#in whatever permutation you prefer

[meduseld]

On the other hand, if Roach was Irish he and Soap can do the handshake meme of colonized national going "just when you thought you hit rock bottom you want to fuck a blond English guy" and Ghost didn't even plan for this it Just Happened.

[reiverreturns]

sometimes god gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers (rdr fans who don't enjoy x reader fics)

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

i wanted to preface this by saying that i really love this story, and i love kay (she's so sweet and i can definitely see my mc becoming besties with her, t4t friendship ftw). however, as a gay transmasc nonbinary person who hasn't been able to afford transitioning, the scene where teddie confronts a nonbinary mc about being interested in him was really dysphoria-inducing. i primarily play interactive fiction to escape the reality of the way i look, and the scene was a painful reminder that most gay men wouldn't see me as part of their community the way i am. i think that denying nonbinary people the ability to romance teddie, denying us our sexualities, isn't the way you should go with this, but at the end of the day, it's your story and i'll respect that. i just don't think it's very kind to treat nonbinary people like we'd take advantage of teddie's sexuality, instead of us seeing ourselves in him. if you are open to changing it, my suggestions would be to either let the mc say they're okay with his sexuality/that they're also gay, or to have us choose whether our mc is transmasc, transfem, trans-neutral, or genderfluid at the beginning of the story and set it so transmasc mcs can romance teddie (the suggestion i'd prefer, as i find it strange that nonbinary mcs are given the "nebulous third gender" treatment anyway). again, i want to say that i really love this story and i love your writing, and i'll respect whatever you decide to do, i just thought this was something i should bring up.

Hi, I'm really sorry about this, genuinely. I don't want people to feel excluded.

I've talked a bit about this topic RE: teddie before, I'll grab part of the post:

With a nonbinary MC, the thing I have to account for is that this includes the option to input your own gender. I like putting the freedom of choice, but it's limiting in other ways, such as when you have a character with a set sexuality.

I have limitations on what I can do with the code: there's only so many different permutations of identity I can include and while I know very well that gender is a spectrum, the coding of the engine is not. The code does not see all the nuances of expression and identity, it sees the inelegant flags that picking "I'm male" and "I'm male but I figured that out for myself" sets. The more different combinations I load in, the more specifically complicated stuff gets, and I get more and more likely to screw up something else in an exclusionary way by failing to account for it in the game's reactivity.

It's possible to select any pronouns, then select any gender you like. I know that doesn't cover absolutely everything, but I'm trying (and I hope that I haven't done anything to the contrary so far, but there shouldn't be?) to make zero assumptions about any element of how MC's body looks outside of the selected customisation options.

I'm not trying to deny anyone their sexuality, not in the slightest. But that also means I have to bear in mind that how I write Teddie and his approach/reactions to others can hit this problem from the opposite angle. Teddie is gay. If I have him acting interested in say, a transfemme, I'm then telling that player that Teddie sees them as male.

This answer feels kind of inadequate, but it's all I got.

[kcscribbler]

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying all the permutations of post-s2 Crowley being absolutely emotionally shattered, but I'd also love to see him go full-blown, preferably melodramatic post-breakup human in s3.

I want a nightmarish hair style/color change, slutty wardrobe upgrade, Taylor Swift instead of Queen, a platonic rebound with Muriel. Let me see him going to therapy and hating it, taking up yoga or reiki (and secretly loving it), joining an Austen book club out of pure, unadulterated spite. Whatever the demonic equivalent is of keying a car, since he would never.

Dog-earing a corner in a signed first edition?

Whatever, you get the idea. Because book!Crowley is canonically an eternal optimist, and I miss that.

[swashbucklery]

Also in honor of @willowsmutfest I’ll be taking (Willow smut flavoured) ask prompts!

How does this work?

Send me an ask, on or off anon, that contains a pairing and a premise. Like, “Kit/Elora, scissoring” or “Kit/Jade, butt stuff” or “Kit/Elora/Jade, orgasm denial, cowboy au.” A medium amount of specificity is preferred; “write whatever” is too vague to be helpful but too many details might be limiting. There is no limit on the number of asks you can send, go wild. I’ll write nearly any permutation of Kit, Elora, and Jade, but I will die a thousand deaths before writing smut about any of the dudes on this show.

I will be responding to these asks with E-rated fanfiction, so if you don’t like to read that uhhhhh don’t send me asks.

Then what happens?

I’ll try to write as many of them as I can. Sometimes this means that I write a little mini-ficlet (500 words or less) as a reply to your ask. Sometimes this inspires me to write a full fic. Sometimes I don’t write people’s asks, because their prompt is not to my taste (YKINMKATO/KINKTOMATO) or because I have more prompts than I can manage in the writing time I have.

When do I send the prompts?

This weekend! I want to have a bit of lead-time before Smutfest starts.

[toushindai]

Hello it's me again~ I was thinking of one of your stories, in which Ganondorf tempted Rauru with the imagery of having him imprisoned and thus being able to do whatever he wanted with him. Ganondorf found his way out of his cell the first time he was imprisoned and put himself at Rauru's mercy in hopes of snatching the Secret Stone, which Rauru used as his justification for having his way with him, but what about if he had been able to contain Ganondorf and actually keep him imprisoned until he could have him put on trial? Would he take advantage of someone who is a prisoner without doubt, in the way Ganondorf painted that image for him? Does Rauru draw the red line between "I am keeping you here as a guest in this castle but I'm not letting you leave" and "you are my actual prisoner in an actual cell who very obviously does not have the free will to reject me as the king" when it comes to his justification of being involved with Ganondorf ? Does he just think that the laws he set for Hyrule don't apply to Ganondorf, prisoner or not, because he is evil and a warmonger and thus sees himself as free to do with him as he sees fit? Basically my question is that would he/did he ever entertain that fantasy once he actually put Ganondorf in a cell and how would he justify himself if he did.

Gonna stick this entire answer under the cut because wow this is going to be All About Noncon. If anyone who needs to Not See That hasn't done so already, it really might be best to just block the "and we were both kings 😳" tag, though I'll continue to tag for noncon when particularly appropriate.

So, I'm going to answer this in a few different permutations but I think--we'll see if this holds out as I keep typing--that all of them boil down to variations on no, that's not something Rauru would have acted on.

Especially not between the final sex scene of UAWTATR and its final scene/Ganondorf's escape; at that point, there are several glaring reasons why Rauru's not inclined that way. The fact that Ganondorf's just tried to kill him; the post-nut clarity horrible realization that what he's just done is past what he can justify to himself; the political considerations he is absorbed in. These are significant factors but also part of it is just that... the game is over. They're no longer pretending that it's anything other than pure animosity between them. (I mean, it is something other than pure animosity between them, by this point--at the very least there's a whole lot of desire there--but, for Ganondorf to have acted on his true intention puts an end to the need to relieve the tension between hating each other's guts and performing civility in public.) I think that at the end of the fic, something's cooled off significantly for Rauru because he's got this inarguable physical and legal control over Ganondorf. And because he's got a lot on his mind. Look, he's got a puppet chieftain to install and she doesn't even want to be his friend anymore. Bummer.

But let's say that Ganondorf doesn't hack out of his cell and into Rauru's chamber and instead stays docilely in his cell until he's ready to break out for good and cause havoc. (Well tbh that's what he thought he was doing in chapter three, but let's say he waited a few days for some reason.) Does Rauru arrange any trysts in this situation, in the meantime? Even then, I'm not sure does. Ganondorf's impression of Rauru's desire is a little off from accurate; the fantasy he describes in "Sheath" is

“Would you come to me in my cell or have me brought up to you like a concubine? [...]The cell, probably,” Ganondorf continues, spinning the image out for Rauru in spite of the way it makes his own skin crawl. “You’d want me chained to the wall, wouldn’t you, so you could use your magic on my shackles to put my limbs wherever you want them…”

and while that's close enough to accurate to give Rauru a +2 Horny/-2 Intelligent debuff, it's not the exact shape of what Rauru would prefer. It's got a little too much of Ganondorf's preferences in it, truthfully: too much physical force (magic counts) used to make it impossible to fight back. If anything, the concubine image is actually the more appealing to Rauru I'd say. But still not quite. Rauru is much more into the coercion. He's into putting Ganondorf into situations where he has to submit to Rauru because the fiction is that he's here to submit to Rauru--and because Rauru has caused him to behave in such a way, the fiction is temporarily made reality. So once this fiction is ended--once the public story is that Ganondorf has done something worth imprisoning him for--it's not quite scratching the same itch. Yes, Rauru has often thought of Ganondorf in chains, as he admits in that fic, but I don't think that's actually a sexual image for Rauru. That's a god my life would be so much easier if image. He has a lot of those.

Whether Ganondorf does not fall under standards for just treatment because of how evil he is is something I write Rauru struggling with a lot. His instinct is that Ganondorf is not protected by such standards. His instinct is that to subscribe to such standards in Ganondorf's case is to put himself and Hyrule at a disadvantage and probably in danger. But I think he's uncomfortable with that instinct as well, disturbed that he feels that way. He doesn't want to be that sort of king. It's never, for him, quite as simple as "he's evil therefore I can assault him with impunity"--I think not even in that moment in chapter three when Ganondorf is pushing really hard for him to admit just that. Even then, it's if I really do have this ugliness in me, I should vent it here instead of anywhere less deserving. And then he feels a deep horror at himself after (in the few seconds he gets for it before Ganondorf tries to strangle him). But it's still true that he did it. It's still true that he has this deeply potent fantasy of having the soft power to force Ganondorf into (sexual) compliance, and that he carried out that fantasy.

This answer is really jumbled, I'm sorry. tl;dr: for Rauru, it's all about "I'm not going to give you any choice to make but this one, but you still have to perform the act of choosing." And once he actually has Ganondorf literally captive, I think that flavor changes significantly enough that he wouldn't pursue it.

[cipheramnesia]

Hi, you're my favorite trans blogger and I have a question about gender. Is there such a thing as being physically cis but mentally/emotionally trans? I'm afab and I love my body and presenting femininely but I've always felt more masculine in terms of interests, preferences (my bestie is always telling me my favorite movies, etc are bro things,) behavior in relationships (my current bf keeps stealing my t-shirts, lol) but idk if that means I can claim nonbinary or if that's even the right label? This isn't a "not like other girls" thing, I genuinely enjoy feeling "manly" but looking "girly"

Splendor is a many gendered thing, and I would like to lead with the advice I think is best when you're poking around in the gender toolbox: "You can anything you want forever."

Okay, more particularly, gender is very tenuous when you try and tie it to anything specific. Gender can be of the body or of the mind or any kind of permutation of the two or neither or something altogether different. You, yourself, have ahold of it already: you have interests and mannerisms which feel masculine but a body which feels feminine. Historically, what defines activities, hobbies, interests, and yes even body shape as either masculine or feminine has varied quite a bit. Meaning your own sense of these things in either category is a bit of an action towards seeing something as having particularly properties to you which aren't innate to the thing itself. The idea of those things having a gender exists in two places - society and your own mind, but neither has properties which are immutable.

Okay that's all very abstract, what does it mean for you? Unsurprisingly, to me it means you can be any kind of trans you want to be, or even none at all. The fact is that so many people are trans or cis over such a diverse range that I'm not willing to define anyone out of trans much beyond "your experienced gender is different from the gender imposed by a doctor at birth or by society," and even that's a little suspect. But the point is you can very much see yourself as emotionally or mentally trans but not physically - if that's what you want to do, and if that is what makes your gender feel like it fits. They're all custom jobs see, some people just happen to fit off the rack pretty easily.

But also the world doesn't really make it easy to find a way to exist if you're not cisgender male or female. Once you move outside that binary, it's not always easy to find what feels best, so you probably are gonna poke around a bit, check out your options. I recommend it even, I did myself a little while and maybe I will again. You don't have to pick just one gender for ever and ever after.

Which is pretty roundabout way of saying sure have some nonbinary. It's free and we literally never run out. Don't even have to claim it or anything, just grab some. Believe me, femme on the outside and masc on the inside like a gender M&M isn't the weirdest thing that's happened with gender. Assuming it's safe fuck around and find out, you have nothing to lose but your gender and also nothing to gain but your gender again. It's fun and you should have fun whatever you go with.

[theconfusedartist]

Before Penn Station [permutation 1] Ch. 3

Hey guys! I bet you weren't expecting this to be a double chapter post, did you?! This was the reason I was delaying so both would come out at the same time. This is the chapter where I do my best to relay something funky going on with the PoVs and all. Here's the chapter under the cut!

Chapter 3: Desmond (???) PoV

Arriving in Brooklyn was never something Desmond had to worry about.

While Altaïr was able to that Fast Forwarding Memory thing, so long as Desmond was next to a train, bus, car, or physically standing next to or nearby plane, boat, or multi-structural vehicle he could fast travel. It wasn't always safe, since it meant there was a chance that someone could see him disappearing into thin air, but in Manhattan, so long as you didn't catch people's attention, they didn't give a shit.

From the homeless people that gathered under bridges, families walking in Central Park or on sidewalks, people wearing all different clothing on every corner-

There was such a visual feast for the eyes at any given moment that people rarely took notice of a lone stranger suddenly disappearing at the top of a building or in a back alley. Why should they?

Even so, there was always a chance that someone could be watching, and Desmond hadn't managed to stay hidden from Assassin and Templar eyes for so long by not being cautious. There was a second way to get around via teleporting, but it was a bit tricky, as there had to be an exact copy of a marking on the place where he was going. Or there had to be someone/thing there that would serve as an anchor.

"The best way to get around is by horse." Altaïr lectures. "They're steady companions, wise fighters, and should you take care of them, they'll in turn take care of you."

For whatever reason, Desmond and Altaïr rarely ever read the notes in front of them on screen when they fast traveled and preferred to talk to each other instead. Ah, well. They'd learn it eventually.

'Is that why you swear by صديق being the best horse ever?' Desmond asks as he sits down in lotus position, pulling out a map of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and focuses on the apartment block labeled 'Eli'.

Which was really cute, but if he was reading the notes he wouldn't need to use anything that could possibly be used as evidence, but that's fine.

"Obviously." Altaïr retorts. "And don't think I haven't noticed you just grabbing any random horse to hide when you need to suddenly travel far distances, either."

Desmond shrugs at Altaïr's jab and concentrates on the spot he wants to go, imagining sitting on the roof and recalling all the little details that he could, holding the image in his head.

With a sharp 'pop' noise and a metallic tinkle, Desmond had left the island of Manhattan for it's sister Brooklyn. Tucking his maps back in his backpack, Desmond made sure his grappling hook was well connected to the ledge before rappelling down the side of the roof, making his way down to Elijah's window. 'I never tried to hide the face that I travel by horse, I just think it would be nice to get around using a motorcycle. Much faster.'

Altaïr scoffs in disbelief but goes silent once Desmond makes it to Elijah's room, the fourth window on the row of the eighth floor, Elijah had decorated the outside of his window frame with spaceships and stars so Desmond would see it. Following the protocol they set up, Desmond knocks once on the glass, three times on the frame, once on the pane, then twice on the glass again.

There was a rustling behind the cobalt black out curtains, a thud then they were thrown open to reveal Elijah, whose blue-brown eyes glowed with excitement. "Dad! You're here!"

Desmond smiles widely at Elijah, hopping into the room from the window and unlatching his grappling hook just in time as Elijah's patience runs out and he full on tackles his Dad. Elijah wore a huge happy smile as Desmond's arms tightened around his waist. "I stayed in my room all morning waiting for you and Daddy. What took you so long?"

Desmond presses a kiss to Elijah's head, then mentally steps aside so Altaïr can do the same, giving him a second squeeze before setting Elijah down. "Sorry for the wait, Eli. We had a few incidents at the bar again."

Elijah scrunches up his nose, his long black braids swinging as he asks- "Was it Alex again?"

Before Desmond can respond, Altaïr takes control to answer a hissed, "Yes. And your Dad was too nice to just throw him out on his ass like I suggested."

Desmond rolls his eyes, feeling Altaïr separate from him, his entire body feeling kinda floaty as their mass was split into two, irritated with doing the body-switch with Altaïr. If he was going to get bitchy then he could be in his own body. They were used to the body-switch and body-separation technique. After all, it was how he was even able to use his own body, having practiced taking control of Altaïr for years before he was even comfortable enough to walk as a toddler. It took too many embarrassing years for him to figure out what the buttons and controls were to move his body. "Your Daddy is just fed up with him is all-Alex isn't that bad, just intense is all."

Elijah pouts, "If he keeps you from coming here on time, then he's just as bad as Daddy says he is!"

Ignoring Altaïr's smugness, Desmond picks Elijah into his arms before sitting on his bed tiredly, "Enough about Alex. What've you been up to, Buddy?"

Elijah's eyes light up and he lets the topic pass as he launches into his own tale. "Well, yesterday Aunt Cara took Mira, Laila, me, and Hassan to the park and I caught a whole slug!"

Elijah wriggles out of Desmond's arms to rifle through a pile of brightly colored construction paper until he brings back a small stack and sits on the bed next to him. He holds up a picture of a bright yellow slug in a puddle of blue drawn with crayons, "I drew a picture of Sally the slug, see? And this is a picture of you, me, and Daddy-" Elijah holds up a picture he drew of himself in the middle with two blob figures wearing white hoods. "-that we made yesterday when Aunt Cara told us to draw our families."

Desmond holds the pictures carefully, tracing his hand over Elijah's depiction of their family, before setting it down in his lap.

"Mira 'n me had a rock-skipping contest too! I won of course." Elijah says proudly.

Desmond huffs a laugh, "Good job, Eli. Although, I'm surprised that Laila didn't join you guys."

Elijah's smile dims ans he kicks his feet, "...Laila's family came to pick her up while we were at the park. They all went home together, so Mira 'n me played by ourselves."

Desmond presses a kiss to the top of Elijah's head, "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" He holds up Elijah's pictures. "And I was thinking this is some great art, Buddy. Whaddya say we hand it up on the wall?"

Elijah brightens, bouncing on the bed, "Yeah! I wanna put it up there!"

Snagging the tape Desmond kept in his backpack, he stuck some on the corners before handing the art pieces back to Elijah and lifting him up to the wall next to his bed. "Where should we put this piece, then?"

The wall to the side and behind Elijah's bed is covered in Elijah's drawings, his absolute favorites were in the small night stand next to his bed, the top covered in all the colorful rocks and pieces of string he'd picked up. Desmond lifts Elijah onto his shoulders, smiling as Altaïr pulls away from his mind to be fully present in the split-mass body, his body shimmering a slight silver. Elijah debates where to put the drawing, swinging his legs with excitement, then points to a space between a space between a drawing of a room full of plants and a picture of the three of them back when they first came to Manhattan the previous year in August. "Right here, Dad!"

Desmond dutifully tapes up the image with a smile as Altaïr rearranges the pictures around it so nothing would be covered by it. The picture hung proudly in the center of all the others, various pieces of snapshots from their older apartments and hidey-holes. More than 7 of the pieces featured a fourth blob with yellow for hair and a big cheesy grin.

"How's it look, Elijah?" Altaïr asks.

"Great!" Elijah extends his arms out to Altaïr, who easily obliges and holds him on his ghostly shoulders. "When is Uncle Clay coming back?"

Desmond shoots Altaïr a worried look, but Altaïr keeps his face hidden under his white cowl. Elijah yanks it off Altaïr's head and starts to trace the long scar on the back of his skull, still kicking his legs. "He started his training last year, right? He should be done by now!" Elijah pouts, laying his chin on Altaïr's head. "We haven't seen him in so long..."

"Clay has been unavailable these last five months." Desmond tells Elijah honestly, unwilling to keep him in the dark his Father Will Al Mualim the Mentor had, back when he and Altaïr had lived in their formative years with the man. "The last I heard from him, he'd told me he'd be going through his final training with Al Mualim, before undertaking his first mission."

Thankfully for Desmond, it's Altaïr who speaks, "He wouldn't tell us the mission, not over a phone line. Too risky. As for when we'll see him, he told he'd come visit once his mission was complete."

Desmond doesn't say anything. He knows just as well as Altaïr that, with the way the Order was run, your first mission could very well be your last. Death was considered an 'occupational hazard' by Al Mualim William the current Mentor, which mean that loved ones or close friends were usually the last ones to know about a death.

Yet another reason why so many people defected from the Order to the Brotherhood, or switched sides to the Templars altogether. Every single assassin that decided to associate with the Order, whether they were assassins the traditional sense or belief, was precious and should be trated with care.

Unfortunately, Al Mualim didn't agree.

"...we simply have to have faith, Elijah. Faith that he'll return to us safe and in one piece." Desmond says. Because what was the core of being an Assassin, truly, if it wasn't for their belief and faith in others?

Altaïr, reading his thoughts, nods silently. "It's not the skill or training that makes the assassin, but rather one's ideology."

Elijah wrinkled his nose, "I don't really get it, but what you're saying is as long as we believe in Uncle Clay, he'll come back?"

"No, Elijah. You have to believe in the hope that he will come back. That's all we can do. That doesn't mean he actually will. But it's all we have."

"I still don't get it." Elijah scowls, "But we basically won't see him for even longer. Great."

"Elijah-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Dad!" Elijah yells. "I wanna talk about something else!"

A sharp knock at the door, "Elijah!" It's the caretaker, Cara. "What's going on in there?!"

"Hello Cara!" Desmond calls out to her, "I was saying hello to Elijah, I'll be out in a minute."

A grumble is heard outside outside the door, accompanied by heavy footsteps, then Cara leaves. Desmond frowns but quickly trades it in for a neutral expression. "Elijah, I know you're not happy about the situation, but that's all we can do right now." Elijah keeps scowling and Desmond sighs. "I'm going to go talk to Cara, Altaïr will stay with you."

Giving Elijah one more glance, Desmond walks out of the room with more poise than he actually feels. Cara is waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, her mouth pinched into a tight frown as she taps her foot impatiently. Desmond plasters on a smile and does his best to ignore the pit in his stomach, "Hello Cara. Did you need something?"

"I don't know, Eric, why the hell else would I be waiting for you, when I have better things to be doing?"

He doesn't flinch, he doesn't. "To enjoy my charming company...? I truly don't know what the problem might be. I've paid what owe for last week and I'm prepared to pay for this next week-"

"Oh, I'll take the money, but that isn't what this is about." Cara snaps.

"Then...what has you in such a foul mood?" He doesn't fidget as the aggrieved silence lingers on. Who'd have thought all that the assassin training would be useful in a situation like this?

"I wasn't able to get in tough with you on Thursday. All the other children's parents were able to pick up their children, but since you don't have a phone number, there was no way for me to reach you. Do you understand what you've cost me?"

"No..." Desmond replies warily, "However, I did inform you of this before I left Elijah in your care."

"I don't give a damn about your situation, your paranoia, or whatever else it is you have going on, Eric! I had a date planned on Thursday and because of whatever hang-ups you have, I was forced to cancel it and spend it here with your Elijah!"

Desmond straightens, eyes hardening, "Cara, I'm sorry that you missed your date but I hope you didn't treat Elijah any differently because of this."

"Oh, he was fucking fine and dandy." Cara hisses. "I gave him some pizza and made him stay in his room."

"I'll be checking with Elijah to see if you what you're saying is true. However, I warned you beforehand that I wouldn't always be available, I've paid your increasing fees without complaint. If this set up doesn't work, I'll take Elijah somewhere."

"Hmph, you don't need to do that, but you do need to get a phone. What if something happens?" Cara says with a scowl.

"Like you missing a date?" Desmond asks sarcastically. "Look, I pick up Elijahon Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll take him somewhere else."

Desmond gives her a small irate nod and walks upstairs to Elijah and Altaïr, before he gives into his impulses and says something that he might regret. Elijah looks calmer, sitting in Altaïr's lap on his bed as he writes something down, Altaïr idly stroking his hand through dark curls.

Elijah's blue-brown eyes look aat Desmond once the door closes, "What did Aunt Cara say?"

Desmond has no doubt that Elijah was listening to try and catch the entire conversation, but he refuses to withhold information they way Al Mualim his Father William had. "Aunt Cara was upset she couldn't reach me and she had to miss her date on Thursday. Did she...treat you any differently because of it?"

Elijah wrinkles his nose, "No, She just ordered a pizza, turned on the TV and left." Elijah shrugs, "I was alone for the night and I didn't see her until I came back from school on Friday."

'Friday?!' Desmond thinks. 'What's her damn problem?! What if something happened?!'

"Elijah's smart." Altaïr says, and Elijah preens under the praise, "If anything would've happened, he would've called me and we would've have been at his side faster than he could start crying."

"Yeah, Dad, I'm super smart!" Elijah crows. "That's why the bad guys never find me when you have to fight them off!"

Desmond rubs at the back of his neck, "I know, I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying though." He kneels down, not getting on the bed because he still has his outdoor clothes on, and hugs Elijah tightly. Elijah hugs back, his fingers digging into Desmond's neck, and Altaïr leans down to hug them both, Desmond being partially lifted from his position by the strength of it. After a few minutes, Desmond pulls away to start peppering Elijah's face with kisses smiling as Elijah giggles-Altaïr drops a kiss on both of their heads with a fond smile.

Once their impromptu cuddle session ends, Desmond leans back with a smile. "Well, I'm staying with you until it's time for bed, then I'll be back tomorrow for the day as well. So, we'll do whatever it is you wanna do today."

Elijah smiles harder in return, kicking his legs and leaning into the shared embrace of Altaïr and Desmond, "Then I wanna go over to your apartment, and you can make breakfast."

Desmond laughs, eyes sparkling with affection, "Any requests?"

"New York cheesecake pancakes with lemon and strawberries." Elijah says without hesitation, "And scrambled veggie eggs! With cheese please!"

He feels rather than sees Altaïr give the other half of his mass back, feeling his organs shift oddly back into place, as he lifts Elijah into his lap. He sits cross-legged on the floor, his body starting to glow. "Of course, anything for you, my little miracle."

----------->

Author's Notes: Altaïr and Desmond are living their lives concurrently, as of right now Desmond is 28 (since his age was adjusted by a couple of years) and Altaïr is ~2 years older. As of right now, although he's met Maria, they haven't had any children yet. Desmond likes to take on all the jobs at Bad Weather either as a bartender, a dancer (of which there are many kinds), or the risky jobs. He's quite reckless and while Altaïr tries to get him to be a bit smarter about things, he doesn't really have much ground to stand on since he does the same things, but he does judge his romantic life hard af. Desmond and Altaïr are able to have conversations mentally with very little time passing between the responses, but when they're out of sync things get very hard for the person to think, more on Desmond's end than Altaïr's.

[jonphaedrus]

epomaker mini cat 64 build talk

ok i guess a couple people said theyd be interested so let's talk to most recent custom i did, for my friend @jowritesfantasy, of an epomaker mini cat 64.

the final build is an epomaker mini cat 64, with kailh box white v2 switches, and a great wave off of kanagawa (dark) cherry profile keycap set. total cost for what is essentially a full (budget) custom build is about $150USD without tax (off of bezoshell).

note: i am a vision-impaired hobbyist with shitty, shaky hands. i am by far not an expert. this is literally just "all the crap i've had to figure out from the ground up as a basic guide". there are more comprehensive references out there, and build guide videos for most custom kits, and do more research, not less, before building. nothing here is gospel and many people do it differently.

anyway, let's talk turkey.

BASIC GLOSSARY:

keyboard: the whole shebang. case, pcb, switch, caps, everything. the thing you type on.

case: the acrylic/aluminium/ceramic/whatever body that the pcb, switches, and keys live in.

pcb: the brain of the keyboard. you can have one where the switches must be soldered in, or you can have one where the switches can be hot swapped, which means you can change them out without any need to use a soldering iron. pcbs can be bought separately from cases.

group buy: when a bunch of people buy in to get a custom keyboard made by pooling resources up front.

switch: the mechanical switch that you solder or hot swap into a pcb to make the button press. there are thre (standard) types: linear, tactile, and clicky. switches work just fine without lubing. this is optional.

stabilizers/stabs: the support stabilizers for your wider keys that help keep them steady and don't let them wobble. there are two standard types—pcb mounted (screw-in, usually) and plate-mounted (click-in). please lube your stabs. krytox 205g0 is good. otherwise trust me, they will rattle. oh, god, will they fucking rattle.

keycaps: the thingy that goes on top of the switch that you actually press. they come in about a million profiles and in every possible permutation or color you can think of. if they're cherry/mx stem, they'll be compatible with most modern mechanical keyboard switches on the market.

QMK/VIA: software that lets you change what buttons on your keyboard do what.

keyboard %/keyboard #: how many keys are on the keyboard. the 64 mini cat has...64 keys. a 78ish key is the full f-row and most standard laptop keyboards. TKL is tenkeyless, or no numpad. 100%/180 is the entire keyboard, numpad and all. 40% is babymode aka "you like layers? i'll give you layers". each board has its use, everyone has their preferences.

ergo: a keyboard designed to be more ergonomic. ergo boards have different layouts and spacing and height. some are split, some aren't, these days one of the more standard ergo layouts is the alice/arisu. it's nice. i recommend it. (my custom is an alice)

custom: you build it, you decide everything you want on it, you buy all that shit, and you put it together.

prebuilt: open box, plug and play.

from the getgo, while epomaker does offer this for sale ready to plug and play, i knew we would not be buying this premade (both because i wanted to build it, the whole point was i wanted to build it and jo wanted it) and also, epomaker didn't offer clicky switches. jo's previous board had cherry/gateron (not clear which? one or the other) blues, which are the "standard" clicky switch: they're 65g actuation, they click, and there are better options. (note: this blog is a cherry mx hatezone. sorry.) i also knew that i was going to have to get a bit creative with VIA layers because jo works on spreadsheets and this is a 64 key board—no numpad. you kinda need a numpad for spreadsheets.

i didn't know much about clicky keys before this (i personally have sad shitty little goobaby hands that can barely even handle 43g linear switches and most people i know use tactiles), so i had to do a bit of research. you can hear (cherry only) sound profiles and comparison here, and this gives you a pretty standard idea of what mechanical switches sound like.

linear keys tend to be the lightest actuation, since they're for gaming most of the time; tactiles are all over the place and have the most options since theyre the most popular; clicky tend to be a little heavier overall. the "actuation" force in grams is how much pressure it takes to make a keypress go through, the "bottom out" is how much it takes to make the key hit the bottom of its arc. tactiles and clicky keys both make sounds/have texture bumps when the actuation of the key happens; linears you just push.

a short list selection:

cherry mx blue (the "standard" click): 60g actuation, 60g bottom out.

gateron blues (the original clone of the standard): 55g actuation.

cherry mx green/gateron green: 80g actuation, 90g bottom out

kailh box white v2: 45g actuation, 55g bottom out. (note: this is the same actuation/bottom out as the v1; the v2 has increased stability and stronger springs)

we ended up picking the kailh box white v2s because of comparative sound testing, the revision being even sturdier than the original box whites, they were on sale when we bought them and came in a closer to 64 switch pack, and they're about 65¢ a switch. not bad, all things considered. they're lighter than the standard mx blue, have a brighter, springier sound (even unlubed) and the "box" around the stem of the switch makes the connection between switch and keycap more reliable, which is a problem that happened to jo's old keyboard (the stem housing of the keycap broke; there's basically no way to get a replacement without shelling out a good bit of cash for an entire set, the box should help prevent that in the future).

the next thing was keycaps—you can do research about keycap profiles until the cows come home, but there's basically two types. "flat" keycaps are interchangeable per row (so work great if you aren't using a qwerty layout or you don't have a standard layout keyboard), "differentiated" have different heights per row (so work great if you have a hard time finding the right keys or are using a condensed keyboard model where you might get lost in the sauce if everything is the same).

the most common profile is cherry—if you want to find something super fun keycaps-wise, cherry is probably what you'll end up with. every keycap profile presents a slightly different sound because of how the plastic housing handles the noise of the switch (sa has more hollow thock; xda has a little more rumble because it's flat; cherry is a little snappier). frankly, imo, the texture/shape of the key is more the question to keep in mind (as well as the type of plastic they're made with—pbt is much, much more reliable). jo wanted dark wave with whale, we found dark wave with whale, it was cherry profile. success.

(note: knockoff keycaps can be a mixed bag—they use different fonts, the stems can be less reliable, even if they are doubleshot (two different kinds of plastic, layered on top of each other for more stability) and pbt. however, they're a lot more affordable. i like having more keycaps. im also cheap. that said, groupbuy or direct from source keycaps are also rad as hell. it's your call)

the epomaker mini cat is a hot-swap board, which means all that the switches had to do was to be popped into their housing. when popping switches into hotswap, always test the pcb beforehand. always. if you fuck up the pcb during switch installation, that is what it is, and you want to know if there's a problem before that happens. (shit can get weird. trust me. my custom pcb is currently getting replaced because of a freak usb-c daughterboard soldering incident that basically cannot be fixed, and everything worked fine in testing... but it's uncommon).

to build this board, i took it in a series of steps:

1: disassemble the entire board, flip the pcb (the "brain" of the keyboard) over, and manually test all the keys with a keyboard tester website and a paperclip. to test the diodes, you want to put your paperclip/tweezers/whatever into the outsides of the diode, not directly into the slot where your switch pins will go

you shouldn't need to shove. just set them there. your key tester should click, light up, or, if you're me, say "josh"

2: once i knew the pcb was good, it was time to disassembe the plate and the stabs. the stabs that came with the mini-cat 64 were plate-mounted and came unlubed, so i clicked them out with my tiny screwdriver, took them apart, and lubed them. if i had a buck for every stabilizer build and lube guide that actually refused to show the parts of a stabilizer, i'd have a lot of bucks, so here's some photos from me. these are akko transparent pink pcb-mounted, screw-in stabilizers. my hands are shaky as fuck so i apologize for any blurriness.

there are three basic components to the stabilizer—the bar, and the two-part housing. when you take a stabilizer apart, whether or not it's screw-in or clip-in, the bar clips and unclips, and the housing works the same.

less lube is always better (you can always add more): when lubing stabs, you want to lube the inside of the larger housing on the two wider portions and the back, where the smaller portion is levered up and down and will hit the plastic, and the part of the bar that goes into it. this is all the stuff that will click and clack if it touches each other.

sorry this is a transparent stab so it's kind of hard to see, but when reassembling your stabilizers, the smaller piece will have one side with two holes, and one side with one hole. two holes goes in the front. business in the front, party in the back, whatever. you can see here where the clicky space thing that you click the stabilizer bar into.

i apologize for my shaky ass hands. sorry. the realy nice thing about transparent stabs, otoh, is you can see where the actual bar goes—it goes into the bottom of the two holes, so that the interior part of the housing is lifted up and down when the bar moves. that's it! click it in once it's in the right hole, you're done.

3: it is time to Insert the Switch. most switches tend to be plate-mounted. the "plate" is the part of the case that goes above the pcb, and is what aligns (and holds in) the switches, so that they land in the right spot. here's an example of a pcb and a plate

the plate fits on over the stabs, and then you have your "alignment" for your switches in place. now you know where your switches go, it's time to stick them in. the smaller, metal holes on each switch location are where the pins go—this is a "south facing" rgb pcb, meaning the pins go in up top, with the smd led (the little per-switch light) facing toward, not away from, the user. north-facing switches are more common. (for anyone curious, this is a mechloving adelais en ciel rv3 pcb, akko transparent pink screw-in stabs, and a switchcouture aluminium plate)

take your switch, align your pins, push in the side with the pins first to be sure they go into their sockets straight, and then push them the rest of the way in to click. hot swap sockets can be finnicky and a little fragile, so when installing switches into a hot swap pcb, you want to push straight down into something below—i.e., take the back off of the case and put the pcb flat on a soft, but sturdy, surface, like a deskmat. then click them in.

and now you've got a keyboard! time for the fun part. put those keycaps on and give it a test.

well, now you have a working keyboard. except for one small issue... the person using this keyboard needs a numpad! okay, so that means that you need to get CREATIVE.

all our keyboards have some level of "layer mapping"—shift + a = A. that's a layer, becuse it changes the key input. on my keyboard, because i use a mac with the extended international keyboard, alt + a = ¯. that's another layer. most people are more familiar with fn + 1 = f1. that's a layer.

for this keyboard, since jo needed a numpad, the way to do that is to make use of it being via compatible and to build that in as a layer. via is a great program (wish it worked with firefox!) in that it's as close to plug and play as you can really get for something like this. it's all overlay, you just click what you need. i am stupidbad at tech, and i can figure it out. let's take a look at the layers that are mapped into this keyboard:

here we have layer 0 (the "home" layer, what the keyboard's base state is), layer 1 (the "modifier" layer), and layer 2 (the "spreadsheet") layer. i made a few changes after i took these screenshots pgup/dwn/home/end are on the modifier layer now and not just the spreadhseet layer), but this is pretty much the final version. in via, the upside-down triangle means that the button naturally defers down to the layer below it. this means, on all layers, the red circle is always the fn/modifier button. if you're on the spreadsheet layer and press fn+1, it will be f1, because that button is always fn.

the "modifier" layer came baked into the keyboard, since that's the way that the function row buttons/the keyboard light adjustment works. all i added was the blue "toggle" layer button, which, when pressed with the fn button, turns the spreadsheet layer on.

even more simply, if you push fn+ralt, it makes the keyboard be for spreadsheets.

on the spreadsheet layer, the right-hand side of the keyboard becomes a numpad, the arrows automatically work as up/down/home/end, and, most importantly, a/s/z/x/c/v are all macros. what those look like, in the via programming, is {KC_LCTL,KC_C} (that's "ctrl+c" as one button press), with the KC_[] changed out for the key you're swapping in as a shortcut. when on the spreadsheet layer, pressing "z" is the same as "ctrl/cmd+z" normally is—only now you only have to hit the button once. that's true for that entire set of macros. so, if you need to save? hit s. if you need to select all? hit a. if you need to cut? hit x. paste? hit v. there's no need to push ctrl at the same time—that's baked into the keys.

you can do this with any keyboard that is qmk/via compatible, by the way. it's fucking amazing. if you work on spreadsheets all the time? awesome. now you can numberpunch one-handed, and copy/paste/undo with the other, no need to use multiple keys.

the macro building and layering on via for this keyboard was waaaay better than what i did on my wife 1.0 (sorry, wife 1.0) and i'll be using the same setup on wife 2.0 (whenver wife 2.0 gets here). overall, this is honestly a really affordable custom board with a lot of adjustment options built in. it was a ton of fun to build, really simple and straightforward in terms of setup, and it's got bongocat on it.

also honestly if i had to get clickies, i'd do the box whites. they're really nice and dont make my fingers feel like they're about to break when typing.

[myalchod]

Howdy (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

It’s me, hi, I’m your hex buddy, it’s me! *giggles*

Loved your thoughts on Farah and Saul, align with my own perfectly!

Good news: today my questions are not cruel.

What are your favorite colors? What do you prefer: silrah as teens, few years after Aster Dell or post show’s events? Do you have favorite winter’s shenanigans?

(Hope your Friday is great💙)

Hello, my darling! 😘 My Friday was overall fairly pleasant -- I hope yours was too, and that your weekend is going well! I am, once again, excited by these new questions; I can see why people say the inbox shenanigans are some of the best bits of HEX. 🥰 So let's see about answering these ...

My favourite colours tend to be cooler and darker tones; I am The Worst (tm) at picking favourite anythings, as you may have noticed, but I like the colours you see in peacock feather eyes -- teals, blue, green (and gold does go wonderfully with them) -- but also deep wine-red.

And the rest of this is getting long so I'm gonna drop a cut lol.

Timeframe is a tough one, because each one has their own attractions! I love the promise and the possibility of Silrah as teens, with so much ahead of them and before their ideals were shattered; I love them after Aster Dell, trying to pick up the pieces and figuring out how to move on, salvaging the fragments of idealism to try to make a better world for the children whose futures they now hold and struggling with all that they dare not speak of, the ghosts and the guilt and the emotional morass; I love them after the show, whether that's Saul with only his memories or Farah returning and them having a chance to be more in a way I feel they never could before or any one of another hundred permutations. There are so, so many options, and there's a part of me that desperately wants to tug on every thread and chase every possible universe and see what could happen. (I realise this is almost certainly unhelpful, my dearest HEXer, and for that I am deeply sorry.)

As to the last: I adore winter as a season. I know there are a lot of people who don't like the cold and the dark, but honestly, the cold in particular is something I love. I turn into a puddle once it gets warm, and my ideal storage conditions top out at about 15C, so the weather cooling off means I'm in my element. I love getting to wear warmer clothes, snuggling into blankets or putting on the fireplace if it's particularly chilly, nursing a cup of something warm (I'm a tea drinker first and foremost, but a mug of cocoa is nice too). I lived most of my life somewhere without snow, and there's a part of me that turns into a small child when I get it nowadays -- especially if it's the soft fluffy kind where you can catch snowflakes on your palms and look at the shapes. I love the way the world looks blanketed in white, all of the rough edges softened, and the way things sparkle when the light hits them on a frosty morning. I love walking outside in winter, the crispness of air almost freezing and seeing your breath make clouds and the crunch of fresh snow being tamped down under your boots. (I realise there are absolutely places where it's much more bitterly cold, or the weight of snow and ice can damage everything and become oppressive, and that if I lived there it might change my tune, but right now I consider myself lucky enough to be able to enjoy it without worry.) Winter isn't my holiday season, primarily, and so I don't have the association so many do, but the holiday I do celebrate then involves candles, and one thing I've always loved in association with the darkening of the year is how illumination -- whatever the form -- plays a part in the winter season, and the imagery of lights in the darkness. It's a small thing, but it also has stuck with me my entire life and as a thread through many things and states of mind, and I think that's one of those things I'll always associate with winter, beyond just the cold itself.

Anyway! That's a wall of text for sure, and so I'm pretty sure I owe you a cookie in recompense for reading it all! 🍪 I'm excited to see whatever you do with all of this information, though I can safely say right now that I have no idea -- but I'm sure it'll be wonderful. 💙

[literaticat]

I’m confused about genre, despite googling and doing much research—I swear I’ve tried! I’m having trouble distinguishing between sci-fi, speculative, and fantasy. Also, my book is definitely a thriller, but has very-near-future elements in it. Like a light Black Mirror episode. I am thinking I want to label it a “sci-fi thriller” but at the same time, I feel like some agents who love thrillers are super turned off by the label sci-fi. Should I call it a thriller with speculative elements to soften the blow? lol. I KNOW YOU DON’T REP ADULT BOOKS—can we pretend this is YA?! Lolol. And maybe you have thoughts on this as a bookseller as well? Do you know of any good resources about how to define genre? Thanks for all of your answers to our questions!

I'd say that "speculative fiction" is the broad umbrella category that include science fiction and permutations/subgenres of same (your steampunk / cyberpunk / alternative history / whatever), and fantasy, and pretty much everything that has anything to do with things-that-don't-really-exist. It's the big tent for all that stuff -- basically it's books that seek to answer a "what if" question. What if the Napoleonic Wars had been fought with Dragons? What if your kid was best friends with an AI? What if cops were replaced with advanced robotic killing machines? What if there was a secret society of magical people living in London that regular people didn't know about?

Science fiction generally is set in a world that has advanced technology that could theoretically exist (even if it would be a big stretch). So, time travel, faster-than-light travel, artificial intelligence, space wormholes, whatever. (Many people shorten this to SF, which could be "speculative fiction" OR "science fiction" and I think that is perfectly fine. After all, both are true. I prefer that to "sci-fi" which sounds old-fashioned to my ears, but whatever).

Fantasy generally is set in a world that has MAGIC. It could be a world very much like our own, or nothing like our own, but the BIG THING it has that is different from our own world? MAGIC! Like a wizard casting a shrinking spell, a dragon who speaks French and grants wishes, talking badgers, things that can't exist, actually -- MAGIC.

As for your book: I wouldn't call it a "sci fi thriller" -- those are two different genres, as thriller is a subgenre of mystery. I'd pick a genre, query as that genre, and then add nuance and "whatever-elements" when you are describing it.

So yes, if you think it would be shelved in the mystery section, you'd call it a "thriller with speculative elements set in a near-future Black Mirror-esque world"

If you think it would be more comfortably shelved in the SF/F section, then call it "speculative fiction with the propulsive pace of a thriller set in a near-future Black Mirror-esque world."

[inverswayart]

@vaguely-concerned Part 5 (the final one), Sunburst Andraste

10. Do they have any regrets?

Very little - Sunburst believes most of his life being shaped and guided by the Maker and so considers it unfaithful to doubt His intent. There is one thing, however - when Sunburst was still in the circle and Grey Wardens came to recruit new mage into their ranks, Sunburst was desperate to seize the opportunity - he knew the templars suspected him a maleficar and wouldn’t grant him any mercy when they would catch him. But amongst his competitors was one especially dangerous to his plans - Elyon Andras, fellow enchanter and namesake, skilled in elemental and spiritual magic, while Sunburst dedicated himself to creation, spirit healing and (secretly) blood magic. Sunburst spent his night in preparations for the fateful day and prayers, but doubt and fear kept gnawing at him - and so on the day they were supposed to demonstrate their skills he spiked Elyon’s food with magebane. ELyon was unable to perform at his full power and Sunburst was chosen as a recruit. 

However, later he learned that Wardens were aware of his blood magic endeavors and decided to recruit him from the get-go, only going with the whole testing thing for the sake of formality. Sunburst was ashamed and guilt stricken - not only he ruined his colleague reputation, he doubted Maker’s will and divine providence, letting his faith be weakened by inconsequential doubts. Despite numerous prayers, repentance in self-immolation and meditations, regret and shame still linger in his mind as a eternal reminder of his weakness and importance of the faith.

13. Do they enjoy poetry?

Well, he does know the whole of Chant (including the Dissonant verses and regional varitions) by heart :.D But even apart from that, yes, he does. He considers the physical body and its ability to speak Maker’s gift, and so an art of poetry for him is an exercise in admiring and praising Maker’s work - as long as the contents are of according quality. But since his fellows (Julie Karon and Taras Cader in particular) enjoy teasing him about literally everything, he keeps his admiration very close to his chest. 

37. Are they religious? If so do they have a strong sense of faith, are they uncertain, or are they somewhere in between?

Hoo boy… :.D Sunburst is an even more devoted son of a devoted mother, so faithful it’s hard to believe he isn’t literally possessed by Faith. However, he explicitly believes in Maker and Andraste but not in the Chantry, finding their pretense for absolute authority over Maker’s dealings ridiculously self-righteous. He is intimately familiar with Chantry’s history, just as with the history of Chant of Light creation and permutations during centuries of its existence. From one point of view it allows him to keep his faith in check and not turn to zealotry, from another - it's a convenient excuse to partake in heresy and blasphemy while pretending to be loyal to the faith. Still aside from his blood magic excursions and whatever the Warden duties require, he follows the teachings ardently, doesn’t miss a single holy day or fast, sometimes subsiding entirely on taint in his blood (and occasional elfroot cigarillos - it’s not easy to keep mind calm and focused with his teammates)

44. Who, if anyone, would they trust with their deepest secrets?

The Maker. He appreciates and even trusts his comrades, but innermost corners of his soul are for Makers eyes only (Andraste can also take a look if she so pleases).

46. Would they lie to get out of trouble?

He considers lies disgraceful affront to the Maker, but can’t exactly keep going without keeping some secrets - so as much as he does not enjoy it, Sunburst prefers to lie by omission. 

aaand that's it! thank you dearly for the ask, i had a blast writing all of that <3

[tj-dragonblade]

Tea and Books Asks

Tagged in by @littledreamling , @mathomhouse-e , and @quillingwords thank you!

1. What period of history do you enjoy learning about?

As long as it's not the fucking founding of America and drafting of the constitution, again, we're golden

2. Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

Of all time? Impossible. Current fandom specifically? ...uh. Kind of also impossible. But I think if pressed Hob might just barely edge out Dream in the standings. Because? Because...his vibes? Immortal Everyman who's not all woe-is-me this-life-is-misery is a delight and idk he's just got that je ne sais quoi that makes me smile and say 'That one, that's my favorite'?

3. What do you order at a café?

It's a rare occurrence but. Some sort of coffee, extra sweet, extra whichever flavor added. Caramel and pumpkin spice are both excellent

4. Libraries, botanical gardens, or art galleries?

Of the three, I've only ever been to libraries, so, that

5. Do you have a favourite film soundtrack?

Beauty and the Beast 1991 probably. The score tracks on that just. Do things to me. Fond of a lot of Hans Zimmer's work as well (Lion King, PotC off the top of my head) and I keep circling back around to the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves soundtrack every few years

6. What does your dream home look like?

Underwater. With bits above water too, maybe half and half, but the important things I've always wanted are submarine airlock entryways and enormous windows with an underwater view. Not too far from civilization either

7. What makes you feel better on gloomy days?

Long solo drives with good music played loud

8. What are your top three films? Books?

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; The Princess Bride; Beauty and the Beast

I've read fanfic almost exclusively the past twenty years but, let me think...I was very taken with the Shannara series by Terry Brooks in high school; I spent some time on the Vampire Chronicles after that and The Vampire Armand was my favorite (because Armand was my favorite more than because it was actually a good book)

9. Are you an organized person, generally?

...Ish. I dislike clutter and mess, but I wouldn't really classify myself as 'organized' by any standard measure of the word

10. Do you have a favourite classic novel?

...I am extremely fond of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz both but more for their permutation into pop culture and malleability therein than for their actual books specifically

11. What character archetype or trope is your favourite?

I have a laundry list, and they're generally best when multiple tropes are blended in one character. But maybe...let's go with The Foreigner, The Outsider, the one who often holds up a lens to humanity or whatever majority/default group is involved to offer commentary, try to understand, and who is perpetually Apart from them, usually unable (or unwilling) to quite blend in or assimilate completely even when they may be welcomed and accepted.

12. Do you prefer baking or cooking?

...give me a relatively simple recipe with clear instructions and I'll probably be okay, in either arena

13. Which season do you feel at home in?

In my current climate? Summer. Summer means I can get out and go places and do things. I love autumn in theory but in practice it's far too short, far too cold too quickly, and just a very depressing reminder of the half-a-year of winter that will follow

14. What is your opinion on poetry?

It should absolutely exist, integral facet of humanity, etc. Not really anything I actively seek out, however

15. Do you speak formally when texting and emailing?

Emails are nearly always business related whether home or work, so yes. Texts are not exactly formal but it's rare that I'd ever fail to capitalize, use copious abbreviations, etc. Punctuation droppage depends entirely on who I'm talking to and whether I need the clarity punctuation can provide

16. How do you organize your music playlists?

Haaaaaah. Let me count the ways:

- by artist, when I want The Good Tracks from their discography (and related projects) in chronological order

- by genre

- by pairing - many pairs have multiple permutations of their playlist also

- by character

- by character group

- by theme (e.g. Moon, Aquatic, etc)

- by mood

- by fic inspiration/writing soundtrack

- I have playlists for Disney movies where I put the songs and score pieces back in movie order since the soundtracks always group them separately and I also leave out the shitty radio versions of the songs

- I also have a playlist with all my individual Disney playlists combined in chronological order by movie release date

- by vibes

- by which family member I'm driving with

- I have a playlist for stuff that's in (or contains sections that are in) 3/4, 6/8, and various other non-4/4 time signatures

- I have a couple different playlists of favorite voices

- there's a giant playlist where I dump all the stuff I've rated 4 or 5 stars (some 3s may also get included), sorted by play count, for when I don't know quite what I'm really in the mood to listen to

- aaaaaaand then I usually have two or three playlists in constant flux for whatever I'm really craving to listen to at this particular point in time

17. Who is your favourite author?

Can't say as I have one

18. Chai or hot chocolate?

Chai

19. Do you prefer forests, sea shores, or meadows?

Sea shore, hands down

20. If you were to cultivate a fruit orchard, what would you grow?

Everything I would name I have developed allergies to so. Maybe not. Kinda sucks.

[rexobibang]

Hey there! I'm someone who is still debating on whether or not I'll join the ObiRex big bang, I most certainly would love to. But, there is only one thing that's holding me back from it. Please don't take this as hate, or anything like that. More so as a suggestion, or for you guys to re-elaborate or rethink on this of sorts?

I read your rules and information, and I'm taking issues with this section to be more precisely:

"For writers, your fanwork must focus on the relationship of Captain Rex and Obi-Wan Kenobi, whether it is romantic, platonic, or queer-platonic. They are allowed to be in relationships with other people, but the focus of the story must be on their relationship. So, if a writer wanted to write a CodyWan fic but focus on Rex and Obi-Wan’s time on Kadavo, that would be acceptable. Threesomes are also acceptable."

While it is clear that the focus must be on ObiRex interaction, I don't think it would be a good idea to give room to any other ship. I feel like, it diminishes the purpose of a ship focused event like this, especially for such an unpopular/small one like this one! I get that the intent of this is probably to try attract more people to your event, but I fear that by doing this, the Obirex event will lose its purpose and meaning. If you wish to do this then, wouldn't it be better to just run a multishipping one? What's really stopping people from just making it about every other ship, that conflicts with Obirex?

And before you try to use the Platonic interactions argument. I'm sure that fan workers can do their thing, without having to rely on an entirely different ship. If they can't do that for Obirex, then what's the point of them joining an event like this?

As massively popular as Codywan (this could also be said about any other popular ship involving Rex, I'm merely harboring on it bc you guys put it in the post) is, not everyone is into it, and most likely would like to do their things without its interference.

In the end of the day, I just want to have some form of reassurement that the Obirex event, won't become a Codywan/Rexwalker/Obikin/Codex/Rexsoka/insert here any other ship event.

Hello, Anony!

I will fully admit that this is my first time running a bang so I am learning where the lines are and where to draw there. I appreciate your thoughtful ask and all the points you raised. Let me see if I can clarify where I was coming from with that phrasing, and perhaps you can assist me in possibly better phrasing.

I strongly want this to be a Rex and Obi event in whatever permutation you prefer your men. I would prefer the fanwork to center on them romantically but I am not going to limit people and tell them they can't write something that celebrates Obi-Wan and Rex being total chaos demons together in a platonic manner while everyone else grabs the figurative oh shit bar nearest them.

(As for this being a gimme to attract more people, not so much? I'd be perfectly all right with this being a small event and everyone who signs up doing so because they love the ship and because we realize that we're not alone out there in the giant ship sea and we'd like to try our hand at art or fic or podfic or who knows what wonderful things might be created through this event.)

The reason I called the platonic relationship out like that (and continue to try to angle this to allow relationship introspective works) is because I help mod the CodyWan Big Bang, and we had a fic in our first year (by the amazing @dharmaavocado ) that was a RexObi, CodyQuin fic that had a wonderful exploration of Obi-Wan's relationship with Cody. Dharma handled the balance of characterization and relationships gracefully and I still think it's a fantastic character study for Cody and Obi-Wan while also being one of my favorite RexObi fics of theirs. (I'm biased. I begged for that fic.)

In the same vein, I don't want to limit someone from doing something similar. Rex or Obi could be in different relationships with other people, but the focus should always be on Rex and Obi-Wan, and their relationship. Rex dating Tarkin? Uh, okay. How's Obi and Rex doing with that? How's it impacting the story? Is Obi there for Rex? Is Rex there for Obi? Do they go for drinks? What's the tale there? How are the boys doing?

I also want to allow for explorations of Rex or Obi-Wan being pictured as asexual or demisexual, or any color under the flag (or any other ND flag). Sometimes those colors don't always mesh with a traditional romantic relationship. Sometimes they allow for verbal comfort, sometimes physical comfort (hugs, hair ruffles, so called "innocent" contact) is the limit. I want that to be allowed. I've seen too many limits placed in fandom spaces lately to want to place them here.

If you noticed me repeating limit over and over--yeah. That's the key. I don't want to limit people from their creation. Fandom should be fun. Fandom should never be a burden. Fandom should be where you go to explore and try things out and meet people and discover things about yourself and other people and make friends that last for the next 20 years of your life (I curse everyone to make that friend, they are the most wonderful that can happen to you).

But as for reassurance... In short -- if the primary focus of the story isn't about Rex and Obi and their relationship in some way, this isn't the bang for whoever wants to sign up. If it gets to rough draft/artist match up and people's stories aren't primarily RexObi focused? Well. That's rules violation. If the story can't be gently redirected or the issue resolved, the writer will be asked to leave the event, and artists will be reassigned.

I really hope that helps. If it doesn't, or you know how I can better clean up that area, please let me know. I really would like to make this a wonderful event for RexObi and everyone involved.

[roleplayfinder]

hi hi! you can call me ren (or cassette or alt or w/e permutation of my discord handle and display name you wanna workshop), i’m 29, she/her, and exceedingly queer (and mentally ill!). i have the ability to type in proper sentence case just fine, but this is how i talk casually, and how i communicate ooc!

i’m a novella/multipara writer whose word count fluctuates depending on the scene. description heavy scenes like starters, scene transitions, new locations, etc, tend to be long. i’m talking in the 2kw without blinking territory, sometimes going all the way up to 4k (and could probably go 5k if my partner was similarly long winded askdjfg). but then for things like dialogue heavy scenes or fight scenes that require a lot of quick, decisive actions and decisions, i can go as low as about 200-300w. because of this i don’t at all expect you to mirror me post for post, but i do ask that bare minimum you’re comfortable at least hitting the 1k range, as well as comfortable with receiving long fuck off posts from yours truly askdjf

i write third person present tense, and i will write any gender and sexual orientation you ask for! i’ll be looking for either canon x oc or oc x oc for my side, which will be m/f, but my f!oc is queer herself, so it’ll be a queer flavor of m/f alskjhdfg. for your side! i am happy to write anything. canon, oc, male, female, trans, enby, whatever you want, just ask!

i do ask that any potential partners be preferably 25. i also ask that we double, unless you only want to play the love interest i’m ask for against my oc, in which case we don’t have to double. but i’d love to double for you! i want to double for you! i will even triple for you, if you want a love triangle or a poly relationship.

my mediums are discord and email, exclusively!

i also have some limits i will ask you abide by. i do not want you to godmod my oc, i do not want you to discuss the topics of: alcohol, drugs, smoking/vaping, or substance abuse in or out of character (this includes meme images, emojis, etc. i don’t want to write about it i don’t want to see visuals of it, and i am very serious about this. they are limits and triggers. please respect them like you would anyone else’s triggers even if they’re not as commonplace). i also don’t wish to write about sexual assault or abuse, or any sort of incest/pedophilia/the usual limits for this community. additionally, i do not write smut. i fade to black, and that (along with my limits) are non negotiable. and of course likewise, i will respect any limits you have!

with all of that out of the way, we can move onto the fun things! today i am looking for

star trek: the next generation

heads up and fair warning! i’m in the middle of a rewatch, and the last time i saw this was?? maybe twenty years ago. anywhere in the 15-20 range at least. so i don’t remember a whole lot, and i’m only in season two so far. but i would loooove to write in tng, it’s just?? so lovely ???

against my f!oc, i am looking for you to write one of the following: riker, an oc with a faceclaim i choose, or a canon transplant from another media (i would be looking for primarily tony stark or david xanatos)

in return, i can write anything you like! though i do have some canons i’d be especially excited to write for you if given the chance! these are: data 🤍🤍🤍, geordi 🤍🤍, picard 🤍🤍🤍, deanna 🤍🤍

if interested, please feel free to reach me at my discord [altimit.os] or my email [altimit.osx (at) gmail (dot) com]

altimit.os

altimit.osx (at) gmail (dot) com

[starship-ncc-1701-d]

make it so | st:tng 1x1 search

hi hi! you can call me ren (or alt or w/e permutation of my discord handle and display name you wanna workshop),

i’m late-late 20s, she/her, and exceedingly queer (and mentally ill!). i have the ability to type in proper sentence case just fine, but this is how i talk casually, and how i communicate ooc!

i’m a novella/multipara writer whose word count fluctuates depending on the scene. description heavy scenes like starters, scene transitions, new locations, etc, tend to be long. i’m talking in the 2kw without blinking territory, sometimes going all the way up to 4k (and could probably go 5k if my partner was similarly long winded askdjfg). but then for things like dialogue heavy scenes or fight scenes that require a lot of quick, decisive actions and decisions, i can go as low as about 200-300w. because of this i don’t at all expect you to mirror me post for post, but i do ask that bare minimum you’re comfortable at least hitting the 1k range, as well as comfortable with receiving long fuck off posts from yours truly askdjf

i write third person present tense, and i will write any gender and sexual orientation you ask for! i’ll be looking for either canon x oc or oc x oc for my side, which will be m/f, but my f!oc is queer herself, so it’ll be a queer flavor of m/f alskjhdfg. for your side! i am happy to write anything. canon, oc, male, female, trans, enby, whatever you want, just ask!

i do ask that any potential partners be preferably 25+. i also ask that we double, unless you only want to play the love interest i’m ask for against my oc, in which case we don’t have to double. but i’d love to double for you! i want to double for you! i will even triple for you, if you want a love triangle or a poly relationship.

my mediums are discord and email, exclusively!

i also have some limits i will ask you abide by. i do not want you to godmod my oc, i do not want you to discuss the topics of: alcohol, drugs, smoking/vaping, or substance abuse in or out of character (this includes meme images, emojis, etc. i don’t want to write about it i don’t want to see visuals of it, and i am very serious about this. they are limits and triggers. please respect them like you would anyone else’s triggers even if they’re not as commonplace). i also don’t wish to write about sexual assault or abuse, or any sort of incest/pedophilia/the usual limits for this community. additionally, i do not write smut. i fade to black, and that (along with my limits) are non negotiable. and of course likewise, i will respect any limits you have!

with all of that out of the way, we can move onto the fun things! today i am looking for

star trek: the next generation

heads up and fair warning! i’m in the middle of a rewatch, and the last time i saw this was?? 15-20 years ago, so i don’t remember a whole lot. i’m only in season three so far (around e4). but i would loooove to write in tng aaaaaaa i just rly love its vibes askjkdf

against my f!oc, i am looking for you to write one of the following: riker an oc with a faceclaim i choose

in return, i can write anything you like! though i do have some canons i’d be especially excited to write for you if given the chance! these are: 💛💛💛 data 💛💛 geordi ❤️❤️❤️ picard 💙💙 deanna

if interested, please feel free to reach me at my discord [altimit.os] or my email [altimit.osx (at) gmail (dot) com]

you can also reach out on tumblr for initial discussion, but please know i do not roleplay over tumblr!