#i'm probably not shipping her with any canon character

[kwillow]

regarding romance involving your characters, im aware you've talked about how you likely wont engage in making content surrounding that topic (WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY FINE obviously), but do you mind if others do? i personally find a lot of enjoyment in those kinds of scenarios and itd be good to know if thats something you're fine with when it comes to your own creations. (im sure you get enough asks about romance already, apologies!!)

and related to this, are there any strict boundaries or hard lines youd prefer not to be crossed when it comes to fan content of them? even anything that just makes you uncomfortable; if youre alright with sharing, that is <:-} i would really like to know just to be certain

Hi there! This is a very kind and conscientious message; thank you for that. ^^

Short answer: sure, I don't mind if people want to make romantic-themed art or writing with my characters. It's flattering!

I don't really have much in the way of hard limits when it comes to depictions of my characters (not counting nsfw/kink art, where I'm also pretty permissive but want to be communicated with in advance), but here are some personal boundaries when it comes to how people treat me, the human:

My characters aren't able to be "claimed" by people for exclusive shipping purposes (either with other characters or for self-shipping). When people get jealous of either other people who want to ship themselves or their characters with mine, or jealous of the characters' in-story love interests, it creates a highly uncomfortable situation for me.

I'm happy for people to enjoy their romantic fantasies with my characters, but I am not included in that bargain. Liking my character does not mean one knows or is in any kind of relationship with me, platonic or otherwise (especially not otherwise).

Likewise, I probably won't reciprocate a lot of self-shipping or Your OCxMy OC type stuff. Of course I'll comment and appreciate the effort and the expression of being interested in my silly stories! But I won't necessarily make a lot of ship art in return or trade head-canons or what have you (again, I just am not super into shipping and I have my own story stuff I already don't have time to draw orz).

My characters aren't made to be boyfriend material. I also have not drawn/written/shown every part of their awful personalities or actions. In the future, I might reveal something about them that makes them unappealing or unsexy. People can ignore the unpleasant qualities I give my characters in their fantasies/fics, but I won't change how I write or draw the character to make them better suited to someone's tastes (yes this is something people have asked me to do).

I feel like stating some of these things makes me look a bit neurotic, like "oh come on, that's not going to happen," but unfortunately all of these things have happened to me before when people got, I guess, a liiiittle too romantically invested in my characters.

So really, I don't have many boundaries in the way of content. Go forth and write or draw or just imagine what pleases you (general you). Write them getting married, having unrequited crushes, being one of the last survivors of the Titanic and sacrificing themselves so that the other character can live her best life beyond their doomed romance, etcetera.

All I ask is that the appreciation is centered on the character as an imaginary being, and I, the real and very boring human woman, am largely ignored in the equation and not pulled in to do matchmaking, officiate any weddings, or act as a conduit to manifest a tulpa.

[tozettastone]

do you have any bleach fic recs? would love to explore the beautiful world that your fic in progress is in dialogue with

Well, to be clear, one of the reasons I'm writing fics is that I feel few of the fics I can find have captured the exact and highly specific things I want to explore about the setting. So none of these are really doing what I wanted to do with either of my current Bleach WIP fics? However, I do have some recs!

It is a non exhaustive list but it got a bit long, so I've put it under this cut.

--

As I mentioned in the tags of my first post, cywscross is definitely the populariser of the 'Time/Dimension Travel Ichigo Living In Seireitei,' genre of Bleach works, so I can recommend their works on that basis.

cywscross's Bleach works are here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/works?fandom_id=81955308

If you enjoy blackkat's Naruto works, you will likely also enjoy her Bleach works, as they share much of the same flavour. She's here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat/works?fandom_id=81955308

Mixelation writes very fun Ulquiorra/Orihime fics on occasion and has by far the best take on them in the fandom in my opinion: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mixelation/pseuds/Mixelation/works?fandom_id=81955308

freedom above all things by hellbeast (https://archiveofourown.org/series/1006401) is a fic series I have recommended before and I will continue to recommend it because 1. I cannot be controlled and 2. I love OC/SI fics that are heavy on worldbuilding and fuck with canon. Weird and fun.

I rediscovered Grimmjow's (*muffled sounds of my repressed cute aggression*) little toe beans recently, so the following includes a staggering amount of Grimmjow, even though if you asked me which pairings I liked best they probably wouldn't be Grimmjow pairings. I contain multitudes AND I'm weak to kitty claws.

Many of murderlight's short Bleach fics are good fun. I like:

- On the Menu 🍣(https://archiveofourown.org/works/37140769), a light Grimmjow/Orihime fic

- Something Fishy 🐠 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/1595876) which is a fun and absurd Grimmjow/Ichigo fic about Ichigo's brief but dramatic mermaid transformation, and

- Landmines 💥 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/57729919) a less comedic but pleasantly iddy short Grimmjow/Ichigo fic about getting a bit paralysed in the empty world.

Asuka Kureru has written several fun Grimmjow/Ichigo fics, including:

- Candy for Cannibals (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888248), which is basically a Bleach take on the old Canadian Shack trope

- Yield (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17421326), a short Ichigo/Grimmjow fic that's noncon but in which Ichigo is really very sweet for a rapacious out-of-control cannibal monster, and

- Superhero Love Triangle (https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202550), which is a superhero AU that blends the Bleach hollow worldbuilding with the expected superhero stuff.

voxofthevoid has written several really fun Grimmjow/Ichigo fics also:

- the hunter and the night (of some other story) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/42981801), which is a dimensional/time travel ship fic with a powerful vasto lorde Ichigo, given from Grimmjow's baffled perspective,

- cannibalism, the modern religion (https://archiveofourown.org/works/51170734/chapters/129293743), which is an alternative canon fic where Ichigo doesn't get involved with the shinigami but he still meets Grimmjow, and

-bury all your secrets in my skin (https://archiveofourown.org/works/40501794), which is canon-universe oviposition tentacle porn and it's very very cute.

Forever Never Sounded So Stupid by junko (https://archiveofourown.org/works/7804363) is a fun Ichigo/Aizen fic. I personally don't especially like Aizen as a character, so if you are an Aizen fan you may particularly enjoy it.

Falsetto Tormental by balimaria (https://archiveofourown.org/works/35617504) is a very cool exploration of Ichigo getting stuck as a hollow and what that might be like, which I love.

Rōnin by glacis (https://archiveofourown.org/works/4793444) is a Bleach/Ouran Highschool Host Club crossover that's fast paced and fun.

Ulterior Motives by triste (https://archiveofourown.org/works/569509) was my favourite Ichigo/Ishida fic from LiveJournal Ago and I think it's still probably the best one on AO3 because I have been STRUGGLING to find the secret hidden good ichiishi.

There May Be Some Collateral Damage by metisket (https://archiveofourown.org/works/5030443) is a much loved Harry Potter/Bleach crossover in which Ichigo goes to Hogwarts and upsets everyone.

It's conceited to shamelessly self rec, but if you are writing asking for recs on the basis of my current works in progress posting, it will be relevant to tell you: I have also posted Bleach fics under my Tozette account. Many of them are quite old, but if you're interested in my fics particularly you are welcome to check them out.

the ever increasing list of things that are not going to be okay (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616789) is my favourite of them. It's a Victorian era Whitechapel murders Nnoitra/Tesla fic. In Which Hanataro Has a Series of Unfortunate Experiences (https://archiveofourown.org/works/14765880) is probably the one I would most love to come back to one day. It's got legs. It's about how a very timid shinigami healer gets lost in Hueco Mundo and becomes entangled with the espada.

[blood0fthedragon]

House of The Dragon: Visella Targaryen, second-born daughter of King Viserys I and Queen Aemma Arryn, sister to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

around 10 years younger than Rhaenyra and grew up looking up to her (show timeline)

dragonrider from the age of 10

supports her sister's claim to the throne

survives the Dance but her dragon does not

[marigoldwriter]

Lady Kairi, and her pretty blue eyes.

(I think, for now, this is Kairi's final appearance, so, nothing better than finally introducing this character!)

Meet Kairi Blackthorne!

An obstinate and stubborn girl according to reports from servants, she loves stories (especially bedtime stories) about the sea, its many legends and ships their brave crews that tried to explore it. She's a Mariko's copy, with the exception of her blue eyes, her father's courtesy. Baby blue and lilac are her favorite colors (hence her signature colors). She knows english and portuguese (Pt) taught by her father, japanese and latin, taught by her mother, as well as taking classes (after a LOT of insistence) to learn archery and falconry (Toranaga-sama's distant influence).

[musical-chick-13]

Always funny to me when people say, "Why was the Doctor ever interested in River in any way when she's Not A Good Person," as if a) their oldest and closest friend in the universe isn't The Master, someone very much not known for being a particularly good person, and b) there wasn't literally a line that went, "And unlike me, [River] really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that; kind of do a bit."

[creamecream]

Dancing Des~

[celtrist]

This was the piece that I had started before my extensive vacation (of coughing). Once again, Alastor is consistently the bane of my existence with his... well everything.

No matter! Anyway, this is something I like to call the Obsession AU. To sum it up real fast: Everyone is yandere for Alastor. I think it would just be apart of his punishment in Hell, being consistently forced into or desired in romantic/sex which he's never had much interest in. I would describe it as a dark comedy thing, but it can be as comedic or as dark as you want here. With that said, please be on guard with any mentions of darker content that treds towards a certain dead bird territory when I get a bit into how I imagine some of the characters. Again, it doesn't have to go that far if you're interested in this premise of an au and wanna focus on the more light hearted stuff, feel free.

This au is just poking a bit of fun at how everyone in the fandom wants to put Alastor in romantic situations constantly (whether it be with themselves or the other characters) despite Alastor probably being the least interested in the subject in the whole show. This is by no means a hate train or making fun of people who do enjoy shipping Alastor, it just more of a funny thing I think comes off as pretty ironic for his character and hopefully, others can enjoy that too. In this au he leans pretty much on the clear-cut side of aromantic and asexual with no interest in romantic affections at all. With that said, if you want to explore Alastor genuinely being interested in one of the other characters romantically or something similar, feel free to explore that! I can see some interesting dichotomies there. It's just within the actual "canon" of this au, he's not at all interested with that sort of thing. And just with a last final reminder to get into some character things I have in mind, some of the content mentioned does get pretty dark, particularly with Valentino but I don't think anyone's surprised there. But there might be some triggering content of the following mentioned here with characters but no crazy details really: Manipulation/Gaslighting, forced feminization, Non-con, Munchausen syndrome, Poisoning, Possessive, Drugging, Love bombing And I will be sure to give a quick warning to each character it might apply to, please feel free to let me know if I missed anything!

Rosie (Munchausen syndrome, Poisoning): Rosie has 100% poisoned Alastor before to make sure he relies on her. They started off as good friends but at some point Alastor began getting ill and Rosie offered to take care of him. This leads to Alastor staying in bed for full days, only really seeing Rosie who took care of his every need from food, clothing, washing, and so on. At some point, Alastor caught on that Rosie was putting something in his food to make him sick and he managed to escape with their friendship tarnished much to his dismay. He's often uneasy around Rosie but is upfront about his knowledge of Rosie's deeds. Rosie, in turn, acts like it is a lighthearted situation and often offers Alastor over for lunch, which he often denies. Any food he gets at his doorstep from a secret admirer or a lunchbox he finds at his seat in an overlord meeting goes straight into the trash. Alastor will still use Rosie's assets to his benefit of course, but is always careful as to what she might try to get in exchange. He has had more awkward lunches with her with his homemade meal versus the buffet she catered for the occasion, with the two gossiping like old times. Alastor is still uneasy during these times, but he also revels in the false pleasantries due to not having many others he's able to associate himself with due to the curse.

Lucifer (Controlling, Possessive, Manipulation): So I'm not 100% clear how I wanted to approach Lucifer. He and Charlie are probably the most similar I suppose? He wants Alastor as his queen (either alongside him and Lilith or only with him, he doesn't mind either way). He doesn't force him into dresses or anything, but Lucifer does consistently make doting moves and talks about how Alastor would make a good father to their children. Marriage is one of the mind and Lucifer probably gets a bit possessive with him. He also tries to guilt trip Alastor a lot, or manipulate situations in one of their arguments to get Alastor to say something he doesn't mean.

Charlie (Controlling, Possessive): Probably the most tame of everyone quite honestly. Charlie can be a bit controlling but does step off when Alastor expresses his dislike of her doing so, even if it takes a couple times. She likes doing things for him, is super affectionate, and daydreams about her, Vaggie, and Alastor all getting married. She can get pretty possessive with him, not being pleased when anybody does anything against Alastor's will or hurt him. The only exception to this rule is Vaggie, to which Charlie sees it like two cats getting along and finds it very endearing.

Vaggie (Forced Feminization, Controlling, Murder): Depending on how you look at it, Vaggie's one of the more fucked up obsessions or one of the more funnier ones. Because she's automatically inclined to like Alastor quite a bit with the curse thing but her personality doesn't jive with his for her own taste (in terms of their first meeting), she both hates and loves the guy. She's obsessed with trying to murder Alastor with traps around the hotel or outright standing over him with her spear. The hatred comes primarily from not wanting to feel the way she does about him, I guess like a fucked up tsundere if you wanna go that route. At the same token, however, she does want Alastor to be involved with both her and Charlie romantically. There's just one little problem: Vaggie has about the same amount of interest in men as she does in canon. So to sort of "fix" Alastor, she consistently tries to force him to be more feminine in clothing, offering different feminine names, and even trying to force him to get a sex change. Alastor is pretty slippery though, so it never quite works out in Vaggie's favor aside from the occasional dress or skirt being worn, which solidifies her attraction to him. Then he takes it off and looks more like a man again, and it solidifies her frustration/hatred for him.

Angel Dust (Drugging): To start, while I think Angel would love to have sex with Alastor, he 100% would not force it. Wouldn't even do touches or anything. Potentially he could just like as a coping (to be in a situation where HE'S the one in control), but that is a darker route that I don't think will be exactly true for this AU. However, he very much enjoys drugging Alastor similar to Rosie. Not only just as a bonding thing since Angel would also do the drugs WITH him, but just to get the not-quite-lucid compliments from Alastor and maybe a snuggle then and there. He wants to dote on Alastor with him drugged out in his bed saying nice things to Angel. Admittedly this one's a bit of a workshop as I just knew I didn't want Angel to be focused on sex like somebody, but wasn't sure what to do here.

Valentino(Non-con, LoveBombing): I mean... it is Valentino, what did you THINK he'd be trying to do with Alastor? There's really not much to say here, Valentino essentially tries pulling all the stops trying to get Alastor in bed while also love-bombing the hell out of him. Which really doesn't work. Valentino is pretty open with sharing Alastor, but again, does this surprise anyone? As long as he's participating in some way, he really doesn't mind.

Vox (ALL warnings): Pretty much the worst version of himself that people make him be sometimes for those darker stories in the fandom. While more interested in having an enthusiastic partner, I don't think Vox would be opposed to forcing himself onto Alastor. He consistently tries to manipulate and gaslight, while enjoying both the suffering and pleasure of Alastor. Much like Vaggie, Vox is obsessed both being in love with Alastor while also downright hating him to the core. He's possessive and likes the idea of being both sweet and heinous with Alastor. He pretty much is every other character wrapped up in one fucked up TV man. Vox acts the most well-adjusted of the characters here, but he's probably got the obsession the worst.

And of course, pretty much every other conceivable ship is up for grabs here. I did think about maybe unfallen angels are able to resist the obsession curse, which would possibly make a funny team-up of Alastor, Adam, Lute, and Emily. Alternatively, I thought maybe the other canonically asexual characters in the show wouldn't be affected instead, meaning another oddball team-up of Alastor, Octavia, and Mammon. Then there is of course the "nope, there's no escape for deer man". Not sure yet, maybe I'll workshop it. I have more normal things in the works rather than this messed up little au, but darker content is a guilty pleasure of mine.

[sorrelchestnut]

I've seen a fair number of posts both here and on reddit that question why Tav (or the Dark Urge) would end up as a group leader for any other reason that "game mechanics say so." There's the requisite "okay, well if you play a high charisma character I guess it makes sense," or on the other end of the spectrum, "if you're playing Durge and murder someone right off the bat everyone would be too scared to tell you no." And I get where people are going with this! I really do. But it also fundamentally misunderstands a facet of human nature, which is that the vast majority of people do not actually want to be in charge, because that means being held responsible for the outcome. Accordingly, most people will dither when a group consensus is needed: have none of you ever tried to get a group of friends to agree where to go for dinner? Yeah, it's like that, but waaaay worse.

A lot of times "leadership" is just the willingness to say, "fuck it, y'all do what you want, but I'm doing this." I see it all the time in a corporate environment, where people will go back and forth on group meetings without anyone making a decision until finally one brave soul goes "in my opinion the clear answer is x" and then everyone gratefully goes along with it. Because now it's not their responsibility when something goes wrong! They're just following along with someone else's suggestion, and maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but at the end of the day they don't have to worry about the consequences unless they're personally affected. In which case they might step up and argue back, and then they're stuck being a leader, too. Welcome to adulthood!

Lae'zel is the only one who ever even tries to exert some kind of control, when she tells you to follow her lead on the ship, or calls you her subordinate in the Grove. But, crucially, she doesn't ever make any serious attempt to take control: you can just tell her, "lol, no," and she sort of confusedly gives way, because she doesn't know how to handle this scenario. In her world there are commanders and subordinates, and everyone knows where they stand and falls in line. She's never actually had to take control of a situation and so at the first sign of resistance she falls back on the dynamic that's familiar to her, which is executing the commands of someone older and more experienced. She goes through a lot of growth over the game, to the point that she can take over as a resistance leader in her own right by the end, but at the beginning she's a wet-behind-her-ears private with some decent combat chops and it shows.

Otherwise, your party consists of:

Shadowheart, who's trained in infiltration and assassination and does NOT want a lot of attention brought to her or her mission for a variety of reasons;

Astarion, who has literally been a slave for two centuries and canonically takes a while to realize that he can exert an opinion beyond complaining about it;

Gale, whose only friend is his cat and couldn't project-manage his way out of a wet paper bag;

Wyll, who was probably trained for command at one point but has been doing the lone-hero thing for a decade and has a very large secret that he's trying to conceal; and,

Karlach, who's only ever been a bodyguard and a soldier and is genuinely just happy to be here.

Honestly, it would be more a surprise if Tav/Durge didn't end up as their unofficial leader, given the general power dynamics at play. The first time Tav/Durge says something like, "fuck it, we need to do something instead of stand around arguing about it, let's go check out those ruins over there," it's a done deal. They're The Captain Now! As long as they don't make decisions that fundamentally oppose something dear and important to the other group members, they're not even going to get any argument. Because at the end of the day, not one of these walking disasters has enough trust in themselves and their decision-making skills to feel any kind of certainty that they can choose the right path forward. If someone else is going to take that decision out of their hands? They're going to follow, no questions asked, right up until the moment they can't.

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

rating every 'you drool when you sleep'

BOOK:

the standard literally

Reading it later on you realise that annabeth isn't some cool nonchalant girlboss like how percy saw her, she was internally prolly just like

"ok how to boy?? How to communicate to pretty boy (OMG HE HAS PRETTY EYES) that I'm an intimidating queen who should not be messed around with?? ooh yes I'll tell him that he drools ah yes I'm so slay”

And she just skipped away with "her blonde hair bouncing behind her"

and percy fell for it he was like 😯 woah she’s playing hard to get wow i should watch my drooling from now on shes so cool

and ykw she's the legend the icon and the moment we love and stan her

peak twelve year old

also kickstarted one of the best ships

Infinity/10

MOVIE

Deleted scene smh

Its so weird coming out of an adult woman's mouth, not alexandra’s fault its the writers fault (probably why it was deleted), but her line delivery makes it sound like she’s reminding percy of an office meeting later on in the day

logan’s wtf face was funny tho ill give it that

3.5/10

MUSICAL

“IVE NEVER SEEN A FACE AS BEAUTIFUL AS—“ “you drool when you sleep”

I know kristen was way too old to play annabeth just as alexandra but her voice is so high pitched she plays it off well

Peak comedy

just percy singing a ballad about this pretty angel who he feels a very good weird way about while annabeth is there like 🤨 you drool when you sleep lol

and the fact that annabeth had a reprise of that saying that percy was cute in a good weird way and i-🥺 (ik its the deluxe version that wasnt in the main musical, but its official, so its musical canon shush)

10/10 (i changed my mind)

TV SHOW

OK BUT ANNABETH BEING A SLEEP PARALYSIS DEMON IS SO FUNNY

*hovering over percy as he slips in and out of consciousness in a dark room* you drool when you sleep😒

But tbh if i was a show only watcher i would be like “what is the point of this?”

But it really supports that aspect of annabeth’s character in the show that does not know any social skills so its kind of even more cuter???i guess??

9/10

[taliesin-the-bored]

Tag game: tag nine people you’d like to know better.

Tagged by: @oneshoulderangel (Thank you for tagging me!)

Last song: At the moment, I have "Losing Your Memory" by Alan Star stuck in my head, which I suppose makes it my current song, not my last song. Hm. I get songs stuck in my head very easily, but the last one I had there for a significant amount of time was a mashup of different language versions of "Les Rois du Monde" for about a week. "Lehetsz Király", the Magyar version, is probably my favorite of them. It's worth a listen.

Currently watching: Normally, the answer would be "random mostly terrible old movies/shows" or "nothing much", but I currently have a hyperfixation on the musical Roméo et Juliette and have been watching it in multiple languages. (Thus, the song).

Three ships: This is hard. Maybe as a result of being on the ace and aro spectrums, I'm more likely to care about which characters are interacting than whether it's romantic or platonic. Here goes:

Kedivere/Bedikay. It can be romantic, platonic, or queerplatonic, but whichever way, I'm here for it. I probably spend too much time thinking about how in Cullwch and Olwen, when Cai gets mad at Arthur and marches out, Bedwyr stays behind, keeps acting like nothing's happened, and isn't the one to avenge Cai's death. The feeling of betrayal on both sides has a lot of unexplored potential. And the version where Bedivere dies and Kay fights to bring his body back safely while mortally wounded himself... And the version where Bedivere survives Camlann and Kay isn't said to fight in it, so they might be left together after their world has fallen apart...

Platonically or queerplatonically, Galahad and the Grail Heroine. I really like the tragic Grail Quest friendships, but I like theirs most, maybe because there's something weird and otherworldly about them both. I like it when characters are strange and endearing and doomed by the narrative.

Ever since reading John Matthews' retelling, which I read before the original, I've had a soft spot for Caradoc and Guinier. The Story of Caradoc is very disturbing, and I have some major qualms with Caradoc over a detail Matthews cut out, but all the same, there's a reason these two have the best track record with magical fidelity tests. Each of them would go to the ends of the earth for the other, and together, they're stronger than any curse.

Favorite Color: Blue, particularly royal blue and some teals.

Currently consuming: Black licorice with chocolate.

First ship: This is a hard one, since through elementary and most of middle school, I tended to go along with whatever I thought the author's intentions were and was more likely to unship something. The first non-endgame ship I got invested in was Sonya/Nikolai in War and Peace. I didn't like Nikolai, but Sonya did, and she was my favorite character, so I wanted her to be happy. The first non-canon couple I thought was meant to be together was also in War and Peace: Marya Bolkonskaya and Julie Karagina. My eighth grade self did not think their letters could be interpreted platonically. I still don't.

Last movie: If the musical doesn't count, the last movie I watched was Quest for Camelot, which was awful. Though not Robot Monster-level bad, Robot Monster has an elegance to its simplicity which Quest for Camelot lacks.

Currently working on: Various fics, most of them Arthuriana or CotRK-related (I am woefully behind on the Badfic Bingo), and (theoretically) an epic-style poem, though I haven't gotten much of it written for quite a while now.

Tagging: @gawrkin, @emperorcandy, @wildbasil, @gorewound, @knightsofsomethingorother, @ladyminaofcamelot, @tasosotaso, @amashelle, @gingersnaptaff (I have no idea who's been tagged so far, apart from the people on @oneshoulderangel's post, so I apologize for any multi-tags)

[bugsbenefit]

who's getting books and who isn't?

tells you a lot actually

in lieu of us getting a Dustin companion book soon i'm doubling down on my point about how insanely telling these books are about where the story is going. especially if you look as who is getting books. and i'm saying this both about El and Will (where it's already kind of obvious why s5 is important for them) as well as Mike (where it's also kind of obvious why s5 is important for his character but it hasn't reached mainstream awareness yet apparently lmao)

as of now Lucas, Max, and Dustin (about to come out), as well as Robin and Eddie, and even Hopper and Terry have one. and they all explore things outside of the main canon by doubling down on what filmed canon already established and adding a bit more layers since they have the time to focus on a single character (like exploring racism and how Lucas deals with it in his book, something the show doesn't dwell on, or exploring Robin's queerness, taking place before the events of s3)

and the focus these books have makes sense since they're mostly written by commissioned writers. so obviously they want to skirt any topics that delve too much into plot heavy areas where the writers a) wouldn't know where the story is going or b) even if they got notes, you don't want important lore drops that impact the later story dropped in companion books

in short we're getting extra story's about no spoilery topics the main story doesn't have time to/want to explore

which makes it all the more interesting we're already getting books about someone like Robin when you know if you asked fans what povs they'd like to see someone like El would rank significantly higher if you trust favourite character rankings. but for some reason El, Mike, and Will have never gotten one

and some of these reasons are just really obvious, especially when it comes to El and Will

1) they obviously can't just drop a book on El yet. on one hand, because her backstory with the lab is a major plot point of the show and they can't spoil it in a book (even if they tried excluding it, writing 200ish pages for a character who can't remember what happened before they turned like 8 is one of those things that would be kind of hard to avoid coming up). even post s4 there's still so many questions about her past and time at the lab, they just shouldn't give unlimited access to her inner monologue about it yet. and on the other hand, El finding her place in the world is quite literally one of her characters main recurring motives, even a companion book as innocuous as "El tries out hobbies" would be exploring something we'd kind of want to see on screen since it'd be a resolution to her character growth and not a fun side quest

2) they also just can't drop a book on Will. the fact that we never found out what actually happened to Will in the UD is already reason enough, the show clearly wants to explore it on screen later on. (now even more obvious since there's already confirmed s1 UD Will in the s5 official teasers). you really can't write a book from someone's pov who's main trauma and life changing moment is something you don't want to get into yet. just doesn't work

there's plot points the show obviously saved for later so both Will and El are pretty unfit as book topics

but with Mike that doesn't actually apply in the same obvious way. Mike not getting a book despite being the leader of the party, having the most on screen defined dynamics with the other kids, and being part of the shows "main" ship would be really odd. like. Really odd. on paper he'd probably be one of the first choices for an easy book protagonist for a fun party side quest. of course unless one of the two book deal breaker reasons applies also:

they can't give his pov because giving his unfiltered inner monologue would spoil s5

they want to explore something relevant to his character themselves on screen and it's not fit for a companion book

but again, in comparison to Will and El where the why is really obvious Mike sticks out because we don't officially know what he's got going on yet. he has no mysterious absence where we don't know what happened to him like with Will and no open ended origin story like with El

it just makes it a bit funnier to me how many people are still fundamentally unconvinced Mike has something going on that's important for the outcome of s5. post s2 the show tries to get some distance from Mike's head and he's joined the club of main characters who don't get books alongside major canon event magnets El and Will. and yeah, obviously you wouldn't want a book from the characters pov who's feelings and sexuality you're actively hiding. it's also a bit of a no brainer you don't want a companion work going into how he's not been doing so great over the past few years because the reasons for that are kind of relevant to the main story. Mike feeling guilty for El dying all the way in s1 is something that might be more fit to bring up in show when their relationship is being addressed instead of in side material

but all in all? the fact that out of all the kids El, Mike, and Will are the only ones who don't get secondary material yet is probably the biggest give away that the three of them are who s5 is planning to give the most insight on even all the in show build up aside. they're being skipped as book povs despite existing public interest and seeming like conventionally easy picks for book side stories

in the current economy around shows franchises, going against what'd be a good marketing decision is always a dead giveaway something is going on

[dunmeshistash]

Would you ever make a post compiling everything we know about Helki? (And your thoughts about him!) He just seems so interesting for a character who barely appears at all.

Almost forgot to answer this one! There's barely anything we know about him tbh, I compiled basically every time he shows up on this post.

The things we know about him for sure

He used to be one of the criminals under Milsiril (Each guard has two so there must have been another one but we don't know who it was)

He's male (yes this is information)

His crime has something to do with ancient magic since he's a canary

After Utaya he was pardoned most likely due to Milsiril asking

He is one of the only elves we see Milsiril talking to willingly

He has tattoos which might be magic tattoos but we don't know what type of magic he uses

Things we can assume about him

He might be Milsiril's servant now based on this post canon extra where Fleki is asking to become Mithrun's servant

He might not be Milsiril's servant based on him acting without her in the Rin extra and seeming to be casual towards her

He and Milsiril probably get along and he's probably the closest to an elf friend she has

Speaking of which, Kabru knows him, he's seen in Kabru's training montage both helping and being used as a dummy

For some reason he mostly wears canary uniform even after being pardoned but uses casual clothes when helping Milsiril out with Mithrun.

My thoughts about him is that I love him, he looks like a gremlin <3

Wish we got more of this guy and more interactions between him and Milsiril since they mostly just stand in the same frames, I also ship him with Milsiril, come on Milsiril Kabru needs a father. He's probably more of an weird uncle to Kabru tho.

I also think he likes Milsiril as in she was probably a nice guard to him at the very least? I doubt she was anything like Pattadol and he goes to her to tell her about Rin so even tho he was one of the elves treating her like a novelty he actually remembered to relay it to Milsiril in hopes she can help Rin

Considering Milsiril also vouched for his release I think it's safe to say she also likes him as a person that's why I don't think their relationship is because she feels superior to him.

Anyway I'm over here vacuuming any Helki crumb to survive

[llilyrose]

llilyrose spends her time analyzing aroace stuff. yay.

isat spoilers afoot

what i especially like about the way adrienne wrote mira's orientation is the lack of room for interpretation. yes they snuck aroace talk into fantasy france, but just stop and think for a minute. what would happen if mira just said "i'm aroace" or "i don't feel love the same way" instead of all the nuance we got to her character in the friend quest convo?

we know she's sex repulsed, we know she's romance repulsed. we know she loves fiction that has those things in it, loves interpreting fictional characters that way, but can't bare to see herself in that situation. it makes a lot of sense with regards to her location (vaugarde, a very sex-positive and romance-adamant country) and also with regards to herself (the way she feels about her environment). Of course she wouldn't blame other folk around her for engaging with their religion the "correct" way, of course she'd internalize all her feelings of being outcast and turn it back on herself.

The fandom respects this! Nobody ships her romantically, or sexually, because we know she's not into that. We know she would never and i know a bunch of people who would punch you for even thinking it!

Now what if Adrienne hadn't put this in the game? What if they had just said on their tumblr one day, "mira's aroace," or something. where would we be now? aspec shipping discourse would definitely take the reins. we'd have people shipping her in all kinds of different ways, bending the aroace character to the best of their ability because they could still be into sex, or romance, or whatever. this is TRUE, it's POSSIBLE, but there's no nuance. We wouldn't know the way Mira really feels about these things unless Adrienne told us, so a lot of people would either ignore/"work around" her identity or just wouldn't even know about it to begin with!

Introducing mira's orientation in the way adrienne did leaves no room for discourse. we know if she's sex-positive, sex-negative, how she reacted to finding out she was, etc. It provides so much more representation than a simple "I'm aroace" ever could. It's such a wide label, so finally having CONCRETE information about a canonical aroace's experiences with their orientation is so, so freeing and honestly quite refreshing. and it's worked into the story seamlessly!!!

She's not an emotionless carcass with no capacity for love, she's not outwardly detesting sex or romance at every possible moment, she's simply a well-rounded character who happens to be aroace. You have time to warm up to her before ever even finding out about her orientation! Or having any clue at all (barring maybe the suspicious sketches)!!!!! Aroace people are real!!! We're so real!!!!

Speaking of the suspicious sketches! We know siffrin's alloace (from, like, one line of dialogue), but we don't know if he's sex-repulsed. Adrienne's gone on record to say "aces can still have sex" in reference to siffrin, so I'm inclined to believe he has at least some sort of libido.

When looking at the sketches, both him and mira have a repulsed reaction. I think there are three possible reasons for Siffrin here!

Siffrin is sex-repulsed and has a visceral reaction to them because he thinks it's gross.

Siffrin has no libido because the stress overrides everything in his system. That combined with his ace identity would probably lead to a distaste for the papers.

Some people would NOT GET THE MEMO from the act 3 friendquest. Sometimes when you're writing you have to account for the gamers being really really dense. Some people didn't even understand the Isa friendquest was him coming out as trans basically. Since Ace characters are hard to "prove" unless they explicitly state they dislike sex, this line of dialogue might've just been there to drill it in that Siffrin is ace because the only other place we see that implication is one line in the friendquest. It could even have no tie to his relationship with sex, who knows?

one of these options is not like the others! /silly

I couldn't tell you which one of those it is, but i think at least one of them had to have hit the mark. It's a lot harder to decode siffrin's sexuality when we only get like 5 lines of dialogue total that vaguely even reference it

With this we come back to the issue from earlier: He could be demi, he could be ace, he could be sex-repulsed, he could not! Most people write them sex-repulsed and I'm personally on that bandwagon, but interpreting them a different way isn't any less correct unless you completely ignore the fact they're ace in the first place.

Even sex-positive aces have complicated relationships with sex. Some do it for the gratification, some simply have higher libido and can't think of a different way to get it out, and others only do it to please their partner.

I think writing an ace character as sex-positive should be seen as a character study instead of an excuse to ship two characters together. Is this character the type to even enjoy it in the first place? How often? How do they interact with it? Etc. Which I think is what Adrienne was talking about when she said "aces can still have sex." We don't know about siffrin's identity, we don't have a grasp on the nuance, but we do know he's ace and that he experiences love differently from the way mirabelle does, and the way isabeau does, and the way odile does, and what have you.

I love love love the representation we get in isat. An aroace, an alloace, and someone that a lot of fans headcanon as aroallo though it's unconfirmed. Even if Odile's not aro, we still get that line of dialogue about not finding romance suitable for her at the moment, which speaks true to a different experience altogether. No two characters experience love, experience life the same in isat. That's why i get to make a tumblr text post that's a bit too long exploring the different avenues adrienne took when writing the characters lol :')

[yanderes-galore]

I was surprised by how much I liked your platonic!Rhaenys Targaryen short, since I don't typically request platonic yanderes ☺️ Could we get a concept for platonic!Rhaenys, please?

🕊️ anon

Sure! I said Rhaenys Velaryon on the title to distinguish Rhaenys (Aegon I's wife) and Rhaenys (Corly's wife).

I'm so worried I butchered her character... so I'd appreciate feedback to write her better! For now, just put down little thoughts I had. I love her... just wish I knew how to write her.

Yandere! Platonic! Rhaenys Targaryen/Velaryon Concept

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Violence, Blood, Murder, Isolation, Death, Paranoia, Major canon character death mentioned, Fear of loss/death, Dubious companionship.

Rhaenys seems like she'd be fiercely protective of those she cares about.

More specifically... those she views as her children or something similar.

Related to her directly or not, Rhaenys is devoted.

She seems like she'd be a very attentive mother, aunt, grandmother, etc....

She is shown to care for her family.

She loves her husband, she loves her children, she loves her dragon.

Rhaenys would keep her obsession on Driftmark with her.

You could be related to her... or even a young servant she felt protective towards.

Rhaenys seems like one of the more moderately intimidating yanderes.

She isn't quite as kind and peaceful as Viserys, but she isn't hungry for violence like Daemon.

She's in the middle, often planning tactically to take on situations.

While she would be caring... she can be stern.

Rhaenys would love a Dragonrider obsession.

If you're not... even then I can still see Meleys being just as protective of you as her rider.

Rhaenys would keep her obsession in Driftmark, although... if the Dance started... she'd tolerate keeping you at Dragonstone with Rhaenyra.

Rhaenys feels she plays a big part in your life.

She'd be very caring whenever you're around.

I also imagine Rhaenys would want a say in your betrothal partners.

After all, she's quite the protective one.

Rhaenys can be just as fierce as her dragon, Meleys.

She's often calm, yet always planning how to keep you safe and happy.

She views herself as a guardian to you, after all.

You have your freedoms, yet Rhaenys expects you to stay where she is.

Be that Driftmark or Dragonstone, she wants you in sight.

If you aren't, not even Corlys can sway her from searching for you.

While you have your freedoms, Rhaenys knows how to give you your punishments too.

She'd never hurt you, but I can see her discipline you by isolating you in your chambers.

Y'know, like being grounded?

It's humiliating how she treats you like you know no better...

But it gets the message across in her eyes.

If you ran from her or left to join The Greens, Rhaenys will not hesitate to use Meleys to find you.

She will drag you back home kicking and screaming through dragoon fire if she has to.

You will not aid The Greens or run from her in any way.

Rhaenys likes to treat you as one of her children regardless of your relations.

She dislikes Daemon speaking with you, seeing him as a poor influence due to how impulsive he is.

She worries when Corlys suggests taking you on ships to learn the seas, wanting to keep you with her at Driftmark.

Even during the war, Rhaenys keeps a close eye on you.

She's careful with you, especially when she loses Laena and Laenor.

In fact, Rhaenys would just get worse when she loses her son and daughter.

Before then she was always protective yet loving towards you.

Yet when she loses her children?

The older woman clings to you... scared to lose you.

Even more so when she thinks Rhaenyra killed Laenor.

Similar to Rhaenyra, I can see Rhaenys having some trust issues after the deaths of her children.

She doesn't betroth you because she's scared to lose you.

If you are female, she'd be scared to lose you in childbirth.

If you are male, she'd probably be scared to lose you in the war.

Either way, Rhaenys is a bit paranoid of losing you too.

Whenever you're with Rhaenyra, Rhaenys is close by.

However, despite the Laenor incident, she eventually knows she has to trust Rhaenyra with you for your safety.

Oh, if anyone did hurt you?

Gods forbid if you were killed?

Rhaenys promises Fire and Blood with Meleys for revenge.

Does it go against orders? For once, she doesn't care.

You mean too much to her.

If Rhaenys is platonic over you, I bet even Corlys is to a degree.

The two are quite a healthy power couple... Rhaenys would probably get him to help with your care in Driftmark.

Rhaenys would keep you out of the war for as long as she can.

She's seen children die, Rhaenyra's especially.

No one can convince her to send you out to fight.

Be that commanding a fleet or riding a dragon... Rhaenys will stay against it.

If you're a servant she doesn't have to worry about that.

Rhaenys may originally be wary of you meeting Meleys, but Meleys is aware of how much you matter to the queen who never was.

The large red dragon often greets you with a trill, gently caring for you with Rhaenys in sight.

This shared care Rhaenys has with her dragon is what allows Meleys to risk anything to protect you both.

Rhaenys doesn't flinch at the deaths of those who cross her.

Any who cross her or you are fed to Meleys.

She takes your well-being very seriously.

Rhaenys always gives you advice and life lessons, she's lived a long time after all.

She warns you to be cautious and to come to her for issues.

Rhaenys always wants to know where you go.

You aren't even sent anywhere to be a diplomat.

It may be selfish... but Rhaenys can't lose anymore of what she loves.

She'll do anything to keep you under her care, including lock you in Driftmark or Dragonstone until you learn it's for the best.

[woofs-silly-ships]

"ace in the hole" is old slang used to mean a hidden advantage. Ace being used to mean asexual is only within the past 15-20 years.

I think with that particular line, Viv meant it in the old slang, forgot the younger gen asexuals call themselves ace, and pretended that's what she meant all along. (I'm 99% sure Viv never pays attention to the TQIA+ side, so that's why she ignores and excludes us)

Rosie calling Al her hidden advantage makes far more sense, especially with these new leaks.

Anyway, I don't think Viv should have bothered making an aroace character. She is obviously very into shipping culture and is definitely stepping away from any aromantic Alastor ideas. We'll probably have to say goodbye to his asexuality as well. Hazbin and HB are very LGB only kind of shows.

Oh my god. OH MY GOD

welp. There goes my remaining positive thoughts on that line.

And that also means Al didn’t just not know what asexual meant, he genuinely was like “Rosie wtf- can you not-“ AND THEN VIV PROBABLY TWISTED IT TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE SHE HAD DECENT REPRESENTATION-

that last part is genuinely how I feel about the whole canon hellaverse tho, but even that’s debatable when you look at how stereotyped the gay and pan characters specifically are (the gay characters are all dramatic and horny/sex obsessed, and the pan characters are all also horny to an even more extreme degree (except Bee for some reason, I need to rescue her and Tex from this freaking show istg 😭)). I think Viv wants to be an ally of some kind but is just failing miserably

Yeah but if Alastor ever gets a canon partner or is no longer asexual I will be down pounding my head against the kitchen floor (/ref [never missing the chance for a will wood reference]) before writing a 50 page essay on how stupid that decision is /hj… only half joking.

But like yeah. Viv, we get it, you like shipping. But you can live without shipping just one character but having free rein of most others. It’s not that hard.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

I'm sorry but like, how are ppl believing that Rellana and Messmer are a thing when the evidence provides otherwise? Apparently there're a lot of small details that have been surfacing lately and apparently it confirms that they're a couple? Even though there's a lot of evidence that there's also not? Like what's the truth? Also I'm reading some Japanese text as well, which they're also unsure of, but they're still concluding that it's one sided. Can you tell me lore wise what's going on?

i mean if ppl ship something then every small details can become sth to talk about (i literally look at Rellana's sword having gold engraving and claps my hands "gold? gold. oh she's in love with Marika i knew it." 😂😂)

i don't ship those two, so i can only give you a rundown of something that doesn't involve any romantic connection, cuz i don't think there's one. so idk whatever i said can even be considered "lore wise"?

but there's one lore implication i find fascinating: Ymir probably has a hand in convincing Rellana to follow Messmer, so he can gain access to LoS and Cathedral of Manus Metyr via her (he was her mentor + at the place where you find her dueling shield, there’s a glintslab firefly). we know how much of a manipulative rat he is so i don't put it past him to do so.

also, in an absence of any items confirming outright mutual affection, you turn to character dialogue. and Messmer and Rellana have no dialogues involving each other, even in cut ones (which i know ppl are upset about, but i find it funny ajdfd). hell, everyone only agrees Ciaran has a crush on Artorias because Hawkeye Gough's cut dialogue confirms it so.

have you seen Godfrey's cut dialogues about Marika? if From wants a canon romance they can very much write it cuz what the hell is "Dearest Marika is precisely what I must take back." "Dear Marika, do not fear. I am returned." "Oh Marika, I will take thee in mine arms once more." (he's so real for that).

so like... believe whatever you want, you can ship something from one throwaway detail, you can ship something because it's canon, you can do whatever. a validity of a ship doesn't have to rely on "truth" (which is always vague in From lore to begin with), and even if a ship is canon, you can choose to ignore it too. ppl do that all the time lol. just don't crash other ppl's party. leave each other alone and enjoy our own crops.