’s favorite time of year, and tonight was no exception. But when he slid the balcony door open and stepped onto the creaky wooden boards, he wasn't at peace. He took a deep breath, as the sound of his footsteps echoed off the blankets of snow in the distance, his heart was heavy, but he was still thankful. He knew the importance of appreciating the little things, like the small break winter offered his body. He'd take it - because he knew there was nothing that would ever provide a reprieve for his mind.

He walked to the balustrade, his weathered hands coming to rest upon the splintered wood, and he stared into the distance - his body as still as a statue that had been carved by grief. His mind wandered, as it often did; a never-ending sentence in a prison from which there was no escape.

He had been quieter than usual all day – even Troy noticed. But he met each friend’s concern with the same response.

"I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well."

Most took him at face value, but there was one person he couldn't fool. And just when he thought that he had made it outside unnoticed, he heard her footsteps creeping up behind him, soft and delicate. He half-smiled. He should have known better than to think he could fool her.

Zoe didn’t say a word. She just stood behind him – close enough so he felt her presence, but far enough away to give him the space he needed. She knew if he truly wanted to be alone, he’d tell her. But if he needed her in any way, she was ready to offer him the only thing she had - herself - fully and completely.

The silence stretched, even as the wind picked up, snapping her long hair against his bare, nearly frozen arms. Eli remained as stoic as ever, and Zoe wondered if she should return inside, when he finally spoke – his voice clearly, but as jagged as broken glass.

“Today would have been his birthday - David’s.”

Zoe stepped closer, and his eyes screwed shut as her hand gently reacehd for his arm. For a man who had learned to endure so much alone, it was amazing how her touch alone could ground him in the best possible way.

“I know,” she whispered, the words catching in her throat. She kept it simple; words could never erase the depths of pain they had endured, but they still mattered, so she pressed on. “I’m here, Eli. You're not alone.”

He let out a breath that shuddered through his entire body and looked down at his shaking hands. Tears filled his eyes, but he’d be damned if he let them fall.

“I was supposed to protect him, Zoe,” he grimaced. “I promised! I promised him that I would.”

Zoe shifted closer, her arm encircling him. She knew the story by heart – he'd told her many times before – she knew he needed to tell it again.

“I was off hunting,” Eli continued, his voice thickening. “Normally, David came with me, but he needed to help my parents repair the roof that day, and we needed food. I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing...” He swallowed hard, jaw tense. “If anything, I thought I'd be the one in danger - heading out alone. My mother, she wasn't happy about it at all. But it wasn't me," he swallowed, his eyes shutting as he took a long pause. "It was them. I should have stayed behind. I should have stayed behind, Zoe... I should have stayed behind to protect them."

Her hands ran up and down his arms, in an attempt to keep him warm and soothe his tattered soul. "You had no way of knowing, Eli. You didn't know a horde would show up while you were gone. If you did, nothing could have kept you away."

He barely heard her - his mind reliving the horror that would never be erased.

“When I came back,” he continued, “David... he was still alive... just barely. His body was tattered and torn, and he knew what he had to do – rule number three. He had the gun in his hand, but he couldn’t do it. He just... he looked at me like he was still my little brother. Like he was waiting for me to make it right.”

A low, broken sound escaped him, and despite his greatest efforts, tears began to flow.

“So I did it. I did what I had to do. I put my arms around him and held him close one last time. I told him I loved him, that I would always be his big brother, then I...”

He pressed his palms against his forehead, as if he could physically push the memory away.

“I killed him. I killed him, Zoe... I killed him!”

Zoe’s throat tightened painfully. She pressed their joined hands to her heart, holding them there - she knew what came next.

“And then inside...” his voice broke completely. “My parents were already... gone. My dad attacked me, and my mom...” he choked. “She remembered me for just a second. Just long enough to make the hell we were in a thousand times worse...”

“I should’ve been there,” Eli gasped. “I could have saved them – or I should’ve died along with them if that’s what it took.”

Zoe pressed herself fully into his side, forcing him to feel her presence, her warmth, her heartbeat against his. She held his shivering body as tightly as if their lives depended on it.

“You didn't kill them, Eli. The zombies did. You... what you did was a mercy... you ended their suffering. It was the kindest thing you could do."

"I should have saved them," he cried.

"You were trying to save them,” she whispered. “You were out hunting alone in the woods, even though you knew how dangerous that was. You were finding food to keep everyone alive, and they knew that.”

Eli shook his head violently, the pain etched in his face. “A lot of good that did. It.. It wasn’t enough.”

Zoe pulled back just enough to look at him. Her shimmering eyes met his as their hearts broke.

“I understand,” she said, her voice barely a breath. "I truly do. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Anna,” her voice trembled. “I think about the moment she shoved me toward the door in the basement of your old cabin. About the way she smiled at me – trying to be strong - focused on my wellbeing - even though she was bleeding out - she knew her time was near. I think...”

She closed her eyes, the memory slicing open every wound she pretended had somehow healed. “I often wonder... if I had fought a little harder. I don't know - screamed louder. Crawled back to her instead of letting myself be dragged away...” Her voice shattered. “Maybe I could have done something... maybe... maybe she’d still be here today.”

A solitary tear slipped down her cheek, leaving a freezing trail as it fell. Eli raised his hand in an instant, the pad of his thumb rubbing it away from her skin.

“Zoe, no!” He said fiercely. “There was nothing you could have done. You would’ve died, too. If there were any choice, any chance to save her, we would have taken it – together – but there wasn’t. There just wasn't.”

“But how do you know that?” Zoe swallowed. “How do you know for sure?”

Eli cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

“Because I was there too. There was nothing we could do. I knew it - Anna knew it, too. That’s why she made you go.”

"She sacrificed herself so we could live," Zoe sobbed, clutching his shirt in her fists and taking a shuddering breath.

"I know," he said, rubbing Zoe's back. "I only knew your sister one night, but she was one of the bravest people I've ever met. She knew what she was doing, Zoe. Her death is not on your hands."

“So you don’t blame me for Anna?” she asked, voice so low he could hardly hear her.

“Not for a second,” he replied without hesitation.

“Then why?" She asked. "Why is it so easy for you to absolve me... but so impossible to you to forgive yourself?”

Eli’s face crumpled; for a moment, he looked so tortured, so lost, that Zoe found it hard to breathe.

“Because I love you,” he said raggedly. “But I don’t know how to love myself the same way.”

Zoe pressed her forehead to his, her heart pounding against his. “Then let me help you," she whispered. “Let me help you, because you need to love yourself. Eli, I wish you could see yourself with my eyes. I wish you could see the strong, stoic man with a tender heart beating under that gruff exterior. Baby, you're one of the greatest, most honorable people I've ever known. I'm so lucky to be yours, and you... you deserve so much love.”

The two of them stood there, clinging to each other tightly as the wintry winds whipped the frigid air into their bones. They couldn't move, and they couldn't let go of each other.

“Maybe we’re both just carrying too much,” Eli finally said. “This world... this world is harsh, and we've all endured so much. Sometimes the pain, the grief, the self-doubt...it doesn’t leave much room for anything else.”

Zoe nodded, her hands rubbing down his back. “You're right," she whispered. "It’s a cruel, unforgiving place that steals so much without remorse."

"But," Eli said, taking a step back to look at her, really look at her. "But we’re still here,” he said. “Somehow, we’re here and that matters."

"You're right," Zoe smiled through her tears. "And maybe... maybe all we can do is hold on to what’s left. Hold on to each other and the love we share for as long as we still can. We have to. We owe it to those who paid the price so we could be here.”

Eli silently nodded. “I think that’s what they’d want... David, Anna, our parents... all of them.”

Something took Eli over at that moment, and he leaned forward to kiss Zoe without even thinking. He kissed her with the desperation of a man who knew just how easily someone you loved could be ripped away, and Zoe kissed him back just as fiercely.

The world may be brutal, but by some strange miracle, it brought them together, and they wouldn't take that for granted. Together, they found a spark that ignited a desire to keep fighting, to move forward - not just to survive, but to truly live.

When the kiss finally ended, Eli wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. They stayed that way for a long time, wrapped in each other, staring out into a broken world that had given them every reason to quit — but hadn’t succeeded – after all, they had each other.

A/N 2: If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I have not written for them in so long, and I absolutely loved revisiting their story. ❤️

@choicesficwriterscreations

[aceofwhump]

aaaaace! how are you friend!!

would you maybe share some good shadow and bone gifsets (only for the crows really, they're my favorite blorbos lol)? been getting back into it recently and 👌👌👌

also, any fave six of crows fics? 💜💜💜

Hi friend!!! Hope you're well!! I'm doing really good actually! It's been a good few weeks with the exception of Saturday which was awful but I'm good now :D

OOhhh I miss Shadow and Bone and the crows. Especially Matthias and Nina because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AND IT KILLS ME WE DIDN'T GET TO SEE THE REST OF THEIR STORY ON SCREEN. I mean obviously I adore Kaz as well but Matthias came out of nowhere and I fell HARD and then him and Nina have such a good story and I MISS THEM SO MUCH!!

Ahem. Anyways lol. Yes gifs! So there's good stuff in my archive but I'd be happy to reblog a bunch of those again just for you my friend! I'll fill my queue up with my favorite ones so you can enjoy them for a few days :D

As for fics, here's some good ones I've bookmarked (sidenote but if anyone has any really good hurt and/or angsty fics for Matthias please god share them here I need to read them):

fallen and he can’t get up by bekahfics: when kaz has a bad pain day, inej and jesper are there to pick up the pieces.

When you sleep, you die by Multifandom_damnation: There came a moment in every man’s life when your body refused to listen to your commands no matter how much you threatened and warned, and even as he tried to stay awake, Kaz felt his entire being beginning to shut down and his eyes fluttered shut against his will, and his last thought before he was consumed by the toothy maw of darkness was unspeakable agony.

Laughter and Bullets by orphan_account: Kaz is injured, but he ignores it to take in the moment of peace between the Crows

(Gratuitous hurt Kaz fic) by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden): Unconnected oneshots of Kaz being hurt and other people looking after him!!!

Broken Wings by Ghelik : Kaz Brekker had always known he'd die young. Sitting on the last row of the prison boat headed to Hellgate, his hands shackled at his back and the agonizing press of two burly guards on either side of him, Kaz knew he would not live to see twenty-nine. or Kaz gets captured and sent to Hellgate. He does not have a good time.

In Between by deepwoundsandfadedscars: The world seemed to focus into a pinprick for Kaz as Jesper turned, a glint of silver flashing near his ankles caught his eye as Jesper moved through the moonlight. “Jesper, wait!”

Against All Odds by lizzardsnake: An easy job goes wrong, another gang wants the town and the crows need to work together to save one of their own

The Creature Still Moving by blvewcters: Ambush. The word resounds through the dense blackness of Kaz's mind. He can still hear the gunshots, even now, even with his head pressed against the ground, even after Jesper's scared the rival gang back into the shadows. Even amongst the clamour of pain. Ambush, he thinks. And then: Inej. (in which a lost fight leads three crows into each others arms)

[dragon-susceptible]

I’m curious about your thoughts on Gren! Even though he’s a minor character, he’s very interesting to me. Obviously very socially/emotionally intelligent: he doesn’t just communicate Amaya’s words, he portrays her tone and body language too. Even though he doesn’t use a weapon, he’s probably got *some* basic training to be in the military, and it’s not like walking around in full armor so often is physically easy to do. He could make for a pretty decent threat if he wanted to be one. I personally interpreted his cheerfulness towards Viren in the dungeon as a petty move, like “I’m gonna piss you off by not acknowledging you as a threat since it’s all I can really do to you atm.” He has clearly gotten angry on multiple occasions. Despite that, a popular characterization of him is some cutesy cinnamon roll who doesn’t know what angry is.

Gren is literally so special to me. He was one of my first side character blorbos from this show. I love him so much.

His relationship with Amaya makes my heart warm every time I see them onscreen, because it's very clear from the beginning that he isn't just her interpreter or her voice. He is her friend. Like you said, he communicates her tone and body language too, especially with hand gestures (like his hands on hips while she's scolding the boys) because she's using hers to talk. He also barely has to look at her hands to know what she's saying, because he knows the way she talks and how she wants to be portrayed that well. When she goes to visit her sister's grave, he goes with her; they had no way of knowing Viren would follow her, so that was literally just a friend giving her emotional support.

His own personality is really rich, too, despite having so few lines of his own, because you're right, he's an armored soldier running around with a general. He has the title of Lieutenant, he's not just her interpreter. So he does have combat skills, enough to warrant that rank, but he chooses not to wear a weapon even when walking into war zones regularly. I think this is twofold - his official description explicitly states that he chooses this because he considers himself more of a diplomat than a fighter, which may indicate that his rank is due to diplomatic achievements or even just that he's from a relatively powerful family and was a commissioned officer. However, after becoming Amaya's voice, it serves the secondary purpose of keeping his hands free to communicate with her. In his introduction at the Banther Lodge, he's the only soldier in the company without a helmet, too, which means there's nothing obscuring his face if she wants to read his lips. (I have a whole post about Fen's full beard and lack of signing compared to Gren's reaction to a bit of stubble).

So yeah, the reason cutesy cinnamon roll is a popular characterization of him is because it's explicitly stated in his official description that he always finds the light in dreary situations, and does his best to stay cheerful no matter what's happening around him. That said, I agree that reducing him just to that robs the character of depth, and he is a petty bitch. His cheer in the dungeon with Viren was partially to keep his own spirits up, based on what we know of his personal views, but I'm sure he took deep personal joy in how much it bothered Viren.

My favorite moment of his pettiness from this rewatch is actually the first scene where we see him with Fen, though, and his reunion with Amaya in Season 3 Episode 1. Amaya has been squinting at Fen for the whole scene before this, as he's talking to her in darkness without his hands, expecting her to just read his lips with a full beard obscuring them in nothing but lava light. She gets super excited to see Gren, runs over to pick him up in a bear hug and spin him around, and he tucks his feet up to let her, and the first thing she does after putting him down is touch his chin to look at the beard and point it out with this teasing look, and Gren signs to her "We have a lot to talk about." And then Fen interrupts her before she can respond, and you can watch Gren's face go from this soft grin at his best friend to just progressively more bitchy until he's frowning at Fen three sentences in. He makes direct eye contact with Fen while he starts to sign the answer to Fen's question to Amaya, and only bothers to start speaking it too after looking back at her, making it clear he's talking to her, not this dude who's clearly not doing his job as well as Gren does it. It is spectacularly petty but in such a subtle way that fits very well with his role as a diplomat.

Gren considering himself a diplomat more than a soldier also really works well with the words we see him censor for Amaya. He's very loyal to her and does an excellent job of portraying her tone, body language, everything she wants exactly how she wants it, but he does have limits - he won't let her cuss, and while the meta reason is that it's a kids' show and they can't get away with having him cuss onscreen even if her hands are saying the words, it fits as an in-universe reason that he's a diplomat. So he's trying to portray what she wants to portray while also keeping her words from being too inflammatory. With someone like Amaya, that's a difficult line to walk, and he obviously takes just as much pleasure as she does out of telling Viren off as long as she's doing it with yk. Court approved wording.

I would also say that Gren does come across as one of those guys who it's very difficult to make genuinely angry, to me. He gets petty and irritated on occasion, but we've never seen him snap in the way we see some of the others go off (even Amaya). So while I don't think he's a cinnamon roll who can never get angry trope, I do think he's like a sleeping dog kinda doesn't get angry trope. As long as he's chill, he's chill, and it takes a lot to push him over the edge. If he ever did though, he'd do it explosively.

As far as what kind of threat he physically poses, we don't have a huge amount of reference for it. He's a very fit, rather tall man in his mid-twenties with semi-regular combat training, who wears heavy plate armor nearly every day. That said, given the kind of people he spends his time around, that's the absolute baseline of physical combat ability any of them have. He's the lowest rung on that ladder. But Amaya does trust him to look after himself when he follows her into battle unarmed, so he's clearly well able to protect himself. I wouldn't necessarily expect him to be winning any sparring matches, though.

Also worth noting, at Amaya's birthday sparring matches, Gren and Corvus are the soldiers specifically left out of them. Gren is officiating the matches instead of participating (which, someone else could just take over for a match with him if that was something they actually wanted to do), while Corvus bakes. So Gren is probably somebody who's forgotten more combat strategies than he will ever personally use, and still has more remaining knowledge than most people do, just from observation of other soldiers.

[semisolidmind]

if you had to pick a favorite of all the beefy men you’ve created, who would you pick?

(in hindsight, i can understand it’s probably difficult for a creator to pick just one of their creations, but im just being messy lol)

i could never choose. they are all my beloved blorbos and they are all filled with love and mental instability (some more than others)

i don't think ive ever made a character that ive ever really disliked (like, design-wise; plenty of them have awful personalities that would be unbearable irl).

[freneticfloetry]

favorite fandom things

I still can’t believe our little weewoo show is ending. This is a bittersweet one, but it totally tracks with the vibes this fandom has nurtured here, full of feels and squee and passing those things on. Thanks to @thisbuildinghasfeelings for starting this one, and @welcometololaland @rmd-writes @reyesstrand @strandnreyes @nisbanisba @carlossreaders @bonheur-cafe @tellmegoodbye and @heartstringsduet for tagging me.

These are a few of my favorite things about being part of the Tarlos/Lone Star fandom.

All the Words I’ve been a Lone Star viewer since the very beginning — as a 9-1-1 viewer, a spinoff with Liv Tyler and firefighting Chris Traeger proved too great a pull to resist. And for years, It was one of those happy place shows — things like The Good Place, Ted Lasso, Schitt’s Creek — that I thought I’d just enjoy watching every week, without any real need or desire to write it. After all, the cast was diverse (but not for diversity’s sake), the stories were compelling, and my ship had been canon since day one. Then the Season of Carlos got underway, and the bunnies began to breed. It had been awhile since I really wrote anything — my previous show did my ship and fave characters so dirty that I couldn’t get far enough removed from my hurt and anger to actually get words out. But I saw the preview for 4x04, it planted an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone, and before the night was over I’d written the first two thousands words of to build a home (not the first scene, by any means, but the muse does what she wants). There have been so, so many more words since, both published and not yet revealed, and somewhere in there my brain started to spawn bunnies for another fandom I picked up in 2020 and never thought I would write. I love Lone Star for a lot of reasons, but here at the end, the very biggest is the fact that it gave writing back to me.

All the Fic When I say my old show fucked with my head, I mean it — it even stopped me reading fic for a long time. Which is a shame. That fandom, though small, had such a high concentration of ridiculously talented people, some of whom I’m lucky enough to still call close friends today. It spoiled me, and I think it even kept me from venturing into reading in other fandoms for fear of not finding fic at that level. Imagine my surprise when I started reading Tarlos, and found myself immersed in another sea of gifted writers. I am continually blown away by the creativity and care in this fandom. Especially on the heels of my last one, which was a genre show with actual magic and batshit storytelling and seemingly limitless possibilities — the fact that I’m no less entertained by or invested in or consistently in awe of the things Tarlos writers are able to do with these characters, overwhelmingly within the bounds and confines of a real-world procedural, is kind of amazing. (Shoutout to CIG’s beautiful Fire Island, which was the very first thing I ever read.)

All the Enthusiasm I’m going to keep this one short, lest I get overly emotional. But I wasn’t sure, when I first started posting, how my particular point of view would be received — starting out of the gate with something deep in Carlos’ head, exploring parts of his childhood and culture that I desperately wanted to see on the show. The reception that to build a home got still shocks me, to be honest, and I’m grateful for every comment and kudo and kind word. Now everyone go read What Is Sown, What Is Grown, which is a goddamn masterpiece.

All the Tag Games! Not gonna lie, there have been weeks with so many tag games that I wondered how any of y’all actually manage to write. But it’s so much fun to read everyone’s snippets every week, to look at your inspiration images and listen to your Music Monday choices and just take a beat to collectively celebrate this shared obsession with our blorbos. I’ve been writing fic for twenty years (yes, I’m a fandom old, or what the internet has deemed a “geriatric Millennial”), and I’ve seen my share of drama and wank and mean girl vendettas and fandoms soured by BNF culture. And it’s so refreshing to have seen so little of that here. I remember my early days of Tarlos posting, and the way Lola and Rae and a few other people took me under their tag wings and never looked back. And that’s still happening, with so many new authors who emerge — the list of people being tagged and tagging in return just keeps growing. Yes, there’s discourse, and there’s disagreement, and things can get a bit heated. But overall, this is such a great space to inhabit, and you guys have made it that way. If you don’t believe me, look no further than this accidental Tumblr storm about vaguenotion’s You Keep Coming Back with a Bird in Your Teeth, which remains one of my favorite examples of the way this fandom happily opens its arms and offers new folks punch and pie.

A very honorable mention goes to Lone Star being the thing that gave @ambiguouspenny and I a shared fandom again (and so letting them grace the world with more of their art).

I am late as hell, it’s almost tomorrow. So, open tag! (But also @liminalmemories21 @never-blooms @carlos-in-glasses @paperstorm @herefortarlos @lemonlyman-dotcom @walkinginland @reasonandfaithinharmony I’m looking at you.)

[anarchy-and-piglins]

Dude I am absolutely in love with your techno fics. You and Clean liens are keeping my sanity in tact and not crashing out. Anyways, give me your top 3 tropes with techno please!

You're so real for that, Techno-centric fic is what keeps me going too <3

UGH, picking a favorite trope with Techno is like picking a favorite child, it's so hard. I'll name three I really enjoy, but honestly it's just scratching the surface and I'm probably forgetting other tropes I love an equal amount.

One: Hiding an injury/illness. This trope is one of my favorite in general for any fandom but it definitely fits perfectly with a character like Technoblade. I love when a character either is too stubborn to admit they're sick or hurt, don't feel like they're deserving of being cared for, simply are awkward about it because they never had people care for them before, or are used to pushing their own health aside for others (like in a combat scenario where they'd prefer to focus on a hurt friend even if the friend's injury is not as bad as their own) - all of those arguably apply to Techno. Bonus points for combining it with a dramatic or inopportune reveal like ignoring the injury until he faints or something. Very tasty.

Two: 'Just a guy' Techno or 'odd one out' Techno. This one arguably is more AU focused but I think my fic history can attest I'm a big fan of fics where Techno is just a guy. Especially if he isn't necessarily less badass than he is in canon. With 'odd one out' I mean content where Techno is like, a different species than the others. I'm a big fan of human!Techno on the origins server or any AU where Techno is human but sbi isn't (human!techno with alien SBI, vampire SBI, fae SBI, etc). Or sometimes he's the only nonhuman, that's fun too (siren!Techno au my beloved)! Or where he's like, the only commoner while SBI is royalty, or a civilian/hero when the others are villains. That vibe basically. There are a lot of different ways you can play with this trope AND it lends itself especially well for dark SBI which is like, my favorite subgenre of Techno fic lmao.

Three: disabled!Techno. Bit of a self-indulgent one ofc because I love projecting onto my blorbo. But also it just makes sense to me in dsmp canon like, it seems unlikely somebody could have gone through all the stuff Techno goes through and not have it leave some permanent marks. I enjoy giving him chronic pain, migraines, maybe amputated fingers. For bunnyblade there's the obvious leg amputation too. But you can get creative for AUs or just for fun. Seizures because of the anvil!!! Put that man in a wheelchair!!! Again, lots of options.

[nezz-cringe-crib]

LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS PLSS

Share your winsdom with us mortals

ALSO- Some L angst maybe? I like seeing him suffer bc he is my favorite blorbo and I love making my blorbos suffer

(only if you are comfortable with it, ofc. Don't wanna push anything :) )

OOOOUGHH AAAAAA ABSOLUTELY

i always suck at giving hcs off the fly, but here's some i've thought up of before and like to think about instead of sleeping :333 (be warned that they're all pretty vanilla lolz. my hcs are basic. i just like my blorbos.)

Lawlight hcs:

blorbbooo tiiimmeeeee :33 - i personally really like fluffy lawlight things, but a lot of those are usually for aus and everything (since i can't see them being very fluffy in the normal death note plot). but i like to imagine them having stupid teenage-like crush moments with each other. like maybe during the yotsuba arc or something, L wants more sweets but watari is already out doing something, so his dramatic ass is just whining about "oh woe is me....... there's nothing in the vicinity for me to munch on......... how will i ever go on......." and then to get him to shut up, light begrudgingly either bakes something for L (which could probably lead to a lot of silly shenanigans with stupid dorky smiles before light immediately takes it back and starts bickering with L again), or light convinces L to go buy some sweets from a bakery in town (and then L gets distracted because there's multiple sweet-filled stores and his greedy ass has to try all of them so now they're essentially just going on a date trip around all the sweet stores in town). - also to add onto that last bullet, there's this one fic i just read last night that was so stupid and adorable and i loved it. it's called "You can't have my name, but you can have my number" and i recommend checking it out if you like short and sweet fluffy fics. :] (and if you want more fluffy fics, go read everything @rawrlight has made. his fics are so fucking good please read them i am obsessed with them actually pleasepleasepleaseplease) - L is surprisingly good with kids and light won't admit it but he's kinda into it. - L nonchalantly shares food with light and light totally overthinks the shit out of it. - they totally pick at each other for everything. light picks at L for every unsanitary thing he does. L picks at light for having an unnecessarily long and complicated hygiene routine (i like to imagine he has a shit ton of hair and skincare products). anybody who walks past the bathroom while they're in it is bound to hear non-stop bickering. (or, if you really wanna match my freak, have matsuda open the bathroom door while they're getting ready only to see them in the middle of a fight. whether the pose they're in looks compromisingly homosexual is up to you my dear sillies).

uhhhhhh and that's all i can think of for now. awww zoinks.....

but now L angst headcanons yipeeeeeeeee :33333

L angst hcs:

ooougghhhh buckle up boyz... it's angsty tism time..... - i don't think L was ever good at making friends (this is very much a projected headcanon but shshshshshsh ignore that). despite being insanely intelligent and pretty damn good at whatever he sets his mind to, i don't think he ever got the hang of making deep, personal connections. and i feel like he wants to. throughout his whole life, maybe he wanted to make friends but it always just fell flat. maybe as a child there were times where thought he had made a friend, only to realize those feelings were not reciprocated. despite everything he tried, he was just never "human" enough to seemingly make all those lasting connections that he analyzes so deeply. and i think he probably gave up on trying at some point. and all of this is why i feel like his connection with light is so important. even though he knows it'll end in tragedy and that he will die by light's hand, he still can't help but feel... a little more human with light. and i think he'd risk death in order to feel like that one more time. - i don't usually like reading/seeing heavily angsty stuff, but i remember seeing somebody headcanon that they thought L went through solitary confinement as a child in the wammy house, and i always thought that was interesting. i'm not gonna expand on it though since heavy angst isn't really my vibe. (i love making my blorbos suffer, but not too much.) - yeah most of my L angst is him just being incredibly lonely. in the sense of "he doesn't cry about it (he's probably only cried once in his life and that was probably as a very young child), but there's always been some missing piece in his heart that just can't ever seem to be filled". - actually-- loneliness and his inhumanity. that's what i fuck with the most. though they kind of intertwine, so. yeah i kinda just sound like a broken record atp but sshhhhhhhhhhh it pays off (sometimes) i swear. - he also has a lot of religious trauma in my eyes (again, projection). i know he's not religious or anything, but i feel like he'd fit that song "Dear God" by XTC a lot. - oh and he also sulks a fuckton. he doesn't cry, he pouts and goes to stand in the rain while reminiscing on old memories. that's what his emo dramatic ass does and i fucking love him for it.

that's all i can really think of right now. hopefully that's somewhat entertaining. most of my headcanons are very basic compared to other people i've seen, but they are still special in my heart. :))))

[tippenfunkaport]

How hard is it to rewrite your fanfic to publish as original? Is there a difference to how you write it?

Anon, I sat on this one a few days trying to think of how to answer this. Because there're a lot of little differences between writing for fanfic and writing original work that I could list but I think it's all really covered by the one biggest thing which is: you need to realize that, in fanfic, readers and canon are doing a lot of the work for you.

In other words, even in the AU-est AU, you're still starting with the basic characterization and world-building of canon. A fanfic reader comes in with a base of knowledge that comes from the source material that you, the writer, can take for granted. They're helping you out by doing a lot of the heavy lifting while reading in a way that a reader coming to something 100% original isn't.

Which is, obviously, a lot of the fun of fanfic! You can just riff on a single scene or do a character study that's light on plot or write missing scenes that make no sense without the context of canon and it's all part of how we play in the fandom space. But when you make the switch to writing for publication, you need to remember that your readers aren't coming in with any of that context and aren't as willing to suspend disbelief upfront.

Think about it. Fanfic can be light on description because you already know what the characters and setting looks like. Fanfic can tread the same beats as canon even when it's narratively unearned because the reader has the background of canon to fill in the blanks. Fanfic can cover the in-between moments or things an editor would consider "pointless" because the readers are already invested in the characters and know how the rest of the story ends. 

I think we've all had that moment when someone raves to you about a fic, how it's amazing, life-changing, better than any published book, and you read it and it's... not good. At all. Not the writing, not the plot... BUT you can absolutely see why your friend loved it so much. It centered their favorite character or ship and they were so overcome with blorbo-love that they were willing to overlook all the writing issues. Which can happen with published books too if they get enough hype (just look at some of the recent BookTok darlings), but is far more likely to happen with fanfic because we're all coming into the work high on love for our favorite show/characters/pairing.

(It's been fascinating as an author to witness this first hand bc my fandom friends and I have a book club and it's been so eye opening to watch people nitpick a published book for minuscule issues and then the exact same people turn around a praise a fanfic as the pinnacle of literature that has all the issues they hated in the published book and FAR MORE. The author of the published book has to work harder to not only make you care about their original characters and world, but also sell you on their story while fanfic knows you're already sold on those elements and just here to play. And also people hold something they paid for to a far higher standard to something they are reading for free and allocate praise accordingly.)

Which shows that, in most cases, it's not enough to just file the serial numbers off your fanfic if you want to publish. Because the exact same people who raved about your fanfic would call it derivative/shallow/etc once the names are changed from their favs and they aren't looking at it through blorbo-colored glasses anymore. It's just human nature, absolutely no shade here, but it really sums up the majority of issues you need to consider when making the leap out of fandom and into a more commercial writing space.

It all comes down to: if you've been predominantly writing fanfic, you may not realize that you're used to the combo of the reader and canon itself doing a lot of the heavy lifting for you. And now you need to learn how to pick up that slack yourself.

A reader coming to an original work about new characters they don't know yet is far less charitable when they crack open your book that they paid their hard earned dollars for than a reader who clicked on your free story about characters they already love. A paying reader is less tolerant of narrative downtime, has a higher expectation of quality writing (ie no typos, grammar issues, consistent tense, pacing, tension etc) and needs the author to make them care about the characters and world because they aren't coming in pre-loaded with love for their favorite media.

So certainly not impossible, but re-writing fanfic into something original involves a mental shift, significant expansion and retooling of what's written, and is by no means as simple as just replace all-ing the names as seems to be the popular misconception.

(And this is not going into the legal issues at all because, frankly, if you are really doing the work to flesh your fanfic out as an original work then it's probably so far removed from canon at that point it's unrecognizable. But obviously be smart and don't publish something with someone else's copyrighted characters or world unless you want your ass sued. Disclaimer that I am just a writer, not a lawyer.)

[aluria-sevhex]

so now i'm in Act 3 i guess

notes:

-methinks Siffrin is panicking

-plot twist: you can't escape the time loop until you deal with your... ???

-no you little bitch don't pretend everything's fine that's not good for your mental health

-YOU *KNEW* THIS WOULD HAPPEN??? FUCK YOU LOOP

-i'm not giving up you little shit

-ok Loop what IS your deal. you *asked* to be here???

-ok i need to help Mira with her mysterious papers

-:O A HINT AT ODILE'S FIELD OF STUDY

-the music is more unnerving than it was in Act 2. also it sounds glitchy now

-oh it's normal now. was i just suffering from an actual audio glitch and just. didn't question it? like "oh yeah ofc it's glitching things are fucked now"

-...that enemy didn't spawn down here in Act 2.

-eh ima get off for the night

-late in the evening on July 4th and i am back yippee this is probably a bad idea considering how long my play sessions get

-YEAH THE TITLE MUSIC MY BELOVED

-ok i can't help Bonnie on this loop- HOLD UP. DID SIF'S ART CHANGE IN THE MENUS? YEAH HE'S NOT SMUG ANYMORE ToT also i think their profile used to say "It's you!" with an exclamation point but now it says "It's you." with a period :(

-rip my darling blorbo Paper α V

-side note: idk if i've mentionwd this before but i like how the levels, stats, and skills all show the fact that you're near the end of the journey (ex. Odile having Rock, Paper, and Scissors III at the start)

-I FOUND THE BOOK BONNIE WAS LOOKING AT.

hmmm... death rituals...

-hehe i found the stostorage roomoom

-NONE OF THESE BARRELS WILL LEMME TAKE THE NUTS >:(

-another book in the headache-inducing language i can't read.

-weird shit going on: Siffrin, Loop, the King, the disappearing island, the headache-inducing shit

-hehehe yeah Isa i'm sure you'd *love* to pet your taciturn hopeful-future-partner

-it's not just the menu art i think Siffrin's battle art is also less happy. :(

-HOLD UP. also! Siffrin's profile used to call them the Traveler but now he's called the Wanderer. :(

-hehe. Sif hit the counter and said nya again. cat Sif

-this enemy ALSO did not spawn on this floor before. fucking giant hand thing

-ok thinking: can't help Isa until i've helped everybody else in one loop, can't help Bonnie on this loop and i need to prove i know them via their favorite foods, need to help Mira and Odile...

-thank you Loop for being available- OH I CAN BRING UP THE SADNESSES BEING DIFFERENT :O

-ok need to help Mira with the papers. some are in her dorm. Odile wants to read a familytale. i'll have to find one in the library or secret library. need to find out Bonnie's favorite foods by trying different ones. maybe i should loop forward a bunch to different areas, find out their favorite foods, and THEN do the big loop where i help everybody!

-i need to talk to the King eventually

-looping forward to Floor 1's end

-fun fact i'm keeping track of all my causes of death in another note. i'll share it when i finish the game

-man i also need to figure out how to help Mira's fan and remember where the last book issue is...

-the looping screen art is nice :]

-yeah yeah i need to beat this asshole to get to the snacks

-hold up. the coin fell on heads this time. strange...

-last time i picked plantain chips. this time i'm picking cookies. would probably be good to check what Bonnie eats each time

-ok they like rice. time to loop forward!

-while i'm on Floor 2 i might as well find a familytale for Odile...

-LOOP 24? THE MATH DOES NOT CHECK OUT.

-WAIT THE GAME ACKNOWLEDGES IT. HUH. YEAH I SHOULD BE ON 23. SIFFRIN IS SUS 𐐘

-fuck. i accidentally moved forwards when i meant to go to the library. it's fine i'l help her when i help everybody

-oh great i have to fight these assholes again.

-fuck. i think i fucked up and didn't make sure Mira had Pretty Moving Cure. i might get a game over.

-this is by far my dumbest death

-LOOP 27??? I WENT FROM 24-27

-gonna try to be less liberal with loop usage because the skipping is kinda scaring me

-aw... Siffrin's friends try not to touch him as they squeeze through that's nice... wait. he seems to not be remembering why. did he forget that they don't like being touched... maybe. maybe i should call Loop.

-well that was unhelpful

-time to adjust the memories i have equipped. welcome back my lovely scrimbly blorbos Lovely Moving Cure and Paper α V

-hm. ok so the boulanger in Dormont has a familytale...

-oh my god we're discussing colors. what happened to them.

-THEY STILL EXIST. BUT WE FORGOT HOW TO SEE THEM. ???

-*SIFFRIN*. HOW IS THIS FAMILIAR. JFC YOU ARE SUS

-plot twist! Siffrin is from our world and forgor that he got isekai'd! :P (i love making random bullshit predictions it's very entertaining)

-oh yeah so RE: Siffrin's altered art: Sif's time-frozen portrait used to look panicked but now it looks calm

-hehe openphrase123 worked

-love Sif's habit of picking up random shiny shit. magpie or crow behavior.

-oh? Siffrin didn't always hate croissants?

...bruh.

-also damn shout-out to Mira's crisis over not knowing some of the people

-the combination of Siffrin's silly attack names and serious battle portraits feels so *wrong*

-:o Sif learned a new skill

-ok i'm gonna log off for the night

hey if you wanna read all of my posts as i play through ISAT, they are all tagged as #Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)

bruh when i was making this post i accidentslly pasted the notes again there instead of pasting the tag name. that truly was. delightful. to go through and delete it all

also shout-out to those of you who i keep seeing popping up in my notifs liking these posts ;) and also anybody who takes the time to read all this stuff :D i know that *i* like seeing other people's reactions when they experience stuff i like for the first time so i'm very happy to provide that for others! also it's nice to see some of the responses ^-^ :D

[hollowwish]

List of arosepc headcanons I have below (it is quite long) (list subject to future updates/suggestions (you can send me propaganda for your blorbo))

Ford Pines - he literally just has the vibes tbh. Crazy uncle who doesn't want anyone bc he's aromantic and obsessed with portals. also it would make billford worse.

Mable Pines - she literally picks her crushes and then stops 'liking' them in week. Do you know how many aromantic people have done this.

Hollyleaf warrior cats - fallen leaves was her qpp. Okay. The website family tree is lying to you. If Lionblaze asked her when she would get married she'd respond with "I'm already married to the warrior code."

Sonic T. Hedgehog - it's in character. Sega themsleves said he would hate settling down.... (I also think hes bi)

huey dewey louie or webby duck(tales) - at least one of them is arosepc I just can't figure out which one. Or maybe it's all of them

Della duck - cool aromantic lesbian mom. She does not need a husband or a partner she just needs her ducklings (and donald ig)

lapis lazuil - ngl I was rewatching steven universe and I just had a Feeling. Also she's one of my favorite characters, so.

Rise Leo - he's like Mabel he's doing comphet. (I think he's gay aromantic specifically and just keeps mistaking "I want to be friends with this guy/wow they're attractive" with "I want to date him") (also makes the fandom wide headcanon of aro donnie really funny. Wrong twin guys..)

C!pearl and c!gem - especially empires s1. Pearl being aroace and gem being arospec but she hasn't figured that out yet (insert "I'm probably nonbinary but I have a job" image)

On that note, empires 1 fwhip has and will always be demiromantic in my mind

No idea what e2 fwhip has going on but he is somewhere on the aro spectrum. Maybe it's why he's so weird abt jimmy.

ONE Jimmy solidarity character is also arosepc I just don't know which one. But one of them is i know it in my bones.

grian and scar - they are both aros who fuck and 3rd life was world shattering platonic love.

Donatello tmnt - I haven't seen every tmnt iteration but like. ONE of them is aro and it is NOT rise donnie

Scott smajor - @/funkily suggested he was cupio and it made way too much sense

Saiki kusuo - do I even need to explain this one. It's basically canon (unless it is canon and I just missed something)

Wednesday Addams - most aromantic coded girl ever and I'm going to fight netflix for making her kiss barista boy

Shadow the Hedgehog - he's arospec but has no idea bc he sucks at recognizing his own emotions. ("Im probably aromantic but i have a job and trauma")

Twilight Sparkle - if you asked her what love is she would give you the dictionary definition

Rainbow Dash - it came to me in a vision

Silver the Hedgehog - also came to me in a vision

Byakuya togami - I've never seen a more romance repulsed fictional character tbh

Kyoko kirigiri - she is demiromantic to meeee

Rantaro amami - he has the weed smoking aro energy. Also hes green

Korekiyo shinguji - aromantism would save him i think

Honorable mentions -

Oli theorionsound (suggested by sage thinkingabout-girls)

Whatever the fuck was going on with divorce quartet in double life specifically

Violet and lena saberwing ducktales

Also ducktales gosalyn

At least one of the powerpuff girls

Adrien agreste because (iirc) he sucks at romance and I need to escape love square hell

Mumbo jumbo

Arospec mythicalsausage

Maud Pie (I think if I finished mlp she'd be on the list)

Someone in the danganronpa 2 cast

[cressthebest]

Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 41

chapter 62:

1. petition to abolish the games, if not for their lack of morals, do it for james potter

2. regulus fussing over james >>>>>>>>>>>

3. 😳 fiancé discussion

4. “There's a war on, and James wants to plan his wedding.” oh no. oh no. oh no. he’s so me fr

5. omg not reg wanting to see sirius and projecting that onto james 😭😭😭

6. they’re having a sleepover and i’m going feral over it

7. i’m not really mad at alice for all they’re saying, but i don’t think james deserves to hear it like this, or even be treated this way over frank’s death. they all knew the risk. frank made a decision, knowing the risk. james should not have to feel that eternal guilt

8. okay i’m kinda mad at alice, but i don’t really blame her per se. she’s grieving and is saying hurtful things she might not otherwise say. but it doesn’t make what she said okay. this is all so complicated

9. wolfstar deserves peace. give them peace istg. sirius doesn’t deserve these nightmares

10. *untraumatizes your blorbo* FUCK IT BACKFIRED! HE HAS MORE TRAUMA NOW

11. “"Fucking hell," Sirius hisses, clattering into the open chair next to Remus with an aggrieved air to him, eyes bulging as he drops his plate on the table. "I just had three different people corner me in the line to fucking flirt with me. Nevermind that I'm less than two weeks out of fucking Azkaban or anything, and when I mentioned that, they started, like, cooing at me. One of them offered to give me fucking sponge bath."

"What?" Remus' head whips around. "Who?"”

yo, those people should be scared. remus is in protective mode

12. the reason tension is so fucking high in the phoenix is probably because there are no fucking celebrations or events

13. i love how the gang is together, laughing and joking 😊😊

14. remus is a genius and i love him for putting the peices together about vanity and vespa

15. going insane over vanity’s impact in winning

chapter 63:

1. the districts are immune!!!

2. dorlene having sex after a mission is so them

3. “”I want to die with your head between my legs."” REAL

4. i am unamused 😐 dorcas and marlene should Not be discussing their after-war plans and what they’ll be doing when they’re old

5. “Two bodies and one heart” used to describe lily and remus has me in PIECES

6. mary and lily getting to have sex (that actually means something to lily) >>>>>>>>>>

7. also i’m so glad that sapphic sex was written to be that soft, intimate, and beautiful. especially with a trans woman. i feel like i never see sex scenes with trans women that aren’t completely fetishized

8. reading a jegulus fight has me feeling like an eight year old that walked in on mommy and daddy yelling over finances

9. 😭😭😭😭 not barty further spreading rumors about him being james and reg’s whores. this is so funny y’all

10. also not james teasing reg about having baby names picked out, only to reveal that reg literally has baby names picked out

11. demisexual sirius having a complex relationship with sex and desire (all the asexual part and all the very very horny parts) is literally my favorite thing in the world. i have never seen an demisexual character so similar to myself as him.

12. 😭😭 not remus cumming in his pants just cause he was slammed into a wall lmao

[vickyvicarious]

Would any of the Dracula crew have read Frankenstein or would it not suit their literary tastes

Oooh, let's see! I think that's a yes for sure on some of them. Let's just go down the main cast one by one, shall we?

Jonathan - Yes. Hamlet's his blorbo so he obviously isn't averse to tragic stories, and I honestly love the idea of Jonathan being into gothic romances. Not that this is that, but there's enough overlap that when Mina suggested it to him he'd enjoy it. He gets really sad about how it all went wrong.

Mina - Yes. I think science fiction is very much her taste, as is spooky/tragic stories. This is both, it's great! She really enjoys the nuance and complexity of the characters. It's maybe even a favorite of hers.

Lucy - No. She doesn't like spooky stories, necromancy-adjacent anything is too much for her. The tragedy doesn't necessarily bother her too much (she enjoys crying over a good story from time to time) but everything about how the Creature is made creeps her out too much and she doesn't want to read about it or what comes after.

Arthur - No. Rather, it's possible he may have read it but it's generally not the sort of story he likes so if he ever did it would have been because of a class or at the urging of Jack, and he never got into it. He likes funny stories and adventures more.

Quincey - Yes. In large part because my initial impulse was to say no, and Quincey strikes me as the kind of guy who happens to have read all the stuff you assume he never would've read, haha. But also, I think he just really enjoys a good story. Regardless of genre, if it's well-written he'll give it a go and often really enjoy it.

Jack - Yes. I think he read it a sleep-deprived frenzy in school while he was supposed to be studying and ever since has had occasional recurring dreams of trying to give Victor and the Creature therapy.

Renfield - Yes. He's very well-read. His sympathies used to be for Victor but after being in an asylum they tend more towards the Creature since he understands now how dehumanizing it can feel to be looked at as Other or Monstrous.

Dracula - Yes. He considers it a comedy.

van Helsing - No. He doesn't have a lot of time for reading novels what with writing a new doctorate thesis every other weekend; he's typically neck-deep in a bunch of different scholarly articles and such at any given moment. When he does read fiction, it tends to be stuff he's picked up at random because it sounded interesting - or children's stories and fables, he likes those. He might have a copy lying around somewhere maybe but if so he hasn't gotten around to it.